The Foundation for the Future
by Healer Pomfrey
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.
If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!
While Hermione wrapped the professor in a conversation about a shield spell, Harry made himself visible, knowing that he would have to show the memory to Dumbledore later on. He pulled his wand and cast the first spell. It was supposed to bring the possessing spirit to the front of Quirrell's mind. 'I just hope it worked,' Harry thought, trying to assess his success from the words coming out of Quirrell's mouth.
Finally, a harsh voice interrupted the professor's speech. "Kill the boy before he kills me. It's him," the voice hissed, causing Quirrell to look at Harry in confusion.
Harry hurriedly cast the second spell, which caused Quirrell to slump down onto the floor, seemingly unconscious, before a black cloud emerged from the back of his head.
"Now," Harry shouted to his wife, before they both pointed their wands at the cloud and together cast the third spell, putting as much magic into the spell as possible. The black cloud vibrated for a moment, before it hurried away through the window.
"Thank Merlin," Hermione spoke up, causing Harry to give her a questioning look.
"Do you think it really worked?" he asked, sceptically.
"I think so," Hermione said, smiling. "Did you see how the cloud was stopped in its movement and vibrated for a few seconds? I think that was when the other spirits from his Horcruxes reunited with his spirit. He should be just one single spirit now like Rowena told us."
"All right, let's take Quirrell to the hospital wing and then return to our rooms to show Rowena the memory," Harry replied in determination.
"Wait a moment," his wife instructed him, before she placed her hand against the wall. "Hogwarts, do you think that worked?"
"Yes I believe so my dear," the old castle replied in her gentle voice. "I don't know if that were all of his spirits that reunited though. Maybe Rowena will be able to tell you more."
'Thank Merlin that the founders removed the Horcrux from my head in the past,' Harry thought in relief, as he stared at the window through which Voldemort's spirit had vanished.
HP
Levitating Quirrell onto a stretcher, Harry and Hermione took the unconscious wizard to the hospital wing. Knowing that they did not want the headmaster to become involved if they could prevent it, Harry called Malcolm and asked him to tell Professor McGonagall that her presence was required in the hospital wing.
"I will send her," Malcolm confirmed, before he popped away.
To Harry's and Hermione's relief, McGonagall stepped just out of the fireplace in Pomfrey's office, when they reached the hospital wing and levitated the stretcher to the bed right next to the healer's office.
"What happened here?" Pomfrey queried, already waving her wand over her colleague.
Harry quickly explained that Quirrell had been possessed by Voldemort's spirit, and Hermione offered to show the two older witches their memory.
McGonagall and Pomfrey were seemingly shaken after watching the scene that emerged from the tip of Harry's wand.
"Don't you think you should have called an adult for help?" McGonagall asked in a stern voice, her lips stretched to a thin line.
"No Professor," Harry replied, firmly, and informed her, "Even though we're stuck in our eleven-year-old bodies, our magic is as strong as that of adults, and our wands are more powerful than any of the other wands here."
"And why might that be?" the deputy headmistress enquired, looking at Hermione's wand with apparent curiosity. "Is this not the wand that you bought at Ollivanders' last year?"
"No professor," Hermione admitted. "We made our wands in the past, each with a phoenix feather of Fawkes, willingly given, as well as lichens from Hogwarts' roof as the main ingredients."
McGonagall and Pomfrey exchanged a look that displayed clear amazement, before Pomfrey said, "That sounds indeed very powerful."
"Probably even more so than the elder wand," McGonagall added, pensively. "The problem is that we have to inform the headmaster about the matter with Professor Quirrell. Does he know about your time in the past?"
"No, he doesn't, and we definitely don't want him to know," Harry replied, firmly.
"He knows that Sopho sorted us into the founders' quarters though, so we could just tell them that Rowena's portrait instructed us what to do," Hermione suggested, causing the older witches to nod, reluctantly.
"That should work," McGonagall finally approved, before she turned to her colleague and best friend. "Poppy, how bad is Quirinus?"
Pomfrey once again waved her wand over the still unconscious wizard, only to confirm her earlier result. "Physically, he'll be fine when he wakes up, however, I don't know what damage the possession has done to his mind. Since I'm not a professional in the area of mind illnesses, I suggest taking him to St. Mungo's. I'm not sure, but I don't think that he'll be up to teaching again anytime soon," she replied, slightly hesitating.
McGonagall nodded. "Very well then, I'm going to call Albus." With that she strode into the healer's office and leaned into the fireplace, only to return with the headmaster two minutes later.
HP
When the Gryffindor head explained to the headmaster about the events that had taken place in the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's office thirty minutes ago, Dumbledore gave her a doubtful look.
"I'm sorry Minerva, but how will you know exactly what happened, if you haven't even seen the scene in the Pensieve?" he queried, thoughtfully stroking his beard.
Not wanting to give out the students who had shown so much confidence to her as to share their secret with her, McGonagall remained quiet and merely let out a sigh.
"Mr. and Miss Potter, please accompany me to my office," Dumbledore finally said in a firm voice, giving the students a demanding look. "Poppy, please take Quirinus to St. Mungo's."
"Only if Professor McGonagall will join us," Harry replied. "As you know, we have our reasons to not trust you, headmaster."
"I'll come with you," McGonagall hurried to reassure the boy, seemingly able to understand his reservations towards the headmaster all too well.
In Dumbledore's office, the headmaster showed him how to place a memory into a Pensieve, and Harry carefully extracted the memory from the instant, where he made himself visible until before Hermione spoke with Hogwarts. 'Thank Merlin I made myself visible before I began casting spells,' Harry thought, when the headmaster and his deputy headed into the Pensieve.
"That were definitely not all the Horcruxes," Dumbledore spoke up in a firm voice, when they returned from the Pensieve.
"And why would you know that?" Harry asked, sharply, not caring that his tone might not be appropriate considering that he was speaking to the headmaster.
"That I will reveal to you when you're much older," Dumbledore replied, using his grandfatherly voice that made everyone believe that he was the only one knowing what he was talking about. "You're still not grown up enough to understand such things."
"Oh well, but I'm old enough to ask Madam Bones for a trial for you because of denying my godfather to become my guardian, sending him to Azkaban in spite of being innocent, placing me with abusive Muggles who were clearly excluded as guardians in my parents' will, stealing from my bank account over a decade and hiring a teacher who was possessed by Voldemort at Hogwarts," Harry replied in an upset voice, glaring at the old wizard, before he added, "I suggest Remus Lupin as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."
Dumbledore cast him a horrified look. "A werewolf?" he then enquired. "Remus Lupin is a werewolf."
"No, he's not," Harry replied in a firm voice, "and I'm willing to bet about it if you promise to retire as headmaster if I'm right."
Dumbledore shook his head in clear annoyance, before he clearly dismissed the students, mumbling something into his beard that Harry could not understand.
HP
"Harry, that was brilliant," Hermione breathed, chuckling on their way back to their rooms. "Too bad that he didn't agree to the bet."
Harry grinned. "Yes, that would have been amazing," he admitted, "although I'm already happy that we managed to solve the Quirrell problem."
HP
Minerva let out a deep sigh, shaking her head in annoyance at the headmaster's stubbornness. 'He should try to gain Harry's trust, but he's just doing the opposite,' she thought. "I believe that Harry's right though. Remus Lupin would make a brilliant Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."
The headmaster glared at her as if she had lost her mind. "He's a werewolf, even if a first-year is willing to bet that he's not. Ridiculous," he mumbled into his much too long beard.
"Maybe his condition changed by some way," Minerva replied, already guessing what could have happened. "Why don't you ask him or invite Remus and call Poppy to assess his condition. Apart from that, if it was safe enough when he attended Hogwarts as a student, it should surely be safe enough to have him here as a responsible adult."
"Why would I ask Poppy to check if he's still a werewolf?" Albus asked, incredulously, his expression narrowing to a frown. "Because a first-year says that he isn't?"
"Yes," Minerva replied, simply.
"Oh Minerva, please leave the decision about new professors to me," Albus finally decided, ending the conversation.
HP
'There's something about Harry that I don't understand,' Albus thought, as he observed how his colleague and most trusted friend left his office. 'He doesn't behave as if he had grown with a magic-hating Muggle family like Petunia's family is supposed to be. I wonder who took him to Diagon Alley and to Gringotts at that, and then how he found out about being the heir of the founders and the owner of Hogwarts.'
He absentmindedly popped a lemon drop into his mouth, as he continued to wonder about the boy who lived. 'How could he know about the Horcruxes? It seems as if his information was incomplete though. He doesn't appear to know about the Horcrux in his head and the fact that he has to die in order to get rid of all Horcruxes. Maybe I should have checked on him from time to time, so that it would have been me to introduce him to the magical world,' he thought, determined to find a way to gain the boy's trust and become his grandfatherly advisor like he had always set as his aim.
HP
Tom fled Hogwarts in absolute exasperation. 'That was the Potter brat,' he thought. 'I wonder how he knew that I was possessing the stuttering idiot. I know that he's supposed to be connected to me through the Horcrux behind his scar, but I couldn't sense him, so why would he be able to sense my presence?'
In fact, it had been his first attempt to possess someone, and he had believed it to be a great idea to be at Hogwarts just when the boy who lived was going to be a first-year. The fact that Dumbledore was supposedly keeping the Philosopher's stone at Hogwarts definitely was a brilliant addition.
'But with Potter around, it's too dangerous for me at Hogwarts. What if he senses me again? I better try to possess someone who works at the Ministry of Magic. If I keep quiet and just observe my surroundings, I'll be able to hide for a while until I have the opportunity to take over a body.' With that plan in mind, the dark spirit made his way southwards, to where London and the Ministry of Magic was supposed to be.
HP
Later the same day, when the first-years were gathered in Harry's room on the seventh floor, Harry and Hermione informed their classmates about the matter with Professor Quirrell.
"I'm sorry for the professor, but I'm glad that he's not teaching us anymore," Neville spoke up. "He was really difficult to understand."
"I hope they'll find a new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor soon though," Draco added. "My father told me that the Dark Lord had placed a curse on the position and that Dumbledore is always having problems finding a new professor on a yearly basis."
"Quirrell didn't even make it through the year," Susan added, chuckling.
'Maybe Hogwarts will be able to shake off that curse,' Harry thought, giving his wife a questioning look.
'That may be,' Hermione thought back, giving him an encouraging look. 'Just ask her.'
Harry quickly excused himself pretending to head to the toilet. Outside the Room of Requirement, he placed his hand against the wall and asked Hogwarts for her opinion.
"I'm sorry dear, but I don't know how to cancel such a curse," Hogwarts replied, pensively. "However, if you bring the new teacher to me and make him touch my wall, I'll probably be able to make sure that he won't be affected by the curse and will be able to remain on the position as long as he and you want it."
"Oh Hogwarts, you're the best. Thank you so much," Harry replied, gratefully, feeling very relieved at the prospect.
HP
For the time being, all Defence Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled, while the headmaster was apparently trying to find a new professor.
It was only at the Halloween feast that Professor Dumbledore introduced a new member of the staff.
"This is Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. He's going to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts," Dumbledore announced, his eyes twinkling merrily, causing loud murmurs to start at all house tables, especially coming from the girls.
"He's written a lot of books about his adventures saving people all over the world. He must be amazing," Millicent spoke up in excitement.
"He's even said to have received the Order of Merlin multiple times," Pansy added, causing Draco to roll his eyes in apparent annoyance.
"I've read one of his books, and I don't believe a word of the rubbish he's written," Hermione contradicted.
"Well, let's wait and see if he's going to turn out to be a good teacher," Blaise said, smirking.
'I hope so,' Harry thought to Hermione. 'If not, I know what I'm going to do, even if Dumbledore won't like it.'
Hermione grinned. 'Sounds good,' she replied, as she filled her plate with a little of everything.
HP
Unfortunately, the students noticed soon that Lockhart was more interested to inform everyone about his achievements than to teach them proper defence spells. During the following weeks, the first-years became more and more frustrated with the new Defence Against the Dark Art professor's teaching abilities - especially Harry and Hermione, who already had the experience of seven years of classes.
One day in December, after being asked in their mid-term Defence test what was Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite food, activity and colour, Harry had enough. Together with his wife, he went to Professor McGonagall's office to complain about their professor and discuss some ideas with the deputy headmistress, knowing that the headmaster would neither listen to them nor be open for their suggestions.
tbc...
Thank you very much for your kind comments!