Harry Potter: Divergent Paths

Chapter 25 – Crucial Catch

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, there'd be a book or two that laid out every single intricate detail about how the world works. Just kidding, I'm a lazy bum.

As the first month of the Hogwarts year came to a close, the state of the school was quite peaceful. The first years were working themselves into the pace of schooling, while the upper years re-accustomed themselves to the busy days. The teachers were often busy with grading paperwork or working on personal projects, but today was a special one. Today was the day that the professors came together to discuss matters, if there were any worth addressing.

While there had been no issues to be brought up, there was indeed a topic of interest that was hanging on the minds of many of the teachers. That being said, there was typically one professor that was always absent from these gatherings. With how the year had much improved over the previous years, he decided to grace the gathering with his presence. He wasn't planning on speaking much, either way.

Of course, it was never that simple. As he opened the door into the room that McGonagall had designated for the staff meeting, nearly all the heads within the room turned towards him.

"Severus? You decided to attend this time around?" McGonagall asked with slight surprise shining through her otherwise impassive expression.

Snape gave a noncommittal shrug in response. "I found myself considerably less...burdened this year."

"Well, you came at the perfect time," Professor Sprout said excitedly. "We were just discussing our first years. Adrian Vulpis in particular!"

"What about him?" Snape asked with a raised brow.

"He's a very intelligent child, is he not?" Professor Flitwick remarked. "Despite his general disinterest in answering questions in class, it's very obvious that he almost always knows the answer first. He nearly always completes his exercises first, unless he goes off to help the other students."

"And in those cases, it is usually one of the others in the group that hovers around him that complete the exercise first or know the answer first," Professor Sprout said with admiration.

"Group?" Professor Vector asked. She was the instructor for the Arithmancy elective, and as such, only knew as much as she heard from the other staff members. "He sounded like an interesting enough child with how much all of you vouch for his ability. Does he have a following as well?"

"That is not an entirely accurate description of their dynamic," McGonagall said. "They aren't his followers by any means. He seems more like a guide to them, as if he's teaching a group of apprentices, but wants them to consider themselves his equals. Three of my cubs, and one each from Filius and Pomona's Houses gravitate around him the most, along with two from his own House. Even the Malfoy boy seems to dip in and out of the group."

"They may be the only ones actively around him, but you all must have noticed the respect in the gazes of even the upper year Slytherins? I hear his voice on the lips of those in my class as well. He seems to be quite a fun individual to gossip about." Professor Sinistra asked before turning her gaze over to Snape. "Anything to add, Severus?"

The Potions Master shrugged before crossing his arms, glancing imperceptibly at one of the present professors. "That is not information for me to disclose. I would simply keep in mind that there is much more to that child than you could ever imagine, should you ever need to interact with him for an extended period of time. Do not make the mistake of treating him like a child," he answered before turning around. "I will be taking my leave. I have a potion that I should be tending to…"

Snape left before any other questions could be asked. One followed out after the Potions Master, however, while another slipped out of the room with a grimace of pain upon their face.

…..

"Severus!"

He glanced backwards, slowing his steps. "Minerva. Did you need something else from me?"

"Adrian Vulpis. What did he do to change you and Albus? What happened to Harry?" McGonagall asked with a serious expression. "It sometimes feels as if I'm watching Sirius Black with James all over again. What happened at the Dursleys?"

The Potions Master came to a full-stop and turned around, staring at the woman. For a few moments, he considered his response before sighing.

"Albus made a mistake, leaving the child with those...people. A mistake that almost became irreversibly damaging. If it weren't for the appearance of Adrian Vulpis, I cannot imagine what the old fool would have done to destroy the boy's future. And we would have been helpless to do anything. I failed Lily from the very beginning, and you failed your star pupils' son just as badly. The amount of mental abuse, neglect, and malnutrition he suffered under the hands of those pieces of filth was worse than even my childhood. At least I had my mother to protect me, for as long as she lived. Adrian Vulpis has done all he can to help the boy grow past what he suffered. But the fact still remains that we failed the Potter boy in not ensuring he would be safe in the place he should have been able to call a home," Snape answered gravely. "I tell you this because I doubt you would ever find out otherwise. They do not blame you for the oversight, but I understand that you would not feel the same. Do what you will with that knowledge."

The Potions Master turned back around and continued on his way to his office in the dungeons. McGonagall stood there stunned, contemplating what she'd been told. At first, rage flared up against Dumbledore, towards his role in everything. It was doused just as quickly by cold anger at herself and remorse. She hadn't done anything. She wasn't the reason Harry was placed with the Dursleys. But she also could done more. She could have gone back that fateful night and taken in the boy herself, or brought him to Augusta, or…anything. Anything would have been better than doing nothing. She numbly walked back to her office as she contemplated that. Her anger towards Dumbledore could wait for later.

…..

He groaned in pain as he felt his master stir awake. The pain had come suddenly and he only barely made it out of the room before he drew the attentions of the other staff members. He made his way into an abandoned room and sealed the room quickly before unfurling the turban wrapped around his head. On the back of his head, the facial features of another being became vaguely apparent.

A look of fear appeared on Quirrell's face. "M-m-m-master, I thought it would still take you months before –"

"Silence, you stuttering fool!" The face on his head hissed. "I have little time for you to waste! There is something about the situation that makes me uneasy…. You are drink the unicorn's blood earlier than scheduled…and hasten your search for the Stone!"

"Y-y-yes, master. W-w-what about the child the other teachers were speaking of?"

"What of him? He is a child, he is of no consequence to me! Just keep your eye on the Potter boy…if you see the chance to harm him, then do so. Do not fail me, Quirrell…you know the consequences of my displeasure!"

"O-o-of course, master…"

…..

The Great Lake truly was a beautiful sight at night. The moonlight shone down upon the water's surface at the perfect angle and intensity, given the body of water a very mysterious aura. The lake and its surrounding shore was a favorite of the students as a spot of relaxation on the weekends. The outside weather was cool, but not quite cold enough to drive them indoors yet. Any issues with temperature were generally solved by their self-adjusting robes either way.

That being said, it wasn't often that students had the chance to enjoy the sight and atmosphere of the lake at night. It wasn't permitted for the students to be wandering about outside at night, after all. Getting caught would mean detention and a loss of points to whomever was caught doing so. Of course, Adrian generally disregarded any such limitations in favor of self-enjoyment.

Even still, the rest of his group weren't particularly keen on getting in trouble with Filch, the resident caretaker, or their Head of Houses. Which was why they weren't actually outside by the Black Lake. It was great that the Room of Requirement could transform into essentially any location that you could picture in your mind, given certain limitations.

So, it was indoors that they could enjoy the beauty of the moon and stars shining down upon them and the wind breezing by their bodies as they jogged around in accordance with the exercise regimen that they had been following for the past month. After the first couple of days, everybody was fully willing to follow the menu that Adrian had prepared for them.

It helped that they were generally well-motivated by the other members of their group. Iris and Harry usually led the pack in the exercise segments of their time in the Room of Requirement. Everybody saw the twins as the second best role models after Adrian, due to the simple fact that they were both directly under their purple-eyed leader in magical and physical strength.

But, of course, that wasn't quite the real motivation they faced while exercising. No, what they would never verbally admit, and always motivated them to work harder, was the fact that Hermione and Neville were more fit than everybody other than Adrian, Harry, and Iris. The bushy-haired girl didn't seem to ever notice herself, as she was always intently paying attention to Adrian's lectures or asking questions while they ran, but she always consistently stayed ahead of the rest of the herd. Neville did the same, staying focused on the lectures that Adrian gave out in his full-power efforts to improve himself as he ran.

Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise may have been fine with the fact if it weren't for the burning in their cheeks caused by none other than Adrian. While he ran backwards in front of them and lectured, his ever-present grin always seemed to be taunting them about the fact that Hermione and Neville were fitter than they were. It was good-natured teasing, of course, but it ignited the flames of competition in the group of children. It was only added to when they overheard Adrian asking the two about said subject.

…..

"You're rather fit for a self-proclaimed bookworm, Hermione," Adrian laughed. "You did better than the most others at least. Did you exercise at all before coming to Hogwarts?"

Hermione blushed slightly under the praise and shook her head. "Not really, but my dad did always tease me about how much lugging around my books would improve my cardio…"

"Looks like he was right then," the purple-eyed boy grinned. "What about you, Neville? You've been doing pretty well for yourself as well."

Neville shook his head around, snapping out of his self-induced learning trance. When he registered the words, he smiled shyly. "Whenever I wasn't taking lessons from my Gran or a tutor, I spent a lot of my time in the greenhouses, moving supplies around or tending to the plants. I guess it ended up helping out more than I expected."

…..

It was relatively obvious that Adrian intended for them to hear the conversation and it had the intended effect. Some of them felt like flopping on the ground when they heard their explanations, but it only made them ever more determined. At the very least, they could take pride in the fact that they all did well at different parts of their training. While Hermione did her best to improve her knowledge and skill in all of the magical fields, the others held talents towards certain specialties.

Tracey found that her more whimsical mentality and personal way of thought helped her understand and cast Charms more effectively. The nature of Charms was that they added to the properties of whatever objects or subjects they were cast upon, which Tracey seemed to comprehend to a larger degree than the others. Blaise showed his affinities to lie more towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts, as well as having a good memory for properties and identification of Dark Creatures, something that intrigued Adrian.

Neville, while still having a few issues with casting spells due to his wand, excelled in Herbology, earning much praise from Professor Sprout during classes, and was actually rather good at Potions with the calming presence of his friend as his lab partner and his application of his knowledge of the magical flora used as ingredients. Daphne's talent in the subjects that Adrian covered, however, were the mind magics.

The art of Occlumency was simply far too useful to ignore in his lessons for his friends. He would be consulting Dumbledore towards making an Occlumency course available in Hogwarts, but for now, his friends would get a head-start. Of course, not all of them were inclined towards the more advanced aspects of the mind art. All wizards could use Occlumency to the extent of shielding their minds from Legilimens and organizing their thoughts more effectively, but not all could fully master Occlumency to the point of suppressing emotions, thoughts, and storing information at will.

Iris, Neville, and Tracey lacked the aptitude for the more advanced stages of Occlumency by nature, just as Blaise and Daphne excelled at it naturally. Hermione and Harry laid in the middle ground but had room for improvement, while Adrian was already a master in the art. Of them all, however, Daphne was the only one who had the temperament to study Legilimency. As their personalities developed and they matured as individuals, they would be able to advance into stages of the mind magics that they were not ready for at present, but Adrian was satisfied with the current results nonetheless.

On the same vein of thought, he was rather satisfied with the diversity that his friends had. While they would round out their abilities with age and experience, it was good to have some specialties to consider developing in the latter years. And there were even more subjects to cover in the future and discover how proficient his friends were, such as Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and more.

"Would you stop – moving – and – let – us – hit – you?!"

Adrian brought his thoughts back around to the present situation and smiled tauntingly at his friends. All of them, save for Harry, were firing very basic marking spells at the purple-eyed boy. If the spells ever came into contact with his body or clothing, it would dye him temporarily with the color chosen by the caster, either lasting for a certain amount of time or until it was dispelled with a counter spell.

There were many variants of the spell that could be used, but for their purposes, it was just a spell to help them practice their aim. And to practice aim, what better a moving target than their swift, purple-eyed friend?

"Aim for where I'm moving to, not where I am at the moment!" Adrian said with a smile.

"We are," Tracey said in exasperation, "you just move too fast!"

What she said was absolutely correct, of course. The group were gradually improving with their aim, but every time they got closer to hitting him, he would speed up ever so slightly. The result was him hopping around just past their limits, forcing them to improve more and more. However, he didn't want to condition them to over-compensate on other targets that moved less quickly, so he took caution in making sure they had practice on slower targets with different kinds of exercises.

The game continued along naturally, but Daphne was looking rather calm. The blonde ice princess had loosened up significantly during her time with the group and felt much more comfortable letting her emotions show now, much to the delight of her long-time friend Tracey. On the other hand, that meant she usually didn't shy from slightly showing her frustration when it came to this particular exercise. It was actually one of the few times that she was ever particularly annoyed.

Which is why it felt strange that she wasn't at all flustered this time around. His suspicions were realized soon enough, indicated by barely visible shifts in Iris and Daphne's facial muscles. With a minuscule twitch that indicated a smirk, they simultaneously opened their free palms. Spell beams shot out of their wands and hands simultaneously and cut off his path of escape. They were aimed a few steps ahead, directly on-spot with where he was set to land.

Adrian was genuinely surprised and let that show on his face, eliciting smiles of delight on the two scheming girls. Of course, his expression didn't last as a look of amusement flickered on his face. A glow of magic shrouded his leg and his descent sped up significantly, allowing him to land and bounce away from the incoming spells safely.

"Oh come on!" Iris shouted with a pout. "How did you speed yourself up with magic? I didn't know you could control time too!"

Adrian laughed and stopped moving, as the group stopped firing spells. "If a charm exists to make objects feather-light, why wouldn't you be able to use magic to make something heavier?" he asked, before winking. "But, that's not completely relevant to what I did. Just a little thing to consider. I did a little trick to make myself fall more quickly, but I wouldn't worry too much about that. That's more advanced and involves elemental manipulation, so we'll explore it in the future. Optimally, you'll want to remain grounded as much as possible while dodging around, but to maneuver in mid-air, changing the attractive properties of objects around you or conjuring a whip or grapple for you to move around could work. With magic, we have a lot of ways to do anything."

The group nodded, noting down what he said and letting his suggestions broaden their mental horizons.

"Of course. Now, back to exercises!"

The group groaned as a whole, but continued along nonetheless. They would have to regroup to think of another way to throw the boy off. It didn't discourage them though. It wouldn't be any fun if Adrian fell that easily to schemes, after all.

…..

An hour or so later, the group all returned to their respective House Common Rooms with no incident. Upon returning, their blond-haired friend approached with a concerned expression.

"Adrian, I haven't received any return letters from my father in a while now… Pansy, Theo, and the others are keeping their parents in the dark, but I'm unsure what my father's silence might mean…"

That was strange. If anything, he would have expected the Malfoy patriarch to be searching for information. It might do to send a shadow clone to the Malfoy property to find out what was occurring then. He should have done so earlier.

"Alright Draco. Thanks for letting me know," Adrian said with a nod. "Ah, how could I forget? You've been worrying about Christmas, right?"

"Yes… I can't say I'm very eager to return to my father, especially with this recent silence… It never felt like home before, but now I'm actually scared to return," Draco admitted with a shiver.

Adrian patted his friend on the shoulder reassuringly. "You'll be alright. I'll get it handled Draco, you just focus on school."

Draco nodded and smiled. "All right. See you tomorrow then, Adrian."

The blond boy walked off towards the dormitory and Adrian looked after him contemplatively. "Daphne, did you receive a response from your parents yet?" he asked suddenly.

The blonde girl nodded. "I was going to talk to you about that, actually. They said meeting during the Christmas holiday would be agreeable. First moves then?"

"Amongst other things," Adrian responded. "Alliances to be formed, justice to be served…" he looked off into the distance. "Criminals to be pursued."

…..

Night time was the only chance he really had. Once all of the little brats fell asleep, he would scurry out and look for scraps of food or snacks he could salvage in the Common Room. It was a pitiful existence, but one he had accustomed himself to after having experienced it for so many years. He made his way carefully out of the red-headed brat's pocket and landed on the floor softly, skittering quickly towards the exit of the boy's dormitory.

How long would he have to endure this life? He wasn't sure. As long as he had to. There was only one way for him to get his life back…and he would have to wait for who knows how long. But he would wait nonetheless. There was no other choice. He could see the first step down the staircase already, even in the darkness, thanks to his eyes and familiarity with the dormitory.

But he never saw the Stunner coming at him from his blind spot. He was knocked unconscious instantly, with no chance to escape. Harry gazed at the rat for a couple of seconds before smiling grimly. He resisted the urge to kick the rat down the staircase and collected it immediately. He swiftly made his way to the entrance of his dormitory.

"Rather quick of you, Harry. I'd expected a tad longer."

"As fast as I could," he responded. "With this…we can free my godfather, right? Sirius Black…"

"That and more. Good work, Harry. Now get to sleep, the boss will handle the rest."

Harry nodded and turned back into the Gryffindor Common Room, leaving behind the Adrian's smiling clone. He darted his way through the hallways and down the dungeons. It was time for magical Britain to get a little wake-up call.

…..

A/N: And, we're done here! No peer review for this chapter, but I don't think my solo-grammar is that bad~ :D A bit more about what's going on, a bit more development of the crew, and we're moving along steadily~ And of course…we catch a rat!

Edit: Made a physics goof! I just replaced it~ Mass doesn't affect downwards velocity Q.Q

Next time, we'll see what Adrian's doing with said rat! And that might honestly be the entirety of the chapter, because catching a Pettigrew means a lot of things happening…but we'll see! Man, there's something about being home that just makes you really lazy, in comparison to being on campus… Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, follow and favorite if you'd like to. Cheers!