"Get up to your room, boy. I'll be there later tonight with your welcome home present."
A small boy shuddered lightly and quietly raced up the stairs, wanting to hide away his shrunken things before his Uncle would think to break them.
The boy is unfazed by the many locks decorating his door, but the addition of what must have been a cat flap was interesting, if a bit daunting.
Quickly entering the room, Harry noticed everything was as he had left it, except for his windows, which were now barred. There goes my chance of getting letters from anyone.
-
A small boy smiled softly as he pet a hurt owl with a splinted wing. The animal closed its eyes and shrunk in on itself a bit, relaxing against the gentle hand massaging its feathers.
The pair stayed that way for a while, both slowly slipping off into sleep, before a loud pop signified the arrival of a certain free, green-eyed elf.
"Hello Master Harry Potter, sir!"
"Mm? Oh, hello Dobby. What're you doing here?"
"Dobby's just wanting to sees Harry Potter, sir. And Dobby be not liking whats he sees."
"It's nothing Dobby, thanks for your concern though."
"'It's nothing' he says! Dobby ought to shows those dreadful muggles just whats it means to hurts Dobby's Master! To leave bruises ands cuts all over Master!"
"No Dobby, please don't. I don't want you to get hurt."
"If Masters says, then Dobby will follows, buts... Dobby be sorry for asking Master, buts he must knows! What has Master's family beens doings to him?"
"Oh Dobby..."
-
A pitiful 'mereow' sliced through the silence that had fallen over a young boy as he gardened over a neat patch of flowers.
Quickly abandoning his post over the plants, the boy rushed over to the origin of the sound and found a small kitten, malnourished and weak.
"Oh, you poor thing. Come here baby, I'll make it better."
The kitten let out another light 'mew' before stumbling and falling right into the gentle hands of the little wizard healer.
-
Tom?
Yes?
Why'd you hurt so many people?
You are too pure to understand.
Please?
Even tainted by my soul, you are repulsively naïve and hopeful.
Fine, I'm taking that as a compliment.
Take it any way you wish.
-
A severe chill permeated the air as the students all huddled together, trying to stay warm. The clicking of their compartment door as it opened caused many a face to pale even more in dread. A whispering sound slid through their ears as the children's eyes fell upon a darkly cloaked figure, leaning into their compartment by the door.
Neither party said a word as they stared at each other, but then, ever so slowly, the dark creature approached, and their smallest member twitched violently, choked out a cough, and promptly started gasping for air. Many of the other children had trouble breathing by now as well, and screams echoed in all of their ears.
One wizard did not hear them though, as this child was sent spinning into memories of when he was weighed with sorrow, of when he hadn't been quick enough. An owl lay dead by a tree, a kitten lying still on his bed, a fish belly up in a pond, a dog severed in two by a truck, a woman on the ground by his cradle, a sickly green light flying towards him-
A tired pair of amber eyes stared kindly into his, with a piece chocolate hovering just to the side of them.
-
Snape glared down at a teary-eyed Harry Potter, his wand pointed squarely at the little 'puff's head. Neville watched in horror as Snape began to cast, his lips peeling back into a snarl.
"No! You can't! R-ri-"
The spell flew with a barely cast glance at the heir of Longbottom. Harry fell, a scream of pure agony echoed through the classroom, all other occupants silent at the event. "Harry! Ri-Riddikulus!"
Suddenly, the scream was cut off by an angelic giggle, an uninjured Harry smiling up at Neville with a gentle hand petting the bat clinging to his robes.
Cheers erupted from the rest of the class, and the shy Hufflepuff smiled brilliantly. The real Harry rushed forward and hugged his friend, having noticed his shaky, pale skin. "You were so brave, Neville. It's a wonder you weren't put in Gryffindor."
An even more radiant smile flew onto the boy's face as he hugged his first, and littlest, friend to him tightly.
The clapping had to die down eventually, and the hug had to end, but both were done with a calm, content feeling. This aura was quickly wiped away; however, when keening wails suddenly interrupted the silence.
Slowly turning around to face the Boggart, Harry could feel his face pale as he caught sight of a cat laying right in front of him, the keening noise originating from its mouth. He knew that cat, he had found it when he was nine, dead in some bushes near the playground Dudley had always chased him from.
A moaning howl joined the cat as a thin Great Dane with a bleeding flank limped out of sudden shadows. Harry had found this guy when picking up meat for his uncle at the local deli. It had been curled up next to a dumpster, and still as only the dead could be. The small 'puff could feel tears building in his eyes as a pregnant white fox added her own whines to the haunting cacophony of deceased animals' pain.
Tearing his eyes away from the sight, Harry shakily palmed his wand. Suddenly, the horror hit a new high as animals appeared everywhere, all the animals he had helped or found over his years of life. Even the little kitten that he had saved just months before lay on the ground, blind and weak with pain from scrapes he knew he had healed on her side. "No!"
Tears blurred his vision, but suddenly all the animals disappeared, and Harry couldn't help but relax slightly. The shadows did not recede; however, and a chill flew down Harry's spine. "No! Please, no! Not my baby!" A red headed woman stood with her back to the little 'puff, but he knew exactly who she was.
"Avada Kedavra!" A green light sailed through the air and hit the redhead, causing her to slump to the ground, motionless in her death.
Falling to his knees, Harry curled into a ball and cried. Cried for his mum, for his dad, and for all the creatures he couldn't help. Slowly, the shadows retreated, but the pain did not.
Students were crying and wailing, holding onto each other as they lived through Harry's greatest fears. Warm arms encircled Harry from his place on the floor, and not bothering to look who it was, the boy flung himself into their arms, crying in relief at the sound of a heartbeat.
The sounds of life slowly overtook those of death.
-
"Padma, I don't think I can do it."
"Well, you definitely can't with that attitude. Harry, we've been meeting together for years, and never have you not mastered a spell soon after you tried it. Just give it a chance. Conjure up your happiest memory and cast."
Silence descended on the abandoned classroom as Harry raised his wand, licking his lips in anticipation. Closing his eyes to take a deep breath and conjure his happiest memory, successfully healing his very first patient, the wizard centered himself.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Nothing happened, though Padma didn't look deterred in the slighted. Harry let his wand fall, defeated, to his side.
"Oh come on Harry! I said you'll get it quickly, not on the first try!"
The little Hufflepuff grumbled lightly, but raised his wand again, re-imagining his success and the feeling that welled in his chest and knotted his throat. He took a deep breath, and cast again.
"Expecto Patronum!"
White, brilliant sparks flew from the holly wand, but no creature of spiritual representation came forth.
Slumping again, Harry cast a sad look at his Ravenclaw friend who was simply annoyed now.
"You're so impatient, honestly. I don't know how you didn't end up Gryffindor."
"Hey!"
"No, bloody well cast again and this time, mean it."
Sticking his tongue out at his studious friend, Harry reset himself and dove into his memory. Bringing up all of his successes, all of the creatures he saved, Harry raised his wand and cast.
"Expecto Patronum!"A brilliant, white light exploded from Harry's wand, illuminating the room painfully, before it condensed into a thin form, and shaped itself into the figure of a dolphin.
The newly created dolphin gave silent chirps as it swim-floated around the room, before coming to nuzzle against Harry's side.
"A dolphin! Wow, now that I think about it, that really does fit you Harry."
"Because they protect people from sharks?"
"Well, not only that, but they are also very intelligent, loyal, and loving. They are known for bringing good luck to all that see them, and being very gentle. They take care of people and animals as you said, but also can be very aggressive when defending their pod. Interestingly, they are seen as the spirit that welcomes the dead into the afterlife and carries them to their next life in Greek mythology. They also really are just beings of happiness. I mean look at him, he's as happy-go-lucky as I've ever seen an animal."
"Congrats on reciting a whole paragraph on dolphins, Padma."
"Wha- why you!"
Laughter descended in the classroom as a dolphin flipped and twirled in joy.
-
"Justin, wake up! We gotta go down to the Great Hall!"
"I'm up, I'm up! What's happened?"
"We don't know, Cedric just came in telling us we needed to go."
"Come on guys, let's go meet up with the 'claws. They always know what's going on."
Three boys raced out of their common room amidst the throng of other Hogwarts students, and searched for their Ravenclaw friends as they journeyed their way to the Great Hall, dodging lit jack-o-lanterns and live bats as they traveled.
"Hey Padma, wait up!" A girl with black, wispy hair and dark obsidian eyes stopped with an over exaggerated huff, though she could not keep a smile off her face.
"Hey Harry, Neville, Justin."
"Hey Padma." All those named chorused back as the group of four continued their walk to the Great Hall.
"Padma, do you know what's going on?"
"You don't know? Sirius Black was on the loose in the castle. He demolished the Fat Lady's portrait."
"Oh, no! Is she alright?"
"Yes Harry, you bleeding heart. She escaped just fine."
-
A small boy trudged through the upper floors of a majestic castle with a small, sad smile on his face. Every now and then he would duck into promising rooms to explore, but he never really found anything overly useful. But hey, you never knew when a small jar of preserved biscuits would come in handy.
But when the little 'puff slunk into the next abandoned room, he whipped his wand out and sunk into a slight crouch.
"Ah, the little one knows when he is being spied on."
"Yes, he could have been quite the sly trickster had we caught him."
"But no, those puffs got him instead." Suddenly, two readheaded boys Harry knee quite well dissolved out of the shadows with matching smirks on their faces.
"Not to say they didn't do you a great lot of good, Harry."
Putting away his wand, feeling sheepish now that he was faced with two friends. "Fred, George. What's up?"
"Well, Ickle Harrykins-"
"We saw how bummed you looked-"
"When Snape didn't allow you-"
"Access to Hogsmeade."
"So we thought we'd give you a little present-"
"Just a little something from the two of us-"
"We graduate soon-"
"And won't be needing this where we're going."
"And so we figured, what's one year without our precious?"
"We've memorized all the passageways by now anyway."
Smiling at their antics, Harry watched as Fred pulled out a blank, folded up piece of parchment and laid it on one of the desks. George took out his wand and gently tapped the paper with the tip of his wand.
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
-
Harry smiled in excitement as he flung on his invisibility cloak and raced back out of the common room, pausing a moment on the creaky steps to spell himself silent, before racing off again.
Fred and George had said the passageway underneath the statue of a one-eyed witch by the DADA classroom lead directly to the cellar of Honeydukes. All he needed to do was get in and out of there undetected, which shouldn't be a problem, as he had his handy dandy invisibility cloak.
Minutes passed in complete darkness as Harry raced underneath the grounds of Hogwarts.
Before he knew it, Harry had reached the Homeydukes cellar, and easily crept up the stairs to the main store. He slipped around a stack of chocolate frogs, took off his invisibility cloak, and folded it, putting the precious heirloom safely into one of his magically enlarged jacket pockets Cedric had charmed for him. And just like that, Harry was in.
-
Harry smiled as he walked around the many shops, taking delight in the cheery atmosphere. He hadn't had much time to relax with Padma taking him to the library to study complex spells whenever she could, and Quidditch practice taking place almost every day. It didn't help that he had a competition going with Hermione Granger, a Gryffindor student who loved to read, for first place in all of their classes. Padma was in on that too, but she never forced him to go over things that they would be learning in class, thank Merlin.
The smile instantly fell from his face; however, when he heard the telltale sounds of an animal in pain.
Thanking Mother Magick that he had the forethought to grab that jar of biscuits, Harry quickly followed the sounds of pain and agony to the sight of a beat-up black dog with shaggy hair and multiple scrapes all over its body.
Gasping in shock, Harry reached out his hands, palm up, and slowly approached the pitiful animal. It's ribs could easily be seen, and it hardly even moved when it saw him coming closer.
Reaching out a hand to gently pet the dog's head, he placed a biscuit in his hand and placed it in front of the dog's muzzle, waiting to see how it would react.
Sniffing lightly, the dog licked Harry's hand before gently taking the biscuit in his jaws and crunching it, finishing the biscuit in a few moments.
Reaching into the jar for more, Harry came to the conclusion that he always did when faced with an animal in need. He would take this big guy with him, and heal him to the best of his ability.
-
The Room of Requirement opened without fuss, and Harry quickly entered. He had been sneaking into the RoR to help his rescue a lot lately, and he was anxious. It didn't help that he knew dogs weren't exactly allowed in Hogwarts. It was the same as taking care of an animal in his Uncle's house though, so masking his caution wasn't too hard.
"Here boy, I brought food."
Inside the room was a large expanse of field, including a doghouse, toys, and the occasional tree.
Harry walked over to two dishes, one used for food and the other for water, but couldn't see his stray anywhere. He had been healing up really nicely for the past couple of weeks, but he still looked severely malnourished, and sometimes fell when he tried to run.
"Hello Harry."
The little wizard flipped around with his wand out and eyes wide, before he took in what might have been a replica of the picture he remembered seeing on the front page of the Prophet so many months ago, had the man not been wearing a sheepish smile.
"Sirius Black?"
"In the flesh. Harry, please, can you hear me out before you start casting?"
Harry hummed lightly before lowering his wand, though he did not sheath it.
"I'm listening."
-
"Professor Lupin! Professor, wait!"
"Harry, I'm sorry, but I really have to g-" Lupin choked on his words as he saw the animal loping next to Harry, a tongue killing out of his mouth.
"Sirius?"
"Come on Professor Lupin, we'll walk and talk."
"O-of course."
-
A small rat skittered along the halls of an ancient castle, ducking in and out of passageways as it ran towards its goal. Tonight, he had to escape tonight.
So intent on his path was the rat that he payed no mind to the people he ran past.
Two girls screamed as they saw the rat.
A boy grimaced in disgust.
A prefect with a green tie threw a reducto, but the rat was not hit. He wasted a second to think 'amateur' before taking off again.
Two males and a dog, he raced past them as fast as he could. An arresto momentum flew towards him, and the rat skillfully dodged, but he did not expect the second spell. The rat was down in seconds, only for a pair of teeth to sink into his neck, and he knew no more.
-
"Sirius!"
A dog wagged his tail innocently as he stared up at an annoyed werewolf.
"Honestly, you could never restrain yourself."
Meanwhile, Harry giggled in the background, Pettigrew deserved it.
-
Screams echoed through the main atrium of the Ministry of Magic as a dead man tumbled out of one of the floo networks. The unidentified man lay still until a lady worked up the bravery to walk over to him to clear the network for someone else to get through. Upon seeing who is was, her voice joined many others in shock and horror.
For it was Peter Pettigrew that lay before her, missing a finger, and very much not blown up. Didn't Sirius Black blow him up?
-
Harry froze in his watering of Aunt Petunia's tulips as he felt a shock go through his mind. He had connected to another just as he had with Tom. It could only mean one thing.
Grimly going back to his chores, Harry shook his head in sorrow at the loss of Voldemort's lasting sanity. Splitting your soul so far could give you great immortality, but it could also give you great insanity.
-
"Merlin Neville, this is amazing!"
"Yeah mate, thanks for bringing us!"
"It's no problem, my gran wants me to be more social anyway."
"But bringing us to the Quidditch World Cup? Mate, you're awesome."
"Right, I can't even imagine how hard it must have been to get all of us tickets. Seriously Neville, thank you."
"It's really no problem guys, my gran always buys tickets to things like this."
In actuality, Neville had to beg his gran black and blue until she agreed, but the huge smile that lit up Harry's face was more than worth it.
-
"Did you guys hear about the huge tournament Hogwart's is going to be hosting this year?"
"No."
"Don't look at me."
Harry just shook his head, turning an inquisitive glance towards Padma.
"Well then, let me educate you numbskulls."
"Hey!"
-
"The Durmstrang Champion is..."
Dumbledore stood grandly in front of his golden owl podium, his eyes twinkling merily, with one arm outstretched to the flaming Goblet of Fire. "Viktor Krum!"
Applause from all around the Great Hall erupted like a volcano, deafening all with its strength. When the flames changed to a fiery red, the students quieted themselves.
"The Beauxbatons Champion is..."
The flames of the Goblet grew taller for a moment, spat out a scorched piece of paper, and returned to small and brilliantly blue flames. "Fleur Delacour!"
Cat calls, wolf whistles, and just overall howls echoed through the crowd as many people admired the strength, bravery, and beauty of the new quarter-veela champion. Once more, the students went quiet with the color-changing flames.
"And the Hogwarts Champion is..."
Every student clad in black robes seemed to hold their breath, gripping the sides of their seats, and in some cases their friends arms, waiting for the decision to fall. "Cedric Diggory!"
Cheers like never before filled the hall as everyone and their sister screamed and yelled in support of their new champion, before being rudely cut off by the cup, going off a fourth time.
Dumbledore accio-ed the parchment silently and read it with a grim face. "Harry Potter?"
A small Hufflepuff paled drastically, almost whimpering as he scrunched down into Neville's side.
"No. No no no no no no-"
"Harry Potter!"
"Just go Harry."
With a nod, a shaking 'puff stood up and walked to his doom, pitying glances, glares, and sneers following him with each step.
-
"Don't worry Harry, I'll stand by you the whole time. If someone gives you crap, you come to me, okay?"
"Thanks Cedric."
"It's no problem, Harry. I know you didn't put your name in the Goblet."
"Don't forget about us!" Three pairs of feet echoed off the corridor as Harry's friends ran to where the two champions were sitting.
"Thanks guys..."
"Hufflepuff's got your back Harry, we protect our own."
-
"Professor!"
A boy rushed towards his teacher, standing in the center of a large circle of students. Gently grabbing the levitating albino ferret with a practiced ease from years of grabbing a golden ball, Harry worried over the small, scared animal.
"I can't believe you, Professor."
Harry glared at the mad, retired wizard and ran off with the shaking ferret.
-
"It'll be okay Malfoy. I'm bringing you to Snape. I'm sure you'll be comfortable with him, and he'll know what to do."
The ferret looked up at his 'savior' with astonished eyes. The half-blood Hufflepuff understood.
-
"Cedric! Cedric!"
A tall, slim student stopped and turned around with a smile as he heard his littlest friend calling for him. The smile quickly fell into a frown when his aforementioned friend was nearly in tears.
He waited for the little 'puff to catch up, but nearly fell when instead of stopping in front of him, the boy slammed into his stomach.
"Oh, Cedric, I can't! I can't do it Cedric!"
Panicking, Cedric swept Harry over into a shadowed alcove and bent down to get a better hold on the sobbing 'puff.
"Can't what Harry? What's happened?"
"Th-the first task! It's dragons! W-we have to get to a nesting mother's eggs!"
Cedric stopped cold as he heard those words. Dragons. They had to fight freaking dragons.
Fuck.
-
Harry stared up into the eyes of the Great Lizard, and internally prayed to Merlin that this plan would work.
"Fearsome Mother Dragon, can you understand me?"
The dragon pulled her head back a faction of a foot in shock, before sticking it closer to the human and growling in curiosity."YES. WHAT DOTH THOU WISH TO SAY?"
"Oh Revered Mother, could I please remove the taint from your beautiful nest?"
"TAINT! WHAT TAINT DOTH THOU HEALER SPEAK OF IN MY NEST?"
"A taint spread by wizardfolk, Great One. They place a false egg in with yours. It is the one of the golden sheen."
The dragon turned its searching gaze away from Harry's and sniffed at the golden egg laying in her clutch."THOU ART CORRECT. MY THANKS TO THOU, YOUNG HEALER. THOU MAY TAKETH THE TAINT FROM MY NEST."
"Thank you, oh Great Mother."
"IT IS MY HONOR, YOUNG HEALER. THOU DOTH THY KIN WELL."
Cheers went up in the crowd as the little 'puff walked away without either of the beings coming to violence, though the judges had less than stellar thoughts on how the boy performed. Harry came out in last with his grand total of thirty-four points.
-
"Padma, you look beautiful."
"Thanks Harry. But why don't you go tell Cedric that?"
"What?!"
Padma dissolves into giggles as Harry's cheeks flushed bright red. Luckily, neither Hufflepuff faltered in their dance.
"Oh come off it Harry, I can see the way you're looking at him. And before you drown in denial- I'm okay with it."
"Really?"
A smirk flashed across Padma's innocent face as she winked.
"I'm rather entranced with my own team, if you know what I mean."
The young 'couple' were watched closely as Harry spluttered and Padma laughed uproariously.
-
Harry and Padma stared at the potion transfiguration textbook in front of them in awe. Scrawled atop the page in elegant script were the words 'amphibious compositions'. This was exactly what they were looking for. Both students turned to look at each other with wide grins before they turned back to the potion.
"Oh, but Harry, it says that, as this is a permanent transfiguration, some of the traits of whatever amphibious creature you get will be prominent while in your regular form."
Harry smiled lightly, shrugging. "When have I ever cared for how I look? This is the only way we've been able to find that will allow me to swim unimpeded in the Black Lake, so I say we do it."
"But then what about the future? If you get hit with any salt water after you drink the potion you'll automatically be transfigured."
Harry shrugged again, smiling sadly. "I can just wear water-repellent charms. Whatever I need to do to survive this."
Padma gasped softly before glomping Harry with a hug, squeezing him tightly. "Don't worry Harry, you'll survive this."
-
People cheered as the trumpet blared, allowing the champions to cast their spells and dive into the water. Harry was the first one in, and immediately thrashing in the water as his body was forcefully transfigured. Cedric and Fleur both cast a bubblehead charm, while Viktor cast a shark transfigurement.
By the time the other champions had reached the water, Harry had already disappeared beneath the surface.
-
"Gabrielle! Oh Gabrielle! My leettle zester! 'Ow could zees 'appen?! Dumbley-door, you muzt do zometing!"
Harry cast a glance at Padma before letting go of her shivering form and diving back off the platform.
A few minutes later, Harry burst back through the surface with a choked gasp, an unconscious blonde held cautiously in his arms.
Fleur dove forward with a desperate cry, taking her shaking, sopping wet sister into her arms without hesitation.
-
"Take it."
"No, you take it."
"How can I take it?"
"Well, I can't take it."
"Harry, just take the cup."
"No. Why don't you take it?"
"I don't deserve it. Take it."
"Well then I don't deserve it either, you take it."
"Harry, you gave me all the hints to succeed, the least I could do is this."
"Then maybe you should do more, Cedric."
"Harry."
"Cedric."
"Oh my Merlin, you're stubborn. Take the ruddy cup!"
"No!"
"Bombarda minimo."
Harry gasped in betrayal as Cedric blasted the cup into his hands.
The last thing he saw was Cedric's smile turn into a horrified look as Harry was portkeyed away.
-
"We bow to each other, Harry."
"Of course, Tom."
"Say that name again boy, and we shall see what happens."
"We shall."
Voldemort turned with a swishing of his robes and took ten precise paces, Harry copying him exactly, though both males threw different spells upon their turnaround.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Bombarda!"
Both were successfully dodged, and both wizards fell into neutral stances.
"I see you aren't exactly as I was told, Potter. There may he hope for you yet."
"I know all hope has been lost for you, Tom. I had tried so hard with your diary."
"Crucio! How do you know of it?!"
The blazing light was easily dodged by Harry, and he sent a reductor curse back at Tom.
"Why, the same way I know your real name, and the same way I knew of Nagini when you welcomed her into your fold."
"How? Tell me boy! Crucio!"
Harry tsked as he dodged again, a cold determination flowing through his veins.
"You'll have to kill me first, half-blood."
"Lies! Avada Kedavra! Crucio! Crucio!"
"You'll never get me. I'm as agile as you ever were, Mr. Riddle."
"I'll show you Potter!"
"Hm, see to it that you do. This has been rather dull."
Harry ducked out of the way of another Avada Kedavra and fell to a roll, grabbing the cup as he made one last comment. "Truly, Tom, why do you play pureblood? You're rubbish at it."
The ground exploded around him in a roar as Harry portkeyed away.