The Fight of Two Generations -FULL STORY-
Harry Potter and the Fight of Two Generations
What would happen if Harry grew up with both of his parents and lived in a magical world since birth?
I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.
October 31st, 1981
The Potter Family was settling down for a supposedly uneventful evening when a caterwauling charm was set off down the street in Godric's Hollow. A sharp snap in the air would have masked the sound of any apparition but the shabby robes and worried face was enough to startle the two Potters. The two men held their wands in attacking position aimed at each other's head.
"The names we gave ourselves in Hogwarts," The dark-haired man asked. "Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail". James lowered his wand and greeted his old friend. Remus' face kept its worried shape. "He's here." James sprang into action.
"Lily, get Harry and cast the charm we practised, I'll distract him." She nodded knowing that her husband could handle himself, but she still warned him to be safe. "Remus, how did he know"- James said before being cut off. "It was Peter. He spilt everything to Voldemort. Sirius patronoused me after he found Peter out and told me everything."
2 hours ago – London
"Why meet here Peter, why not somewhere secure like at James and Lily's?" A shaggy-haired man asked the quivering wimp. "You killed them, Sirius, you gave them up to Voldemort! You betrayed them!" Peter put on his best act and dramatized his voice and actions out of nowhere. "What are you talking"-. Sirius had realised what he had done. He threw a shaking Wormtail up against the wall and started to draw his wand. Peter already had his drawn and fired a quick exploding curse over his shoulder, behind the wall. It struck a large area and Sirius stared in horror at what his once friend had done. "Why Peter, why do this to James? To Lily? TO HARRY?! Why?!" The man didn't answer but simply drew a knife. Sirius backed away slightly before he realised it wasn't a wand. But it was too late… Peter had let out an excruciating yell and thrown his discarded finger to the grubby pavement. He transformed into a dingy, grey mouse and fled to the sewers before Sirius could even contemplate what happened.
Present Time
"Get out of here Remus! Now, go!" James shouted, aware that the time was near to flee.
"No. I won't leave you!" Remus retorted. "We're in this to the end of the line Prongs, together, always." The second crack in a minute was heard, but this time, it was a curse, aimed at the Potter's last magical shield. It shattered under the crushing power of the spell that Voldemort had cast. The door wasn't unlocked gently but blasted off its hinges that now lay so broken on the woollen rug, across the dining room floor. The wooden slab hit Remus square in the chest and he was thrust into the wall behind him, with blood gently seeping from the wound on his temple. James managed to deflect a strong Depulso but was instead met with an intense barrage of curses and hexes. Using well-timed protective spells, James managed to get closer to the Dark Wizard to try to initiate an unforgivable, even if it was forbidden. He failed and got knocked off his feet by a burst of magic and was knocked unconscious.
The Dark Wizard made his way slowly up the stairs and came to the landing. A dim glow was emanating from a room down the hallway so he followed it. He found his 'equal', the child, cradled in his mother's arms and weeping like the infant he was. "You can't take Harry! You won't, I won't allow it!" Lily screamed at Voldemort. "Get out of the way, you stupid girl" He shouted, almost as if he was using the sonorous charm. He spoke the words, Avada Kedavra, but the jet of green light was stopped.
Lily had also screamed a spell at the top of her lungs and had said "CAELESTIS SCANDALUM!". The Heavenly Shield Charm. But it mingled with something. A light blue glow was enveloping young Harry and the Shield had turned red. His love for his family had protected him and his mother. The curse had rebounded off Harry and Lily's shield, but not without a cost. A scar had been left on Harry's forehead, in the distinct shape of a lightning bolt. James carried Remus on his shoulder, up the stairs just in time to see all this happen. They watched on in awe and when the last vapour of black smoke disappeared, he knew that the Dark Lord was gone.
That was Harry's first sign of magic. His second was at a theme park when he was five. A ride he wanted to go on was still going after 10 minutes and Harry thought to himself, 'Why can't it just slow down and let me go on?'. He subconsciously raised his hands and performed a slowing charm on the ride. His parents noticed this and gave each other a proud glance. Harry's younger sister, Zoe was in awe of this and had also shown magic previously, though later than Harry first had. She had been born on the 31st of July 1980, just hours after her older brother Harry. She nearly performed a very strong piece of magic, called the Astral Projection charm and was found floating in her bed glowing a faint white in the winter of 1984.
The Potter Family was as normal as any other wizarding family and the children were often taught how to control basic magic until they could perform small spells of wandless magic such as unlocking charms and small levitation charms. The entire family had become famous after that one night in Godric's Hollow, but people rarely saw the family outside of their house in rural Devon. That was because they had spent a lot of time in-between houses located all over Britain like in the Scottish Highlands near Hogwarts, or the rolling hills of Ffestiniog. They spent time secluded from other wizarding areas, mainly so that the children could experience life away from all the gossip and talk of the public or the eyes of snooping Daily Prophet reporters.
When Sirius' trial had come up in January of 1982, Lily and James had left both Harry and Zoe with their favourite Aunt and Uncle, the Dursleys of Number 4 Privet Drive. Contrary to the thoughts of Vernon, Petunia had forgiven Lily and scolded herself for distancing herself from the family. Vernon had eventually got past his original views on the Wizarding World and had welcomed all the Potter family with open arms at the first sight of the two children playing with his son, Dudley. The Dursleys weren't scared or stern with the odd bit of magic they saw from the two children but amused by it and were quite pleased the small levitation charms the 5-year olds could perform.
While Lily and James were at Sirius' trial, Harry and Zoe were playing with Dudley's toy train and Aunt Petunia walked in. "Harry, Zoe, mummy and daddy are just going to be a little while longer, so try and make sure you're ready to eat dinner when they get back." Their response was very polite and then Petunia sat down with the three children. "I want to tell you all a story about a very special train just like the one that you're playing with right now. It's called the Hogwarts Express." Petunia started to tell the story of Lily's first year at Hogwarts and all three children believed it to be fiction, at first.
There was once a girl who found out she was magic. She was going to start her first day at a new school called Hogwarts. She got a magical wand, a pet owl and a train ticket. She ran through the train station with her parents and sister and they got to go to the special platform to get the magical train. Then she met a young boy who treated her well and they got along with each other. They became friends. But after he had been unkind, she found another boy to call a friend. This all started with the red train, on the hidden platform on the day she became a witch.
Dudley sat in awe, dumbfounded by the wonderful fiction. However, Harry and Zoe both knew that the train referred to the scarlet steam engine, The Hogwarts Express on the hidden platform of 9 & ¾. Their parents had told them both of the wonderful school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. They had wanted to go since they knew of its existence. Lily and James had described it as the most advanced wizarding school in the world and the place where they would become a man and a woman. This all sounded too good to be true. It wasn't.
Sirius' trial had gone well. He had been released, reluctantly for some, after he willingly swore an oath on his magic. He had been interrogated by nearly the whole DMLE and Fudge himself had been there as an interim judge while the current one was on his holiday. Sirius had described the events in excruciating detail, to the point where he had almost broken down into tears after listing the tragic event of the muggle killings. He was eventually let out of Azkaban, but not without some issues. The dementors that guarded the wizard prison were the vilest, most emotionless creatures known to anyone. They sucked the happiness out of a person, leaving a sad, wreck and a broken person if left long enough. Luckily with some decent helpings of chocolate, he recovered without any long-term issues.
The next 4 years passed by with immense speed for the two Potter children, with eagerness to go to Hogwarts increasing annually. Harry's 11th birthday on the 31st of July had been followed by letters of acceptance to Hogwarts for both Harry and Zoe. The house was abuzz with the party-like atmosphere in the air. Uncle Lupin and Uncle Sirius had visited and brought with them tales of Hogwarts mischief. Lily loved the funny stories but didn't want Harry and Zoe becoming mischievous like their father and Uncles.
The next day, all four potters took floo to the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. The first stop was Gringotts. After getting some money from their vault, the family visited Flourish and Blotts for the writing equipment and then the apothecary for potions materials. The rest of the shops after that were relatively boring, aside from the quidditch and the magical menagerie shops, along with birthday gifts for each child, being an owl for Harry called Hedwig and an owl for Zoe called Sidera. Harry and Zoe had to get fitted for plain black robes that could change once to reflect the house they would be sorted into. They waited for a certain person to finish getting fitted.
That boy had slicked back oily hair that was a pale blond and a face that didn't look all too friendly.
"Hi, I'm Draco." The boy said while putting out a hand that wielded a ring with a crest of the ancient house of Malfoy. "Draco Malfoy. And you are?" He asked. "Harry and this is my sister Zoe," the raven-haired boy said, while Draco got down from the stool. Zoe said hello but stayed away from him. "So, what house do you think you'll get sorted into? I'll be in Slytherin like the rest of my family. I'd hate to be put into Hufflepuff, I'd probably leave the school if I was". Harry and Zoe immediately got the sense they didn't like him and just said they didn't mind.
After the awful encounter with the oily-haired git, they had their robes fitted. Their parents paid for it and made for the final stop, Ollivanders. The sign above the door read "Ollivanders, makers of fine wands since 382 B.C". A solitary wand sat on a dusty purple cushion in the window and made the whole shop seem abandoned with an eerie tone. A small tinkle of a bell was heard as the Potter family made its way into the shop. A ladder slid into view of the children and riding it was a greying old man with wavy hair who they suspected was Mr Ollivander. "Ah, I wondered when I would be seeing you two".
The pleasantries were exchanged as Mr Ollivander recalled in every correct detail James' and Lily's wands. "Now, you two are a special case indeed. See twins in the blood are also twins in cores as well. Meaning you both share the same magical energy calling to your wand cores. But where to start?"
An Elm wand of 12 and ¾ inches was tried with Harry using a Unicorn hair core. A wave of the wand caused a stack of wands to fall off the counter. "No, it seems. No worry, we will find one for you". Zoe tried another Unicorn hair core wand and it had the same reaction. Next Mr Ollivander presented Zoe with an Ash wand of 14 inches and with a Dragon Heartstring Core. A vase toppled and smashed. Yet with a wave from harry, the glass split into further shards. "No, No definitely not!"
The next try was more interesting, an acacia wand with a Phoenix tail-feather core, measuring 11 inches exactly. A pleasant hum was heard when Zoe picked up the wand, and multicoloured sparks were seen shooting out of the wand. "Marvellous, Miss Potter, absolutely marvellous!" Harry stood in awe and couldn't wait to find his wand. After another misfire from a Phoenix feather and birch wand, Mr Ollivander drew a long black box from the shelf with curiosity "I wonder?" The wand was 11 inches, made of holly and had a Phoenix tail-feather core as well. When Harry picked it up, a similar reaction to Zoe's occurred, multicoloured sparks shot from the tip but the hum was more like a thunderclap instead of a light breeze.
The reaction surprised all but Garrick Ollivander. "The wands you have there, share the same core, a tail feather that was plucked from a phoenix, and two reside in yours". James spoke up, "Where does the other one lie? I remember that Phoenixes give only three feathers in one burning cycle." The withering old man beckoned the two children forward and spoke to the family. "In the wand of the man whose name we shall not speak". That was puzzling for Harry and Zoe but Lily and James knew exactly who the man was, he was the man who had tried to kill Harry as a child.
The family all came out of the shop with fewer galleons and two wands belonging to their new owners, Harry and Zoe Potter. James thought that they could stop for lunch in The Leaky Cauldron and floo home from there. Lily and the children agreed and made their way to the brick wall but were met with three strangers on the Diagon Alley side of it. The stone bricks split apart at the tap of Harry's new wand on the tough surface. The two adults gasped in awe but the little girl with them was already thanking them for their help on getting through. "I'm sorry for them, they're my parents Dan and Emma Granger, I'm Hermione. Thanks for helping us find the way through. A Professor let us through but we forgot how to open it again". She extended a hand and Harry shook it just after Zoe.
"Hi, I'm Harry and this is Zoe. Those are my parents Lily and James". Lily and James looked apprehensive but greeted Hermione and her parents. "Oh, you're Harry and Zoe Potter, right? I have read about you in my new book 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts'.
"Hey Hermione, do you mind if we ask- Are you muggle-born by any chance? It's just that, most people know how to get through the barrier by Hogwarts age. " Zoe asked.
"Yes! Wow, you could tell already? Yes, I am. I'm the first witch in my family for at least, 5 generations, I figure".
This conversation lasted longer than expected and the Potters even offered to show the Grangers around the rest of Diagon Alley and warned them about Knockturn Alley. Hermione was also attending Hogwarts that year and needed her school supplies, so the parents managed to tear the children away from any more conversation. The young Potters and Hermione had become good friends in a short amount of time due to their shared love of magic, eagerness to learn and similarity in not wanting to talk about Harry's scar and past. The bricks had closed up again, so James flicked his wand from its holster, but Zoe already knew the correct combination. She tapped the bricks in the same way her mother had when they had entered Diagon Alley just 2 hours prior.
The lunch in the Leaky Cauldron was quite uneventful until Harry noticed a man in a regal, purple turban taking quick, scared glances at their table. Harry discretely nudged Zoe and without letting him see it, pointed at the quivering man.
"Mum, who's that over there? He keeps looking at us with weird faces." Zoe said, quietly, so just her mother and Harry could hear her.
"Oh, that is Professor Quirinus Quirrell, he will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year at Hogwarts. Why don't you go and introduce yourselves?" Lily whispered back.
"Because Mum, he isn't at school, and did you see how scared he looked of us?" Zoe argued.
"Fine, but if he comes over to us, make sure you greet him properly". Lily reluctantly said. Harry and Zoe both hoped that he didn't come to talk.
The trip home was nothing out of the ordinary, however, they did have to use apparition to get the animals home and then drop them off. James took Hedwig and Sidera, and 'popped' home. He returned only seconds later where he took Harry's arm and did the same thing as he did before. This was not the choice of travel Harry enjoyed the most, but his father said it would get him used to the feeling for his apparition tests in 6th year. Harry muttered under his breath "Of being pushed through a U-Bend". He went to his room, avoiding his father's stern look and found Hedwig happily perched upon his desk. "Hey Hedwig, were going to be good partners, I know it". She hooted happily and flew gracefully onto Harry's waiting shoulder. The rest of the summer was his to relish in.
Zoe had done similarly to Harry; she had grabbed her mother's arm and experienced side-along apparition. Zoe was much keener on it than Harry was and she still did not like flying, especially on Uncle Sirius' enchanted motorbike. Sidera was much more relaxed than Hedwig, and much darker in colour on her feathers and was a silvery-grey colour, with piercing yellow eyes. Zoe was ready to get her things packed into her trunk for the ride to Hogwarts in a month. Then she all the time she wanted to look over some spells and a book that Hermione had suggested. When all of her items, bar her wand and the book, Zoe sat down on the bed and started to brush up on 'Hogwarts: A History'.
The next few weeks had passed rather uneventfully, until the Potter Family got a visit from the Grangers, while the Potters were staying in a house just outside of London. Hermione, Zoe and Harry started to go over some incantations and that steadily turned into talking about how Hogwarts would be. Harry and Zoe, obviously knowing more about Hogwarts than Hermione, gave a rundown of all the houses that they could be sorted into. Gryffindor was for the brave and reckless at heart, in Ravenclaw, you had brains like no other, Hufflepuff carried the most loyal of students and Slytherin was the eternal home of the cunning and ambitious. All of this information was a lot to take in, but Hermione had brought a pen and pad with her for any more knowledge she could take in.
After some more talking, it was time for dinner, a barbecue provided by a hole in the garden and an incendio. With the meal finished and all of the children tired out from learning spells from Lily, the night was at a close. Hogwarts was their destination in the morning. At this time tomorrow, they would be dining in the Great Hall, under a candle-lit faux sky. The Grangers left and James still marvelled at the strange hunk of metal called a car. He would never understand muggle engineering. Lily spoke up "So, Harry, Zoe, are you ready for the next step of your lives in the morning?" Without an answer given she continued "-because we have to be out of bed by 10:30 am at the absolute latest." The children's jaws dropped to the floor.
This was the children's cue to head upstairs to bed, and what a good sleep it was. They both had lucid dreams of the Hogwarts express, seeing Hermione, getting sorted, meeting the famed Albus Dumbledore for the first time! With a jolt, Zoe woke up and cast a tempus charm, displaying the current time in blue numbers above her head; 10:27 am. She rushed to her desk and got dressed so fast you would have thought that she was speeding time up. There was a rush to eat breakfast, a slice of toast and jam, and they were out of the door. Unfortunately, due to the platform being shrouded in muggles, the option of apparition was off the table. The floo network was the only option, so the family dropped the floo powder and rushed to the barrier.
"Best do it at a run if you're nervous. Come on son, I'll go with you" James said, grasping Harry's shoulder and the trolley. One moment they were on platform 9 and now, steam poured over the new platform and the source of it presented itself. The marvellous scarlet steam engine, The Hogwarts Express sat on the tracks in all of its glory with children lining its windows and parents gazing up at them. Lily and Zoe popped through the barrier not a moment later and Zoe also looked in awe at the train. The pair of adults fondly remembered their first times looking at its majesty themselves but ushered the children to get on as the wizards and witches were already loading the students' luggage on to the carriage. Dan and Emma Granger were standing waving to Hermione as she got on the train, but at the last second, Hermione noticed Harry and Zoe and got them to come to the compartment she already had.
The adults stood together at 11:00 when the train departed with a loud whistle and waved their children off to Hogwarts for the first time. As the 3 students sat down when hurtling past the station exit, they all returned waves to their families. All three were excited and buzzing to go to Hogwarts. They whizzed past country lanes and over tall bridges, whilst discussing the lesson possibilities. About an hour had passed before a person approached the compartment door. The Trolley Witch was selling all sorts of treats and snacks for the journey, and the children took their pick of them. Multiple cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties later, a boy came in, looking flustered and worried beyond belief. "Have you seen a toad anywhere? If I don't find him, Gran's going to hex me!"
The boy's name was Neville Longbottom, son of Frank and Alice, two members of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. Of course, Neville and the Potters had met before, but only as children, not fellow students. "Oh, it's you two, thank goodness. Can you help me, Harry?"
"Yeah, sure. We just have to use the four-points spell. Do you remember it?" Harry asked back.
"No, I have such a crummy memory. Can you remind me of it?" Neville answered, sounding very put-out. Harry told him the incantation and Neville murmured it to his wand with the toad's name. The wooden stick spun round quickly and pointed down the hall. "Thanks, Harry, you're a lifesaver!" Neville thanked and ran down the corridor of the carriage.
"That was nice of you Harry. Do you know him?" Hermione asked and Zoe agreed to the compliment. "Yeah, it was. We've known Neville since we were about 2 years old. Our parents and his parents were friends." Zoe answered, taking the words straight from Harry's mouth. Just after the words had left her lips, the compartment door opened again, revealing a boy with flaming ginger hair to match his cheeks. "So, it is true, Harry Potter is in this compartment." The boy muttered to himself, possibly unaware that he had a captive audience. "Oh, Ron Weasley by the way." He stated before extending a grubby hand for only Harry to shake. Harry shook it then wiped his hand on his jeans before asking what the boy wanted. "You should come and sit with me, leave that one"- pointing at Hermione- "to her fancy, difficult magic and her snobby attitude. What about it Chosen One?"
This comment infuriated everyone present but upset Hermione the most. "No, I don't think I will. Apologise to Hermione, NOW!" Harry shouted. If Voldemort himself was here, he would be scared as much as the red-head was, because Harry knew that demoralising people wasn't the way to get what you want, especially if it was one of Harry's dearest friends. The Weasley boy stuttered like the bumbling Professor Quirrell and bolted from the compartment. Harry asked Hermione if she was alright but she was just looking up at Harry in awe. "Harry, you didn't have to do that. Not for me." She said insistently. Harry was taken aback at how she treated herself and how the ginger git treated her. "Hermione, you are the smartest person we know by far and we wouldn't trade your friendship for anything, right Harry?" Zoe said, meaning every word of what it. Harry also agreed with the same sentiments.
The Hogwarts Express boomed a sonorous charm through the carriages and said they would be arriving at Hogsmede station in just under half an hour. With that message delivered, many students scrambled to get their robes from their trunks and get changed before they got to the station. Ever-the-gentleman, Harry left the compartment after pulling the blinds down on the compartment windows. The girls changed into their uniform and robes and beckoned Harry back in afterwards. They repeated the same for Harry and when he had changed into his uniform, he called the girls back into the compartment. The time passed quickly after Neville had returned, asking to join them. He talked about what his favourite subject was even before getting to the castle, Herbology.
He loved working with plants and magical organisms. Hermione told him about some of the biologies of some muggle plants and their processes such as photosynthesis, which Neville was positively fascinated by. While the two were talking about the differences between magical and muggle plants, Harry whispered to Zoe "We need to keep an eye out for that Weasley person, especially if Hermione is around. He can't be allowed near her with language like that again, agreed?" Zoe agreed with a thorough nod of her head. The other two students with them gasped loudly and Neville was slack-jawed.
The Hogwarts castle had come into view, in all of its splendour. Lights were seen emanating from the glass windows, the towers reaching the clouds and the whole castle sat upon a large black rock. The Scottish loch was shimmering with the moonlight that peaked above the low hanging clouds like a floodlight on a muggle football pitch. The train pulled into the Hogsmede station and the brakes squeaked like a scared mouse or rather, the rat called Ronald Weasley. The students departed from the carriages and stepped out into the teeth-chatteringly cold highland air. Suddenly, through the fog on the platform, a large hulking figure was seen walking towards the students. The only first-years unfazed by the sudden appearance were Hermione, Zoe and Harry as they had thoroughly read the current faculty section of 'Hogwarts: A History'.
This was the gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, who desired the Position of Care of Magical Creatures. He held a large oil lamp that illuminated his thick, shaggy, black beard and his quaffle-sized hands. He wore a long overcoat over his shirt, belt, trousers and massive coal-black boots. Little did the students, bar the unsurprised three know, he was a half-giant with a pink umbrella housing a snapped wand from his old Hogwarts days. "Firs' years this way. Come on now, we don' have all nigh'". This was already proving to be a great first year. Every first-year followed the large man to the boats. "Go on. They're perfectly safe. No more n' four to a boat now". The four got into the same boat which was behind two other boats, containing two equally annoying people, Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy.
Hagrid shouted out "Forward!" and the boats moved in the castle's direction, the moon casting a looming shadow over the crystal clear water. Ron Weasley shouted out with a loud voice "I just saw something move down there!" pointing towards the water. Hagrid replied with a chuckle "Oh Yeah, that'll be the giant squid, always loves meeting new students he does." The boys remembered to keep him in his boat even though he nearly fainted at the comment. The boats glided under some vines of ivy before reaching an underground boathouse that was right beneath the school. Everyone climbed out with careful movements and they stepped onto the solid bricks beneath the castle. Hagrid walked with gigantic strides up the steps and gave a few firm raps on the wooden door with his knuckles. He walked off up a side entrance with orders to wait for Professor McGonagall.
Draco Malfoy was the first to push people out of the way with his goons and get to the front of the pack. When he got to the front, he like Ron earlier, extended a hand to Harry Potter and said "So it's true is it, Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts? You better stick with the right crowd, eh, stay away from mudbloods and blood-traitors." Harry again declined a handshake and replied coolly with "I think I can tell the wrong crowd for myself thanks. By the way, you really shouldn't be such a bigot towards people that you don't know, because it might result in you having fewer friends than you already do." People around him snickered although Harry was telling a harsh truth to Draco. He replied with a disgusting scowl and said "You'll see Potter, some people are better than others. I, for example, am far superior to disgusting Mudb-". He was cut off by Professor McGonagall "Language Mr Malfoy. You are all now going to be sorted into one of the four houses of Hogwarts. They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Your house will be like your family, so treat them as such." The Professor then went over the rules and things concerning house points, then led the students into the Great Hall to be sorted.
The Great Hall was wondrous. The candles floating above each bench were mesmerising. Each new student marvelled at the long tables lined with people and looked towards the head table. There sat many teachers and members of staff in addition to Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the 20th century. He took great interest in Harry Potter as he, along with his new classmates walked to the front of the Hall. All of the children noticed an old hat sat atop a short wooden stool and most of those from the wizarding world knew all too well that this was the sorting hat.
Professor McGonagall started her mandatory speech to the new children. "In a moment, I will call out your name and I will place the sorting hat on your head, then you will be sorted into one of these four houses. You will then sit at your house table and wait for the sorting ceremony to finish." Ron Weasley was heard audibly sighing in relief, saying "Thank Merlin. Fred and George told me I would have to wrestle a troll". McGonagall glared at the Weasley twins in question and they saluted back. The sorting ceremony of 1991 was about to commence.
The sorting hat first began a jaunty little tune which all the newcomers found amusing and slightly worrying as it described the houses in detail. When it was finished, the Headmaster started a round of applause for the old rag and nearly everyone joined him in it. It took a weird bow, well as close to one as a hat could get and fell silent and unmoving again. The first name called up was Hannah Abbott, who became the first new Hufflepuff student. Susan Bones soon joined her at the table of the badgers, while Terry Boot became a Ravenclaw. Mandy Brocklehurst became a Ravenclaw too and then Lavender Brown became one of the lions of Gryffindor.
Millicent Bulstrode became the first Slytherin of the night and with a look over to the table she had sat down at, the Slytherins didn't look all too cheery until Vincent Crabbe also came over. Justin Finch-Fletchley went to the Hufflepuff table, Gregory Goyle to Slytherin and then McGonagall called out "Granger, Hermione." Hermione was eager to be sorted and the hat was placed on her head, not a second after her name was called. The hat enveloped the top of her head and started talking to her inside her mind. "Ah, a Granger, not many of you have I seen, but I haven't forgotten your ancestors, no. I see great potential in Hufflepuff, loyal to the end, much like your friends, but a keen mind and an eagerness to learn. A heart of bravery also resides within you. Ravenclaw would be a suitable placement but it had better be- GRYFFINDOR!" The last part the hat shouted out to the entire hall and the Lions clapped very loudly as if they had won the Quidditch cup.
Neville was next up after some jeers about his surname from the Slytherins. The hat had touched his head and thought long and hard about it. "You have great courage I see, but also loyalty as fierce as Helga herself." Neville was unsure about the courage but never-the-less, the Hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR". Neville was so giddy he nearly ran to his seat with the hat still sat atop his head. He handed it to Morag MacDougall who became another Slytherin. Draco Malfoy had the hat barely touch his head when it bellowed "SLYTHERIN!" Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson both went to Slytherin and joined Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. The first Patil twin, Padma went to Ravenclaw and her sister Parvati joined the Gryffindor table. Sally-Anne Perks was sorted into Hufflepuff and then, the deputy headmistress called out "Potter, Harry". The room stood silent in anticipation.
Harry sat down on the stool and McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head, secretly hoping for him to join her proud pack of Lions in Gryffindor. "A Potter, your parents have built quite a legacy for you to live up to haven't they. I see great potential for you in every house Mr Potter, but where to put you. I sense heaps of bravery and courage, a talent for the magical arts and loyalty, not a bad mind at all either, but a strong sense to prove yourself I see. Difficult, very difficult." Harry pleaded with the sorting hat "Not Slytherin, not Slytherin." The hat replied to him in his mind "Not Slytherin eh, you could be great there you know. No matter. Better be- GRYFFINDOR!" Everyone but the Slytherins and their head of house clapped and the Gryffindor table cheered.
Harry happily sat down next to Hermione and they both watched tentatively for Zoe's result. After a minute, it happily screamed out "GRYFFINDOR". Zoe joyfully ran to the table of the reds and was offered a seat between Hermione and Neville, which she took and watched her clothes change to reflect her new house, just as everyone else's had. Everyone in the surrounding area congratulated her and waited for Lisa Turpin to become a Ravenclaw. Then, who else but Ronald Weasley was called. The sorting hat couldn't be heard from the Gryffindor table but the keen-eared teachers were the first to notice something was up with the hat when it whispered to Ron "Another Weasley eh, I thought I knew what to do with you, but now I am not so sure. You have some bravery in your heart, yes, but it is overwhelmed with different thoughts. You are ambitious to prove something to your siblings and parents, cunning plans I see in your head, with selfish desires that can be easily misguided. I see what I must do with you now. It must be- SLYTHERIN!"
"WHAT?!" Ronald Weasley bellowed. "SLYTHERIN?! I DON'T BELONG WITH THE DIRTY SNAKES; MY FAMILY IS IN GRYFFINDOR! I DEMAND TO BE RE-SORTED!" Professor McGonagall looked dumbfounded but still had to do her duties as the Deputy Headmistress. "Mr Weasley, will you be quiet and sit with your assigned house now, or I shall be forced to give you detention for the rest of this week. Ron grumbled and begrudgingly sat with the Slytherins. They stared at him with dagger-like eyes and to say Professor Snape was angry was a complete understatement. Blaise Zabini was last and also went to Slytherin, joining in with the new tradition of staring death glares at Ronald Weasley.
Dumbledore stood up and called for silence after the students had all sat down. "Welcome back to those of you returning for another year of Hogwarts and good evening to those who have joined us and been sorted tonight. The elderly wizard stood up and started the feast with an odd choice of words "Nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak. Enjoy the feast." Instantly, the plates in front of them piled high with food, undoubtedly cooked by the house-elves in the kitchens. The food was aromatic, delicious, filling and plentiful. Once Harry had started on a piece of steak, a man's silvery outline was jutting out from a plate of mashed potatoes. Sir Nicholas introduced himself and took a bow when he recounted his tale of death, however, those still eating felt sickened by the story.
Dean Thomas pointed out a fairly angry food shredder named Ronald Weasley across the hall and had to hold in his laughter. Seamus Finnigan couldn't help it though and started giggling uncontrollably through his mouthful of Yorkshire pudding. Thankfully, Sir Nicholas or Nearly-Headless Nick reminded him of manners at the table before literally ghosting on the group to talk to the Fat Friar, the Hufflepuff ghost. When people had finished the last morsel of dinner, the food vanished and was replaced with sweets, ice-cream and pastries. The only one not eating any dessert in the group was Hermione. Harry inquired "Hermione, are you feeling alright, you don't seem to be eating much?" She replied with a sheepish voice and said: "I'm fine, but my parents wouldn't want me to ruin my teeth, they're dentists you see." The wizard raised people just furrowed their brows at the term. Hermione explained in detail the job. The others regretted asking.
When dessert was finished, Dumbledore simply raised his hands and vanished the rest of the left-over food. With an energised voice, he spoke to the weary children "Now I can see you are all getting tired, so off to bed now, Pip Pip." After that comment, Harry mentally thought, this old man is senile, but he didn't dare mention it out loud, so he shifted his view back to Professors Quirrell and Snape, the latter looking back at him. He didn't notice the potions master eyeing him and using legilimency. He smiled and winked at the boy in agreement. Albus also didn't notice Snape either, as he was too focused on who Harry and Zoe were hanging around. Dumbledore had his plans for the boy-who-lived that would benefit the whole of the wizarding world. No one but himself knew the plans.
Percy Weasley showed the new Gryffindors the way to the common room, gave them and the painting the password "Caput Draconis" and the dormitories where the boys and girls were separated by a corridor at the top of a spiral staircase. The time on the grandfather clock in the middle of the dormitories read 9:00 so the boys used the bathroom to change one at a time and climbed into the luxurious bed.
When the boys woke in the morning, they all had charms together with the Ravenclaws, so at 7:30, Harry and Neville walked to the great hall discussing the lessons they had that day. It was charms class first, then potions, flying and defence against the dark arts last at 4:30. They both settled for some bacon and eggs and waited for the girls to join them. When Hermione and Zoe eventually walked in, they were giggling about something but made their faces contort to normal expressions before sitting down. "So how was the first night at Hogwarts guys?" Zoe asked politely. Neville replied: "Great, the beds are super comfy and the room didn't get cold one bit!" When agreeing with them, the girls had started on a piece of toast each.
When breakfast was unfortunately finished, the four made their way over to the first lesson, Charms with Professor Flitwick. He was a short man, possibly half-goblin and was standing on a pile of books to see the people over his desk. After they had all taken their seats, he demonstrated some fantastic magic, at least to first-years, by levitating more than a dozen feathers from his desk without so much as a wave of his hand. He spoke in a squeaky voice to the students, addressing them and giving them their assignments for the lesson. "Today class, we shall be learning a basic spell for those of you who wish to proceed in the wizarding world. The levitation charm, can anyone tell me the incantation -oh yes Miss Granger" He spotted Hermione's hand as well as Zoe's shoot up. "Wingardium Leviosa, Sir". She answered. "Well done Miss Granger, 5 points to Gryffindor."
By the halfway point in the lesson, Harry, Zoe and of course Hermione had read all of the theory behind the spell and were ready to try it for themselves. When the Professor gave his nod of approval, the three were using the incantation and the wand movements perfectly. Neville was struggling a bit and Harry nudged his arm into the right points for the wand movements. Soon, four feathers were soaring several feet into the air, even if one was a bit shaky. Two Ravenclaws had done it as well and were holding theirs exactly as the textbook had done it. "Excellent, all of you, 10 points to Gryffindor and 10 to Ravenclaw. Remember the rest of you, swish and flick." The class was dismissed half an hour after Harry had set two rolls of parchment from the Professors desk into his hand for some extra notes. This little stunt earned Harry a further 5 points to Gryffindor but also gained the Professor's interest and respect. He had known someone extraordinarily like this before, with the same daring and tenacious attitude, Harry's father James.
Next up was potions with the Slytherins and their head of the house, Professor Snape. Every first-year Gryffindor and Slytherin made their way down to the dungeons, where the pungent odour wafting from the cauldrons in the classroom made some students gag. The door to the classroom was opened and the children followed the Potions Master inside to their seats. The Professor was a tall dark-haired man who towered over the students with black robes to match the atmosphere. He said quickly to all of them. "You will not need your wands for this class. Now I do not expect most of you to understand the complexities and intricacies of the subtle art of potion-making but in this class, you will listen or you will injure yourself."
The overall impression that most people got from him was that he did not like students or anyone that disobeyed. They were right in thinking this, but like lots of teachers, he had some prejudices. For one, he hated his own house being slandered and treated as a dark house for bad people. It was simply not the case. So he already despised Ronald Weasley for this and admired other students who represented the house well. His other annoyance was Harry Potter. He desired for Harry to be in his house so that he could guide him to be a great wizard, a vanquisher of Dark Lords, one that could free him of his bond with Voldemort. Snape had a deep secret, that only he knew. He loved Harry's mother, Lily. Since he had called her a Mudblood, all those years ago, he had regretted it. He saw Harry as his opportunity to make peace with Lily and gain her Forgiveness.
The lesson started with the Professor assigning seats so that he could see how each individual fared with a person that was better, or worse than them in a theoretical learning environment. Hermione was sat next to Ronald Weasley and Zoe next to Seamus Finnigan. Harry and Neville sat next to each other as he knew how hopeless Neville was and how Harry's mother was a natural at potions. When everyone was sat down, he started his second speech that was meant to rouse the students into writing notes and taking hints at the next lesson. "I can teach you to bewitch the mind, to ensnare the senses, I can teach you how to brew glory, bottle fame and even put a stopper in death. That is if you follow my instructions."
Professor Snape started to write some questions from the textbook onto the large blackboard to his left. They included: What would you get if you added the powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?, Where would you find a Bezoar? and what is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane? Those, along with the other seven questions, most people got right, as the answers were on the 2nd page of the potions recipe books, which everyone had turned to at the start of the lesson. However, the witless wonder Ronald Weasley managed to somehow copy Hermione wrong and forgot to even look at the textbook. "5 points from Slytherin, Weasley. As much as it pains me to take points from my own house, you are even incapable of copying the right answers of the person sitting next to you." Snape said with a sigh and then a smirk at the insult.
The task set for the lesson was to brew a cure for boils after the children had measured out the ingredients properly and chosen their brewing partners. Harry asked Snape how to stew the horned slugs properly when a cry of pain alerted the class and its teacher. Seamus Finnigan was lying on the floor with a visible chunk of his finger stripped of skin down to the bone. Ron was the culprit, he had melted his partner, Seamus Finnigan's cauldron and burnt the boy's finger because he wrongly added the porcupine quills too early. "MR WEASLEY, THAT IS THE SECOND TIME TODAY YOU HAVE DISOBEYED SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS! Take Mr Finnigan to the hospital wing and you will have detention with me on Wednesday." Snape bellowed at the boy. Even he wasn't stupid enough to argue with an angry Professor Snape.
As soon as the excitement wore down, the lesson was over and the penultimate lesson of the day would commence. Transfiguration seemed like a very enjoyable concept to Zoe and it turned out to be her favourite lesson with her new favourite teacher. When all of the students had filed in and taken their seats, they sat perplexed at the lack of a teacher. The only thing that was present beside them, was a white tabby-cat that looked straight at the students while perched on the desk. The cat then leapt forward when a late Ron Weasley arrived. "That was bloody brilliant Professor. Sorry, I'm late, I had to take someone to the hospital wing." Accepting the compliment, Professor McGonagall motioned for him to take his seat and listen.
The Transfiguration lesson went smoothly with most people picking up the basics of the subject. The class had to read some paragraphs on Gawmps law of elemental transfiguration first, which were the basic rules like the conservation of mass-energy in muggle science classes. However magic can do peculiar things that muggles could only dream of. The first exception to remember was that you couldn't create food out of thin air, but you could summon or transfigure something into food. You could also double it with charms such as the geminio charm. Then they were told to try and use the instructions to transform a match into a needle, the most simple of the spells they would go over this year.
After Harry, Hermione and Zoe all successfully did the task, they helped Neville by showing him what they did. He managed it following a small fire, however not nearly as big as some of the other mistakes and Professor McGonagall praised Zoe on her insightful instructions for Neville after rewarding her with 5 points. The class ended with nearly every student failing the task aside from the four Gryffindors and one Slytherin, Draco Malfoy. This wasn't the first time that Draco had shown his aptitude for magic and this didn't surprise anyone. He was always boasting about his abilities and now he could prove himself, one of the many reasons he was put into Slytherin.
The next couple of weeks were uneventful after transfiguration that day. Lunchtime came around after Defense against the dark arts on the 17th of September and sandwiches of every type were laid on the four long tables and the head table. Harry was the only one of the four who was looking forward to the flying lesson afterwards, as he loved flying about in the air, feeling the wind rush through him like a passing ghost and seeing everything that was beneath him as smaller than he needed to worry about. It was just the sheer thrill of it, not to mention the game of Quidditch. The equivalent of football from the muggle world, Dean Thomas called it, as he liked both of the sports, favouring football because of the team he supported. Draco Malfoy was also looking forward to the lesson, as he knew many of the people in his class were either too scared, inexperienced or just plain muggle-born.
The blond-haired boy walked over to the Gryffindor table as he went to leave the room. He scared Neville by whispering "See you in the air" to him, but Harry stepped in. "What are you doing here Malfoy? Shouldn't you be somewhere else, we wouldn't want you getting any grease from your hair into Neville's food now, would we? Or have you come to ask him for help with your flying, it's not like you have had any proper experience, now is it?" the last question he asked sarcastically. He stuttered and walked off, not without throwing an insult Hermione's way. "What're you looking at, mudblood? We don't need you tarnishing Hogwarts' reputation for flying prodigies. And why don't you let me help you with your flying Zoe? We could learn a lot from each other."
Harry was angry at what he had said about Hermione but flabbergasted at what he had offered Zoe. Draco was insinuating that Zoe should get to know him better, and not just in a friendly way either. Harry was about to curse him for this but Zoe intervened first "How about you stick your wand where the sun doesn't shine and I'll hex you as a little bonus as well?" Zoe's eyes were seeing red at Draco's offer and Harry stood back with Hermione and Neville, the former getting Professor McGonagall so the situation didn't get out of hand. It was too late, Zoe had murmured a spell and sent Draco crashing to the floor. The Throwing charm: "Everte Statum" had sent Draco outside the Great Hall with nothing but a wave of her wand and a single uttering of the spell.
After casting the charm, Zoe knew she was in trouble, but with any luck, so was Draco and maybe it taught him a lesson about messing with her and her friends. Professor Snape rushed over with Professors Quirrell and McGonagall. The Defence Professor stuttered out "M-Miss P-P-Potter. You kn-know that Magic is f-forbidden in the h-halls"-. He was cut off by Snape, asking what Malfoy had done to provoke her. She explained to the three Professors and by the time it was over, Professor McGonagall had issued a punishment for both Zoe and Draco. As the head of her house, McGonagall had given her detention with a 5-point reduction and the same for Malfoy, but for different reasons. They were both to serve detention with Professor Quirrell on Wednesday evening, just before dinner.
The reasons for the detentions were plain and simple but the punishment itself was slightly tamer than Zoe had expected. Zoe was given the punishment for her use of not only magic, but harmful magic outside of classrooms and Malfoy's was for a repeat offence of verbal discrimination against a fellow student and malicious intent, as he got back up and kept up with the little Hitler character, saying he didn't regret calling Hermione that because she was a 'Mudblood'. This earned him a further 10-point deduction and extra detention from McGonagall. Hermione came over to Zoe and spoke to her gently and sadly "Zoe you didn't have to do that, even if he did call me those things. He's right anyway, I shouldn't tarnish any reputation of the school's flyers, I will just muck it up." They all sat there, bewildered at her self-deprecation as she walked off to the dormitories before flying lesson.
Harry ran to her before the flying lesson and asked Zoe and Neville to give them a little space to talk. Hermione didn't run off like before but still found the path to the courtyard more interesting than the concerned friend by her side. "Hermione, look at me, please?" Harry pleaded with her to some avail. She lifted her head but didn't look Harry in the eyes as they were red and filled with tears. "Why do you feel the need to hide away from us? We are your friends Hermione. We care about you and you should yourself. We are here for you. I am here for you. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks". Hermione lifted her head to face him, and with no warning, she hugged him and cried onto his shoulder. No one but them, Zoe and Neville were around so no-one would laugh, jeer or spectate, which is all Hermione wanted, to be normal.
She was thankful that her parents had been there for her during her previous childhood, as it was rough, with other muggle children chastising her for being a 'know-it-all' or a 'teacher's pet', but they were not here now. She was alone. Until a certain raven-haired boy reminded her of the opposite. When she had felt the saddest, or loneliest, or the least appreciated person in the world, she had her parents with her and now, she had another family, at Hogwarts, in Neville, in Zoe and most importantly to her, in Harry. They were the greatest people to have with her now, even above her parents, as her mother and father would not know just how she felt, but being the same age and her best friends, Harry, Zoe and Neville would.
This comfort was sure to last Hermione through the week and further than that, beyond even school, in life, she knew she had good friends to count on and a family that cared for her, wherever she was.
The four children had to have a gentle jog to the flying lesson as it started in two minutes. Thankfully, most people had forgotten where the lesson was, so Harry, Hermione, Zoe and Neville all managed to get a broom next to each other, for moral support. The rest of the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs gathered on the opposite row of brooms and Ravenclaws went to their assigned sweepers. Then the students had to wait for a few minutes for Madam Hooch to arrive. When she did, she flew down from her position circling the students, which no-one seemed to notice until she touched down from her broom. Everyone was in awe, yet some chose to shout it out loud by giving a round of applause.
When the buzz had died down, she stared at them all, with her yellow eyes, searching for something, prey maybe. It would make sense with her hawk-like eyes but it seemed she merely wanted to survey the class. Then to make everyone awake, she barked orders like an army general "Well, what are you waiting for, everyone who isn't already, stand by a broom and say 'UP'!" This was followed like a lieutenant speaking to his troops and some were already stood with brooms in their hands, a notable one being Harry Potter. Madam Hooch smiled to herself on the inside because she knew why it responded to him. His father was a legendary Hogwarts seeker as sure as her hair was grey. She kept barking out orders to keep trying "Come on now, you must mean it to do it. Don't quit now!"
With nearly all of the brooms occupying a hand, the only ones left were expected, Dean Thomas and Hermione Granger as they were a bit frightened of flying without being in a plane, Neville Longbottom because he was just downright afraid of it and Hannah Abbott and Terry Boot just didn't want to fly but none-the-less still tried. Neville finally got his broom to raise after some encouraging words to himself and Hannah from Susan Bones, a friend of Hannahs. Harry whispered into Hermione's ear, "Listen, Hermione, don't be afraid of the broom, it won't reject you then, it will welcome your control. Just do or don't, there isn't a try about it." With that comment, both Hermione's and Terry's brooms flew up into their hands as Terry was listening in for any tips. Dean Thomas was the last one to do it but did it quickly after Hermione and Terry due to sheer determination not to be embarrassed.
Madam Hooch congratulated them on it and whispered to herself "5-points to Gryffindor" because of Harry's inspiring speech that helped two of his fellow students. She didn't just have hawk-like eyes, but also razor-sharp hearing too. "Alright, on my whistle, grasp the broomstick handle firmly and push off from the ground." This order was followed but, three-seconds early, on the number 1 before the whistle, by Neville. He zoomed off the ground and Malfoy started to laugh, along with others including Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson and Ron Weasley. Neville started to do some rolls in the air while shouting "DOWN, DOWN, FOR MERLIN'S SAKE DOWN!" He got his wish, but painfully. The broom accelerated and he crashed into the castle wall. Neville slipped off the broom sideways and something miraculous happened. Zoe got on her broom and at breakneck speed, zoomed off and caught the broom and the boy's Remebrall when trying to catch Neville as he fell whilst Harry and Hermione used a second-year spell that Lily had taught them during the holidays to slow Neville's fall.
They both shouted together "ARRESTO MOMENTUM" which slowed Neville's fall just enough to land on his back with just the wind knocked out of him. Madam Hooch stared at the nerves of the children and cursed herself for not doing something sooner. How had she been so blinded when a boy nearly fell to his death. It was because of Harry and Hermione. They had performed perfectly, an albeit weak slowing charm, that wasn't taught until at least second year. Shaking herself out of her daze, she ran over to where the four were standing after helping Neville up and asked if he was alright. She got a surprising response back.
"Yes, Madam Hooch. I'm just a little unsure as to how Draco Malfoy knows how to use a levitation charm to hijack my broom." All eyes watching the conversation turned on Draco and his band of merry men and women. He argued back "I'm curious how he thinks I did this, considering we haven't even performed it correctly in charms yet." Madam Hooch looked back at Neville with a stern look and asked him if he had proof of it. Draco looked even more smug and happy because his blatant lie had fooled the Professor. Neville answered "No but I think murmuring and pointing his wand at the broom might have had something to do with it. I don't know for sure Professor but I am just telling you what I saw. "
The free period they had until dinner was as uneventful as the day had been so far, with no near-death experiences or bullying occurring for the four, the rest of the Gryffindor first-years took to questioning Harry, Hermione and Zoe about the magic and skills they had used. They answered honestly and were saved by the bell booming throughout the castle, signalling dinner. Dinner was filling as it should be and everyone enjoyed the meal. Then, when the last morsel of food had disappeared from everyone's plates, everyone was off to bed, aside from those taking Astronomy. Malfoy came up to Neville and when out of view of the teachers, pushed him up against a wall and whispered threats to him. "If you ever pull that again and rat me out, I'll transfigure your bones into jelly, understand? I propose a wizards duel if you want to see my magic hurting you. Tonight, midnight in the trophy room, understand?" Neville nodded through all of it, but not in fear, calmly, as Zoe had her wand at Malfoy's head.
Zoe didn't need to use magic to get Malfoy to back off, as she had already done that before and the promise that she could and would do it again was still there. Draco backed off but said to Neville "Midnight, trophy room, let's settle this." With that, the three Slytherins walked off to the dungeons, excited for the inevitable win against the dunderhead, Neville. When Neville headed back to the common room with Zoe by his side, he wondered, 'why would I go there when I know that he could beat me'. He certainly thought Neville would meet him, as Draco was under the impression that Neville was scared of him. Yet the anxious Gryffindor had smart friends and loyal ones at that. He had Harry Potter, possibly the most powerful and gifted boy of their age, Hermione, the smartest witch of her generation with a knack for knowledge and Zoe, the bravest and most loyal person that he ever had the pleasure of knowing.
When they got back to the portrait, Neville remembered the password, thanks to his remembrall that he had inherited from his father and was given to him by his grandmother. Both were Gryffindors too and at least at some point had been in the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's secret army. Zoe and Neville stepped through the portrait after the lady had let them through, even congratulating Neville on remembering the password so quickly. Harry and Hermione were already sitting by the fire and were having a deep conversation. Zoe thought about asking the two to spill the beans on their conversation but thought it was probably private between them. Instead, she told them what Malfoy was doing to Neville and why he shouldn't go and do it. Neville spoke up "I know, but I have a plan. I was thinking about how this would look if his plan backfired. HE obviously either wants to humiliate me or get me into trouble, so if I was able to somehow alert Mr Flich to his presence, it would do both of those things to him."
Harry and Hermione sat there gobsmacked. Zoe just looked shocked beyond belief. "Neville, firstly that is a brilliant plan, amazingly constructed apart from one thing." Hermione said, "That brings me to my second point, you would actually have to be there to get Mr Filch to notice Malfoy." Neville just smirked, he had a devious plan, but it would take some courage on his part as well as Harry's part. The plan was set out. Harry and Neville would go to the Trophy room early and get into position behind a closed-off area of the Trophy room, they would wait until Malfoy was there and Neville would meet him and discretely lock the door using the spell they had learnt in charms two weeks ago. Harry would startle Mr Filch by sending a trophy whizzing by his face using a levitation charm and would send it over Malfoy's way. When Neville had disappeared from Malfoy's line of sight, Filch would hopefully corner him and the two Gryffindors would make their escape.
This is exactly how the plan went, except for one minor detail. In a wizards duel, a person would have a 'second'. This was a person to take over if the first died or couldn't continue. For some odd reason, Malfoy had brought Theodore Nott as his second, despite all of the first-years knowing how bad he was with offensive and defensive spells. Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott both wound up losing 30 house-points each and a weeks worth of detentions for not only being out of bed at such an hour but using magic in the halls and blaming it on two model students who were most certainly in bed after their day of hard work and events.
Despite the pair of young Gryffindors being up at such an hour as midnight, they walked down the boy's staircase at a normal time the morning after on the 18th wearing their clothes, robes and massive grins. Hermione and Zoe took this as them being successful in their endeavours. Yet they still didn't know of the consequences that Draco and Nott had received. During the walk down to breakfast, the four saw Neville's hard work pay off, as Slytherin was down by 60-house points, 60 they didn't have before-hand. They were now on negative 35 points due to their stunt, and the entire Slytherin table knew exactly the reasons why. The Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws all sat at their benches, looking smug and happy that Slytherin was practically out of the running for the house cup.
There was also something else that Harry and Neville knew about, on their way back from the 'duel', they came across Filch holding Malfoy and Nott, by the scruffs of their necks. Or they would have come across them if a door on the third floor hadn't been right behind them. Harry unlocked the door, knowing full-well that it was forbidden, but so was being caught out of bed at night. Behind the door was a massive, three-headed dog that, for the moment, was asleep content with its slumber. Once they knew it was there and that Filch had passed by, Harry dragged Neville out of the room and locked it with the same charm they had used earlier on Nott and Malfoy. They rushed back to the dormitories, avoiding Filch and Mrs Norris, his cat by taking the long way around the moving staircases. When back in the safety of the dorm-rooms, they vowed to only speak of this room and its contents to Zoe and Hermione.
The trap door was a point of interest when they brought it up during Herbology later with Hermione and Zoe. Little did they know, the current lesson was the second obstacle in the path under the trap door: Devils Snare. This wasn't intentional but Professor Sprout needed something that even the most dim-witted Professor could get through, had they known the obstacle. She addressed the class loudly, and everyone looked up and listened "Remember class 'Devils Snare, Devils Snare, It's deadly fun, but will sulk in the sun'. Now that's all for today's lesson, off to transfiguration".
During breakfast the next day, the post was delivered and the hall was abuzz. The Daily Prophet was the topic of discussion amongst students and teachers alike. The front page read 'Gringotts Raid, Narrow Miss'. Someone had broken into Gringotts, successfully as well and had attempted to steal a solitary item in the vault 713. The Vault in question was Mr Nicholas Flamel's and was lucky to have been emptied just two weeks prior. Most of the rest of the article went over statements from Goblins and guards alike. Nothing stood out to Harry, so he gave it to Hermione instead. Hermione took great interest in it and was reading the Daily Prophet like it was a sacred text. She quickly spotted something of interest and showed Zoe what she had seen.
A statement from a goblin read "Our guards were not able to stop the thief from entering or exiting due to the person's magic. He was extremely powerful and wore robes of purple, we know nothing else about the perpetrator. The vault, however, we can provide more information on, as the joint owners of the vault Albus Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel have agreed that it will cause no harm. The vault was the joint account that they used for their project that could revolutionise the wizarding world. Their statement had been left at that." Hermione was the only one that put together that the item that was. As she explained to a clueless Zoe and Neville, the item must have been worked on by both Nicholas Flamel and Dumbledore. This narrowed the list of items down a bit. As to why Dumbledore practically advertised that the item was at Hogwarts, no-one knew, not even his partner Nicholas Flamel.
The next few days were spent researching Mr Flamel in numerous books across the entire library. At one point, Madam Pince had even offered them some help, but they waved it away due to the reason that they were searching for Dumbledore's property. The evening of Hallowe'en was the last day of classes for the half-term. This meant that all of their efforts to find out the object beneath the stairs could be doubled during the short week from classes. However, Hallowe'en night was a sore subject for Harry and Zoe, so they didn't celebrate it. The attempt on their family's life was nothing to celebrate in the Potter household. It didn't hold much in Hermione's heart either as she felt that the celebration was so trivial and her parents had instilled a good message in her, that even on one day, too many sweets is terrible for your health.
This day got worse after second-period potions because of the Slytherins along with some of the Gryffindors making fun of her after class was finished. They had been berating her since they found out about the friendship and closeness she had made with the Potters and Neville. They didn't think that a bookworm 'mudblood' should be tainting the prominent families of the wizarding world. Apparently, she was forcing bad ideals onto the other three. After the Slytherins had been overheard after class outside the dungeons, Harry confronted them with Hermione being comforted by Zoe and Neville a few feet away. The conversation turned slightly deadly when Harry reached the crowd of people, including Draco, Pansy, Theodore, Crabbe, Goyle and Ron Weasley.
"Take it back, Parkinson. And quit smirking Nott or I can have Mr Flich here with some more disinfectant to clean the Trophy room." Some surrounding Gryffindors came to watch the conversation. They sniggered when Nott and Malfoy turned their heads fearfully in case Mr Filch was nearby. Pansy replied with a small voice due to Harry's apparent anger. "What are you going to do to me if I don't Potter? You can't hex me, McGonagall clearly said so, plus I'm a girl so there's another reason." Harry blatantly knew he couldn't use any spells on her, but never intended to in the first place. He was just waiting for the crowd to amass enough attention that Professor Sprout would walk by. Sure enough, the herbology Professor walked over and surveyed the situation, first turning to Hermione and asking if she was alright.
After Hermione and Zoe had walked away to the stairs, Ron Weasley butted in and shouted "That's right you faker, run, like fake witches, are supposed to!" obviously to impress the Slytherins. If Professor Sprout was not a teacher, she would have been floo-calling the Ministry due to a race and hate crime, but alas, she was a teacher with the power to 'try' and correct his behaviour. Hermione bolted from the dungeons to an unknown area of the castle and Neville had to hold Harry and Zoe back together to stop them from choking the idiot Red-head right there. Professor Sprout called into the Potions room where Snape sat and called him out to deal with one of his students. He thought to himself 'Weasley again, no doubt' and sure enough, it was. Professor Snape listened to the statement given by the three Gryffindors, Pansy and Ron and thought about the usage of that word 'Mudblood' and how it had ruined one person's life already at Hogwarts, his own.
Suddenly, the Potions Professor was back in his Hogwarts days and was being held up by the ankle by James Potter. Lily, his best friend and only friend at the time came over to stop the Gryffindors from going too far and saving Severus from doing something drastic as well. She pleaded with James "Put him down James, leave him alone. Just stop it!" The next moment, Snape would regret for the rest of his life. He shouted back, but not to James, to Lily "Stay out of it, Mudblood, I don't need your help!" James added fuel to the ever-growing fire by playfully asking Lily to go on a date, which Lily of course denied. But then Lily left, she left the area and she left the crowd. But worst of all, like a blasting hex to the heart, Lily left Snape alone, for good.
After that incident, Hermione wasn't seen or heard from all day. It came time for the feast of the evening but Hermione was still absent from the post-potions mishap. During their free lessons, Harry, Zoe and Neville looked for her, but couldn't find their friend. They vowed to look again after the feast, as all four being gone for an hour would look incredibly suspicious. They had reported the missing student to Professor McGonagall but she wasn't able to find her either. This was known throughout Gryffindor house in all of the age groups. A startling pair of hands tapped Harry on the shoulder and interrupted the treacle tart that Harry reluctantly bit into. Staring down at him were the two most notorious troublemakers, besides Peeves the Poltergeist, in the entire school.
Fred and George Weasley had heard in their transfiguration lesson that Hermione was missing from the head of Gryffindor house and wanted to help. They knew how to kill two birds with one stone. This would hopefully be some sort of apology for their brother Ron's behaviour. Harry asked with a solemn tone "Oh, hey Fred, George. It isn't the best time right now. I don't know if you've heard but Hermione has gone missing." They replied in their disturbing twin-speak "Oh we know that Harry. We want to help, that's why we're giving you this. It's sort of an apology for Ron's behaviour, he gets like this when he doesn't get what he wants." They simultaneously handed Harry what looked like a battered old piece of Parchment. Looking at Harry's questioning expression, they explained: "Tap it with your wand and it becomes a map of Hogwarts after saying 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good', updated with all of the current whereabouts of everyone in the castle. To close it again, say 'Mischief managed'"
Looking at the grateful expression and hearing "Thanks so much, guys" from Harry, they walked off, satisfied with their good deeds, yet slightly disheartened that they couldn't use it to prank Filch anymore. Harry used the instructions for the map and his jaw dropped when he saw who's names had appeared as the purveyors. 'Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs Proudly present the Marauders Map'. His father, Uncle Sirius and Uncle Lupin along with someone else had created this useful Map. Zoe too gawked at the names but went straight to looking for Hermione. Before they could find her, however, Professor Quirrell ran straight to the centre of the hall before screaming "TROLL, TROLL in the dungeons. Thought you ought to know" and promptly fainted in front of Harry and Neville.
The great hall was in utter chaos, with students from all years running towards the exit and as far from the dungeons as possible. Only the booming voice of Professor Dumbledore could console them, though Harry and Zoe wondered why they listened to the old fool. "Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately, follow your prefects." The elderly wizard shouted to the masses. There was one reason to not do what he says already. He was sending all of the students to their dorms yet, failed to repeat to the clueless Prefects or the bumbling Slytherins that the Troll was in the dungeons, exactly where the Slytherin dorms were said to be. The voice of Uncle Vernon for some reason shouted in Zoe's head 'Crackpot Old Fool!' She chuckled at this, even though the Déjà vu hadn't made sense as Uncle Vernon had never said that.
Harry frantically searched all over the castle and found Hermione standing in front of the sinks in the girl's bathroom. Why Harry's father and Uncles could map out the girl's bathroom, he would ask later, but he had gladly found Hermione. Then the reality hit the pair, she didn't know about the troll. Harry signalled for Zoe and Neville to come with him to the bathroom and they followed, with Zoe filling Neville in on the way. When they turned a corner and heard loud, thudding footsteps, they backed up against the wall behind a suit of armour. The troll walked past the hallway and looked straight at the suit of armour that stood against the wall. It decided that a piece of chainmail wasn't worth its time. "That's a fully grown mountain troll, its skin can't be penetrated by most magic, especially first-year magic. So cutting charms are off the table." Zoe said as Neville just looked at her in bewilderment. She answered his look "I read a lot of magical creatures books."
They followed the map but realised that the hall only had two entrances, the girl's bathroom and the caretaker's cupboard. The troll was on a direct course for the bathroom that Hermione was in. Harry bolted through Zoe's outstretched arms that were meant to stop him running in, figurative guns blazing, straight to Hermione. He felt so angry at the Weasel for putting Hermione through all of this and vowed revenge later. The troll had found Hermione. She looked up at the beast and screamed for help. Luckily Harry had slid through the troll's legs due to the wet floor from broken sink pipes and had run to Hermione's aid.
He cast a protego that was strong enough to hold the hulking beast back from the frightened girl. Zoe rushed in, seconds later and along with Neville's help, they managed to distract the troll. Neville shot a stunning spell at the troll's eye and temporarily blinded it. This gave Zoe the chance to freeze it in place with a powerful "Immobulus" and to finish off the attacker Hermione stepped in. She stepped around the shield, used the hover charm to levitate the club and left it to slam down onto the ugly thing's head. The troll fell to the floor after swaying around slightly and crashed into the tiles with an earth-shattering *THUD*.
The horde of Professors just stood, watching the scene with immense pride and fear. They had arrived after Hermione had used the Levitation charm to knock the troll out cold. Professor McGonagall was the first to break out of her stupor and rushed over to her Gryffindors to check on them. "What were you thinking, you could have died, you could have been pulverised? What were you all doing here?" Hermione answered, thinking of how the other three must feel. "It wasn't their fault Professor. They came to look for me after I had been in here during the feast and they saw the troll trying to kill me. If they hadn't done something, I'd probably be dead." She didn't hold back the truth exactly, but she had left out the reason why she wasn't at the feast because she was embarrassed about her emotional fragility.
The incident with the troll had to be known about by the parents, so in the morning following the Hallowe'en disaster, an owl carrying a letter was sent out to each of the parents of the children and naturally, lots had been asking about the situation. Several hundred owls had been sent to Professor Dumbledore and he had not been seen outside his office in weeks. Many students had gone home until Dumbledore could ensure that the castle was safe again. The last time an incident involving student safety had happened was in 1943 when Myrtle Warren had died from a rumoured acromantula bite. This is when the groundskeeper at Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid was expelled from the school and blamed for the keeping the aforementioned acromantula.
The lessons for first years especially were less full and most muggle-born or half-blood students had left until a change was made. Hermione Granger stayed because she had great friends at Hogwarts. Harry and Zoe had both stayed because their parents had sent them back since they completely trusted Dumbledore. Their time at home was interesting even if brief. Harry and Zoe had asked the 3 Marauders how they made the map and how exactly they had shown the girls bathrooms on it. This was when a bombshell was dropped, Lily had helped them create the map, but didn't want her name or any reference to her on the map for fear of getting into trouble. She wasn't an official Marauder but she was still considered one after Hogwarts. James and Sirius insisted that Lily have her name on the map instead of Peter's after his betrayal but she still didn't want it.
The break from school was just the thing Hermione needed to sort out her problems. She was sent home to her parents but begged to go back after two days without her friends. Daniel and Emma Granger were apprehensive at first but decided that after what Hermione had described her friends doing to the troll, she would be fine with friends as loyal and strong as they were. Another factor of Hermione's return to school arrived on the 2nd of November. A letter from Harry. He was surprisingly worried about Hermione possibly not being let back into Hogwarts by her parents. Hermione was slightly embarrassed at how Harry had portrayed her, especially after a few lines: 'Hermione is a wonderful and amazing person. Forget magic in the equation, she is one of the smartest people I know. I would be extremely disappointed if Hermione did not return to Hogwarts as my sister Zoe and I would miss her immensely.' When Dan was out of earshot of them to check on the food, Mrs Granger asked Hermione "So, he's the lucky guy then?" The look on Hermione's face was hilarious, a mixture of embarrassment and shock. Little did either know that she was spot on.
When the Hogwarts Express came to Kings Cross Station on the 23rd of November, Harry waited anxiously for the smartest witch of their generation on Platform 9 and 3/4. Zoe shook him out of his daze from watching the barrier and said "Don't worry Harry, I'm sure she will come back. Don't forget, I miss her too." The next people through the barrier weren't Hermione, but the Weasleys. Fred and George waved hello to Harry and Zoe, Ron sneered, Percy and Arthur greeted them with handshakes and Ginny simply hid behind her mother with a clear red blush on her cheeks after seeing Harry. They had come over to apologise for Ron's behaviour and had heard that Fred and George got along with their group of friends.
When the apology and formalities were over and done with, Mrs Weasley introduced Ginny to them and said that she would be going to Hogwarts next year. Then the unexpected happened, Ginny rushed up to Harry and gave him a crushing hug. Everyone, but Mrs Weasley and Ginny were in shock. Molly's excuse was simply "Oh it's alright dear, she's just being friendly and she really likes you anyway." This was the moment that Hermione chose to run through the barrier with her parents and look for Harry. He immediately pulled away from the Weasley hug and ran over to Hermione who did the same thing Ginny had just done. Molly and Ginny Weasley looked flabbergasted and slightly angry. The Weasley matriarch called for the boys to get on the train. Molly, Arthur and Ginny were leaving, but not without Mr Weasley saying a rushed "Sorry" for their actions.
Zoe quickly joined in the fray of hugs and the Grangers were ecstatic that Hermione did have real friends at Hogwarts. Mr Granger pulled them apart and addressed Harry properly "You were Harry, right?" The boy nodded "Thank you for that letter you wrote, it was lovely but in the future, couldn't you just use the postman instead of an owl?" Mr Granger joked but was half-serious as well. Emma sighed in relief. She thought that Dan was going to give him the scary, girl-friends dad cliché even though Hermione wasn't Harry's yet, but was relieved that he didn't. The Hogwarts Express called the final whistle and the students had to board. Once again, the clock struck 11 and the train was passing country lanes.
In their compartment, Hermione and Zoe discussed something that Harry couldn't hear but he went off to find Neville. He was wandering down the wrong year compartment when Harry found him. He led Neville back to the compartment and started discussing the happenings at Kings Cross with Ginny, as Neville had seen it from afar when talking to Susan Bones. They laughed at the idea before Neville asked him a serious question. "Harry, you like Hermione more than a 'friend' would, don't you?" Harry sat there and asked what brought the question up. "It's just that you seem like you care for her, like more than anyone, apart from maybe her parents." Harry was left with this question for the rest of the trip. His answer was only for Hermione's ears.
When the Hogwarts students finally returned from their break, they noticed several people were missing from the staff table. Professors Snape and Quirrell were absent, along with Hagrid who was nowhere to be found. Dumbledore only explained the absence of Hagrid and Quirrell, saying "Hagrid as some of you may know, once attended Hogwarts himself, but was expelled due to reasons we cannot disclose. He has taken his years as a gamekeeper very seriously and in the next school year, he will be ready to take over Professor Kettleburn's position teaching Care of Magical-Creatures, as Professor Kettleburn wants to retire early to spend time with his remaining limbs. Hagrid will be coming back shortly before your Christmas break, so when he arrives, do not bombard him with questions please. Professor Quirrell will be taking a short leave of absence to tend to some injuries he has sustained over the break." These words were exactly what Harry and Hermione needed to hear. Harry had been researching Mr Nicholas Flamel over the break and had concluded what was behind the trapdoor.
The Philosopher's Stone was a mystical artefact that was created as a dual project by Flamel and Albus Dumbledore. It could be used to turn any metal into gold. Currently, only one was in existence and Harry suspected it was being kept beneath their very feet, under the trapdoor, possibly guarded by more than just a Three-headed dog. They had to find out soon. The more interesting part was that it could be used to brew the elixir of life which would make the person effectively immortal, as long as they kept drinking it. If Quirrell was after whatever was under the trapdoor, Fluffy may have been the one to hurt him. They needed to get to the item first and that meant preparing for the other obstacles. As dim as Professor Dumbledore seemed, Zoe and Hermione figured that he would at least have more trials than an easy-to-open door and a giant puppy.
The time at Hogwarts was uneventful up until Christmas break. Harry and Zoe stayed at Hogwarts because Lily and James were visiting them anyway until they had a business trip from the 27th until New Years. Sirius and Remus were accompanying them to see the children too. Hermione had also stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas break, having wanted to stay with Harry and Zoe, rather than go skiing. On the morning of December 25th, the three first-year Gryffindors made their way down to the common room and exclaimed "Merry Christmas!" to each other. The adults would be arriving later for the Christmas dinner that the elves in the kitchen were preparing.
The trio, being excitable children, dove into their gifts from each other first. Harry and Zoe had agreed with Hermione that they didn't want separate gifts as she was insisting and so their gift had been a Wizarding photo of them and Neville. It was a very thoughtful gesture and had been a lot more sentimental to Harry than he expected. Their gift almost seemed to have less thought put into it. Harry and Zoe had both had the idea of a book, but weren't sure which she had read. So they decided on something very useful. The first book was titled, 'Ancient Lineages of the Magical world'. This edition was incredibly thick and came with a note. Harry had put it there to make sure she found the right page. It read 'Hermione. We have found someone who you might like to see. Turn to page 2067'.
The page in question started on the Granger Family tree that spanned over hundreds of generations of witches, wizards, muggles and squibs alike. What was particularly startling was the fact that she was related to many Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. There were a few Gryffindors scattered around here-and-there, including herself but she was the only witch for five generations that had magical abilities. The last person was named Alexander Cress. He was a Ravenclaw that had gone on to marry a muggle-born witch named Caitlin Hughes. Later down the line, her parents were there, yet of course, they were not listed as a witch or wizard.
They had all gotten some flapjack from the Hagrid, who they had become quick friends with over the last few days. It was surprisingly delicious and edible, surprising as Hagrid's baking had been notorious for needing Madam Pomfrey to regrow several teeth at a time, though they didn't let him know this. The book that they had gotten Hagrid for Christmas about baking and cooking was clearly a good idea if Hagrid kept this up. The other numerous gifts were appreciated and useful for all of them. Then the adults were allowed to use the floo access in McGonagall's office to visit the children. Lily and James let the two Potter children run up to them and ensnare them in a tight embrace.
The presents that were exchanged were thoughtful and something the children had hinted at unknowingly. Harry had owled his father using his brilliant owl Hedwig to tell him about the prank he and Neville had pulled on Malfoy and Nott. This was seen as a sign from the boy. He was ready to start to become a Marauder. So as a fitting gift, he gifted Harry his old Invisibility cloak, passed down to him from his father, Fleamont Potter. This was something Harry had not even seen before as it was meant to be kept within the Potter family, who had descended from the Peverells. James didn't want Harry to blab to his friends about a powerful invisibility cloak so he had never mentioned it. His very own ancestor, Ignotus Peverell had once owned it, so it felt special and rare.
Zoe's gift was from her maternal side of her family. Her grandmother Euphemia Potter had bestowed her own journal to her daughter-in-law and then she had passed. Lily would now pass those notes onto her daughter, as was the Potter family tradition. They contained useful spells, curses, hexes, potion methods and all sorts of other handy tips. Lily also had one, which she had used for her favourite and best-achieving classes, being charms and transfiguration. This was subtly hinted at during her most recent chats with her mother, that her favourite and best classes were charms and transfiguration. Zoe was a book lover, second to only Hermione in Hogwarts, so the gift felt very appropriate.
Sirius and Remus then stepped forward as the favourite uncles and presented Harry and Zoe with their gifts, but told them to wait one moment before unwrapping them. They beckoned Hermione forward and gave her a gift as well. She gave them a confused look and said "Wait, a gift for me? Why? You didn't need to, after all, I've only met you both once". They just said "With what the gifts are, we couldn't leave you or Neville out. It wouldn't be right". All three children hastily unwrapped their presents off Remus and Sirius. They looked confused still. They all held a silver framed mirror, with runes carved into them. "They are communication mirrors. You can see each other or any of us in them, as we also have some. Just tap it with your wand and say the name or place you wish to see. They will glow blue and speak to you with the caller's name if someone tries to communicate with them." Harry spoke up and started the round of thanks for all the gifts and people with them today. A few hours later, as if by magic, the day was at a spectacular end.
The remainder of the holidays were spent with Hagrid and Fang, his dog. Zoe and Hermione had gone alone to Hagrid's house on the night of January the 2nd because Harry had wanted to go to the library to find out more about Mr Flamel. The school term was set to start again in five days, so the students would arrive in four. This was a prime opportunity to research the first two obstacles set for the trapdoor. The three-headed dog and the door on the third floor. Harry had gone to look up some locking spells and some disillusionment charms to the door that they could use to stop Quirrell from noticing the door to take the item. Harry had also spent a lot longer in the library under the invisibility cloak than he should have; it was now half-past 10 at night. When Harry eventually got his nose out of the book on 3rd-year charms, he noticed that the room was empty, dark and quiet.
After putting the books back, he was about to head to the dormitories but he heard Filch on the prowl for students out of bed, even during the holidays. Harry's wand was still lit so he extinguished the light at the tip of his wand and covered himself with the invisibility cloak, once again. He narrowly avoided the deranged caretaker and slipped past him, whilst accidentally brushing the mangy cat Mrs Norris on the way out. 'Merlin, I wish I could properly kick that cat' he thought as he winded through the hallways of Hogwarts again. The two night-time prowlers and Harry were steadily running after each other. Harry ran from Mrs Norris who could smell him and Filch followed suit after the feline.
Luckily, Harry found a room off the side of the 2nd floor and entered, leaving the cat stranded and Filch clueless as to his location. The room looked to be a disused classroom and only contained one item. A long, full-body mirror stood in the middle of the room and sported a gold frame on two sturdy legs. An inscription at the top read: 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi'. The strange words were clearly either back to front, broken apart or both together. Being the intelligent boy he was, he tested out his theories. The first two didn't provide anything, but when put together, the words read: 'I show not your face but your heart's desire'. Harry honestly pondered on the subject of his deepest desires, the usual stuff came up first, fame, glory, power, revenge. Suddenly it occurred to the boy that he wanted none of that. He was content.
He took some steps gingerly towards the mirror and was captured by its beauty. Yet before he could truly see what his heart's desire was, a voice called out to Harry from the back of the room. The Gryffindor turned around rapidly and was met with the face of the Headmaster, Dumbledore. "Harry. Do you know what this is?" Harry was honestly surprised that Dumbledore would keep more stuff behind easily unlockable doors but answered anyway. "It's a mirror that shows nothing more or nothing less than one's deepest, darkest of desires. It really is a fascinating artefact." Harry could sense that he was trying Dumbledore's patience and Dumbledore could see that Harry wanted to see what his desire was. The old wizard was the only one who knew and he intended to keep it that way.
"That is entirely correct, my dear boy, but I must advise that you do not search for this again. It will be moved come the morning. Harry, go back to bed and do not meddle with things you don't understand anymore. It will not end well for you. Many men and women have wasted away, by merely looking at what they may never attain. This is not the path that I want for you. If you saw anything in the mirror, it will not become the truth, it is a vision simply put and nothing else." Harry bade the old coot a goodnight, wondering if he could read minds like Harry knew Snape could. The Professor made sure that Harry had gone before looking into the mirror himself. He saw only the thing he was aiming to do within the short time he had left.
The next morning, Harry had told his sister and Hermione what had happened after the library incident and Hermione asked what he had seen in the mirror. He replied with the truth, even if a disappointing one "I saw only a glimpse of a woman, she had brown hair and that is all I saw. It was like Dumbledore didn't want to let me see my desires. I don't even know who it was. At breakfast, Harry caught the Headmasters' eye and it twinkled with success. Harry didn't have to hear it, to know what it meant, he wasn't going to find the mirror or see his deepest desire. Yet he would still try. Later that night, Harry again crept out of bed, to find Hermione sitting on the sofa in the common room. She greeted him with a "Good evening Harry, what are you doing up." It wasn't a question as Hermione already knew the answer. He wanted to look for and in the mirror.
"Harry, you can't. Even if Dumbledore wasn't messing around with you, he is still correct. You could waste so much time in front of it if you find it and what will you do then? You can't spend the rest of your life looking for a mystery woman if she even exists among the millions of brown-haired women in the world." Due to the lecture from Hermione, he very reluctantly went back up to bed. His dreams were haunted by visions of people with brown hair and women who it could belong to. Then a thought popped into his head. The very person he had just spoken to had brown hair. Hermione could have been the mystery person.
The new year had come around surprisingly fast and the students of Hogwarts were quickly returning to Scotland for another term at the British school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. The first week back was relaxing but then the Professors started to grill them about their exams. Even though the end-of-year examinations were months away, the majority of the student body had taken the revision advice and done something with it. Hermione took the tests more seriously than anyone else before O.W.L. She was anxious about her tests because muggles used levels to mark students and if they were bad, they would be moved down to the lower class for less-capable people. This was a point that the Professors did not know about that made any muggle-born students worry even further.
During the next few weeks, everyone in the castle had taken to revising when they could, bar a few notable people, Ronald Weasley, Theodore Nott and Malfoy's henchmen from Slytherin were a few offenders but everyone expected this. Though the Professors tried to drill the habit of studying into them, they wouldn't listen or heed the advice if they had. After the incident with Filch and Dumbledore during the holidays, the number of prefects around the castle had doubled, though no-one but Harry and Dumbledore knew why. 'The mirror is the most elusive artefact in the world right now' Harry thought after nearly getting caught out of bed again by Percy Weasley and his puffed-out chest.
At the weekend, Harry and Zoe had gone to find Hermione after she had fallen asleep doing some revision at one of the desks in the library. "Hermione. Wake up, Hermione." Zoe whispered gently. The bookworm didn't budge. "Hold on Zoe. I've got this. Hey- Hermione, Professor Flitwick wants to see you about your grades". Hermione shot up from her slumber with a worried look in her eyes. She looked around for the half-goblin and snarled at Harry for his method of waking her up "Harry! Don't do that. You gave me a heart attack." He apologised but sat down on one side of Hermione and Zoe on the other. "I'm sorry but I need to ask you two a question. I think we need to look down the trapdoor again, now that we know how to deal with fluffy and the large drop.
The girls stared at Harry in disbelief. "Harry, you can't be serious about this. It's incredibly dangerous, plus, how would we get back up from whatever is at the bottom of the trapdoor?" Neville came over and asked about the girls' shocked faces. Harry explained and Neville was with him on this point. "It should be easy to get back up using a seize and pull charm. I looked it up. It's a third-year charm but it should be easy. It can pull the caster to a fixed point if the item is fixed to something, so we aim it at the ceiling of the room above the trapdoor and escape. The incantation is Carpe Retractum. This was one of the points in Neville's life where people considered him being in Ravenclaw. The charm wasn't meant for this but would work. Thanks to Neville's logic and some coaxing from Harry, the girls reluctantly agreed.
The plan was set to take place the next weekend after they had all practised the seize and pull charm along with the cushioning charm: 'Molliare'. The weekend approached and all four had learnt the spells needed off by heart with the plan carefully embedded in their heads. At 1:00 pm on Sunday, whilst everyone else was either outside or in the great hall for lunch, the four people headed off to the third-floor corridor and silently unlocked the door, walked through and closed the door again. It was lucky that Fluffy was already asleep by the time they had got there. The locking charm and disillusionment charm were placed upon the door after it had closed. Zoe charmed a harp in the corner to play softly and Neville opened the trapdoor. All four children peeked through the hole and lit their wands using Lumos. Hermione placed a cushioning charm at the bottom and showing success, it found an object with a loud squishing sound.
Harry spoke up "Alright, I'll call up for the next person to come down when I have landed. Here we go." He jumped down through the trapdoor and fell at least 50 metres down. The hole was merely a small square of light now. He landed on a squishy object and called for the next person to come down. Hermione bravely leapt and met Harry at the bottom. Neville joined them a minute later and Zoe a further minute later. They lit their wands again and found themselves trapped in a plant with disgusting green tendrils and it covered the entire area of the circle they were trapped in. Then Neville helpfully identified it as the Devil's Snare, except engorged slightly. So he relaxed and simply fell right through to the stone below him. Hermione was next and then Zoe. Harry had tried to relax but it was difficult to say the least, as a tendril had found its way around his neck and was slowly trying to crush his windpipe.
Hermione was distraught and recounted the rhyme that Professor Sprout had told them "Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare. It's deadly fun… but will sulk in the sun. That's it, we need sunlight or fire. Frigus Incendio!" The plant released its capture and Harry dropped to the stone. "Thanks, Hermione, what would I do without you?" She blushed and helped him up. There were a set of steps leading back up to the Devil's Snare to get out, so that helped them all slightly. There was also a path that led into a larger room that had a layout like a giant chessboard. The pieces of marble were dyed either pearl white or jet black and they were decorated like wizards chess pieces. That was a big mistake in Harry's eyes as a powerful enough redactor curse or exploding curse would demolish any stone structure. Deciding that they had had enough of exploring today, they all went back up to lunch and made sure to keep their adventure a secret.
The end of March rolled around very quickly for students at Hogwarts. This was largely due to the immense stress of exams that made them keep their heads down and revise. The usual suspects were behind some pranks and bad behaviour that lightened the mood a little for everyone. The Weasley twins were up to their usual tricks and making alliances with Peeves, without going too far over the line. The gang of Slytherins were the same as normal, parading their blood-status around like a badge of honour, making the half-bloods and muggle-borns feeling insecure. The medieval methods at the school were infuriating due to the teachers' lack of empathy for this. Even some of the prefects had turned a blind eye to the poor behaviour and conduct, such as Percy not 'seeing Ron belittle other students with a lower blood status and ignoring the twin's constant disregard for the rules. The only people actually enforcing rules around the school were the Head Boy and Girl and some of the courageous students willing to speak out against the bullying and racism.
Hermione was one of the prime targets for the racism and hate, due to the Slytherin's race superiority complex and the Ravenclaws disdain for her beating them to the answers in tests and class. Some of the other half-bloods had been exempt from the bullying because they had also belittled the muggle-borns. Those who stood by the hated were seen as the strongest and the stupidest. Strong for standing up against a group larger than themselves and foolish for standing up against the people that society agreed with. Even without the constant humiliation, Hermione was still stressed due to the upcoming exams in May. Although Harry, Zoe and Neville were there for her always. They had made friends with some people who were standing up for the bullied and harassed like Cedric Diggory, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff. Cho Chang from Ravenclaw and many Gryffindors like the quidditch team.
Those people who chose the path that most of the Slytherins had taken would sit separately in the Great Hall to avoid being targeted by association. There was no rule to say that the students from different houses couldn't sit together, so the people on one side of the hall would sneer at the other, whilst most of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were caught in between the two. The teachers were either oblivious to this sudden attitude or were too scared to take the issue to the board of School Governors, who mostly consisted of those richer, 'purer' and Slytherin people that the discriminated against were opposing.
With the stress of exams looming like a stubborn raincloud, Hermione was doing all she could to revise for the upcoming test, while Harry was more concerned over her treatment and when Quirrell was going to strike at the stone under the trapdoor. He had felt his scar ache and burn whenever he was looking at the back of Quirrell's turban. Harry was sure that this meant trouble and that the defence against the dark arts professor was a threat. On one Wednesday after DADA, Harry's scar had hurt so much that he collapsed on the floor of the hospital wing, which Zoe had taken him to. "Harry? Harry! Wake up, please! Madam Pomfrey! Please help!" Zoe shouted to Harry and the healer, the former rushing over to inspect Harry's head. She used some diagnostic charms and levitated him onto a bed. She also called Professor Dumbledore through the floo passage in her office.
Professor Dumbledore looked, for the first time anyone had seen, worried and anxious. Only he knew the reason why and he chose not to share the reason with anyone, especially Harry or his sister. If Harry were to die before his time, the world would be in extreme danger. The healer brought Albus to her and said in a hushed tone "He is radiating dark magic, yet I can't imagine anyone here, especially the Potters to use such methods. The source seems to be from his head, more specifically, his scar". This didn't surprise the old man as he already knew what had happened to Harry and didn't want anyone to know. Madam Pomfrey gave Harry a Pepper-up potion to ease his stressed nerves and went to her office to grab some forms. Then Albus did what he thought any sane person in his situation would do: He obliviated her.
Madam Pomfrey stood in her office, clad with glassy eyes and a relaxed look to match. No one else had seen the Headmaster do this and if they had, he would be in severe trouble. The only sound coming from the office was the slow breathing of the matron and the thankful sigh of relief from Dumbledore, He had modified Pomfrey's memory to think that all Harry needed was a dreamless sleep draught and the pepper-up potion she had already given him. Zoe saw the two people walk out of the office and watched Madam Pomfrey walk over to Harry with a vial of dreamless sleep draught with orders to take it before he went to sleep that night. His sleep was indeed dreamless and devoid of any fearful visions, yet his scar would not calm down after he looked at the back of Quirrell's head.
After the incident with Harry's collapse, all four friends never left each others' side and they made sure they weren't separated by a long stretch in classes. Their exams were in view as the days rolled over into April. Hermione was taking them very seriously as she normally would have in a muggle school but also worked to take care of Harry when she knew his scar was hurting. The practice exams should have been enough to worry her but they didn't, as she was focused and determined to get better than other people to prove that she was more than just a muggle-born. She was a person with dreams, aspirations and goals. She was a witch of Gryffindor.
The exams were upon them. Class, after class was spent revising the laws of transfiguration or the Goblin Rebellions of the 1500s or the proper way to deal with an acromantula, should you ever come across one. The last exam that Hermione had left was the transfiguration practical. She walked out biting her nails and rubbing her hands in anxiety. The ones that weren't doing their electives had the rest of the day and week off due to all of the hard work that the students had been putting in. This was the prime opportunity to relax and sit back to reflect on their work this year at Hogwarts. They would not get their exam results back until the day before they left for the summer holidays.
The next few days were agony for Harry and the group, as they expected Quirrell to strike at the stone at any moment. Their collective thoughts were interrupted when a letter dropped into Zoe's lap by Sidera. The letter was from Hagrid, he wanted to show them something and to come to his hut at 6:00 pm after dinner and an hour before curfew. They all agreed to go, though Neville did so begrudgingly as he did not like some of the beasts that Hagrid was said to have kept. So at the specified time, Harry threw the invisibility cloak over them all and they wandered down the outside steps to Hagrid's hut. When they arrived at the large oak door, Hermione rapped on it with her knuckles and the half-giant ushered them into the hut. The humidity was nearly unbearable for them under the cloak but didn't get better after taking it off. They noticed that all of the windows were closed and the fire underneath the cauldron in the fireplace was at an almost alarming height.
They peered inside trying to avoid the roaring flames that Hagrid insisted were under control. There in the pewter container was a dark, black, round object that Hagrid naturally had to use oven mitts to handle. On closer inspection, Zoe, using her in-depth knowledge of magical creatures recognised it as a dragon egg. "Hagrid, how did you get one, they're almost impossible to breed in Britain. That must have cost you a fortune" Zoe stated, still keeping her eyes trained on the egg as if it was going to pounce on her. "Nah. 'Ony cost me a game 'o cards with some strange 'fella down the pub. Seemed quite glad to be rid of it I reckon." Then the egg started to make a tapping sound and then a piece of the egg broke away onto the table. A large yellow eye followed Neville as he looked at it. Fang was the only one not even slightly intrigued as he was content chewing on a piece of rawhide.
Only seconds later, a tiny black dragon burst through the egg's exterior shell and onto the table where it stared straight at Hagrid and growled in a high pitch. It sent small sparks out of its nostrils and batted its wings to fan the small blaze it had created on the tablecloth. "Uhh, Hagrid. You realise that this is a wooden house and that is going to be a large, fire-breathing dragon soon don't you?" Neville said to an oblivious game-keeper that was enamoured with the small reptile. "Tha' isn't just any Dragon Neville. Tha's a Norweigan Ridgeback, one fierce breed." Hagrid replied, ignoring the boy's previous question. Then the clock on the wall of the stifling hut struck 7:00 and the children noticed they were out past curfew. Harry also noticed some green and black robes billowing in the wind that two Slytherins had left behind. There was no mistaking the hair colours even from the back. A fiery red-head and a blonde pompous prick were running back up the stairs to the castle.
The three said their goodbyes and promised to be back later in the week. They promptly followed suit of the two Slytherins and forgot, in their haste to put the cloak back on. It was only when they ran into Professor McGonagall at the Lady's portrait that they remembered the cloak of invisibility in Harry's pocket. Astoundingly the Professor didn't deduct points from them for being out only two minutes past curfew but did give all six people some work to for Hagrid next week as a slight punishment. She ushered the Gryffindors through the portrait and bade them goodnight before escorting the other two back to their dorms. Hermione heard a flustered Ron Weasley stammer to McGonagall "I swear, they- they helped him hatch a dragon!" She said that she would inquire about it but there would be nothing to fear. He wasn't technically lying but he was trying to get them into more trouble and Hermione still hated the prat.
The next day, Hagrid flashed some sad looks toward the Gryffindors at breakfast. That wasn't a good sign for the dragon situation. They went down to his hut after breakfast with him and had some tea paired with scones, jam and clotted cream. All thanks to the book that they had given him for Christmas. He explained what Professor's McGonagall and Dumbledore had said about the dragon that he had named Norberta. The baby dragon was to be sent to Albania to live amongst her kind and Ron Weasley's brother, Charlie with some expert Dragon handlers were coming to pick her up after lunch. They all sat in silence save for Hagrid's sobbing and comforted him. They felt his pain but they also felt the pain from Hagrid's bone-crushing hugs.
The time came for Hagrid to let the little Dragon go to her new home as they saw Charlie Weasley and three other dragon-handlers swoop down with a cage strung an equal distance between four brooms. They all stood with Hagrid as he said goodbye to his own little dragon and watched as the brooms and creature flew off in the direction they came from, the sunny horizon. "Goodbye Norberta, I'll come and visit yeh sometimes" Hagrid yelled through stifled sobs. From between the trees near Hagrid's hut, a lone Slytherin student also waved off the dragon-keepers and came out to apologise for his misdemeanour as his older brother had told him to. "Hey. Uh, Hermione, I came to apologise for the stuff I said. I just wanted to be friends with Harry and I got jealous of your friendship. I think I want to be friends with you too if that's alright." Ron Weasley said, almost sounding like he meant it.
At this point, Hermione was furious. The arrogant, self-centred red-head was asking forgiveness for acts against an entire race, taking so much anger and taking so much hatred out on her but what angered her the most was the fact that he and Malfoy had made it so that, of no choice of his own, Hagrid had to give away his dragon that he loved and cared for. No, Hermione was well-past the point of forgiveness. She wanted to pummel him and make him hurt just as much as he had hurt her. Then she stopped and realised that, while she wanted revenge, he was right in one regard. She was of a lower blood-status than the Weasleys and could be locked up in Azkaban for any acts committed against him. Harry decided that this wasn't the time to deal with this and Ronald wasn't going the right way about apologising.
Just before Harry had started talking, Zoe had begun to hear voices in her head that sounded like all of the people around her. Except the only one moving their mouth was Harry, yet she could hear Hagrid's thoughts 'I wonder if Harry can hex him for me', Hermione's thoughts 'Why can't I tell Harry the truth about my feelings and Ron's only thought 'Uhh, what do I do now, he's going to bloody kill me, he likes the Mudblood too much for his own good'. Then, she collapsed to her knees and held her hands to her ears, trying to block out the racing thoughts of concern and confusion ineffectively, as the voices were inside her head, churning around and making her brain hurt. Hagrid noticed this first and carried her up to the hospital wing after she had collapsed. The other four people followed suit.
For the second time in a month, a Potter child was in the matron's hospital wing and the woman thought her job of dealing with them would be over for the year. 'Apparently not' was heard inside Zoe's head. Yet no-one heard the words from the healer's mouth. "Miss Potter, what is wrong? You need to tell me." All she could mumble was "Voices. You… all… head… loud…voices" and then she was forced to drink a potent sleeping draught, that was designed to work instantly. She fell into a deep slumber and Hagrid placed her on the bed to the right of him with a very gentle grip. The matron needn't call Albus for this issue, as it was simply the fact that she was a natural legilimens. A mind reader by birth but only able to unleash it after a certain time. She told all present of her abilities and asked Harry if he could owl his parents to notify them of this most recent development.
He did so at once but returned hastily and immediately after sending the owl, to be with his sister in the hospital wing. His parents had received the letter and had requested a floo route through Professor McGonagall's office after they had told her the news. The worried Potters ran through the all-too-familiar castle with McGonagall at their heels, like an excited crup. All three burst through the oak doors, much to the dismay of Madam Pomfrey who hounded them about her only patient and her rest. While Lily rushed over to her daughter, James walked over to Madam Pomfrey and waved his wand. Harry recognised this as a muffling charm that James had told him about. It was used when people wanted some time to talk privately. The muffled conversation would have sounded to the others like a loud buzzing sound in their ears, like a large bee rattling around their heads but to James and Pomfrey, it was very different.
"Are you sure she's a legilimens? I mean, my family hasn't had a person with that ability for many generations. It is massively unheard of." James said, confident that he would not be overheard through the Muffliato charm. The matron replied with a steady voice and an expression of offence as if he didn't think she knew what she was doing. "I am quite sure. Her brainwaves show no sign of mental or physical instability, and the ability could have come from your wife's side of the family, you know. Either way, she is a legilimens and needs proper training. I have also done a small scan of Harry as well, during his most recent stay here. He may, I am unsure yet, be a metamorphmagus." All of this information was a lot to take in, at once, by only one parent, so James would tell Lily when she was done tending to her children. He lifted the muffling charm deftly and walked over to his daughter, whom Lily had been talking with, even though the calming draught's effects made her more tired.
Harry had taken the opportunity to talk to his dad about his scar as well but this was an issue that Harry needed to keep fairly secret. "Dad, I have to talk to you about something very important," Harry said as he drew his father aside again. "I think Professor Dumbledore did something to Madam Pomfrey. I came here the other day and she seemed terribly worried about me. Then the Headmaster took her to the office and she walked out 5 minutes later, telling me it was just a headache." James goggled at Harry and was shocked that his son would make such an accusation against Professor Dumbledore. Yet he knew that he would not lie about something as serious as this, especially if it involved his scar. James replied "Are you sure because this could be quite serious. Dumbledore is one of the only people besides your mother, and I who know about your scar."
He continued, ignoring Harry's shocked face "You should have been told this by now by the Headmaster. Your scar is connected to Voldemort, how, we don't yet know. It could be that the part of your scar that relates to him is angry or scared by something and your own body reacts, by taking the pain it feels, out on you. Now back to the Dumbledore thing, if he has done something, it will be to protect you. If it was the information that I have just told you, he should have been telling it to you anyway, instead of me." This shocked Harry and he barely had time to process this before his father dropped another huge bombshell. "Madam Pomfrey also says that you may be a metamorphmagus. It means you might be able to change your physical appearance at will. If you are one, I know a trainee in the Auror department that is a metamorphmagus and she can help you to hone your possible abilities.
Harry nearly had to be taken to a hospital bed himself when he heard this news. It wasn't nearly as bad as the whole scar fiasco but was still a daunting prospect. Having the ability would be cool and fun, to say the least, yet it wasn't something Harry thought was possible to do at will. He asked his father for a chance of knowing for definite, so he called Madam Pomfrey over after she was finished tending to Zoe. Lily also walked over, hugging her son and telling him that his sister would be fine. James explained the situations, both the metamorphmagus and the scar, and Lily just stood there, in shock. James then asked the healer to scan Harry properly to see if he really did have the ability. "Ok then, stand back from him then, I can't have you two interfering with the diagnostic spells. She waved her wand back and forth, muttering under her breath, in Latin or some similar language and a sizzling sound occurred from her wand after a bright shape of a DNA double-helix appeared.
"Well. It looks like he is very much a metamorphmagus. Has he ever even shown signs before?" The matron asked the Potter adults. Lily replied "Yes, but we put it down to accidental magical transfiguration. He always grew his hair back to the length he liked it after I had finished cutting it. It won't stay down and it is always very messy. To think that all this time, you were just using your abilities of a metamorphmagus." Harry felt like he had been punched in the gut by the overload of information but stood strong and walked back over to his friends, and Weasley. "Uh, guys"- they all looked at him "I need to tell you something. It's important, so make yourself scarce Ronald". They all gathered around and Harry made sure Zoe would hear later. "I'm a metamorphmagus!"
After Harry had told them all the secret, that he had never known, all four of them got closer as they all held common secret. Zoe also found out about her abilities, yet she asked Madam Pomfrey to tell no-one about them unless she specifically had to. After Zoe had learned of Dumbledore's treachery and sneaky behaviour, she especially didn't want the matron to tell him, as she didn't know what he would do with the information. Ron Weasley had indeed tried to apologise for his earlier behaviour but had followed that up with a thought containing the word Mudblood. Zoe was still angry about this and told those that weren't the bushy-haired witch what the ginger had said in his mind. This made them all fall back into their old and simple ways of opposing Ronald Weasley again.
The end-of-year exams were brutal. The practical tests in each class were easy enough as they were tested in their classes, on the desks, all at the same time. The written and theory test for each subject was another matter entirely. The quills they were using were anti-cheat and would not help with spelling. This, of course, wasn't a problem for most, like Hermione, who scored 112% on her charms written test and beat everyone else in the year on everything else but defence against the dark arts and transfiguration. These were Harry's and Zoe's talents. His practical had also been great, despite the scalding-hot scar every time he looked towards Quirrell. He wanted to do well in this, as he wanted to become an Auror, like his father and his Auror partner, Frank Longbottom. Neville's father had been extraordinary, somehow managing to keep James in line from rushing into fights with his wand first, and his brain about a mile behind.
Hermione wasn't upset about being beaten in two tests, as she knew Harry put most of his work into making his parents proud, especially his father and that Zoe was her near equal in intelligence. This was one of the reasons that the sorting hat had considered putting Harry in Slytherin, his ambition to be like his father. Zoe had aced her charms and Transfiguration tests, beating Hermione in the latter, by making the cushion they had transfigured from a hedgehog personalised to Professor McGonagall by embroidering the initials of her name onto it. The elderly witch hadn't seen skill like this from a first-year for many, many years. Neville had scored highest in the year and higher than even some in second-year on his Herbology exam, for his ingenious use of the many plants in medicinal potions and the amazing attention-to-detail.
The four had spent so much time revising that they had all next to forgotten about the Philosopher's stone. They remembered about it when the results buzz was over and Hermione had figured out any possible mistakes she had made on the tests, despite setting a record for the highest grade in charms for the last century. The hall was a pleasant place to be again, without the heaps of books or panicking students. The glare from Quirrell was still fixed on Harry and Snape's fixed on Quirrell. During the final week of term and the Hogwarts year, Quirrell had rushed out of the Great Hall by the end of lunch. Harry and Nevile were quick to notice this and told the girls what was happening.
The look of determination on Harry's face was almost worrying as the four sprinted to the common room to grab the cloak and to drop off their robes for their casual wear, letting them move faster. After the frantic run to the third-floor corridor, they went over the plan and listened through the door. All four heard the distinct sound of the trap-door opening and subsequently shutting. The music stopped too, meaning the beast was awake. Zoe knew how to calm a dog like this, music was the simple key. She led them through the door, and thankfully, Fluffy wasn't on it. The young witch murmured "Chorus" the Choir spell. It sent a musical tune, pleasing enough for the dog's massive, shaggy, black ears and instantly put the animal into a deep slumber.
The wooden block was pulled up and Neville went first, casting a cushioning charm as he fell. After he was out of the way, the rest followed and relaxed their bodies to escape the deadly clutches of the Devil's Snare. The Herbology prodigy proudly thanked them for their compliments on defeating the flora and decided to hurry to the next obstacle. The giant chess match was up but instead of bringing himself to play the boring game, Harry simply told the others to stand back. He mustered all his strength and will into the one spell and unleashed an exploding curse to rival the force of a landmine. The granite and marble structures stayed intact for a short moment, then Harry let out a small breath, intending to blow the rock away. The enchanted pieces shattered into a thousand shards and then were carried to the side by a cold draught in the room.
The four rushed through the next door and heard a small fluttering of wings as if a million tiny birds were chattering saying "Turn back now, while you have the chance". They ignored the charms obviously put on by Professor Flitwick and noticed the next wooden door on the opposite side of the room. They ran over to it and Harry yanked on the handle. It was stuck shut. "Great, now what do we do? We're stuck here with no way to get through and some annoying bir-WILL YOU SHUT UP!" Harry said, bellowing the last bit at the tiny creatures above them. Zoe then noticed that they weren't birds or even creatures at all. They were glimmering, winged keys, varying from ancient bronze to archaic gold with ornate inscriptions, on closer inspection. Hermione, in her infinite wisdom, suggested "We have to look for a key that matches the colour and pattern on the lock. The metal on the door in question sported a silver sheen and an etching of an eagle, confirming that this was in fact, the work of their diminutive charms Professor, the Head of Ravenclaw House.
Zoe used her keen eyesight to spot a key, wearing the same colouration and detail of the lock. A broom was spotted hovering in the air, just two feet away and above them. The youngest Potter grabbed the broom, feeling the hard, ridged wood on her hands, and shot off the ground towards the jingling mass of keys. A minute later, she had caught the correct opening tool and sped towards the ground, being tailed by a crowd of silvery menaces. She dropped the key to Hermione, who deftly slid it into the lock and turned. Zoe followed them through the oak door and the remainder of the party shut it, hearing the many bangs of the other keys, slam on the door. They turned around and Zoe hopped off the broom, welcoming the congrats on her flying skills. Then the putrid odour hit them like a speeding dragon. A troll, not unlike the one from Hallowe'en, was lying, face-first on the cold, cobbled floor, lying in a pool of greyish-red liquid by its head.
The troll was more than knocked out this time, it was utterly murdered. Brutally, savagely, killed, no-doubt by the other person on the trail of the Philosopher's Stone. The door was free to walk over to, avoiding the troll's puddle of blood and its massive, grey head. After reaching the door, the one-room left contained only a table, some bottles and a note on a piece of parchment. This logic puzzle was Hermione's chance to shine even more. The parchment contained a riddle, nothing to do with the actual potions, but which one they should drink. The other bit of common sense told Hermione that the fire was enchanted as it was black in colour. She read the note again carefully analysing the right phial to drink from. She finally spoke, "So the smallest bottle gets us through the flame and the purple one will get us back." She pointed at the smallest bottle and muttered the doubling charm. The bottle didn't react, so she tried it on the one to go backwards and two more sprouted from them.
Harry spoke up and stated what seemed obvious to him, "Go to Professor McGonagall, take the broom up through the trap-door and let me deal with Quirrell. Get her to get Dumbledore, I know he's practically senile but we need him. I know what has to be done." Harry grabbed the potion and gulped it down in one. Hermione then grabbed his arm, turned him around and gave him a nervous kiss on the cheek. "You will come back to me Harry James Potter. We need you to come back. I need you to come back." With the gesture of good luck, Harry took a step back through the black flames and turned to open the door, taking one, hopefully not last look, at his friends, his family and said "Always".
As the parting words hit Harry and he realised what exactly he had said, he knew that while he loved Zoe, being his sister and he considered Neville a brother, he had been talking specifically towards Hermione when he spoke those heartfelt sentiments. Harry knew that he must find his way back to her, he knew that it would tear her apart to see him lifeless at her feet and he would prevent that trauma from ever occurring. The potion will have worn off in a matter of minutes anyway, so there was no turning back, besides, the stuttering Professor had no claim to the stone, yet neither did Harry. He thought to himself 'What would I even do with such an object, I don't need or want to cheat death and I don't want immaterial riches that I do not require. I need to stop it from getting into the hands of anyone who would abuse its power.' During this passing thought, he had walked down the steps into a large, square room that had nothing in it, besides a man in purple and a large, gold-edged mirror.
The Mirror of Erised was here the whole time, yet Quirrell stood between it and Harry, blocking the reflection of the young boy's desire. The man spoke, yet this time, with no speech impediment and a tone as cold as ice and as sharp as a sword "Well Potter. I was wondering when you would show up. I heard that curse you used on the chess set, quite ingenious of you and foolish of the old warlock. You will come here, now. My master orders it." He started to unravel the deep purple turban he was wearing around his head and the DADA teacher turned around so that Harry could gaze into the face of the man, that tried to murder the Potter family.
The eyes were sunken and hollow, yet they still held a deep crimson red glow to them. His features were like that of a grotesque skeleton and looked sewn on to the back of the other man's head, just without the mark of a suture-wound. Harry calmly walked forward, until he could just see himself in the mirror and nothing else. The creature on the head whispered to his servant "Fetch the boy, he can get the stone for me. He will be instrumental in my return." Quirrell, using his own mouth now, screamed "Come here, Potter! You will look into the mirror and tell me what you see, NOW!" Harry obeyed and the Professor moved out of the way to give the boy some room to find the stone. The courageous first-year stepped forward and looked closely. Fog on the surface of the mirror cleared and showed Harry what he really wanted. He stood in bewilderment and stared at the image, in a trance.
He saw himself, but older, and wearing Ministry of Magic Auror robes. The woman standing next to him was a lot older but clear as the sky was dark that night, it was Hermione, holding the Philosopher's Stone. She gave it to the reflection of Harry and he pocketed it, a large rock shaped lump appearing in his trouser pocket. Harry then felt his own pocket on his beige trousers and managed to not blast the man behind him. As if on cue, the ghoul on the back of Quirrell's head asked demandingly "Well, what do you see, Boy?" Harry answered in a lie: "Uh. I'm holding the house cup and shaking Dumbledore's hand." The lie was unconvincing and half-constructed, but it stalled for time to think of what to do. The ghoul screamed again "HE LIES! HE HAS THE STONE. HIS POCKET YOU FOOL, IT'S IN HIS POCKET!" Harry tried to run, but the possessed man grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the stone floor. Harry's back seared with pain, but he couldn't give up, not when the person towering above him wanted the stone to revive the Dark Lord Voldemort.
Harry groaned and shuffled backwards, firing stunning spells and blasting hexes alike. The spells were batted away like flies on a hot summer day and the man started to get angrier and more annoyed by the second. He fired a lightning whip curse at Harry "FULGURELLUM, FULGERELLUM!" over and over again, until he was satisfied that the boy was unconscious. Harry knew what playing dead was, so he did just that and slowed his breathing to a very quiet occasional breath, stopping his chest from visibly rising underneath his thick jumper. The Professor above him with the shell of a man on the back of his skull reached down to grab the stone from the confines of Harry's pocket. Harry took this as an opportunity to send his most powerful reductor curse at the head of the monstrous creature. The spell hit, but Harry's strength was sapped by the lightning whip curse and his own curse had done no more damage than disfiguring the man's face, which served to anger the master and the puppet even more.
Quirrell shouted something inaudible to Harry and dived back down to pummel the boy. Then, a red glow enveloped Harry and his hands shot out to grab the shaking arms of Quirrell. The flesh on the Professor's arm was there one moment and then when Harry's hand made contact, the skin, flesh and bone were reduced to nothing more than dust. The older of the two fell over, screaming and clutching his stump of a dusty arm and then looked to Harry's left. The stone, bright as ruby and reflective as the mirror from whence it came, shone in the flames of the border of the room. Harry reacted with his only instinct, to get the stone away from the Dark Lord. The moment that the thought came to him, he yelled "Reducto" and pointed his wooden wand at the artefact. The bright red glow stopped enveloping the room and the blue hue of the Reductor curse took over, shattering the rock into a fine red powder, which the draught blew into the fiery border of the room. The Philosopher's Stone was gone.
The only thought that occurred to Harry now was, 'Hermione, I will come back to you. I promise.' His thought was interrupted by the howl of pain from Quirrell and the shriek of anger from the spirit in his head. The ghoul left the skull of the tormented Professor and the previously occupied body tumbled to the floor and lay there, unmoving, soulless and dead. The black wispy smoke that the soul of Voldemort took the form of, flew like a speeding bullet towards the young wizard. It left the confines of the dingy underground arena, but not before delivering Harry a parting gift. The smoke flew through Harry's body and propelled him into the stairs. The soul left and Harry fell, unconscious and hit his head on the step, knocking him out, cold.
The next things that Harry saw after waking from a painful slumber were the many brown locks of Hermione's hair, cascading over the forehead of the most worried person in the world. "Hey, Hermione. Thank Merlin you made it out alright. Look I'm sorry, but I destroyed the stone and Voldemort escaped." The mention of that name seemed to shock not just Hermione, but the other people standing around the bed, his mother, father, sister and his honourary brother. The matron just seemed fuming with them, especially Hermione, as she needed to tend to her patient. When Madam Pomfrey begrudgingly left, Harry explained it all from the point of him walking through the fire. Hermione had told the rest of the story to Harry's parents and the others knew already what they had done to help.
The whole discussion ended with Professor Dumbledore barging in, in a rather unsuitable manner, well, unsuitable for a Headmaster who should be worried about his student. "Harry, Minerva just told me what Poppy said she heard! Did you seriously destroy such a powerful artefact like that?!" Harry nodded, knowing that it would escalate. "Why would you do such a thing?! It was a secret project that only my partner and I knew of! Do you know what damage you have caused? Mr Flamel and his wife will have to sort out their affairs now! They will die soon, thanks to you!" The old man seemed to have fumed enough for now and let Harry answer the numerous questions that were bombarded at him. He started "Well, for starters, you basically announced that you had the object from the Gringotts vault, and where else are you but here. You also let all of these 'obstacles' be incredibly easy, so much so that 4 first-years were able to pass them, not to mention a Dark Lord who was possessing Quirrell. The stone was the easiest thing to figure out, considering you had both of your names on the thing in books. Finally, the reason that Voldemort wanted the Stone was so that he could bring his full body back and not have to use Quirrell's anymore. This meant that he couldn't have it, but neither should it be allowed to mess with the common fact that we all must die at some point!"
Harry winced from shouting at an incredibly dumbfounded Dumbledore, an action that made Hermione and Madam Pomfrey usher the old man away so that Harry could get some rest. Without realising it, 4 days had passed and the end-of-term feast was upon them. Harry would be going home to spend the holidays with his family, and since one of their houses was near the Grangers', Hermione as well. During the feast, Hermione noticed the absence of Harry, who was supposed to come out of the Hospital wing at any moment. The doors to the hall opened and Harry walked in, with his dignity intact, unlike his healing, broken arm. Without realising that the rest of Hogwarts was there, Harry ran with his sling supporting his arm, to the brown-haired witch in the middle of the Gryffindor table. She got up and waited for him. At breakneck speed, Harry crashed into Hermione and squeezed her tightly, following it up with something he intended to return. The kiss from the potions obstacle. Hermione reciprocated the gesture and the two finally realised where they were, after hearing some wolf-whistles and claps, the whistles being from the Weasley twins, of course.
The final ceremony saw Ravenclaw win the House Cup this year, and Dumbledore still mad at the four Gryffindors, even after the 25-point deduction each. The ride home was certainly a boring one and before the quartet knew it, they were again standing on Platform 9 and 3/4 dragging a trunk each and waving to their parents, eager to start their summer. Harry and Hermione especially.
This took me a while to compile and so I hope that it takes you some time to read it. It is a testament to how much I have grown as a writer in the short period of a couple of months. While I know this is the end of this journey that Harry takes, it is the whole start of the story of the Fight of Two Generations.
Also, keen eyed and long term readers would notice that I have changed Zoe's birthday to the 31st of July. Reason 1: I got extremely tired of trying to explain the mistake in Author's Notes. Reason 2: It makes them actually twins. They are born only a few hours apart.
P.S The Title of this 'Chapter' is meant to be a reference, if a fairly obscure and frankly bad reference to Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Both amazing shows that I have discovered and been binge watching recently. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! :)