More Than What Meets the Eye – Chapter 5 (For Another Year)
Harry already had on a set of new clothes, at the insistence of his Grams Rea. He no longer had to wear the rags of Dudley's anymore, those that been thrown out since the first day at the Brotherhood. Since then he had clothes that actually fit him, a lot of them were specially for the physical activity he would be doing for training. But that didn't mean he didn't have clothes for other everyday wear. Apparently, they knew he wouldn't be in robes everyday while at Hogwarts. Though he had been very embarrassed when his Grams Rea, Cassiopeia, and Lucretia had dragged him along for clothes shopping. But perhaps the embarrassment had been worth it…
He wouldn't change into his Gryffindor robes until he had to. Which wouldn't be until they got closer to Hogwarts. And he had an hours filled train ride for that.
But it had been four Assassins that took him to Kings Cross that morning. His Grams Rea, Charlus, Cassiopeia, and Lucretia.
"Ready for Hogwarts, Harry?" Cassiopeia asked.
Harry was standing between his Grams Rea and Charlus but nodded quickly.
"Has he told you about the Room of Requirement?" Lucretia asked.
"The hidden room?" Harry asked.
He got four nods in return.
Harry looked intrigued by that. He didn't realize that the supposed hidden room actually had a name. But he supposed that did make sense. But again, he didn't even know that Hogwarts had a hidden room until he was told about it. Though he was quite curious on what the room may come up with.
"Promise me that you won't get into too much trouble?" Dorea Potter asked.
Harry gave her a sheepish grin, "I'm not that bad…"
She snorted, "you remind me a bit of your father. A bit of mischievous nature you have when the opportunity calls for it. I do have a gift for you."
Harry eyes widened as he was given a package, he could feel it was soft.
"Don't open it yet," she warned.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"Something of James, there is a letter attached, which will tell you more," Charlus gave him a grin.
Harry nodded before sticking the wrapped package in his trunk, which was beside him. He could open it either while on the train or whenever he got back to Gryffindor Tower when he was actually alone. For all he knew it could be something relating to the Brotherhood and that definitely was not to be a public affair.
"Thanks Grams Rea!" Harry hugged her.
He could feel the warm embrace as she hugged him back.
"Does your grandfather get a hug as well?" Charlus teased.
Harry didn't hesitate to hug the wizard as well.
"Be safe, my child," Charlus smiled at him.
"I will," Harry promised. He was just about to try to lift his trunk and get on the train but saw Cassiopeia in the way.
"You really weren't gonna try to lift that yourself, were you?" she grinned.
Harry blushed, "of course not."
With a flick of her wand, she had the trunk levitate as Harry walked onto the train.
"Any particular compartment?" she asked.
Harry shook his head, "just one that is empty will be fine."
And as luck would have it, there was an empty compartment just a few doors down. And Harry watched as she levitated the trunk up onto the racks. She turned to face him before giving him a one arm hug.
"Keep your skills sharp," she whispered in his ear. And then she was gone.
Harry then opened one of the windows in the compartment, so that he could wave bye as the train moved. Though it wasn't moving at the moment. It wasn't eleven o'clock yet. It was close and then he noticed the door sliding open.
"Hey Dean," Harry grinned.
Dean was occupied by his best mate, Seamus.
"Have a good summer?" Harry asked.
"Not bad, mum brought me to a few football matches. Kind of missed it during school, but watching Quidditch kind of makes up for it," Dean replied.
"Have you thought about trying out this year?" Harry asked.
Dean shrugged, "may try to go out for Chaser. You still trying out for Seeker?"
Harry grinned, "how would we win against Slytherin if I didn't?"
Dean and Seamus laughed at that.
"Harry, who was that man and woman you were hugging?" Seamus decided to ask after a few minutes.
"That was my Grams Rea and my grandfather, Charlus," Harry said, his voice almost quiet.
"Blimey… that was Dorea and Charlus Potter?" Seamus asked.
Harry nodded, a smile straining against his lips.
"Is she really a Healer?" Neville asked.
Harry, Dean, and Seamus looked around; they didn't hear Neville come in.
"Hey Neville, how was your summer?" Dean greeted.
"Mum and dad brought me to these Greenhouses abroad. Even brought some stuff back, said that during the summer they'd help me take care of it."
"That's brilliant, mate," Seamus replied.
"But yeah… she's a Healer," Harry said, running a hand through his hair.
"Wicked!" the three boys said together.
"So, what about your summer?" Neville asked.
"Well… I'm no longer living at the Dursleys. My great-aunt, Cassiopeia, my cousins Lucretia and Ignatius came and got me. Grams Rea and Charlus were at work at the time. But I've been living with them ever since. I can actually understand Potions now!" Harry explained, though the last part was said in excitement.
That got snorts from all three boys.
"As if anyone truly can understand Snape and his class," Seamus commented.
Harry grinned at that one, he wasn't wrong about that. He doubted Snape really knew how to teach. Which made him wonder on why Snape was teaching at Hogwarts to begin with. It was obvious he hated teaching, which was evident from his classes with Gryffindors and Slytherins. But at least maybe he may have less of a reason for Snape to constantly bully him during class. But it was very possible that he would see it as more of an incentive too. He really hated Snape's classes sometimes, but he knew most students did too.
And that was how the rest of the train ride went. Harry mentioning of his tutoring in his classes but leaving all the details about his Assassin life and training. Far as Harry knew, his friends knew nothing about that secret world. And it was meant to be kept that way. So, he would talk about the books that his grandfather would make him read about possible electives next year.
That had been around the time that Hermione had shown up in their compartment. She eagerly joined into the conversation about possible classes. She personally found all the classes fascinating, though disappointed that she couldn't take them all.
Though Harry pointed out that she probably would find Arithmancy and Ancient Runes the most useful and fascinating. He knew that she loved to learn and that would challenge her. Though he couldn't understand why she would want to take Muggle Studies, she lives with muggles. Her parents were muggle dentists and grown up with that all her life. Though he did have to admit that Care of Magical Creatures could be interesting. He knew about some of the creatures due to his grandfather, Charlus and his cousin, Lucretia. Though she advised that he look more into warding. But that could because she favored that side of work. Harry had no idea what he wanted to do for a career in the magical world. Thankfully he had several years to come before he had to decide on something so permanent.
Then before they knew it, it was time to dress into their Gryffindor robes. Hermione silently excused herself from the compartment as the boys dressed. The train was expected to arrive soon and then they would take the carriages to the castle. Which would be different than their first year, when they had to take the boats to the castle.
It was as Harry was trying to get to the Gryffindor table that he was shoved against someone and wound up falling. He swore he saw a flash of green robe as he was falling. When he looked up to see who he had collided with, he noticed it was a Slytherin. Obviously not the one that shoved him. Instantly a feeling of dread filled him. His Grams Rea may have told him that Slytherins were more of an ally to him here. But it was hard to get rid of a feeling that he had for over a year.
"Of course, a puny Gryffindor wouldn't watch where he's going," the Slytherin huffed, not even bothering to help him up.
Hermione helped him up to his feet, "are you alright?"
Harry rubbed his shoulder, "I'm fine. Just didn't know what his deal is."
"I wouldn't worry about him, he's not as bad as most Slytherins," Percy brought up.
"Who is he?" Harry asked.
"You just met Terence Higgs, he's the rival Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch Team. He's two years under me," Percy explained.
"So, he's a third year?" Harry guessed.
It was a bit obvious since Percy had just been made prefect this year. And you had to be a fifth year before you could be made a prefect.
Percy nodded, "he's more of the tamer Slytherins. Not as keen to curse anyone that crosses his path. That is more of an action that Flint would do. You met Flint last year," Percy reminded.
"You don't mean the Captain?" Harry asked.
"That's the one," Percy confirmed.
Harry remembered that day, Flint had almost crushed Wood's hand and he knew it had been intentional. But now that Percy had brought up the Seeker part, he actually did remember who Terence was. He had been the Seeker that had faced him in every match against Slytherin. He even remembered him trying to veer him off the path of the Snitch. But he didn't do any of the dirty cheating that he had seen the other Slytherins do. So, perhaps Percy was right that he was one of the more decent Slytherins. He didn't curse him; despite that it was obvious that he was in Gryffindor and was Harry Potter to boot. Usually that was enough of an excuse for a Slytherin to curse him. Hadn't stopped Malfoy before. Though Terence hadn't been very pleasant either. But at least he hadn't been hurt, besides his wounded pride that is. Or at least he didn't think he had been. Hard to say, since he had hurt the arm he had landed on before.
He wondered if Terence actually hated Gryffindors as much as the other Slytherins. But it wasn't like he could go up and ask him. No doubt he may get another scathing remark and it was too soon to deal with Slytherins this early in the year.
"Though it may not be a bad idea to get yourself looked at," Percy brought up as he took a bite to eat.
Harry frowned at that, he didn't fancy a trip to Madam Pomfrey this early in the year. And no doubt there would be talk about him being the first to visit the Hospital Wing. Gryffindors loved to chat about rumors, or least certain ones did. Hufflepuffs seemed to be the worst for it. He could recall the amount of rumors that went on last year because of a trip to the Hospital Wing. All for the amount of injuries he wound up getting while playing Quidditch. Trying to put it out of his mind, Harry glanced up to the Head Table to see who the new Defense professor would be this year. His eyes glanced over Dumbledore, remembering the Mentor's word of advice of him being able to read his thoughts. His eyes passed over him and to Professor McGonagall, who was chatting with Professor Sprout, the Herbology professor. Professor Snape was glowering at anyone that dared to look at him, nothing new there... He saw Professor Sinistra, his professor for Astronomy chatting with the Headmaster. There were a few professors that he didn't recognize, no doubt they probably taught the upper level classes. Professor Flitwick was also chatting to someone very familiar and then it struck Harry on who it was. He almost fell out of his seat in shock.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice came. "Are you okay?"
Harry shook his head, "fine. Just didn't expect to know who the Defense professor is all."
"Who is he?" she asked.
"That's Ignatius Black, he's married to my cousin Lucretia. Lucretia was usually the one that would tutor me in different classes. Except Potions, that was more of a favorite of Grams Rea."
"That would make sense if she is a Healer…" Dean commented.
"That would be Professor Black to you, Harry. But I supposed since we are not in class, that a bit of familiarity is allowed in this situation," came a dark voice.
Several of the students that were around had jumped, except for Harry. Like he was expecting this to happen.
"Uncle Ig, you didn't say that you would be the Defense Professor this year," Harry pointed out.
"I think I am allowed to surprise you every now and then without your grandmother being on my case about it," Ignatius grunted.
Harry laughed at that, only Grams Rea would be allowed to do that… and the Mentor of course. His grandfather, Charlus, wouldn't bother with that. He would rather leave that to his wife, which Harry found amusing.
"I thought you were supposed to be heading for Egypt. Aunt Cretia said that was why you couldn't make it to the train," Harry pointed out.
The Assassin smirked, "well… I was supposed to be. But I believe that I can allow another Curse Breaker to handle that. And considering on how poorly I remember the education getting, I thought I lend a hand."
Harry snorted at that; he was pretty sure it was more like he wanted to have an inside eye on what Hogwarts was doing. Or more like, what Dumbledore was doing. Even before he learned that Dumbledore was actually a Templar, he knew that none of the Assassins at the Brotherhood were big fans of him. Though then, he couldn't understand on the reasoning why. But now… he agreed with them. Even without the fact of Dumbledore being a Templar. He was the reason why he didn't have a mother and father and why he had been sent to the Dursleys. The reason why he had been kept from his true family. And not just his grandparents and the rest of the Blacks. But his Assassin family as well. He may have only been with them a few months, but he could already feel the trust growing between them. At the time, it was a foreign feeling to him. He never been good about trusting others, always being let down in the process. He wondered if that was what the Mentor and Grams Rea meant by.
If anything, he knew that Ignatius would keep an eye out for him. And that meant any possible dangers that may cross his way. And that included Dumbledore and any possible Templars that may cross any of their paths. Instead of that annoying him, it gave him a sense of comfort. To know that someone was actually looking out for him, a feeling that he was getting used to. He never had that feeling back at the Dursleys. He always had to look after himself, because nobody else would. But that was the difference between then and now. Now, he felt protected and less at edge than he had been when he boarded the Hogwarts Express. He had expected to always keep an eye over his shoulder. To always be looking for any hint of danger, any sign that someone may discover who he was. How did you hide part of yourself from others, when you didn't know much about that part to begin with? He would still have to look over his shoulder, but the stress about it had lessened significantly. Perhaps Ignatius would have some advice about how he should go about this.
So, not only did he still have some family around him. He had friends here with him as well.