"He what?!"
"Yes, Obscurus," Erluk said. "Dumbledore requested you personally to look for Pettigrew at Hogwarts. His reasoning was that you were best suited to fit in with the least amount of questions."
The Wizengamot, not to be outdone by another magical race, gave Sirius a trial two days after the meeting, which was a week and a half ago now. Sirius was now an innocent man and the two of them and Remus celebrated when it was announced while the Ministry started a manhunt for Pettigrew, who was being held by Ragnok until they were ready to hand him over. Several Wizengamot members were also looking into the advancements of other countries and Harry sent Rita Skeeter to look through the National Education and Research Department (NERD) to find her next story, knowing she'll find several Hogwarts classes that were terminated due to 'Lack of Funds' or because they were 'Dark Classes'. It was a subtle ploy to pull the rug from under Dumbledore's feet.
"Do you know when I'm going to be announced as a new student?" Harry asked.
"Yes, Samhain, if you choose to accept it and have given your name for him to use for the sorting," Erluk informed.
"Like I'm going to give him my actual name," Harry snorted. "I'll probably go with something like Hunter Nilbog or something."
"Did you just use Goblin in reverse as a fake surname?" Sirius asked, having just walked into the sitting room with two cups of hot chocolate.
"I'd use Assassin if I could but Nissassa just doesn't work well," Harry said, getting a laugh from Erluk and a chuckle from Sirius. "But in all seriousness, I'll only accept it if I am allowed to have access to the wards and can upgrade them. If that is accepted, then I will come up with a new name for me to use while at Hogwarts."
"I will let him know," Erluk said, smirking at the extra charges he could add to Dumbledore's request thanks to Harry. They hung up and Harry turned to his godfather as they both drank their Cocoa.
"We already have Peter, why would you need to go to Hogwarts?" Sirius asked.
"Hogwarts was the first place I remember really calling home and the wards allowed a Troll and a possessed teacher in. I want to update them and make them stronger. It also gives me a way to get rid of the curse on the DADA position or, if there is no curse, to expose Dumbledore as someone who is terrible at hiring people," Harry explained. "On an unprofessional side, I'll be able to hang out with some friends and mess with Dumbledore the entire time too."
"How did you not get sorted into Slytherin?" Sirius asked, a smile forming on his lips.
"Dumbledore's manipulations to turn me into his Golden Boy Weapon," Harry answered.
Line Break
Apparently, Dumbledore was desperate enough to look like the hero to agree to Harry's conditions. Either that or he foolishly thought that he could get Harry to agree to not look at the wards. Either way, Harry, in a Hogwarts uniform, stared out the window of the Headmaster's office. His trunk, filled with the necessary clothes and supplies for school, shrunken and in his pocket to await for after his sorting.
"Excited to return to the Lion's Den?" Severus Snape, the person Dumbledore sent to escort him when the time came to re-sort him, asked after making sure all of the portraits were gone from their frames for the time being.
"I wasn't supposed to be in Gryffindor the first time," Harry told him, moving away from the window so they could head out. "I was supposed to be in Slytherin but thanks to Dumbledore, I ended up in Gryffindor. Even with this new sorting, I can't go to my true house. Dumbledore would throw too much of a fit."
"So where do you think you'll end up?" Severus asked, curious as they made their way out of the Headmaster's office and towards the Great Hall.
"If I can get the hat to agree, Hufflepuff. I'll be less suspicious there," Harry said, smirking. "You do realize that most of the rumors that actually end up true are because of Hufflepuffs, right? Everyone always underestimates them and doesn't really think about them while they're walking down a hall talking about this and that. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them made great spies." Severus stared at Harry, jaw slightly slack as he realized the truth of that statement. "Most Ravenclaws could probably make good spies too, especially if they make it look like they're reading when really they're listening in on conversations. Most Gryffindors would make terrible spies because of their brashness and dependency to be reckless. So, if I were to rate them all with 1 being the best, I would have to say it's Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and then Gryffindor. Don't get me wrong, you were a great spy when the war was going on, and there are always exceptions to the rules, but I find that people tend to underestimate Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws."
"Interesting," Severus said, eyeing the teen before smirking. "And what year did you arrive from?" Harry stared at the Potion Master in confusion. "You finished your OWLs and NEWTs far too quickly, even with 35% of your intelligence blocked, you finished both tests far too quickly. You also speak far too well for even the pureblood thirteen-year-olds." Harry heaved a heavy sigh before casting a moving privacy charm so they could talk and not have the portraits hear them. Harry then answered.
"I was 24 when my wife poisoned me. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the tower a few days before we left the school. I'm glad to have this second opportunity. I've already managed to get rid of Tom Riddle's immortality and he is gone for good."
"Tom Riddle?" Severus asked.
"The most recent Dark Lord. By the way, I think I know how to get rid of your mark if it's still there," Harry offered.
"I will consider it." Severus, seeing that they were getting close, decided to ask one more question. "How bad were the casualties?"
"They… they were bad. So many people died during the Battle of Hogwarts. Both adults and students. You survived longer than the Marauders by a few hours. Sirius had died towards the end of my fifth year. I used the Life Debt Pettigrew owed me to kill him off when I was 17 and captured by Death Eaters. Remus and his wife died during the Battle of Hogwarts. You died when Tom sent Nagini to attack you. I got to you right after the attack. You gave me some of your memories. Specifically the ones about my mom and the conversation you had with Dumbledore and how he was raising me for slaughter. We'll have to continue this conversation at a later date," Harry said as they reached the door. He then turned and smiled at the Potion Master. "You know, you're the only human who knows."
"I'm guessing the Goblins also know?" Severus got a nod from the teen before the privacy charm was taken down and the two entered the Great Hall. Severus led him up to the front before taking his own seat at the head table.
"Mortuus, Anak," the Deputy Headmistress called unnecessarily. Harry made his way to the stool and sat down as McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on his head. Everyone flinched in surprise when the Sorting Hat started laughing loudly before settling down again.
' Well, Mr. Potter, you have certainly come a long way from your last sorting, ' the hat teased.
' That's putting it mildly, ' Harry answered back.
' The Headmaster is trying to make me put you in Gryffindor again. '
' Of Course he is, ' Harry mentally grumbled. ' What do you think of my plans so far? '
' Very good, but if I may add a suggestion? ' Harry nodded for him to continue, knowing he was being a Hat Stall. ' I think some twin tricksters could help you torment the twinkly-eyed one. And, should you use someone from each house, you could destroy the old man's attempts to tear apart the houses. '
' A better way to unite the houses is to create a club, like the DA in my first life. Except instead of just doing Defence work, I could help tutor in other subjects that Hogwarts doesn't have. If I label it as just a Study Group, I wouldn't need Dumbledore's permission to start it, ' Harry considered thoughtfully. He ignored the whispers that were starting up from the students and the concerned voices from the Staff about if the hat will sort him at all due to his already graduated status.
' Good luck, Mr. Potter, in… ' "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"No way he's a Puff!" Ronald Weasley shouted from Gryffindor as the Hufflepuffs cheered. Harry gently placed the hat on the stool and noticed that all of the staff had surprised faces with the exception of 3. While the Headmaster looked angry and annoyed that he didn't get his way, Remus and Severus gave him amused nods, both knowing Harry's plan. Harry then turned back to the hat.
"Thank you, Mr. Alistair, for your time," Harry said with a bow to the Hat, getting everyone's attention.
"You are very welcome, Mr. Mortuus," the hat answered back before Harry moved to sit with the rest of the third year Hufflepuffs.
"Seriously! How is he a Hufflepuff?!" The youngest Weasley man shouted. "He's a bloody-" Harry raised an eyebrow when the boy couldn't make noise all of a sudden. Harry smiled and nodded to the Weasley Twins when he noticed Fred putting his wand away and gained grins from them in return.
"You know the Weasley's?" Cedric Diggory, a fifth-year Prefect who sat across from him.
"Yeah. We met in Egypt," Harry answered. "Their two oldest are pretty cool and Percy seemed a bit scared when I helped the twins improve one of their pranks. Ronald apparently doesn't know how to chew with his mouth closed and their sister is very demanding from what I've seen." Harry grimaced when he mentioned the two youngest. "Bill found it very amusing when Mrs. Weasley kept filling up my plate during meals." This made Cedric chuckle.
"So why were you in Egypt?" Justin Finch-Fletchly asked. "Do your parents work as Curse Breakers?"
"No, my dad was an Auror and my mum was in training to become an Unspeakable before they died," Harry answered, making everyone go awkwardly silent. Sensing the awkwardness, Harry tried to alleviate it. "I don't really remember them, but I do know they died saving me. Anyways, what can you guys tell me about Hogwarts? I was tutored by Goblins after my relatives left me at the Alley entrance and never came back. What are the classes like here?"
The students around him shifted awkwardly and stared at him in concern before Cedric pulled up his courage and started telling him about Hogwarts and their classes. The food arrived a moment later and they ate the Halloween feast before them before going to the dungeons and to the Hufflepuff Common room. Harry sat through the other students asking him question after question when he noticed that Cedric had one of the Mirrors that he made so he took out his own Mirror and texted Cedric. Being the Creator of these types of Mirrors had its benefits sometimes.
I need to talk to all the Hufflepuff prefects once everyone else is in bed. -Mortuus
I'll explain how I'm able to text you then too. -Mortuus
Line Break
Cedric stared at his Mirror in confusion before looking over at the teen, who seemed to be teaching the younger years how to start learning wandless magic. Sensing Cedric's eyes, Anak turned slightly to look at him. Cedric nodded to him, letting him know that he'll gather the prefects. It was an hour later that Cedric and the Prefects met Anak at one of the study tables.
"How were you able to text me without me giving permission beforehand?" Cedric asked. Anak didn't say anything yet, just waved his hand for a privacy charm that caused the two Seventh year prefects to gasp.
"That's a Goblin Grade privacy charm," the male Seventh-year prefect, Treville Hudson, stated. "Even masters that aren't Goblins have trouble making this."
" You're the creator of the Mirrors, aren't you?" The female Seventh year, Eva Maynol, asked.
"I am. The Goblins call me Obscurus. I basically do a little of everything but my main job is for the Assassins and Bounty Hunters Department," Anak answered.
"Well shit," the sixth-year male Prefect, Du Lan, said. "No wonder Weasley was shouting about you being in the wrong house."
"Just because my life sounds like a bunch of adventures, doesn't mean it is," Anak scolds lightly. "I have to do Ravenclaw-worthy research to make sure my Hufflepuff hard work doesn't blow up in my face. I have to have Slytherin Cunning to keep myself alive in a fight and use Gryffindor Bravery to fight when I'm up against a large group of enemies. Every house has its good and bad. Pettigrew, the Death Eater who betrayed the Potters was a Gryffindor. But, we are getting off-topic.
"What I'm about to tell you, you are only allowed to tell the other Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl." Anak waited until all three of them nodded before continuing. "I'm not technically a student. I've already finished my OWLs and NEWTs and finished my apprenticeship only a day before I met the Weasleys. Dumbledore hired me to look for Pettigrew here at the school and to upgrade the Wards of the School and ensure that they are in proper working order.
"I still need to appear to go to class but the staff already knows I'm not actually a student. With that said, if anyone needs help, I'm more than willing to help. I want to start a big study group to help tutor those who need it and to teach anyone who wants to learn a few things that Hogwarts doesn't have. I've got my NEWTs in DADA, Weapons, Martial Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Ancient Runes, History, Arithmancy, Etiquette, Curse Breaking, COMC, Wandless Magic, and Wards. I figured I'd mostly make it during the weekends for the group study and anyone can ask me questions throughout the week."
"Shouldn't this be labeled as a club?" Maynol asked.
"It could but it won't," Anak said, starting to get lost in his thoughts of how to set up the study group. "Calling it a club would mean that I need Dumbledore's permission but a study group does not need permission. Especially if I use one of the many unused rooms. You don't work with Goblins as closely as I do without finding reasons to not trust Dumbledore. Case in point, The Headmaster should have informed all Prefects and Head Boy and Girl of my presence in the school before the school year started, either by letter or in person. As it is, no one but the staff knew." The prefects stared at him in shock, slowly realizing he was right. Cedric stared at the boy for a moment longer before asking his next question.
"Anak Mortuus isn't your real name, is it?"
"Nope," Anak said, smirking. "Dumbledore wanted me to give my real name for the sorting and what I'll be going by here but the whole reason the Goblins call me Obscurus is to protect my friends and family. So I gave him a fake one. I have no doubt that he'll call me to his office at some point to confront me about it." Anak stood and stretched. "Now that you're all informed, I'm going to head to bed. Tomorrow, I'm going to get signed permission from all relevant professors to start the study group this weekend just to make sure Dumbledore can't stop it and so they know where all of the students are during the weekends. I'll have to make sure to plan for lighter lessons for Hogsmeade Weekends if anyone ends up wanting a lesson during that time. I'll also need to think of how to get the word out about the study group and how to keep my identity a secret so no one tries to get me into trouble…" Anak thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No, that last one won't be an issue, especially if I go by Obscurus. The only problem I might have is with the youngest Weasley with his shouting and his temper. Then again, he might not even attend based on what I've seen."
"And you'll be able to get everything ready by this weekend?" Cedric asked.
"Oh, yes," Anak said without hesitation as he took out his Mirror and texted Remus and Severus in a group chat, giving them a list of professors and a meeting place for after dinner the next evening. "Since I'm not actually a student the homework will end up being busywork. Once I put up all of the hidden monitor runes, which will only take two and a half days by myself or less than a day with the house elves' help, it'll be a waiting game until Pettigrew is captured. Then I'll only have the wards left, which will be done over the Winter Hols. The most difficult part about the whole thing will be getting lesson plans ready in time, but even that shouldn't be difficult. So really, starting up this study is more of a personal project and a way to help the students."
"I think you'd make a great teacher if you ever decide to retire from Gringotts," Cedric said with a smile.
"O-oh. Um… Thanks," Anak said, surprised by the compliment. "I've never thought about that line of work before."
"Seriously?" The female sixth year, Jessie Butler, asked. "I saw how you were teaching some of the younger years. You had their full attention, even some of the older years were hanging on you every word."
"I was just showing them what I learned during my studies," Anak said, embarrassed. Anak checked his Mirror that started vibrating before breathing out in relief. "I have to take this. Goodnight, everyone." Anak took down the privacy ward and ran to the dorms.
"I don't think his relatives were very kind to him," the fifth year female Prefect, Cora Porter, stated. "I think they made him not have confidence in himself." The others agreed. Cedric silently decided he wanted to get closer to Mortuus so he could build up the hidden assassin's self-love.
Line Break
Harry sighed in relief the next morning when Professor Sprout delivered his schedule and he saw COMC, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy as his electives. Dumbledore must have decided to not try to control him yet. Harry was about to take a bite of his everything bagel with evenly spread cream cheese when his magic warned him something was off. He zeroed his gaze on his bagel to see what was amiss. He used his magic to poke at it and realized that it wasn't the bagel he was sensing but the cream cheese. Poking around some more, he found that whatever it was wasn't harmful, nor was it something that wanted to control him. Harry's eyes immediately moved to the Gryffindor table where he saw the demon twins quickly looking away. With a smirk, Harry banished the bagel into Ronald's plate.
Ronald, not really paying attention to what he's eating, ate the bagel and was suddenly covered in Hufflepuff Yellow fur. With a little wave of Harry's fingers, Ron was wearing a short-sleeve red shirt and had a Honey pot stuck to his hand. This made several muggleborns start laughing as they recognized the reference to Winnie the Pooh.
"And the twins strike again," Cedric said as he sat down next to Harry.
"Sort of."
"Sort of?"
"The twins tried pranking me by dosing my cream cheese. I banished it to Ronald's plate. He didn't pay attention and ate it. I just added the shirt and honey pot. It's a reference to a muggle's children's book," Harry explained.
"I didn't peg you as the prankster type," Hannah Abbot said, having heard Harry and Cedric.
"Normally I'm not," Harry said, taking a drink of his tea. "However, I do think it's about time I retaliate. The twins need to stop pranking me. My godfather was the last person to prank me and it didn't end well for him." Harry pulled out his Mirror and showed them the picture of Sirius, thankful that enough feathers and glitter stayed on his face so no one could really tell who it was.
"What did he do to deserve that?" Cedric asked, hiding a laugh behind his hand. All of Harry's Hufflepuff year mates scooted closer to see, several burst out laughing.
"He changed my ringtone into a really annoying one," Harry deadpanned. "He was a prankster when he was a student. If I didn't retaliate he would have continued to prank me. Don't get me wrong, I like pranks. They're fun and you'd be surprised how well prank spells can be used as a distraction technique in a duel. But he shouldn't have pranked me while I was working." The others chuckled at that. "I think I know just the prank to pull on the twins." Harry smirked and kept an eye on the twins, his wand hand moving in a circular motion as he gathered his magic before releasing it towards the twins.
Both twins felt the magic hit them but, seeing as nothing happened, they weren't sure what to make of it. Then George started growing Moose Horns. Nothing happened to Fred, much to their and their classmates' confusion. Harry noticed McGonagall making her way from Ron to the twins.
"Wait for it," Harry whispered to those around him. McGonagall reversed George's antlers but then Fred grew Elk horns. When McGonagall fixed him, George grew blackbuck antlers. Every time one twin was fixed, the other would grow antlers that alternated animal designs.
"Oh, that's brilliant," Ernie Macmillan said. The twins suddenly stood up, McGonagall having to dodge Fred's reindeer antlers, and began bowing to the school, making sure to only look at Harry once so he knew they were talking to him.
"We concede to the awesome power of the descendant of the prank gods!" The twins said in unison, Fred nearly falling over due to the extra weight. Harry snorted but subtly waved his hand to end the prank, getting cheers from the twins. Harry mentally rearranged his schedule so he could spend some time with the twins to help with their inventing.