Chapter 41
The days leading up to the first quidditch match were pleasant, especially in Severus's opinion. While he was silently sitting at his desk, he thought about how it had been a peaceful two weeks, not counting the weather as it was coming down hard. However, Severus was relieved that he didn't have to endure Granger's Know-it-all attitude to get some peace. That said, he was slightly unhappy with what Hadrian did to the girl, though he couldn't deny that she had it coming. Granger should have known better than to put her hands on him the way she did. Though that was the only downside, everything else had been good. Like for example, the fact of meeting the four founders. He never would have believed it if he hadn't seen them for himself. Also, Hadrian gained two other Lordships, and Severus couldn't help but wonder who he would have as his proxies. Much needed changes were going to happen in the magical world.
Daphne, on the other hand, had been working exceedingly hard in strengthening her magic. Just yesterday, she finally transformed into her animagus form and was amazed by what she transformed into. It caught her completely off guard when her core showed her another form that was about to be unlocked. She would never have believed that someone could have two animagus forms but learned to see things from a different viewpoint. At the moment, she was in the room of requirement training against five training dummies whose levels were set to level 5. Daphne had grown accustomed to the spells from Mahoutokoro and could perform at a Class-A level. The training from Harry may have been grueling, but it was well worth it as she was impressed with the results.
When the dummies were close enough toward each other, she finished them all off at once with one of the spells Harry had taught her ignis pignus. The spell was advanced and had been registered. The fire columns started erupting from the ground and went straight to the dummies. Forming a big circle around them and consumed them all in fire, reducing them to ash. Daphne lowered her wand and let out a few tired breaths. That was when she heard a familiar voice. "I have to say that was very impressive! You have definitely improved."
Daphne smiled "glad you enjoyed the show. I wouldn't have wanted to disappoint" she didn't even turn around as she knew who it was.
The person walked forward, "care to try against a real opponent," when Daphne turned around and saw a smirk on Harry's face.
"Hope you brought you're a game," she said with an equal smirk. "I have a few new tricks up my sleeve."
They took their positions and got in their dueling stances. Both keeping their eyes trained on each other. Neither made a move nor just stared at each other, waiting for one to make a move. After waiting for a few minutes, Daphne kicked things by firing a big fireball at him, which he deflected back at her causing her to dodge. She then fired a bone-breaking curse at him. Harry leaned to the left to avoid it and retaliated with a torrent of spinning water.
Daphne used the freezing charm on the water and transfigured it into ice shards sending it his way. He slashed his wand, turning it to sand, and fired chains at her. They continued for the next hour, trading different spells going from battle charms and transfigurations. Harry had to admit that she had improved rather greatly. Not only that, but she was also using the combat spells taught at Mahoutokoro against him. Harry also noticed that her style and movements became that much sharper and aggressive than they were previously. However, he was only using ¼ of his real skill against her. It was a simple but very effective method to observe his opponent and bid his time, and after they showed their hand, he attacks with a necessary amount of power and the right combinations.
As the two continued trading spells, Daphne did something surprising. She reached into her pocket and threw some talismans at him. That momentarily surprised him as he had to jump back and was about to retaliate, but when he was suddenly enveloped in a black smokescreen. He didn't have to see her know that she was near as he could sense her magic with ease. Waving his wand, he created a tornado and made the smoke clear; turning to his left, he fired a stunning spell, but she instantly turned into an ice phoenix, catching him off guard. Daphne took advantage of his surprised expression; she ascended into the air spreading her wings and disappeared in an ice travel (similar to how a regular phoenix uses flame travel). She appeared behind him and morphs back, then sends a tripping jinx, making him fall on his back.
She walked forward with a smile and looked down at him "guess I win this time."
"Why do you think that?" he asked in a neutral voice.
"I'm standing above you, aren't I," she said as a matter of fact.
"Daphne, you are so naïve," he said. Daphne was confused by what he meant and didn't even see a ball of magic appear in his left hand. Taking her off guard, he threw it at her wand arm, making her drop it, and spun on his back, knocking her off her feet. Harry then jumped up and locked her hands in a vice grip by her sides, effectively keeping her away from her wand "never lower your guard in battle. It might just be the last thing you ever do!"
"You cheated" Daphne was irate with the stunt he just pulled. She honestly thought her animagus form was impressive. Getting more annoyed when he saw him chuckling, "what is so funny?"
Harry responded, "remember some of the first few things I taught you. Never lower your guard against an enemy and always make sure that they have nothing up their sleeves."
"You still cheated," she mumbled.
"True," he conceded, "but did I win?"
Daphne rolled her eyes then replied, "I see your point." Harry then got off her and held out a hand, which she took and helped her up.
"Remember this: seek victory, not fairness in battle," imparting some words of wisdom to her, "in the right hands, anything can be used as a weapon. Though, I will admit that I never suspected you are capable of using talismans or becoming an ice phoenix."
"Most impressive," he added.
Daphne held her nose up with a mock of haughtiness befitting that of a queen "well, I did say I had a few surprises."
Harry chuckled at her "well, I was indeed surprised by what you did. So, points for you, Sapphire," he said with a cheeky grin.
She just giggled "by the way, what did you do to knock my wand out of my hand? You didn't use your wand, nor did you use wandless magic."
Once again, Harry chuckled and directed them to the couch. When they plopped on the cushions, he explained, "it from a game Miwa, Emily, and I created. It's called chaos ball!"
"What kind of game is that?" she sounded confused but at the same time intrigued.
"It's a game where we manifest magical balls in our hands and try to knock the other person on their backs," he began "there is to be no use of a wand or any outside materials. We also cannot touch each other. That said, we found that it was a good way to enhance our reflexes and keep us on our toes."
"Any chance you can teach me?" she asked with interest. Harry responded, "I don't mind."
He followed up with, "how does it feel to be an animagus?"
The smile on her face grew "it feels amazing and liberating at the same time."
"Yeah, I felt the same way when I first transformed," he said, remembering the feeling of turning into a tiger for the first time.
"Oh, I also discovered that I had a second form but haven't been able to transform into it yet," she commented. "Is that even possible? For a person to have more than one form."
Harry stared at her with wide eyes. She had two animagus forms. "I couldn't tell you, the last person to have two forms was Merlin himself. His forms were that of a Hungarian Horntail and a winged horse. Well, that was until I got my second form."
This time wit was Daphne's turn to be surprised "you have a second form! Were you able to transform into it?" she asked quickly.
Harry didn't answer just stood up and walked away from her until he was a fair few feet away from "you tell me" he then began to transform into a giant black dragon with a blue underbelly and few spikes sticking up from different parts of his body and his wings were quite big.
Daphne couldn't help but freeze in fear at what she saw. The boy she regards as a best friend and just transformed into a much bigger dragon than a Hungarian Horntail. He still possessed his green eyes, but he then let out a ferocious roar that made her clothes billow and shocked her to the core.
He then transformed back into human form with a big grin on his face "so what do you think?" he casually asked.
At that moment, she was so shocked that she couldn't even utter a single word. Her mind was positively blown, regaining herself. She glared at him "are you kidding me!" she shouted. "You're a damn dragon."
Harry had to take a step back "hey, I was just as surprised as you" he held his hands up. "Besides, it's not like I asked for a Class- XXXXX magical creature as a new form. It just happened."
Daphne took a breath "what kind of dragon are you? I've never seen nor heard of a dragon-like that before."
"You wouldn't have," he said as he came over and sat back on the couch "that type of dragon hasn't been seen in over 3000 years. It is essentially a Genesis dragon. The King of all the other dragons."
She could only stare with wide eyes. "Woah! That's amazing," she commented.
"Enough about my new form. What about yours?" he wanted to change the topic. You became an Ice phoenix. That is one of the rarest magical creatures in the magical world."
"Honestly, I didn't think that I could become a phoenix," she admitted, "much less an ice type. All the information about it is only general knowledge. Nothing in-depth."
"I may have a few books in my library back home," he offered.
"Any chance I can borrow them?" she asked. "I promise I'll give them back when I'm done with them."
He just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't mind. Besides, I think that form suits you," he said nonchalantly.
"Really! Why?" she asked, raising a single delicate eyebrow. Harry answered, "you're an ice elemental, but they always feel warm to me."
Daphne leaned in and kissed on the cheek. "Thanks, Harry" she then draped her feet across his lap. "Are you going to register your new form?"
"Don't have too" he replied. "According to the law, I have to register a form. Doesn't say anything about registering multiple forms."
The two continued talking for a few minutes but stopped when they heard someone clear their throat. Turning to the door, they saw Severus and Emily standing in the room. The latter had a mischievous look on her face. While the former raised an eyebrow.
"Miss. Greengrass," he began in a silk voice, "head back to the common room. I need to have a talk with my son."
Daphne immediately got up "yes, professor," she then looked back at Harry, "see you tomorrow" then she left the room using the stairs the room provided for her and went straight to the common room.
Severus looked imperiously at Harry "care to explain what was going on," Harry knew that it was not a question.
"We weren't doing anything bad," he said, "just relaxing after having a mock duel and demonstrating our animagus forms."
"You got a new form?" she asked in amazement.
He gave her a nod.
"What kind?" his dad asked disbelievingly. Hadrian only had one form, and that was a white tiger, like Byakko.
Harry didn't say a word, just transformed into his new form, which made them both jump back in fright. Severus couldn't even form any words as he stared at his son with disbelief. Hadrian had become a Genesis dragon. The ruler of all dragons. He then watched as he transformed back into human form.
"Th-that… that I can't…." Emily kept on stuttering, trying to wrap her mind about what she just saw.
He responded, "shocking, I know!" was all he said before turning his head to Severus "what are we going to talk about?"
Severus regained control of his rational mind. "I just received a call informing us that we will have a meeting with the 'others'tonight" he emphasized the others to show that they wanted a talk.
Harry turned around and activated five sets of different crystals. Not three minutes the faces of everyone appeared.
"Everyone," he greeted them just as Suzaku flamed in with Byakko, "what seems to be the problem?"
Hayato was the first to speak "days ago, the magus tribunal had a meeting on who was to be selected to join us," he said gravely. "It has been decided that you and Miss. Kawada is to be inducted into the order."
No one could form any words to say as many of them were shocked by what he said. Severus stepped forward "you're telling me that Hadrian was selected to become a magus," he bit back. "He is only 13! There must be a mistake."
"Unfortunately, no," Hayato said. "Both your son and Miss. Kawada has been chosen," he said in a firm voice. "Believe me when I say I was as surprised as you when I found out."
Ichika came in "how is this possible? Why would they choose Hadrian and my daughter? They're not even 15 yet," he said, scandalized by the idea.
"The council didn't choose them," Hayato corrected "magic did."
Severus began, "if you think that…."
"Dad, can I talk to you privately" Hadrian stepped in, cutting him off. Severus and the other occupants moved to a certain part of the room to erect some privacy wards.
Miwa and her parents seemed to have engaged in a conversation in Japanese, probably talking about the same thing Harry and his family were discussing. Twenty minutes later, the wards came down, and they came back into view, and Severus did not look happy.
Harry spoke, "since Miwa and I have been chosen. What does that entail for us?"
Everyone leaned in, waiting for him to respond. Hayato explained that he requested them to be placed under his care for the time. Since they were recently chosen, they would be starting off as apprentices meaning that he will deploy them on missions. Each time they would leave someone under Polyjuice potion will take their places till the assignment was done. Miwa asked what kind of missions they would be sent to, which he answered: combat missions to either arrest or eradicate anyone or thing that would disrupt the magical world.
The two teens looked at each other for a few long minutes before giving each other a nod. Miwa was the first to speak "say if we do agree to join. There will need to be some safeguards."
"Such as?" Hayato asked.
"One: he and I will not be treated as puppets or slaves. Two: we will take the missions together. You either get both or none of us."
Harry added in a few knuts, "three: we want answers to why the magus council didn't do anything to get rid of either Dumbledore or Voldemort. Four: all of our missions are to be filtered by you and our guardians. Five: we want our identities to be kept quiet. Those are our terms."
Everyone looked at Hayato. He responded, "as a member of the magus council. I find the terms agreeable," smiling at them.
"Then it looks like you got yourself two magi's in training," Miwa said.
Harry gave a curt nod in agreement. Hayato spoke again, "then I will take you both there over the yule break."
Ragnok took over, "we have located another Horcrux, but there is a problem" the tone in his voice showed that he was not happy. "The Horcrux we found is Helga Hufflepuffs cup and is located in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault."
"Then why don't you retrieve it so we can destroy it," Sirius asked, not understanding the problem.
"It is not that simple," Ragnok began, "if any goblin takes something out of clients vaults without permission. Then by law, they will be sentenced to death."
Griphook came in "not only that, but the vault has some of the most horrifying enchantments around it so only members of Mrs. Lestranges family can access it."
A collection of murmurs could be heard debating about getting around the enchantments and destroying the cup. After spending a few minutes debating amongst themselves until Cassiopeia stepped in, "what if we disown her from the House of Black? Will that help" she suggested.
"Miss. Black will you elaborate more," Ragnok asked.
"You said only members of her family could access the vault. Then what about her birth family" everyone picked up where she was going with this "she is still a member of the House of Black. Arcturus can disown her and reclaim some of her wealth along with the cup; when that is done, we can destroy it and be closer to killing him."
Ragnok had to think for a few minutes. "It could work, but I will require Lord Black to be at Gringotts's to legitimize it."
Arcturus replied, "consider it done," he said with a gruff. "When can we meet?"
The King of the goblin nation looked through his schedule to find an open slot. "I will be available at 4 o'clock tomorrow. Is that acceptable?"
Arcturus gave him a nod. Now it was Harry's turn. "I have some good news for you all," he got their attention, "we went back into the chamber of secrets two weeks ago. There we found the four founders of Hogwarts, and I was able to gain the Lordships of Slytherin and Ravenclaw."
Everyone who didn't know that he gained the Lordships looked at him with amazement. He followed up with, "not only that, we were able to locate and destroy another Horcrux."
"Congratulations!" Alex said. "Which object was destroyed?"
"The long lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw," Harry answered.
Some of their jaws fell to their knees at what he said. Rowena's diadem was the most sought out treasure in the British Isles and other various parts of the world.
Miwa spoke, "how did you find it?"
"Truthfully, I have Tom to thank for that one" everyone stared in disbelief. "Remember when I said he transferred some of his memories to me?"
They all gave a confirmative nod. "Well, you see, when we were in Salazar's private quarters two weeks ago, I was assaulted by a memory of him putting the diadem in the Room of Requirement. Who would have thought that one of his Horcruxes be here at Hogwarts?"
Jack came in "then that means 4 of his abominations have been destroyed. That's good, but we still don't know how many he actually made."
"True," Amelia said, "though we are closer to getting rid of him." She turned to Harry, "now that you are Lord Slytherin and Ravenclaw, what do you intend to do with their seats on the Wizengamot?
Harry turned to Griphook and Ragnok "have you two gone over the books about me appointing any non-witches or wizards to sit as my proxies?"
The two goblins smiled, and the latter replied, "we double-checked the laws of the Wizengamot and the ICW. They're no laws are preventing you from assigning any non-wand wavers to sit as your proxies," he said happily.
"And this cannot be traced back to me?"
"Absolutely, not," Ragnok replied "if they want to know who the Lords are, then they will have to check with Gringotts, and there is no way we would give away that type of information. We are completely confidential."
"Good," Harry sighed in relief "now I just have to figure out who to appoint as my proxies. I would have one of my house elves do it, but I can't run the risk of someone recognizing them and revealing who they work for."
"Many of our fellow goblins would be happy to take the responsibility as your proxies," Ragnok offered.
"Wouldn't that be counterproductive?" Miwa came in. "Harry wants to unite the magical world again, and since he currently has Griphook as one of his candidates. It would seem unfair to appoint another member of your kind."
"Miwa is correct," Harry said, and the others agreed.
Griphook soon came in and offered a suggestion "what about appointing a centaur or a vampire? From what I know, there is a centaur colony in the forbidden forest" he paused for a minute to let that sink in. Then began again "as for the vampires, they mainly chose to remain in solitary and were mostly neutral during the last war."
Severus stepped in "that would be an idea. Though we have to consider how they will respond to the idea of working with witches and wizards. It's pretty well known about what they think of us, especially after what happened first-year."
"Severus is quite correct," Cassiopeia chimed in "however, they might be willing to work with us if they were given something in return. Another matter would be the vampire. They would be more inclined to either kill or turn him into one of them. That's minus the fact that they cannot go out during the day."
"You'd leave that to me," Ragnok came in "relations between the goblins and vampires have always been great. If I ask for a meeting with the King of their nation and explain the situation, there may be a chance he will agree to join us."
"Does anyone have any objections?" Alex asked. When no one said a word of protest, he began again, "then it is settled. Ragnok will speak with the King of the vampires, and Hadrian will speak with the centaurs. With any luck, they will agree and be his proxies."
"Is there anything else we need to address?"
Harry responded, "I would like to propose something and ask a request from Uncle Ichika," he said in a firm but a respectful voice.
When Taymore motioned for him to continue. He continued, "I like to propose the idea of letting Daphne Greengrass be informed of some of what has been going on. She has proven herself worthy and is capable of keeping secrets."
Some of the others began protesting, the idea of what he just proposed. His dad stepped in, "while I understand everyone's reservations on the matter. I can personally vouch for Miss. Greengrass. She is not only smart, but she has been a good friend to Hadrian since their first year."
"The Greengrasses have always been neutral in the political sphere and have treated us goblins with respect," Ragnok added.
After a half-hour of debating about the matter, they agreed to put it to a vote. When the majority agreed, but it was decided that she only be told what is necessary. Miwa and Harry becoming magi's were not allowed to be discussed.
Hadrian began again, "Uncle Ichika, I was wondering if you can send me eight jars of Vibranium root and two large packages of Sayyora leaves."
Ichika and his family just stared at him with wide eyes "those ingredients are incredibly rare, not to mention expensive as they are only grown in Japan," he said, regaining himself.
"I understand that," Harry replied, "but it's for a project that I am working on."
"What kind of project?" Miwa asked him.
Harry let out a breath "during the last war, some of the victims were tortured into insanity. One of them happens to be my godmother Alice Longbottom and her husband Frank," he explained.
"I see now," the voice of his sister came, "you want to try and give Neville back what was taken from him."
He didn't even turn around. "Longbottom deserves to have his parents back. We were the result of the Dumbledore and Voldemort war. Whereas my parents are dead. Frank and Alice are still alive if there is a chance to make them normal again. Then I'm willing to try."
Ichika deflated a bit "very well! I will have them sent to you within the next few weeks."
A smile grew on Hadrian's face "thank you, uncle, and I'll pay you for them," he then turned to Ragnok, "as you know by right of conquest, Salazar's deceased basilisk now belongs to me. Unfortunately, I have no desire for it to be tampered with yet, which may prove beneficial to me. But the skin it shed still has magical enchantments on it. Can I get an estimate on how much they are worth?"
Ragnok chuckled a bit. "I will need to see them give you an exact amount. How many do you have?"
"So, far, we found two," Harry answered. "One in the passageway toward the entrance and the other in its hibernation chamber."
"When you get the chance, send them to me, and I will be able to tell you how much they are worth," Ragnok said.
Harry gave him a nod. Alex cleared his throat "well, if there is nothing else to be discussed, then the meeting is adjourned for the day" he then shut off his screen. Soon the others started deactivating their crystals, all except for Miwa.
"Hadrian do you mind if we talk in private?" she asked.
He then looked at Severus and Emily "can you two give us the room?"
"Be in bed by 10:30," his dad said in a stern voice.
"Night bro, night Miwa" Emily said before taking a stairway back to Ravenclaw Tower. Mentally thanking the room for an easy passage.
"So, what do you need?" he asked.
A smile formed on her face. "I managed to transform into an animagus," she proudly said. Harry responded, "that's great! What form do you take?"
Giving a cheeky smile, she transformed into animagus form, much to his surprise. She was a thunderbird "Woah," which he managed to get out before she transformed back.
"Not only that, I discovered that I have a second form as well," replying with a grin.
"Damn, Storm, that's impressive," he commented. "Also, there is something that I need to show you. My new form" Harry transformed into a dragon the likes of which she had never seen before.
"Holy shit," she said, half in awe and half in shock. "You're a dragon! Wait, when did you become a dragon?"
Morphing back. "A few days ago," he answered. "That's not all. I discovered that I am a Genesis dragon!"
Miwa could only stare at him, "the King of the dragons. I thought they were extinct!"
"They are" shrugging his shoulders "honestly, this was a shock to me as well."
She just laughed, "you really are one something special. You know that!" commenting about him.
"Great, something else to separate me from other people," he groaned.
"Don't be so dramatic. Unique is good," she said.
Following up with "I also created a new spell that I think you will find very effective."
That perked him up "really, what kind?"
"Let's just say that it will be a great surprise," she teasingly said to avoid the question. "Anyway, I'll talk to you later. Go get some sleep."
He gave her a mock salute, "yes, ma'am" shutting off the crystals, he went up to his room.
(0^0)
The next two days went by quietly. Harry went back into the chamber of secrets and found Helena talking with her mother. When he first met her and mentioned the diadem, she was torn between anger and sadness at what happened to it. But after telling her that it was destroyed and that he was the new Head of Ravenclaw House. She thanked him for what he did, took his advice, and spoke to her mother to mend their relationship. He gathered the discarded skins of the basilisk and sent it to Ragnok via Suzaku to get an estimate about it. Arcturus informed him that Bellatrix was banished from the House of Blacks and that he could destroy the cup.
In Daphne's case, she placed a call home and told her parents about her new animagus form. Cyrus was ecstatic to learn about his daughter's animagus form and promised to register her in the coming days. Yesterday, Severus asked her to meet in the room of requirement that night as there was something he, Emily, and Hadrian needed to talk about. That night they explained how they were working on getting rid of Voldemort for good. At first, she didn't believe that he was alive, but after explaining what he did to cheat death, she was struck speechless. They explained how some of the others were on board and doing whatever they could to get rid of them and look for the escaped death eaters.
Harry explained that he was now Lord Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw and how he was looking for people to sit as his proxies on the wizengamot. According to him, Griphook agreed to be one of his proxies, and king Ragnok agreed to send word to the King of the vampires. I hope that they will agree to help. He didn't say anything about becoming a magus as it was not something he wanted her to worry about. Once everything was explained to her, she agreed to keep it quiet and even took a magical vow to say nothing without their permission. They were exceedingly thankful for that as they had another solid alibi. At the moment, they were all at lunch discussing the first part of their day.
Everything was peaceful until Oliver told him that they would be playing Hufflepuff tomorrow instead of Slytherin. Flint's only explanation was that Draco got into a fight with three sixth-year Ravenclaws and could not play. Also, a few owls came by and delivered a new subscription to Teen Witch Weekly. It was one of the subscriptions that Harry absolutely hated as it turned most of the girls into drooling idiots and many of the boys into raging dolts who competed on who was better looking. What was shocking was when one came for Astoria and Lilith, who started laughing about this week's edition. The most vocal was Parvati and Lavender. Much to his irritation, he read her loud enough so he could hear.
Harry Potter: The Prince of Hogwarts
By Rita Skeeter
Harry Potter, aka The Boy Who Lived, is a man of mystery. Not only is he highly intelligent and skilled in magic. He is also the school's hottest male with his unruly hair and Emerald green eyes. Which are to die for. According to a few of my sources, Mr. Potter has yet to have a girlfriend. That leaves this reporter to question what kind of girls he's into. Though it is not confirmed, many can tell that he already has his beautiful green eyes on someone special.
Not only that, but this reporter was also able to see what he does in the mornings before classes begin. Every morning he can be seen training by the great lake with his friends, and every time he is done, his upper body is revealed. His developing body makes him look like a male model. A favorite pass time would be playing his guitar or spending time with his adoptive sister Emily Stevenson. From what I've been told, they are very close. Now that is how siblings are supposed to behave.
This reporter can only guess how he would be once he is fully grown. Ladies, better break out your sexiest outfits and use your feminine charms to snag the boy before someone else does. Meanwhile, this reporter will continue to try and get some more juicy details on what Mr. Potter likes in a woman.
The brown-haired girl looked up only to see that Harry was gone. "Where did he go? He was just here a moment ago." She and the others were looking for him.
Blaise spoke up. "I forgot how much I hate it when he pulls that ninja move," he groaned.
Emily came in. "I'm just glad he got out of here when he did."
"Why?" Parvati asked. "I mean, I understand he doesn't like the press or the attention he gets. But you can't deny that he is pretty hot," she gushed.
She narrowed her eyes at the older girl. "Okay, one: ew! He's my brother."
"Adopted," the Indian girl mumbled.
"Second: the reason why he got out of here was because of that," she jabbed her thumb at the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. Many of the girls gossiped about how handsome Harry was and thinking of ways to score a date with him. One, in particular, was Ginny Weasley, who was staring at a picture of him after he finished his morning workout. Emily did not like the way the redheaded girl looked at him. She stared at him as if he was a piece of meat, a way to elevate her status and get his money. Oh, she desperately wanted to get back at her for what she put him through last year.
When lunch ended, Tracey, Blaise, Lilith, and Aaron headed to their next class for the day. Walking to their DADA class, they were the first to arrive, followed by the other house members; entering the classroom, they took their seats and silently took out their course materials for the day. Aaron was glaring murderously at Malfoy. The blond idiot had his arm in a sling, and he couldn't help but feel a bit relieved as whatever he did, it was well deserved. That said, another side of him was pissed that the fool couldn't have gone one day without trying to annoy someone. A few moments the Gryffindors started coming in and took their seats.
Tracey and Blaise didn't see Granger anywhere among the lions and had a feeling that she would soon be using her time-turner to appear in the chair next to Weasley. While the lions were adamantly chatting away, waiting for Professor Lupin to arrive, the snakes remained mostly quiet. That was until the bell rang and the door opened, revealing Professor Snape entering, not Professor Lupin. The man came in with his robes billowing and wand in hand, flicking it at the windows to shut them. He whirled around and addressed the students. "Turn to page 394," he commanded in a stern and no-nonsense tone.
As the students started turning the pages in their book Dean spoke up, "Sir, where is Professor Lupin?"
Severus sneered at him. "Suffice to say, Professor Lupin finds himself ill-suited to teach at the present time. Page 394" he rolled down the projector screen and went to go start up the projector. Tapping his wand on it a few times, he activated it and turned his gaze to Weasley, who was lazily turning the pages in his book. Waving his wand at the idiot's book, he made it turn to the required page.
"Werewolves," Ron confusingly said.
The next moment Hermione appeared next to him and replied, "Please, sir, we've done Boggarts, Red Caps, Kappas, and Grindylows, and we're just about to start…."
"Quiet," Severus said in a cold voice. "I did not ask for information. I was merely rectifying Professor Lupin's lack of organization."
"He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had," said Dean Thomas boldly, and there was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the class. Snape looked more menacing than ever.
"That will be five points from Gryffindor for speaking out of turn, Mr. Thomas" he stared daggers at the dark-skinned boy that made him shrink. "You are easily satisfied. Lupin is hardly overtaxing you…I would expect first years to be able to deal with Red Caps and Grindylows. Today we shall be discussing werewolves."
"But, sir," said Hermione, seemingly unable to restrain herself, "we're not supposed to do werewolves yet; we're due to start Hinkypunks…."
"Miss Granger," said Snape in a voice of deadly calm, "I was under the impression that I am teaching this lesson, not you. And I am telling you all to turn to page 394." He glanced around again. "All of you! Now!"
A silent grumble enveloped the class as everyone turned to the page they were supposed to.
When everyone was on the page. Severus began, "Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?".
Everyone sat in motionless silence; everyone except Hermione, whose hand, as it so often did, had shot straight into the air.
"Anyone?" Snape said, ignoring Hermione. His twisted smile was back. "Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you the basic distinction between…"
"We told you," said Seamus suddenly, "we haven't got as far as werewolves yet. We're still on…."
"Silence!" snarled Snape. "Well, well, well, I never thought I'd meet a third-year class who wouldn't even recognize a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are..."
"Please, sir," said Hermione, whose hand was still in the air, "the werewolf differs from the true wolf in several small ways. The snout of the werewolf…."
"That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger," said Snape coolly. "Are you incapable of restraining yourself, or do you just take pride in being an insufferable bucktoothed know-it-all? I swear to Merlin, it was finally getting peaceful around here when you had that silencing charm on. Ten points from Gryffindor."
Hermione went very red, put down her hand, and stared at the floor with her eyes full of tears. Many of the Gryffindors were staring loathing at Snape. They were already aware that the man was cynical and cold they didn't expect him to say that. Many of them have called her a know-it-all, including Ron, who called her that at least twice a week, but it never held such ice-cold venom in it. The redheaded boy stared daggers at him for what he said to Hermione, "you really are a greasy-haired bastard. You asked us a question, and she knows the answer! Why ask if you don't want to be told?"
The class knew instantly he'd gone too far. Snape advanced on Ron slowly, and the room held its breath. "15 points from Gryffindor points and two nights of detention, Weasley," Snape said silkily, his face very close to Ron's. "And if I ever hear you criticize the way I teach a class again, you will be very sorry indeed."
"That's not fair," Ron said, red in the face, "you asked her a question she…."
"That will be another detention Weasley," Snape talked over him. "Do you want another?" he said in a cold voice.
"I don't want another," Weasley tried to protest but was cut off "that will be another detention. Next time you speak, it will be 25 points from your house," warned the boy.
Ron was about to protest, but Tracey hit him with a silencing charm.
Severus turned in her direction, "three points to Slytherin, for shutting Weasley up and sparing us his childish tirade."
No one made a sound throughout the rest of the lesson. They sat and made notes on werewolves from the textbook while Snape prowled up and down the rows of desks, examining the work they had been doing with Professor Lupin.
"Very poorly explained... That is incorrect; the Kappa is more commonly found in Mongolia... Professor Lupin gave this eight out of ten? I wouldn't have given it three..."
When the bell rang, at last, Snape held them back. "You will each write an essay, to be handed into me, on the ways you recognize and kill werewolves. I want two rolls of parchment on the subject, and I want them by Monday morning. It is time somebody took this class in hand. Weasley, stay behind. We need to arrange your detentions."
An irate Ron stayed behind while Hermione waited outside, crying a little bit.
Blaise and Tracey glanced at each other as if they were thinking the same thing. Professor Lupin's disappearance was starting to get suspicious, in their opinion, and the way Severus taught the class today was a bit unorthodox. While they understood what he was trying to teach them, his ire about werewolves they could see.
Attending their last class for the day, they headed toward the great hall for dinner. As they ate their meals, they glanced over at the Gryffindor table and saw the youngest male Weasley ranting with his mouth full about the detentions he'd been given today and the points he lost. Blaise was sitting with Lisa holding her hand and whispering things in her ear. Everything seemed peaceful enough, but they were missing someone. The cold raven-haired boy they had grown to like was not with them. When they asked Emily, the little sprite said he wanted to avoid the people who read this week's TWW. Those who knew him best figured that he either be in the kitchen with 'companions' or be in the room of requirement.
(0^0)
The next day was the first game of the year, and the weather outside was not pleasant as the storm was brewing and the rain was heavily coming down. Oliver Wood was sweating bullets because of the weather for today's game against the Hufflepuffs. Harry told the others to add a water-repelling charm to their goggles so they could see in the rain. While they all waited in the changing room, Harry couldn't help but feel that something bad would happen during the match. The badgers would not try anything funny, and his only real competition would be Cedric Diggory. He was an alright bloke and always played fair. Harry couldn't help but wonder why he was not a member of Helga's house as he deserved it more than Zacharias ever did. Obviously, Diggory's parents raised him with integrity, especially when he took no part in harassing him last year for the chamber of secrets incident.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when Wood started talking about how the weather was less than ideal and gave Harry a warning to get the snitch before Diggory did. Then they started to head toward the entrance of the quidditch pitch.
The wind was so strong that they staggered sideways as they walked out onto the field. If the crowd was cheering, they couldn't hear it over the fresh rolls of thunder. This was going to be a hard game, in Harry's opinion. The Hufflepuffs were approaching from the opposite side of the field, wearing canary-yellow robes. The Captains walked up to each other and shook hands; Diggory smiled at Wood, but Wood now looked as though he had lockjaw and merely nodded. Harry saw Madam Hooch's mouth form the words, "Mount Your brooms." He pulled his right foot out of the mud with a squelch and swung it over his Nimbus Two Thousand one. Madam Hooch put her whistle to her lips and gave it a blast that sounded shrill and distant —they were off.
Time didn't seem to matter to Harry as he was only concerned with ending the game so they could head back in. He wasn't worried about himself but the others as some of them never practiced or played a game in this kind of weather. He did.
As the winds were raging, the commentary could be heard through the winds. After hiding in the clouds for two hours, he heard that they were in the lead by 110 points, and as luck would have it, he spotted the snitch. Snapping into action, he pushed his broom to its limit and raced toward the snitch. His senses drew back to Diggory, who also spotted the snitch. Cedric raced off to reach the snitch before Harry could grab it, but as he was drawing near. Something unexpected happened.
The air started to become even colder. Hundreds of dementors came up from hiding in the clouds and surrounded them. "Cedric get back to the ground now," he shouted at the boy. Just as the older boy was about to turn around, he was knocked off his broom by some dementors. Harry grabbed the snitch and flicked his wand out, and yelled "expecto patronum" as the negative memories he locked away threatened to resurface. His dragon Patronus mowed through the dementors allowing him to get through them.
Kicking his broom into overdrive, he waved his wand again, mentally saying, "Accio Cedric," with that, the boy stopped falling and shot straight up toward him. Harry had already put the snitch in his pocket and used his outstretched hand to grab hold of the boy's robes. Throwing the unconscious boy across his shoulders, he made his way to the ground, where it was announced that he caught the snitch and saved Diggory skin.
Madam Hooch and Madam Pomfrey made it to the field, where they conjured a stretcher for the fifth year Hufflepuff. Harry carefully placed him on it and allowed Pomfrey to take him inside. Harry reached into his pocket and gave Hooch the snitch. Again, Lee announced the winner, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Harry Potter has caught the snitch, putting the score at 260 to 30. Gryffindors win!"
A few hours later, after showering and getting some fresh clothes on. He went to the hospital wing to go check on Cedric. Arriving at the entrance, he saw the other members of the Hufflepuff team were there talking with the now conscious Cedric. Moving forward, he walked toward them. When they saw him approaching, they paled immediately, and some had their wands out. "I did not come here to fight" he held a single hand up. "I just wanted to check and see how Diggory was doing."
Just as one of them was about to speak, Cedric cut in "it's alright, guys," he assured in a calm voice. They all put their wands back in their pockets and allowed Potter to come forward. "Nice game, huh" Cedric half-joked.
"It would have been nice without the dementors interfering," Harry replied in a neutral voice. "How do you feel?"
"Other than falling a hundred feet and being magically pulled up. I'm alright," chuckling a bit. "Kind of disappointed, I wasn't able to catch the snitch before you, but I guess the win goes to someone who could actually stand to be in this weather."
Harry grunted and remained silent. The awkward silence enveloped the room for a couple of minutes before Harry spoke, "this is not the way I wanted to win. If it means anything, you played very well in the storm."
The fifth-year laughed "thanks! Too bad we can't fly against each other for a while."
"What do you mean?" Harry enquired.
Cedric sighed deeply "my broom flew into the whomping willow" he pointed to a chair that held his destroyed broom. "Sucks too. I really like flying."
"I know how you feel," Harry commented, "truth be told, I prefer flying instead of playing quidditch."
That caught the boy completely off-guard "what! But you play like a pro! If anything, you might get picked to play on a professional team."
"Probably," he nonchalantly replied while shrugging his shoulders. "However, though I wanted to offer you an alternative."
"What kind of alternative" Cedric raised an eyebrow.
Harry cleared his throat and responded, "I have a practice snitch," he clarified. "It may not be as the real thing, but it's better than nothing. Seeing as how there was… interference during the game. I would like to offer you a chance to prove who is the better seeker."
"But why?" Cedric asked with surprise in his voice. "Also, I don't have a broom anymore. I'm at a disadvantage."
"One," Harry held up a finger, "because there is no honor in winning a game of quidditch if there is interference from the outside. Two," he raised a second finger. "I'll be using one of the brooms the school provides. This way, we can compete without any worry over which one of us has the faster broom."
Cedric could only stare with wide eyes at hearing the alternative he proposed. Thinking for a moment, a smile appeared on his face "you are an honorable man. I'm in!"
Hadrian gave him a nod and turned to take his leave "later, Diggory" was all he said before leaving.
A few days later, Dumbledore announced that the dementors will no longer be allowed anywhere near the school grounds. However, the minister ordered that they at least patrol the Hogsmeade village. The student body, especially those allowed to go to the village, was not happy with this as they feared that they might be kissed. After what happened during the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff quidditch match, the students were quite shaken. Harry had a talk with the house-elves asking them to send more chocolate and if they needed help or ran out to ask him as he had a stash of it at home. If these hooded devils were going to be placed anywhere near students, he would try and ensure that they are protected.
Already Blaise, Astoria, and Tracey were able to manifest true corporeal patronuses, and he even began teaching Longbottom. The pudgy boy was coming along nicely. Now that he had a new wand and began working through his problems, his spell work increased. Harry didn't say anything as he was trying to restore his parents to normal and because if he failed, he didn't want to get his hopes up. Ichika sent the materials he paid for by house-elves as he didn't want it to be tracked back.
At the moment he was in the great hall eating lunch with his friends. Everything seemed alright, but that was until he heard flapping and a hoot coming in the distance. Raising his head, he saw an owl making its way to him while carrying a long box. The owl landed in front of him with a note attached to its leg; removing it, he pulled out some owl treats from his pocket. Giving them to the owl, who happily took it and ascended back into the air and left the great hall. Harry read over the letter, and a small smile appeared on his face at the contents.
Folding the letter, he put it in his pocket and pulled the box toward him. Many of the other students started gathering around to see what he got. Ignoring them, he removed the paper and the lid revealing the newest broom model: a firebolt, the fastest broom currently in the world with his name on it.
"Holy shit!" one of the other students said, "that's a firebolt," he exclaimed. Many of the others started talking about how Potter got a firebolt. They weren't supposed to hit the market until mid-December.
"Where the bloody hell did you get that" the irritating voice of Ron rang out.
"Language, Ron" Hermione chastised him for his language. Obviously, that didn't deter the redhead.
"Don't you already have a broom, Potter?"
Hadrian shrugged his shoulders slightly "yeah, so what" he picked up the broom and put it in the storage unit in his watch.
"So, what" Ron looked at him with jealousy, "how did you get a firebolt? They're not supposed to be on the market yet." He explained as if it was obvious.
"That's for me to know," Harry casually said.
"Come on," Ron said in an exasperated voice, "you're rich enough. You can probably outfit brooms like that for the entire team."
"What would be the point" Harry drawled. "I have better things to do than worry about quidditch."
Ron looked at him as if he grew a second head "you're crazy! This is quidditch. It's the wizarding world's favorite pass time."
Harry cut him off before he could speak again "a lot of good that will do me if I end up dead. If you haven't noticed, the death eaters in prison are now footloose and fancy-free. Do you honestly think for one minute that they will be generous enough to let me compete in a game? Those bastards"
"Language," Hermione said.
Harry continued, "screw language, and it's mother Granger, they will not hesitate to kill anyone, and I have no desire to end up six feet under."
Hermione cut Ron off as he was about to t again "what about that letter you got. What did it say?"
Emily spoke up, "it's rather rude to ask someone about their private letters in the wizarding world" she could sense her brother's irritation. "For all you know, it could have been a family matter."
Hermione scoffed, "what family business could he have. Last I checked, his birth family was dead." She immediately regretted those words as he stood up and looked down at her with cold emerald fire in his eyes.
"My family business is for me to know. It's not for some narcissistic girl with a superiority complex to know about" his voice was cold and sent shivers down her spine. "And thanks for reminding me that my parents were murdered right in front of my eyes. Maybe I should introduce you to the same pain that Voldemort put me through" everyone gasped when they heard him using his name "tell me, have you ever watched someone you loved die right in front of your eyes? Only to realize later that you are the last of your family."
"Have you ever felt truly alone? No, you just sat comfortably while your parents gave you everything you asked. Never, once have you ever suffered. So, until you know what it's like to lose your family, stay the hell out of my family business. It's no wonder why most of the students think you're a bloody nightmare. The way you talk to people around here, with your overbearing attitude and controlling personality, makes you the most unappealing student in the school. Then again, what would I expect from a bossy, condescending, spoiled, unattractive teacher's pet with a superiority complex! It's a no wonder why people choose to stay away from you."
Then he turned around and left a crying Hermione there, with many spectators completely shocked at the cold attitude he used on her. Some couldn't believe that he could ever be so cold and ruthless. A fair number of them were actually happy about what he said, as that is what they thought about Granger. The others were staring in disbelief at how Potter just talked to Granger as they never knew he could be so cold and ruthless. While the bushy-haired girl did kind of had it coming, Potter went over the top with the way he put her down.
Hermione then raced out of the great hall, still crying, and wanted nothing more than to crawl up into her bed and cry into her pillow.
The rest of the day passed, with the entire student body talking about how Hadrian put down Hermione. Some were glad that he finally took Granger down a few pegs as her ego was getting out of control. It eventually reached the attention of the teachers as many of them were surprised by what they heard. Severus glared murderously at the girl as she was the one to start the argument. Merlin, the girl, really had a problem trying to meddle in matters that didn't concern her. Dumbledore had taken to keeping a close eye on Hadrian as he couldn't afford to let another Tom roam free.
Before dinner Professor McGonagall asked him to come to her office to explain the rumors that were being spread from earlier today. That and the fact that Granger was partly at fault as well for antagonizing him. To avoid any problems, she had the girl wait outside while he explained his side of the story and told her that she would get the chance to say her piece. The boy in front of her had his usual cold expression on his face, something she had gotten used to. She was well aware that he still didn't like her, and she didn't fault him for that, especially not after what went down between them. After hearing his side of the story, she told him to wait outside while Granger went in to give her piece. Ten minutes later, he was called back in. Re-entering the room, he stared daggers at Granger, then turned his head to McGonagall.
The usually stern professor pulled her glasses off and placed them on her desk. Thinking for a moment, she addressed them, "I have heard both of your arguments and have reached a verdict" she turned to Hadrian, "Mr. Potter, while I understand your anger at Miss. Granger, the words you used against her were less than ideal. You will serve a detention with me tomorrow." Then turned her attention to Hermione "Miss. Granger, I don't know what your problem is, but you will stop antagonizing Mr. Potter. Just because he gets a letter, and a broom doesn't give you the right to go and demand to either read it or question why he got them. Not only that, but you also need to stop provoking him so much, and as you were the one to start the dispute, you will serve two nights of detention with Professor Snape and cost Gryffindor fifteen points."
"But professor, that is not fair," Hermione complained. "I just wanted to know why he is getting a new broom. Also, I didn't mean to bring up his parents. It was a spur of the moment."
McGonagall flared her nostrils "Mr. Potter, you may go. I need to have a word with Miss. Granger," Harry snorted then left the room. "Alright, Miss. Granger listens to my words," she began in a cold voice, "in the time you have been here. You have antagonized Mr. Potter and his friends for far too long, and it is starting to get on my nerves. The more you go after him, the more that boy will fight back, and it will not be pleasant for you. Now you will stop harassing and sticking your nose in matters that don't concern you. If you choose to proceed in going after him, there will be little I can do to protect you from facing harassment charges."
That made Hermione pale as she didn't doubt her head of house's words. Potter did not like her and had a feeling the more she went after him, the more he will retaliate. Part of her couldn't get over how arrogant he was. Just because he was part of two main houses, he got to do whatever he wanted.
"You may leave," McGonagall said, dismissing her; Granger walked out of the room and thought how unfair she was being treated.
(0^0)
Three days later, Harry received a call from Sirius, letting him know that Dumbledore has requested an audience. When he inquired about what this could be about, Harry said that he had a feeling it would be about the incident with Granger. When asked for his side of the story, Harry explained that it started when he got the new firebolt broom. After that, Sirius didn't know what to think as he was torn between surprised, amused, and speechless. Oh, he knew Harry can be cold and ruthless, but he never expected him to put the girl down that hard.
At the moment, Harry was currently waiting by the gargoyle entrance with his head of the house, Professor McGonagall. So, his relationship with the woman was platonic as she chose not to antagonize him, something that he was happy about. In return, he was not nearly as cold with her as he initially was. Hearing footsteps, they saw Filch escorting Sirius.
"Hello, pup," Sirius said, giving his godson a hug. "Minerva," he cordially said in a neutral voice.
"Hello, Sirius," she replied with the tone, then turned to Argus "thank you, Mr. Filch, I will handle it from here," she said dismissively. Argus walked away, muttering under his breath. She then turned to the gargoyle "chocolate frogs," giving the password the stairs started moving, which they ascended.
Arriving at the door, before either of them could get close enough, they heard "come in everyone" and proceeded to open the door. There they saw Dumbledore sitting behind his desk with Professor Hagrid standing next to him. "Ah, Sirius, welcome! I wasn't expecting you to come today" he was slightly filled with joy as Sirius was one of the more tamer members of his family.
Sirius just kept an expressionless face "what is it that you wanted to talk about, Albus" he would not be fooled by the headmaster. He drew his attention to Hagrid "and what is Hagrid doing here?"
"Worry not," he replied in a grandfatherly voice, "Hagrid just wanted to talk to get Mr. Potter's opinion about his class" it still irked him that he could not address the boy by his given name or the shortened version of it. But he had to play along as it was part of the limitation the boy's family put on him. "Hagrid, if you will," he gestured for him to speak.
Hagrid spoke, "thank yeh, Professor Dumbledore," he then looked at Harry "so, Harry, what do yeh think about my classes?"
Everyone waited for Harry to respond.
The boy in question had to think for a few minutes before responding "honestly, they're a few problems with it," he emotionlessly said. That made the half-giant professor sad, "what I mean is there is no doubt that you know about magical creatures. Though, you have a few problems that need to be sorted out."
"What do you mean, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall asked.
Harry answered, "for starters, Professor Hagrid needs to consider what is safe and interesting to teach. That incident with the hippogriff is a prime example. From what I've heard, you brought in some untrained hippogriffs and had the students work with them. That was your first mistake as they were untrained and could have done significant damage to the students, especially after Draco Malfoy. Granted, he didn't pay attention to your warning about not insulting a hippogriff. Not only that you also, put Blaise on the hippogriff without asking for his permission or a saddle and sent him into the air. Luckily for you, he is still in one piece. That said, it still falls under your jurisdiction, and if anything had happened to him, you would be at fault and possibly fired."
Albus frowned and looked at his colleague "is this true, Hagrid?"
"Yessir," Hagrid replied sadly, "I am beyond sorry. It will not happen again."
He then let out a breath. "Mr. Potter, I cannot apologize enough. But I must ask that you do not file a complaint. I will have some words with Hagrid about the matter later."
Harry raised an eyebrow "one, it's not me, he owes an apology to. It's Blaise. Two, I have no intentions of filing a complaint against Professor Hagrid. Merely request that he use better judgment when he introduces a potentially dangerous creature."
"That is very agreeable," McGonagall said before turning her head "he is not wrong, Hagrid; you need to be more careful when you introduce the students to creatures that you think are fun to be around."
"Next, I want to address his lack of experience when teaching a class," Harry began "it is no lie that he knew about creatures. He obviously doesn't have any experience when it comes to teaching. Therefore, I like to recommend that someone review what he wishes to teach before class begins and to monitor how everyone is fairing."
Dumbledore looked at Hagrid "that is a good idea, Hagrid. While you may know a lot about magical creatures, you are still new to teaching them to students. Starting now, your lessons will be supervised by either Minerva or any other members from the staff to make sure your class is safe to attend."
"If I may offer a suggestion," Sirius spoke, "why not hire an assistant. This way, Hagrid's classes can be monitored, and it wouldn't pull any of the teachers away from their lessons."
"I will have to think about it," Dumbledore said, then turned his attention to Hagrid. "I believe that is acceptable for you, Hagrid. As soon as I can find someone to partner up with you, one of the teachers will monitor you."
"Thank yeh, Professor," the big professor said with tears in his eyes.
"Then you may leave," Dumbledore said. Hagrid walked out of the office.
Harry spoke, "Is that all, headmaster or is there something else you wanted?"
Albus cleared his throat "well, you see, Mr. Potter, I have heard some concerning rumors about you verbally abusing Miss. Granger. While I understand that you two do not get along, you were out of line with the way you spoke to her."
Harry snorted. "Please, the matter was already settled, and I stand by what I said to her," he defended. "The insufferable idiot needs to learn to not get involved in matters that don't concern her."
"Come now, Mr. Potter" Dumbledore looked from his half-moon glass. "I truly do not believe she meant anything harmful against you."
The younger man rolled his eyes at what he said "that girl dared to mention how my birth family is dead and inquire about my new broom. All honesty, she got off easy, all things considered. If she is going to start an argument with me, then she better be ready for what I have to say."
"I must insist that you give Miss. Granger a chance," Dumbledore said with his eyes twinkling, "if you only take the time to really get to know her. Then she could become a good friend to you and your family. On the topic of your new broom and the letter that came with it. May I see them make sure that they are safe?"
"The answer is no," Harry said in a cold voice. "I don't want to get to know her as she would just annoy me to no end with her overbearing attitude. To your next question, my answer is no because neither are dangerous, and they don't concern you."
Albus felt his temper spike. "Mr. Potter, I only wish to ensure your safety," he said with his grandfatherly voice. "Some brooms or letters could have unpleasant curses or hexes if they are not inspected properly."
"Your ability to keep me safe is rather poor," Harry retorted "a prime example would be the dementors you allowed to be placed here at the beginning of term."
"They are controlled by the minister and the ministry," Albus responded, "and I have no control of what the ministry does. Cornelius can be quite stubborn about these things at times and insisted that they remain. Despite my reservations."
Harry narrowed his eyes "that a load of dragons dung. While they may be under their control, for the most part, they were close to kissing some students on the train and almost killed Cedric during the game. You may not have any control of what the ministry does, but you have the final say in what is to be placed near the school. Meaning that if the students were to be harmed by those creatures, then you and those idiots will be held responsible. You should know that if a belly of dementors is near a school with hundreds of students, then it will only be a matter of time before they go into a frenzy."
He then added, "which brings me to my next topic of why you didn't do anything to ensure the students' safety. The only thing you did was give a brief description of why they were placed here at the opening feast. Why did you not take any other precautions?"
Albus shifted uncomfortably in his chair "well, I figured that my warning would have been enough to keep the students away. As for taking other precautions, there is a limit to how much I can interfere with them as they are not part of my jurisdiction."
"Poppycock, old man," Harry replied, "you are in charge of this school and therefore have the final say in what is deemed necessary to protect the students. If you cannot provide adequate protection for the students, then your grip on the school is either slipping, or you need to retire and appoint someone else to take over."
A wave of anger passed the headmaster's face. "I assure you that my grip on this castle is strong as ever. As long as I am the headmaster, then no harm will come to the students."
"Your recent track record leads me to believe otherwise," Harry bit back, "starting with the blasted rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Why did you never try to resolve it? I understand that a little competition is good and all, but you let it escalate into all-out hatred. The relationship between the two houses may have changed recently, but it still falls to you to minimize the bitter hatred that once existed. Next would be the incident with those two girls attacked by those three sixth years two years ago. Those idiots injured and humiliated two girls just because they were tired and wanted to have a little fun. They did was cruel and unethical, and you tried to minimize their punishment by giving them detentions. That was a bad call on your part as those three should not have been given a second chance."
"The next problem came with that basilisk incident last year. You hired a fraud who turned out to be a pedophile and inappropriately touched many of the students. Not only that, how did you not notice a basilisk was roaming the castle petrifying the students? The wards around this castle are under your control, and therefore you should have detected where the beast was. Care to explain why you didn't lift a finger to do anything?"
Dumbledore couldn't think of a good response. While the wards did tell him that a dangerous creature was inside the castle, he brushed it off and thought the problem would just go away.
"No, the answer didn't think so," Harry said in an unpleased voice "maybe it's time for you to retire as it is obvious that you can no longer protect the students. Especially, not if you allowed a thousand-year-old basilisk to roam free or let dementors be placed near the castle."
"Mr. Potter, I-I don't even know what to say" Dumbledore felt like he was caught between a rock and a hard place. Then it hit him; he was being scolded by a 13-year-old. This would be humiliating if the outside world caught wind of this.
Harry narrowed his eyes at the man "then I will make this simple for you. If those dementors attack any of the students, then the consequences will be on your head. And you will reap the harvest for the lack of initiative when safeguarding the students under your care." He then turned to Sirius, who was gapping like a fish. "I trust you will handle it from here. I need to go to my apparition class," was all he said before leaving the room.
The portrait of his ancestor was chuckling, "oh, I really like him. That boy has got some balls."
"Well, what do you expect, he is a member of the Potter and Black family," Sirius commented with pride in his voice.
"That he is," Phineas agreed, "that he is!"
"Phineas, please," Dumbledore said in a calm but stern voice to quiet them and bring the attention back to him. Massaging his temples, he spoke once more, "Sirius, I must ask that you try and find a way to curve young Harry's attitude; if he keeps going down the path he is now, then it will be a disaster. I know he doesn't like me and will never listen to me, but I truly believe that he just gives Miss. Granger and the Weasley's a chance then they can become good friends," he implored.
Sirius scoffed, "I'm his godfather, not his dictator. If Harry chooses to spend time with them, then that is his business. Based on what I've heard, he cannot stand Granger or Weasley because they annoy him to no end. From what I've heard, the youngest Weasley boy is a lazy mannerless idiot who is pretty much one of the worst students in his year. And that is being nice. The girl, however, is high maintenance and needs to stop dictating and making threats to him. It's bad enough that she tries to force her views on him, but the minute things do not go her way, she tattles on him like a six-year-old child."
Minerva had to sadly agree with how he said about two of her lions. Mr. Weasley did need to shape up in a few areas; for one, he needed to learn how to control his temper. Followed by being more diligent in his work as he was about average at best. Next would be his table manners when he is eating! Never in all her years has she ever seen a thirteen-year-old with manners that rival a five-year-old, as for Miss. Granger really needed to stop harassing Mr. Potter and get over her childish rivalry with Miss. Greengrass. Maybe a letter to both their parents would be an order. But then remembered that Molly had a way with howlers and could likely deafen half the hall if she went off. Also, sending a howler was not the way to discipline a child. It only humiliated them and made things worse. She would need to have a word with Arthur about reining in his wife's temper.
"Sirius," Dumbledore said, bringing her out of her thoughts, "Miss. Granger was raised in the muggle world and is still adjusting to the workings of the magical world. We should learn from them as they are a fascinating race and could help change the magical world for what it's worth. Why I even dare say that she will one day become either minister or magic or become a member of the wizengamot."
That only received a snort from the younger man "Dumbledore, stop dreaming so much. The girl may have been raised in the muggle world, but that is no excuse for meddling in the lives of others nor forcing her views on them" after that, he turned and left the office.
"If you excuse me, Albus, I have to go and grade some tests and essays," Minerva said before leaving, not waiting for a response.
When she was out of the room, Albus let out his anger with one word, "FUCK" he yelled for a full three minutes. Then pulled out a bottle of Firewhiskey and poured the contents in a glass; downing the contents, he poured another. He really thought he would get Sirius to side with him, but it was not to be as the boy was still not happy with him. For Merlin's fucking sake, let it go. He was released from Azkaban and was supposed to remain a loyal dog to him.
A/N: Sorry about the delay I've been busy with school. I wanted to post yesterday but I was suffering the side effects of the covid vaccination. Daphne is growing in her magical abilities evidence by her new animagus form. I did say it would be a magical creature. Harry also unlocked a new animagus form the king of all dragons. Miwa's form is a thunderbird which is a bit ironic considering her elemental ability. During the meeting, the goblins informed them that they're no laws preventing Harry from assigning nonwizard or witch as his proxies on the wizengamot. Neville deserves to have his parents back I won't say when he will get them back, but it will happen.
The day of the match with Hufflepuff was a nightmare. Cedric fell off his broom and would have hit the ground either killing him or severely injuring all thanks to the dementors. I never did agree with those things being placed anywhere near people.
Harry received a new broom and a letter from one of the many broom companies he owns. Also, he put Granger down kind of hard all things considered. As for Hagrid I want to set the record straight I don't hate the guy. I just think he has the mentality of a child and should take better precautions when he introduces the students to creatures he deems as "cute and fun."
Next Chapter: There will be trouble