The Whooping Willow

After class, Harry used the free time before Lunch to go to the Gryffindor Common Room to leave the pixie before anybody could find out. Halfway there, the boy took a bottle usually used to store potion ingredients, so the creature would be contained while Harry did other things.

The boy was happy to find the creature had remained unconscious during class and the trip to his room. He pondered for a couple of seconds to where to put the small being, before deciding to grab a small cage to put the blue creature in.

Hedwig cooked her head to the side and her beak snapped at the bar of her cage. The boy looked at the owl and smiled fondly.

"Don't worry, Hedwig. I will make sure not to be found out" The famous boy answered the unsaid concerns from his pet.

Harry petted the neck of the bird affectionately and was rewarded with a couple of soft nips from the owl.

Sitting in his bed, Harry inspected the pixie's body and nodded to himself. The anatomy of the creature could be used to integrate interesting additions and maybe study its biology further down the line. The boy opened the cork of the bottle and put the pixie inside. Seeing as it could have a decent amount of space to move, Harry made a couple of holes in the cork lid so the magical creature could breathe. After that, he set aside the bottle atop the table beside Hedwig.

Sighing, he got up and took out the trunk where he had put all his luggage. Opening it, Harry put the creature inside and closed the trunk. Making sure the pixie was well hidden between some of his clothes, Harry closed the trunk and put it back below the bed.

Satisfied, the famous boy exited the room after feeding Hedwig some strips of bacon, and began to walk towards the Great Hall in search of his friends.

XXX

The man that would in the future be known as the Emperor knew something was wrong. He felt the sudden surge in power from a certain point on Earth and his brows furrowed.

Looking towards the direction it came, the man currently known as Adam sensed the stirring motions of the warp and the arrival of daemonic presences to reality. His anger boiled at the knowledge that Chaos was tainting the material world with it and brought one of His hands to the sword's hilt.

Currently wearing a formal suit with a black tie, the Conqueror of Earth exited His home and walked outside the premises where he had been living for the past couple of months. It was a great mansion built with His specifications.

It had five floors and an underground basement where He had built one of His many laboratories. There, the Emperor began making some of the weapons He would give to His armies in the future.

The weapon he had with him, on the other hand, was a prototype of what in the future it would be known as the Sword of the Emperor. He had built it to help Him fight daemonic incursions in the real world, made using his vast intellect and knowledge of the Empyrean.

The enormity of danger that this new tear in the Materium possessed, posed a great threat to His plans. A change of His current plans was necessary.

From what the Emperor could gather, the direction it came from was the Pacific more or less. Nodding to Himself, the Corpse-Emperor walked inside the enormous mansion and began preparing for His new trip.

XXX

Walking through the hallways of Hogwarts, a blonde boy was being followed close behind by a pair of bigger boys. The three were currently moving towards their Common Room so they could begin working in their first assignments.

Draco had finished his last class for the day and was very happy. The last summer he had been talking with the famous Harry Potter about all the knowledge the emerald-eyed boy knew. Malfoy had been surprised with the strange people coming from the future, but the things he had learnt had spurred his imagination and ambition.

Since he was a very young, Draco had been tutorized by some of the best men and women in the country, but nothing they had thought him had motivated him into pursuing a future like Harry's stories.

His father, still loyal to Voldemort even after the numerous atrocities she had done in the past, had gained riches and fame only a few could match. When the news of the Dark Witch defeat had reached his ears, the Malfoy patriarch had hurried to secure his innocence.

Now, knowing Voldemort was still alive, Draco had proclaimed his undying loyalty to Harry, when he found out their battle inside the school. Potter had transmuted the traitorous teacher and fused him with the famous Mirror of Erised. The blonde boy could only wonder what other incredible feats Harry was capable of and if he could teach him some of them.

Slaanesh power was one of the things he was most attracted to. Even if in current times She-Who-Thirst wasn't born yet, Draco would make sure Their Birth would come to pass. The pleasures of the flesh and mind were too tempting to ignore.

Draco had begun dabbling in all things prohibited. Drugs gifted by Harry, erratic sleeping hours, new foods and drinks, alcohol of all grades, pain inflicted on himself and hidden carefully from his parents' eyes…

Crabbe and Goyle on the other hand had been very interested in Khorne. The idea of injuring others and brawling with people had been an obvious follow up from the many times they had bullied others at Draco's behest. Harry's tales of bloody battles to the death and the monsters roaming the galaxy told by Abaddon and Guilliman had made them eager.

The blonde caressed one of his arms and felt the stinging sensation of the cuts he had made on his flesh. He stole a glance to his companions and watched as they ignored his actions even if they could perceive them from the corner of their eyes.

Once in the Common Room, Draco sat in one of the couches and stretched his limbs. Crabbe and Goyle sat beside him, grabbed a deck of cards from the shelf that contained the various games brought to pass the time and began playing.

Around them, some of the rest of Slytherin's students glanced at them, before returning to their own conversations and activities. Draco watched them and began deciding which of them would be interested in joining them or being useful to Harry.

Malfoy couldn't wait for Harry's followers to increase and become his servants. There was nobody Draco couldn't think more fitting to rule Britain.

XXX

The next classes Harry and his friends they had to attend were Potions and Transfiguration. Once finished with them, Harry decided to visit the strange tree that had almost made them crash in their journey to Hogwarts.

It was a willow that moved on its own, no matter how the wind blew in its branches. Now, missing most of its foliage, the tree looked almost like a skeleton. The bark was of a deep brown and riddled with bumps where usually birds would make their nests.

Harry took a couple of steps closer to the tree, trying to observe it in detail. Then, a couple more. And another more. And more. And…

The boy stopped. He watched as a subtle movement of the branches to his left indicated that Harry had not imagined things the other times he had approached the willow. Arching an eyebrow, he moved slowly towards the tree, watching the branches move.

FWOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUM!

The sound of one of the thicker branches sweeping reached his ears and Harry dodged instinctively. He rolled out of the way and felt the breeze pass above him, indicating the willow's movement.

Getting up from his position, Harry smiled ferally when he saw the tree move once more with the intention of hitting him. The boy knew that with the strength the willow was putting in the swipes, it would break some of his bones if hit.

The tree moved with a frightening speed, trying to knock the boy to the side and prevent him from reaching it. The bark splintered when Harry extended a hand and used his psychic power. The movement of the branches became more wild and aggressive.

FWOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM! FWOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUM!

The famous wizard jumped when one of them almost hit his legs, and moved to the right to prevent being knocked down with another.

This is fun! Harry thought. Due to his constant training with Erebus and the other people that had come from the future, the boy was in perfect shape, allowing him to have a way to not being hit by the tree.

FWOOOM! FWWWOOOOUUUUMMM! FWWWWMMMMM! FWWWWWMMMMPPP!

Sweeping to the left, jumping, rolling to the right, crouching the next moment, sidestepping to his left… With each passing swipe of the willow's branches, Harry dodged all and went closer to the rooting place of the tree. The terrible danger of the tree's attacks made the boy's heart beat faster and faster.

FWWMMP! FWWWOOMMM! FWMP! FWWWWWWOOOOOOMMMMPPP!

Again and again, being quick enough to not being hurt by the tree's whipping branches. Harry was at least two meters from the willow. He could taste victory. He was so close…

FWWWWWOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM! FWOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUMMMMM!

In the end, the famous boy finally reached the enormous trunk of the willow and laughed happily. He had only felt so alive before when dealing with Quirrell. The danger had made his adrenaline levels surge and the exercise provided was something he hadn't found nowhere else in Hogwarts during this year.

As if understanding its defeat, the willow stopped all its movements. The sound of its bark creaking and splintering ceased. It was as if nothing had happened.

He sighed contentedly. Harry decided that he could do this every day from now on. Patting the willow's trunk affectionately, he stretched his limbs and turned around to go visit Draco and the others to continue their training.

His journey out of the tree's reach was unimpeded. With a broad smile on his face, Harry went back to the castle.

XXX

Daphne Greengrass had started second year hoping nothing weird would happen. But it had been a fool's hope.

The girl was in Slytherin, wearing the uniform and carrying some of her books. She had black hair that reached her shoulders and blue eyes. Daphne was of average height and with her ears pierced by a couple of pendants that her mother had gifted her for the girl's birthday.

She had been walking towards the Common Room of Slytherin when she had caught through the corner of her eyes an absurd event. She had stopped with her eyes widening in surprise and mouth agape.

The girl had seen something she had never imagined happening.

There he was, Harry James Potter, the famous Boy-Who-Lived. Standing in front of the famous Whooping Willow. Daphne had wondered for a second what he was doing when the foolish boy had decided to approach the magical tree in range of its branches.

The girl had imagined for a second the stupid wizard being rescued by a teacher, moved to the Hospital Wing and punished for his actions. But it hadn't happened. Harry had begun dodging the furious swipes of the willow's branches and move closer to the tree's trunk.

Daphne had held her breath, not knowing what it would happen at the end. She had bit her lip in anxiousness and her heart had beat like she was in a roller-coaster.

But the surprise hadn't ended there. Harry James Potter had done something impossible. The boy had reached the tree's base and touched it with his hand. The Whopping Willow, as if admitting its defeat, had stopped moving and let the boy go back to the castle unharmed.

The girl blinked a couple of times to determine she wasn't hallucinating.

Snapping from her reverie, Daphne steeled her features and turned around. This event was something she would have to think about. The boy's prowess was not normal. His agility and athletic physique for someone her age was not expected.

The girl remembered last year and first appearance of Harry in the Wizarding World in eleven years. Rumours had started to spread. Some girls and boys had found him cute, wondering what kind of workout he had, to be a little bit more muscular and tall while being that young.

And then, the troll and Quirrell's incident happened. Daphne's parents had been surprised by the news of a magical creature loose in the school. The girl had almost been brought back to her home due to their concerns.

But now Daphne had something new to consider. Maybe she could investigate about Harry and find out what was going on with the famous boy.

She would have to be careful. Some of the boys and girls in her House were very vocal about their distaste for the famous wizard and she didn't want to have a target painted on her back.

Maybe she could talk to him in private. Gather intel without arousing his suspicion and find out why in Merlin's name he would do something so reckless.

Daphne Greengrass hoped Harry would not be as arrogant as the rumours suggested. She had dealt with more than her share of boys like that before.