Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I am writing this fanfiction for my own amusement and make no profit, all characters in this story are the property of J.K Rowling, Scholastic, Warner Brothers, ect.
AN: Okay, this story will be a complete AU, starting in the sixth year, Harry will not be the boy who lived and will not be part of the main war (in the beginning anyway).
I have not simply changed Neville and Harry's nametags so fear not, this Harry will not be another version of canon Neville Longbottom, Though the events of canon that are still compliant take place with Neville filling the role of the hero.
Finally, because I like to do the rare pairings in my stories and I already decided on the pairing before I started this time, this story will have a Harry/Lavender pairing, it's a pairing that I have not seen with the exception of harem stories and thought it might be a challenge.
Well, that's about it read and let me know what you think.
Platform 9 3/4, King's Cross, London, 9/1/1996, 10:45
The platform was absolute chaos on the first of September as it was every year, there was a cacophony of sounds, the hustle and bustle of the scrambling of students saying goodbye to their family, the sounds of parents preparing their children for another year at Hogwarts, the sounds of the trains steam engine releasing steam periodically and the sounds of owls and cats of every color meowing and hooting in protest to being confined in cages and baskets. The platform was an assault on the senses to the new first years and a welcome sound to students in the upper years who couldn't wait to return to school.
Off to the side of the main crowd stood two figures, they were standing near the last carriage of the 'Hogwarts Express' and saying their farewells like every other family on the platform.
"Alright Harry?" Sirius asked softly.
"Yes, I just can't wait to get there, I hate the train ride," Harry grumbled.
"So I've heard, every year in fact," Sirius said with a grin.
"So why can't I just floo to Hogsmeade or something?" Harry asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.
"Because as I've said before you need to make some friends," Sirius said in exasperation.
"I have friends, thanks," Harry said quietly.
"That French bird is a pen pal that doesn't really count, and the Lovegood girl is great but you need to stop being so reclusive and branch out a bit," Sirius said tiredly.
"I just don't have time to goof around and that's all my dorm mates want to do," Harry said defensively.
"Look you've got time to be all serious when you get out of school, just try and have some fun this year," Sirius almost begged him.
"I'll try to," Harry said halfheartedly.
Harry had never really liked interacting with his peers, this was partly due to never feeling comfortable around other people and partly because he had grown up in isolation after his parents were killed.
Sirius had been the first on the scene that night when the Potter family had been attacked just five days after the dark lord had fallen at the hands of Neville Longbottom. His godfather had been taking care of him ever since and in the early years had been really paranoid raising him in one of the Black family properties in France. Harry's first experience with other people had been when Sirius took him to get his school things when he was eleven, which was a real shock to Harry's system.
His first experience on the train had been jarring at best having to deal with the Malfoy boy and his pet trolls trying to harass him before Harry was forced to set them straight so to speak. Sirius had been proud to learn Harry had managed to get himself a week's detention before he was even sorted and Malfoy and his two bodyguards had spent their first night at Hogwarts in the infirmary.
Word had gotten out through the school of what Harry had done and most of the other students avoided him like the plague from that day onward.
"Good, you've sat your O.W.L's so just take it easy this year," Sirius said pulling Harry from his musings.
"You know I can't do that especially with what's going on out there," Harry said sadly.
"Let the adults worry about that mate," Sirius said quietly.
"Well those adults let that bastard escape from prison, so I don't have much faith in the ministry handling the situation," Harry said hotly.
I wasn't referring to the ministry, since Bones got killed they are next to worthless," Sirius said.
"They were pretty useless before that," Harry argued remembering the events of last year.
Before Sirius could reply the warning whistle sounded signaling one minute before the train would leave the station.
"You had better get going mate, be safe," Sirius said pulling Harry into a hug.
"I will," Harry said returning the embrace before pulling away and making his way towards the train.
Sirius was both proud and worried for his godson. Harry had done very well in school earning himself ten O W L's all scored at outstanding last year, but he never focused on anything else which had Sirius concerned.
He knew it was partially his fault for raising Harry away from everyone, but after Peter's betrayal and the death of James Sirius had been in a bad place pushing away the outside world. He was ashamed to admit that he had become paranoid of being betrayed and feared that it could happen again if he let anyone get too close to him or his godson.
Those mistakes had come back on him when he realized that Harry had become very anti-social and preferred his own company to that of his peers.
Harry was now sixteen and was the spitting image of his late best friend James Potter, the only exceptions being the boy's emerald eyes which he had inherited from his mother. Harry stood at an impressive six-foot-tall, three inches taller than himself and four inches taller than James when he was at that age.
Seeing Harry board the train saddened the Marauder, this time next year he would be an adult and heading to his final year of schooling.
'Where does the time go?' Sirius thought as the train started pulling away.
Hogwarts Express, 11:07
Harry walked into the compartment he had reserved earlier noticing Luna had found the place and made herself at home already, she had kicked off her shoes and was currently laid across the bench reading the 'Quibbler' wearing some type of glasses that made her look like a demented owl multi-colored owl.
"Hello Harry, how was your summer?" Luna asked in her dreamy tone.
"Pretty boring minus the dueling championship, we couldn't go out much because of all the death eater attacks, how was yours?" Harry asked as he sat down across from her.
"Wonderful, Daddy took me with him to Sweden to search for the crumplehorn snorkack, we found a lot of tracks but never actually saw any of the creatures," Luna exclaimed excitedly.
"That's good, so I take it you will be returning there," Harry said knowing the answer already.
"Oh yes, we plan on returning there over Christmas," Luna said happily.
"That's nice, anything interesting in the Quibbler this month?" Harry asked eyeing the magazine.
Harry had been friends with luna since after Christmas of her first year when he discovered his housemates stealing her things, he had spoken up on her behalf, the resulting conflict left three girls in the hospital wing with minor spell inflicted wounds and Harry being awarded a month's detention.
After that incident, the girls of Ravenclaw had left Luna alone and the girl in question had stuck close to Harry who had become quite protective of the quirky little blond, he quite enjoyed her company, she was one of the few people he had met who could make him laugh.
"Oh yes the magazine has been selling at twice the rate it was last year, this month we are doing a segment on wrackspurts," Luna said showing him her copy of the magazine.
"What do wrackspurts do?" Harry asked not entirely sure he wanted to know.
"They fly in your ears and make your brain go fuzzy," Luna answered dreamily.
"That would explain the weasel," Harry said thoughtfully.
"Not quite, they are attracted to intelligent people, Ronald has nothing to fear from wrackspurts" Luna replied sagely.
Before Harry could reply there was a knock on their compartment door the door slid open seconds later revealing a redheaded third-year Hufflepuff.
"I am to deliver this to a Harry Potter," The girl said holding a roll of parchment.
"That's me," Harry said excepting the scroll.
The girl left while Harry was unrolling the missive and a frown crossed his features by the time he finished reading.
"Don't frown Harry, that will attract wrackspurts," Luna admonished.
"Why is that?" Harry asked absentmindedly.
"Because they feed on grumpy thoughts," Luna replied as if it were obvious.
"Sorry, I've just been invited to Horace Slughorns compartment for lunch, have you ever heard of him?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Yes, he was the potions professor when daddy was in school," Luna answered.
Contrary to what most people believed, Luna was not as quirky as she appeared, sure she was borderline eccentric but she had a sharp mind and amazing observational skills. She was very easy to talk to and sometimes exaggerated her quirks just to mess with people.
"And what's your opinion of him?" Harry asked.
"He is like a spider luring in nargles, he builds a network of webs and draws the exceptional into his fold, encouraging them to greatness and reaping rewards for himself in the process," Luna said after some thought.
"So it would be beneficial to join him for lunch?" Harry pressed.
"It would," Luna said easily.
"Care to join me?" Harry asked with a smile.
"Will there be pudding?" Luna asked very seriously.
"I should think so, it isn't lunch without pudding," Harry said with a grin.
"Very well, but they had better have pudding," Luna said as she slipped her shoes back on.
"If they don't I will make it up to you," Harry promised.
"Good, I will hold you to that, I'm ready," Luna said as she stood up.
Nodding Harry stood up and opened the compartment door and started heading up the train towards compartment C with Luna in tow.
Pushing open the door Harry saw the compartment had been magically expanded to three times its normal size, there were quite a few students sitting around a large rectangular table, quite a few people he knew on sight, Markus Belby from the year above him being the most notable.
"Ah Harry, so good of you to join us and who might your friend be?" Asked the rotund man who sat at the head of the table.
Harry's first impression was that the man resembled a walrus with his balding crown and his impressive white mustache (Not to mention his large stomach), he had a jovial disposition and Harry found himself liking the man.
"This is my friend Luna Lovegood, sir. I didn't feel right leaving her alone," Harry answered respectfully.
"Your father owns the Quibbler does he not?" Slughorn asked Luna with interest.
"Yes sir," Luna answered proudly.
"You are more than welcome here my dear, please have a seat you two, as my letter indicated I am Professor Horace Slughorn the new potions professor", Slughorn said happily.
Harry and Luna took two seats beside each other towards the far end of the table and harry started making observations of others at the table he recognized.
There was Blaise Zabini a rather haughty Slytherin who Harry had been paired with during his third year in Arithmancy class, the boy was darker skinned and spoke with a slight Italian accent, then there was Cormac McClaggen who Harry had only met in passing, there was Ginny Weasley who was quite popular in Gryffindor house and was famous for having an infatuation with Neville Longbottom, and Finally, there was Melinda Bobbin who as far as Harry knew had well-connected parents and was currently a seventh year and a member of Hufflepuff house.
Harry now knew Luna's first assessment was spot on since the only thing all these students had in common with the exception of Ginny Weasley was that they had well-connected parents or relatives in the case of Belby.
Harry's musings were interrupted as the compartment door slid open and Neville Longbottom walked in followed by a pair of twin girls, Flora and Hestia Carrow if he remembered correctly.
'Of course, Longbottom would be invited,' Harry thought with a sigh.
Longbottom was the most famous student at Hogwarts and if half the rumors were true, responsible for saving the school in Harry's first and second year, according to multiple issues of this summer's Daily Prophet, Longbottom was also fated to defeat Voldemort.
Harry never had much interaction with Longbottom and his two sidekicks, Longbottom had always been kind of arrogant since the first year and Harry had no interest in being part of the boy's fan club.
The story went that on Halloween nineteen eighty you-know-who attacked the Longbottom home and killed Alice and Frank Longbottom, then attempted to kill baby Neville, only the curse rebounded and destroyed the dark lord instead, leaving only a lightning bolt scar on Neville's forehead and making him famous around the world.
Harry could really care less about Neville's misfortune since his own home had been attacked less than a week later.
Peter Pettigrew had led Antonin Dolohov and Evan Rosier into the Potter's cottage, Peter was keyed into the wards so he had no trouble getting the two men in.
The death eaters had caught his parents by surprise and attacked while the family of three was seated at the dinner table. Harry didn't know the details of the attack but the end result was that his parents were killed, as were Evan Rosier and Peter Pettigrew.
Sirius had arrived at the cottage to visit with the Potter's and had joined the fight killing Pettigrew and injuring Dolohov pretty badly, the death eater had escaped leaving Harry an orphan and his godfather devasted at the loss of his friends.
Dolohov had been captured a few months later and would have gotten the kiss if it wasn't for Dumbledore talking the Wizengamot into reducing the sentence to life in prison. Dolohov had escaped this past January and was serving his master once again, he was last sighted at the ministry the night Longbottom and his friends had foiled some death eater plot.
"Ah, Mr. Longbottom so nice of you to come. I believe you know most of my other guests?" Slughorn asked which brought Harry back to the present.
"I know most of them, sir," Neville answered.
Harry tuned out Slughorn as he began going around the table introducing the various students, he only paid attention again when he heard his own introduction.
...and then we have Harry Potter, three-time U-13 national dueling champion and two-time U-17 national dueling champion. Finally, we have Luna Lovegood whose father is the owner and editor of the Quibbler, I believe you were interviewed for the publication last February?" Slughorn finished with a question.
Harry was rather surprised Slughorn knew about his success in dueling, Harry had been trained since he was nine years old, both in magic and in muggle fighting. Sirius had trained him personally in magical combat since the man was quite gifted with a wand and paid to have Harry trained in an Israeli fighting style known as 'Krav Maga' by a respected master of the discipline. This had come in handy during Harry's early years at Hogwarts and integrated well into his dueling style.
During the summer of his first year, Harry had entered into the U-13 dueling circuit, he had done very well and had been competing every summer since then. Harry was seriously considering entering the professional dueling circuit when he finished school.
Neville's eyes widened in surprise at hearing this news, having never got on with Potter very well, since the boy never seemed to be in awe of him like his other classmates.
"Now that we all know each other's names, let's enjoy this magnificent pheasant and get to know each other a little better," Slughorn said jovially.
What followed was the professor going from person to person asking them questions about themselves and their family.
Belby really messed things up first by nearly choking on his food when spoke to him and then admitting that his uncle Damocles Belby who was famous for inventing the 'wolfsbane potion' was estranged from his father's side of the family.
'He won't be invited back,' Harry thought wryly.
Next Slughorn questioned McClaggen who was very well connected as his father was an old hunting buddy of Rufus Scrimgeour the current minister of magic.
Harry tuned out the rest not particularly caring about Zabini's black widow mother or the Bobbin's large chain of apothecaries.
When Neville's turn came up Harry listened with half an ear while he picked at his pheasant, Slughorn asked mostly about the events of last June when Longbottom, Weasley, Granger, Thomas, Weaslette, and Bones snuck out of Hogwarts and somehow ended up in a fight for their lives with a dozen death eaters inside the ministry.
The fact that they let the two worst death eaters escape really irritated Harry, Dolohov somehow managed to escape from the order of the phoenix right under Dumble's crooked nose.
After the questions about what happened at the ministry, Slughorn tried to pry into the rumors of a prophecy that had been mentioned in the 'Daily Prophet', of course, Ginny Weasley rushed to Neville's defense and then was snarky to Zabini when he snorted at all the fawning Longbottom was receiving.
This lead to Slughorn explaining how the female Weasley had ended up getting an invite to this somewhat exclusive lunch. She had cursed Zacharias smith with the bat-boogie hex and impressed the professor with her wand work.
Finally, Slughorn turned to Harry
"Now, I have been following your career with great interest. You want the U-13 National championship at eleven, how on earth did you manage that at such a young age?" Slughorn asked Harry sounding really impressed.
"The first time I competed was in Britain and to be brutally honest it was a disappointment, most of my competition had attended Hogwarts and they were not very talented or well taught," Harry admitted making Longbottom scowl.
"Yes, the school used to focus on dueling back in the forties but the current headmaster did away with the dueling club citing that it was too violent," Slughorn said not at all perturbed by Harry's statement.
"The summer after my second year I entered into the French national U-13 and that was much more challenging, to be honest, I barely scraped a win against Fleur Delacour in the finals," Harry admitted.
"I saw that match as I was in France on business. You did very well," Slughorn praised.
"Thank you sir, my godfather has been training me since I was nine," Harry said with a rare smile.
"Ah yes, Sirius Black I taught him you know as well as your mother and father. All three were uncommonly gifted, though I admit your mother was one of my favorites," Slughorn said with a sad look at Harry.
"Sirius has told me a bit about my parents, he said my mother was a potions prodigy," Harry said questioningly.
"She was, one of the best I've ever taught!" Slughorn exclaimed happily.
"Then I will have to make sure I don't disappoint you in my potions class, sir," Harry said quietly.
"Not to worry my boy, I'm sure you won't," Slughorn said before moving on to the next person at the table.
The rest of the lunch was pretty boring, after the main course was served the pudding was served much to Luna's delight making Harry grin.
Not long after desert the meeting broke up and Harry and luna headed back to their compartment, Harry idly noticed Neville following Zabini towards the Slytherin compartment.
As soon as they entered their compartment Luna said, "The pudding was lovely."
"Yes, and that's what matters most," Harry said with a chuckle.
"Careful Harry the wrackspurts are circling you," Luna said dreamily.
"So sarcasm attracts the as well?" Harry asked.
"Like a moth to flame," Luna said before she started taking off her shirt.
"Luna, what are you doing?" Harry asked slightly alarmed.
"Changing into my uniform," she answered as if it were obvious.
"Okay, I'll just step outside then,'" Harry said and darted out of the compartment, though not before noticing she wasn't wearing undergarments.
Luna was always a little free-spirited but this would be the first time she had tried to strip in front of him, standing in the hallway he noticed Granger and the Weasel patroling down at the other end of the carriage.
"What are you doing Potter, you had better change into your robes," Granger said bossily "We're almost to Hogwarts."
"Thanks for your concern Granger," Harry said flatly.
Before Hermione could reply Luna poked her head out and said, "I'm changed your turn."
"You are definitely not watching me change," Harry said when he noticed Luna wasn't leaving the compartment.
"Oh poo," Luna said sadly as she walked out into the hall to let Harry change.
Hermione gave the girl a disapproving look and led Ron to the next carriage.
"Alright Luna, I'm done," Harry called through the door a few minutes later.
"I think Hermione is infested with wrackspurts," Luna said thoughtfully.
"Wouldn't surprise me much, she does a lot of frowning," harry said absentmindedly.
"Exactly, she doesn't appear to know her head is full of them," Luna said dreamily.
"Well you know her better than I do, didn't she approach you about Longbottom's interview?" Harry asked curiously.
"No, she sent a letter to my father, I don't think she likes me very much," Luna said sadly.
"Her loss, though you are a bit of an acquired taste," Harry said with a smirk.
"Oh, and how do I taste?" Luna asked curiously.
"Like butterscotch pudding of course," Harry answered not at all bothered by her innuendo.
"Oh poo, I prefer chocolate pudding," Luna said grumpily.
"So do I," Harry agreed.
The train started slowing down, Harry smiled happily, they had finally arrived at Hogwarts.
Harry and Luna got up from their seats and headed out into the corridor getting caught up in the throng of students exiting the train.
Harry could hear the half-giant calling all the first year to him over the noise of the crowd as he and Luna made their way to a thestral drawn carriage, no one tried to join their carriage as Harry had a reputation of violence towards those that annoyed him.
"Are you excited to be back at the castle?" Luna asked.
"I am, I can't wait to get back to the library," said happily as the carriage started moving.
Hogwarts Great Hall, Scotland, 9/1/1996, 19:17
Harry and Luna entered the great hall amongst the crowd of chattering students and made their way to the Ravenclaw table, they always sat towards the end closest to the doors and the rest of their housemates generally avoided them.
Luna was quite friendly to anyone that she came across but most people avoided her because they thought she was strange.
Nearly everyone avoided Harry because he was very standoffish and seemed to detest the presence of others. Truthfully Harry had no animosity towards his classmates he just had no interest in socializing, seeing it as a waste of time, he was here to learn.
The students steadily trickled in over the next few minutes and the volume in the hall increased with friends catching up after three months apart, talking to acquaintances that were not important enough to send an owl to over the summer, and girls giggling and gossiping amongst their little groups.
"So what calamity will befall Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Luna who was gazing at the ceiling.
"Maybe the school will be infested with darvylurps, or maybe scuttletrups will start attacking anyone who goes near the defense classroom," Luna said thoughtfully.
"You know I have no idea what either of those things are," Harry said in exasperation.
"If you read the Quibbler you would," Luna said with a smirk.
I swear you make those things up just to mess with me," Harry said with a chuckle.
"Ah, but until you can prove they don't exist you'll never know," Luna said mischievously.
"Isn't that the Quibbler's motto?" Harry asked deadpan.
"It is, does that cloud look like a mooglezooper to you?" Luna asked innocently.
"Alright cut it out," Harry said with a sigh.
"Fine spoil my fun, how did you do on your O.W.L's?" Luna asked.
"Ten O's," Harry said happily.
"Then you won't mind helping me study?" Luna asked more seriously than he had ever heard her speak.
"Not at all, I didn't think you were all that worried about O.W.L's though," Harry said sounding surprised.
"As goofy as people think I am, I still reside in the house that prides itself on intelligence and I intend to do well on my O.W.L's," Luna said as if it were obvious.
"Fair point," Harry admitted.
Their conversation was cut short as the doors to the great hall opened and Professor McGonagall entered carrying the sorting hat and leading the first years. She made her way up to a stool that was already waiting for her in front of the teacher's table and sat the hat down upon the stool before turning around and speaking.
"After the song is finished you will each come forward when I call your name and take a seat on the stool, I will then place the hat upon your head and you will be sorted into your houses. Once the hat places you in a house please take a seat at the appropriate table."
As soon as McGonagall finished her speech the sorting hat burst into song.
Harry listened to the song the sorting hat sang, the hat mentioned the qualities of the different houses, but like last year it also referenced the dangers outside Hogwarts and encouraged the four houses to put aside their rivalries and unite during these troubled times.
Once the song was finished and the students and staff applauded the hat, Professor McGonagall unrolled the rooster of first-year names and called out the first name on the list.
"Arlen, Madison"
Harry zoned out during the sorting having no interest in the sorting of the new students, he didn't know any of them anyway. When the last student was called Dumbledore stood and spoke to the hall.
"Welcome to a new year, I have many announcements to make but they will keep until after the feast, with that being said tuck in and enjoy the welcoming feast."
When dumbledore returned to his seat food appeared on the five tables and there was a scramble as students began filling their plates, the volume in the hall increased as the earlier chatter returned accompanied by the sound of forks and knives scraping plates.
Harry filled his plate with steak, roast potatoes, and large salad and ate listening to the chatter going on around him with disinterest, Luna picked at her plate as she was anxiously awaiting desert and didn't seem all that interested in real food, they both ate quietly while the hall around them got noisier still as the students finished eating.
Harry noticed Neville and Snape enter the hall, the former's face and tee-shirt were covered in blood and the latter looked ecstatic about something.
Harry watched Neville walk to where his two lackeys were sitting towards the middle of the Gryffindor table and quickly take a seat, he briefly argued with Granger and then reached for a chicken leg only for the main course to disappear as the desert course appeared on the five tables in its place, making Harry chuckle at the look of annoyance on Neville's face.
Harry had a pretty good idea who was responsible for Longbottom's misfortune, scanning the Slytherin table and seeing the Malfoy brat smiling smugly confirmed his suspicion.
"It looks like the ferret got one over on Longbottom," Harry told Luna who currently resembled a chipmunk her mouth full of chocolate pudding.
Luna took quite a time to swallow before replying, "That's nice, no more talking during pudding time."
It was only a few minutes later that the desert disappeared leaving the golden plates and goblets sparkling clean.
Dumbledore rose from his seat and approached the lectern and waited for the chatter to die down, when the hall became silent he began to speak in a slightly magnified voice.
"To our new students I bid welcome, and to our old students welcome back. Now, before I send you all to the comfort of your beds I have a few announcements to make.
Firstly, the caretaker has asked me to inform you that the number of banned items has doubled since this time last year all thanks I am sure to the owners of 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes'. coincidentally any item sold by that particular store is banned in the corridors, a full list of banned items is posted on Mr, Filch's door.
Next, we have two new staffing changes this year, Professor Horace Slughorn has agreed to come out of retirement to take up his old post as potions master once again.
The other change in staff is the appointment of Professor Snape who will now be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, I'm sure you will all wish to congratulate him on his...
The one thing about Harry that always seemed to get him in trouble was that he had a real problem with authority, he respected most of the professors in the school but two of them were exceptions, Severus Snape had been a horrible teacher since Harry had attended his first potions lesson in his first year.
The man went out of his way to antagonize Harry any chance he got, he had tried to humiliate Harry in his first class asking him about the 'Daught of Living Death' which would not be covered until N.E.W.T potions. Harry had not known the answer and Snape tried to make him out to be a moron, Harry had since despised the petty bastard, when Sirius had filled him in on who Severus Snape was, and why he was treating Harry the way he was, Harry's dislike only intensified.
Harry had every intention of dropping potions this year and was looking forward to finally being shot of Snape, but it seems the other professor he had no respect for threw a wrench into his plans.
'Yeah fuck that,' Harry thought as he took out a quill and a piece of parchment from his pocket and scribbled a hasty note.
Professor Dumbledore was still making announcements when Harry rose from his seat and headed towards the head table.
"Finally Quidditch trials will be held at the convenience of your house captain and any wishing to try out should-
Dumbledore stopped midsentence as a student walked towards the head table and approached Filius and handed him a piece of parchment, Dumbledore noticed the attention of the student body was drawn to the head table as Harry Potter was now having a whispered conversation with Professor Flitwick.
" Mr. Potter, what is so important that you couldn't wait until the announcements were finished?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
"I apologize sir, but after your announcement I needed to make some changes to my schedule," Harry answered politely.
"Why couldn't it wait until later?" Dumbledore inquired.
"Well, after you announced that Snape would be teaching defense I wanted to drop the class, I'm sure I will learn more in self-study and I knew a lot of others would wish to do the same so I wanted to make sure I gave my head of house plenty of notice," Harry said easily.
"You insolent little-
" Enough Severus, this really could have waited for the end of the feast Mr. Potter and its Professor Snape," Dumbledore admonished.
"Not anymore it's not at least not for me, I refuse to recognize Snivelous as a professor," Harry said matter of factly.
"You're worse than you arrogant father, strutting around this castle like-
Snape was cut off from his rant as a red jet of light flew by his head causing the professor to duck behind the head table, the spell struck the wall causing a deep two inch diameter hole in the wall.
" Don't insult my father again you greasy shit stain, I may not be from a noble house but my godfather is, and I will have his full backing if I call an honor duel," Harry said coldly his wand still pointed towards snape's seat at the head table.
"Mr. Potter that will be two months detention," Professor McGonagall spoke since Dumbledore seemed quite shocked and hadn't said anything.
"Yes ma'am," Harry said politely.
"Very well, everyone please go to your common rooms, your head of house will hand out your schedules at breakfast tomorrow, Potter come with me." McGonagall announced to the great hall.
Harry followed the deputy head out of the hall, she led him up two flights of stairs to her office and told him to take a seat.
"Was that really necessary?" McGonagall asked in annoyance.
"Probably not ma'am, but it felt great," Harry replied honestly.
"Just out of curiosity, what was that spell?" Minerva asked.
"Piercing hex, I wasn't really aiming at his head though," Harry answered innocently.
"It looked pretty close from where I was sitting," she replied.
"I just intended the spell to whiz by his ear, he overreacted," Harry said dismissively.
"Of course," she said disbelievingly, "I will be sending an owl to Sirius about this incident, in the meantime stay away from Professor Snape."
"Yes ma'am,"
"Good, meet me here after dinner for your detention, you may go," McGonagall said in dismissal.
Minerva watched him walk out the door and sighed heavily thinking to herself, 'That boy is worse than his father ever was!'
Minerva had kept an eye on the boy since he had first arrived at Hogwarts and for good reason, he was raised by Sirius Black!
Her first impression of the lad was that he was very intelligent, he was also quick to start a fight. She remembered vividly when Percy Weasley informed her of the incident on the Hogwarts express during Harry's first year.
Apparently, Draco Malfoy and his friends Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle thought it wise to call Potter's dead mother a mudblood and insinuate that she was a prostitute during her time at Hogwarts.
Potter had been vicious in the beating he inflicted on the three boys, Poppy said he had targeted their pressure points with pinpoint precision to make every strike as painful as possible, young Malfoy had a ruptured kidney and four broken bones. The two larger boys were struck in the kneecaps, groin, and face both receiving many injuries in the process, and having to soend their first night in the care of the Hogwarts matron.
For someone that was so intelligent Potter spent more time in detention than any student she could ever remember, his only saving grace was an intuitive grasp of magic. Potter always was talented in her class and one of her all-time favorite students if only he could control his impulse to hurt those that annoyed him.
'Well I will be seeing a lot of the boy this year, I may even put him to good use,' Minerva thought as she opened her tin of ginger newts and took one ou and took a bite.
Ravenclaw Tower, Hogwarts, Scotland, 9/1/1996, 21:39
Harry arrived in his private dorm room and changed into his pajamas, then finding the mirror Sirius had given him when he started Hogwarts, Harry called, "Sirius Black."
The small shaving mirror's surface blurred and his reflection changed into the visage of his godfather looking back at him curiously.
"Alright mate, what did you do this time?" Sirius asked in a tone of resignation.
"I may have sent a piercing hex at Snape's head in the middle of the great hall," Harry said sheepishly.
"So how bad was your punishment this time?' Sirius asked the corners of his mouth twitching.
" Two months detention with McGonagall, she didn't seem all that mad to be honest," Harry said thoughtfully.
"So I will be getting an owl soon?" Sirius asked resignedly.
"Yes, now for the real reason I called, what are your thoughts on Horace Slughorn?" Harry asked.
"He is a very good teacher, though he likes to surround himself with the well connected and talented, people that will become leaders when they graduate," Sirius said thoughtfully.
"I see, I attended one of his get-togethers on the train, he said he knew my mother," Harry explained.
"He did, she was his favorite student, Lily Evans could do no wrong as far as Slughorn was concerned," Sirius said with a grin.
"He seems likable enough, I guess I had better get to bed. Good night Sirius," Harry said.
"Good night, try and stay out of trouble," Sirius said before ending the connection.
Hogwarts Head's Office, Scotland, 9/1/1996, 22:18
Albus sat behind his desk deep in thought, on top of all his other problems with the war, the school, the prophecy, and his suspicion of Tom having made multiple Horcruxes he now had to deal with the disruption Harry Potter had caused during the feast tonight.
There was no doubt in the aged headmaster's mind that other students would now be dropping Severus' classes after Potter had so publicly pointed out that N.E.W.T students could self-study and still take the exams.
Albus knew he was going to be ruffling a lot of feathers with Snape's new appointment, but he needed Horace here to get the memory that was crucial in Tom's destruction, so it was unavoidable.
The Potter boy had always been a bit of a maverick, and Albus had the suspicion that the boy didn't like him very much. Ever since the boy's parents had been killed Sirius had avoided him, this did not concern him at first because Sirius and James were closer than brothers and it would only be natural for Sirius to blame the order and by extension Albus for their deaths.
The Potters and the Longbottoms were well-known members of the order, after Voldemort had been vanquished in the fall of eighty-one, the Potter's were targeted by two inner circle death eaters.
According to Antonin Dolohov during his interrogation under veritaserum, the original intention of the attack was to gain information as to the whereabouts of their fallen master. The Potter couple put up a very good fight killing Evan Rosier almost as soon as the fight began. After Rosier fell Dolohov killed Lily Potter with a very rare curse that destroyed her internal organs, Sirius Black arrived on the scene and evened the odds aiding James by engaging Pettigrew. Peter was no match for Sirius and was killed by a cutting curse to the neck within a few minutes of Sirius arriving.
James and Sirius then fought together against Dolohov, James, unfortunately, made a mistake and was hit by a killing curse, Sirius seeing his friend fall unleashed a burst of emotional raw magic that struck Dolohov in the chest shattering almost every bone in his chest and slamming him into the wall, very nearly killing him.
Antonin had an emergency portkey that activated as soon as he lost consciousness and was transported to Malfoy manor where Narcissa was able to heal him.
Dumbledore found out how much that Sirius disliked him right after Voldemort was resurrected, Albus had approached Sirius asking for the use of the Black townhouse in London. Sirius had quite plainly told him that he would have nothing to do with the order and the only way they would be able to use that property, was if they agreed to pay rent. Needless to say, the order found another meeting place but that encounter opened Albus' eyes to how much Sirius had changed since the death of his friends.
The Potter boy was always a loner during his time at Hogwarts, the only person Harry associated with was the Lovegood girl. Harry Potter was top of his class and definitely belonged in Ravenclaw as he was seen in the library more often than Madam Pence. He also had a laundry list of infractions on his record, most notably when in his third year he got into a confrontation with three sixth-year Slytherins led by Marcus Flint who insulted his dead parents.
Albus had read the report from Poppy, all four boys were in the hospital wing for a week with multiple broken bones and severe burns while Mr. Potter didn't have a scratch on him.
Albus decided to keep a close eye on the boy since then, but he found nothing that caused him alarm, Potter did not seem to go looking for trouble, he did not hold back when he found trouble which usually ended badly for whoever provoked him.
Shifting his thoughts to more important matters Albus run his fingers over the ring on his right hand, he had less than a year to get Neville up to speed before he departed from this mortal coil.
Neville Longbottom had been almost everything Albus had hoped he would be, he was brave and never shied away from what needed to be done, he was a natural leader and people seemed to gravitate towards him, he also looked up to Albus and followed his lead.
There was only two problems Albus could see with the Longbottom heir, the first being that he was a little arrogant, having grown up surrounded by admirers since he could walk.
The second problem was that he had befriended Ronald Weasley who was unbelievably lazy and seemed to be rubbing off on young Neville.
Albus had seen Neville's O.W.L results and he was very disappointed, the boy had earned seven O.W.L's all but three were A's he had received an E in charms and Care of Magical Creatures and an O in defense.
There was nothing to be done now, Neville was wealthy so he would not have to worry about pursuing a career after he finished school otherwise the boy would have a life of mediocrity to look forward to.
Albus sighed he would have to try and talk Minerva into letting the boy take transfiguration even though he technically wasn't eligible only scoring an Acceptable in his transfiguration O.W.L.
There was one other thing on the headmaster's mind, young Draco Malfoy's mission to kill him, Albus had instructed Severus to keep an eye on the boy and to try and make sure no innocent parties got caught in the crossfire.
He had already met with Severus this evening and found out that Draco was responsible for Neville's late appearance this evening, the boy was already suspicious of Draco and had attempted to spy on him on the train and was discovered.
'Well, it looks like we have another eventful year to look forward to,' Albus thought to himself.
AN: The updates on this story will be slower than my past stories, I almost burned myself out last time around so I will be writing at a more relaxed pace.