"Harry!" I stopped what I was doing and turned to the voice calling out to me. It was Cedric. I broke into a smile.
"Hi Cedric!"
"Are you headed down to the Great Hall?"
"Yeah," I said.
The Hufflepuff Common Room was difficult to describe. Imagine the physical embodiment of a hug, that's what it was like. People were amiable and there was a fire crackling at all times. Even though the Common Room was underground, we were a hop skip and jump away from the kitchens, a fact that the other students gleefully pointed out to me. There were long lines of bean bags everywhere where you often found students lounging around. There was also a separate space for those wishing for a quiet area to study or do their homework.
It was everything and more that I could have ever hoped for. And then there was Cedric. Tall, happy, friendly Cedric who was always willing to lend a hand or pull up his sleeves and offer help. I had only known him for a week now, but I couldn't imagine Hogwarts without Cedric in it.
He clapped me on my back and gave me his winning smile. "Want some company?"
I looked over and saw his friends waiting by the Common Room entrance for him. The fact that he picked me over them, it filled me with a kind of indescribable glee.
"Are you sure you don't want to go with your friends?" Please say no, please say no.
"Nah, I'll come with you today and you can tell me how you're coming along with that levitation charm. First charm is always the trickiest to get the hang of, you know?" He laughed and started walking to the portrait. I followed behind him.
#
"Now, Mr. Potter, please say it with me, 'Wingardium Levi-o-sa'," said the dimunitive Professor Flitwick.
I repeated after him and followed the wand movements. I then pointed to the feather and tried again. And nothing happened.
I slumped in my seat.
"There, there, Mr. Potter, don't be so hard on yourself. Atlantis was not built in a day after all." Professor Flitwick gave a kind smile and he conjured an apple and levitated it towards me.
I grabbed it out of the air and took a bite. It was flavourful and juicy, like all the apples from my previous classes. I really liked Professor Flitwick, unlike the other teachers, he didn't insist we conduct our lessons in their big empty classrooms where it was only me and them. He kept me in his office, it was more intimate and less intimidating and I liked that just fine.
"I'll keep trying, Professor." That was a promise.
"Mmm," he said absently as a paper plane flew into his office. He opened it up and his happy expression began to diminish by just a fraction. "Ah, Mr. Potter, I'm afraid we are going to have to cut our lesson short.
I was disappointed to hear that and I think he could see that on my face. Learning Charms from him was my favourite part of the day.
He chuckled. "I will take that sad look as quite the compliment, your mother is certainly smiling right now, wherever she is," he said.
I smiled slightly at that thought. The other reason I loved Professor Flitwick is because he loved to tell me stories about my mother, who had been one of his best students. I also knew from him that my father was very good at Transfiguration, but Professor McGonagall was tightlipped when I asked her about it. She scared me, she did.
"The Headmaster has asked to see you, Mr. Potter, it appears to be urgent. His office is on the fifth floor behind the statue of the Gargoyle, the password is 'Orestes'."
#
So here's a weird thing about Hogwarts that they covered in Hogwarts: A History, but you really have to see it for yourself to believe it. Everything moves. Not just the staircases, but the occasional door, classroom and entire hallway. There's a shortcut from the Great Hall to the Hufflepuff Common Room that Cedric showed me on my first day, expect it disappears every third Tuesday of the month. The entrance to the dungeons alternates from the east corridor to the west corridor every week. The majority of the third floor of the castle spontaneously disappears every once in a while and if you happen to be on it when it disappears, well, hopefully the professors will sort you out.
For someone reason, the Founders thought it would be hilarious to torture their students and staff with a constantly moving castle. When I first complained about this to Professor Flitwick, he laughed and said it was rumoured to be an intended action by his beloved Rowena Ravenclaw. She liked to keep things moving and keep everyone on their toes. This way the castle kept changing and there was always something to discover - a new hidden passageway, a new room or corridor. Nobody who has come through Hogwarts, no matter how long they may have lived here, can ever claim to know all of it.
This is why when I was packed off to the Headmaster's Office, a place I had never been to before, I was mildly skeptical I would be able to find it at the first go. But I decided to try anyway because that is the Hufflepuff way.
Professor Flitwick's office is connected to the Charms classroom, which is on the second floor of the castle. I walked back to the grand corridor to take the main staircases up to the fifth floor. With a quick calculation, I got onto a staircase that moved right up. I was climbing up when the staircase began to move.
"Bollocks." I caught onto the railing and waited for the staircase to stop. It paused at an odd angle, where the top of the staircase pointed straight into a portrait and not a floor.
I walked the rest of the way up and stared at the portrait. It appeared to be of a thin woman in a gold dress with curly brown hair. Her skin was copperish and she was busy pouring tea for herself.
"Excuse me," I said. "Sorry to bother you, but do you know when this staircase might move again."
The Gold Lady paused what she was doing and looked to me with utter boredom. "'Tis not a science. Anywhere between an hour to an age."
Well, that was unhelpful. I sat down on the top step of the staircase and began to calculate the trajectory if I tried to jump onto the nearest staircase. I peered over the railing, it was a long jump. There had to be a way out of this, there usually was, Hogwarts was not built to block you, but to make you think.
"Excuse me, miss," I said to the Gold Lady. "Any chance that you might know of a different route?"
The Gold Lady smiled. "You are astute. Yes, however, I will reveal the path whence you can do me a favour."
I nodded, this I could work with. "How can I help?"
"I hate this patch of wall. Move me to a busier corridor." She demanded.
I didn't know if I could do that, but hey, why not give it a try? "I am on my way to speak to the Headmaster, I can ask him to move you."
"Hah! That old worm, let it be, I thought you one with more skill than that." She proceeded to ignore me.
No matter what I did, I could not get her attention back. I sighed in frustration and slammed my hands on her portrait. Accidentally, she moved to face me again just as I was about to slam my hands and my hands pressed right into the picture of her bosom. She eeped and covered her chest. I was pretty sure I was red in the face when the portrait swung inwards and revealed a hidden passageway behind her.
"Sorry!" I called back to her as I hastily made my way through.
The passage continued on for a while, it steeped upwards, requiring me to climb carefully and slowly up a slope, until after a few minutes it evened out. Up ahead, there was a blank patch of wall, which I assumed was the way out.
"Look what we have here?"
I stumbled and nearly fell over at the voice from nowhere. I turned to the left to see that there was a hollowed out cave area, just big enough to allow someone to lie down. A redheaded boy was currently lying on a mattress , his head plopped up by his hand, eyeing me with curiosity.
"Well knock me down with a feather, it's Harry Potter - what brings you to my hidey hole?" He asked.
"Hi, sorry, I got stuck in the grand corridor and a staircase I took to cut to the fifth floor moved to a portrait of a Gold Lady and-"
"You met the Gold Lady? The staircase does not go to her often, you know? Only the brave get that route. But seeing you made it here, you must be a really scamp." He chortled.
I could feel my cheeks heating up. "I don't know what you mean."
"There's only one way to open her up." He winked. "Never thought I'd see the day where a firstie would have the desire to press her-"
"It was an accident!" I blurted out. "You have to believe me, I had no idea. I was just frustrated and-"
He burst out laughing at this point. "Not to worry, little Harry, it will be our little secret."
"...Thanks," I said.
He got up from his cot on the floor and walked towards me. He stuck out his hand for me to shake. "I'm Fred Weasley, this is my afternoon naptime spot on most Fridays, or at least, whenever this hidey hole chooses to appear."
I shook his hand, feeling only slightly relieved.
"Fred, you seem to know your way around, could you please tell me how to get to the Headmaster's Office, it's on the fifth floor, behind the statue of the Gargoyle. But I am horribly lost and he is expecting me."
He laughed some more. "Called to see the Headmaster before the end of your first week?" He wiped a fake tear from his eye. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Harry."
In short order, Fred approached the patch of wall and with some oddly patterned taps and presses, caused the wall to open. I followed him out and a few minutes later, he dropped me off at the entrance to the Headmaster's office.
"Thanks Fred, I owe you one," I said.
"Not a bother, Harry. Come join me and my brother at the Gryffindor table for a meal sometime."
#
I had to remind myself not to fidget. The Headmaster's office seemed big, but it was cluttered with so much stuff, I didn't even know where to look. For his part, the tall old wizard sat opposite me, behind his desk and simply stared. It was weird. So I distracted myself by focusing on not fidgeting. A clicking whirring sound suddenly rose up from my left and I nearly jumped in my chair. The train whistle like sound felt loud and harsh in the pin drop silence of the Headmaster's office.
The Headmaster noticed my reaction but he didn't respond.
I pointed to his machine and said, "It's loud, is all."
"It is," he said.
A few more moments passed in silence with my looking everywhere but at the Headmaster and him looking directly at me.
"So...um...I understand you wanted to see me about something, sir?"
"Yes." He shifted in his seat and pulled out a parchment. He placed it in front of me.
I picked it up and unfurled it. There were a bunch of latin words on it and I couldn't make heads or tails of it. "Er...thank you, sir," I said.
"It is a summons, Mr. Potter. The Hogwarts Board of Governors has asked for you to appear before their next committee gathering." Thankfully, he explained what it was about.
"I see...um...why, sir?" Was I in trouble? I didn't remember doing anything wrong.
"You're a very important young man, Mr. Potter. You mean a great deal to a lot of people. You are also in a unique position and your education is of utmost importance to the future of magical Britain."
Okay... "That's very nice of them, sir."
He didn't say anything further on the topic and moved on gracelessly. "I trust your Aunt and Uncle have briefed you on the circumstances surrounding your parents' deaths and the state of Magical Britain thereafter?"
I blinked. "Um, no..."
"No?" He appeared nonplussed, like I had just said something that did not fit into his worldview.
"I mean Hagrid told me about Voldemort and what he did and I know he killed a lot of people, children even. There was a Purge, so, I know the basics." I hastily explained myself. With every response, I felt more and more like I was failing a very important exam.
"This will not do, Mr. Potter," he said, anger clearly marring his features. "I knew sending you there was a terrible idea, but I was overruled by the Wizengamot..." He took a long, calming breath and the anger seemed to melt away from his face.
I hadn't realised it, but I had backed as far into my cushy chair as I could as he got wound up. Dumbledore was scary.
"On your tenth birthday, the Chief Witch of the Wizengamot, that is to say, one of the senior leaders of our government, Madam Longbottom, made a special visit to your relatives to explain to them the unique circumstances under which you were to attend Hogwarts. I take from your responses that this information was not conveyed to you?" His expression seemed calm enough, but I could sense the underlying rage within him and it terrified me.
"No sir, I mean, yes sir, I did not know about it." As long as his rage was not directed at me, I think I would be okay.
He sighed and placed his head in his hands. He stayed there for some time and eventually came up to look at me. He looked tired, deeply, truly, tired right in his bones. At that moment, he could have told me that he was over a thousand years old and I would have believed him because he looked it.
"This is what I get for being forced to trust our government for handling things like this. Had it been up to me, you would have never stepped foot in Surrey. But this was not my decision. Very well, Mr. Potter, this is going to be a very difficult day for you, I suggest you pay close attention." He rose from his seat and with a flick of his wand, a nearby cabinet opened up and a silver tray on a table came reeling out.
I stared on in wonder.
#
I ran. I ran as far as my legs could carry me. I ran and ran and ran on a cold September evening in Scotland. I ran through the castle doors and out into the courtyard. Sweat was pouring down my face and it mingled with my tears as I continued to run as far away from the castle as I could.
I couldn't do this. I didn't know how to do this. A prophecy, dark lord, child massacres. It was too much, too much, too much! A bright bird trilled in the sky above me and seemed to follow my path. I was panting now, my breaths came in laboured.
I ran towards Hagrid's Hut and banged on his door. "Hagrid! Hagrid, it's me! Hagrid, please open the door!"
A lumbering sound emanated from within and within a few short moments, the large shaggy form of the groundskeeper appeared at the door.
"'Lo Harry, are yeh alright?"
"I want to go back to Privet Drive. I don't want to be at Hogwarts anymore. I'm just a kid, Hagrid. I can't...I can't save everyone, I don't know what to do." The running, the laboured breathing, the panting, the sheer panic, it was all catching up to me and without me even realising it, tears began to stream down my face. "I don't want any of this, Hagrid. I just want to be Harry, Just Harry, nothing else.
Hagrid bent low on one knee, we were now at eye level. He placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Harry."
I pushed his hand off of me and backed away. My foot slipped on the stairs up to his hut and I tumbled down and hit the ground hard.
"Harry-" He made to walk towards me.
I held my hand out and stopped him. "No."
I got up to my feet and began to run, away from him, away from Hogwarts, away from it all.
#
I didn't know how long I had been sat in the Forbidden Forest. I didn't go too deep into the forest, I'm not stupid and the name does tell you that it's not an inviting place. But I didn't really know where else to go or what to do. Once the sun had set and the chill set in, I found a tree hollow and curled myself inside it.
Nobody came looking for me and I was grateful for the alone time. There was a soft ticking noise right above me and I looked up in fear. A tiny green creature, like a paper man drawn with lines, came rolling down the tree trunk's inside and settled onto my shoulder. It was as big as my hand and seemed to enjoy pressing itself against me.
Despite my mood, I couldn't help but giggle. "Stop that," I said. The way it was touching me was ticklish.
"I see you have made a new friend."
I jumped and hit my head on the ceiling on my tree hollow. I yelped in pain and my hand instinctively began to rub the spot on my head as I looked out fearfully into the darkened forest.
"Come on out now, Mr. Potter."
I gulped and slowly made my way out of the hollow. I looked around and saw a figure laid down on the forest floor, head pointed to the night sky.
"Professor Dumbledore," I said. "What are you doing here?"
"I confess I waited for you to tire and come back to the castle, but it seems you are not going to make it easy." He raised his hand without breaking his gaze on the night sky and indicated that I should sit down next to him.
I hesitantly did so.
"I must apologise, Mr. Potter, I focus so much on events outside of the school, particularly when it comes to you, that I forget that you too are a child, an innocent child who is new to this world," he said.
I felt like I could hear genuine regret in his voice and for some reason, that made me feel guilty. "It's okay, Professor."
"No, it is not. But little about our world is okay or fair or just. All of that changed a twelve years ago." His expression was steady but his voice was wistful. "We all have a part to play, Mr. Potter. By prophecy, yours appears to be one of hero, of saviour."
"I...I don't know if I can be what everyone needs me to be," I said. I could feel pinpricks of tears in my eyes and I did everyting I could to hold them back.
"It matters not that you are afriad. Fear is not a bad thing. Fear reminds us that we are alive." Dumbledore gently placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. "Acting despite fear, not in the absence of it, is true courage."
"What if I fail, when he comes back?" I asked the one question plaguing me.
"Then that will be dealt with then, there is no point drowning yourself in sorrow now." He finally looked at me and gave me a warm, if small, smile. "I spent a long time, Mr. Potter, a long time debating whether we should tell you everything at such a young age. I understand the value of a childhood and boyhood freedoms to be young and wild and unencumbered. The Chief Witch and I have had many an argument about that. I think in a different world, I would have tried to withhold the truth from you for as long as possible, but in this world, we have seen too much loss, too much tragedy."
I shook in the cold night's air and also in sadness. "I don't want any of this. I just want to learn magic and make friends and feel...I don't know."
"It is not fair. Not at all. I agree that it is not. You, my boy, represent hope for our people because you survived where thousands did not. Placing that burden on shoulders so young and inexperienced is unfair, but some have these burdens thrust upon them. I will do everything in my power to prepare you for what is to come, I give you my word on that." He placed his hand on my head and looked at me over his halfmoon spectacles with such intensity that the wind was knocked out of me.
"I'll...I'll try," I said, but even I knew that that was filled with uncertainty.
He sighed and looked away once again. "That is all we can hope for, Mr. Potter."
