Disclaimer:
I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...
Mischief Managed Damn It!
Title: Book 1, Chapter 8
Posted Date: November 30 2020
"BRRRRIRIIIINNNGGG!"
'Slap!'
Harry let out a yawn crossed with a grunt as he released the button on the alarm clock before raising his head from the pillow it was resting on. For a brief moment, he was a bit disorientated and immediately thought that he was kidnapped until he recalled he was now in the Ravenclaw's dormitory and in his own private room. There was also the fact that his personal protection charms did not register any intruders during the night that calmed him down.
Turning his head to look at the mechanical clock he had modified for the area, Harry found he had at least an hour before he and his fellow first years were due to be awake, and another half-hour to gather at the common room. With that, Harry sat himself up and stretched his arms out, wincing at the light popping of his joints, before dropping them and looking around his general placement while thinking about the night before.
After the sorting, Harry went to his assigned house table, amused at both the students at that table cheering loudly at his placement as though they had won the football cup, and the shocked expressions from the table sporting gold and red, with the pair of red-haired twins from the train saying "We did not get Potter?" with a tilt of their heads in the same direction. Hufflepuff gave their applause politely while Slytherin looked calculative, as though they were trying to figure him out.
Harry went to sit between Padma and one Terry Boot and listened to the sorting, noting how some of the staff members were still glancing at him while Filius Flitwick looked like he had won the lottery. (That was closer to the truth of sorts, he had a bet that Harry was going to make people wonder about his appearance and whatever surprises he had on that night, including the house he would be sorted to.) Harry had noted the number of missing prospective students when their names were called out, with Professor McGonagall stating they would follow up on them afterwards. There were a couple of names that Harry recalled belonged to certain families that certainly warranted attention, but one named Ronald Weasley seemed to be a mixed bag considering the reactions of the red-headed twins and the staff as opposed to a few of the darker aligned members, not to mention the old man's reaction when he tried to sneak a glance at him.
Harry chuckled to himself when the rude boy, whom he found out was Zacharias Smith, walked forward to the hat and sat down with the air of one believing he would go forth to be sorted and possibly lead the House of Hufflepuff he was supposedly destined to, only for Alistair to declare "SLYTHERIN!" in front of everyone in the hall with a rather forceful and somewhat gleeful tone. That got the boy to throw a tantrum in front of everyone until Professor McGonagall ordered him to go to the house table, her lips thinning to a faint line. The hook-nosed man dressed in dark robes looked like he had swallowed a lemon whole while Dumbledore looked tempted to place a palm to his face. Harry was just barely controlling his smirk as he clapped 'politely' for Smith who directed a glare at him while stomping towards Slytherin as though it was Harry's fault for getting him into Slytherin.
It was not like he asked Alistair to put him in there, it was the hat's idea. It was also not just because of his memories that displayed the boy's behavior that made Alistair push him into that house instead of Hufflepuff.
Really.
After the last person, one Blaise Zabini, got sorted into Slytherin, the headmaster opened up the feast, allowing Harry to eat while politely answering and refusing questions and checking his food for potions before eating them with his personal utensils. When asked about that, he gave the excuse that he had to deal with people sending him poisoned food items, thus having the habit of checking everything before eating. He did point out that some of the items and their utensils had traces of something so they should be a bit wary, while he partook on most of the vegetables since he was not used to all the heavy items on the table. It was a testament to his mental training that he kept control of his emotions displaying on his face from some of the more invasive questions asked by the students and the bit of someone trying to force into his mind. At one point he got a little impatient and shut the mental gantries with a bit more force than required, interestingly a squeamish man with a turban bent forward with a wince as though he got hit at the back of the head while the hook-nosed man raised an eyebrow at him and glanced at Harry briefly before returning to the conversation.
After the feast there were the announcements made for the year, some that surprised a few of the pure-bloods and made a few new-bloods very happy at the promise of having regular mundane subjects now being taught along with a side-class that involved etiquette and culture of the Magical World. A few of the first years turned to look at Harry at that, to which he nodded to let them see the book he had shown to Hermione later. The last announcement made Harry roll his eyes at the delivery. Honestly, telling a bunch of kids that the third-floor corridor was strictly off-limits for those not wanting 'a most painful death' in a tone that screamed challenging was practically placing a target board on it and waving a damn red flag in front of them to charge like bulls. Based on the limited interactions and stories, odds were good that by the end of the month, a good number of the Gryffindors and some of the Ravenclaws and Slytherins would be trying their hand to see what was so important about the place. Heck, just by a glance told Harry that at least ten Gryffindors were going to explore by the end of the coming week.
Harry also did not miss the glare Filius directed at the headmaster nor the cautionary glance at Harry in that manner. He would need to talk with the professor on that.
After a bout of singing that made Harry's ears want to weep in blood, they were sent off to their dormitories, with Ravenclaw located at one of the towers and the door guarded by an eagle knocker that would only grant entry if one could answer its riddles, which the prefect warned would increase in difficulty as time passed to ensure no one could guess their way in (although Harry had to question the security if one outside of Ravenclaw could enter upon the correct answer). Once they went in, they briefly gathered at the common area where the prefects talked about the general area and rules before directing him and the boys up a flight of stairs to where they would be staying for the year at the least, with the ladies heading in the opposite direction up another set of stairs. Evidently, Ravenclaws and Slytherins have private rooms split into year groups, with the first years sharing the corridor with the second years for easier communication. It was so that the students would have somewhere private to study without the noise interrupting them, although they had to share a common bathroom split by gender. Harry was just grateful that everyone was too tired to pester him with questions and went into his assigned room quickly.
Harry did frown at the small being that laid petrified on the floor next to the dummy trunk he had set aside for moving into Hogwarts, his real trunk having been shrunk and kept in his bottomless pouch for the duration. Harry had seen and talked to a couple of house-elves when he first entered the Wizarding World, so he was aware that they were bound to people or buildings with ley-lines around. The fact that it was stunned meant the elf had attempted to break entry into the trunk rather than just moving the item. He had levitated the stunned being out of his room and near the corner that would not impede others while allowing others to see it in case someone wanted to find it. After a bit of moving (not that it was hard, the room only had a table, a bed and a small window), some protection set-up, and some light reading, Harry finally had his first guest in the form of Alistair arriving via house-elf express. The two talked a little on how the arrangement would be done before Harry laid down and placed the hat on his head to allow him to access his mind while he entered a pseudo trance state to keep his body rested.
Speaking of said hat...
"Good morning, lad." Alistair greeted him from the cabinet next to the bed. "You are up early; classes are normally later for the first day."
"Good morning to you too, Alistair." Harry replied back as he swung his legs over. "I tend to wake up early in the mornings for some exercise, and I wanted to set the room up a little better before washing up."
"By that, you are referring to security?" The Sorting Hat gave a very good impression of a raised eyebrow. "I could not help noticing the wards around the room and your bed. Quite different from what I know."
"I tried combining what I have learned with a few original spells." Harry pulled out his pouch, reached inside to grab his real trunk and bring it back to its original size, opening it up to grab his toothbrush and toothpaste. "Figured I should do that, considering that one elf tried to access my trunk last night even if it was a dummy trunk."
"It would seem that Albus has started his actions early." Alistair commented. "Then again, he has been trying to get information about you for a while now."
"Is that so?" Harry paused to look at the hat.
"Oh yes." Alistair bowed the tip as though to demonstrate nodding its head. "I am not sure what it is that you or your new guardian have done, but Albus had been complaining about blood wards failing roughly three to four years ago, followed by your first interview and something about Gringotts. He has been trying to regain control of sorts but the goblins have prevented him from doing so, not to mention multiple warnings to return the items he had evidently procured from your family."
"So, he did have something to do with those." A frown appeared on Harry's face as he considered that bit of news. "I don't suppose you know any other plans of his?"
"Sorry lad, he keeps secrets close to his chest." Alistair dashed Harry's hopes. "Many a time people hoped to learn something from Albus, but he would insist that it was safer for him to be the only one to hold the secrets and that they should trust his words, merely giving out half-truths and small morsels to placate their questions if pressed. He does however talk a bit in his office alone, he forgets that I am there at times." Harry sighed at that answer. It would appear that whatever information he hoped to get would have to be obtained indirectly, otherwise with more direct force.
Something he would leave for the adults on his side.
"Right then, I will consider that later." Harry shrugged at that. "What do you know about the Third Floor that Dumbledore wants us to avoid 'a most painful death'?"
"Technically I am not supposed to tell you, then again I tend to ramble a lot without knowing." Alistair really knew how to make his words sound so nonchalant and sarcastic at the same time. "He claims to be protecting an object for a friend that was reportedly stolen recently from the bank, all behind 'special protections' to deter the intruder." Harry could hear the quotation marks and eye-rolling action when the hat emphasized on the words. "What he really wants to happen is to draw the attention of the person trying to steal it and to somehow get you involved in the mix. I do not know to what end though; my best guess is that he wishes to create a situation where you are to have a confrontation with the person and to see what strengths and weaknesses you have, before portraying himself as your savior of sorts."
"... That sounds like something from a typical crime novel. I am not sure how to feel about that." Harry shook his head at the logic.
"Can't help you on that part. What I can say is that Hogwarts is not happy and would like the object taken out of her soon." Alistair gave the impression that he was shrugging with the manner the hat was moving. Harry perked up at that remark.
"So Hogwarts is sentient, if not having an actual soul?" Harry asked. "I have always wondered about that."
"Oh you are definitely sorted in the right house." Alistair teased lightly before continuing. "But if you don't mind, I would like to keep that a secret for now. You may consider Hogwarts to have some sentience to know that the situation has gotten quite bad so I do not mind helping you out on this venture." Harry let out a thoughtful humming at that before nodding. He would give it some thoughts later, he was only curious about it from the books and history he had read up.
"What is the object that Dumbledore is hiding?"
"That... I wish to keep quiet for now." Alistair continued without giving Harry a chance to speak. "It is not like I don't want to tell you. But the walls have ears and you are only just starting despite what I have seen in your mind. And while I have a good idea of your character, I need to be certain that you are not going to be tempted. What I can tell you is that the item in question has been sought after for a few centuries now, and can be dangerous in the wrong hands."
"I understand. I won't force you." Harry let out a heavy sigh. "I don't like it, but I can at least try to search for answers my own way."
"Typical of a Ravenclaw." Alistair cheekily added to which Harry snorted. "You have best to wash up, the bathrooms may be big, but mornings tend to get very rushed around here."
"Thank you for the advice and the warning." Harry got to the door and paused to turn. "Would I expect you tonight or other times?"
"Perhaps we can try out an odd-day meet-up?" Alistair sounded cheerful at the idea of meeting with Harry again. "Besides, I get the feeling Albus would want to keep an eye on you to the point he might notice my disappearance. Staggering the times should grant us some leeway."
"That should be okay. Until then..." Harry bowed his head to the hat which responded with a bow of its tip before it disappeared with a soft 'pop'. Harry took a moment to consider creating a ward to alert him of incoming and outgoing elf travels before heading out of the door to wash up. After that Harry proceeded to add the proper security that he wanted to secure his room, such as intent-based wards and spell-based wards to detect and throw out people trying to force their way in. Much of it were scaled-down versions he had implemented for those back in Little Whinging, so Harry was fairly confident that they could at least hold back majority of wizards and witches coming through, but he would need to think about the elf magic since he had nothing to base on and how to block them if necessary.
It took roughly 20 minutes for him to set all the protections up and update his dummy trunk to hold some of his necessities, then Harry went about lightly preparing the room with items that he had modified for use in the magic-rich environment, after which he did some light exercises to wake himself up for the morning. Until he could find his rhythm and a place to do his regular exercise, a few push-ups and crunches would have to be the substitute, perhaps some weight-lifting too if he could manage it. After that minor exercise, Harry cleaned himself off with some cleansing alcohol and charms before making his way down to the common room, taking a chair by the fireplace and started to do a bit of his math homework that he hoped to finish quickly for evaluation. While Filius had told him that they could now do muggle subjects and send them off without issues, Harry was making sure that his own coursework did not get 'accidentally misplaced' or 'restricted'. He even had his own private Gringotts approved mailbox that allowed for easy transfer of bulky items and documents without the hassle of owls or risk of interception.
Harry was about to finish up on the homework when a couple of the other first years came down the stairs.
"Morning Harry." Padma greeted him as she came to his side and looked at the papers in front of her. "Hard at work I see, but what is this? Is it like the one you showed me?"
"Good morning, Padma. As for this, Mathematics." Harry greeted her in return while straightening his back. "I am trying to finish up some of the mundane work I have since I am now here."
"Why would you be doing them?" Padma asked as she took a seat opposite and glanced at the mathematical book with interest. Harry merely pushed the book towards her in a silent acknowledgement which she nodded her thanks and went to look at its contents.
"Before I got the letter from Hogwarts, I was already studying in multiple subjects to get into a good middle school. I had been granted a few scholarships in the process and had been undergoing a few tests to determine my level." Harry explained as he started to gather up some of his books. "I was allowed to study ahead and be granted a chance to skip a grade when I was about to graduate."
"I see." Padma bit her lips lightly as she looked at the mathematical formulas in an attempt to understand them. "But you would be coming here for your magical education."
"Perhaps, but previously I did not know much about magic from my mundane relatives early on, so I was more focused on the mundane education." Harry looked through his homework and nodded before keeping them in his bag. "And when I did learn about it, I was already in an accelerated program to deal with additional subjects. This is a bit of leftover to be completed before the end of the year. Even then, I was not sure about coming to Hogwarts."
"But would it not be a given to come here?" The two turned to find Lisa and an Asian girl standing near them. "Good morning, sorry for listening in. I was curious about the books myself and I ended up overhearing the conversation."
"No problem, Miss Turpin." Harry nodded before looking at the other girl. "Good morning to you too, Miss Li?"
"Su Li, at your service." The Asian girl greeted Harry with a smile. She was a petite young girl of likely Chinese background with short bob dark hair with a complexion that suggested her time under the sun. "Nice to meet you Mister Evans, or is it Potter?"
"I suppose now that the secret is out, Harry would be the case." Harry shrugged.
"So, about that question I asked?" Lisa asked as the two girls came closer. "Is it because of the incident with Dumbledore? The newspaper is still going on about it now and then. Of course, you do not need to answer that."
"Partially." Harry let out a minor sigh. "I won't say all that with pending investigations going on, but contrary to what people keep repeating in books or rumours, we are not best friends. Dumbledore has done some questionable actions that are painting a very different picture than what he is normally portrayed, and with some investigating, I do not believe it is a coincidence that I have been sent to my mundane relatives."
"As for your other question on my magical schooling, my name had been added to the roster by my parents when I was born, and it being magically binding, I am obliged to attend Hogwarts for at least a year before I can consider switching schools."
"But would you switch schools?" Padma lowered the book to look at him. "I mean, isn't Hogwarts one of the best in the world?"
"It is currently the best in Europe, I will give you that much." Harry nodded. "This was briefly told in the papers, but while it is the best in Europe, it is barely hanging on to its position when compared to the other schools in the general region due to the high grades in the core subjects. Outside of the European sector, the education levels at the major academies are very different. They are held at a much higher and stricter level compared to Hogwarts, set to actual ICW standards and the recent EUM education standards."
"EUM?" Su asked. Harry briefly noted the small group of first years that had gathered along with a few of second years around them when he answered.
"It stands for European Union of Magic. It was started around the 1970s by the different ministries in the European sector, so it is not as well-known as the ICW." Harry went through his bag to find the document and pulled it out for them to view. "It is part of a joint initiation by the ICW and the various countries to help compartmentalize the different departments and to reduce the amount of communication between the sectors. The EUM handles other areas, but you can think of it as a branch of the ICW Education Department, meant to monitor the education levels of all the academies in Europe."
"So, this branch is meant to monitor Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang?" One of the bystanders asked, making the three girls jump slightly from the intrusion, not aware of the audience around them, with a few of the upper years having joined as well to see what was going on.
"Them and the other academies in Europe." Harry replied. "The EUM compiles the data from all the academies and reports to the ICW on their standards. After which the results are compared with those from other countries. This is why our education level is severely lower than our counterparts."
"I have gone to ask from the Department of Education when that article came about." One of the other seniors had commented. "It is actually on public records, and with the recent issue, they placed the scores on other schools as well. If anything, Mister Potter is understating the issue."
"That is one way of putting it, which is partially why there is the inclusion of the mundane subjects being taught to us. Those are important to help out in modern Britain and elsewhere in the world. I am not sure on the current state of the magic subjects, supposedly they are to be updated by now, but do not just take my word or others at face value." Harry continued talking. "Research on other areas, find information from other sources aside from the known publishers. Get it all and look them through, consider all routes before making a decision."
"Correct." Everyone turned to find Filius Flitwick beaming at them at the table. "This is what it means to be researchers. One does not simply look through books and listen to unsubstantiated rumors to get a conclusion, you have to go through all sources and make your decision then. Although I can safely say that Harry is correct regarding the issues facing us this year, if not a touch understated."
"Good morning, Professor." A prefect named Penelope Clearwater greeted him, followed shortly by everyone in the room.
"Thank you, it is so nice to see my Ravens up and about ready for learning." Flitwick looked at them with a big smile. "Now that you are all here, I do not need to use my spells to project my voice."
"First and foremost, to all the newcomers, welcome to Ravenclaw! To the years before them, welcome back!" The others cheered at the greeting. "I wish to inform you on a few things that you will need to know before starting life at Hogwarts. I am sure that Professor McGonagall has informed you last night about the house point system. I expect all of my Ravenclaws to show proper behaviour towards their teachers. If there is a difference of opinion with one teacher or an argument, you will tell me and we will work on a solution together after the class. I will be handing out your class schedules momentarily so that I do not need to disrupt your breakfast. For the first years, I will also be including a map to help you find your classrooms and the hall. To the elected prefects, please help out the first years for the first week to navigate Hogwarts. I do not want a repeat of 1986, thank you very much." Harry raised an eyebrow at that statement and at a couple of the older students blushing with embarrassment with a few others chuckling.
"You have just heard from Mister Potter regarding the education of Hogwarts, and possibly have read about the incoming inspection from the Ministry. Let me clarify your doubts right now so that no one has the wrong perception on it. Please listen very carefully." Filius looked at them with a stern look. "There is a commission being brought together to inspect Hogwarts based on her education standards, environment and overall safety. This, in my personal opinion, is something that has been long overdue and desperately needed if we are to maintain our standing as one of the best. This is also why we are now having muggle subjects being taught this year as part of an experiment to see if this can work out, since plenty had asked for the subjects for their learning in the mundane world."
"Now because of the education standards being brought to light and the commission coming in to check on us, some of the changes being introduced are already implemented while others are slow going if not delayed. I have received some comments on my subject before, but this time I would need your help." The older students straightened up at that "I need you all to take notes on the lessons you will be taking this year. I understand there have been complaints for many years now, but this time we could use those complaints to make good changes."
"However~" Flitwick held a stern eye at the older students who had a gleam in their eyes at his words. "I will emphasize that you stick to the truth, not because you do not like the teacher for what silly reasons, or use the chance to ask for frivolous items. I will be looking through each note you write to ensure they are proper. In the event there is something serious that needs further confirmation, I might need permission from your guardians to collect pensieve memories." Whispers and murmurs broke out at that with a few looking confused at the words. "For those who do not know what they are, it is essentially memories from your mind. You can ask those raised in the Wizarding World for more details, but for now, let's put it as getting copies from your memories for viewing."
"I hold monthly meetings for all the members of my house. Those meetings take half an hour and we can discuss problems, wishes for furthering your studies, your achievements for the house and other things that come up then. For the first years, you have your own rooms, this is a privilege that I hope you will not abuse. You may arrange your items whatever way provided you do not have anything illegal inside, just note that you may not have the same room in the coming years, so try not to leave anything permanent inside. There have been a few who do so in the past despite the warning." Filius looked pointedly at a group of fifth years who looked away in embarrassment, one of them even whistling nervously.
"Aside from that, I have nothing else to add for the time being." Filius smiled as he held out pieces of parchment. "If you ever have problems that need to be resolved soon, my office is on this floor, when you leave the common room, turn right and go down the corridor, it is the last door before the staircase on the left. Here are your times tables. I believe that I have said enough, so without further ado." Filius raised his arms wide apart with a big smile. "Let's welcome the new year, shall we?"
"Yes, Professor Flitwick!"
~ooOOoo~
'Thank god for Occlumency.' That was the thought of the day being repeated as a mantra in Harry's mind. Why you might ask?
The moment he entered the Great Hall, eyes were on him accompanied by whispers and pointed fingers. Harry restrained the urge to twitch his eyes as even a few of the older students from his own house who had arrived earlier were doing the same so blatantly. It was with great relief that Terry Boot was such a swell boy who proceeded to talk about everything he had laid his eyes on and what he thought about their future lessons. Padma and Su caught on to the subject and soon the four had a grand time talking about the lessons while eating breakfast, although Terry had briefly joked that Harry was acting like an agent checking his food and drink for poisons.
After a brief tour of the general area by the prefects, it was off to class with the Hufflepuffs for their first lesson in Herbology, where Harry greeted a slightly less nervous Neville and where Professor Sprout laid out the lesson plans for the year. She gave a brief demonstration of the plants that they would be learning about, and the proper handling procedures. Harry was fascinated by all the plants they were seeing and possibly handling in the future, it had him hoping to get some tips and perhaps samples for his own use.
After that, they went to History of Magic with the Gryffindors, where he experienced the dubious novelty of a ghost teacher giving out a lecture on goblin wars. It would probably be a good lesson if not for the ghost's droll manner of speaking that made it sound like he was at a funeral and making everyone take another nap. Harry ended up reading a little ahead and doing some of his own work on the sly while others were sleeping, not quite the right thing to do but he was safe to do that considering everyone else aside from Hermione was in Morpheus's embrace. He did make sure to bring a Dictation Quill to track the lecture in the future while he caught up on the other chapters or work, and briefly noted some additional observations to see if there was something to deal with the lesson before the observation crew from the Ministry came.
After an hour-long lunch period where Harry again demonstrated his usual paranoia of testing food and taking mostly vegetables (prompting Terry and a couple of first-gens to call him a Double-O agent with a diet), they had a lesson in Transfiguration with Hufflepuffs from which Harry got the introduction from the professor when the cat on the desk took a stance and jumped off it, morphing immediately into her human form. Harry mentally gave her points for performance as she gave a brief lecture on the difficulties of transfiguration and the dangers of abuse, along with a quick changing of her table into a pig. After taking copious notes on transfiguration, she gave them matchsticks as an attempt to apply what they have learned to change them to needles.
Harry took this chance to review what he had learned from his own testing and went to change the matchstick back and forth into a needle, and then applied imagination to change the design to test his limits. Professor McGonagall saw that and asked that he try to do the same with more matchsticks, giving him a chance to practice more and ended up getting a bit carried away whereby he ended up creating four unique needles in the design of the Four Founders with silent casting. He also provided some assistance to those who asked, so by the end of the lesson everyone had some form of success in transforming their matchsticks to needles, even Neville who seemed to have issues with his magic for some reason. Harry ended up bagging a fair number of points for Ravenclaw in the process, which was nice.
Around late afternoon, Harry and the other students who were new-bloods, mundane-raised and the odd pure-blood who were curious, went to a chamber where they were introduced to a first-gen wizard who would be one of the teachers aiding them with their regular lessons and to provide a means for them to submit any work if required. Harry suppressed a grin as he noted the boxes provided by Gringotts to send their work and material, at least that was one venue he did not need to worry about. Said wizard also helped to explain more on the foundation named in his mother's honour, with many of the prospective students looking relieved for the additional protection that they evidently needed in the magical world, or shocked at how much of a bad hand they were dealt with.
Harry got the feeling that his foundation was going to get a lot of requests for follow-ups and possible coursework to continue their muggle studies. He should send a letter to his manager on a possible avenue source.
And throughout the day, Harry had to deal with so many people looking at him and gossiping on the oddest of details regarding him. Was it really that big of a deal that he ate a lot of vegetables just because he wanted to have a proper diet aside from the heavy meats even if they were ideal for replenishing the energy expended; that his scar was gone from early on, or the fact that he did not need to wear glasses made it so newsworthy? Harry was so glad that he had found this out in his early childhood and got someone to help him out with the blasted books, because this was ridiculous!
And if that was not enough, in the evening Harry ended up fielding questions to the others for their ice-breaker session. Thankfully for his diminishing patience Terry and Padma helped to act as a barrier enough for him to answer some of the less invasive questions, while politely and firmly refusing those particular ones. Su and Lisa were understanding along with Morag McDougal, while Michael Corner was on the fence for the moment. Anthony Goldstein on the other hand seemed wanting to pick a fight with the manner he kept pushing for more information from Harry and the others while withholding his own, all while accusing Harry of the same deal.
Quite hypocritical of the boy indeed.
It was with a great sense of relief that he got back to his sanctuary in his room, even if he had to deal with another petrified house-elf next to his trunk. He may have to consider telling Professor Flitwick about this if it continued for a week, but the main issue would be obtaining proof of the house elves trying to intrude on his privacy. The one silver lining at this point was his ward system was able to obtain readings of elf magic in its presence, or at least one involving that teleportation ability they used to get into his room and perhaps the attempts to get into the trunk. With any luck and some reading, Harry would be able to create a ward against elves unless they proved their worth.
There was also one bright point that Harry got to enjoy when he returned to his room and found his post-box glowing. Aside from the usual reports, there was one hand-written letter from one Andromeda Tonks who was evidently one of the few family relations he had left alive in Magical Britain. He first got into contact with her after the goblins got the curse-breakers to remove whatever spells that had remained on him along with the remnants of the old wards around his town, and alter the mail direction wards that prevented him from getting their statements. The woman had been trying to find him for the past few years but had trouble due to interference from Dumbledore who refused to give her the address on grounds of 'protecting Harry's safety' from her family, which the goblins and solicitor helped to point out that the old man used her unfortunate association to a well-known Death Eater to do so. When the article came about from his first interview, she tried again and succeeded in contacting him. From there onwards, they had exchanged a few letters to get to know each other and at one point he got a chance to meet her with his new guardian.
For that evening, she was asking how was his first day at Hogwarts and the sorting. Harry took the time to write to her and his guardian about the day he had and the interactions, relishing the fact that he had an actual relation to write to, someone who would not be snide or be mad for his abilities. He had paused briefly before writing in his views on certain students that he had interacted with, knowing that the two adults had interactions with different parents that worked at the Ministry and hoped to get some insight before making his decision about them. While he believed in his own interactions, it couldn't hurt to have an outside perspective. After that he sent them off with the box while writing a different letter for Hedwig to send off to play the illusion that he did not have the security box.
This was just the first day of the term and Harry was already stressing out from all the attention. He did not want to consider what would be the rest of the week, let alone the year.
~ooOOoo~
Harry had to admit, the wait was nerve-wracking.
The next two days had passed by without much of an issue, aside from a bit of excitement from Professor Sinistra who was swooning over the modern telescope that Harry had chosen to use for his Astronomy subject instead of the old brass telescope that was supposed to be brought. She had heard about the advancements from past students, but Harry was the first to bring one to her class and she enjoyed being able to see the solar system in such detail. Harry ended up netting quite a few points when demonstrating the telescope and letting her use it for private use, while at the same time giving the address and possible models to the others to look for alternatives.
(For some odd reason, when the older students heard her asking him to visit her office or the tower with the telescope, a few of the male students kept patting his back with either a proud or jealous expression, while the female students kept fussing over him and his clothes or teased him about her. Harry got the feeling he was at the butt-end of a joke given how the female students giggled while messing with his hair.)
On Thursday morning, the Ravens arrived at the dungeon where they were to have their first Potions class with the Badgers. Harry had prepared as much as he could for this, not an easy feat given what he had heard about the man who taught the subject from various sources; all the horror stories of the man ruling the dungeons with an iron fist, his apparent bias to those outside of his own house and the terror he invoked in others. Poor Neville looked absolutely terrified at the prospect that Professor Sprout had to grant him a Calming Draught just to keep his nerves together. Harry did make sure to be as prepared as possible by reading through and memorizing the first-year potions book along with key phrases that might come up, and a couple of the supplementary books he had obtained from Innovatio Alley or his favorite John Doe. Considering how the others were looking at his books when he showed them what to look out for, Harry had the feeling the bookstores would be getting a fair bit of business in the coming weeks.
Finally, the potions lesson came about and the students entered the dungeon with a bit of dread, not helped with the dark shadows or the coldness of the room. It was certainly effective to quell the children into submission, making them stay quiet out of paranoia. Harry admitted to being startled when the door suddenly slammed open with a loud bang, revealing Severus Snape in his domain as he appeared to glide into the room like some demonic ghost. A few of the others barely managed to stifle their squeaking as the man turned around at the front, looking upon them in a manner that promised pain, his gaze lingering on Harry a few seconds before continuing. He proceeded to take the roll-call, pausing rather dramatically at his name.
"Ah yes, Mister Potter. Our… New …Celebrity." The manner in which he spoke those words with a hint of venom sent chills down the spines of most of the students, a few of them mentally pitying Harry for attracting the man's attention so early on. Harry didn't react though, he was used to worse from the Dursleys, their proxies, or the few wizards he had encountered upon his entry into Magical Britain. After Snape completed the roll-call, he set the scroll down on his desk and looked at them with a very impassive face.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began to speak in barely more than a whisper, but like Professor McGonagall he had the gift to keep a class silent without effort, only his delivery was done in a very cold manner that drove the imaginations of the children to very dark ideas. "As there is little need for foolish wand waving here, many of you will hardly believe that this is magic. I don't expect you to really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses." The man looked at them as he continued with his words, the manner in which he delivered keeping them entrapped despite the nervousness in them. "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – as long as you aren't a bunch of dunderheads that I normally have to teach."
More silence followed the little speech, no one seemingly breathing at that point. Harry had long since mastered the art of noting down the important points of lectures teachers gave, his hand flying across the notebook that he had as he listened to Snape.
"Potter." Snape said suddenly, making a number of the students jump in their seats. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Harry made sure to place his pen down before looking at the professor.
"Powdered root of asphodel is a core ingredient in most if not all sleeping draughts and some skin products, sir. In combination with an infusion of wormwood that can, depending on the concentration of the wormwood infusion and the other ingredients of the potion, either make the Draught of Living Death or the Elixir of Clairvoyance. The first one is the most powerful known sleeping potion that places the drinker into a deep sleep that resembled suspended animation, based on the Greek legends that depict the plant's connection to the dead and the underworld; the second one is used to test potential seers by inducing a powerful trance-like state to clear the mind and to connect with the magic." Harry answered firmly. "If one cannot get the powered root, you could try the fermented seeds but you need to be careful with the alcohol content as it could lower if not ruin the potency."
"Correct, Potter. Let's see if you are as well-prepared as you appear to be. Where would you look if I told you to find a bezoar?" Snape asked without pause, sounding slightly impressed despite his clear reluctance. Undoubtedly, he had only wanted to know about the Draught of Living Death since that was more common than the elixir, not to mention hoping to hear him fail that question.
"Ideally, it would be found in every basic potion kit. But since that recommendation has not been accepted by many schools around the world, a bezoar is a stone that can be found in the stomach of a goat and will protect you against most poisons, ideally a mountain goat due to the environment it was bred in. A bezoar can also be found in cows, humans and even chimeras. Although the one found in humans is only recommended for the originator." Harry said.
"An explanation for the bit on the human version?" Snape came closer, the dark clothes seemingly blending into the shadows and making him look wanting to loom over Harry, causing a few around Harry to move their chairs away instinctively. While the professor's expression remained closed, his eyes seemed to be glittering slightly.
"Bezoars found in humans are normally the gall-stones, which are already quite problematic for the body to begin with since that means the kidney is damaged. Adding to the complication, the life essence of humans, particularly that of wizards and witches, would infuse the bezoar with its own unique signature. This makes it potentially poisonous as the magic from the stone would conflict with the person ingesting it. Hence it might be better for it to be used by the person it originated from to avoid complications, or at least the closest relation." Harry explained while the others around him started to write down notes at the wellspring of information. At this point, Snape was right in front of his desk and looking at him intensely.
"A little more detailed than expected, but correct no less. Bonus question, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfs-bane?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry hummed as he briefly closed his eyes to recall the information on the question.
"For those starting in botany, the names are used for the plant that is more commonly known as aconite, normally found in the areas around mountains in the Northern Hemisphere. The difference would be the parts of aconite from which they are named for. Monkshood refers to the blue blossoms that are shaped like the hood of the medieval monk, similar to that of the Hufflepuff ghost if you want a reference. Wolfs-bane refers to the juice or sap of the plant, normally used in the old days by shepherds to bait and kill wolves using tainted meat with aconite. Coincidentally, it is the wolfs-bane that is currently being used as an ingredient in an experimental potion to help those inflicted with Lycanthropy tame or suppress the wolf aspect during the full moon. Despite the potion's name, it is not the primary ingredient." Harry steadily answered the question. A few of his classmates looked at him with open mouths at the lengthy answer while Snape looked at him steadily before giving a slow nod.
"Very detailed. Now please let your classmates know where you found that extensive amount of information, Mister Potter." Snape said, sounding grudgingly impressed and a touch curious.
"In order of the questions, the Draught of Living Death can be found in our textbook twice. First in the introduction to warn us of possible abuse, the second time is the chapter that talks on the actual making. Bezoar can be found in two books ideal for those interested in potion-making, they are 'Brewing Techniques' and 'Potion Ingredients 101'. They can be found in specialized book stores recommended by the apothecaries in the side alley, or you could order them through Gringotts as they had to get them through retailers and vet them. For the aconite and asphodel, they can be found in '1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi' at Flourish and Blotts, but if you want to know about the plant properties in more detail, you should consider getting one of the botany books from the mundane side as they contain more in-depth history and information on the plants." Harry answered for the benefit of the others. "As for the last question for the two parts of the plant in the potions making, it is noted to be in the advanced level, so we would likely learn more around fifth year but you can read about them within reason. They are considered a B-ranked restricted ingredient for a reason."
"Very informative… Why aren't some of you writing this down?" Snape asked dangerously, prompting those who had not written anything grabbing their quills and scribbling as much as they could before getting punished. The man turned back to Harry and looked at him with an expression that was a mixture of wariness, curiosity and a touch of melancholy, which was at least a bit better than the concealed hostility directed at him earlier.
"Five points to Ravenclaw for proper preparation for the class and proving that one needs more than school textbooks to understand the subject." Snape then turned around and directed his wand at the blackboard to have the chalk flying across it to write the instructions. As it did, Snape proceeded to walk about the class and speak.
"As Mister Potter had correctly stated, Potions Masters from all over the world have been recommending to have a bezoar in the ingredient kit for emergencies. It hasn't been made a requirement by the Board of Governors, despite my repeated attempts to do so, as well as the three books Mister Potter had just mentioned. If you want to have success in my class, I advise you to get them so that you can have a firm understanding on what's to come in the future lessons without blowing yourselves up. Now, you will all divide among yourselves into pairs and start brewing the potion described in chapter one, a very basic potion used for curing boils. The recipe is on the board, ingredients are in the student cupboard. You have until the end of class to see if you can handle the basics, begin." Snape said in a tone that dared them to say otherwise.
With that, the students got up and made their way to the cabinet, a few roughly pushing with shoulders to grab the ingredients while the others, mainly the girls, rolled their eyes at the action. Harry however remained in his seat to write down the recipe, making sure the important bits were noted before checking his equipment to ensure they were ready.
"Mister Potter." Harry lifted his head to find Snape looking at him with a keen eye. "Why are you still sitting here?"
"Since everyone is trying to grab the ingredients at once, I will take the time to write the instructions down and check my equipment first. Last thing I need is to have something explode on me because I read the instructions wrong or the cauldron is dirty." Harry answered truthfully, his time doing personal potions back in Surrey came to mind.
Snape looked at him before giving a brief nod and moving off, indicating that he could move on to the cabinet to grab his ingredients. Harry took a little more time to check before getting up to grab his items, not noticing Snape looking at the notebook and nodding at his writing.
Harry ended up pairing with Neville, which may be a good thing given how nervous the poor boy was, not helped with Snape walking about the room and looming over the students, throwing out snide comments or criticizing their work. With Harry having thoroughly prepared as best as he could for the lesson and employing his Occlumency, Harry managed to coach the boy through the steps of brewing and explained the techniques that were used in hushed whispers. Harry even placed a barrier rune stone to avoid any sudden blowouts and arranged the ingredients in a manner that helped with the timing of when to place them in.
"Now this is the critical phase. Whenever you use porcupine quills in potions, always take the cauldron away from the fire, or it will explode in your face, Neville. I figured you don't fancy a stay in the hospital wing with quills in your face." He spoke firmly. Neville gulped deeply but proceeded to move the cauldron well away from the fire before adding the quills under Harry's supervision, pausing once when he nearly made a mistake which Harry stopped by grabbing his hand. Between the two of them, they managed to brew an acceptable potion with the correct consistency and potency. They filled their vials with it, labelled them and then took them to Snape's desk and placed them in the carrier meant for the vials, Harry using the hardened vials in case his vial got dropped 'by accident'. They returned to their workstation and began to clean up the equipment while Harry kept samples of the potion before removing the remainder from the cauldron. They were done just when the bell rang for the end of class.
"For those who have not completed the potion, I would suggest reading up on preparations to make sure you can fulfill the conditions next time. Homework will be twelve inches about the correct procedure of brewing boil cure potion and the critical phases of successfully making the potion. Those who failed from this, you will hand in another parchment on what you have done wrong." Snape's glare prevented any groans or objections. "You are dismissed. Potter, please stay for a moment." Harry wondered about the reason but mentally shrugged while assuring his classmates that he would be right after them. Harry did get his mind shields up and checked his protection runes before facing Snape. They spent a couple of minutes in total silence, trying to size each other up inwardly.
"You surprised me, Mister Potter." Snape broke the silence finally. "I have to admit, I feared you would be more like your father, whose looks you have inherited a little. Thankfully you have more of your mother inside, or at least her handling of potions. She was the only one I acknowledged as my better."
"Thank you, sir. I do hope to reach her level of expertise when it comes to potions or charms." Harry nodded his thanks. "If I am understanding correctly sir, were you studying at the same time as my parents?" Snape looked a little uncomfortable at that question but nodded.
"Indeed, I had been sorted at the same time as your parents. While your father and I couldn't stand each other for private reasons, I was friends with your mother from the time we were children. I also knew your aunt Petunia. She was always kind of nasty to begin with when faced with our abilities, but when your mother first got her Hogwarts letter and she couldn't get here, Petunia began developing out of jealousy an irrational hatred of all things magic; she called Lily a freak before she started her first year, which sadly seems to have transferred to you from what I heard."
"Unfortunately, that is true. She definitely wanted to make sure I hear everything bad about my mother, like how she was a deadbeat drunk who died in a car crash." Harry crossed his arms as he recalled his aunt's favorite words.
"She said WHAT about Lily?" Snape growled like a feral animal while the shadows seemed to react to his magic and grew in size, giving the impression that a demon was about to be summoned. Harry kept a calm exterior while mentally preparing his spells for use.
"She said a lot of things, thankfully I did not put that much stock into her words." Harry tried to placate the professor. "I figured since she was not interested in seeing my progress, I would at least do it for my parents, even if at the time I was under the mistaken belief that they were drunks."
"I see." Snape took a deep breath to calm himself down, the shadows seemingly following his state and diminishing as a result. "Keep up your work and I might acknowledge that you aren't a dunderhead." Snape said it in a manner that supposedly should be an insult but evidently was his way of pushing his students further.
"I will, thank you sir." Harry paused before continuing softly. "If you don't mind, as you are the person who knew my mother longest, could you perhaps tell me a few stories about her? I have tried asking people about my parents but so far, the only one giving me an answer aside from the standard 'they are good parents', 'your father was a good man', or 'she is perfect for your father', is Professor Flitwick along with a couple of others. They are the only people willing to tell me their behavioral problems or quirks."
"We will see, Mister Potter. Now I believe you should be heading for lunch; I know Professor Flitwick has impressed upon all his Ravens how important good meals are for you." Snape answered. Harry nodded in answer before leaving the classroom and the professor to look at his back thoughtfully.
~ooOOoo~
A little over two weeks have passed in Hogwarts, and with that, enough time for the denizens of the castle to make their initial observations regarding one Harry James Potter Evans.
Firstly, the boy was rather talented with magic for one raised with muggles. He was able to master his spells within the first or second try when using his wand, and then he was able to push forth with his lessons using silent casting, a skill that many of the older students were impressed with considering it was harder to do and mostly taught in the upper years. He replied that most of the supposed accidental magic displayed during childhood were silent casting, what one required was the intent and the image to do so. (That got a few of the seniors looking at their own wand in contemplation, and in the following weeks, a few had attempted to do so with mixed results. One almost blew up his room by accident!) His theory work was strong enough to help with essays which occasionally included examples for how spells could be used in areas not thought of. And to much confusion and shock, he was one of the rare few not of Slytherin House that Severus Snape, the Head of Slytherin House, Potions Master, 'Greasy Bat of The Dungeons', seemed to accept his potions and work properly. This was significant because the man was well known for his hatred against James Potter, so a few waited to see how he would deal with Harry Potter.
Secondly, Harry Potter was a very paranoid person, at least that was the impression many got when interacting with him during meals or certain lessons where he took a fair bit of precaution of checking his food and utensils or looking about the classroom. Word on the grapevine from the seniors of Ravenclaw spoke of his paranoia that extended to the protection of his room in the dorms, supposedly to knock out anyone that had ill-intent to break and steal. A few students with ties to Aurors kept comparing him to Alastor Moody, but when Harry asked for more details on the Auror, all of them shuddered and begged off, saying something about the possible end of the world if the two met. Harry was half-tempted to write to the man to see who he was.
(The staff who heard that shivered at the thought of the boy getting to know the Auror and opted to at least look for the Auror to get him to stay clear.)
Thirdly, Harry Potter was someone who really knew how to multitask. While Ravenclaws were known to do a few tasks at a time to deal with their workload, Harry Potter seemed to take it to a new level of competency. It was a common sight for people to see stacks of books on tables where Ravenclaws tend to work at, it was another thing that for a first year to effectively charge through his homework quickly and efficiently, before working on some practical experiments that he thought up on the spot, and helped others with their work in the process. There were rumors that the first year had followed the tradition of his seniors to commandeer an empty classroom to run such tests, though no one but Professor Flitwick and possibly the Headmaster would know.
Fourth point, Harry was not someone you want to get on his bad side. Normally a happy-going boy with an air of maturity somewhat advanced for his age, Harry Potter did have moments that he would be serious and moments when he could get angry. The thing about his anger was that he would not explode as most would; oh no, he seemed to channel it inwardly and speak extremely formally that reminded people of a wolf ready to bite the person's neck. Two examples came to mind:
The first came from Draco Malfoy who supposedly attempted to pull a power introduction over him while ignoring the other students Harry was talking to and being downright rude to Hermione Granger and one other muggleborn. In a manner that certainly baffled others since he was muggle-raised, Harry politely and firmly chastise Draco Malfoy on his manners in regards to greeting his fellow heirs and how he was effectively 'acting like an uncultured commoner' just because he had ideas regarding those like Hermione Granger. By the end of it, Draco apologized sheepishly and left to rethink his words while those around Harry were trying to understand how he knew all of that, and the older students from Darker Aligned families keeping a closer eye on him.
The second example came from one Ronald Weasley, one of the students that had missed the sorting on their arrival. Having gone into Gryffindor, the redhead had appeared on Wednesday of the first week and proceeded to follow Harry Potter whenever he appeared, constantly calling him 'his mate' and trying to get him to sit beside him or to come to Gryffindor on the basis that they were more fun compared to 'the boring bookworms, the duffers, and the bunch of slimy snakes'. It was also clear to everyone with a pair of eyes and brains that Potter was not impressed with the redhead and had already told him off on calling people names and his rudeness.
That did not seem to work, if anything the rude boy had gone further to try and be friends with him, all while calling Neville Longbottom a Squib and the muggleborns derogatory names, pushing people roughly to get to Harry, and at one point roughly grabbed Harry by the arm despite repeated warnings. That was when Harry proceeded to let loose his tongue lashing in the Great Hall during their meal and told him in no uncertain words that they were not friends, he was being extremely rude and lazy, and he should be apologizing to those he had been rude to. Ron did not like that and tried to punch him, only for Harry to step to the side and let him fall. This kept on going while the staff in the hall notably did not come forward. That soon changed when Hermione berated Ron for his actions and the boy retaliated by pulling out his wand to do something when Harry got in front of her and raised a hand in time to actually smack the hex back at Ron without his wand, causing him to vomit out slugs. Before the other staff actually moved, Flitwick had just entered the hall and immediately took charge, finding out what had happened before handing Ron Weasley a detention.
And yet, it appeared that even with the good reason and the witnesses, Ronald Weasley would not be heavily punished, merely getting point reduction and a warning without the detention, while Harry Potter was evidently summoned to see the Headmaster after the incident by his head of house. Despite the issue, it would seem that Harry Potter was more or less expecting this to happen and merely rolled his eyes as he got up from his seat, muttering something about politicians and agendas.
And so, as Harry was nearing the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office, one thought came to mind.
He was off to see the wizard.
The Manipulative Headmaster of Hogwarts.
Hmm… That rhymed a lot better in his head.
Author Notes:
Hope you enjoy this chapter, I might try to get another chapter out before the end of the year, but I will be focusing on my other story for the time being. Also for the person who pointed out the error for years, thank you for that, I went to update the page.
Until then, I will put my pen down for now...