Chapter 6

First Day: Breakfast, Howlers and Politics

Harry was looking forward to today, the first day in a magical school. His dorm mates, Neville Longbottom and Wayne Hopkins, were busying getting themselves ready for breakfast too. They had decided they would go to breakfast together.

As Cedric had told them last night, "Puffs are encouraged to travel in groups while everyone gets oriented to the castle".

Then Cedric had taught them the secret of getting around Hogwarts while they got to know the layout. It was another Hufflepuff secret; apparently there were going to be a lot of those! This secret was a poultice applied to the eyelids for ten minutes, followed by a hot tea. It would always be available in the common room, but they were told upper years rarely used it. They would rather sleep the extra ten minutes!

The poultice was made from a plant with white flowers marked by an off-center yellow dot on the ends of long green stems, which Harry was informed was called Eyebrite or Herba Euphrasiae. The tea was made from a mixture of green tea, coleus, and gingko. "With a sprig of mint to help wake you up", the pink haired girl had said, doing a passable Professor Sprout impersonation. While not strictly needed for the poultice to work, the tea extended the effectiveness of the poultice to the entire day.

After using the poultice, Hufflepuff students could see markings in the hallways; on the walls, floors, even the ceilings; with handy tips, arrows and occasionally even maps! No one knew who put the markings there, but multiple handwriting and language styles indicated they were done over a very long time by many people.

As the trio walked toward the Great Hall, Harry wondered who made the markings they were following. Although he was still wondering as they entered the hall for breakfast, the tantalizing smell of bacon assured the contemplation of historic markings had reached an end.

As they sat at the Hufflepuff table, Neville sitting beside him and Wayne sitting across, they noticed they were earlier than most students. The Great Hall looked even larger this morning, with only a dozen or so students spread throughout the hall.

Harry noticed no one was sitting at the Slytherin table. Tonks noticed Harry looking, "They always come down together. It must be a House thing" as she indicated the Slytherin table with a quick head movement.

Harry nodded, "Thanks. Just seemed weird that all the other houses had at least a few, but they didn't."

Tonks nodded as she obviously had just taken a bite. 'Nice to know most people don't talk with their mouths full' Harry thought, thinking of Dudley.

Harry turned his attention to the wide array of breakfast foods to choose from, none of which he had to cook, none of which he would be told was "not for the likes of him". Harry was momentarily stunned into inaction by the enormity of the choices possible, until Neville asked him to pass the bacon. After that, Harry's plate rapidly gained a selection, before a very hungry eleven year old boy began making it disappear, bite by careful bite.

A look at the head table would have shown Harry the entire staff was there. It was almost tradition for them to all be early the first day. Information gathered during this first meal was critical to properly assess their new charges. A nurse's mediscan could only reveal so much, and that was not even done unless the Head of House requested it.

Pomona Sprout had a lot of experience with children. She was unable to bear children: it was determined shortly after she graduated Hogwarts. Few men of that age were interested in a wife who could not have children and she was not interested in sharing her beloved with another, man or woman. So, Ms. Sprout had returned to Hogwarts to teach herbology. It was not a terrible situation. She loved her rare plants and the greenhouses were top notch. But watching the children was always a secret passion. Becoming Head of Hufflepuff was a dream come true as she was suddenly a surrogate mother to dozens of wonderful children. It also gave her remit to act on suspicions she sometimes had regarding a child's home environment. Child abuse is a tricky thing in the magical world. Many old lines believe they have the right to deal with family as they see fit. So, while child abuse is technically illegal, it is so poorly defined that it is almost never prosecuted. This allowed many children to be abused during most of their childhood. Except in Hufflepuff.

There was more than one reason many of the pureblood Houses would threaten to disown a student sorted into her house. On more occasions than anyone remembered, she had intervened on behalf of one of her students. It seemed there was always at least one every year. Pomona always tried to give the benefit of the doubt to the parents. She would try to work with them to improve the health and well-being of her students. But if the parent showed no interest or defended the abuse as "their right"… well, she could hardly be held responsible for any 'discomfort' the parents might experience, could she? After all, the fact nearly every medication, narcotic, poison, or hallucinogenic compound in the world originated in plants is purely coincidental. Right?

Watching her newest 'Puffs, Pomona was certain she would be visiting Harry Potter's guardians soon. The boy was small for his age. True, it could be genetic, but unlikely. His parents had not been small, nor were any of his family she could recall. They were all fairly average in size and shape. (Professor Sprout's gaze drifted to infinity as she contemplated the problem, constructing a Punnett square large enough to explain this issue without foul play. A dominant gene would have to be a first generation mutant. So, recessive… but one that could be hidden for at least two generations to resurface in Harry… Wizarding genes are highly inbred, so it is possible…)

"But unlikely" she whispered to herself.

Returning to watching Harry, she noted with clinical precision his light breakfast, the manner he chewed, the way his eyes darted about unconsciously as if afraid someone would take his food. She would ask Poppy to give him a routine physical and a discrete diagnostic scan. Given his size and behavior, Pomona strongly suspected malnutrition secondary to systematic abuse. If she was proven right, then Heaven help those muggles. No one would ever try to prevent her from 'correcting' a parent in need of guidance. Not after what happened in '85.

Dumbledore had a bad feeling. Long ago he had learned to pay attention to his bad feelings. Looking about the hall, his gaze fell upon Professor Sprout and chill bumps marched down his arm like a Roman legion. He had not seen that look in a long time, not for six years, and had hoped to never see it again. Tracking her gaze to Harry, he knew pain and suffering was in someone's future. Sprout would want to 'correct' the Dursley's, but that would interfere with the headmaster's plans. She would have to be placated and sidetracked or Dumbledore strongly suspected he would become Pomona's target of opportunity. The chill bumps on his arms were joined by a shiver down his spine. When she was on one of her little crusades, one crossed Professor Sprout only at great peril and never without extreme need.

Dumbledore sighed to himself, "For the Greater Good…"

As the Great Hall had gradually filled with students, the ambient noise levels had risen accordingly, not with a linear relationship (as some might expect) but with a logarithmic relationship as students had to speak loudly for their neighbor to hear them over the background noise. Being understood more than two seats down the table was a forgone conclusion at this point. At some point all of Slytherin House had appeared at their table, eating silently as they watched the rest of the hall. Harry noticed Draco looking at him intently, but could not tell what, if anything, he was trying to tell him.

Suddenly the noise increased and then died down just as suddenly. In the air above the tables were owls. It seemed all the owls of Her Majesty's Realm were flying above the tables, each clutching something. Some clutched small packages. Others carried mail. Two carried what Harry thought were Christmas cards, for they were the only post Harry knew which came in red envelopes.

"Isn't it early for Christmas cards?" Harry asked no one in particular.

Harry's comment drew startled looks as students near him started scanning the owls quickly, trying to spot the 'Christmas cards'. Both owls bearing red cards headed for the Gryffindor tables, but one circled close to the ceiling as the other began a bombing run ending with the red card dropped onto Ronald Weasley's plate of food.

Harry noticed the other red heads at the table poking at Ronald and obviously indicating he should open it, but Ronald was shaking his head quickly as he tried to back away. The envelop was beginning to glow a bit, as if lit from the inside, as smoke began to rise from it. It became increasingly evident Ronald was not going to touch it and only Percy standing behind him kept him from fleeing the hall. Finally Percy decided he would open it, but apparently a moment too late. As Percy reached to pick up the card, it exploded with a thunderous "WAIT UNTIL I GET YOU HOME!", and throwing food and bits of smoking paper all over Ronald, Percy's face and arm, and most of Gryffindor house within ten feet.

Harry sat in shock. Even the post was magic! And apparently dangerous! As he started to turn away from the spectacle to ask Neville what just happened, Harry saw the other owl make his run, although his red card did not land on Ronald's plate. In fact, it hovered over the table in front of Ron and began to smoke and spark and then to Harry's amazement, it deformed into a mouth and began to speak in a soft voice, easily heard throughout the hall.

"Ronald Weasley, I have never been forced to send a howler to any of my children. Never. Even the twins never got a howler from me. Never. Yet here I am writing one to you with you barely sorted. What were you thinking? Were you thinking? For a brilliant chess player, you seem totally lacking common sense where anything Slytherin is concerned. Almost all of the witches and wizards who joined He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were from Slytherin. That is absolutely true. But most of Slytherin did not join him. Under the guise of saving him from a Slytherin, you attacked a Lord and Head of House. Where was that marvelous brain you use to beat everyone at chess? It deserted you when you needed it most."

The red mouth seemed to orient on Percy before continuing, "Percy, you will take Ronald to Lord Potter. You will formally introduce yourself and Ronald. And you will both apologize. If I discover the apologies are anything other than completely sincere. If I discover the proper forms were not used. I will personally drag you both home by your ears and remind you a Hogwarts education is a privilege, not a right."

The card looked back and forth between Percy and Ronald before asking, "Well? What are you waiting for?" Then it shredded itself into a burst of confetti.

Percy was not in a mood to be denied. He grabbed Ron by the collar of his robes and lifted him from his seat. He began a liberal use of magic to clean and groom Ronald, before doing the same to himself. Percy then leaned in and had a very short conversation with his brother which Ron apparently did not enjoy, judging by the increasingly red shade of his ears. They then turned and Percy marched Ronald to Harry's table, where he formally introduced himself.

"Lord Potter," Percy bowed his head and gave a slight bow, "may we have a moment of your time?"

Harry had seen some television shows where royalty and nobility interacted. If he remembered correctly, if the person standing was higher rank, the person seated had to stand. If equal rank, then you should stand (otherwise you were giving insult), and if lower rank, you should not. Since he was Head of House and neither Weasley was, then Harry decided to remain seated and instead did as Draco suggested, said the least required and would let everyone read into it what they would. In response to Percy's question Harry nodded once and waited.

Percy almost raised an eyebrow, but caught himself. Lord Potter was within his Rights to remain seated so Percy swallowed his pride and began, "Lord Potter, I am Percy Ignatius Weasley of the Ancient House of Weasley. This is my youngest brother, Ronald Bilius Weasley, also of the Ancient House of Weasley."

Harry was fully aware the entire hall was watching and listening to every word, so he did not speak, instead nodding to each to acknowledge the introduction.

{Meanwhile at the Slytherin table}

Draco was ready to pull his hair out! Percy had been given 'a moment of time", not permission to introduce himself and his brother! And even though Harry did not rise to speak to them or offer them a seat at his table, nodding to them when introduced implied equality. This was wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! If only he could have met with Harry before breakfast! Then he would have the books and the diary. Draco shook his head, waiting for the train to power over the cliffs. It would take weeks to help Harry regain the ground he was rapidly losing among the pureblood houses. For the first time Draco began to wonder if helping Harry was more than he could handle.

[Back to the Hufflepuff table]

Percy saw the nods and waited to see if Harry would introduce himself. Seconds ticked by and Harry waited silently. 'Bastard!' Percy thought. 'He is treating us as though he outranks us! Which he does' Percy grudgingly admitted to himself, 'but he is embarrassing us in front of everyone!'

"Lord Potter, I wish to apologize for my role in the incident on the train. I was not fully informed of the situation and my first response was ill-considered and entirely without merit." Percy apologized with a slightly deeper bow this time, before rising and poking Ron.

Reluctance etching his every move, Ron drew even with his brother and tried to apologize, "Lord Potter, I hope you accept my apology for my behavior on the train. It was unwarranted. Even though I believed you were in danger, the danger to your life and limb was not imminent. I should have asked if you required assistance before attempting to save you. I just knew you were new to our world and thought you were unaware of the dangerous situation you have found yourself in." Ron then gave the same head nod and bow he had seen Percy give.

{Meanwhile at the Slytherin table}

Draco sat silently watching the apologies. Silent on the outside. Inside he wanted to bang his head against the table or better yet, bang Ronald Muggle-Loving Weasley's head on the table. Harry is in a position of advantage and would throw it away for an apology! He could practically OWN the Weasleys, ok, that is a bit far. But he could definitely extract a minor debt at the very least! But no, little "Hufflepuff Harry" was going to give away the store, just like some bloody Gryffindor, and for nothing more than an apology! Draco wanted to scream! As he sat silently watching…

[Back at the Hufflepuff table]

Harry looked Percy in the eye. Something was off. Ronald's apology was hardly sincere. After a mostly sincere beginning, he seemed to be trying to insult Draco without breaking the rules. Harry had his 'eureka!' moment. 'Rules.' Harry thought, 'It is all about the Rules. Protocol, Forms, Rules and Tradition. THAT is what is off. That is why Percy has that tic. There is something missing and he hopes I don't know it. Well, he is right. I don't know what is missing. But you don't have to be a musical genius to know a sour note. And I have been watching the Dursley's moods for long enough to know when something is not right.'

Harry stood, gathered himself and faced the Weasleys. Looking Percy square in the eye, ignoring Ronald completely, he said firmly…

"No."

Harry then sat down and looked across at Draco for a moment. Draco looked stunned. Harry smiled internally as he turned to Neville and asked him to pass the bacon.

Percy was dragging his brother back toward the Gryffindor table as Ronald managed to shout indignantly, "Why the Hell not?"

Harry put down his silverware, stood and addressed Ron in the same tone one would address a confused child, "Ask Percy. He knows. Or to put it in words every woman in the world will immediately understand… If you don't know, I am not telling you."

Harry sat down once more and began to nibble on another piece of bacon. He really wasn't hungry, but it gave him something to do with his hands as he waited for his class schedule. He would have left, rather than sit back down, but without his schedule he didn't know what class to look for.

Laughter began echoing through the hall, as one after another of the female students, beginning with the seventh years, began to laugh. Not giggles. Laughter. Female students throughout the hall were roaring, falling from their seats, and pounding the tables. Even the head table was effected, although Professor Sprout managed to hold it to a loud giggle and the Assistant Headmistress smiled, actually SMILED… showing teeth and everything! The older male students were smiling, but seemed almost embarrassed they knew why it was funny. Dumbledore's twinkle was turned up to eleven. But the younger male students just looked at each other questioningly.

The school was obviously barking mad…

AN: My semester is drawing to a close and I really should be working on my studies, but I am so tired of analysis and technical merit. I just wanted a little fun. So, I wrote this bit. It is not beta'd or proof-read. I hope this raw work is not confusing or offensive and you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I will go back and revise this later to correct any glaring errors that slipped through my hurried writing.
AN: I plan to develop a rich culture for Hufflepuff and all the little puffs. Sprout is going to be FUN! I love it when characters start talking to me while I write! For those worried, I plan to keep the 'puffs all about loyalty and hard work. That will always be the case for me. But, in their own ways, they are going to be more Slytherin than any Slytherin ever! :D Over the summer I am hoping to post a few thousand words (a chapter) per week. So soon this will become a more regular serial piece.

AN: Reviews are love folks, just saying…:D