Reviews
ZhaWarudo
Red Bull is a privately-owned company and as such, you can't buy stock in it. Monster Beverages on the other hand is a Public company and so you can buy stock in it. I looked into this when researching the names of companies for the MC to invest in during the 1990s.
I'll have to go and correct the name.
Mugen-Muse
The MC has his magical maps that would show if anyone was hanging about and spying on him. He can track magical people in Godric's Hollow, Diagon Alley, Hogwarts and Hogsmede.
Ron wouldn't have any money to pay for a bus ticket so I figured he'd go with the car plan and that Harry having used the Knight Bus before would go along with the MC's plan. Plus Fate is still an active force so some things might still happen as they do in the main timeline.
Anything that keeps Dumbledore off balance is good for the MC.
frankieu
Ron was expelled by Ministry not Dumbledore so Molly won't be sending the Headmaster any howlers.
Crossworld 1 - Harry Potter
Part 32
The Great Hall. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Well this looks rather interesting" commented Professor Flitwick.
After going to Dumbledore's office (in which I'd gotten a good look at Fawks so that I could take the form of a phoenix) and attending a meeting that was rather pointless overall even if it was over quickly, we'd been dismissed as the Headmaster was rather busy. I suspected that he'd needed to go to the Ministry, most likely to deal with the flying car incident, as such Harry and I had been left to amuse ourselves for the afternoon so after a large lunch here in the Great Hall, I'd decided to work on one of my projects.
This project involved bringing Warhammer Fanasty miniatures to life or to make it seem that way, and I had some ideas about enlarging them with magic and using them as expendable troops. These ones were made out of some sort of cheap metal rather than more fragile plastic and should be able to use their weapons to batter enemies to death easily enough.
I'd considered animating statues or suits of armour that I could shrink down and carry on my person when they weren't needed, but statues and suits of armour aren't cheap, however, miniatures are easy to buy in large numbers and are much easier to replace. I'd gone with the fantasy armies since the 40k models had guns that didn't fire anything making them less useful in a fight than swords and spears as they were somewhat sharp. Although I figured that space marines using their bolters as clubs would still be effective if only because Space Marines look so intimidating.
"Blood for the blood god!" yelled one of my models.
Hopefully, there weren't any gods of war in this universe to hear that. The last thing I wanted was for some eldritch abomination to take notice of me.
"Good afternoon Professor" I greeted the small teacher "We're just playing a muggle game".
He seemed amused by what we were up to.
"You've animated the game pieces," he said "The same charms that are on chess pieces I would guess".
Those charms meant that the pieces would put themselves back together if smashed apart although this would only happen once they stood down or I triggered the repair. Trying to repair my soldiers in battle might be rather risky, but it was nice to have the option. I was certain that dark magic would interfere with the model's ability to self-repair, but I hadn't tested that yet.
"Yes, Professor," I said, "My cousin actually did most of the work over the summer. I just did some research after I got the idea. The magical world is lacking in proper games and we can't play Muggle games without some pureblood in the common rooms getting offended".
I was teaching Harry to play Warhammer Fanasty as the library was closed and we had access to a big table. We might as well do it now as I'd seen pureblood going off on rants about people playing snap with nothing ever exploding.
"The game's a little slow, but it's more interesting than chess" stated Harry "I wish we could play games like this in the common room".
There was little chance of that happening.
"We're not really meant to enchant muggle items this way" I reminded Harry "This is sort of a grey area legally because there's no chance of violating the Statute of Secrecy as long as I don't let these models out into the muggle world".
Flitwick wasn't concerned.
"If anyone bothers you about it just say it's a project for charms class" he offered "Young wizards are expected to experiment a little and it's not like you'll be inviting muggles to come to play with you while you're here at school".
Now we could play it and not have to worry about getting into trouble, not that I'd really cared as Harry and I could use the Room of Requirement if he ever wanted to play again.
"Professor, is there any news on the Weasly boy?" I asked.
Flitwick stopped poking one of Harry's Bretonnia knights who had ended up trying to stab the teacher's finger with a sword. I figured might have to use some sort of toughening charm on the enlarged models when it was time to send them into battle as their weapons were too fragile.
"Oh yes I heard you were with him at the station and that he refused to take the Knight Bus with you," said the teacher "The Ministry is not happy and they are pressing Dumbledore to expel the student when he arrives despite him never having been Sorted. The Headmaster doesn't have much of a choice".
Had Harry been in the car then Fudge would have let the matter drop, and Ron Weasly would have gotten away with it too, but Harry was here with me and Mr Weasly wasn't very well thought of at the Ministry due to his love of all things muggle.
"If Ron Weasly weren't so young he'd been looking at a stretch in Azkaban" I commented "He should count himself lucky he's only getting sent home".
Dumbledore must be fuming. He'd gone to the trouble of getting Potter to the Burrow so that Ron could try to befriend Harry and no doubt found some loophole to get him into the school despite him having been Sorted, and now the Weasly boy gets himself expelled. Life was rather amusing at times.
I wondered if it might be possible to get the twins expelled as well. They were nothing more than pains in people's backsides and I saw them as bullies. On the other hand, they would mature and become successful businessmen, and I might want to invest heavily in that business so I might just tolerate them as long as they left me alone from now on.
"Indeed I'm glad you two boys knew better than to try something that foolish," said the teacher who then turned to me "Professor McGonagall informed that it was your plan to quickly make your way to Hogesmede and then inform her so as to avoid panic. That was smart thinking worthy of a Ravenclaw, I'll award you both ten points once term starts for acting so responsible".
I didn't care for points, but staying on my teacher's good side was worth it as it meant fewer distractions while at school such as detentions.
"Mr Hiddleston, will you be staying on the team?" I was asked, "I rather like having the cup in my office. I don't wish to surrender it".
I had no plans to quit the team.
"Not to worry, sir" I assured the charms teacher "I have a brand new Nimbus 2001 in my trunk and a desire to catch that snitch".
Expensive, but when it comes to brooms I could afford the best.
"Good lad. Oh, when I see you in class I'll arrange for our tutoring sessions," the teacher said before he walked off "I expect you'll do very well when the duelling club starts up".
I intended to impress. Now that I'd been at the school for a couple of years I could start to show my skills without it being too suspicious.
(Line Break)
The Great Hall. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy.
"Did you do something with your hair?" I asked Hermione Granger.
I'd noticed that was something different about her. She couldn't have gotten much taller since I'd seen her in France so it had to be a matter of makeup or hair, and she wasn't the kind of girl who bothered with makeup.
"Yes I used a potion to sort my hair out," she told me "It's more manageable now".
Oh yes, Harry Potter's grandfather had invented some sort of potion that help keep crazy hair under control. Since I was a shapeshifter I didn't need to worry about that sort of thing.
"Well it looks nice" I praised "You seem more mature".
Since Hermione was somewhat unhappy about her looks and because she wanted to be taken seriously my words greatly enhanced her mood.
What enhanced my mood was that there was no sign of Ron Weasly as the Sorting came to an end. My thinking was that he'd managed to get expelled before the term had even started by flying that car and that Dumbledore hadn't been able to prevent it. This had to be fate at work because even Ron Weasly couldn't be that dense without some help. Did fate want a magical car in the Forbidden Forest for some reason?
I'd dealt with the magical spiders sometime ago, and I didn't recall the car playing any other role during the book series, but perhaps something important happened off-screen so to speak that involved the car. Or maybe Ron Weasly really was that foolish.
I didn't mess with the Sorting Hat this year, despite wanting to put Ginny in Hufflepuff so she'd be away from Harry Potter. I'd not bothered as without the diary she wasn't really an issue for many years. Besides, I might not get away with messing with the hat a second time. She ended up in the same house as Harry Potter and a vacant expression on her face as she looked at him.
My concern was far more focused on Luna who had gotten into Ravenclaw, she was now sitting next to me, and Hermione sat on my other side, this might cause some tension as Granger had gotten used to sitting and chatting with me at mealtimes. I would favour Luna over Hermione because I actually liked the young Miss Lovegood. She didn't annoy me. Then again Hermione seemed to have mellowed out somewhat and didn't nag people about homework so much.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," I said to Luna "You made it to the table of the smart kids".
I decided to make introductions after Dumbledore spoke and began the feast. The food on offer was plentiful and good yet it was rather plain compared to what I'd had access to in my past life. Roasted meats and vegetables were rather common here, such as roast beef and roast chicken, boiled and roasted potatoes, along with Yorkshire pudding, peas, and carrots. That was just the stuff I could reach and desert was still to come.
Still, I missed Italian food. And would it be so horrible if they served kebabs? At least I could sneak out for a takeaway if I really wanted to.
"Luna Lovegood this is Hermione Granger," I told the young witch as I gestured to the slightly older girl "Across from me are Marcus Belby and Eddie Carmichael".
Those two lads made a quick greeting before going back to whatever it was they were discussing. I'd never connected with my classmates and they seemed to have given up trying to befriend me. At least they were polite and didn't bother me.
"There's a lot to eat here" commented Luna.
I'd dined at her home. The food there was exotic to put it nicely and the servings were smaller.
"Casting magic seems to burn through calories rather fast," I said to my future wife "That's why are there so few overweight witches and wizards. You'll be doing a lot more magic here than your parents do at home".
That got Hermione's attention.
"Do you think casting spells takes energy from the body?" she asked.
I did indeed.
"Casting lots of spells can make you tired and did you notice Neville? He's lost a lot of his baby fat since he got a wand that suited him" I was now saying "Slughorn is fat and he works with potions rather than spells".
The worst students in the school, Crabbe and Goyle were chunky fellas.
"That does explain why we have such large meals," said Granger.
Breakfast for example often involved sausages, fried eggs, bacon sandwiches, porridge, and toast with many kinds of marmalades and jams.
"It's either that or Dumbledore used to teach at the Unseen University" I joked.
No one got the reference and I didn't bother to explain about that fictional magical school that had really big dinners.
"I looked for you on the train" mentioned Luna "Where were you?".
Since I didn't want to go through all that again I kept my answer simple.
"I missed the train so I took the Knight Bus to Hogsmede and then came up to the school" I answered.
Remus Lupin was still the DADA teacher and Hagrid wouldn't become Care of Magical Creatures Professor until next year, a job he was not qualified for despite his experience with magical creatures, and so the only new member of staff to be announced was Sirius Black our duelling instructor who was at least more qualified to teach us about the subject than Lockhart would have been. Despite him having been freed a while back some students still looked nervous to have him and they were glad to find out that his evening and weekend classes were not mandatory.
"Are you going to duel?" asked Luna.
I doubted that the first years would get up to much in duelling given their lack of experience with casting spells, and while Luna knew a little wandless magic it wouldn't help her much in a duel. I on the other hand was a champion dueller even if that was at the junior level.
It would be interesting to see how I measured up against those who had grown up in the magical world. Draco Malfoy had been disappointing even if his snake-summoning spell was rather advanced for his age. Hopefully, I could go against some of the older Pureblood wizards and witches to get an idea of how good a duellist I'd become.
That was something to look into later. Quidditch tryouts were in the second week of term once everyone had somewhat settled in and I'd promised Harry that I would help him to prepare.
(Line Break)
Room of Requirement. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy.
One of the first things I did at the start of the new term was show Luna Lovegood the best part of the castle. By now I'd cleared out nearly everything of value from the room yet there was still so much here that could interest a person. Aside from the stacks of old desks and chairs, there were still quite a lot of books, empty bottles and jars of stuff I would never dare to open.
"This is the Room of Requirement," I told Luna "It's one of the best-hidden secrets of the castle. The room can take many forms, this is one is where everything unwanted and lost over the last thousand years ends up. The room can't make food, but other than that it doesn't seem to have much in the way of limits".
I was sure that the room only made use of what had been stored in it but there was just so much here that there countless options. The room could even make pools by diverting water pipes I assumed. Not as impractical as it might seem since parts of the castle do move around and whole classrooms can go missing.
"It's amazing," said Luna.
The curious girl was soon inspecting a stack of old books. I was fairly certain that I'd taken out any books about dark might and any cursed objects, most of which ended up being sold in Knockturn Alley or rendered harmless by Gringotts Curse Breakers. That had earned me a fair bit of profit back before I'd become one of the richest wizards in Britain. I didn't need to bother with plundering this room anymore and frankly, I had better things to do.
"Most of the books here were taken from the library or left by former students" I let the witch know.
No doubt Hermione Granger would want to sort them out and return all of the library books, but that would only lead to Madam Pince, the librarian trying to find out where all the books had come from, so I'd been careful to stealthy only return a few of them. As such, I'd not shown her this version of the room.
"We use it for study mostly," I said.
Luna turned to look at me.
"Who's we?" she asked.
I explained to her about the study group I lead and how I wanted her to join. I intended to help Luna become one of the school's best students and to groom her as a possible travelling companion. That meant she'd need more than a standard Hogwarts education. Which in my view produced rather poor wizards in terms of magical talent.
"The room takes a form suited to our needs" I explained.
I led Luna back into the corridor and then changed into the room the group used for studying. It was a rather cosy space for reading and Luna took advantage of this to claim a comfy chair as her own.
"So you're going to tutor me here?" Luna asked.
That was the plan.
"There are others, but I don't think they'll bother me about the study group until later in the year" I mentioned, "Your first year isn't very demanding, you'll be doing some basic spells, and maybe a few potions. Mostly I want to focus on expanding your ability to use wandless magic".
I also needed to practice my wandless magic as it was just too useful not being able to perform some tricks with it. Even if I could only do basic stuff like move objects, start fires and so on. I never tried to cast Transfiguration and charm spells as they were particularly difficult to perform without a wand. Rather I just tried to make things happen with magic. Voldemort, whose powers I'd stolen in some sense, had been able to use magic long before he even knew wizards were real and I had many of his memories to help guide me into mastering wandless magic.
"One of the things I'd like us to work on is defending ourselves from unfriendly spells without a wand, but that can wait until later in the year," I said.
Luna picked up a book from the table. It was a first-year book that looked new. A member of my study group must have left it here.
"What spells will I be learning first?" she asked.
I gave some thought to what to start teaching her.
"Charms would be a good place to start," I told her "We'll begin with Lumos, the wand lighting spell and then move on to the elevation charm".
That should prepare her for class and then we could focus on other bits of magic.
(Line Break)
Quidditch Pitch. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy.
"I'm having trouble processing this" I admitted "Hermione Granger failed a class".
Since she lacked anything meaningful to say the young witch hit me in the arm. I barely noticed as in terms of physical might she was a weak girly girl.
"It's not funny," she said "And I didn't exactly fail I just need to redo the lessons".
I didn't think it was amusing. If anything it was a little worrying.
"It's more perplexing than funny," I told her "Or maybe concerning is a better word. I didn't even know you could fail the flying class. I was informed that everyone passes before the first year is over".
Madam Hooch the flying coach was not amused either.
"This is very serious Mr Hiddleston" she warned "No one has ever failed my class. Not even Murphy McNully and he was in a wheelchair"
How did he mount a broom then? Seemed offensive to enquire so I didn't.
"Ms Granger will not be the first. If she has to go flying every morning until she takes her NEWTs that's what we will do" she promised.
At this point, I wondered what this had to do with me so I asked about that.
"I reason I brought you out here so early is that Mr Hiddleston fancies himself a teacher from what I've seen from him and Mr Potter" she answered.
Harry had requested that I show him a little of what was involved in being a Seeker.
"Professor Flitwick seems to think that Mr Hiddleston can get you into the air Ms Granger then you'll learn to fly" the coach was now saying "You will pass this class Miss Granger and no note from your parents will excuse you this time".
So Hermione was one of those kids when it came to PE. Not that I judged as during my first life I'd also been one of those students.
"Why did it have to be John" moaned Hermione.
If not for the fact that I knew she liked me I might be offended. I assumed that she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of me. I could find out for sure by probing her mind as she only the basics about defending her mind, but we were sort of friends, and I did wish to violate her like that. At least not for something that didn't really matter.
"I think it's because I bragged about my Nimbus 2001 to Professor Flitwick who no doubt mentioned it in the staff room before the students even arrived," I said.
Madam Hooch didn't admit that, but she didn't need to as her smile let me know that I'd hit the nail on the head. Nimbus brooms were built for speed, not sturdiness as the brooms I'd donated were, although there wasn't a huge difference given the quality of the broom. I'd paid more to get a broom that performed well in all ways.
"Brooms aren't meant to handle two people," said the coach "I can't send you up with an adult witch or wizard because of the weight. Seekers tend to be light on their feet and have the best reflexes, and you are in the same house so it makes sense to pair you up. Besides, your friends and should trust each other".
I couldn't argue with that logic and she was right about brooms normally only having one person fly on them. They responded to the will of the rider and so having two riders could be a problem.
"We'll start slow with you holding on to my back," I said as Granger joined me on my broom.
As promised we didn't go more than a few feet in the air and moved about a few feet per second yet the young witch held on to me so tightly you'd think we were strapped to the back of a rocket.
"I can show you the world!" I sang.
Hermione did not approve of my song choice so she hit me again. If she were my girlfriend I'd dump her for being abusive.
"Shining, shimmering, splendid" I went on to sing "Tell me, Princess. Now when did you last let your heart decide?"
"This is not romantic" she complained.
Her words were ignored by me and I sang louder as we went up higher.
"I CAN OPEN YOUR EYES. TAKE YOU WONDER BY WONDER OVER, SIDEWAYS, AND UNDER ON A MAGIC BROOMSTICK RIDE".
"How are you making the background music?" she asked.
Just a little illusion work. A bit risky to expose that, but I did need to start sharing some of my secrets with those I had chosen as potential travelling companions.
"Magic" I answered, "Now let's go a bit faster".
She was not happy about this.
"John Hiddleston you will take me down right now" she ordered.
I had to make it clear she had no ability to command me.
"Sorry Hermione Jane Granger, I've been told to get you flying so we're not going down until you get used to being in the air," I said, "I used to be scared of heights, it's just something you need to deal with if you are ever going to be a proper witch. So we are going to stay up here until you can command the broom to go down".
Which wasn't as easy as it sounded as I'd have to give up control of the broom. Like wands, they only responded to one magical person at a time so I would have to surrender control and when that happened the ride might get a little rough.
"How do I make it go down?" she wished to know.
She really should know this.
"Imagine that the broom is like your wand" I answered "It will obey you as long you keep focused on what you want. Picture us slowly going down".
I could feel the broom moving down so I relaxed and let Hermione take us down the few feet.
"See you can do it," I said.
Madam Hooch seemed pleased by the limited progress we'd made today.
"Not a bad start," she said "Come back tomorrow and we'll do this again".
At least these extra lessons weren't too time-consuming.
(Line Break)
Duelling Room. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy.
Much like the duelling stage that I'd stood on during the summer, this one was something of a catwalk and it took up much of the room. The students a mix of ages and houses were pressed up against the stage despite this being rather unsafe and would never be allowed during a proper duel. I hoped that Mr Black would remember to put up a protective barrier once people started duelling.
"Good morning everyone," said the newest member of staff as he got up the stage "I am Sirius Black, your duelling instructor".
Given that he'd been such a rebel during his youth I had to wonder why this wizard dressed so boringly. He wore something suitable for a gentleman of the wizarding world. He had a waistcoat and even a pocket watch. At least he didn't wear a tie or I'd have lost what little respect the man had gained in my eyes and when he'd stepped up to take proper care of Harry Potter.
"Welcome to duelling class" he was now saying "Here you will learn not only how to defend yourself, but also the sport of duelling".
Throwing about spells in a real fight wasn't like duelling for sport. Yet it was still worth learning as I would need all the experience I could get should something unexpected happen when I began hunting Death Eaters. Something I would start doing once I had all my other activities better organised.
"I think the best way to start would be with a demonstration," said our instructor.
By now Professor Flitwick, who had promised to teach me a few things in private lessons, had also gotten up on stage.
"Professor," said Black.
The two wizards took up duelling stances and saluted each other as duellists are supposed to before casting their spells.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Protego!"
Both of the teachers could have cast their spells without yelling them out or performing the full wand motions. Yet it was still a somewhat impressive display as Flitwick's spell looked powerful and Black almost fell over despite his shield charm. This display was followed by a round of applause, but I wasn't that impressed since I'd seen better demonstrations.
"Expelliarmus and Protego are two spells that will serve any duellist well" Sirius Black was now saying "However, being able to disarm a foe and to effectively shield yourself is just the start".
Flitwick drew attention to himself.
"I'd like to give the students the chance to show off their skills," he said "Why don't we have a member of my house with some duelling experience take on a few others to see how advanced they are".
This seemed like a poor excuse for my head of house to show off. The two teachers would be much better off showing us how to perform some basic spells that can be used in a duel. Granted I already knew the basics and therefore could show what was possible for the students to learn, and that might give others something to strive for. There was also a certain amount of competitive spirit between the houses and so Flitwick would want a member of his house to defeat someone from the other houses in front of most of the school.
"Hiddleston!" the small teacher called out.
"Harry get up here!" shouted Mr Black.
Of course, he wanted to test me before our private lessons started. I should have seen that coming as soon I saw Flitwick on the stage. As for Harry, I felt certain that his godfather had spent the last few weeks of the summer holiday preparing the young wizard for this class. He better have because I certainly hadn't taught the Boy-Who-Lived anything about duelling. I hadn't planned to until he was into his second year.
"Yes, sir," I said
I soon got up on the stage.
"Time to show off a little" Flitwick whispered at me.
I faced Potter and saluted with my wand before Mr Black began to count down. Unlike Draco Malfoy, this young wand waver did know how to count.
"Stupefy!" the wizard roared as he sent a bolt of red light at me.
This is one of the most popular duelling spells as it can end a duel very quickly by knocking out whoever it is you are facing. However, it's not that useful outside of a one on one duel because it's easy to wake up someone who has been stunned. It also wasn't hard to shield against. I just waved my wand and the spell fizzled out against my shield.
"Furnunculus!"
I avoided a terrible case of boils by again shielding myself and then I went on the offensive.
"Rictusempra"
The Tickling Charm drove Harry Potter to the ground as he giggled in a way only preteens can. I could have finished him off at this point, but duelling wasn't just about winning, it was about showing off your skills as well so I let the contest drag on.
Harry recovered enough to yell Tarantallegra! as he sent a spell that would have caused my legs to start dancing against my will, but I blocked that with another shield before using the Langlock spell, something I'd picked up from the Half-Blood Prince's book to cause Harry's tongue to stick to the roof of his mouth. Since he didn't know how to do non-verbal casting he was basically helpless.
"Mr Potter is unable to keep duelling," said Flitwick "Would anyone else care to try their luck".
A few older students did and this was good I wanted to test my skills against older wand wavers.