"I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the related characters. The Harry Potterseries is created by JK Rowling and owned by Warner Bros. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights of the original Harry Potterstory belong to Warner Bros."
Harry reached for the treacle tarts served on his plate. He was still thinking about all the things Death had revealed the previous night. He had also agreed to be tutored by his parents for the next year and then extend his studies to include his individual responsibilities thoroughly with the Entity tutoring him in depth about all his duties and areas of control he would gain. Though Harry was looking forward to his classes from his parents, neither James nor Lily were as excited. They could not be expected to be happy to teach their only son the worst possibilities for the whole world, right? That was why Harry was not allowed to travel further into the nether realm. But now, time for the kid to grow up faster than any adult.
Harry had been given instructions on all the important matters corresponding to the realm and also basics on what he would have learnt were he alive and attended Hogwarts. Though, passing on to the nether realm meant that there is no requirement of focus in the form of wands but Harry was instructed on the spells thoroughly, including their origin, the arithmancy behind it, the incantations and the depictions of wand movements. That took most of the time they had now and they were happy at the progress Harry was making, although a bit tired. Harry was also instructed on the rituals to be performed to maintain the balance in the realm and to contribute one's energy to the universe in offering prayers to the Mother Magic.
By the end of what would be September 1991 in the living world, Harry was through most of the spells covered in Hogwarts and was also able to cast them wordlessly without much effort. Then they moved on to the studies of Hierarchy in the Nether realm and the history of their family as the royals in the realm. Harry was surprised, to say the least, when he came to know that the Entity known as Death was, in their living, the great grandfather of Harry, Lord Charlus Potter III. When Harry was told that the successor of that post was Harry himself, he went into a panic, thinking about all the responsibilities he would have to cover in how many realms. James had to spend time to remind him that there was a lot of time before that moment came to pass and hence there was no need to worry.
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Albus Dumbledore was lost in his thoughts. He had hoped that Petunia could grow up to care for her sister's child after Lily's murder. He had hoped that they would at least be civil towards the kid when he had placed him under their care. But now that turned out to be a huge mistake. Harry Potter was dead and Albus did not know what to do. From the prophecy uttered by the seer Sybill Trelawney, it was only possible that Harry could not be killed by anyone other than the Dark Lord, and vice versa. But then this happened. Harry was just killed by his relatives. Now the Dark Lord is almost invincible. But there had to be some way to at least restrict him, if not maim him near to death. There had to be something he could attempt. He could not allow the wizarding community to fall into ruins due to the power obsession of a mad man. He had known for certain that Voldemort had not been dead, even though he was stuck as a wraith and could not do much at this point. The start of the year feast had ended and he had returned to the Headmaster's cabin to try and relax. He had sensed something vile enter into the school but couldn't pin-point the exact details or where or with whom it had entered. He needed time to make sure the school remained safe.
Albus was approached by his mentor and long time friend Nicholas Flamel a week before with a strange request. The Flamels, well-known for their expertise in alchemy and research on the Philosopher's Stone, had a formal request for one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the chief Warlock of the British Wizengamot, to safeguard the result of their research, a well formed philosopher's stone against the threat of a Dark Lord originated from the country. Albus, unable to deny such a request in the fear of losing the trust of the Flamels, and the infusion of mistrust among the British and French, whose international relations to each other had already been in a tense neutrality, accepted to protect the stone and brought the stone for safekeeping in the castle.
He had known that if he kept the stone nearer to him, he would be tempted sorely to use it at least once for its benefits. Even Albus could not resist the advantages of Elixir of Life produced from the Philosopher's stone. So he devised a plan to keep it as far away from himself as he could, while at the same time keeping it under his observation for safeguarding. After brainstorming for ideas, Albus came forth with a gauntlet of traps and tests for the stone to be approached and also made it nigh impossible for anyone who was seeking it for usage to obtain the stone. Albus himself would not be able to obtain the stone if he had approached what he had enchanted with the intention of using it in whatever way. So he was confident about the arrangements he had made to safeguard it. He had gone through them time and again within the three days he had talked his teachers to complete the gauntlet and found it satisfactory. Since Harry Potter had died due to his negligence, he had not believed himself to handle all of this alone like he had done before. He had written to the Flamels, explaining all the precautions he had taken in order to guard the stone from the pursuer and enchanted it to be legible only to Nicholas Flamel and Perenelle Flamel and no one else.
"Alastor would be proud looking at me taking all these steps" Albus chuckled to himself, which was a rather rare occurrence since he had lost his savior.
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Though Albus had been losing hope to find out the source of dark and oppressive magic in the castle, he had put up a smiling face to address his students and staff members in the Great Hall every day and night. He had become more active in the school and actually tried to improve the quality of the classes by inspecting them from time to time. Only three weeks in and Albus had found the teaching of the Potions Professor and resident Potions Master to be heavily biased towards the Slytherins and also no explanations were given: just instructions on the board and potion on the staff table. Severus Snape would soon find out why Albus was regarded as the strongest wizard alive, he decided.
Slowly, but surely, the level of bullying from the Slytherin Head of House and his students was falling. The grades of several of the Slytherins were revised and corrected according to the standards and Snape was found to be guilty of favoritism and manipulation of results of the students in his class, and for the Slytherins, for other classes as well. Since that day, Severus Snape was under constant scrutiny, and all his actions, including awarding and deducting points, results and also class grades were verified by the Headmaster himself.
Minerva McGonagall was another professor who had to endure the talking of the Headmaster. Despite being strict and fair to all the students she taught, she had been overworked due to the three stressful posts she held in the school. As the Deputy Headmistress, the Head of Gryffindor House, and the Transfiguration Professor, her duties as the Head of one of the four Hogwarts houses were neglected in the shadow of the other duties. So she had been given a chance to either step down as the Deputy Headmistress and take her house matters seriously, or leave the responsibility of the Gryffindor House to Professor Aurora Sinistra to tone down her workload. After a bit of arguing with the Headmaster, she conceded her post as the Gryffindor Head to Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy Professor was informed immediately. Then they both were updated on the acquired and updated responsibilities.
Albus was alone in his office after sending them away. He had not liked to take away a part of Minerva's duties as it was clear that she values her duties but it was really a much needed step towards the betterment of the education of future citizens. If only it was easy to convince Tom Riddle to leave behind the dark thoughts. Albus had tried time and again to direct the passion of the former Slytherin student towards the betterment of those around him. If only he would hear and take heed to the advice. Tom, being one of the Heirs of the founders, could make significant changes when agreed with the Headmaster and the Board of the Governors. In fact, Salazar Slytherin himself was very set on bringing forth the best in his students but had lost his reputation due to a misstep by all four founders. Tom proved to be a troublemaker from the first day he had met him in that Wool's orphanage. Now he had become even more of a danger by claiming to be the Dark Lord.
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Hermione Granger was excited to explore the new world when it was discovered that she was a witch. She was the first one in her family for all its known history. The fact was made known by the Deputy Headmistress Professor McGonagall when she had come with the Hogwarts acceptance Letter the day after her previous birthday on September 20th 1990. Since the school had already started on September 1st, she was admitted for the year of 1991, and here she was after a year long waiting in anticipation and preparation. She has had a problem since childhood. She was bullied for studying hard that she had earned the nickname bookworm. Her classmates refused to be close to her in any way, leaving her with no friends. Due to her studious nature, she was also bullied for her bucktooth and her uncontrollably bushy hair. When she had received her Hogwarts letter, she had developed a new hope to find friends in the new society she would be entering into.
She was very nervous about entering into the wizarding world and hence had fallen into her habit of reading everything she could to be prepared for the wizarding society. When she had boarded the Hogwarts Express, she had found a nervous boy named Neville Longbottom searching for his toad named Trevor. She had agreed to help him find the toad, but in the end that was of no use. On the way, she had very unpleasant experiences of one blonde named Draco Malfoy and another redhead named Ron Weasley. The blonde insulted her parentage and the redhead was a bit rude to her while answering. Having experienced such rudeness in her previous school, she thought nothing of the redhead but the blonde had called her out on her parents. She was livid and almost to tears when they returned to her original compartment.
When they reached Hogwarts and were sorted, she was sorted into Gryffindor House, and much to her dismay, Ron Weasley was also sorted in the same house. Now, a month and a half after the train ride, things in the school are mixed. Most of the teachers were awarding her House points for her being prepared for the lesson beforehand, but there was one Potions Professor Severus Snape who repeatedly had shown bigotry and insulted her time and again. Even when she was subjected to the bigotry from the other students and professors, she put her full time into her studies without any distractions.
She had scored very well in all her classes, even Potions since the Headmaster started to validate all the activities by the potions professor and topped all her works. At first, she was reprimanded by her professors for providing too much information which she protested for two weeks, but then Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy Professor had taken her and talked about the issue. Since then she had managed to keep the important points and trim out information not related directly to the specified function. The issue being solved, she was able to find free time to learn more about all of the wizarding traditions. Surprisingly she found very little of any old traditions to be followed. Time had passed very quickly for her and Halloween arrived. From what she heard, the Purebloods despised the Headmaster for dishonouring the tradition of Samhain and she was set to learn more about the traditional celebration and noted in her notebook to access after the Halloween passed.
On Halloween morning, Professor Flitwick conducted charms class as per schedule. Hermione was trying to concentrate on the basics of her spell before casting it to levitate the feather off of the desk. Ron Weasley, the redheaded Gryffindor boy, was furiously trying to get the spell to work by sheer force. In the process, he came too close to hitting Hermione one too many times. So she stopped him in the middle and tried to help him to get the right movements for the spell. But the redhead decided to call her a know-it-all bookworm and she recoiled as previous memories of bullying came forward. She had managed to at least clear her mind and when she was called out that she could not perform the spell herself by Ron, she took a deep breath and successfully cast the levitation charm in the first try. She had a small sense of petty satisfaction when Ron looked at her, mouth agape.
After the lecture was over, she was heading out to the ground with all the other students, when she heard Ron Weasley berate her for her progress in the charms class. She was reminded of all the times she was shoved and pushed around in her primary school due to similar reasons of being ahead of others. There was a feeling of hurt which was steadily rising in her chest even if she was too stubborn to accept it. Her self control was steadily waning. Though she had put up an uncaring front in front of the others, she deeply cared about the others' opinion of her. Now she could not control her outbreak of emotions. She pushed past Ron and ran fast, away from the group, not noticing where she was headed. She ran straight to the second floor and ran into the girls' bathroom and wailed her eyes out. She knows no one would come to help her. She did not need them to get herself into control. It will take some time, but she will do it alone. As she had all the time in the past.
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Albus Dumbledore was hosting the Halloween Feast at the end of the day, with all the decorations made for the event. He had already consulted with the staff members, who, despite being uncomfortable when they were affected by his decisions, were grateful that those decisions were the reason for the vast improvement in the teaching standards in Hogwarts and its steady rise in status nearing its former glory. He noticed that though most of the students were present in the feast, some of the Slytherins and quite a few Ravenclaws chose not to attend. He had not noticed the absentee student in the Gryffindor table when he had cast a quick glance at the table. The feast had begun and everyone present was enjoying their time and desserts. Then in the middle of the feast, Professor Quirrell, the Defence Professor, came running into the Great Hall, dashing through the Doors.
"TROLL! TROLL! IN THE DUNGEONS! Thought you ought to know…" he fainted, not knowing the chaos he had left behind. Albus Dumbledore was shocked. How had he not sensed a troll entering the school? Was he losing his touch? No. No. That should not be. He had spread his senses to get any clue on the darkness lurking in the troll's magic, and he had found what he was looking for the past two months. The shade of Voldemort is now inside the Hall. Everyone is rushing to their common rooms as he had already ordered instructed them to do. Every staff member was directed to face the troll and subdue it. He had stayed behind and tried to pinpoint the location of the wraith. After a few moments he had sensed it from the Defence Professor. So he contained the man by sending a few mild stunners on his way and levitated the unresponsive man to a corner. Then he headed to the troll to help subdue it.
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Hermione knew she had missed the Halloween Feast. She didn't care. She knew that no one would miss her, nor would anyone notice her missing. It was always the same everywhere. Even her parents were slowly distancing her, though they were more subtle about it, she had noticed. But she had learnt not to complain about anything. Complaining makes it that much harder. First, they deny vehemently that nothing wrong was done. Then they turn on her for accusing. Then they brand her a cheat. That had not happened yet but she had observed far too many cases not to understand.
She was lost in her thoughts and had not noticed the footsteps of the huge creature heading near the bathroom she decided to spend the night in. She had known enough spells to make it more bearable. So she did. But now, an unknown foe was arriving, sensing her presence from her scent and no one was near to help her. When the troll came closer, she had come to her senses. But it was too late. The troll had started to club its way through anything it had encountered in the search of its prey. The bathroom sinks were broken and stalls were damaged. Hermione, staying in the last stall, was shocked by the sheer size of her foe and could not make her move in time. The troll had struck the stall and it collapsed on her. She had been hurt badly, but she would not go down without fighting back. She drew her wand and started casting spells at the troll. She had tried various cutting spells, the knockback jinx, and many others she had studied in the books. But it was of no use. The troll had swung again and this time Hermione's legs were crushed under the heavy club. She roared in agony, so much so that her throat hurts and cast more ferociously, putting her all into it. Then an idea popped into her head and when the troll went swinging the club again, she had cast the levitation charm on the club to stop it from hitting her. Then she dropped the rather heavy club on the troll's head, knocking it unconscious.
She was panting at the usage of her magical core almost to exhaustion, she had known, she could feel it. She looked down and saw both her legs crushed to pulp, and she was bleeding from the head as well. She resigned herself. She knew she could not be saved. Even if she was, she would live only a half life, depending on those who would not at all want to help her. She smiled and closed her eyes, and slowly slipped into oblivion.
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Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, accompanied by two heads of houses Professor Sinistra and Professor Flitwick, passed through the whole Dungeon network to locate the troll and when they reached the girls bathroom at the farther end of the school, they have seen the troll's hand through the entrance which was destroyed, just staying still. They cautiously reached forward and cast spells at the troll, eventually declaring it dead by the crushing of the brain and entered the bathroom to evaluate the damage it had caused which was clearly visible even from the outside. Upon entering, they have found the unconscious body of one bushy haired girl, bleeding from all places like she was thrown across the room multiple times, and even her skull which is cracked on the right side is visible through the bloodied scalp. They rushed her to the Hospital Wing for emergency treatment. Madam Pomfrey had one look at her and almost retched. She had taken to her treatment immediately, and managed to inject some of the bone regrowing potion into her system, but she noticed that with the amount of magic expended from her system, the cure might be very slow. She had cast spells on the girl to try and sustain her life. She turned to her colleagues who brought her in, and shook her head. Then she started talking.
"She is in critical condition as of now, her legs were completely destroyed, her ribs broken, her skull crushed, and blood seeped into the brain. She may live, but there is only a very slim chance at that. But if she could survive the night, then she will live, even though she will be forever crippled. Whatever happened to her to cause such damage?"
"She had fought a troll and managed to kill it. I wonder if she was in the Great Hall at the feast to begin with. She was a very clever girl, as her grades and her approach to the tasks show. But now, she had either done the stupidest thing, or she was caught in the troll's rampage and was desperate to escape."
The matron sighed, and nodded. But just then, the headmaster had announced for all the staff members to enter the Great Hall immediately. So they rushed after ensuring the girl was given the best chance to survive.
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Hermione found herself in the library of Crawley, but there was something strange. Everything here was white, as white as milk and much brighter even. She looked around to find what was happening. There was no one around. She must be hallucinating. She walked through the library and took out several books she had found interesting, and sat on the table and started with one book. Time passed and she continued reading book after book, and after a while, a long while, she was about to take the sixth book to read when she heard a knock on the library door. She opened the door and stared.
"Hello there, beautiful! What is your name?"
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