AN: Well I'll be honest, I didn't think I'd be coming back to this, but here I am back again, and much of the reason for that was the positive reaction I got for the story when it was crossposted to AO3. Which kind of reinvigorated me for the story and HP in general, which I'll be honest I had become a bit disheartened over of late. But hey, that's the past, and hopefully going forwards updates will continue to come.
So yeah, hope you enjoy, and as always please leave a comment of a review etc. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to PM me.
Another thing while I am at it, is this. I am a part of a discord group, the Emerald Library, there's tons of others there, plenty of writers, admittedly mainly PJO, but other stuff too, including HP writers and a growing number of writers form other fandoms. Feel free to pop along and say hi, I'm always happy to chat about the stuff I am writing. So if you fancy it please do to join by sticking this: discord .gg / elibrary into discord, with no spaces, or using the link on my bio.
Also I've had a couple of people PMing me about this, so decided why not. So, if you'd like to become a patron just head on over to Pat re on and add a /Greed720 after the . com. There's no real pressure for this, and there won't be a paywall or anything like that. Just giving the option if people fancy contributing. Either way, whether you do become a patron or just remain a casual reader it's appreciated.
Thanks for reading and please do leave a review, that or feel free to PM, I am usually much better at answering those!
( - )
(Last Time)
"It means that the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts," Hermione said coolly, as she then stood to help lead the first years away, even as Dumbledore concluded his speech and dismissed them for the night.
Harry meanwhile, remained silent, and bode the other two goodbyes before he made to follow Neville to the common room.
Without a word, he moved over, so he was next to the chubby teen as they made their way out of the great hall and towards the common room. After all, he was quite curious about what Longbottom was really like in this time, and whether he was as useless as Harry initially believed he was after their interactions during the feast, or whether he was someone that he could find useful.
( - )
Chapter 9
( - )
(Last Time)
( - )
(With Harry)
As he walked along the corridor with Longbottom by his side, Harry couldn't help but notice how many students were whispering, staring, and pointing at him as he passed.
Looking around, as he wove his way through the crowd in the entrance hall and up the marble staircase, he frowned.
From what he could see, the Ministry's ongoing PR attack on both Dumbledore and himself, had done far more damage than he had first thought. There were a lot of people gawping at him, or sending him judgmental looks, even as they turned and muttered to their friends. As if these little shits had the right to judge him!
Taking a couple of concealed shortcuts he remembered from his own time at the school, Harry quickly left most of the crowds behind, as he and Longbottom instead headed up to the deserted upper corridors and towards the Gryffindor common room. Thankfully, having visited several times before, he knew the way.
Making idly chitchat with Longbottom as he walked – mostly small talk about their respective summers, or rather about Longbottom's summer as Harry didn't have much to talk – Harry couldn't help but ponder on what he'd seen of Hogwarts so far.
In hindsight, he should have expected the reaction he'd received from the other students, after all it was not all that different to what had happened in his time, back when Longbottom had been the brat who lived. Only back then it hadn't been as bad as now. After all, Longbottom had more protection from the papers because of his remaining family than Harry currently did. Plus, back then he'd been one of the judgmental little shits eyeing Boy-Who-Lived up cautiously as he waited to see what happened, and how he could best adapt and accommodate to the changing situation.
Of course, everyone was staring at him: He had emerged from the Triwizard maze, what, two months ago? Clutching the dead body of a fellow student and claiming to have seen Lord Voldemort return to power.
Considering the timing of it, his counterpart had obviously not had enough time last term to explain himself before everyone went home. Which in turn meant that the gullible students had been left wanting, and had instead had to get their explanation for what had happened from the heavily biased news articles in the Daily Prophet. Which surely made it only natural that the sheep would have lapped up whatever swill the government backed paper would have put out in that time.
It was irritating, after all, this was the kind of attention he most certainly didn't want.
What good was there in being a cultural icon like the 'Boy-Who-Lived' when everyone thought him an attention seeking liar?
He had to hold back a scowl at that thought.
It was already bad enough he'd been lumbered with Longbottom's old title, making him Voldemort's number one target. But with the ongoing media onslaught, he couldn't even leverage his fame right now to improve his own position, or set himself up with a cushy place in society.
Unless of course there were some holdouts within the student body who still supported openly him?
Somehow he doubted it.
In reality, there were probably more than a few out there that believed his counterpart, or at the very least a good number that were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But they were probably still in a minority, and were a very silent minority at that. They were kind of people that were either like him, and thus knew better than to standout when it wasn't fortuitous to do so. Or, they were cowards that lacked the bravery to stand up and speak out for themselves.
Either way, his support base at the school was dire, and as far as he could tell consisted of the Weasleys, Granger, possibly Longbottom, and maybe a handful of others that had the balls to stand up and be counted.
It wasn't great.
Then again, considering how socially inept his counterpart appeared to be, maybe that wasn't surprising. After all, who went through school with only two close friends?
School was a place to network, make contacts, and build bridges that could be used for advancement in later life. Hogwarts, or at least in his opinion, had been an easy place to make friends, especially at the start when everyone was on a level footing. They were all awkward, insecure, nervous and as desperate as everyone else for friendship, belonging and support, even the pureblood toffs.
It was only later that they formed cliques, crafted social groups, and began to develop more fixed personalities. By the time fifth year rolled around, most of the friendship groups were fixed. Which meant he'd have his work cut out for him infiltrating existing groups, and crafting a new power base for himself at this late stage.
It was annoying really, after all even he as a socially awkward Ravenclaw had been able to gather a group of useful friends; people he could spend time with when he was bored, or fall back on when he needed something. He'd also made acquaintances with those from well-connected families. The types who he knew, even back then, would go on to be successful from sheer nepotism alone.
He'd never been the most popular or social of people, more of an introverted loner by nature. But, even without any of the fame or attention being the Boy-Who-Lived brought with it, he had managed to create himself a decent support base.
The other Harry by contrast had been a useless shut-in in comparison, even Longbottom for all his ineptness had had more gumption, charm, and pragmatism than the other Harry.
Yes, it was very irritating to be sent back to square one.
Still, at least this time, as annoying as it would most likely become, he could leverage his fame, and maybe a good dash of his innate talents, to get himself a good head start.
He nodded to himself at that through, even as he reached the end of the corridor to the Gryffindor common room and came to a halt in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, his gaze roving over her familiar rotund form for a moment, before he turned and gave the still gabbling Longbottom a flat look.
The boy from what he had seen so far was a neurotic chatterbox with an inferiority complex about a mile wide. Already he'd spent most of their conversation talking about a stupid plant, and the fact his grandmother thought him only inept, instead of woefully inept like she did before.
It was a stark contrast to the almost arrogant, self-confident prat with a superiority complex, he'd been familiar with.
They were both idiots, but this one was a doormat at the moment when compared to his counterpart.
He personally thought it was an improvement, as it gave him more to work with.
"Neville," Harry said patiently, cutting across the other boy's rambling.
Looking up, Neville blinked in surprise as he saw where they were.
"Oh wow, we're already here," He chuckled awkwardly.
"Seems so," Harry replied, holding back a sarcastic retort. He was going to play nice for now, and see how the land lay before making any drastic moves. "Do you know the password?"
"Oh, yeah, I know it!" Neville brightened up. "Guess what it is? I'm actually going to be able to remember it for once —" He waved the stunted little cactus he had in his hands, the one he'd been talking about for the last several minutes. "Mimbulus mimbletonia!"
Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes, as he instead gave the plump boy a smile.
"Correct," Fat Lady said grandly, her portrait swinging open toward them like a door as she spoke, revealing a circular hole in the wall behind her through which Harry and Neville both climbed.
Looking around the room as they entered, he was unsurprised to see that the Gryffindor common room looked as shabby as he remembered it being from the few times he'd been in it before, or at least the alternative version of it.
The room was circular and full of dilapidated squashy armchairs and rickety old tables. A fire was crackling merrily in the grate, and a few people were noticeably warming their hands before going up to their dormitories. On the other side of the room, he could see the Weasley twins were pinning something up on the notice board. He didn't care enough right now to check what.
Glancing around, Harry decided to once again not comment.
The common room didn't hold a candle to the sleek, sumptuous Ravenclaw common room.
But that said, it was better far than his cell in Azkaban.
He had endeavoured to think more positively about things this time around. That, and he knew he had to be more open-minded and cunning going forwards, especially if he wanted to not only survive the upcoming war, and both Dumbledore's fumbling and Voldemort's psychotic behaviour, but actually come out of it a better position than he had going in.
Forcing a smile, Harry gave Neville a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"Thanks for the password, mate." He said.
"Ah, right, no problem," Neville replied, flushing slightly.
Nodding, Harry headed for the door to the boys' dormitories. Neville followed him.
Stopping at the entrance, Harry turned and 'politely' gestured for Neville to go ahead.
Smiling, Neville led the way to their dormitory, with Harry following after him. As they walked he made sure to ask a few cursory questions about the stunted cactus the chubby boy was still clinging onto, as they went, just enough to make it seem he was interested, but not enough to provoke another lecture on the matter.
Herbology had never really interested him that much. Sure, there were some cool plants out there with some pretty funky properties. Some were deadly and poisonous, some had effects on the human mind or body, and others had stranger and far more esoteric properties.
In fact, with enough knowledge, a person could use the natural properties of plants to make themselves invisible, grow gills, give themselves super strength, regenerate whole limbs, or turn their flesh to rock. A skilled enough practitioner could use magical plants to mimic the effects of powerful spells.
But then again, a relatively competent wizard with a decent grasp of Charms and Transfiguration could actually use said spells. So in reality the study of Herbology was more trouble than it was worth in terms of time that would need to be put into mastering it, and the results of that mastery.
Or at least, that was how the cynical, jaded old Harry, used to think.
The new Harry was going to be far more open-minded, even if he had to put up with blathering idiots at times.
Sighing at that thought, Harry followed Neville into the dormitory, only to come to a stop as he saw Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan had reached the dormitory first and were in the process of covering the walls beside their beds with posters and photographs.
The irony of coming across these two, after his last, though, was not lost on him.
Looking around at his past victim and tormentor, Harry quickly picked up on the silence that spread through the room as the two of them noticed him. Both his victim and tormentor had abruptly stopped talking the moment they'd seen him.
It was pretty obvious that they had either been talking about him, or about something related to him, prior to his arrival, and a part of him was pretty sure he knew the general gist of what they'd been saying.
It was the only explanation for the awkward silence that followed his entrance.
"Well, hello there," Harry said, forcing a smile as he moved across to his own trunk and opened it, his free hand slipping into the pocket of his robes and gripping onto the handle of his new wand. He wouldn't attack first, but he didn't trust either of the little shits to be sensible.
"Hey, Harry," Dean replied with a smile.
Glancing over at the boy, he could see the counterpart of his former jailer was still a gawky teen, and not the petulant, broody little shit he remembered. He was also currently pulling on a pair of garish pajamas. The differences between the grim Dean that he had tormented in Azkaban and this one was enough to make him relax, slightly.
"Good holiday?" Dean continued.
"Not bad" Harry replied, turning to face the boy now, his hand still gripping his wand. A part of him wanted to curse the little shit, unjustified though it might be considering this iteration hadn't yet done anything to annoy him. "You?"
"Yeah, it was okay," Dean chuckled, chucking his school shirt onto the top of his trunk as he did so. "Better than Seamus's anyway, he was just telling me…"
"Why, what happened, Seamus?" Neville asked as he placed his Mimbulus mimbletonia tenderly on his bedside cabinet.
Pulling off his robes, Harry neatly folded them and put them into his trunk. His expression calm, as he then proceeded to undress, even as he pulled out a pair of his pyjama bottoms from his trunk, before he then fully stripped and pulled them on. Body-shame didn't matter much to him anymore, not after spending several months half naked in the bowels of Azkaban.
Seamus did not answer Neville immediately; as he instead continued to mess around with his poster of the Kenmare Kestrels Quidditch team. Before, without turning around, he spoke up. "Me mam didn't want me to come back to Hogwarts."
"Well, that's a bit shit," Harry said bluntly.
Neville gave him a surprised look.
Dean, meanwhile, sank onto his bed and looked back and forth between the two of them.
"Yeah, pretty shit." Seamus said, turning away from his poster. "Do you want to know why?"
"Do I need too?" Harry asked disinterestedly. "Sounds like your business, not mine."
Seamus grunted, his expression darkening.
"W-why?" Neville asked nervously. The pudgy boy looked distinctly uncomfortable as he looked around the now tense room.
Dean by this point had gotten up and gone back to his posters, and was once again messing around with them, or at least he seemed to be. More likely, he was trying to inconspicuously listen in while not actually appearing to be doing so.
"Well," Seamus said in a measured voice, his brow furrowing as he turned to look at Neville, "I suppose it's because of Harry."
"Oh, really?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowing.
It appeared Seamus's mother was one of the gullible sheep that believed all the dribble the newspaper's spewed, and that Seamus, like the little momma's boy he obviously was, had fallen in line with his mother's asinine beliefs.
It was for reasons, like this, that he didn't feel all that guilty about killing him.
He hadn't known Seamus all that well the first time around. But his reputation as a hot-headed idiot, with more balls than brains, had preceded him. Back when they had fought the first time, he'd been all anger and confidence, and had very little in the way of analytical thought and common sense. It'd been almost too easy to break his defences and gut him.
Right now however, violence wasn't an option.
Or at least it wouldn't be his first option.
Seamus's attitude was a problem, but not an insurmountable one. With the right approach, his truculent attitude could be easily redirected.
"Well, yeah…" Seamus said awkwardly, still avoiding Harry's gaze. "She... er... well, it's not just you, it's Dumbledore too..."
Harry hummed in acknowledgement, his eyes momentarily flicking to where his wand was resting on his bedside table, before shifting to where his spare wand was currently stashed within his folded up robes. All he needed to do was wandlessly summon one of them, and he could slaughter all three of the brats before they even realised what was happening.
Thankfully, he wasn't an idiot.
Nor was he an overly emotional hot-headed who'd fly off the handle for stupid reasons.
Instead, he was the mentally healthy, open-minded, sensible version of himself.
The version that had found inner peace, sort of.
"Oh, well, I can see why she might think that." Harry replied, with a sad smile, and a commiserating tone. "They were going a bit heavy on all the libel about how I'm a liar and Dumbledore's an old fool. Or, well, I suppose they were probably right about Dumbledore being old and a bit foolish. But, well, just because he's old and an oddball, doesn't necessarily mean he's wrong or a liar… I mean, does it?"
"Well-" Seamus started to say, his brow furrowing in confusion as he finally looked at Harry.
"I mean, he's Headmaster of Hogwarts, and is a powerhouse of the wizarding world. He's been playing the game for nearly a century now, and has managed to stay on top. Which, you know, does beg the question, why would he risk everything he's been working on for a lie? Especially one which could be easily disproved by even a cursory investigation?" Harry interrupted, a note of amusement entering his voice.
"Well, he's old… and you know, going senile…" Seamus replied lamely. "The Prophet-"
"Possibly, but don't you think the Hogwarts board of governors would have removed him from his position if they thought that was the case?" Harry asked curiously.
"He did get removed from his position as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot though?" Dean chipped in. The other teen had given up on pretending to play around with his poster. "Just saying."
"Both of which are political positions that the Minister of Magic and his cabal can influence directly. Really, you have to wonder, though, why haven't there been any investigations into whether or not what Dumbledore is saying is true or false? The Prophet didn't report on any investigations, not into Cedric's death, or into the fact that someone had interfered with the Triwizard Cup, or even into the possibility of the Dark Lord's return? Just as there were no proper investigations into just how Sirius Black escaped Azkaban, or why there were Death Eaters attacking the World Cup… It makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Harry pressed, a slight smile spreading across his face as he locked eyes with Seamus and used his legilimency to push uncertainty and doubt into his mind. Not enough to be noticeable, but just enough to get the job done. The Mind Arts were handy like that.
"Yeah, I suppose it is a bit weird…" Seamus allowed, his brow furrowing as he looked uncertainly over at Dean.
"It could have been happening behind the scenes, though?" Dean muttered, before he shrugged.
"Maybe, but if the investigation did happen, and if they did disprove Dumbledore, then why didn't the Daily Prophet, the government controlled paper, report on it? Surely it would have been more beneficially for them to report actual, irrefutable evidence to disprove him, as opposed to just making snide comments and denigrating his character?" Harry asked, his attention turning to Dean now, the disarming smile remained on his face, even as his eyes twinkled slightly.
Dean nodded his head in agreement with is words.
Seamus, meanwhile, sank onto his bed with a befuddled expression.
"You know, the muggles, they have this saying about how once is an accident, twice is a coincidence and a third time, well, the third time is a pattern. Considering we had Sirius Black, the Dark Lord's most loyal servant, escape the inescapable Azkaban through still as yet unknown means; and then not even a year later we had the Dark Lord's remaining followers suddenly acting out in the open for the first time in decades…. Well, surely that means that this third event, an undercover Death Eater long thought dead at Hogwarts, and the deliberate and undeniable sabotage of the Triwizard Tournament, isn't a coincidence?" Harry continued, his eyes boring into Dean.
A simple push of doubt, with a hint of anger, was all it took for his suggestion to find root in his mind.
"Those fuckers," Dean scowled, his eyes narrowing as he quickly thought over what he'd just been told. "They really are hiding something, aren't they?"
"Seems like it," Seamus nodded, a scowl on his face too. "When you put it like that, it does seem a bit messed up. They never did say much about the Death Eater's at the finals, and those fucks were going mental! They almost got me mam and some of our friends!"
"Smells like a cover-up to me," Harry suggested softly, allowing the outrage to sink in.
"Slimy politicians," Dean grumbled. "They're always fucking someone over."
"Me mam always told me never to trust them. She always said they were self-interested gits that you couldn't trust as far as you could blast 'em." Seamus growled, kicking his trunk.
"It's just typical media control, isn't it? They're leaning on the papers to print what they want people to hear. All so they can mask their own failures, stop public panic, and protect themselves and their positions. Politics of self, it is endemic in modern politics." Harry shrugged, before glancing over at Seamus. "It might be worth telling your mum to ask your dad about it. He's a muggle, right? From what I've seen, the muggle politicians are just as corrupt and incompetent as the wizard ones, though maybe a little less insidious in how they play on people's fears and blatantly lie and connive."
Seamus nodded, his expression still dark as he continued to grumble to himself.
Dean also looked irritated, a slight scowl on his face as well, as he joined Seamus in his complaining.
"What about you, Neville?" Harry asked, turning to the former Brat-Who-Lived. "What did your gran think? Did she see through by Fudge's bullshit?"
"Fucking Fudge," Seamus muttered. "Who would even elect someone that stupid and incompetent?"
"Have you met a pureblood? As a rule, they tend to be inbred idiots…" Harry said mildly, before forcing a smile as he looked at Neville. "With several exceptions to the rule, of course."
"Oh, err, well she believes you Harry, we all do" Neville said simply, his face flushing slightly. "My gran's always said You-Know-Who would come back one day. She says if Dumbledore says he's back, he's back."
"Well, they didn't call him the darkest wizard of our time without reason," Harry nodded sagely. From what he remembered, both Dean and Seamus were loudmouthed, outspoken, and gregarious. They were also friendly with most of their house, and a number of Hufflepuffs in their year too. With the right push, they could be useful going forwards. "And, not to put myself down, but I was a one year old baby at the time he came for my family, and considering I wasn't even potty trained let alone trained with a wand back then, how was I supposed to have beaten him? The way I see it, something happened that injured him, maybe a backfiring spell, or some wards my parents set up. Either way, he was injured, weakened and forced to flee, but not killed…"
Seamus, Dean and Neville were all listening in avidly.
It appeared the other Harry had never openly spoken about his past, or just what happened that night. Which was good, as in this case his counterpart's social ineptness would be useful.
"Well, it makes sense, doesn't it?" Harry continued, making eye contact with each teen as he spoke. "The Ministry never found a body, or at least they never said they did, and if you ask me: 'habeas corpus', show me the body? If there was never a body, then there was never any definitive evidence that he died, which would then mean that the fact he has returned is not some grand piece of magic, or horrific conspiracy, but a distinct possibility! Nay, considering the events of the last few years and his own reputed power, an absolute probability… wouldn't you say?"
The three teens all looked confused, but still nodded along, agreeing.
Harry smiled.
He had long ago mastered the ancient art of making stuff up and bullshitting.
"What's going on?" Ron suddenly asked as he appeared in the doorway. His wide eyes travelling from Harry, who was still lounging on his bed, to Seamus, Dean and Neville, who were all standing around him, listening in.
"Just chatting," Harry replied with a smile.
"Harry's poking holes in the Ministry's lies," Dean said.
"Yeah, he's at least making sense." Seamus grumbled, an embarrassed flush now on his face. "I'm going to need to mail me mam, and tell her to stop subscribing to the Daily Prophet."
"They are insidious and manipulative. They prey on people's fears, and often try and twist and sensationalise facts into lies. They do it to sell papers, and whip up fear and hysteria. It's all about making money and controlling the populace." Harry nodded, pushing himself up to his feet now, and patting Seamus's shoulder comfortingly.
"It's horrible the way they've twisted things and scared your mum, and I'm sorry that it led to her pressuring you about not coming back to Hogwarts. We should be able to trust the Ministry, but well, politicians and tabloid journalists… you know how they are…?" Harry said, trailing off, and allowing the others to answer for him.
"Wankers," Seamus growled, before looking up. "Yeah, and I'm sorry too, Harry. I shouldn't have believed that crap. I mean, I've known you for years now, and I know you're a decent bloke, and not the kind of guy that'd just make things up."
"It's okay man, no hard feelings. You're my friend, Seamus, and friends forgive each other." Harry replied, solemnly. "You're still my mate, and don't worry about me, I'll get by and not let it bother me."
"Well, you won't be alone, mate." Seamus said, slapping him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, we've got your back." Dean added in with a nod. "We'll pass on the word, and get people to see sense, and if we hear anyone chatting shit behind your back we'll set them right!"
"I-I'll b-back you up too!" Neville chipped in.
"Thanks, you guys, you're the best." Harry smiled, looking around at them all. "I knew I could rely on you. I only hope everyone else is as smart and open minded as you lot. Well, maybe not the Slytherins…."
"Those slimy gits are probably excited You-Know-Who is back." Dean scowled.
"Probably frothing at the mouth, and already preparing to get on their knees to suck his cock." Seamus laughed, his expression twisting in distaste at the mention of their rival House.
"Wouldn't surprise me, considering their families are probably already aligning with the Dark Lord. Their families which are generally rich and pureblooded, and you know, have massive influence at the Ministry, like the Malfoys…." Harry added in idly. "It does make you wonder about just how much control Fudge has over at the Ministry, and how much of a puppet he actually is…."
"I'm so confused right now…?" Ron asked plaintively, looking around at the others.
"Don't worry about it, I'll tell you in the morning. For now, tell me about your Prefecting? How did it feel having absolute power?" Harry waved him away. He'd leave his previous comments to percolate in the minds of the others for the moment.
"Ha, absolute power, I feel more like a glorified babysitter…" Ron replied, a hint of relief showing on his face at Harry's warm response, and his friendly smile.
"Wait, Weasley is the Prefect, and not you?" Seamus asked shocked. Only for him to flush when he saw Ron's expression fall. "No offence, mate."
"Of course he is, Ron is a responsible guy. Me, I'm far too mischievous." Harry cut in smoothly, a winning smile on his face as he slapped the taller red haired teen on the back bracingly.
He might not particularly like Weasley, and he certainly didn't want him hanging around him like his iterations had fawned over Longbottom, it was far too creepy and inconvenient. But he could at least be useful going forwards, after all he was loyal, easy to please with just a few token offerings, and a Prefect.
"Ha yeah, I remember you always seemed to land yourself in trouble every year without fail!" Dean laughed.
"What can I say, you lot are obviously a bad influence," Harry shot back, sharing a knowing smile with Ron.
The others all laughed at his words, even as they all denied the accusation, and he deliberately rolled his eyes at their denials.
Pulling out some leftover sweets from the train, Harry smiled as he began to pass them out to his dorm mates, even as they settled down and continued to talk and catch up, the atmosphere much more open and easy-going now that the air had been cleared.
He'd allow himself to relax for the moment, as tomorrow would be a busy day.
( - )
(The Next Morning)
The next morning began with the entire hustle and bustle that could be expected from the first day of school.
Wandering down the stairs after a quick shower, Harry made sure to make light conversation with his dorm mates as he made it to the common room. With the four of them soon joining a surprised looking Hermione, who had been waiting for them, at the bottom of the stairs, before, after some morning small talk, they soon made their way downstairs. Parvati, Lavender, Lily Moon, the rest of the fifth year Gryffindor girls, joined them all en route.
Fading into the background as Seamus and Dean started chatting with Lavender, Lily and Parvati, and while Ron and Hermione talking, Harry ignored the stares and mutters of those around him, with him instead using his housemates as shields while he took the time to look around at Hogwart's ancient and familiar halls.
For all his internal complaints about coming back to school, he had missed the place.
Hogwarts had been the first real home he had ever had.
It'd been the first, and perhaps only, place he had ever felt like he belonged.
Living in the orphanage and being surrounding by unexceptional muggles had been a boring and miserable experience. But here he had been among peers, he'd been able to learn magic and theories from accomplished wizards and witches, and debate theories and philosophies within the confines of his House. He'd made useful friends, and worthwhile rivals, against whom he could hone his craft and talent.
Hogwarts had both been a home, and the perfect testing ground for him.
He'd always felt safe within her halls, even when Longbottom and his idiot friends had been off causing chaos or attracting trouble.
Harry smiled to himself, allowing the background noise from the others talking to wash over him, as he instead basked in the glow of being back in his first home.
The last time he had left these hallowed halls, he'd been confident bordering on arrogant about his future. He'd had a plan, one that he thought would elevate him to the high life, and thrust him into the upper echelons of the wizarding world.
In hindsight, his plan had been marginally flawed and based on base assumptions. After all, the general gist of his plan had been to always back the winning side, to be seen to be useful, but never in a way that would get him killed or limit his chances of changing sides or fleeing the country, if needed. It had all been about going with the flow. Back then, he hadn't trusted in Dumbledore having a plan and in Longbottom being anything other than incompetent. Instead, he'd seen Voldemort's power, worked out his plan, and, after nearly a year of observation, had come to the conclusion that his victory was a full-blown conclusion.
Suffice to say, mistakes were made.
But that had been then with faulty information, and this was now, and right now he was back, and he had another chance to get things right.
Smiling at that thought, Harry followed the others into the great hall, his gaze instinctively shifting to the Ravenclaw as they entered.
His old friends were all there, chatting amiably together, or reading books as they ate. From what he could see, several of them were already in the midst of a lively debate.
He felt an unexpected pang of loss in him at the sight, and he wasn't sure why.
Shaking his head, Harry looked up and saw that the enchanted ceiling above seemed to be echoing the current mood that had just fallen upon him; it was gray and overcast.
"Hey Harry, you comin'?" Seamus called out, catching his attention.
Hearing his voice, Harry forced a smile as he turned and headed over to them, turning his back on the Ravenclaw table as he did so.
Seamus, Dean and Neville had all grabbed seats in the middle of the far more rowdy Gryffindor table, with Lavender, Parvati and Lily all joining them. Noticeably, they had left a space for him in the centre of their midst. Much to the obvious confusion of both Weasley and Granger as they looked at him in askance, both of them milling around the edges of the group waiting for him to join them.
Glancing over to where the others were sitting. He saw, Lavender, a pretty, extroverted blonde, the most popular girl in school type, with pouty pink lips and sky blue eyes. Like Ron and Hermione, she also looked confused as she glanced between him and the other boys in their year. Next to her, were Lily, a small mousy girl, and Parvati, a pretty Indian girl, both of whom also looked at him uncertainly. They didn't look unfriendly, more surprised that he was choosing to sit with them.
Slapping a smile across his face, Harry turned his back on the Ravenclaw table and headed over to his new housemates, his smile widening as he easily slipped into the seat next to Seamus. The Irish boy had been noticeably sucking up to him since their initially explosive conversation last night. He was over correcting for his previous behaviour. On his other side was Parvati, who merely smiled at him as he made himself comfortable.
"Hey Ron, Hermione, you joining?" Harry called out, pitching his voice to be a bit louder than normal, startling his old 'friends' slightly as they both shared a look, before after a moment of hesitation they joined him at the table. Both of them slipped into seats at the fringe of the group.
Sending them a welcoming smile, Harry turned to the others, his eyes trailing over them.
"So how were your summers, eventful?" Harry smiled good-naturedly, his attention on the three girls he had not spoken to yet.
For the first day of school, and after a long summer break, it was the perfect way to break the ice. After all, he hadn't known any of them all that well the first time around. Which meant that this was new ground for him, and as such he'd need to tread carefully so as to avoid stepping on any potential landmines.
"Erm, not bad? " Lavender said carefully, her eyes shifting to Parvati for a moment, before returning to him. "How about you?"
"Chaotic would be an understatement," He replied good-naturedly, filling up his plate with food. "Trust me, it's actually a relief to be back at school, and with my friends again."
Harry looked around and favoured them all a smile.
Lavender looked surprised for a moment, before she smiled too. "Yeah, I saw some of what the Daily Prophet was-"
"Ha, that rag," Seamus scoffed, interrupting her as he put his glass of orange juice down. "Me mam was the same. She read it, and well, she actually believed some of the crap they were saying!"
"So you don't believe it?" Parvati asked, her eyes alight with interest, only for her to bite her lip and send Harry an apologetic look moments later.
Harry gave her a soft, knowing smile. "It's fine, I've read their lies too. I don't blame you for being fooled by it. It's a government owned paper that's being pressured into spreading misinformation and propaganda by the Ministry and the Minister's pureblood friends."
Parvati and Lavender shared a look.
Seamus, Dean and Neville meanwhile nodded along, even as they took up the conversation from there, parroting much of what he'd told them last night to Parvati, Lily and Lavender, and to anyone else in hearing range. They weren't quite covering everything he'd told them, but there was enough to lay the seeds for later.
Smiling at this, Harry listening along, occasionally chipping in here and there to add more flavour or redirect things, even as he observed the others reactions. With him occasionally making eye contact with some of those nearby when his name was mentioned, even as he nodded along to what the others were saying, and added his own two cents every now and then.
Peripherally, as this took place, he could see both Weasley and Granger being edged out slightly, as the others crowded in, and the conversation began to flow more smoothly, even as their other housemates, both those older and younger arrived and the keynotes of the conversation continued to spread.
It was nice to see.
Sipping his tea, Harry continued to watch and observe for the moment.
Or at least he tried to.
Unfortunately, around fifteen or twenty minutes into breakfast he was distracted by a tall, black girl with long, braided hair marching up to where he was sat with an intense expression on her face.
Her arrival put the dampener on the conversation for the moment, as the others took note of her and shifted so as to listen in to whatever she had to say.
"Hi, Angelina." Harry said, forcing a smile. He recognised the girl. She'd been two years above him in school, and had been one of the Gryffindor's star chasers. The few times he'd been tempted out to watch one of the Quidditch matches, he'd heard the commentator shout out her name more than once. What had happened to her after she left school though, he no idea.
"Hi," Angelina said briskly, her gaze momentarily shifting around the group he'd gathered around him before focussing back in on him, "good summer?" She asked, only for her not to wait for an answer, "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."
"Congratulations," Harry said with forced patience. If this was all she'd interrupted him for, he'd be annoyed.
"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper now Oliver's left. Try-outs are on Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new person'll fit in." Angelina pressed on, waving away his congratulations.
"Okay," Harry said slowly. In response, she smiled at him and departed as fast as she had arrived.
"I'd forgotten Wood had left," Hermione piped up suddenly, drawing Harry's attention to her.
"Do you reckon that will make much of a difference to the team?" Dean asked, a slight grin on his face as he watched Angelina walk away, intently. "Because I was thinking of trying out this year."
"What, as the Keeper?" Ron asked tensely, his face gaining a hint of red.
Lavender and Parvati exchanged a look, and both began to smile.
"Nah, as Chaser," Dean waved him away. "I doubt I'm good enough to replace any of the current ones. Katie and Alicia have them locked down. But if I can get on the bench, then that'll set me up for taking over from Angelina and Alicia when they leave next year!"
"You'll be great man!" Seamus grinned.
"Do you want me to put in a good word for you?" Harry offered, holding back a grimace as he finally clocked onto the meaning behind his sudden interaction with Angelina. The other Harry had been a Seeker, both Ron and Sirius had mentioned his stellar talent at the game to him. Which, of course meant, he was now a Seeker. Which was less than great, as he'd never actually played a game of Quidditch before…. But that was a problem for another time.
"Nah, thanks for the offer, but I want to get in on my own merits, you know?" Dean replied earnestly.
"I get you," Harry nodded, pouring himself some more tea from a seemingly endlessly full teapot as he spoke, before with a smile he looked to the others and offered them a refill too. Both Lavender, Parvati and Neville nodded.
"Yeah, I guess it won't hurt to have some new blood in the team, will it?" Ron chipped in, his face still flushed as he looked over at Harry awkwardly.
From what Harry could see, he looked a bit confused by how things were going. He didn't look comfortable with the new social dynamic. It was a shame, he'd have to work on that, or else the redhead might become problematic, and thus would need to be removed or marginalised.
Before Harry could respond, he was distracted by a whoosh and a clatter as hundreds of owls came soaring in through the upper windows.
Looking up, he watched as they descended all over the Hall, bringing letters and packages to their owners and showering the breakfasters with droplets of water; it was clearly raining hard outside.
Eyeing the swirling flock, Harry didn't spot the tell-tale white flash of his new owl, Hedwig. Not that he'd been expecting much, after all as far as he was aware, and as sad as it was, his only correspondent at the moment was Sirius, and he doubted Sirius would have anything new to tell him after only twenty-four hours apart.
Some of the others did receive something.
Both Lavender and Parvati received copies of Witch Weekly.
Lily and Neville got packages from home. Neville's seemed to be made up of things he had forgotten. While Lily just received a letter.
Hermione, meanwhile, had to move her orange juice aside quickly to make way for a large, damp barn owl bearing a sodden Daily Prophet in its beak.
"What are you still getting that for?" Lavender asked, a note of surprise in her tone as she looked over and saw what Hermione had received. "Considering what you were saying about it last night, I would have thought that you of all people would have cancelled your subscription. I mean, I'm going to write home and tell my parents that they should probably cancel their subscription."
Hermione blinked in surprise at Lavender's words, a hint of pink entering her cheeks.
"W-well, it's best to know what the enemy are saying," Hermione defended, her face flushing as she quickly unfurled the newspaper and disappeared behind it. With her not emerging until the rest of them had finished eating.
"Nothing," Hermione said suddenly. Interrupting the ongoing conversation between the rest of their group as she rolled up the newspaper and laid it down by her plate. "There's nothing about Harry or Dumbledore or anything."
"Good," Seamus grunted.
"Maybe they've decided to lay off for once," Harry shrugged, "Or maybe they've noticed that people are catching onto their tactics."
Hermione gave him a strange look at that comment.
Before she could say anything, however, she was distracted by Professor McGonagall, who he could see had already started moving along the table handing out class schedules.
Smiling at the Gryffindor Head of House as he took his schedule, Harry kept a neutral expression on his face as he eyed it.
From what he could see, his day was going to be pretty shit.
History of Magic which was taught by perhaps the most boring ghost in existence, double Potions which had Snape, the greasiest and nastiest teacher imaginable. That was his morning. His afternoon consisted of Divination for some stupid reason, which meant he'd be stuck with a bat shit crazy drunk for an afternoon, and double Defence Against the Dark Arts with a vile and hideous toad in human form.
Still, he thought, withholding his grimace. He at least had a single free period in the afternoon between Divination and Defence. Which he could hopefully use to re-acquaint himself with the castle, gain access to the Room of Requirement, and of course get a head start on putting together some plans for the future.
( - )
AN: So I'll be honest I'm nervous about how this chapter will be received, as it was a tricky one to write. Partly because I needed to dig out my notes and remember what had happened before, and partly because of the nature of the chapters. I'll be honest though, I leant closer to canon then I intended in places, but overall I'm content. As you should know if you've read the previous chapters, Harry is not always going to be a likeable character. At times he'll be a complete bastard. He's also not the powerhouse he is often portrayed as in other stories. More skilled and talented than an average wizard definitely, but nowhere near in the same league as Voldemort and Dumbledore, which means he often has to use other skills, and other methods to attain victory.
Either way I am looking forward to writing more of this. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it, or continue to do so. If not then please tell what you didn't like, or what you thought could have been done better? Please leave a review, comment etc. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to PM me.
Also I am on a discord with a load of other writers, so if you fancy popping over to ask questions or offer suggestions about this story, or any of my other ones, or to find new authors you might not have come across yet, please feel free to use the link in my bio.
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you later.
Greed720.