Harry Potter and the Resurrection of Camelot
Chapter Eight-D.C. Potter
Author's Note: Here we go! First off...D.C. Potter is not related to Harry! It's just a name. Secondly, we got soem good stuff here. Thirdly, thanks to Circe for geing my beta reader. Fourthly, God bless y'all indeed!
After bidding a steady, heartfelt apology to Fleur for waking him, (and trying to get the taste of Fleur's lipstick off of his lips), Harry followed Hermione.
As it had taken about five or ten minutes before Harry could even stand up or talk coherently, Hermione had been able to sneak relatively out of sight. Harry meandered his way through Hogwarts (running into Hobbes who exclaimed his gratitude that Harry was awake), to the library, to the kitchens, the owlery, and finally the Gryffindor Common Room. Inside, there was no one, but Harry decided to check out the sixth year girl's dormitory.
Inside, on her bed, Hermione Granger was reading a book.
As soon as she heard the door open, she shoved the book under her mattress, and looked at Harry blankly.
A rather awkward silence continued, and Harry finally walked towards Hermione, sat down gently on her bed, and put his arm around her, "Herm, what's wrong?"
Hermione didn't respond, and Harry shook her lightly. "Hermyyyy-ohhhhh-kneeeee....Herm....Hermione? You okay?"
Hermione just looked away at the impeccably clean floor. Harry noted that this was in marked contrast to the boy's dormitories where it was entirely possible that even if the houseelves cleaned all day, all year long, for a millienium, that there would still be a scummy film covering the floor.
"Hey," Harry said looking at Hermione, and touching her cheek gently, tried to get her to look at him. Finally, she did.
"Herm, what's wrong? All I did was wake up..."
Hermione opened her mouth as if to speak, but eventually closed her lips.
Harry leaned over and kissed Hermione gently, and felt her kiss him back. He held her tighter and rubbed her back, feeling pretty good. Eventually, Hermione broke off the kiss and looked at Harry.
"I'm sorry Harry...it's not what Fleur did to you. Although I resent that," Harry saw a flicker of a smile in Hermione's face.
Harry held Hermione close to his side, "Well then, what was it?"
Hermione got up and walked towards the door, pausing briefly and turning around, "Seeing her face made my scar hurt."
Harry's eyes got wide.
Hermione nodded, "Now, as much as I enjoy your company here, could you please leave? I have something very important to work on."
After another kiss, Harry left.
The remaining months of summer flew by with little or no interruptions. Hermione did make a few more trips to the kitchen than were normal, even under the special circumstances in which the five were residing at Hogwarts. Calvin and Hobbes were also secretive, but did inform Harry that it involved a rather major practical joke that they were planning on playing that involved the Feast two days hence.
Ron was the only one who really didn't enjoy the freedom of having Hogwarts to themselves. He was still a girl, and was still not very happy about it.
Harry and Hermione got to enjoy their time together, taking walks, practicing spells, studying, finishing the summer homework, and snogging every once in awhile.
Too soon, September first arrived and Harry, Hermione, Ron, Calvin, and Hobbes were forced to stay at Hogsmeade Station while the rest of the commuting Hogwarts students arrived on the maroon locomotive that was quite famous in the wizarding world.
"Blimey," Ron said for the thoudsandth time, huddled on a wooden bench at the station, "Why do we have to WAIT for so bloody long."
Hermione put a hand above her eyes like and a visor and shook her head, "The Hogwarts Express is late...that doesn't seem normal Harry."
"Mmmmm?" Harry said, he had been in a light daze do to having his arm slipped around Hermione's waist, "Yeah, it worries me a bit."
Temporary Transfiguaration Professor Hobbes Siberia shook his head, "Why do you British always say
'bloody' all the time?"
"And 'blimey'," Calvin put in, waving his wand around a bit and making green and yellow sparks shoot out of it.
"Hilarious," Hermione said, "Why do you Americans always like, say 'like'?"
Hermione apparantly didn't notice her own usage of the word 'like', and Calvin immediately went into a sniggering fit.
Hermione gave Calvin an evil glare, fiddled with her Hogwarts robes and readjusted her prefect's badge. "Hmph."
Harry also was wearing a silver prefect's badge, and was glad that it was just Hermione, Calvin, Ron, and Hobbes here. Fleur was getting in the way quite often at Hogwarts, only saying that she was "preparing for something big". Whether intentionally or not, (most likely the former) Hermione always seemed to work on some new S.P.E.W. project, on which even Harry wasn't allowed to work, whenever she was around.
Suddenly, Harry heard the familar noise of the train as it pulled into Hogsmeade Station, and the five friends enjoyed much backslapping, handshakes, and kisses (for Harry and Hermione at least), on their way to Hogwarts.
Seated in the Great Hall underneath the enchanted night sky, Harry looked around in amazement at the four House tables, grimaced as he saw Draco Malfoy, felt a small sinking in his stomach as he saw Cho, and joined in the loud, expressive laughter that followed the discovery that "Vera" was actually Ron.
Eventually, everyone settled down and Professor Dumbledore, looking much worse for wear then (than) he had last year at this time, called for silence.
"Welcome back to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said in his authoritative, indispensible (A/N: Yeah, I know, C&H treasuries...get over it) voice, "I would like to welcome you to our new term at Hogwarts. There have been several changes since last year. First of all, Professor Minerva McGonagall has stepped down as Head of Gryffindor House, and Transfiguration teacher for a sabbatical of one year. In her stead we have former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Hobbes Siberia." There was much friendly applause at both McGonagall leaving, and Hobbes taking her place. Sitting at the teacher's table, Hobbes stood up and accepted the ovation with a warm smile.
Dumbledore grinned and continued, "Also, Madam Hooch has, after more than three decades of teaching Quidditch, that she will resign. She will be replaced by Miss Fleur Delacour. Madamosielle Mademoiselle Delacour is unfortunately unable to be with us tonight, but I believe she will be an excellent instructor."
Calvin, Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other in shock, simultaneously they all mouthed, "Fleur?"
"Thirdly," Dumbledore gesturned towards an alarmingly beautiful red-headed young woman, "I'd like to introduce Professor Siberia's replacement, Professor Romana Lupin-Black-Quirell."
"Blimey," Ron said, amazed, "She's related to all three of them?"
Harry himself was slightly blown away, "I...would suppose so." Internally, Harry was a wreck, 'Why didn't Sirius tell me a RELATIVE was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts?'
"Lastly," Dumbledore said, "Mr. Filch would like me to remind you the list of illegal items has been expanded to eight hundred and seventy-three, among them," Dumbledore made eye contact with Harry and winked, "Invisibilty Cloaks."
Harry grinned.
"And now...may the Sorting begin!"
As McGonagall was no longer at Hogwarts, Hobbes grabbed a stool next to his seat and pulled the Sorting Hat out of his robes. After setting up the hat at the front of the Hall, Hobbes produced a scroll out of nowhere and then snapped his fingers once.
Suddenly, the Sorting Hat became alive and began singing,
It was nearly a thousand years ago,
Back in the hills of Britian,
When the Founding Four gave their plan a go,
So young wizards would be written,
As the best of all of the nations.
Godric Gryffindor, he of the bravest type,
Decided his would be the House that received all the hype.
Helga Hufflepuff, the weird one that she was,
Decided that those of her stripe, would be her House just because.
Rowena Ravenclaw, the studenous and smart,
Proclaimed her House for genius, not necessarily those of heart.
Lastly, there was Salazar, founder of the House of Slytherin,
Mandated his would be the House of rotten-doing an' sin.
Combined these four make up Hogwarts itself,
Whenever we have doubt, I remind them to dust myself,
For I am the hat of Gryffindor, made to do the Sorting,
To decide which House is for the students of daring,
Or those who follow common sense,
Those who understand American dollars and cents,
So just sit down on this stool, put me down upon your head,
Trust me, I don't bite, or else you would be dead.
This being the best of the jobs,
So call the names of the first years already, would you Hobbes?
Hobbes looked rather pleased with himself, and began reading off of the scroll.
"Adams, Richard."
Harry noted that there was a beautiful looking red-haired girl, and nearly six feet tall wearing her robes rather loosely at the back of the line. She looked as though she was at least eighteen and Harry wondered if perhaps she was another exchange student. He voiced this idea to Calvin, who flatly rejected it.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"If I wasn't related to Dumbledore, there's no way the board of governors would have allowed me in the first place," he explained.
"Barabas, Barney"
Harry nodded.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Hermione looked at the girl interestingly, and mumbled, "I'm sure I've seen her before."
"Charschars, Zhinks."
Harry cocked his head to one side, "Maybe...she's (she)looks somewhat like Gin-" he cut himself off and quickly at looked at Ron.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Ron, looked at the girl, and his eyes got noticeably moist, Harry heard him mutter under his breath, "I'm SURE I've suffered enough...haven't I?"
"Johnson, Edward."
"Yes Ron," Lavandar said, putting a hand on his shoulder, and whispered something in his ear that made his feminine figure shudder and blush.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Calvin raised a knowing eyebrow at Ron, which made him blush even more.
"Kinlauen, Elizabeth."
"What'd she say?" Hermione scribbled with her wand ("Writing Spell" she said to Harry) on the tablecloth.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"About something she'll do to me when I turn back into a male," Ron uttered out of the side of his mouth.
Calvin snickered loudly, "Does it involve kissing?"
"Now," Hobbes said, "Before we go on, we have a bit of special circumstances." He motioned the beautiful red-heaired girl over, "This is Diane Catherine Potter," Harry and Hermione gasped jointly, "She is only eleven years old," Harry heard a boy at the Hufflepuff table wolf whistle, and Diane Potter blushed, "But has elected to take the Years Challenge Examination. She passed her first through fifth years with excellent scores," ("What?" Hermione exclaimed, "I could have taken that examination!") "And will be Sorted as a sixth year."
With that, Diane Catherine Potter sat down the stool with much trepidition, and set the Sorting Hat on her rather mature head.
There was dead silence in the room for several minutes, as the Sorting Hat made its decision.
Finally, after what seemed to be an enternity, the Sorting Hat bellowed, "SLYTHERHUFFLECLAWGRYFFINRINPUFFINDOR!"
The collective response around the Great Hall could best be described as, 'What? '
The teachers were shocked. Hobbes' eyes seemed ready to bulge out of their tiger sockets. The students were stunned. Never before in the history of Hogwarts had the Sorting Hat been so confused about what House to place a new student in.
Oh sure, it had considered between two possible, three, yes, even four houses were a student could equally excell, but NEVER in the more than one thousand year history of Hogwarts had the Sorting Hat missed and matched the names of the Houses in such a manner.
"Does this mean there's a new House?" Ron asked Hermione eagerly.
"Of...why of course not!" Hermione replied indignantly.
"Then what happens?" Ron pressed on.
Hermione faltered, "Why, I don't know."
Professor Dumbledore, for once looking like an unsure old man then an essential wizard (A/N: Got all three C&H treasuries in), clapped his hands for attention.
He didn't get it at first, but after he raised his wand and fired off a sound that sounded somewhat like an atomic explosion, he finally recieved order.
"This...is...a...most, unusual," Dumbledore looked entirely clueless, "situation. In fact, I've NEVER seen, nor heard of such a situation. After conferring with my colleagues here at the table...we have decided it is not fit to create a new House solely for Miss Potter. Rather, she shall choose whatever House she wishes to attend."
Diane Potter took off the Sorting Hat with fear and awe, her eyes made contact with Harry's, and she grinned flirtatiously at him.
"I choose...Gryffindor."