Harry looked around as all of the students marched behind Percy. He was pointing and naming everything. Everyone was absolutely shocked and delighted by the purely magical environment they were in. Harry was looking for a way out. He wanted to get to the owlery and send the letter to Moony as soon as possible. Otherwise, he knew that he was known to forget important things. He noticed a statue of a wizard with a three pronged peg for a foot. "Winter" Hutchins, lost his foot in the cold of the winter of 1548. Keyword, wooden leg. In latin, Cupressus cruris.
Hermione was looking around with wide eyes, until her eyes fell on Harry. Everyone was pointing out things to everyone else, to their friends, but she had no one to show things to, and no one was showing her anything. As she watched Harry, she remembered the event before the sorting. What was he hiding? Who was he? He just seemed so…mysterious. She had to stifle a giggle at the thought. She watched as he walked strangely close to a statue they were passing. No one saw him but her. He put his wand against it, and muttered a quick word she didn't hear, and he went into the stone. She gasped and got the attention of a few, wanting to know what she'd seen that was so amazing, she just randomly pointed at the ceiling. Everyone started looking at it. She examined the rock he had gone into, and found it perfectly solid, She wanted to examine it more carefully, but everyone was pushing her along and she worried that he may never make it to the common room.
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Harry stood up and brushed off his clothes. He secretly wondered if Fred and George were watching him now. He let his eyes open wide at his own stupidity. The had the map. They would see him on it. They would know who he was. SHIT! His mind yelled. Well if they saw him now then he might as well deliver the letter. All he could hope for was that they hadn't unpacked it yet. Harry, fueled by self-loathing and adrenaline, made quick time to the owlery. He listened carefully as he heard soft voices.
"But we've tried before, Albus. Our owls can't find him." A feminine voice said. It reminded Harry of…
"Minerva, If you were as loving a parent as Harry claims Sirius is, then you would have to have at least one reliable way of communicating with him. Yes, our owls cannot find him, but why would he get Harry an owl if the owl couldn't reach him?" Harry heard the thoughtful silence. "I am sure Mr. Potter won't mind that I borrow his owl to find out more details about Harry's education."
"Don't you think Harry would be a more reliable source, less likely to lie?" She pressed. Harry was gaining a growing dislike of this professor.
"Assuming this letter gets to Sirius, then he will know that Harry is Harry, and lying will not help him at all. In fact, it would only hurt him. Everything will be confirmed by Harry, making it legitimate and honor worthy. Then we will be able to understand his story, and better understand everything since that night. This is a shock to both of us." Harry heard the old man hoot softly, and a rustling of wings. An owl hooted in response. "Yes, Mercury. I understand you were meant only for Harry, but this is very important for the welfare of your master. You know I am a friend of the owls, and a member of the heavenly council. I can be trusted." There was a soft rustling of papers, and then Harry heard the rustling of wings as a bird took flight. "There, Minerva. I feel this is the best path to be on. Sleep well, we have classes tomorrow." Harry heard the sound of footsteps descending in the tower. One set of footsteps. Did he stay, or did he exit another way? Was he there to trap him? Punish him? Was he there at all? Harry let this argument go on for a few minutes. He was about to bite the bullet and enter when he finally heard the light shuffling of feet. He was leaving, he was finally bloody leaving. Thank god.
Harry crept out slowly and found the nearest school owl which was actually awake. He took a treat from the box on the shelf and gave it to the bird.
"Take this to Remus Lupin please" The owl hooted softly before flying out the window, and into the night sky. Harry looked out and made sure he saw Sirius clearly. He said goodnight, before turning to the exit and following the steps of Dumbledore and McGonagal. He counted. Twenty five. Twenty six. Good. It was step twenty six and twenty two. As he stretched and kept his feet on each step, slowly, oh so slowly, a door appeared and opened. As soon as it was large enough for Harry to fit in, He slid in and watched it close. That passage hadn't been used in so long it was beginning to seal itself. Why would anyone let that happen? This was the only passageway in the bloody school to give access to all four house common rooms without knowing the password to enter.
He walked down the hallway until he came to a small, circular room with five halls. The one he came out of, and four of different colors. There was a small fire burning in the center of the room, giving enough light o distinguish between the halls. He took the red one, and jogged down it. He kind of wished he still played football. He didn't even bring his ball with him. He had played on a team in the league Sirius had put him in before they had to leave for London. He was a Sweeper, and despite not looking like a big, burly, and mean person, he had gotten himself a bit of a reputation for throwing his weight around. The parents always said that he was the reason they did so well. His team was second place two years in a row. It had been fun. Harry kept his hand running along the wall to find his way in the intense darkness. He knew it was going to be a bit of a trip, going straight from the owlery to the Gryffindor Common Room. He knew what it looked like from Sirius, but he had never been there, unless his dreams counted. He finally bumped into a wall and shook off the pain as he returned to his feet.
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How could he know absolutely where the statue was? Or even he words to open it? Had he been to Hogwarts before? His Godfather could have told him her mind argued. Sometimes she wished it wouldn't argue with itself. It only made things confusing. But the fact that besides the ride on the train... forget it, even the ride on the train was peculiar. He was such a strange person, obviously hiding something, but obviously knowing a lot more than he let on. He knew something about the twins who had so rudely pushed her aside. He knew magic enough to cure her burn, to change his trunk, to get into the secret passage, to disappear without being noticed. But you noticed him. Yes, but…I was looking she said back.
A sudden thump on the wall brought her back to attention. She had come down to the common room, despite her exhaustion to wait for Harry, and to sift through her thoughts. She thought the noise had come from a rather large portrait of Godric Gryffindor above the hearth. She waited and watched, and quickly convinced herself that she hadn't heard anything at all. She turned her eyes back to the mirror so she could watch the fire without straining to turn her head. She went back into her deep thoughts, but her eyes caught movement and she turned to see Harry Mutton brushing dust of his backside. He turned and saw her.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!" They both said in hoarse whispers. She stumbled to her feet, almost losing balance on her sleeping limbs. Harry's eyes were looking over her suspiciously.
"Tell me first before you pop out of thin air!" She said not unkindly, but she was clearly upset. She saw the look on his face relax a bit, and he smiled.
"Looks like we scared each other evenly. I'd say no one owes anyone any kind of an unreasonable explanation, therefore we can both go to sleep and ignore this little incident" he said with an unsure smile. He was halfway to the base of the stairs to the boys dormitories when she finally understood what he said. He saw the look of realization on her face and knew he wouldn't be getting away so easily. So far she had been nice enough not to ask, but now he was being blatantly suspicious. Here would come the questions.
"Not so fast, buster" she said, using the word her father always used on her cousins when they visited. "Where were you?" She asked while crossing her arms across her chest. The yawn she let out made her look anything but intimidating.
"The owlery. I had to send a letter, and recent events would let it wait" he said quickly. She vaguely remembered him saying something on the train about sending a letter.
"Right, and you knew how to get in the passage…" she said looking at him meaningfully.
"Yes" he said, feeling a little confused.
"No, I mean how did you know where and how to get in the passage?" she pushed and she stepped forward.
"Oh, my Godfather told me how" he said with his most charming smile. She felt her cheeks begin to flush.
"I thought you'd say that. And what's your godfather's name?" She was pleased to see him hesitate like he was making up a name, but his look turned quickly into suspicion, clear suspicion as he looked at her.
"Snuffleupagus" he said slowly. That name hit a nerve. She knew she'd heard the name before. He saw her contemplating it, and had to step in before it hit her. "It's Greek. He was named after his great-great-grandfather" Harry said. He could tell by the change of expression on her face that he was successful.
"Yes, that sounds Greek doesn't it. My mum read me a bit of Greek plays. I probably heard the name there" She smiled, but she tried to put back he dominating face but she was too tired to try. "Goodnight then" she said as she turned to go up the stairs to her dormitory. She felt a warm hand wrap around her arm and turn her around.
"Not so fast, sleeping beauty, why were you down here at this ungodly hour?" she blushed, and he attributed it to him calling her sleeping beauty.
"I, was, um, thinking about stuff" she said nervously as she tried to turn back and go up the stairs, he didn't let go.
"Really? It sounds interesting, what kind of stuff?" he whispered as if it were a secret. She knew he was toying with her, but for some reason she didn't mind. She just had to find a way of responding without telling him the total truth. Bingo.
"About all the secrets of this castle. When you disappeared into the wall it got me thinking, and I stayed up to think about it a little more" she said while trying to look bold. She could tell he didn't believe her, but he was generous enough to let her go, and with a soft goodnight, he jogged up the stairs to the boy's dormitories. She whispered goodnight to his retreating form, and wearily scaled the steps to her own waiting, soft, bed.
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"Transfiguration is one of the most difficult and dangerous forms of magic. Anyone fooling around or taking unnecessary risks will leave this classroom and will not return…" Harry rolled his eyes. She gave the same speech every year, and she had yet to throw anyone out of her classroom. Harry turned to Hermione. She had taken the seat next to him and was white with fear.
"…Now, I'm sure you all glanced in your textbook to see how the wand is to be handled while doing transfiguration, so I expect the warm-up will be quick and uneventful. Near the end of class, we will see if any of you have the control to actually turn this match into needle. On a final note, Slytherins and Gryffindors are infamous for their dislike of each other. You will keep the fight between you outside of my classroom or…" Harry tuned her out and looked at his pathetic match. He decided to make sure he could still de-react things as he used to. With a short fizzing sound the match ignited and Harry blew it out. He noticed that he caught the attention of a number of students, including Hermione. She was once again looking at him strangely. To show what he was doing he flicked his wand and the flame returned to the tip of the match, but it burned itself out leaving the red tip which was once there.
"If you feel the need to show off your experience with magic Mr., Mr…"
"Mutton" Harry put in.
"Yes Mutton, If you feel the need to show your illegal experience with magic, than would you please refrain from distracting the other students who need to learn this." McGonagal belted out. Harry nodded in respect and went back to staring out the window. It was warm outside, and he kind of wished he could take his broom out for a test flight. Oh to feel the wind in his face, cruising faster than any automobile…
"Mutton!" McGonagal shouted as she slammed a large book onto his desk. Harry jumped back and looked around. All the students were giggling at him. He noticed they had broken into groups and were working on trying to turn their matches into needles. "Will you at least pay attention? Surely you could learn a thing or too from your teachers." Her voice was crisp and sharp, it was biting at his ears. Harry pulled out his wand and with a flick his match had turned into a needle. She looked at him appraisingly as he turned it back. Then he did it again, only this time there were four needles where the match had been.
"Impressive, Mr. Mutton" she said as he turned the four needles into four matches. Then he turned the four matches into four needles each, gaining sixteen needles. The he turned them all back to matches. Then to 48 needles, then to matches, then to 192 needles, then to matches, then to 768 needles. He stopped and looked up at her. A small crowd had formed around him. He could tell McGonagal was frustrated. He had already mastered the principle.
"I hope you have a way to dispose of this mess" she said shortly. He liked that she was clearly annoyed, because he had done it without doing anything wrong. He summed up his thoughts, and with sudden realization, he flicked his wand once more, and all of the 768 needles disappeared, leaving one, lone, match. "Very well, twenty points to Gryffindor for studying ahead. What about you miss Granger? Any luck?"
Harry saw her go pale, as if she'd do something wrong. She tried to respond but stuttered terribly and decided to focus on her match. She flicked her wand, and it turned into metal. She sighed as McGonagal turned it back into a normal match.
"So very close miss Granger. Why don't you try again? I'm sure you'll have it this time." Despite the encouraging word use, the tone was not nearly as encouraging. Hermione took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them before flicking her wand and trying once more. The match turned into a needle of perfect proportions. She smiled unsurely, and to everyone's dismay, the professor smiled back. "Well done, Hermione. Twenty points to Gryffindor. AH! I see Mr. Malfoy has come quite close. It could be a bit thinner, but I won't hold that against you. Twenty points to Slytherin. Anyone else manage it?" No hands went up. "Well then, off to your next classes. I believe Gryffindors have History of Magic with the Hufflepuffs, and Slytherins have Herbology with the Ravenclaws. Go on now, don't be late." Harry threw all of his stuff messily into his rucksack and waited patiently as Hermione put everything perfectly and neatly into hers. They left together. The Malfoy boy was joking with the Slytherins about how the Gryffindors got stuck with the Hufflepuffs. Harry ignored it quite well.
"Am I to guess your Godfather-" She began as they started down the hallway.
"Yup, he taught me a lot. Didn't want me to get left behind, so he made sure I stayed far ahead" Harry said. There was a half truth to this statement, so he was able to tell it honestly, and she accepted it.
"I'm afraid to say it, but I feel that History of magic will not be the most exciting class" she said, begging for his increased knowledge to tell her differently.
"You're right. It's about as boring as it can get. I changed it on my schedule, as you can see." He held up his schedule to her, and she read down it before laughing slightly. In the perfect penmanship on his schedule, where she supposed it once said History of Magic, Professor Binns, instead it was written Naptime, Professor Binns. Harry liked her laugh, it was quiet and melodious. Not like the harsh chortles of Malfoy as they echoed through the halls. Her laughs and giggles seemed to just stay around her, and it was fascinating.
"You have quite the sense of humor" she said as her giggles diminished.
"Yes, well, I suppose I get it from-" he began.
"Your Godfather. I know" she giggled again. He felt his cheeks becoming warm, and was pleased to see that they had made it unscathed to the History of Magic classroom.
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"Next is… flying lessons with Madame Hooch" Hermione said anxiously as Harry snapped quickly from his groggy form.
"Really?" He asked, and she could only nod as the thought turned her stomach. She couldn't figure out why he could be so happy about it. "But it's with Slytherin, isn't it?" Harry asked. She nodded again. "Don't worry about them, I'll make sure they don't get to out of hand" He quickly swallowed his words when they arrived to find Malfoy standing aggressively close to Ronald Weasley. Harry had had a few words with the Weasley boy the night before. It turned out that Weasley wanted to start some sort of club in which they'd undertake certain "missions" against Slytherins. Harry turned down the proposition, not because the idea was bad, but because he didn't think that Weasley had what it takes to make real trouble and get away, an honestly, Harry rather preferred working alone.
"I could tell you were a Weasley before you even arrived at the station. So many children your parents can barely afford to feed you, and that disgusting red hair. I could smell your poor family miles away" Malfoy said with a grin. He knew he was getting on the boy's nerves.
"Bugger off you…" Weasley began.
"What? Not smart enough to find a decent insult?" Malfoy taunted. Harry stepped in just as Weasley launched for Malfoy. Harry used his left arm to stop Ronald and push him backwards. He stumbled and fell onto the ground amidst giggles from everyone.
"Don't do it Weasley, you'll just loose us some house points" Harry said in explanation. This didn't quell weasley's wrath.
"Yeah Weasel, you might get a decent animal if you can manage one or two house points" Malfoy said. Harry pulled back and with one swift movement that few could trace, Malfoy was flat on the ground, blood coming out of his nose. This, however, did quell Ron's anger, and he stood up steadying himself on Dean. Harry pinned Malfoy by putting his knee on the boy's chest and putting his wand in the boy's face.
"Let this be a lesson to you, Malfoy. I know a lot of things that you don't, I know who you are and what you stand for, and I will not tolerate any of your propaganda bull crap in front of me or anyone else. Is that clear?" Malfoy nodded quickly. Harry muttered abscondus. He got off of Malfoy and returned to a crowd of shocked Gryffindors. Malfoy stood up, wondering where the blood went. He wasn't bleeding, and after asking a few people, he realized there wasn't a mark on him.
"He attacked me, Mutton attacked me, you all saw it!" Malfoy cried.
"Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy, your father has been in so many trials that I'd hoped you'd have realized this by now. Witnesses are one thing, and evidence is entirely another, You have no evidence, and your witnesses will be countered by my witnesses, who'll say that it was Crabbe who did that to you, although accidentally. You'll still feel the pain even though the wounds are gone, so enjoy it. I warned you." Harry said slowly. Malfoy was enraged. He turned to his two cronies.
"Get him!" He said to them. They started at him, and they increased speed as they ran at him. Hermione watched fearfully as they neared him. Harry smiled and stepped towards them. It was weird indeed, but they both hit him sooner than they'd expected, and they stumbled over him and fell to the ground taking him with them. They heard a shrill yell, and a woman with yellow eyes and a strict demeanor stepped forward.
"Both of you, off of him! I will not tolerate any fighting in this lesson! Twenty points from Slytherin, from each of you." There was a mumbling of dislike amongst the Slytherins. The Gryffindors were smiling, as Harry stood up and brushed himself off. He was grinning as well, much to Malfoy's chagrin. "Get in your lines! Stand next to a broom!" Harry turned to find an available broom, and found that he couldn't take one next to Hermione, as they were all taken except for one, which looked particularly bent and damaged. Harry sighed and walked over to it, just his luck to get the worst broom. He waited for the lesson to go on, and when she finally began letting them start, he looked down at his broom with pity.
He didn't realize he was making a scene until Malfoy called out "Mutton's got the broken broom." Harry realized he was the only person not to get their broom up, for lack of trying, but decided to give it a go and was pleasantly surprised when it made it all the way to his hand only losing about a quarter of the twigs in the back. He mounted like everyone else, but just before they were to lift off, a fellow Gryffindor, Neville, Harry thought his name was, left the ground and started an uncontrolled ascent. His broom was bucking irregularly until he crashed into the wall of the stands of the quidditch pitch. There was a sickening crack of splintering wood as the boy fell about twenty feet onto the soft ground. He managed to stagger to his feet as the crowd rushed over. He was bleeding above his eye, and his broom was destroyed. Madame hooch turned on the class.
"Put your brooms down. I am taking Longbottom to the Hospital Wing. If I see anyone on a broom, you will be expelled before you can pack" she said as she made a stretcher for the boy and had him lay down on it. They left briskly, heading for the large double doors of Hogwarts.
"Hah, the weeping loaf dropped his stupid wand. Probably filled with pixie dust. Mine has the Dragon Heartstring of and Finnish Firetooth, I'd to know if any of you beat that?" Malfoy said arrogantly, but his smile faded as Harry stepped forward.
"I have a Phoenix feather" Harry said softly, but everyone heard anyway.
"So, a dragon is more powerful than a Phoenix" Malfoy quipped.
"I know, but my feather is from the same Phoenix Voldemort's wand feather came from" All of the pureblooded wizards gasped and stepped back. Malfoy again looked scared. How did this kid know the contents of You-Know-Who's wand? "Now, give me Neville's wand, or I'll take it from you."
"I'd like to see you try. Why don't I leave it somewhere for him, like… in the lake?" Malfoy mounted his broom and took off. Harry mounted his but was stopped by a strong grip on his shoulder. He turned to see Hermione.
"Don't do it, he just wants to trick you into loosing house points!" Hermione pleaded. Her words did nothing to his expression, and he gently brushed her hand off of him and on his bent and scarred broom, he followed at a speed which made the old broom very unstable. His mind made note of how natural flying seemed, but he just focused on Malfoy, who in his fear and surprise of being followed so quickly, was swerving dangerously. Harry saw him raise the wand in question above his head, and throw it down as they passed over the lake. Harry debated whether to go for the wand or go for the boy, but he saw more value in recovering the wand. Who knew how deep the lake was.
Harry dove after it and followed it with eagle like eyesight. He was getting close to it, but it was nearing the water right near the shore. He stretched his arm and is hand wrapped around the this piece of wood. He tried to pull up but the broom wasn't responding as well as he had hoped. His toes struck a stone and the wand flew from his grasp. The collision also pointed him downwards as he eared the water's edge. The broom and his legs struck the ground and he was catapulted forward as if he had dove from the broom. His shoulder hit a jagged rock sending him in a helicopter spin, until he landed in the lake. Being a distance from the lake it took nearly an entire minute for all of the students to make it to the water side. Harry was nowhere to be found. There was the clatter of feet as Professor McGonagal came up and pushed her way through the students. Her face went white as she noticed the missing face from the students.
"What happened here?" Her words hung heavily on the silence of the dazed class.
I am very excited to get so much feedback from all of you. Sorry I was on like a 2 week hiatus, but everything got a bit crazy for me. Way too many people to respond to all of my beloved reviewers, but I will take some of the questions and answer them here.
1. Harry has a sense of humor, and likes to see people confused and insecure. Part of why he really hates Malfoy.
2. He and Hermione are going to develop as really close friends, but they're 11 years old, they're going to stay Friends for a while.
3. The weasley twins are going to be very important in this story, because it will show how Harry reacts with those he considers his equals.
4. Ron will be more of a neutral character. We'll love him and hate him, in turn. We will begin to see more of him. I hope you enjoyed his little tussle with Malfoy
5. If you like Malfoy or snape you may want to stop reading, because I plan on bashing them within an inch of their lives, and then bashing some more. I despise them both, and I feel it will show through.
6. Harry may seem a little arrogant, but he will only be arrogant against Malfoy. Give him a taste of his own medicine.
Thank you all for reading and reviewing, if you like spend five minutes and tell me so. Have a wonderful day.
