A/N- I just want to say that I haven't finished writing. I've barely even
started so don't expect any updates any time soon.
Harry Potter and the Search for Redemption
Chapter One
Harry Potter looked out of his window. He had the displeasure of spending at least some of his summer holidays with his only surviving relatives, his less-than-encouraging aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, every year. However, this year there were several improvements. Towards the end of last year Harry's cousin, Dudley, had been discovered with cannabis in school and consequently had been expelled before he could take his GCSEs, which were kind of like the Muggle equivalent of O.W.L.s. This had not gone down well with the Dursleys at all, far from being treated like a cherub sent directly from heaven, Dudley was now seen almost as more of a curse on the family name. Harry's lot had also been improved by regular contact with his wizarding friends. And so our story starts here, half way through our young hero's holiday, when what seemed to be a small, feathery ball flew directly into Harry's nose.
"Hello Pig," said Harry blearily, trying to rub the sleep out his eyes. He knew it was Pig because no other bird flew that badly.
Harry took the letter and ushered Pig into Hedwig's empty cage, Hedwig was Harry's own owl and was far more experienced at deliveries. Harry, having turned to look at his letters noticed that one bore the Hogwarts emblem whilst the other was clearly written in his friend Ron's own hand. Harry hurriedly opened this letter, hoping to postpone the gut-wrenching feeling of receiving exam results.
Hi Harry,
Dumbledore had your results sent to us, I suppose he expected you to be here by now. Mum's surprisingly pleased with my results, I got 7 O.W.L.s, only two fails (potions and History of Magic), I even passed divination. At least I don't have to suffer Snape anymore. Good luck on your results, mate.
You probably know that everyone wants Fudge gone, I don't know, are you getting the Prophet? So the big push is on to see who gets the top spot. The big surprise is that Dad's a possible candidate. Dumbledore's backing him so he's got quite a strong following. I should probably stop writing; Pig will die carrying your results and a huge letter. See you soon, Ron.
With increasing dread, Harry turned to his results. Prepared for the worst, he ripped open the envelope.
Dear Mr Potter,
We have recently received the results of your O.W.L.s. They are as followed:
Astronomy-Average, Care of Magical Creatures-Exceeds Expectations, Charms-Outstanding, Defence Against the Dark Arts-Outstanding (with honours), Divination-Average, Herbology-Exceeds Expectations, History of Magic-Poor, Potions-Outstanding, Transfiguration-Exceeds Expectations.
You will find enclosed, a booklist for the coming term and a personal note of congratulations from Professor Griselda Marchbanks. Professor M. McGonagall P.S. You may note that it is not necessary to buy books for any subjects which you do not wish to take.
Harry looked away from his letter, stunned, shocked and delighted all in one emotion. He had earned his place in potions for his N.E.W.T.s, despite the fact that this meant two more years of torment from Snape, Harry's least favourite professor at Hogwarts, but it also meant that Harry's dream of being an auror was slightly more achievable. Overwhelmed with joy, Harry looked outside to see that the sky was becoming brighter. It had been July the thirty-first for 5 hours; Harry had been 16 years old for nearly 5 hours. As Harry looked into the vast, reddening sky, he noticed the outlines of three birds growing larger and larger. Harry recognised one of the birds as his own owl, Hedwig, and noticed that one of the others was the Weasley family owl, Errol, who was looking more feeble than Harry had had ever seen him. Harry suspected that the third owl, which was a young barn owl, was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid. However, as he drew close, Harry noticed that the writing on the parcel belonged to Ron. A second parcel, carried by Hedwig, bore Hermione's writing. Harry decided to open Hermione's present first, knowing that if it was a book, and knowing Hermione it more than likely would be, at least he would have Ron's present to cheer him up.
Harry was sort of right, it wasn't one book, it was several books. Dismayed, Harry read the front cover: "Quidditch through the Ages". Harry's face shone so brightly it could have lit the Gryffindor common room. Harry opened the first page, a short message had been written: Harry, I hope you enjoy these books for years to come, Newt Scamander. Harry looked at the other books: "The Evolution of the Broom", "Strategy: A Basic Study of the Best Offensive and Defensive Moves in Quidditch" and "Foul Play: The Rules of Quidditch and Famous Accounts of When They Were Broken" all by Newt Scamander. Harry read a note which said: Happy birthday, Harry. I hope we see you soon. Love, Hermione. Harry noticed that it was written in insanely neat handwriting considering that it was on the tiniest scrap of paper he had ever seen. He then turned to Ron's letter, where he found out that the owl that had delivered the parcel was called Mercury. Harry assumed that Mercury belonged to Fred and George; and that Ron had either borrowed him or "borrowed" him. Harry opened Ron's parcel to find a huge box of Weasleys' Deflagration Deluxe and a small box of assorted treats from Honeydukes, thankfully there were no pieces of cockroach cluster. Just as Harry got up to go to the loo, he heard his uncle, Vernon, call his name.
"Harry Potter, get down here now," he bellowed. Harry rushed downstairs, as the pain in his bladder steadily increased. Once downstairs, Vernon began a huge rant about how he mustn't touch anything while they tried to find a place where Dudley could take his exams. With a warning stare, Vernon left. Harry wasn't too excited about being on his own, he wasn't a great fan of Muggle entertainment, he'd much rather be on his broom. After relieving his bladder, he heard a knock at the door. He couldn't imagine who it would be; surely people would notice that the Dursleys' car had gone. He opened the door and was just about to explain that the Dursleys were out when he noticed that the man who had knocked was wearing a particularly worn pair of jeans and a pinstriped suit jacket. Harry quickly pulled the tall, balding man into the house.
"Hi Mr Weasley," Harry said overjoyed that he was finally going leave his relatives again. "I'll just get my stuff." And within 10 minutes Harry was in Mr Weasley's brand new car.
Harry Potter and the Search for Redemption
Chapter One
Harry Potter looked out of his window. He had the displeasure of spending at least some of his summer holidays with his only surviving relatives, his less-than-encouraging aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, every year. However, this year there were several improvements. Towards the end of last year Harry's cousin, Dudley, had been discovered with cannabis in school and consequently had been expelled before he could take his GCSEs, which were kind of like the Muggle equivalent of O.W.L.s. This had not gone down well with the Dursleys at all, far from being treated like a cherub sent directly from heaven, Dudley was now seen almost as more of a curse on the family name. Harry's lot had also been improved by regular contact with his wizarding friends. And so our story starts here, half way through our young hero's holiday, when what seemed to be a small, feathery ball flew directly into Harry's nose.
"Hello Pig," said Harry blearily, trying to rub the sleep out his eyes. He knew it was Pig because no other bird flew that badly.
Harry took the letter and ushered Pig into Hedwig's empty cage, Hedwig was Harry's own owl and was far more experienced at deliveries. Harry, having turned to look at his letters noticed that one bore the Hogwarts emblem whilst the other was clearly written in his friend Ron's own hand. Harry hurriedly opened this letter, hoping to postpone the gut-wrenching feeling of receiving exam results.
Hi Harry,
Dumbledore had your results sent to us, I suppose he expected you to be here by now. Mum's surprisingly pleased with my results, I got 7 O.W.L.s, only two fails (potions and History of Magic), I even passed divination. At least I don't have to suffer Snape anymore. Good luck on your results, mate.
You probably know that everyone wants Fudge gone, I don't know, are you getting the Prophet? So the big push is on to see who gets the top spot. The big surprise is that Dad's a possible candidate. Dumbledore's backing him so he's got quite a strong following. I should probably stop writing; Pig will die carrying your results and a huge letter. See you soon, Ron.
With increasing dread, Harry turned to his results. Prepared for the worst, he ripped open the envelope.
Dear Mr Potter,
We have recently received the results of your O.W.L.s. They are as followed:
Astronomy-Average, Care of Magical Creatures-Exceeds Expectations, Charms-Outstanding, Defence Against the Dark Arts-Outstanding (with honours), Divination-Average, Herbology-Exceeds Expectations, History of Magic-Poor, Potions-Outstanding, Transfiguration-Exceeds Expectations.
You will find enclosed, a booklist for the coming term and a personal note of congratulations from Professor Griselda Marchbanks. Professor M. McGonagall P.S. You may note that it is not necessary to buy books for any subjects which you do not wish to take.
Harry looked away from his letter, stunned, shocked and delighted all in one emotion. He had earned his place in potions for his N.E.W.T.s, despite the fact that this meant two more years of torment from Snape, Harry's least favourite professor at Hogwarts, but it also meant that Harry's dream of being an auror was slightly more achievable. Overwhelmed with joy, Harry looked outside to see that the sky was becoming brighter. It had been July the thirty-first for 5 hours; Harry had been 16 years old for nearly 5 hours. As Harry looked into the vast, reddening sky, he noticed the outlines of three birds growing larger and larger. Harry recognised one of the birds as his own owl, Hedwig, and noticed that one of the others was the Weasley family owl, Errol, who was looking more feeble than Harry had had ever seen him. Harry suspected that the third owl, which was a young barn owl, was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid. However, as he drew close, Harry noticed that the writing on the parcel belonged to Ron. A second parcel, carried by Hedwig, bore Hermione's writing. Harry decided to open Hermione's present first, knowing that if it was a book, and knowing Hermione it more than likely would be, at least he would have Ron's present to cheer him up.
Harry was sort of right, it wasn't one book, it was several books. Dismayed, Harry read the front cover: "Quidditch through the Ages". Harry's face shone so brightly it could have lit the Gryffindor common room. Harry opened the first page, a short message had been written: Harry, I hope you enjoy these books for years to come, Newt Scamander. Harry looked at the other books: "The Evolution of the Broom", "Strategy: A Basic Study of the Best Offensive and Defensive Moves in Quidditch" and "Foul Play: The Rules of Quidditch and Famous Accounts of When They Were Broken" all by Newt Scamander. Harry read a note which said: Happy birthday, Harry. I hope we see you soon. Love, Hermione. Harry noticed that it was written in insanely neat handwriting considering that it was on the tiniest scrap of paper he had ever seen. He then turned to Ron's letter, where he found out that the owl that had delivered the parcel was called Mercury. Harry assumed that Mercury belonged to Fred and George; and that Ron had either borrowed him or "borrowed" him. Harry opened Ron's parcel to find a huge box of Weasleys' Deflagration Deluxe and a small box of assorted treats from Honeydukes, thankfully there were no pieces of cockroach cluster. Just as Harry got up to go to the loo, he heard his uncle, Vernon, call his name.
"Harry Potter, get down here now," he bellowed. Harry rushed downstairs, as the pain in his bladder steadily increased. Once downstairs, Vernon began a huge rant about how he mustn't touch anything while they tried to find a place where Dudley could take his exams. With a warning stare, Vernon left. Harry wasn't too excited about being on his own, he wasn't a great fan of Muggle entertainment, he'd much rather be on his broom. After relieving his bladder, he heard a knock at the door. He couldn't imagine who it would be; surely people would notice that the Dursleys' car had gone. He opened the door and was just about to explain that the Dursleys were out when he noticed that the man who had knocked was wearing a particularly worn pair of jeans and a pinstriped suit jacket. Harry quickly pulled the tall, balding man into the house.
"Hi Mr Weasley," Harry said overjoyed that he was finally going leave his relatives again. "I'll just get my stuff." And within 10 minutes Harry was in Mr Weasley's brand new car.
