On Your Mark

By Arlo

Chapter 15- Hogwarts

            The night after "The Battle of Gringotts", as the Daily Prophet called it in their special edition, there was an emergency meeting of the Order. The students were all herded upstairs and watched over by a vigilant Mrs. Weasley. Harry was very glad when Remus came up as the meeting was breaking up and took him aside and into his room, where the professor explained some of what had occurred at the bank to him. Remus had correctly interpreted Harry's dream from several nights ago to mean that Voldemort had his eye on Gringotts. It was a good thing Harry had immediately told him about it, since he had no recollection of the dream.  Lupin had then informed Bill, who told the Goblins that the Order had information that the Dark Lord might attempt something at the bank.

            Voldemort had used several new Death Eaters as well as other Goblins, whom he had persuaded to help him, to invade the bank. He needed money to continue with his plans, especially since the bank, at the request of the Ministry, was monitoring the vaults of all suspected Death Eaters. In addition, the power that would come from defeating the Gringotts Goblins and devastating the Wizarding economy would help him greatly in his quest to take over the Wizarding world. It was a very ambitious plan, and probably would have failed even without the advance warning, although the battle would have lasted much longer and had much more impact. Remus emphasized that it was very important for Harry to write down his dreams as soon as they occur and also to continue with his occlumency so that he was not susceptible to Voldemort. Harry was a little confused, the dream had been Voldemort's and it was a good thing he had found it, but on the other hand, it was a bad thing that he had. He really didn't quite get it and Remus thought it best to discuss it all at another time.

            A few days before start of term, Dumbledore summoned Harry into the library, which he had adopted as his temporary office. He looked quite solemn and was accompanied by Professors McGonagall and Snape as well as Lupin, who escorted Harry into the room. Harry, who had assumed this had something to do with his occlumency lessons was surprised by the somber feelings in the room.

            "Mr. Potter, I have been investigating a complaint made against you at the end of last term by the parents of several Slytherin students," the Headmaster stated gravely. Harry's heart plummeted and he made sure his emotional mask was in place as the charges against him were laid out. "You have been accused of assaulting these students on not one, but two, separate occasions on the Hogwart's Express. Are you aware of any such incidents?"

            Figuring honesty was probably the best policy, he nodded, "yes, sir. I can explain."

            "I'm sure your explanation for putting three of my students into St. Mungo's is very intriguing, Potter!" Snape sneered in his usual manner. "However, the fact remains that my students were severely injured," he went on icily.

            Harry had gotten pretty good at affecting the "Dumbledore Twinkle" and turned to the head of Slytherin House stoically. "Yes, sir, that would be because they attacked me first. I was merely defending myself."

            Snape was not at all pleased by the impish look in the young man's eyes. "Really? They attacked you? Totally unprovoked? You had no desire to, perhaps make them pay for the dear mutt's demise?"

            "Severus," Dumbledore warned, "that will be enough. I believe Mr. Potter is entitled to tell his side of the story, just as his accusers were." The Headmaster looked at Harry, "I think this might be a case where it is best to let me see inside, Harry. Would you mind showing me the incidents involved?"

            Harry glanced at Remus, who nodded, and then to Snape who stood staring at him, desperately trying to read him. He closed his eyes and concentrated on this years incident with Draco Malfoy on the train, and then turned to Dumbledore on opened them.

            "I see," he nodded, "and last year?"

            Harry called up the time when Malfoy had insulted the memory of Cedric Diggory and Harry had defended it. In both cases, he tried to leave out the identities of the other people involved. "Thank you, Harry. Now would you care to explain to the other professors what happened each time?"

            He did as best he could, leaving his friends out of the story. There was no use getting them in trouble, as well. "Will you please tell us who else was involved in these incidents, Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked

            "No."

            "What do you mean, no?" Snape practically growled.

            "I believe, Severus, that he means that he does not wish to implicate any of his friends," Dumbledore said sagely. "Am I correct in that assumption, Mr. Potter?"

            "Yes, sir"

            "Then I also assume you are willing to take full responsibility for these incidents?" the Headmaster said, with his eyes twinkling.

            "Yes, sir" Harry replied, his own eyes twinkling to match, as Snape straightened in his chair and smirked.

            "Then you will need to be disciplined accordingly," Dumbledore told him gravely. "I'm afraid I must ban you from the Hogwarts Express this term and you will appear in my office every Saturday morning for the fist month of school for detention"

            "Yes, sir"

"Is the punishment acceptable to you Professor Snape?"

"It seems a bit light, Headmaster, my students…"

"Your students acted abysmally, Severus!" McGonagall admonished

"Do you think I should discipline Misters Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle as well?" Dumbledore asked shrewdly.

"Of course not! They were injured! Certainly they were punished enough!" Snape sputtered

"Then there will no repeated incidents of this nature, I assume, Professors" Dumbledore said with finality. Snape stalked out of the room and, as per usual, slammed the front door as he left the house.

"Do you understand the punishment, Harry?" the Headmaster asked him smiling.

Harry sighed deeply. "You think it's safer if I am not on the train and if Tom is aware of that fact. And you want to continue my training without arousing suspicion."

"Excellent! You are learning aren't you!" the old man praised, knowing full well that a year ago Harry would have considered the ban a huge slight against him.

"Sir? I told Mark I would meet him at Kings Cross."

"I'm sure Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley will be happy to take over for you in that regard. You should write Mr. Evans to inform him of the change in plans however."

Harry agreed and went to tell his friends what had just happened. He realized he forgot to find out how he was getting to school, but figured the adults had already worked that out.

The entry hall at Number 12 Grimmauld Place was pandemonium. All the occupants were glad there were no evil screaming portraits or disgruntled house elves to add to the din. Six students, two professors, four owls, two cats, trunks, bags, boxes cloaks and brooms were hovering all about, literally in the case of the trunks, as they tried to make their way to the station to catch the train. Although one of the students and one of the professors were staying behind and traveling by floo, Harry and Remus still needed to see that their trunks made it to the train. They had each packed a small bag with their robes and some books to carry with them and Harry kept aside hi broom, in case he got a chance to fly while he waited at school for all the other students. After a flurry of good-byes and see you laters the hall was suddenly eerily quiet.           

"Well, Harry  are you ready to start another adventure-filled year at Hogwarts?" Remus asked with a grin.

"I'd prefer a little less adventure," Harry replied hopefully.

Remus picked up his battered briefcase and a bag of Weasley Wizard Wheezes and, winking at Harry, they flooed into Dumbledore office, where they were greeted by the Deputy Headmistress. Professor McGonagall escorted them to their new classrooms and told them to start setting them up. Harry had absolutely no idea of what to do so Professor Lupin helped him with his classroom. His classroom!!  It actually didn't take too long, as most of his books and detectors were packed in his trunk. Remus didn't need too much time either and, after lunch, took Harry down to the Quidditch Pitch to watch the young hero soar on his Firebolt. Harry then went up to Gryffindor  to shower and change. He had never been in the tower alone before and it seemed a little foreboding. He dressed quickly and hurried back out the portrait hole, to a waiting Professor McGonagall.

"I'd like you to come with me to greet the first years, Potter. Perhaps if they meet you straight off, there will be fewer gawking accidents in the hallways," she requested with a slight smile.

"Sure, Professor. What would you like me to do?" he asked his Head of House.

"I'd like you to give them an inspirational speech explaining the Hogwart's Houses and the rules. Can you handle that, Mr. Potter?"

"Inspirational?"

"Something to scare them into submission, Potter!"

"Oh! Like you did my first year?"

"Right, like I do for every year. Don't think that you got any special treatment. In fact, perhaps I should have emphasized the rules a bit more for you!" she said grinning slyly and winking. They headed downstairs to the door to which the first years would arrive after their boat ride across the lake with Hagrid. Harry couldn't help but wonder how Mark was doing. He hoped he hadn't fallen into the water the way Dennis Creevey had done a few years back.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall!" Hagrid said, bowing to her awkwardly as she opened the door. "And Mr. Potter!" Hagrid smiled and ruffled Harry's hair as McGonagall led the group of scared new students into the entry. "Lookin' good there 'Arry!" Hagrid said to him, pulling him into a hug.

"You too, Hagrid!" Harry told the large man as  McGonagall loudly cleared her throat. Harry quickly closed the door and followed the line of first years, most of whom were staring back at him with their mouths open. Mark slowed so Harry could catch up and the older boy greeted the younger with a warm clap on the back.

"This is awesome, Harry! Just like you said, only way better!" Mark exclaimed, quietly, getting a glare from the Deputy Headmistress as she led them into a room off the entry hall to wait while the sorting was being set up.

"I am Deputy Headmistress McGonagall," she announced to the group. In a few minutes you will go across into the Great Hall to be sorted. I will leave you in the very capable hands of  the Student Professorial Assistant for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Mr. Harry Potter."  Harry opened the door for her and respectfully bowed her out of the room. Standing up, he turned to the very nervous looking group of children and loudly cleared his throat.

Several of the students jumped, others quivered, while still more gawked. Harry could not believe how young and small they all were, could not believe that he was ever that young-that innocent. He grinned devilishly, making the children shake even more.

"So!" he said suddenly, his eyes widening at the jittery reactions, "my name is Harry Potter. How many of you have heard of me?" Almost all of them raised their hands. To the few that did not he said, "that's okay, I hadn't heard of me either before I got my letter!" he winked and they all smiled a bit. "Now, how many of you really know me?" Only one hand remained, Mark's, and the other students looked at him with a mixture of awe and fright.

"Ah, exactly my point, ladies and gentlemen. You have probably heard a lot about me from your families or friends or even the press. Please do me a favor and take all the junk you have heard and through it in the lake for the Giant Squid!" There were some relieved giggles as Harry smiled broadly at them. "Now, before you go and wrestle the troll to see what house you are in…." he said, pausing to wait for the gasps to die down "….just kidding!" he laughed a mock evil laugh. This was actually quite fun! "I'm suppose to tell you that there are four houses here at Hogwarts, each named after one of the founders. Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Some of you may have heard certain things about the students in each house; you know, Gryffindor are brave, Hufflepuffs are hard workers and loyal, Ravenclaws are clever bookworms, and Slytherins are ambitious and slimy-oops, sorry" he grinned.

"The second favor I would like from you is to forget all that. They are stereotypes and not true! One of Voldemort's (gasps) right hand rats was a Gryffindor, my Godfather came from a long line of Pureblood Slytherins, but he didn't want to be like them. He was a very brave, very loyal, and very clever…Gryffindor. There are also brave Hufflepuffs, loyal Ravenclaws and clever Slytherins and ambitious Gryffindors. One of the most important things you should learn in the next seven years is how to think for yourself!"

"The last favor, I ask is to remember that we are all in a very special minority of people, we are all magical. You may have been taught that you are better than the kid next to you because your family has been wizards for generations. I know for a fact that that is not the case. Some of the cleverest witches are Muggle born, some of the densest wizards are Purebloods and some of the most powerful are Halfbloods," he gave a flourished bow and paused to let his words sink in. "Not everything is always as it seems, especially in the magical world. Decide for yourselves what kind of person you want to be, who you would like to be friends with. Make your own choice from what you learn here at Hogwarts. But most of all  thing you need to do for the next seven years is to HAVE FUN!" he finished up loudly and enthusiastically.

Professor McGonagall timing was as impeccable as always, as she chose that moment to reenter the room, loudly closing the door as she did. Harry had the good sense to look sheepish as he bowed to her. "Thank you for that interesting piece of advice, Mr. Potter. I certainly hope you mentioned that any rule breaking will result in the loss of points for their house and possibly detention?"

"Er, no, I may have missed that part, Professor"

"I thought you might have. I will ask the prefects to review the rules later. Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Potter. I believe there are some people at the Gryffindor table anxiously awaiting your arrival," she told him ushering him out the door. He noticed her reserved smile as she scanned a very pensive group of first years.

Harry made his way into the Great Hall via a side door and took his seat between Neville and Ginny and across from Ron and Hermione

"Where were you? We were starting to get worried!" Hermione hissed.

"Giving the first years a pep talk," he told them grinning. "Told them they had to wrestle a troll to be sorted!" Ron laughed, remembering that his twin brothers had told him just that. Hermione just shook her head.

"That wasn't very nice, Harry. You know first years could never wrestle a troll!" Harry and Ron just stared at her in shock. The rest of the table around them burst out laughing. "Oh!" Hermione said turning Weasley red, "oh, of course, most wouldn't you know! Really! Oh you two are just impossible!" she went on until even she couldn't help but laugh, as she knew quite well that they had done just that in their first year.

Professor McGonagall led in the first years and Mark waved to Harry from the front of the room. Several of the professors stared in surprise at the young boy in recognition of his similarity to one of their favorite head girls. Harry noticed that Snape was looking even more cross than usual, and turned away when he noticed Harry's stare. McGonagall gave the instructions and the sorting started.

Harry was so nervous about Mark's sorting that he could barely pay attention to the others. He did notice, however the Sorting Hat was taking an unusually long time with each of them, and Ron was already starting to complain about his hunger. All their ears perked up the Head of Gryffindor called "Mark Evans". Mark confidently sat on the stool and placed the hat on his head. Harry could tell that Mark was following his advice and having a mental conversation with the hat. After what seemed like an hour, but was probably no more than five minutes, the hat shouted "Gryffindor!" and Mark jumped off the stool and ran toward the table. Harry and his friends all gave him congratulatory high fives and Mark sat down at the end of the table.

Neville nudged Harry and motioned to the Slytherin table, where Draco Malfoy was staring malevolently at Mark. "The slime ball better not try anything!" Harry fumed glaring at Malfoy. A second later a pitcher of pumpkin juice that had been on the Slytherin table directly in front of Malfoy exploded, raining orange liquid and glass over the students nearby. The entire hall gasped and looked at the Slytherins, all except Dumbledore and Lupin, who looked to Harry. He shrugged and smiled benignly, as if to say 'I didn't mean it', but in actuality he had.

The sorting continued without further incident and the feast was delicious as usual. Finally after pudding, Dumbledore got up to make his announcements that he had postponed due to the longevity of the sorting. He introduced Kingsley Shacklebolt as the new DADA teacher to great applause, and apologized for the poor teaching in that subject the previous year. The Headmaster reintroduced Professor Lupin as a part time teacher of a new course in Dark Arts history to a hearty ovation from all but the Slytherin table. Next he explained the role of the new position of Student Professorial Assistant and asked the SPAs to stand as they were introduced. Harry was glad that Malfoy had not been selected for the position, although he was still a prefect. The SPA in Potions was a seventh year Slytherin whom Harry hadn't really noticed before. When Harry was finally introduced, he received a standing ovation from almost all of the students, including a few younger Slytherins and most of the professors. It was such a great difference from last year that Harry couldn't help but  take advantage of it and bow to them dramatically. He sat back down and took in all the good feelings around him, savoring each one and trying to remember how they felt.

He had new friends, new family and a brighter outlook on the future. He now knew he had at least a chance to vanquish the Dark Lord, with the power that Tom Riddle had not. It was definitely going to be a long, hard road, but he was on his mark, set, and ready to face it

                                                                                 The End!

A/N   That's it! Thank you to everyone for the absolutely fabulous reviews! I can't tell you all how much they meant to me!!  I hope to start a new story about Mark's first year shortly-look out for it! I'd like to try writing something more original and I know I can't bare to put poor Harry into the danger JKR says he will be in next year! So it will be a Mark Evans and…. Fic. Thanks again all!!! Arlo aka APMom.