Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!
A/N: I am so sorry that this chapter took so long. This semester has been keeping me very busy, but hopefully I can get another chapter out much sooner. My email is not working so I couldn't send this chapter to a beta reader. There may be a few grammar mistakes in this chapter, but I figured I may as well post it because you all have been waiting long enough.
Lastly, a big thanks to Schnebz, Old-crow, Shining Storm, and Aira for reviewing.
Carpathia: Snape was at Hogwarts when the Death Eaters attacked Azkaban. He couldn't be there to help the Order because if a Death Eater recognized him Snape would have been in trouble. As for Voldemort…well, he had his own reasons for Snape not being there.
Bellachaos: It is a bit convenient that Sirius has a daughter that is Harry's age, but that's what fit into the storyline.
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Chapter 7: Welcome to Hogwarts!
The morning of September first was not off to a good start. It was a grey, dreary morning and, while it hadn't rained yet, dark clouds in the sky said otherwise. Even worse than the weather, however, was Mrs. Weasley.
Everyone was tired after being up most of the night, but none more so than her. She had taken to snapping at Lyra for falling asleep again instead of eating breakfast and yelling at everyone when they weren't immediately ready to leave for the station. Finally after several hectic minutes, however, the group was ready to go.
While everyone was in the hallway waiting for Moody to appear, they heard a loud squawk coming from the other end of the house. After a few moments, Bill appeared in the hallway, trying to drag Buckbeak with him.
"We're not riding Buckbeak to King's Cross, are we?" Ron asked hesitantly as he eyed the hippogriff.
"Don't be thick, Ron," Bill panted, pulling on the hippogriff's rope, "There's no way we could fit everyone on him. No, we're taking Buckbeak outside and setting him free."
"But why?" Ginny asked, watching as Bill continued to struggle to pull Buckbeak out of the room.
"Sirius isn't…" Remus began but corrected himself when he saw the look on Lyra's face, "No one is going to be here to take care of Buckbeak on a daily basis."
"And we can't give the hippogriff back to Hagrid," Tonks said when she saw Ginny start to open her mouth to protest, "the Ministry is still technically looking for Buckbeak."
They all hurried over to pet Buckbeak goodbye while Bill rested after finally leading Buckbeak out to the entryway. They all petted the hippogriff hesitantly, though Buckbeak wouldn't let Lyra pet him at all. Harry was sorry to see Buckbeak go; the hippogriff had been in the house for a long while, and it didn't seem to want to go. When everyone had finished saying goodbye, Bill resumed his struggle to get the stubborn hippogriff out the door.
"Wait a moment, Bill," Moody said as he finally walked into the room and over to Buckbeak, "We need to Disillusion him before you can take him outside, otherwise, the Muggles might see."
"Good point," Bill conceded as he let go of the ropes for a second time and stepped aside as Moody applied the Disillusionment Charm.
With a tap of his wand, Moody had changed Buckbeak's grey coat of feathers to match its surroundings. Buckbeak, however, didn't seem to notice that the Charm had been applied and just dug his claws further into the wooden floor. Bill sighed in defeat and pulled at the rope again, this time, with the help of Kingsley Shacklebolt, they managed to drag Buckbeak outside while Harry and everyone else followed, carrying their luggage out behind them.
"So, take him to the Black Forest then?" Bill asked Moody in between breaths.
"Yeah," Moody agreed, "he should be safe enough there. And it's far enough away that he can't follow you back."
"But aren't there a lot of dangerous things in the Black Forest?" Hermione said with some concern, "I mean, it's supposed to be even more dangerous than the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.
"You're right, Hermione," Remus said, "but those things aren't harmful to Buckbeak. He should be perfectly safe there."
Hermione only looked like she partially believed him, but she didn't press the point. Instead, they all watched as Bill mounted Buckbeak and, after a few moments of convincing Buckbeak to do so, took off and flew into the sky. Harry continued to watch them leave until the dark clouds covered them from view.
"We should get going," Mrs. Weasley finally said as she dragged everyone's attention away from the sky, "We've got a good twenty minute walk ahead of us. I really wish Arthur could have gotten us some Ministry cars!"
By the time Harry arrived at King's Cross Station, he wished very much that they had been able to get Ministry cars as well. It was a long journey to the station, and it didn't help matters that he had to carry his luggage with him. He was tempted on more than one occasion to ask someone to put a Levitating Charm on his stuff so they would be easier to carry, but it would be hard to explain to a passing Muggle why his suitcase was floating. Harry passed the time to the station by listening to Fred and George tell Lyra all the pranks they pulled when Umbridge took over as a temporary headmistress. He could hear Lyra laugh when they reached the part where they set a portable swamp on the fifth floor of the east wing. A little ahead of him, however, he was almost certain he heard Mrs. Weasley sniff in disapproval.
When they finally reached the barrier between platforms nine and ten, they all took turns leaning casually onto the barrier. It took some time to convince Lyra that she was supposed to walk through it, but eventually they fell out onto platform nine and three quarters. Harry followed as Moody led them through the crowd of other families saying goodbye to their children until they came to a somewhat isolated patch near the train. As they waited for the others to join them, Harry took the opportunity to look around and see if he could spot anyone he knew. He could see several people he recognized, including Dean Thomas, who looked as though he was trying to catch Ginny's eye.
As Harry let his gaze wander, however, he noticed that someone was watching him. When he looked to the other side of the station, he noticed that Mrs. Malfoy was staring over in his direction, her eyes narrowed with derision. He was pretty sure that she was glaring at him because he had put her husband in Azkaban.
"Be careful, all of you!" Moody said, interrupting Harry's thoughts, "and don't forget what I've said before: constant vigilance!"
They all nodded at Moody's advice, and then Mrs. Weasley took turns hugging each of them.
"Behave," Remus said to Lyra, as he looked her pointedly in the eyes, "I really don't want to get an owl from McGonagall saying that you've terrorized the entire school."
Harry saw Lyra give Remus a look that clearly said, 'that's rich coming from you', but she chose not to comment and instead pulled him into a hug. When she pulled away she went over to where Fred and George were standing to say goodbye to them as well.
"Take care of yourself, Harry," Remus said as he clapped Harry on the shoulder, "Don't forget to go to Dumbledore if you still are having those dreams."
Harry nodded, though, he knew if he had any more dreams about Sirius or the veil he was definitely not going to Dumbledore. He felt like he should say something, but the red train gave a piercing whistle and he knew it was time to go.
"Don't forget to send us the recipe when you think you've got it," Harry heard Fred remind Lyra as she started towards the train.
She gave a wave to acknowledge that she heard him, then stepped onboard the train and out of sight, with Hermione right behind her. When they had all gotten on the train, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all went towards the direction of the prefect's carriage, leaving Harry and Lyra alone. He couldn't find any empty compartments on the first five carriages, but finally on the sixth one he was able to find a compartment at the back of the carriage that was empty.
When they had stowed away their luggage, they both sat down and Lyra took out her copy of Advanced Potions and began to read. As the silence grew, Harry felt he should say something so his mind cast around for a topic; he didn't really know much about her.
"Er—do you play Quidditch at all," he asked, as Lyra looked up from her book and smiled.
"I'm a decent flyer, but I've never been really good at the game. Quidditch is fun to watch, though," she answered, "You play, don't you?"
"Yeah," Harry said, "I'm Seeker for the team."
They lapsed into silence once more and Lyra returned to her book. He was trying to think of something else to say when the compartment door opened. Neville Longbottom stuck his head in the door and looked briefly around the room.
"Can I sit in here with you?" he asked hesitantly, "Everywhere else is full."
"Sure," Harry said.
Neville went in and, as he sat down, he seemed to just realize that Lyra was in the compartment as well.
"I haven't seen you at Hogwarts before, have I?" He asked her, looking at her strangely.
"No," Lyra assured him as she flipped a page in her book, "I just transferred here from Beauxbatons. I'm Lyra Summers"
"Neville Longbotton," he said simply, then when he spotted what she was reading asked, "So, do you like Potions?"
"Yeah, it was my favorite class at school," She said.
"You like it now," Harry corrected her, "Just wait till you have a Potions lesson with Snape."
"I don't have him this year," Neville said happily.
"You're lucky," Harry said. After giving it some thought over the weeks, he sometimes still regretted signing up for Potions.
"So the professor's a real git then?" Lyra asked with a slight smile on her face.
"Who's a git?" Ron asked as he opened the compartment door, followed by Hermione and, to Harry's surprise, Luna Lovegood. She had a copy of The Quibbler in her hand and a prefect's badge pinned to her robes.
"Snape," Harry said simply, pretending not to notice the scowl on Hermione's face.
Luckily, Harry was saved from a telling off when the food trolley arrived, and he got up to get the food. In a few short minutes, he returned with his arms full of Pumpkin Pasties and Chocolate Frogs. Lyra picked up the food and looked at it curiously, then shrugged and ate it.
"I don't remember you at Hogwarts," Luna suddenly said as she looked at Lyra curiously.
"I'm Lyra Bl—Summers," Lyra said, correcting herself, and then quickly added, "I just transferred from Beauxbatons."
"I'm Luna Lovegood," She said, apparently not aware of Lyra's slip-up, "You know, you really don't sound all that French."
"I'm English born, but I moved to France when I was six," Lyra clarified.
Harry noticed that Luna continued to stare at Lyra for a few moments longer than she suddenly turned to him.
"So, did you like the book I sent you over the summer, Harry?" she asked as she ate her Pumpkin Pasties with a Chocolate Frog on top.
"Er—yeah, it was great," Harry lied. Truthfully, he could barely remember anything that he read in the book.
"What was your favorite part?" she questioned him eagerly.
"Er…" he said as he tried to remember what he read, "the Elementals."
"I didn't think Elementals actually existed," Lyra commented, looking at Harry rather weirdly.
"That's because they don't!" Hermione stated resolutely.
"Of course they do!" Luna stated fanatically, "Many people have spotted them on any number of occasions. It's all written in The Quibbler if you don't believe me, Hermione!"
Hermione took a deep breath and instead of commenting, took out a copy of The Daily Prophet. Harry watched her eyes narrow as she read the article, her eyes were moving back and forth from the page rather quickly.
"Look at this," she said as she laid the paper flat for everyone to read. Everyone crowded around the Prophet, with the exception of Luna, who took resumed reading The Quibbler instead.
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AZKABAN DESTROYEDTHE SECOND WAR BEGINS
The Ministry of Magic confirmed just last night that Azkaban has indeed been destroyed. According to an Auror who was at the battle scene, all of the prisoners, including the twelve Death Eaters captured almost three months ago have escaped. Luckily, nobody was killed in the brief battle, though several were wounded and have since been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for recovery.
Minister Fudge was not available for questioning regarding the breakout, but according to the Junior Assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley, he is 'extremely busy' trying to correct the Azkaban breakout.
"You-Know-Who's return was a surprise to all of us," the Junior Assistant insisted, "The Minister is working hard to make sure that You-Know-Who does not gain the kind of power he had over fifteen years ago."
Whether or not the efforts are working remains to be seen. Many witches and wizards fear that the Ministry's efforts are far too late now to make any difference. Several in the Wizarding community feel that it is time for Fudge to step down as Minister of Magic all together.
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"They're really not happy with Fudge anymore, are they?" Hermione said as everyone finished reading the article.
"Maybe Fudge will step down and they can elect somebody a little more competent," Luna said from across the Quibbler.
"Is Percy Weasley related to you?" Lyra asked Ron curiously.
"Yeah, he was my brother," Ron said bitterly.
Lyra obviously heard the tone in Ron's voice because she didn't comment any further, and instead, turned to look out the window.
Harry assumed that Percy still wasn't talking to his family because none of the Weasleys had mentioned him over the summer. He suspected that Percy's continued estrangement from his family was now due to more of a wounded ego than anything else.
"We'd better change, I think we're almost at Hogwarts," Hermione said finally when no one else spoke.
After several more minutes, the train finally came to a halt at Hogsmeade Station. Harry could hear several of the other people in neighboring compartments grabbing their luggage and pets in a hurry to get off the train; Ron, Hermione, and Luna all left so they could supervise. When he had collected his own trunk and Hedwig's cage, he stepped off the train and onto the platform, only to be greeted by rain and thunder.
Harry stood there for a few seconds, waiting for Lyra to get off the train as well, then both of them made their way to the carriages. He looked sideways at Lyra and noticed that the rain wasn't bothering her one bit; in fact, she looked as though she were enjoying the storm.
"Firs' years this way!" Harry heard a very familiar voice say.
Harry turned around to see Hagrid holding a lantern and beckoning the new group of first years to the boats. None of them looked too enthused to be riding to Hogwarts by boat in the storm.
"Who's that?" Lyra asked as she noticed where Harry was looking.
"That's Hagrid," Harry said as he readjusted Hedwig's cage in his arms, "He's the Groundskeeper at Hogwarts and Care of Magical Creatures professor as well."
Lyra looked back at Hagrid and giggled, "He's also Madame Maxime's boyfriend, isn't he?"
Harry had to smile at that. He and Lyra continued to push through the crowd until they saw Ron and Hermione standing by a carriage, waiting for them. When they had all settled in, the thestrals began to push the coaches along the flooded road towards Hogwarts. It wasn't long before Hogwarts came into view.
The coaches came to a stop, but the rain still continued. As all of the students exited their coaches, they practically dashed to get into the castle. As Harry got out of the coach, he noticed that Lyra was staring at the castle for a few moments until she realized that she was getting soaked. They all walked towards Hogwarts, but before Harry even reached the doors a gloating voice halted him in his tracks.
"I told you my father would be out of Azkaban, Potter!"
Harry turned to see Draco Malfoy approaching with Crabbe and Goyle on either side of him. Malfoy stopped a few feet away from Harry; his pale, pointed face was contorted into a sneer.
"Shove off, Malfoy!" Harry said angrily. He was not in the mood to deal with Malfoy now. Malfoy, however, showed no signs of leaving and instead turned his attention to Ron, Hermione, and Lyra, who were behind Harry.
"I see you have new member in your fan club, Potter," Draco said as his eyes came to rest on Lyra, and he sneered at her. "Let me guess, another pathetic Mudblood like Granger!"
As soon as the words were out of Malfoy's mouth, both the Slytherins and Gryffindors reached for their wands. Before a single spell could be uttered, however, someone else's voice cut in.
"Is there a problem here?" Harry heard a stern, harsh voice say from behind him.
As he turned around, he saw a tall, stern looking, brown haired witch glaring at all of them as she approached them. Her severe eyes narrowed as she saw the wands in their hands and said, "Ten points from Slytherin and Gryffindor, and if you lot don't put your wands away this instant, I will make it fifty points!"
She continued to watch until they all returned their wands to their pockets, though Malfoy did rather reluctantly. After she saw that all the wands were away, she gave them a slight nod and spun around and headed back towards the steps.
"You got lucky, Potter!" Malfoy said as he, Crabbe, and Goyle rushed past them and went into the door that led to the hall.
"Are all the students at Hogwarts this friendly?" Lyra asked sardonically as they watched Malfoy disappear into the castle.
"That's Malfoy," Ron said as they made their way to the doors, "He thinks that he's better than everyone else 'cause he comes from a pureblood family. Slytherin."
"I didn't say that Slytherins were the nicest people that I had ever met," Lyra said as she glared at Ron, "I just said that there are bound to be some descent ones."
"When you meet them let me know," Ron said.
"So who do you think the new professor was?" Harry asked before Lyra could open her mouth to fire a retort.
"I imagine she's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Hermione said, " We haven't had one that's lasted for more than a year."
"She seems a bit strict to me," Ron said as they opened the door and stepped into the hall, "I mean, she just took all those points from Gryffindor and the term hasn't even started!"
"She took points from Slytherin too," Hermione pointed out as she took out her wand and pointed it at herself. Her clothes steamed for a few seconds then became dry.
"Yeah, but they started it," Ron protested, drying himself off as well, "he called her a you-know-what."
"Better he thinks my parents are Muggles rather than tell his parents who I really am," Lyra sighed as she pocketed her wand and followed the crowd of students into the Great Hall.
Once Harry entered, he looked up at the enchanted ceiling, which was as dark and cloudy as the weather outside.
"Think of all those poor first years that have to cross the lake," Hermione said, "I can't imagine that they'll be dry when they come in."
"Maybe they'll drown," Ron said, sounding very hopeful and ignoring Hermione's disbelief, "then we won't have to sit through the sorting."
Hermione rolled her eyes as she sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Ron. While Ron and Hermione bickered, Harry let his gaze wander to the staff table. He saw Dumbledore seated at the head of the table talking with the stern, brown haired witch that had scolded them outside. As Harry worked his way down the table, he saw another professor that he didn't recognize. This time, the professor was a pallid, balding man with thick glasses that could have once belonged to Trelawney. A little further down the table, Snape was sitting, glaring at the Gryffindor table. His scowl was, as usual, directed at Harry. Apparently, Snape decided to ignore Lyra, who was sitting next to him reading her book.
Before Harry could give it much thought, however, the chatter in the hall died down as McGonagall came in with a line of first years following right behind her, gazing around the hall with a mixture of bewilderment and trepidation.
"So, what happens now?" Lyra whispered, making him jump slightly in his seat. Before he could answer her, the hat began to sing:
I was created by the Founders
Many years ago.
That was before they were parted,
Before they became foe.
They were all united at one time,
Once proud and strong.
Looking back now,
It is no wonder things went wrong:
Salazar was Head of the Slytherins.
He took the cunning and sly.
Their only friend is trickery,
That is how they get by.
Rowena was Head of the Ravenclaws.
She took the intelligent and wise.
Most are bordering on arrogance.
Brilliance is the only thing they prize.
Helga was Head of the Hufflepuffs.
She took the loyal and meek.
To the other Houses, they appear
Nothing but weak.
Godric was Head of the Gryffindors.
He took the daring and brave.
These brash qualities can
Send them to an early grave.
Even though I am made to sort you
Into whichever House you belong,
I must admit that I find
The whole process is rather wrong.
To keep the Houses divided
Would be a terrible mistake.
You all do not seem to realize
That so much is at stake.
This song is no mere warning.
I must ask that you be friends,
To see that what was started long ago
By the Founders does not end.
Do not discard what I say.
I must ask that you try.
If not, the outcome will be much worse
You're fate will be to die!
For possibly the first time in the history of Hogwarts, the sorting hat received no applause after the song had ended. The entire hall had become as still as the sorting hat now was on the stool.
"Well, I think we should get along with the sorting," Dumbledore said after a full minute of silence.
If the first years were nervous to try on the hat in the beginning, now they refused to go anywhere near it.
"I don't think I'd be to enthusiastic to try on that hat either," Lyra commented as they watched Professor McGonagall try to convince one of the first years to put the hat on.
"It sang this kind of song last year," Hermione said, watching the hat with interest.
"Yeah," Ron said, "but it didn't threaten us with death,"
Harry didn't say anything, but he watched as the first years finally began to be sorted. As a result, the sorting ceremony took much longer than anyone could have expected, much to Ron and Harry's dismay. When it was finally over, however, Dumbledore stood up and addressed the entire Great Hall.
"Welcome back to another year of Hogwarts! I could stand up here all evening talking," Dumbledore said smiling as he saw most of the students fidgeting at the remark, "but such things are best kept for after dinner. Tuck In!"
Harry and Ron didn't need any more encouragement as they started to make a grab for the food that suddenly appeared on the dishes in front of them. Harry ate mostly in silence, listening to Hermione as she quoted everything in Hogwarts, A History to Lyra. Once everyone had finished eating, the hall started to buzz with conversation again, and Dumbledore stood up once more to address the students.
"Now that everyone is full, I have a few quick announcements before we all go to bed. First, all of you should know that the forest on these grounds is absolutely forbidden to students of any age. A few of our older students need to be reminded as well," He said, his eyes lingering on Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has also asked me to remind you that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes. He has also extended the list of banned items to include Weasley's Wildfire Whiz-Bangs and Portable Swamps. The fairly sizeable list is still posted on Mr. Filch's office, I believe, if any of you wish to look."
"I am also pleased to introduce two new teachers to our school. The first is Professor Elweird who is our new Muggle Studies professor." Dumbledore said as he gestured to the willowy professor with the thick glasses, " as well as Professor Addley who has consented to fill the role of our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,"
Harry and the other students clapped rather unenthusiastically as Dumbledore announced their new professors; clearly, they all still remembered Umbridge. Both professors looked rather apathetic to their lack of applause, however.
As soon as Dumbledore finished his announcements, all of the students stood up and filed out of the Hall. Since the fifth year prefects were the ones to escort the first years to the dormitories, Ron and Hermione were able to walk with Lyra and him back to the Gryffindor common room. As they made their way to the dormitory, Harry only half listened as Hermione began to tell Lyra about the changing staircases. He was more concerned about what the sorting hat had said about Gryffindors. The line "These brash qualities can send them to an early grave" kept being repeated in his head. Would it send him to an early grave as well?
Harry was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't realize that they had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady until Ron mumbled, "Gillyweed."
As soon as the portrait flew open, they walked into the common room and made their way toward the staircases. Hermione and Lyra bade Ron and Harry goodnight as they went up to the girls' dormitories. When Harry entered his own room, he got ready for bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow.
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When he woke up, he realized that he wasn't at Hogwarts anymore. He was standing in a dark and dusty room that he didn't recognize. He was looking out of the window towards the quiet forest outside, his white fingers resting on the windowsill. Harry finally turned away from the window when he realized that the door to the room had just opened.
Rookwood walked into the room with an apprehensive look on his face. Harry had a feeling that he—no, Voldemort! —wasn't going to like the news he was about to receive.
"Well, what is it?" Voldemort finally asked coldly as Rookwood kneeled before him.
"We found the house in France, my lord, but nobody was living there," Rookwood said with a trace of fear in his voice.
"I should have known that Dumbledore would have found out about the girl as well," Voldemort sighed, then his gaze hardened, "I told Avery that he shouldn't have delayed in fetching her."
"I can send some of the Death Eaters to track down the girl and her godmother," Rookwood suggested hesitantly.
"There's no point," Voldemort said coldly," that Muggle loving fool has probably already taken the girl to Hogwarts," he stopped speaking for a moment then smiled callously, "It's no matter, though, because I foresaw this possibility and took the necessary precautions."
"My lord?" Rookwood asked, sounding more than a little confused.
"You will learn eventually but now is not the time," Voldemort said dismissively as Rookwood got up to leave the room.
He made it to the doorway before Voldemort called him back, "Rookwood, Avery has failed me one too many times. Kill him."
As Rookwood left, Voldemort narrowed his eyes, as if he just realized something was wrong. Suddenly, Harry felt himself being propelled out of his own bed with a jolt as he abruptly awoke to discover that he was still at Hogwarts.
