A/N: Hey, it's me again! After reading the sixth book of HP, I decided to rewrite and refine my story. A number of predictions did come true. While the skeleton of the story will remain pretty much the same, there're some major changes as I hope to achieve a darker effect. Beware that there may be spoilers along the line!
Disclaimer: HP is not mine, or I'd pair Harry with Draco!
Since I can't use asterisks or the like, here are new keys:
"…" talk
'…' thoughts
Bold changes in scene/time
Chapter 1: A New and Old Acquaintance
On the dark street of Privet Drive, one particular window was still alight despite the late hour. In that little room of No. 4, Privet Drive, a boy sat in his rickety bed. He was busy rereading the letters he had gotten over the summer, the tip of his wand alight. Harry Potter was too restless to go to sleep, not with so many events going on around him. Parchments, quills, clothes and all sorts of rubbish were strewn all over the floor. Spread out on his bed were recent copies of the Daily Prophet, sporting various headlines and moving pictures. Hermione Granger's letter echoed what was shown on the news channel everyday. The Muggle (non-magical community) world was in total disarray in the light of strange happenings. Inexplicable weather conditions, sudden ruin of infrastructure, gruesome murders that seemed to take place under impossible circumstances; these were but a few of the problems that cropped up. The wizarding world, however, seemed to suffer a worse battering. Murders splashed the front pages of Daily Prophet, the whole magical community was teetering on the brink of chaos as Lord Voldemort had returned and swore vengeance on the world.
Ron's letter had told him of the resignation of Cornelius Fudge as Minister for Magic. Rather, the wizards and witches of the country demanded for him to stand down. The new Minister had been appointed the day after that; Rufus Scrimgeour. But what arrested his attention now was the letter he was currently reading. It was from his headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. The contents of the letter were short and quick.
Dear Harry,
I will be coming on the 19th of August to accompany you to the Burrow, where you will spend the rest of your holidays. Please inform your aunt and uncle of my arrival at eight that night.
Yours truly,
Albus Dumbledore.
Tomorrow night was the time appointed. Harry was quite aware that he had not packed yet, and with a slight panic, began to rush around the room, locating various items. Halfway through packing, there was a knock on his door. Harry froze. Why would the Dursleys be up at this hour? There was the knock again. Slowly, cautiously, he opened the door a crack. It was Aunt Petunia.
"May I come in?"
Harry hesitated at the polite tone in her voice, and then opened the door to admit her. He watched her as she navigated her way through the mess and found a chair to sit in.
"Is there anything?" asked Harry.
"You're leaving tomorrow, aren't you?" Aunt Petunia didn't quite meet his eye when she said that.
"Yeah, I told you that my headmaster would come pick me up."
"It's been so long since you came here…"
Harry shifted uncomfortably. He couldn't tell which direction this conversation was going.
"I…there were times when we did not seem too…hospitable, Harry. Perhaps we should've treated you better,"
Harry was truly alarmed by now. In the back of his mind, he searched wildly for an explanation to his aunt's strange behaviour. His eyes settled onto an old issue of the Daily Prophet, which displayed an article that warned the readers about funny-acting relatives and friends.
"You! Who're you?"
The woman in front of him looked shocked. "I'm your Aunt Petunia-"
"No, you can't possibly be her! Are you an impostor? Have you been controlled by the Imperius Curse?" Harry whipped out his wand, ready to cast the first spell that springs into mind should Aunt Petunia suddenly attack him.
At this, Aunt Petunia shushed loudly and looked wildly from left to right, as though some nosy neighbour might be listening in on them. "Don't," she hissed. "Say that-that word! And put that away!"
'That's Aunt Petunia, all right, but why's she acting all weird?' thought the green-eyed boy.
"I know we have not been very nice, but you could at least show some appreciation for my making an effort." Aunt Petunia huffed.
"But-but…"
Aunt Petunia took something out of her pocket; it was a silver locket. She handed it to Harry, who upon inspection discovered the initials 'L.E.' carved on the back of the locket. Harry looked up in disbelief.
"Is-is this…"
His aunt nodded, "That was your mother's. That was the only thing she left me before running off with your father." At this point, her eyes filled with tears. Harry stood still, not sure as to how to react.
"I was always so jealous of Lily. I wondered sometimes why she'd have these powers and I didn't. She was always so clever, and popular and beautiful…But she was my little sister, my only sister."
It seemed to Harry that it took all of Aunt Petunia's self-control not to start howling. He awkwardly handed her a tissue. Without warning, she flung her arms around him and started sobbing.
"Aunt Petunia!"
"Oh, you must wonder why I hate you so! I don't, but your eyes…You reminded me so much of her, reminded me how much I missed her!"
With that she started bawling again. Harry looked around in alarm.
"Aunt Petunia, you shouldn't cry like this. You might wake Uncle Vernon," he whispered.
This thought stopped her sobs at once. She wiped her eyes hastily and said, "Ah yes, of course. This is not like me."
'You have no idea.' Harry thought to himself.
Aunt Petunia straightened herself, trying to look dignified. She gestured at the locket, "I want you to have it. It was, after all, Lily's."
"Thank you," said Harry hoarsely. He fingered the object in his hand. This had been his mother's, had been a proof that Aunt Petunia actually loved her sister. Unexpectedly, Harry gave his aunt a warm hug. Aunt Petunia was genuinely surprised by this act, but only returned the embrace.
"I know that tomorrow you will leave this place, and all the memories you've had experienced here. None of those memories were good, I dare say. Ever since Lily left, I tried to live as an ordinary person. I pretended that magic does not exist and tried to cover for her loss by thinking that she simply was…not like us."
Aunt Petunia placed her hands on Harry's shoulder, "But the night you arrived at my doorstep, I knew that I could never live normally. We have not been very loving. I won't ask anything of you but for you to be safe."
"You really do have your mother's eyes, Harry, dear." Harry gasped a little.
"We'll send you off tomorrow. I just hope your headmaster will enter through normal means."
Harry chuckled. None of the circumstances were 'normal' when he left the house for the past five years. Aunt Petunia rose to leave when Harry suddenly got an idea, "Aunt Petunia, if you don't mind, I'll write."
For a while Aunt Petunia looked dismayed as she remembered the disastrous event when her house was flooded with letters sent by the owls. Harry couldn't suppress his grin as he added, "I'll only ask Hedwig to drop the letter off." The look of shock on aunt Petunia's face was replaced by one of relief. After she bade him goodnight, Aunt Petunia left the room. Harry finished his packing and sat down to examine the silver locket more closely. He pried it open and found something carved on the inside.
A word of kindness can heal a thousand wounds.
Harry smiled. He slipped the locket on, the metal strangely warm against his skin. As he lied down to sleep, he dreamt of his parents, dancing under the trees of autumn.
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7.55. Harry glanced out of his window nervously. The Dursleys were gathered in the living room downstairs. His trunk was ready by his bedside, Hedwig's cage perched on top of it. Two more minutes and it would be the appointed time. Would his headmaster really come? Harry cast a searching eye towards the streets. There was nothing remotely extraordinary about it.
Downstairs, the clock struck eight. It was at that very moment that something happened. A streetlamp went out. And then another, and another. By the eighth chime, the street was dark and a sharp rapping erupted on the front door. Harry bounded downstairs and threw the door open.
Albus Dumbledore stood with a smile at the doorway. He didn't exactly look the way Harry remembered him. Dumbledore's face was more lined, and he somehow looked weary. Harry's joy was quickly replaced with worry.
"Good evening, Harry."
There was surprisingly little commotion with his leaving. There was a short exchange of words between Dumbledore and Aunt Petunia; Uncle Vernon had only glared at the headmaster. Harry had no doubt that Uncle Vernon was just waiting for him to disappear from their lives (at least, until the next summer holidays). After leaving Privet Drive, they had gone to persuade a Professor Slughorn to resume teaching at Hogwarts. Finally, the sight of the Burrows brought a close to the night's events.
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Diagon Alley
Diagon Alley was pretty deserted. Most shops had been closed as witches and wizards tried to flee London before anything disastrous takes place. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had just exited Flourish and Blotts, their arms full of books. It was no longer safe for them to walk by themselves on the streets. Everyday, Death Eaters attacked some place or another, making the atmosphere everywhere highly tense. As they hurried through the alleys, Harry caught sight of a fluttering cloak making a turn around a corner he knew too well; Knockturn Alley.
Harry's heart skipped a beat. Without alerting the others, he tailed after the person. Very slowly, very silently, he peered around the dark corner. To his surprise, he found a girl crouching down near the ground. Alarmed that she might have been injured, Harry quickly moved to her side.
"Are you all right?"
The girl looked up and Harry noticed immediately that she had the most vivid red eyes. She pushed strands of raven black hair out of her face and stared at Harry for a while.
"Yes, I'm all right. But I lost something very important around here."
The Gryffindor could tell from the girl's appearance that she was foreign. Wordlessly, she crouched down and tried to peer into a grate. She looked truly frantic.
"What is it that you're looking for? I can help you, if you like." Harry offered.
"Really?" Her red eyes lit up gratefully. "It's a bracelet, a gold one."
Harry got onto his hands and knees and looked under the broken wheelbarrow. There, between half an inch of space, he spotted something glinting in the very faint light.
"I found it, hold on. Accio bracelet!"
It wasn't as spectacular as Harry had expected it to be. It was, in fact, rather dull. The bracelet looked as though it had seen a lot, and had been worn down through the years. The girl took it from him with trembling fingers, treating it with so much delicate care that Harry wondered if it might fall apart.
To his great surprise, the girl gave him a quick hug.
"Thank you, thank you so much!"
Colour rose to his cheeks upon the suddenness of this action, by a stranger nonetheless. He stuttered a 'you're welcome' and turned to walk out of Knockturn Alley. The girl gave him a bow of gratitude and waved him goodbye, leaving Harry to wonder just that girl was.
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Hogwarts Express
After waving the Weasleys goodbye, Harry lugged his baggage into one of the many compartments. Ron and Hermione followed suit and placed their entire luggage in the compartment as well. After a while, both Prefects went out to do their prefects' duties (patrolling the corridors) leaving Harry to himself. Sitting alone turned out to be very uncomfortable, as there was a group of girls giggling outside his compartment. Harry tried to ignore the slight distraction. Pulling out his OWL results, he studied the piece of paper again. He was quite satisfied with his results really; as he had expected, he had an 'Outstanding' for Defence Against the Dark Arts. He only failed two subjects; History of Magic and Divination (he didn't care; he was going to drop it anyway). One thing he did regret was the 'Exceeds Expectations' he got for Potions. This meant that he won't be able to pursue his ambitions of becoming an Auror since Snape will never let him into his class.
Just then, the compartment door slid open and in strode Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood.
"Hello, Harry! Had a good summer?" Neville squeaked excitedly. Harry smiled to himself. The round-faced boy had come very far from the shy, scared boy he once was. Trained by Harry himself during their special meetings of the DA, Neville proved to be exceptionally skilled in duelling. Not only that, he had slowly begun to grow more confident and was even able to stand up to those who bullied him now. Luna walked in with her nose buried in the newest edition of the Quibbler. She looked up briefly and muttered a quick 'Hello' before reading again. Neville nodded at the compartment door.
"There're a lot of people outside your compartment, Harry." No sooner had he said this, a girl entered, flipping her hair in a somewhat conceited manner. Her overly sweet smile served as a warning; whatever was on her mind was bound to be something unpleasant.
"Hi, Harry! I'm Romilda Vane. You can come sit with us, instead of being with those losers."
"They're my friends." Harry replied coldly, taking an immediate dislike to the Ravenclaw. Romilda looked as though she had been slapped in the face. Then, she hitched back on her sickening smile (at this point, Harry was reminded of a certain Umbridge) and left.
"That was really nice of you, to stand up for us like that." Luna thanked him quietly.
"You are my friends. They didn't fight by my side at the Department of Mysteries." Harry's heart stung a little when he was forced to recall the death of his godfather, Sirius Black. Luna sat opposite him, giving him an understanding look. It made him feel better to know that she understood the pain of having lost someone dear, and remembered the words she had said to him last year. They were five minutes into conversation when Ron and Hermione re-entered the compartment.
Ron was scowling, "Those gits! I have no memories whatsoever that I used to act like them."
"Well, Ron, you really have, you know. Like the time when-"
"Alright, I get the point! Oh, hello, Neville, Luna."
The familiar grating sound made them turn to the compartment door. A girl had just stepped in.
"Excuse me, but have you seen an owl fly by?"
She caught sight of Harry and her face lit with recognition.
"Oh, it's you! Thank you for your help earlier." She bowed. Harry fidgeted uncomfortably, aware that four pair of eyes were watching him.
"It's nothing, really. By the way, I'm Harry Potter."
"I'm Rena Hung. Your story is a legend, even in my country." She shook hands with him. Soon, Rena was introduced to everyone else.
"So, you're in Hogwarts too…"mused Harry.
"Yes. I'm a foreign transfer student. I'm actually very nervous, since Hogwarts is a very famous magical school. To get a chance to study here is an honour." She said rather breathlessly as she took the seat beside the window.
Hermione continued to ask Rena questions about her culture, old school and background. Then, for the fourth time of the day, the door to the compartment slid open, revealing a boy of Harry's age, though taller. Draco Malfoy scanned the compartment lazily, running his fingers through his blond hair. The atmosphere tensed as Harry eyed his arch enemy warily.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Ron didn't bother to mask the irritation and anger in his voice.
"Nothing."
Where were the scathing remarks, the scornful glares? Malfoy without his hostility was simply…not Malfoy! Something about him was different. Harry noticed a certain weariness in the way he spoke, the way he moved. The Slytherin turned to leave when he caught sight of the new girl.
"Re-Rena?" spluttered the boy as his grey eyes widened drastically.
"Hello, Draco. It's been a long time." A small smile graced her lips.
Everyone in the compartment stared at the pair. For a whole minute, silence reigned supreme. The unsettling hush was broken by flapping wings and an eagle owl landed on Rena's shoulder. She turned her head to it, stroking its brown-grey feathers.
"Where have you been, Talons?"
As though the arrival of the owl made him realise just how many people were staring at him, Malfoy snapped out of his daze.
"I'll…speak to you later."
For one moment, Harry thought he saw sadness flash in those grey eyes. Once Malfoy left, everyone turned to Rena. Sighing, she knew she had to explain this.
"I guess you'll want to know how I may be associated with Draco."
A/N: That's the first edited chapter of Rebel of Slytherin. I rushed through a bit through the story, since I don't want to rewrite what's in the book. Of course, I guess it wasn't such a good way to do it but I wanted to get on with the story. Please review and thanks!