A/N: Here we go again... the next chap is here! Review replies are at the end.
"Where do you two think you're going? You need to be here or you won't get the password!"
"We'll be back for the end of the feast. And really Percy, are you a Prefect? You should have told us..."
With that they were off, Harry and the ghost floating along next to them. Percy glared after their retreating forms.
As soon as they were out of hearing distance, they broke into gales of laughter.
"It's a crazy world," muttered Harry, smirking slightly. But he was in a good position to keep a close eye on Quirrel, learn some magic... and to be amused. For some odd reason, he wouldn't have it any other way.
They took a right in the entrance hall, and went down a set of stairs, into a corridor. Unlike the rest of the castle, the paintings hanging from the walls were of fruit. The kitchen, Harry was soon to discover, was hidden behind a painting of a bowl of fruit, with a pear that was apparently ticklish.
Harry stared at it in surprise, as the picture swung forward to reveal a doorway, then followed the twins and Nick through the entrance.
Nick had been giving them quizzical glances most of the way. This, Harry assumed, was probably why he'd been invited along; ghosts weren't going to be fooled.
The twins addressed some rather odd-looking creatures, asking for food to be brought. They were small, with impossibly wide eyes and bat-like ears.
"So," questioned Nick, once they were alone, "what's going on here?"
"They-"
"The rest of the school-"
"Think that he-" George gestured to Harry.
"Is dead."
"So we thought it might be amusing-"
"To play along."
"How long are you planning on having this continue?" Nick gave the twins a glance somewhere between wary and intrigued
"Actually," Harry cut in, "I would like to continue without anyone finding out, for as long as possible, as in a year, I'm fairly sure I'll stick around that long, possibly longer."
Glancing at the startled faces of his companions, he decided it would be best, as these were 'chivalrous' people, at least according to the hat, that he'd best give them a reason to keep their mouths shut.
"I have reason to believe I might be in danger if it were to be discovered that I'm still alive."
Nick gave him a thoughtful look, then nodded.
"I'll have a word with the other ghosts then."
He left, floating right through one of the walls.
Fred and George looked at one another, obviously not entirely sure what Harry meant, and shrugged.
"Whatever floats your boat, mate."
"All the more entertainment for us."
"Good. I'm assuming you will help me navigate around without getting caught?"
"Of course, all the better for us, anyways."
"Here's the rest of the fizzing whizbees."
They handed him a bag, which he rolled up carefully, and placed in his pocket.
"So, what else?"
"Where should I sleep? I'd like a tour of the school, and a proper explanation of why I'm supposedly dead, that is if you want me to attend classes with you..."
"Of course, of course..."
"Just a second-"
One pulled out an old, yellowed piece of parchment.
"Right, these three Filch knows about..."
"These are blocked off., that should do."
"Let's see, we'll need warming charms-"
"Where are we getting furniture from?"
"House elves."
"We're telling them it's for us?"
"Right-o, brother dear."
"Harry, we'll be setting up this passage here for you to stay in."
"We'll show you where the rest are later."
"You can always go invisible when you need to travel unseen-"
"Speaking of which, you need to teach us that trick."
Harry snorted in amusement, but gave no sign of agreement. The twins, invisible, didn't sound like a good idea, even if he did know how to explain the skill. Everything he'd taught himself had come necessity.
The house-elves, as the twins informed Harry they were called, brought a variety of food, and once none of them were watching, they gave a large portion of this to Harry. He wrapped up several scones in a napkin for later before digging in enthusiastically.
They had the secret passage set up nicely within a short amount of time. The house elves had provided a bed, carpet, and sofa, and the twins added a warming charm. It was still colder than the rest of the castle, especially the common rooms and dormitories. It was probably, Harry surmised, because as creative as the twins were, they were still fairly young. He reassured them that it was fine, however. He was used to the cold, and could bundle up in the blankets to keep warm.
After settling in, the twins insisted on taking Harry up to Gryffindor tower, as part of his 'tour,' though they had to return to the Great Hall to walk up with the others, and get the password. Percy still seemed irritated, much to the twins' delight, though, Harry thought, he might just have been annoyed at the sight of them. The other students kept out of their way, for the most part. Hermione and Neville showed him the most interest, walking nearby. He most likely looked as lost as the two of them felt, he thought. For whatever reason, they seemed to find his presence comforting. Ron shot them several looks, both curious and annoyed, but avoided them.
The paintings in the main part of the school were mainly portraits. These were much more articulate than the pear, and could talk, instead of just giggling. Harry was beginning to get the impression that he would have to be extremely careful, and make as many friend among the portraits as possible, for it seemed that, at Hogwarts, the walls did have eyes. The castle seemed rather foreboding, even more so because there was hardly anywhere you weren't being watched than because of the architecture. It was amazing that a plot like Quirrel's could still manage to go unnoticed. He resolved to learn his way around the castle as well as possible, for it seemed the sort of terrain that could be either an extreme advantage- or an extreme hindrance, depending on how well you knew it. Oddly enough, it seemed, above all, like a place that would be easy to call home.
The entrance to Gryffindor tower was guarded by a portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress. She asked for the password, and was answered by 'prefect' Percy, before swinging open, and allowing the students to pour into the common room. It was fairly cozy looking, with comfy looking arm-chairs and a warm fire in the fire place. Harry was standing to the side, talking with Neville and Hermione.
One of the professors was waiting for the twins, and quickly drew them to the side. She seemed to not have noticed Harry yet, as he was one of the last to enter. He'd had to meticulously avoid bumping into anyone in order to evade discovery. Hermione managed to fit in a brief synopsis of the events of the night of his parents death, which certainly explained why everyone knew who he was.
He'd supposedly died that day when his aunt had told him to flee the house. The day of the attack.
He hadn't thought much about the Dursleys since. It might seem odd to someone else, but it was true. They'd been horrible to him growing up. Seeing how they treated Dudley, it was obvious. Yet she'd sacrificed everything to get him out of there, for he was sure they hadn't survive. It was in that instant that he'd been able to forgive her, as simple as that, so that he didn't think badly of them, nor morn them, as he'd had little reason to morn them, and no time to think of anything but survival.
The professor, a stern looking woman with her hair pulled firmly back into a bun, was lecturing the twins furiously
"...how dare you!"
"Professor McGonagall-"
"Completely despicable. Do have any idea what that boy has meant to our world? You've no right to joke around with that, there's nothing funny about it!"
Harry stepped out from the corner where he'd been standing.
"Excuse me if I don't care. So I'm their symbol, their martyr, their bag of broken dreams. Why should I give a damn. Tell the world to go paint their pretty pictures as they please. Do you really believe I was ever anything but a person?"
The entire common had gone silent.
"I'm apologize. Perhaps... ...perhaps you have every right to stir things up a bit, as you see fit."
He nods.
"Thank you, Professor. I wish you a good evening."
"The same to you, Mr Potter... ...goodnight Harry."
She left. Fred and George wore identical startled looks, obviously shocked to have escaped punishment. Harry left only moments later. He was well ready for a goodnight's sleep- most likely a better one than he had in a long time, and had had enough of the Hogwarts population for one day.
A/N: I'm finally replying to reviewers, isn't that special? I admit, this fic has some odd twists, so I'll do my best to answer questions (without giving anything away... smirks.) Lately I have been posting once a week. This will probably continue to be the norm, as it's reasonable, and something I can commit to on a consistant basis. I may occasionally post more often, depending partially on things such as number of reviews, but you can probably expect at least one chapter a week.
lmill123- Glad you're enjoying it.
alen- The question of whether Voldemort would know is an interesting one. Voldie wasn't there at the time, just his followers. It is logical that he might think Harry was hiding. However, if he, or any of his followers had managed to track Harry beyond this point, the records from the orphanage indicate another fire, and a child who they think to have perished. Harry would have become much more difficult to trace around this time, the main reason which I won't be explaining at this time (it would give things away. Anyone have any guesses? I believe I carefully worded a few things to hint it, but it's far from obvious...). At any rate, while he wouldn't completely dismiss Harry, he knows very little for sure.
SeekerTLK- True, we won't be having our same golden trio here, but I think it will hopefully be interesting overall. Thanks for the review!
jbfritz- I can hardly tell you if/when Harry will be found out without giving things away. Harry will not be masquerading as a ghost for the entire fic, but as it is currently planned to cover several years, that isn't saying much.
Avemtilla- Thinking on your toes, very good. It was one of the points I thought about when I was writing the scene where Harry first has the ghost appearence put in place, however I don't consisder it much of an issue(at least at this point)for several reasons. For one thing, none of them saw him when he was seven. He is, as in the books, fairly small, as he hasn't exactly been getting surplus nurishment. He still looks distinctly child-like, and it isn't always easy to tell how old a child, especially an undernourished one, is. For another thing, his death has been fully excepted as truth. Can you imagine going up to someone you know died tragically, and asking, "Excuse me, but you look a few years older than the age you supposedly died, can you explain why?" I'm not saying it would be overlooked forever, but it's not a major factor at the moment. Glad to have someone paying attention here, and enjoying it. Thanks for the review!
FroBoy- Thanks!
Sarah Beth- Thank goodness, I do try to be original...
Linker27- I definately had a fun trip, thanks. Hope you enjoyed this chap!
rigal- Was the update soon enough?
Yzliose- Harry will be sitting in on some classes later, though not levitation. 'Wingardium Leviosa,' is a first year charm, and Harry will be attending Fred and Georges classes, at least at first. I don't think the standard charm would do much good, as it would be hard to cast on oneself, but don't worry, the fizzing whizbees will be replaced.
ahappyjtm- Glad you enjoyed it, and honored that you actually reviewed my fic : ). Coming in from the Cold is awsome!
Crissy Potter- Thanks!
lady rosebit- I'm not sure I can really truthfully say either at the moment... let me just not bother to explain. You'll see.
Night-Owl123- Was that soon enough?
fearsomdiety- You're just going to keep telling me to hurry and update, aren't you? laughs. Glad you're enjoying it.
Thestrals- None of them had that much of a chance, as they left after the sorting. McGonagall did seek out the twins this chap though. What'd you think?
kateydidnt- Don't think Dumbledore would fall for it? Dumbledore is rather odd, and even in cannon we're not always sure if he knows what's going on or not. Maybe he has no clue, or is preoccupied with guarding the stone,maybe he has his suspicions, or maybe it suits him to sit back and watch (he has shown amusement with pranks in the past). All I ever said was that he was caught by surprise. Who knows? I leave you to make your own assumptions. Thank you for taking the time to review.
Tirla- Glad you're enjoying it. I realize there are probably a few gramatical errors here and there (it's unbeta-ed), and though I do look things over, I like to spend my time getting more written.
Padfoot's Fire- He certainly can bridge out connections to various houses as he pleases; however he still has to monitor Quirrel, and avoid getting caught. He'll get to remain fairly independent, but not entirely carefree.
CannonFodder- I'll try not to over-extend the ghost aspect. Thanks for the review!