I would like to thank Capn-BlackRose, Snuffles-dog25, Enivrement, Pure Black, Fire Gazer, LG, Chaser1, Athenz, Baby-Trix, swordoftheshadow, bluumberry, Yana5, darkangelgep, and Kage Mirai for reviewing.
DARKMARK33LV: Harry and Voldemort will meet next chapter. As for Ginny /pulls out torch, salt, toilet paper, paper clips and cotton candy and heads off to destroy/
Ivin Artemis Draconis: Of course, Harry and his friends are going to "break up" (/pokes/ can friends do that?)...permanently. I wouldn't have it any other way. As for your minions, I don't want to borrow yours /scoffs/ like I can't get my own /blinks/ ...and if you send your minions after me, I'll bring them over to my side with my amazing charm /waves hand like she's casting a spell (which she will)/ and astounding wit /smacks hip (I don't think I need to explain that one)/
SheWolfe7: Dumbledore will think something of Harry's change.../blinks/ (never really thought about that) I'll work on that. Voldemort and Harry will "interact" (ooh, /pokes/ it's a big word! ) next chapter, you get Voldemort mooning this chapter...and I don't know why he's mooning, all off my characters moon...I need to keep them from doing that /heads off to plot/
HoshiHikari: Yes, back to Hogwarts for Harry. I imagine that when they find out about Harry, everyone will be so afraid that they'll begin discriminating against him, and then Sin, Voldemort, Remy-love, and Sevy-chan will burst in and kill all of them and then Ron and Dumbledore will die and everyone will live happily ever after and Bush will fall off a glacier, and my class ring will come and Remus will come to my school as a teenager and we'll hit it right off and go together and it'll be true love...the end. /sighs/ I have no idea.
Shania Maxwell: Harry will turn into a full vampire, either Christmas or over the summer between sixth and seventh year, your choice. Also this is something of a romance story...but it has a plot, so there's more than sex going on in the story.../blinks and is totally in awe of herself/ Wow, a plot, I wrote something with a plot. /Sighs/ I'm so brilliant. Harry/Voldemort fic, /nods/ it's going to be crap when it happens. Not the fic, the romantic parts...Oo'
Steph: Plot /cheers and looks smug/ My fic has a plot, I am so amazed...wow...plot /drools/ I am so sleep deprived right now...
E.A.V.: /nods/ Character development, plot...I'm amazed I can do that...I'm amazed people read my fics...
Chapter Fourteen
Harry stomped into lunch, his hair in messy curls around his head, his clothes in disarray, and his shoes on the wrong the wrong feet. Everyone stared at him, a couple of people snickering and laughing.
"School," Harry exclaimed, "is crap!"
Then Harry stomped over to the Gryffindor table and plopped down.
"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione asked putting her potions book down.
"Asleep," Harry replied, "dead, skipping, in the kitchens, diarrhea, sunburn, stomach ache...whichever you think the teachers will buy."
Hermione frowned disapprovingly and Ron snickered.
"What've we got next?" Harry asked picking up some food, trying not to gag at the smell of the food...it was...gross. It just had too much smell to it; Harry couldn't remember food smelling this much last time he'd seen some. It didn't look like it was going to be hard not to eat. This wasn't as bad as the feast last night, though, Harry shuddered as he remembered throwing up after walking into the room.
"Well, Harry," Hermione replied passing him his schedule, "You and I have Magic next and Ron has Specialization Training for Future Aurors."
Harry turned to Ron and stared at him demanding, "You actually signed up for that class?"
"Well, Harry," Ron replied giving Harry a pointed look, "any true future Auror would sign up for it."
"Well, Ron," Harry replied, "as for that I have decided to choose a different occupation."
"So what are you going to do?" Ron demanded.
"You know," Harry replied giving him a pointed look, "the most interesting people don't know what they want to do."
"Are you implying Ron isn't interesting?" Hermione demanded of Harry.
"I'm implying that interesting people don't know what they want to do," Harry replied a matching hostile tone in his voice.
Then picked at his food, picking the fork up and then putting it down to get more food when no one was looking the end result was a nearly-empty looking plate, and no food actually having been eating. Hopefully, no one would notice.
Towards the end of lunch Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him up saying, "We need to go or we'll be late."
"Wait...what?" Harry asked, confused that there was more in the world than the food he was carefully arranging and not eating.
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes pulling Harry out of his seat, "Come on, or we'll be late to Magic, and the teacher really won't like that...according to Percy."
"I thought the Weasley's weren't talking to Percy...or the other way around," Harry replied. He looked at the looks Hermione and Ron had on their faces and nodded saying, "Ooh, one of those strictly controlled environment things, huh?"
All Harry got in return were confused looks.
Harry groaned and replied, "Never mind." Harry stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, Hermione following after him.
And between the two of them they made it to class, even if they were a bit late.
"Nice of you two to be tardy first day, I assume you have a good excuse," The about twenty-four year old looking woman said as soon as they opened the door to the classroom. She was draped over a comfortable looking black chair, her hair pulled up into curled braids on the side of her head.
Hermione flushed and replied waving between herself and Harry, "We got lost."
Harry shook his head and replied, "I was following her."
This made the woman smile. "I am Auntie Carrie as I have just told your classmates, and you two are tardy, please take your seats. They are the only empty chairs in the classroom."
There were only eleven other students in the class, and Harry and Hermione separated to sit in the empty chairs. Harry ended up between a Hufflepuff and Draco Malfoy, all he got from Malfoy was a raised eyebrow when he sat down...interesting.
"Now," Auntie Carrie said tossing her legs off of the armrest of her chair and rising to her feet. "Tardy female, I would like for you to tell me how it is you came to hear about my class, but first, tell me your real name and I might consider calling you by it."
"Hermione Granger," Hermione replied.
"I highly doubt that, but continue, please." Auntie Carrie encouraged.
"I found out about your class from Percy—" Hermione began.
"Please tell me you aren't as studious as he is," Auntie Carrie demanded. The whole class laughed, except for the two Ravenclaws and Hermione. Auntie Carrie waved a hand at Hermione and said, "Tardy male, tell me how you found out about my class but first your real name."
"Harry Potter," Harry replied.
"Dubious," Auntie Carrie declared. "Continue."
"I found out about your class from the course booklet."
Auntie Carrie blinked and asked, "You did?"
Harry nodded.
"Did you read through the booklet or flip through it?"
Harry shrugged and replied, "A bit of both."
"You flipped/read through three hundred pages of classes, and decided to take mine?" Auntie Carrie demanded.
Harry nodded.
Auntie Carrie stared him down for a moment before saying, "Approved."
Then she turned to Draco Malfoy and said, "Run-through-the-door-as-the-bell-rings-boy, what is your real name and why have you decided to ruin my day by being here?"
This time the whole class excluding Malfoy laughed.
"Draco Malfoy," He replied.
"Improbable," Auntie Carrie replied.
"My father made me take this class."
"Lucius Malfoy," she murmured, "exceedingly pretty and knew it. The vainest child I have ever laid eyes on." She gave Draco a searching look and then nodded. "The vainest, and hopefully you won't be as vain as he was, nor will you be such a perfectionist with work."
"I never even wanted to take this class," Draco shot back. "I don't think I'll care about the work."
Auntie Carrie smiled and said, "Approved."
It went like this for all thirteen students in the class, some were approved, but none were disapproved. And nobody answered their name correctly.
Auntie Carrie looked around the class after introductions were finished.
"First order of business is to find out your real name," She said, "you will need your name to close every spell you do in several of the forms of magic you will be learning over the next two years. We will begin with you tardy male, because I like you."
Harry stood up and headed up to where Auntie Carrie stood.
She raised an eyebrow and commanded him to, "Jump."
Harry did, and Auntie Carrie nodded holding her finger up and spinning it around telling him to do the same. Harry did.
"Close your eyes," Harry did, "Spin around until you're dizzy, but don't open your eyes," Harry did and he stopped swaying where he stood, "now point the way you were facing before," eerily Harry did. This surprised Auntie Carrie.
"Give me a letter," She demanded, "don't think, just give."
"P," Harry replied.
"Persus," Auntie Carrie said right after he said "p". "Go sit down, Persus."
Harry swayed over to his chair, and sat down before he realized that she hadn't called him by his name.
"Run-through-the-door-as-the-bell-rings-boy, come here, it's your turn now," Auntie Carrie exclaimed.
Draco pursed his lips and walked up next to her, crossing his arms.
She looked at him imperiously and commanded, "Touch your toes."
Draco stared at her like she was insane.
"Now," She hissed dangerously. Draco did after getting in one more defiant look.
She walked over in front of Draco and asked, "Four plus four is?"
"Eight."
"Two plus two is?"
"Four."
"One plus one is?"
"Two."
"Three plus three is?"
"Six."
"One fish, two fish, red fish..."
"What?"
"Sit down, Celos."
Draco did, right on the floor. He also looked very confused as to why.
Auntie Carrie smiled and said, "In you chair please, Celos."
Draco stood up and walked over to his chair and then sat down in it.
Four people later it was Hermione's turn.
Auntie Carrie studied her for a moment and then asked, "Where aren't you?"
"I'm not in America," Hermione replied slowly.
"No," Auntie Carrie replied looking and sounding exasperated, "where aren't you?"
Hermione listed a couple of different countries, but received the same response.
"I don't understand the question," Hermione said finally.
"Perdita," Auntie Carrie replied, "return to your chair, you'll be able to answer the question later."
Hermione walked over to her chair but didn't sit down and countered, "I would like to know what you meant by the question now."
"Sit, Perdita," Auntie Carrie told her and Hermione did. Then Auntie Carrie turned her attention to the remaining six students.
Once all the students were taken care of, Auntie Carrie sat down on her desk and studied all of them.
"Now," Auntie Carrie said with a bright smile, "Who can tell me what they noticed during our last exercise?"
She looked around the room and then fixed her eyes on Harry. "Persus, if you would?"
Harry blinked and asked, "If I would what?"
"What did you notice as I assigned everyone names?" Auntie Carrie repeated smiling, oddly patient with Harry.
"Umm..." Harry glanced around the room, and then slowly said, "Everyone did what you told them to."
"Very good," She said to Harry before giving the rest of the class and pointed stare, "your name can be used to control you, guard it with your life," Auntie Carrie laughed and added, "because it is...And, furthermore, if I hear of any of you using another one of your classmates names against them, I will personally see to it that you will be punished," she narrowed her gaze on a couple of people, namely Hermione and a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff, "severely punished."
Auntie Carrie smiled and asked, "Are we all understood?"
She received several agreements.
"Wonderful! We'll begin!"
"Begin what?" A Ravenclaw demanded.
"Cease, Sessisalian," Auntie Carrie commanded, "everyone stand in a place in the room where you feel most comfortable...close your eyes as you do this, please."
Everyone did.
"Very good," Auntie Carrie gushed. "Now my skill, in case you haven't noticed is reading one's inner soul, but this skill isn't just for discovering names, it also is good for discovering one's inner animal. Now, Persus, tell me what you think we'll be doing?"
Harry blinked one eye open and stared at her for a moment before remembering the first thing in the course booklet description. "Animagus transformations."
"Indeed," Auntie Carrie announced, "This will also be the simplest magic you will perform in this class, as it has been so used in this day in age that it is now second nature to any person born to magical parents or with a magical background, no matter how long ago it was since it has been utilized."
"Shouldn't we register before doing this?" Hermione asked looking rebellious as she did last year in Umbridge's class.
"And do things legally?" Auntie Carrie demanded looking scandalized, "I think not...owl, I think for you, Perdita."
Then Auntie Carrie looked to Harry, and then she grinned and said, "Norwegian White Goose."
Harry's eyes flew open.
"Well, you are, Persus." She replied then she turned to Draco who was a calico cat. Auntie Carrie was grinning as she said that she thought all calico cats were female. There were no exotic animals in the class much to everyone's displeasure.
Then Auntie Carrie seated them all in a circle and passed them each a potion and told them to drink...not saying what it was.
"Drink it everyone," She urged for the second time.
Almost everyone uncorked it and several drank it, and then transformed into their animal.
Auntie Carrie grinned at Harry, one of two people to not uncork their potion and said, "You and Kantilla appear to be our wind elemental, but really, now both of you should drink your potion."
This time everyone did except those who already were animals.
After Harry got over the very distinct wrongness of being something he wasn't. He decided he rather liked being a duck. The rest of the class was spent getting to know yourself as your "other form" as Auntie Carrie called it. Then towards the end of class, the lesson center on transforming back.
"Your homework, children," Auntie Carrie told them as they pulled themselves together before leaving, "is to attempt the transformation on your own...I suggest you practice during Tranfiguration..." then she added under her breath, "Amarua and I never managed to get along."
The class trailed out, and Auntie Carrie was left standing at the front of an empty class. She felt a wave of depression fill her before shaking it off with a bright smile and saying, "It's been awhile since I last trained a Dark Lord."
Voldemort had been holding the glass of wine up to his mouth for the last four minutes, just staring off into space, never drinking. The heady smell of the alcohol barely registered.
The Potter boy...he was to see him in a couple of days, as set up by Severus Snape. His real agreement in the deal depended on how this meeting went...he couldn't decide how to first approach the boy. He supposed that in couple of days he would figure it out.
This was becoming more complicated than Voldemort first ever imagined it could have been. The game, the war, everything...
It was a lot for a person new to it all to take in, but even though Voldemort had managed to make thus far and now considered himself to be a veteran at the game, he was still new to it all and was relatively unsure of how to handle things. Especially things set up by different powers working together, and it would only be a matter of time before the werewolves were brought into this also.
That would make things easier—no, he couldn't agree to anything yet.
Voldemort closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of the alcohol.
This was not right, he decided finally, he would meet with the boy and then withdraw from the deal. This was iffy business and he wanted to do nothing with something that would jeopardize his position as a power.
Voldemort tipped the glass back and took a sip of the wine. He was going to need something stronger.
Whoo, this took a while, I really wanted to get the stupid meeting over with this chapter, but couldn't. I'll have the next chapter up soon, I hope you all enjoyed reading about the class I had to write at least one lesson, in full. Anyway, I think that's that. /blinks/ I've got homework...and I want my class ring.