I don't own Harry Potter, and I'm doing this for fun, not profit. Please let that be a sufficient disclaimer!
...
Harry was bored. Really, really bored. It wasn't the professor's (well, assistant professor's) fault; after all, she was actually teaching the subject really well. Especially since she was teaching the class on her own today. It was just that Harry had learned the basics years ago, from Sebastian and Appoline.
So Harry sat in Potions, trying to look interested in information he already knew. And failing miserably. "Mr. Potter, is there a problem?", asked the assistant professor.
Harry looked into the eyes of the young woman. Apparently, she was training for her potion mastery and would be taking over when the... proper potions professor? real potions professor? main potions professor? retired.
Harry blinked away his tangential thoughts, then answered honestly; what's the worst that could happen? "Erm, I'm sorry professor, I didn't mean to look bored! You're teaching really well! It's just that I've been making the Cure for Boils since I was about seven, as it's one of the easier ones, so I... I already know what you're teaching."
The assistant professor looked sceptically at Harry. He grew up with muggles, so the stories went, and even if he didn't: who teaches their seven year old potions?! "Mr. Potter, I warn you now, I don't appreciate lying in my classroom."
Harry was insistent. "But professor, it's true! I really have been making that potion since I was seven!"
The Assistant Professor narrowed her eyes. Then, an idea popped into her head – one that would be win-win, whatever the outcome. "Ok, Mr. Potter. Here's what we'll do. You will attempt to make the Cure for Boils, right now. If you fail then that will be 20 points from Gryffindor and detention, for lying. If you succeed, it will be 20 points for Gryffindor, and we can discuss afterwards what other potions you can make."
Harry's expression brightened. "Ok!", he replied, then started collecting the ingredients. The right ingredients, the assistant professor noted.
"Well, class, let's see how Mr. Potter does. I'll talk you through each step as Mr. Potter makes his attempt – but only after Mr. Potter completes or fails each stage", the assistant professor explained.
...
Harry won 20 points for Gryffindor. His classmates were both surprised and amazed to varying degrees, and the assistant professor was impressed.
"As well as points, you've earned an apology, Mr. Potter. I'm sorry I doubted you."
Harry smiled happily, though he didn't think that potion was a big deal. "That's ok, Professor Jones."
Assistant Professor Hestia Jones returned Harry's smile. "So, what else can you brew? I want the full list so that Professor Slughorn and I can figure out how to stop you getting bored in our class!"
...
Later, over dinner, Harry was facing an interrogation. Perhaps even an inquisition. "How did you learn about potions when you were seven?", asked a half-impressed, half-outraged Hermione.
Harry shrugged. "My Delacour Godparents wanted to teach me and Fleur some magic, and since we didn't have wands it had to be potions."
Neville nodded understandingly. "My Gran taught me herbology for a similar reason, and I always loved spending time in the greenhouse."
Hermione, however, just wore a very worried – maybe even panicked -expression. "I'm so behind! I've got so much to catch up on! Maybe I should just skip dinner and read up? I'll never be a good witch otherwise!"
It was a small blessing that Professor McGonagall had noticed Hermione's expression, and had come over to investigate. "Miss. Granger, is everything alright?"
Hermione's words just gushed out of her mouth. "I'm so behind in class! I don't know anything! How can I catch up? Should I skip dinner? Or lunch? Maybe I can just eat quickly, then get some studying in before..."
McGonagall interrupted Hermione's tirade. "Miss. Granger, what has gotten into you? I've seen no problem with your school work over the last two weeks, and in fact your work in transfiguration is quite promising."
Hermione, unusually for her, disagreed with a teacher. "But Harry's been brewing potions for years, Neville's been doing herbology for years, Ron's been flying for years! I've got so much to catch up on!"
McGonagall shook her head. Then, having noted that Hermione had a good respect for authority, tried to reason with her from that perspective. "Miss. Granger, you are not expected to know any magic before starting Hogwarts. You are not expected to have read any books. You do not have to teach yourself – that is what your professors are for. Do you trust us professors to do our jobs?"
Hermione looked alarmed at the question. "Of course I do, Professor McGonagall!"
McGonagall gave a hint of a smile. "Then trust that we haven't failed you already, only two weeks into your magical education. You're doing well so far, Miss. Granger."
Whilst McGonagall didn't know it, she had been successful in putting Hermione's mind at ease, at least a little.
...
After dinner, Harry took the opportunity to tell Sebastian and Appoline about his potions class (well, after speaking to Fleur first, of course). "...and then I got 20 points for brewing it properly! Though it is an easy potion, so I don't know if I really deserved that many."
Appoline smiled. "It may be easy for you, but your classmates would struggle, especially from memory."
Sebastian continued, kindly. "Besides, I remember a seven-year old 'arry almost burning down the kitchen when he forgot to stir his potion properly."
Harry half-smiled, half-blushed at the memory. "Oh yeah... I guess potions aren't easy the first time!"
Appoline smiled fondly at Harry. "We're proud of you either way, 'arry. And we're glad you're doing well at school."
Sebastian grinned, then added, "Just make sure you take a bit of time to get into some trouble, my little fly."
Appoline laughed and shook her head. "Sebastian!"
...
There was one class where Harry was determined not to get into trouble. Not because he particularly enjoyed the subject matter (though he did), and not because the magic being learned was dangerous (it wasn't yet, but it would be). No, it was because of all the Professors at Hogwarts, there was one that you did not cross - something that, incidentally, a Slytherin student would be finding out later that day.
As Harry entered the classroom, took his seat, and looked at the stern expression on the Professor's face, his resolve was only strengthened. After all, only the foolish would mess about with an Auror (well, ex-auror). Particularly one like Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Kingsley Shacklebolt.
Once the class had arrived, Professor Shacklebolt stood up and got the attention of the class. "Vampires. Polite enough if you stay on their good side, utterly vicious if you get on their bad side. If you met a vampire today and they wanted you dead, you would be dead. If you met one tomorrow, after this lesson – you would still be dead.
"I can't teach you how to defeat a vampire in just one hour, but I can teach you enough to survive an extra few minutes. Eventually, by the time you leave Hogwarts, you might just survive long enough for a professional to come rescue you, or for you to escape.
"But only if you PAY ATTENTION, MR. THOMAS!"
Dean Thomas, who had been trying to pass notes to one of his classmates, jumped in his seat, looking scared.
No, Harry thought. This was one class where he did not want to get into trouble.
...
Marcus Flint was livid. Harry Potter, the boy whose actions had landed his father in Azkaban, was here, at Hogwarts... And no-one had touched him! Not a hard shove down some stairs, not a stray curse; not even a bit of bullying!
Well, Marcus would see to that. He'd first tried to get Draco Malfoy on board with his plan, but Draco had only shook his head and told Marcus he was under orders to keep his head down. Then he'd tried some of the other children whose parents were in Azkaban, but – the cowards! – none had been willing to help.
Well, if he had to do it himself, then he would. Which is why Marcus found himself waiting alone, near the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, ready to strike. He'd at least been able to get a copy of Harry's schedule from one of the first-years – Someone Goyle? – so knew this was where Harry would be walking past. And, as luck would have it, Harry's friends – the mudblood and the blood traitors – had just walked past without Harry, so separating him from his friends wouldn't be an issue!
Harry must have been talking to that filthy ex-auror, as it was a couple of minutes later that he appeared. Alone. Marcus made his move – he would finally get revenge for his father!
"Diffindo!" shouted Marcus, from his hiding place. A red jet of light shot out of his wand towards Harry, but to his surprise he missed! Idiot! "Diffindo!", he shouted again, and another jet of light shot out. No, he hadn't missed this time – Harry had dodged! But how? The boy hadn't spotted him, as he hadn't returned fire yet; or maybe he had, and the first year didn't know any spells!
Well, this next one wouldn't miss! "Sectumsempra!", yelled Marcus. This time he didn't miss, but his dark arts spell hit a bright white shield in front of Harry. But that wasn't possible – Harry didn't know the shield charm, and even if he did, he hadn't even said a word!
Then Harry's lips started moving, and cold dread filled Marcus. For it wasn't Harry's voice that he heard, but Kingsley Shacklebolt's. And he sounded furious. "Wand down, Mr. Flint!", shouted the voice, and after a wave of his wand, Harry's form shimmered and was replaced by the ex-Auror himself.
Unfortunately for himself, Marcus Flint panicked. "Sectumsempra!", he shouted again, only for his dark spell to be shielded a second time. A quick stunner later, and Marcus was down.
...
Albus Dumbledore believed in second chances. He believed almost everyone could be saved. But as Kingsley reported what he knew – courtesy of the Slytherin common room paintings, his personal experience, and the brief interrogation he gave Marcus – Dumbledore knew there was nothing that could be done now. Not only had Marcus planned to attack – and possibly murder – a first year, he had attempted to do so with Dark magic. Then he had knowingly attacked a Professor with a dark spell, and an ex-Auror at that!
That he had persuaded an innocent first year to be an accomplice, if only in providing information, was proof that Kingsley was right: Kingsley had argued that Severus had cut the Slytherins too much slack, and that he was inadvertently grooming bullies and thugs. Dumbledore had believed that pushing too hard would cause some to leave Hogwarts and seek education elsewhere – a path that was guaranteed to end in the dark.
But now Dumbledore knew he had been wrong – his actions appeared to be pushing some of the grey children towards the dark... but that would stop now. The first step would be to try Marcus for attempted murder and young Gregory for accessory to the crime. The next would be for Kingsley, as head of Slytherin, to come down hard on any bullying.
...
Harry was none the wiser. Professor Shacklebolt had told Harry that he needed to wait behind after class, then explained that Assistant Professor Jones would be coming to speak to him about his advanced potions. Jones arrived at the end of the class, and spent ten minutes asking Harry some simple questions about the potions he could already make. By the time Jones had deemed Harry's answers sufficient, Shacklebolt had already apprehended Marcus Flint.
The earliest that Harry knew anything at all had happened was when, a few days later, Dumbledore had addressed the students in a sombre tone, informing them that Marcus Flint had been arrested for attacking a student. He had been found guilty, had his wand snapped, and would never be seen at Hogwarts again.
Dumbledore also informed the students that Gregory Goyle had also been arrested and expelled, but had kept his wand.
This had the students busy discussing who could have been the target, but since all the students appeared fine, no-one knew who it could have been. The exception to that were the Slytherins who Marcus had approached directly, but none of the Slytherins were going to be spreading rumours right now: Professor Shacklebolt had been incensed at the attempted crime, and with Dumbledore's blessing he flayed the whole of Slytherin house with his words; they would not be putting a toe out of line anytime soon.
...
Nothing else unusual happened for the remainder of the term, and soon most students were preparing to go home and spend time with family over Christmas. And this year, Harry was particularly excited.
"Are you sure, Aunt Appoline?", Harry asked his mirror in amazement.
Appoline nodded, smiling. "Completely sure. Your headmaster checked the blood wards himself, and will be monitoring them over Christmas. Unless he gets in touch to tell us that something has happened, you can spend the holidays with us."
Harry was delighted, then his face broke into a mischievous grin. "Do Fleur and Gabrielle know?"
Appoline grinned, then asked a question that might as well have been rhetorical. "Not yet. Why do you ask?"
Harry looked utterly pleased with his idea: "So we can surprise them!"
...
Fleur was glad to be home, but was currently feeling morose. She had only been home a few hours when she had excitedly asked when the next Harry weekend would be, but her Papa explained in a gentle tone that "because of the blood wards at the Dursleys', Harry won't be coming for a weekend". Fleur had tried not to let her emotions show, but she had been crushed. That was only fifteen minutes ago, so the emotions were still fresh.
Fleur absently noted her Papa popping out, likely for an errand, and lay back on her bed, wallowing in her disappointment. Another few minutes later, and she heard her father return, and another minute after that, she heard a knocking on her door.
"How are you feeling, my cherished?", asked Sebastian gently, from the hallway.
Fleur sighed heavily, then answered. "Disappointed, and saddened. Thank you for checking up on me, Papa, but I'll be ok."
Sebastian, in a caring tone, replied, "Is there anything that would make you feel better?"
Fleur sighed again, quite dramatically. "No, Papa."
"Are you sure?", asked a different, much younger voice.
Fleur's mouth fell open. That was... But her Papa said...
After another second Fleur jumped up, ran to her bedroom door, yanked it open and almost cried in happiness. "'arry!"
Harry was pulled into a tight embrace, his arms wrapping around Fleur's waist as her arms pulled him against her. When Fleur pulled back, she only just had the presence of mind not to kiss Harry full on the lips; instead, she kissed him a couple of centimetres away from the corner of his mouth, for a long few seconds. And then, just for fairness, she kissed the other side too, her breath ghosting across Harry's lips on the way.
"Surprise!", grinned Harry, and Fleur thought – perhaps hoped? – she saw something of a blush on his cheeks.
Fleur's reply was to wrap her arms around Harry's back again, and pull him even more tightly against herself. She had, of course, forgotten her Papa was even there... but only for a moment. When she remembered, she turned and threw an accusatory glare. "Papa, you lied!"
Sebastian grinned and shook his head. "No I didn't, my cherished"
Fleur nodded vehemently, whilst still holding Harry tightly. "Yes you did! You said 'arry wasn't coming!"
Harry, his face hidden in Fleur's embrace, grinned as Sebastian replied. "No, I said he wasn't coming for the weekend, and that's true. He's actually here for the whole two week holiday."
Fleur squealed excitedly in reply.
...
When Gabrielle found out, she was similarly thrilled. Not five minutes after, she was nestled into Harry on the sofa, with a blanket wrapped around them both and a book in Harry's hand. "The Little Veela Girl", a new favourite of Gabrielle's. That it was written by a Veela and contained a fairly accurate portrayal was a bonus.
With a beaming smile on her face, Gabrielle alternated between staring at the pictures in the book and gazing up adoringly at her big brother... and giggling whenever Harry placed a fond kiss on the crown of her head.
Harry was happy to indulge his little sister. Whilst he craved time with Fleur most of all, he loved Gabrielle too and enjoyed time with her. Besides, Gabrielle still went to bed quite early, which always gave Harry and Fleur extra time together.
Gabrielle was determined to cling to her brother for the rest of the day. She had missed him so much, and it was the longest she'd ever gone without seeing him – and Fleur had been home a few hours earlier than Harry, so she'd already seen her sister.
Fortunately for Fleur, Appoline and Sebastian distracted Gabrielle a little, so Fleur at least had some time alone with Harry that afternoon.
Besides, after Gabrielle had gone to bed Fleur wasted no time in dragging a willing Harry upstairs to their room. She was desperate to cuddle with him and talk, uninterrupted. And if, at the same time, her allure gushed out of her... well, Harry had yet to complain.
Sebastian and Appoline had expected it, and so enjoyed a quiet evening together; they would see their Godson properly tomorrow, after Fleur had gotten her Harry fix.
...
The Christmas holidays passed too quickly, and all too soon Harry was saying goodbye to the Delacours. Harry had loved the past two weeks – they were the best of his life so far – but he knew he had to return to school. So, with an emotional goodbye, Harry hugged Sebastian and Appoline, picked Gabrielle up in a big cuddle, then held Fleur tightly for a minute. Fleur again exceeded expectations by managing not to kiss Harry senseless, instead giving him a lingering kiss on his cheek.
Once he was back on the Hogwarts express, Harry found Cheveu and began discussing their progress – or lack thereof – with finding the map. It wasn't long into that conversation when Katie entered their carriage with the Weasley twins.
If the twins, who were already getting a reputation for pranks, didn't have Cheveu feeling suspicious, then Katie's behaviour would have done. She sat right next to Harry, put her arm around him, and batted her eyes at him.
"Harry..." Katie began, her eyes wide and hopeful.
Harry looked a bit confused. "Yes, Katie?"
Katie bit her lip nervously, looking deep into Harry's eyes. "Would you consider... would you be willing to... Harry, please would you...?"
Cheveu watched, feeling about as nervous as Katie did. This could be awful, but she owed it to her little brother not to interrupt.
Harry just tilted his head curiously and asked, "What is it, Katie? What do you want to ask me?"
Nervous, but determined, Katie held Harry's hand and asked the question she had been gathering the courage to ask all Christmas. "Harry, will you... Will you join the Gryffindor Quidditch Team?"
A few seconds of silence, and then Cheveu burst out laughing, half in relief and half in amusement. The twins were outraged.
"This isn't a joke, this is serious!"
"This is Quidditch serious!"
"All of our hopes..."
"...and dreams..."
"...rest on Harry's..."
"...tiny little seeker shoulders."
"Rumour has it that little Harry..."
"...can play really well..."
"...and even has his own professional broom!"
Harry shook his head in disbelief. "Who told you that?"
Katie, still holding Harry's hand, replied. "You did, Harry. I... erm... may have heard you talking to one of your uncles just before Christmas, when he was asking you if you'd tried out for the team yet."
Harry sighed internally. Quidditch sounded fun, but also like a lot of work – Katie had complained often enough about the long practises!
"I don't know, Katie. I don't think I've got enough time, what with studying, speaking to my magical family, and... erm... a special project", said Harry, sadly.
Katie gave Harry a sad smile – she had expected this. But one of the twins – maybe Fred? – wasn't ready to give up. "What special project could be more important than Quidditch?"
Cheveu replied this time. "Uncle Siri tasked us with searching for a powerful magical artefact he believes is hidden in the school. We've been searching a little, but haven't found anything so far."
The other twin – Probably George – looked sceptical. "And what is this magical artefact? Sounds dangerous, and I can't imagine why that would be in a school."
Harry smiled – he too had thought Sirius and Remus's initial description had sounded like that! "No, it's not dangerous", Harry corrected. "It's a... sort of magical map Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus made with my dad and another... and someone else. The four of them made it together when they were students."
Fred and George's expressions were unreadable. "Do you know what the map is called?", one of them asked.
"The Marauder's Map", replied Cheveu, suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"
Now Katie was confused. Realising she was still holding Harry's hand, she let go, blushing. "Erm... Fred? George? Something wrong?"
The twins were seemingly having a conversation without words. After a few moments, they turned to Harry. "If we helped you find this map, would you join the Gryffindor Quidditch Team?"
...
Author notes:
I really wanted to get further through year 1 in this chapter, but this is already my longest chapter yet and I didn't want to delay too long between updates. The next chapter should cover a longer time period.
I continue to be very thankful to all who favourite or follow Delacour Godparents. I'm particularly thankful to the heroes who review: Outsight, Guest, bdwilliams3, bugzadc, minerdude and The Lord of Voldemort of Rivia. And a huge thanks to the sublime James Birdsong, Urgazhi, SoulNightshade, SKFF, Spider of Dreams, magitech, Arnie1701 and BradyC for additional reviews since last chapter.
SoulNightshade, Minerdude – excellent! Just as intended!
Outsight – prediction noted :-)
SKFF – there you go! Part of the reason for the longer chapter was that I also wanted a Fleur/Harry scene this chapter... then got carried away with the train scene.
Magitech – I don't plan for her to play a major role, so I hope you can enjoy the story. In saying that, some of the other reviews are suggesting an extra scene or two with her in, so I'll see how I can balance that; either way, she won't be a main character here.
Arnie1701 – good idea, I'll see what I can include, and when.
BradyC – Year 1 loosely does, if "Harry wants to find a magical artefact" is close enough for you. As for years 2 and 3... Spoilers! (PM me if you're really curious, but I won't say so here!)