Chapter 12
"The boy has been well behaved all term; there is nothing wrong he has done, yet," Snape said, watching the headmaster behind his desk. The old man had a thoughtful expression on his face. "That is very worrying indeed. Even the portraits do not see him wondering about after curfew anymore. I find it quite doubtful that the boy has not planned anything." Snape asked, "Headmaster I understand that Potter is a dark creature, but are you certain he is deliberately endangering the students?" Dumbledore stared at Snape with twinkle-less blue eyes. "Oh, I'm certain Severus. I can see it in his eyes. Everything that happens around or to Harry has a purpose, nothing is coincidental with that boy." Snape nodded, a bit disturbed, and promptly left.
Dumbledore pet Fawkes, who was previously preening himself. "Oh old friend, I find myself in a twist. I need Harry to fight Voldemort but with the way he is it would be difficult to convince him. How should I proceed?" The phoenix cooed at him. Dumbledore smiled. "No, I cannot do that. Harry is too dark to fight Tom on his own accord. I have to guide him to it." Fawkes sang again. "Yes, it is difficult. I will have to remind him why he should hate Voldemort. That will convince him. Yes, I reckon it would." Dumbledore said, plans running through his head. Fawkes just sang sorrowfully.
Hermione looked around herself cautiously. Satisfied, she ducked into an empty corridor and drew the golden chain from her neck to reveal an equally gold watch unlike any other. Before she could use it, someone appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She jumped in fright and when she noticed it was only Harry she took a breath to calm herself. "What's up Hermione? You seem jittery, is everything alright?" Hermione nodded quickly, too quickly, and Harry's raised eyebrow made her even more nervous. Harry came closer slowly, and for just a moment Hermione felt like a trapped little bird and Harry's smile seemed too sharp. "I sense a secret." He whispered in a singsong voice.
"It's nothing Harry, you're looking too much into this." She tried to placate. Harry gave her the same unconvinced look. "Am I?" he finally asked after watching Granger squirm. She tried to avoid his gaze but she just knew he would not back down. With a feeling of trepidation, she showed him the pocket watch. "It's a time turner. You're the only one who knows about it, please don't tell anyone." Harry gave her a look that said 'Do I really look that stupid?' She blushed, tucking the time turner away again. "Look, Harry, this is a secret." Harry nodded. "Who gave it to you?" "Professor McGonagall. She said with it I can attend both History of Magic and Ancient Runes class." The raven took on a curious look. "Why would a professor, especially one as rational as McGonagall, give you such an unstable thing as a time turner?" Hermione looked insulted. "What, you think I can't handle it? Because McGonagall certainly believed in me. She trusted I am mature enough to handle the responsibility." She hissed angrily.
Harry could have laughed if he didn't want to keep up the façade, as it is he still had some use for Granger. Trusted his skinny ass. "I said no such thing, Hermione. I'm just worried. Time is a sensitive entity that shouldn't be meddled with, especially for something like silly classes, at the risk of one's life. You could end up being trapped in the loop of time forever." Hermione's eyes softened at his worried expression. "I can handle myself, Harry, you don't have to be worried." Hermione was thrilled at the concept of someone being worried for her, it was just something she didn't receive often among her peers as a know-it-all after all. With a reassuring smile, she vacated the hall. Harry stared after her with a blank expression. 'You think Dumbledore is trying to lure me in?' 'You might be a dark thirteen-year-old but you are a thirteen-year-old still. You will get curious over something like this like all teenagers would be. At least that is what the old fool thinks.' Lelita said. Harry got out of the hall too. 'If I was a different person he would have been right. Fortunately, I'm not. Either way, let's play along and see where this entails.'
'I still do not get why you put up with these idiots. Show just who you are and they would be too busy pissing themselves to oppose you.' The shadow daemon hissed. Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes. On his way to his next class, he stumbled into a group of Seventh year Slytherins picking on a small group of First years. The three kids were huddled together desperately, whimpering and one outright crying. The Slytherins had their wands pointed mockingly at them, sneering and jeering. 'They are probably mudbloods.' Harry tried to continue on his way but Lady Luck was not smiling upon him today.
"Hey look, it's Saint Potter come to save the mudbloods?" One of the said, a vicious smirk on his face. Harry frowned just slightly. He asked the hat to place him in Ravenclaw but he was a Slytherin at heart. If he left he would be running away from the obvious challenge and according to them if he stayed he would suffer a humiliating defeat. He could not let such an insult stand.
Harry easily noticed Flint sneering at him within the group and sneered right back. "At least I'm not so weak as to attack first year supposedly worthless mudbloods." The insult was obvious and the Slytherins bristled. "Watch it, Potter." Flint threatened. Harry smirked. "Or what? You would try your dismal dueling capabilities on poor, defenseless Harry, a Third year bookworm?" The Slytherin Quidditch captain growled and whipped out his wand. The First year Hufflepuffs were so shocked and terrified they missed the chance to run away before spells began to fly.
Flint opened fire, sending a vicious stinging hex in his direction. It seems anger interfered with his casting because he barely had to dodge, with such horrible aim, the spell as it sailed past his left shoulder. He had to duck under a better-aimed bludgeoning hex before it could nick his ear. He side-stepped a mild boiling curse from who he recognized as Marrow, the new chaser. The fourth sent a relatively light (for a Slytherin) knockout spell at him and just had to sneer at the weak attack. Showing great finesse with a wand he let the warm wood settle into the palm of his hand and, after another spell he didn't bother to recognize, missed him by a mile, flicked his wand. A wordless Lumos caused a quick burst of light in front of the group, bright enough to momentarily blind the boys and incite hisses of pain. In the two seconds they were distracted, Harry crossed the short distance between them and took great pleasure in disarming Marrow, causing the overpowered spell to break the teen's wrist. A quick levitation spell slammed the two unidentified Slytherins together, knocking them unconscious hopefully with concussions. The last was Flint, who Harry decided to deal with the muggle way.
Flint, still dazed, meant to raise his wand but pain exploded in his world as his unexpectantly strong opponent brutally twisted his wand arm, inciting a sick muffled grinding sound as his shoulder forcibly dislocated. Next thing he knew he was on the floor screaming in agony. His wand was leisurely picked from the ground a foot away, though it probably would have been useless to him. Harry lazily played with the wand in easy fingers, eyes roving over the Slytherins. Marrow was moaning painfully to the right of an unconscious brunette. The first years were openly staring at him in awe. Harry made the effort to smile disarmingly. "Are you alright?" It occurred to him that it never even registered to them that he had insulted their heritage earlier, or they have conveniently forgotten.
They nodded quickly, eager to show their gratitude. "Why don't you visit the infirmary just to make sure. I could take you there myself but I need to collect them." Harry said. He was disgusted to see the admiration budding in their eyes that will no doubt turn into hero worship. They trotted off to the infirmary. Harry turned to the four seventh years. The two conscious teens were watching him in a mixture of anger and fear, not having expected such a vicious comeback. "I hope this is a lesson to act as Slytherin as you claim to be. No Slytherin would blatantly challenge an opponent without proper research." With that, he passed over them to his intended destination, fully aware the Slytherins would be keeping a close eye on him."
"Give me one reason not to expel you this instant!" Snape snarled not one hour after he left the seventh years. The man was absolutely furious with him, which was bad considering that the man openly hated him if he wasn't completely ignoring his existence. He shuddered to think how much worse it could have been if he was a Gryffindor. "It was self-defense." Not to mention it was not his decision to make. It was interesting to see Snape's face twist further into a rage. "You put those boys into the infirmary one in critical condition, two with severe head injuries! Claiming self-defense will not lift the punishment you will no doubt be enduring." Harry blinked at the dismissed expulsion but replied. "Yes, sir." This seemingly made him even madder and Harry had to force himself not to sigh. "Explain!"
Correctly assuming he had to explain the incident that afternoon, Harry said "I was walking from transfiguration class when I came across seventh year students bullying first years. I tried to tell them off for it but they rounded on me and started attacking me. I saw no choice but to defend myself in an equally brutal way to ensure my safety and that of the victims." "Twenty points from Ravenclaw for such blatant lies and a month's detention with McGonagall. Now, get out of my sight!" Snape hissed. Harry frowned slightly but left anyway. This Potter-Snape rivalry was getting ridiculous and frankly annoying. He sighed, heading for his arithmancy class in a foul mood and had to work hard not to hex Draco as soon as he showed his justifiably angry face. "Is it customary for you to miss defense?"
"My apologies, I didn't realize. Was there something you wanted?" his voice was deceptively calm and for once Draco noticed. He frowned at him. "What happened?" Harry slid down into the seat next to the blonde, slowly taking out his books. "Perhaps at a later time." Before Draco could complain Professor Babbling entered for a lecture. With a huff Draco faced the front to concentrate on the lesson. Meanwhile, Harry was thinking about the Christmas holidays. Draco had invited him to Malfoy Manor for Yule, or rather Lucius Malfoy did. What did Malfoy Sr. want of Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived? What will Malfoy gain from inviting him into his house among multiple dark affiliated purebloods? He must have learned of Harry's dealings with his Slytherin peers over the past few years, and his… friendship with his son.
The class ended with a four-foot essay on the various uses of arithmetic components and their fields. "I can't believe this! This is fifth year work at best, why do we have to research it?" Draco complained. Harry replied distractedly "Maybe it is to get a general scope of all the work we need to do over the next three years, ignoring the basics." Draco descended into a fierce monologue about too strict teachers and Harry chose that moment to ignore him in favor of Granger who was just exiting an empty corridor. 'I wonder when the stress of time-travel will get to her. She has already started losing weight, she might not last the year at this rate.' He thought. Lelita snorted. 'Good riddance if she wears herself out to death. I wouldn't have to bare her many soliloquies.'
Soon they entered the great hall and Harry parted from Draco to join his fellow Ravenclaws. Silence descended on his part of the table. He raised an eyebrow. "What's with the wary silence?" Someone to his left coughed awkwardly. Cho Chang gave him a worried stare. "There was a sighting of Black close to Hogsmeade." "Ah." He acknowledged. Su Li gawked at him. "That is all you have to say? Black is out for your Blood!" Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "Mr. Black may be a hazard to my continued existence but frankly I'm not concerned. Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain." Accepting nods carried around the little group. "So you are not going to Hogsmeade then?" Justin asked. Harry replied. "Of course I'm going, I have some business to complete there. Don't even try to prevent me from going or change my mind." They reluctantly backed down.
McGonagall was giving him one of her fiercest stares that evening. "For today's detention, you will rearrange the classroom for tomorrow's sixth year lesson." She said. Harry nodded and set to the task, for a whole hour enduring the professor's not so subtle glares and snarky instructions. Just to sate his curiosity, after the detention he turned to the teacher. He gave her a curious look with a relaxed posture, hands held loosely behind his back. McGonagall faltered in her no-nonsense stare but was able to recover, this time highly on guard. Perhaps this was a gesture most used by Tom Riddle, the two of them were alike after all. "Professor, why do you and professor Dumbledore hate me so much? I understand professor Snape has a long-standing grudge but I'm not sure where I stand with the both of you."
The question clearly threw McGonagall of guard and Harry had the pleasure of watching her visibly collect herself. She paused in answering for a moment then said: "You are not like anything we expected Mr. Potter." Harry's disbelief was apparent. "Is that it?" McGonagall lifted her chin. "Our reasons are our own Mr. Potter, and sometimes you are better off not knowing the truth. I will try to be more welcoming next time we meet. You're dismissed." Harry tilted his head to the side, amusement clear on his face. "How odd." He walked out with that comment.