A/N: Well I must be truly bored. I'm starting this chapter while I'm watching the Man's Show on G4. I wasn't even going to start on this chapter till I worked Sunday night. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.
Harry Potter and
the Paradox of Time
Chapter 6: First Week of Classes
The Head Boy and Girl dormitories were located behind a portrait in the common room. The portrait opened up to a small hallway that had a door on either side of it. The one on the left was marked in ornate letters "HB" and the right in "HG." Both dormitories were identical except that a boy was thrown out of the Head Girl room if he tried to cross the threshold. Harry had found this out rather painfully when he had went in to check out the room with Lily.
The rooms were identical from what Harry could tell. They both had rich red carpet. And the rooms were done in decidedly Gryffindor colors. They both had king size versions of the four poster beds in regular dormitories. They had a private desk and book shelves to keep their stuff. Their was also a mirror at the desk that according to the note they each got was a two way mirror that they shared with each other (since the Head Boy and Girl aren't always in the same house) and the headmaster.
They each had their own private bathroom too. The bathrooms were done up in a similar fashion as the prefect's bathroom. A huge tube, not large enough to swim in though, and fancy sinks, not to mention everything was done up in dark red marble, with most of the metal gold colored.
Harry was too tired though to take in the true magnificence though. After looking through the entire suite he fell on the bed, asleep before his head hit the pillow.
Harry awoke the next morning to a large amount of water being dumped on him. His entire bed was soaked. He looked over to the source and grumbled when he saw Lily putting her wand back inside the cloak she had on.
"What was that for?" Harry asked grumpily as he sat up.
"I was trying to get you up. I figured we could use the time before classes start Monday for training. You are the one after all that needs it." Lily said rolling her eyes.
Harry stared at her waiting for her to leave. Lily grew agitated waiting and snapped at him, "What are you waiting for? Get up and get ready already. It's eight in the morning."
"I would, but could you please get out of my room so I could change." Harry told her flatly and continued to stare at her.
Harry smiled at the blush that came over her face.
Lily mumbled, "Sorry, I'll leave." As she backed out the door and shut it.
Harry laughed and got up. He grabbed a set of workout clothes and headed into his private bathroom.
Once he was showered and dressed be came out of his room and found Lily waiting.
"About time. Let's go. I know the perfect place to train." Lily said as she grabbed his hand and pulled them out of the hall to their private quarters.
Harry was glad the rest of Gryffindor house wasn't in the common room that morning, or he would have been very embarrassed about a particular redhead that had his hand firmly held in hers and was dragging him out of the room.
Lily proceeded to drag Harry along the Seventh floor till they got to a blank stretch of wall. Lily let go of his hand and started to pace the hall. Harry looked around and noticed the familiar hall where the Room of Requirement was located. Harry smiled as Lily made the finally walk and the door materialized in front of him.
Lily went to the door and yanked it open. Harry stopped her before she could explain what the room was.
"The Room of Requirement. I'm surprised I didn't think of it. It will be perfect." Harry told her as she looked at him with amazement.
"You found this room before?" Lily asked him.
"Ya I had a friend among the house elves in my time. I had asked him for a room where it would be hard to find for the DA I had told you about. This was the only room that House Elves couldn't always get into. They can't pop into it when someone else is using it. Whenever they can pop in however it is usually just full of cleaning supplies and such. It is a really cool room. You can use it for practically anything." Harry told her.
Harry didn't wait for her reply and walked into the room. It was rather simple. It had a raised platform to duel on and there were target dummies all over the walls. Harry could also feel the floor soften a little when his foot hit it before it become hard as stone again. A cushioning charm. Harry thought.
Harry nodded his head at Lily, who had entered the room shutting the door as he had a look around.
They spent the majority of the time before classes started that first weekend back training. Most of that training was making sure that Harry would be able to maintain James' reputation in Transfiguration.
Harry and Lily had to patrol Saturday night also.
Sunday night as Harry had come back in the common room tired from training he felt a strong pair of arms grab him and pull him into a niche. Harry groaned. He was tired from the particularly hard Lily had put him through on Transfiguration.
Harry was shoved down into a plushy chair and he lucked up. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all looking at him.
"Where have you been this weekend? We could have had a bunch of fun and you go off and disappear everyday." Sirius was the first to act.
Before Harry could say anything though Remus butted in, "He has been with Lily. I can smell it. It is rather strong too."
Sirius looked at him really closely and noticed how tired he was and saw the sweat on his forehead. "You sly bastard, why didn't you just say you and Evans were doing that. We would have understood."
Harry's head snapped up and gave Sirius a dumbstruck look. "I…I haven't been doing such a thing."
"Then what have you been doing with Evans then that has the both of you sweating so much?" Sirius said raising his eyebrow suggestively. Peter looked on trying to suppress the snicker that was trying desperately to escape. Remus just looked on like he was trying to concentrate, but stayed silent.
Harry decided that the truth would probably be the best answer at the moment. "We have been training. There is a war going on outside, even inside this school to an extent. I want to be ready. Once we leave Hogwarts this year, we won't be able to rely on the protection of the wards and Dumbledore."
Sirius and Peter turned serious and looked at him.
After a moment, Sirius spoke up, "We know that, Prongs, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun while we are still here. After all once we are out pranking people won't be as easy."
"Whatever. I just want to be ready for whatever might happen. I realized when my parents were murdered that I can't rest until Voldemort is gone. This world will never be safe for anyone till he is." Harry said relapsing for a moment into his memories of his own time.
"Prongs it isn't your job to kill him. Just leave it to the Ministry and Dumbledore. They will get him eventually. If this is about revenge don't bother. Your dad was one of the best Aurors the Ministry had. I don't think you will have a chance against him on your own. Revenge would just be suicide. Your parents wouldn't want that." Remus told him now looking concerned.
"I have to…" Harry cut himself off as he realized what he was about to say. Harry shook himself. "Whatever. Let's change the subject. Did you all want something other then to butt into my personal life or can I go get some rest?"
The three boys looked at him uncertainly, but shrugged off the abrupt change of topic.
"The start of term prank, Prongs. I swear you are becoming more forgetful then Wormtail." Sirius said jokingly.
Peter puffed up and said indignantly, "Hey! I'm not forgetful. Things just to ahh… Ok fine I am forgetful!" Peter deflated as he said the last of his comment.
"Ya…Ya, Peter. So what are we going to do? I was thinking we could get the teachers at breakfast." Sirius said.
They discussed what they were going to do and finished their hasty preparations before the four slipped into their dorm (Harry is staying in the seventh year dormitory tonight).
The next morning when Harry walked into the Great Hall, he could practically fell all the anxious eyes that were glued to him. Harry quickly walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down between Lily and Remus.
"Why is everyone looking at me?" Harry asked Lily as he reached for the eggs.
"They are expecting your prank. It has become almost like a custom for the Marauders' first prank to be at the breakfast of the first day of classes." She answered in a low voice not to draw the attention of the other Marauders.
"Ohh, that. Yes we have one planned. Matter of fact I think it should be starting right about now." Harry replied.
Harry right as he had been answering her saw Sirius' hand move under the table.
Harry followed the path to their target and saw a mall shimmer in the air dash towards it. There were now shrieks coming from the Slytherin table.
The whole hall started to laugh as the Slytherins started to stand up and they could see what had happened to them. Every single one of them now had long black hair that was done up in dreadlocks, and they all had long mustaches that were braided up on the ends and fell down past their chin on either side.
Harry heard someone shout "Finite Incanteum!" and laughed as their hair got even longer and started to obstruct their face. The curse they had used could only be waited out, any attempt to undo it would just make it worse, and it wouldn't run out for at least ten hours.
Once the Slytherins had figured out they wouldn't be able to undo it they stormed out of the hall. Not all of them left quietly though.
Snape as he stormed out gave Harry a hateful glare and shouted, "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS POTTER!" He then ran through the Great Hall's doors towards the dungeons.
The hall slowly settled down and finished eating before everyone filed out to head to their first class.
Classes weren't really much different. As Harry had expected teachers started to pile on the homework immediately in preparation for their NEWTs.
Harry did get some praise from McGonagall though. She had told him he had improved even more this summer than usual. Harry just smiled and gave Lily a look that clearly said, "Why were you so tough?"
Lily just looked sheepishly back at him.
Defense Against the Dark Arts turned out to be fun. The teacher was young and had only been teaching since the year before. He had graduated from the Auror Academy early and had decided that he would rather teach then do missions, Harry thought it was to avoid death more then anything but never voiced that.
The teacher walked in on the first day and said, "So who wants to go first?"
Harry looked questioningly at Lily. She hadn't said much that summer about this teacher's method of teaching. She had just told him that he was a good teacher.
She whispered to him, "Professor Hennessey likes to take a hands on approach. He tests us once a month to see how we fair in different situations. He is a really good teacher though. He is very fair too."
Harry just gave her a weird look and looked back up at the professor.
"No one? I guess I will just have to draft someone then. Let's see. Mr. Potter, you should do nicely. Please come up here and we will duel. I wish to see if you have improved any this year." The professor said when no one raised their hand.
Harry stood up and walked towards the dueling platform that was at the front of the room.
The Professor gestured for him to come up on the platform. "We will be following all procedures associated with a proper wizard's duel. We however will not be out to kill. I warn you though. A Deatheater is not afraid to play dirty. You will need to watch yourself a lot more carefully when out in the real world. Deatheaters have been known to out number their target by as much as ten to one. They also will use any curse they can think of. Some of them know some of the darkest spells ever to be invented."
The class was silent. Professor Hennessey clapped his hands. "Very well! Mr. Potter let us both begin."
The professor bowed to Harry as he returned the jester.
Once they came out their bow the professor wasted no time and sending a blinding red beam at Harry. He knew a regular shield wouldn't be able to take that stunner, so he threw up the only shield he could think of, "Incurxitialus!"
The blinding red beam hit Harry in the chest and disappeared. The professor looked stunned that the shield had absorbed the spell. He was also sweating a little. The stunner had taken a lot of energy to cast.
The professor didn't have long to stare dumbstruck as his own curse fired back at him.
The teacher dodged the stunner and fired a blasting hex at Harry. It hit Harry's shield that was still active, but the blow had left him sweating as the shield drew more energy from him to block the curse.
Harry released the shield and started moving. Standing still was only a way to get you hurt.
Harry dodged a few more curses that had come from the teacher. His seeker reflexes were useful for more than just the Quidditch pitch.
Harry final got an opportunity to send off another major spell, "Potentio Mutiplo Stupefy!" The thirty beams flew out of Harry's wand and went for the Professor from all angles.
The teacher knew he couldn't dodge them all and threw up a strong shield, "Protego Maximus!"
A translucent blue dome like the normal 'Protego' spell formed around the teacher except that it crackled with small forks of blue lightening all over the surface. All thirty stunners hit the shield simultaneously. The shield started to flicker as the stunners struggled against the shield. Now there were red, blue, and purple sparks flying in the air.
All but one stunner dissipated before the professor's shield collapsed. The teacher was barely able to stand, but somehow dodged the remaining stunner.
Harry didn't hear the gasp from his audience. His adrenaline was pumping so hard the only thing he could concentrate was on the duel.
The two duelers continued to duel. Harry started to get a little tired and a little frustrated. The teacher was now trying to counter everything Harry threw at him. He succeeded in most cases, but the Professor still had to dodge a few spells.
Finally Harry had enough and he fired off a more powerful spell then they had been using, "JABITHA!"
A huge lightening bold of green fire came out Harry's wand and shot towards the professor.
The professor's eyes bugged out. "AUREUS!" A solid golden dome appeared around him and the bolt of fire bounced off the shield and struck the ceiling. The ceiling caught fire as the entire room heated up by about thirty degrees. The ceiling however stopped burning abruptly and just glowed red as the heat resided. The golden dome however had faded and the Professor was fainted on the ground. His wand rolled off the edge of the platform.
Harry decided that the duel was over and summoned the wand just to show that he had won. He then walked over and revived the fainted professor. The professor immediately started to grab around his side looking for his wand.
"Here you go, Professor. You fainted and it rolled off the edge." Harry said as he hand back the man's wand.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter. Just give me a moment. I'm just a bit tired." The professor caught his breath before he stood back up as Harry went back to his seat.
"That was remarkable job, Mr. Potter. I daresay I think you were holding back a little judging from that last spell. It was a bit much though. I was starting to tire. You would have won eventually. I believe you will do well in your ambition to be an Auror." Professor Hennessey said once he stood back up.
Harry blushed and the rest of the class looked at him in awe.
"Well that took longer than I thought it would. It was also very tiring. I think we hold off on testing your skills until our next class. For now I would just like you to review the traditions of dueling and brush up on your skills. You will all be tested in the next class. I think we will dismiss early now. I need a little time to recover for my next class." The teacher said as he collapsed into the chair behind his desk.
The seventh years quickly gathered their things and left before he could change his mind.
Once Harry walked out the door, he felt a hand slap him on the back. "Well done, Prongs! Beat the teacher and got us out of class forty minutes early!" Sirius praised.
Lily looked on approvingly as did Remus.
"I guess all that training you two have been doing has paid off. I wonder what Evans is like now. Could probably kick my ass easily now." Sirius said in jokingly and started to laugh.
Lily responded, "I probably could and don't you forget it, either!"
This caused Remus, Peter and Harry to laugh even harder. Sirius however looked horrified by the prospect of getting beat by the girl.
The word of Harry's duel in DADA spread quickly through the school. At dinner he kept getting congratulated by his fellow Gryffindors and some Ravenclaws. He also saw a prideful smile on Professor McGonagall's and Professor Dumbledore's faces, which were directed at him.
The rest of the week went by in a blur. Everything was turning out better than Harry's past few years at Hogwarts.
Finally it was Saturday and Harry and Lily had to do their patrol of the school.
This time Harry had brought the Marauder's map with them to help.
"Hey, H…James look at this. Snape is wandering around on the second floor." Lily said as she looked over the map while Harry was playing around with his wand idly.
Harry ears perked up at that. "Let's go see what he is up to." He immediately said. The two of them made their way through the castle towards where Snape was at.
When they got there, they didn't see anything. Harry assumed he was under an invisibility cloak and started to summon it when a red beam appeared in the air and hit Lily. Lily fell unconscious on the floor. Harry however snapped and for a few seconds he felt his conscious mind forced out of his body and his body drew and 'X' in the air.
A light orange cloud of energy flew out of where his body drew the 'X' and slammed into Snape. Snape went flying and hit the wall hard as Harry regained control of his body. The spell ripped the cloak Snape had been wearing to shreds.
Harry mentally added the unknown spell to a list of things to learn as he bent down and revived Lily.
"What happened?" Lily asked confused.
"I lost control again. I used some spell that sent Snape flying and knocked him unconscious. We should take him to the Headmaster. We need to report in for the week and maybe we can get the git expelled if we are lucky. Attacking the Head Boy and Girl is a serious offense." Harry told her offering his hand.
Lily nodded as she took the offered arm and he pulled her up.
Lily grabbed Snape's wand and revived him.
"We will be going to the Headmaster's office. You will come with us. We will keep your wand till we reach his office. I would also advise you not to speak a word or I might hex your mouth off." Lily told the boy harshly, her wand trained on him the entire time.
The boy glared at the two of them but didn't say a word.
Harry and Lily marched him up to the Headmaster's office with their wands trained on him.
They got to the gargoyle and gave the password. The three of them moved onto the staircase and rode to the top. They didn't get a chance to knock as the Headmaster called out, "That must be you Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans. Please come in."
Harry and Lily entered the office.
"What is this? Why do you have Mr. Snape at wand point?" Professor Dumbledore demanded when he saw them enter.
"We were patrolling the halls when Snape attacked us. He managed to stun Lily and I managed to take him down before he could do anything else. Lily has his wand. He was wearing this." Harry told the headmaster as he held out the shattered invisibility cloak.
"Do you have any other proof? I'm afraid a shredded invisibility cloak is enough evidence to warrant punishment." Dumbledore said staring calmly over his spectacles at the three young adults.
"Check his wand professor." Harry said.
"I'm afraid a stunning spell is common in use in a school such as Hogwarts. That will not be sufficient proof." Dumbledore told him.
Harry gawked. "You can't do anything! He attacked us for peak sake. You could always use Le…"
Dumbledore cut him off, "I'm afraid, Mr. Potter that the animosity between the two of you is rather well known. And as to your other suggestion, Mr. Snape is as adapt as your self or Ms. Evans at Occlumency. So unless either of you three is willing to drop your shield, I am afraid there is nothing I can do."
Harry shook his head refusing to let down his shield and he saw the other two do the same thing. There was just too much at risk to lower his shield even for Dumbledore. He saw the other two do the same.
"Then there is nothing I can do. However, Mr. Snape, you were out after hours and that does deserve a punishment. I will take thirty points from Slytherin house and you will serve two weeks of detention with Professor Slughorn, and I warn you, if you are ever caught out of bounds again you will be expelled." Dumbledore said reprimanding tone.
Snape bowed his head acting ashamed and quickly left the office.
Lily and Harry quickly gave their weekly report and left back for Gryffindor tower.
They both retired to their private rooms. Harry nearly passed out as he felt the usual exhaustion from his out of body experiences wash over him. He quickly changed into his sleeping clothes and passed out on the bed.
A/N: Well what do you think? I liked it, but I am the author after all. Well I'm sorry that I didn't have this out last week. I just got distracted by World of Warcraft and other stuff. I am going to try and get at least one chapter out a week. Don't hold me to that because I can be easily sidetracked. It should be doable as long as I get them done while at work. To the one reviewer that said something about Harry's power: I realize Harry is going to be needed to be powerful to beat Voldemort. I believe power is comprised of three parts, Skill, Natural Talent, and Will. Voldemort has an abundance of all three. Harry has all three in large quantities also, but he is severely lacking when it comes to skill compared to Voldemort. Skill is comprised of both knowledge and the ability to channel the energy. As you channel larger quantities of energy they become more adapt at channeling that larger amount of energy. If the witch or wizard channels too much in one time they become tired. It is the reason Harry is getting tired when he has the out of body experiences. You won't find out exactly why he is till maybe the next chapter or the one after that. Well look forward to the next chapter next Monday or so.