September 2, 1996
That evening found Harry on his bed, flicking through the Potions textbook he'd taken from the cupboard. He'd attached a mild sticking charm to the curtains, unwilling to let his roommates see the book. As far as he knew, they were all in the common room playing Exploding Snap at the moment.
As he went through the pages, Harry noted any particularly useful brewing modifications and spells he didn't recognize down on a separate piece of parchment. Snape would surely notice if he kept the book any longer, so he planned to return it when he had Double Potions the next day. Even if questioned, Harry would simply say that he had forgotten to put it back when class had ended.
Something was familiar about the handwriting scrawled across the pages, but it didn't click until Harry found a single sentence written on the bottom of the back cover: This Book is the Property of the Half-Blood Prince.
The small, spiky letters were a dead giveaway; he'd spent five years reading the man's scathing commentary on his essays and squinting to make sense of his written instructions on a chalkboard. Harry gave a disdainful snort, Snape was the last person he'd imagined would take on a pompous nickname in his school days. That sort of behavior fell more under the Marauder's purview.
Then again, this was someone who had willingly put himself into the service of the man with the most pompous nickname of all: Voldemort. Vol de mort. Flight of death. Harry still remembered Fleur's disgusted explanation of the name's meaning. Apparently the French didn't take too kindly to their language being co-opted for use in a madman's moniker.
Harry snapped the book shut, having gotten all the information he could from it. As reluctant as he was to admit it, he had to acknowledge that Snape had been a brilliant student. It was easy to see how he'd become the youngest Potions Master in centuries.
Climbing off of his bed, Harry tossed the weathered book into his bag, along with his newer copy. The Charms and Herbology textbooks followed and with the addition of spare parchment and quills, Harry closed the bag and collapsed back onto the mattress.
Meeting a bona fide Reaper didn't rank too high on Harry's list of "Weird Shit That Keeps Happening To Me", but there was some stiff competition. Harry still had dozens of questions for the Reaper swirling around in his brain, but he'd have to wait until Thursday to ask them. He still didn't know how Rami had managed to get into the school, nor did he fully know what a Reaper was or what they did for Death. Oh, he knew they reaped souls, that much was clear, but he wanted more details. It was only natural to want more information on the deity who had screwed up his life in more ways than one and didn't seem repentant in the least.
Shoving his chaotic thoughts aside, Harry dropped off to sleep. He could write his Potions essay tomorrow.
September 3, 1996
A bleary-eyed Harry Potter sat at the Gryffindor table, mechanically eating his breakfast. He'd worn his rattiest clothes since he had Herbology first thing, followed by double Potions. The rest of the week looked to be much more promising, he just had to get through today.
"Morning, Harry," came a familiar Irish brogue. Harry looked up to see Seamus had joined him
"Morning," he mumbled back.
"Er...listen," Seamus said, fidgeting nervously, "We haven't got a chance to talk since last year, yeah? Since the Ministry thing. I just wanted to apologize for my behavior back then. Mam wasn't all that keen on you and Dumbledore saying Voldemort was back."
"And now?" Harry asked cautiously.
"Well, she's changed her tune, hasn't she?" Seamus grimaced. "We had a bit of a row about me coming back this year as well. She said it's dangerous, I said sod that. I was horrible to you last year and I reckon I've got to make it up to you. Can't do that if I'm not here."
"Seamus, you already apologized," Harry pointed out.
"Aye," Seamus agreed, "but guilt goes a long way. Especially with proof."
Harry sat back in his seat. Seamus had more than absolved himself of any wrongdoing by turning up for the D.A. meetings, but had never apologized to Harry himself, at least not in so many words. Harry was pleased that Seamus had offered a real apology and knew he was truly regretting his harsh words of a year prior.
"Mate, you've got nothing to worry about. We're good," Harry said.
"Brilliant! See you in Herbology," Seamus grinned, clearly relieved. He offered a parting wave and went to join Dean and Neville further down the table. Harry shook his head at his antics and went back to his food.
Hermione soon took Seamus' place, nose already in her Herbology textbook. Ron came down five minutes before breakfast ended and shoveled food into his mouth like a human vacuum. Once the bell signaling the end of breakfast had rung, Harry swung his bag over his shoulder and followed his friends out of the hall.
Trudging back up to the castle after Herbology, Harry was in a rather foul mood. Since everyone in sixth year had qualified for the Herbology N.E.W.T. — even Crabbe and Goyle, much to his surprise — the class was held in Greenhouse Four, the largest of the five on the grounds. Even with the extra room to move around in, Harry had still managed to trip and fall into a bucket of dragon dung while trying to escape the Venomous Tentacula's reach. Malfoy and his cronies had taken great pleasure in laughing at him.
Ignoring Ron and Hermione calling after him, Harry went straight to his dorm for a shower and change of clothes before heading to Potions. Once he was clean and feeling much more human, he double checked that he had both Potions textbooks before leaving the tower.
Harry tugged his robes tighter around him as he descended the stairs to the dungeons. It was always drafty, but this was something else. Something new. The corridors were strangely empty and Harry checked his watch. He was early for class by ten minutes.
The chill suddenly became more pronounced and Harry looked up from his watch. The Bloody Baron was floating down the corridor towards him, and as they locked eyes, Harry's vision greyed out.
He was no longer standing in the hallway of the dungeons. He was in a small wooden cabin, furniture crammed into the cramped room haphazardly. A small woven tapestry of abstract colors hung on the wall above a tiny bed, upon which a woman sat cradling her newborn child.
The scene blurred and Harry was now standing in a field, watching the same woman teach a small boy the basics of sword fighting. The scenes, snapshots of life, blurred by faster and faster until Harry was only in each moment for a split second before moving on. Despite the speed, Harry found himself understanding each moment and how it fit into the larger whole of the boy's life.
Harry was internally panicking, he didn't know what had prompted this or how to break himself out of it. All he could do was stand there and watch as the boy grew up into a fit young man, travelling to Hogwarts — albeit a Hogwarts much newer and more clean than Harry had ever seen it — and learning all sorts of magic that Harry didn't recognize. He was clearly enamoured with another young woman there and Harry watched as his painfully awkward overtures fell flat time and time again. His heart went out to the man, his pain was evident and yet he kept at it. He reminded him of another young man he'd witnessed chasing a fiery redhead who wanted nothing to do with him.
The two progressed through their years at Hogwarts until the girl seemingly snapped, shoving a silver tiara with a giant blue sapphire embedded on the front into a bag and running away from Hogwarts with it. The boy soon followed, desperately tracking her as she fled. With a jolt of recognition, Harry realized that he'd seen this very scene when he'd first entered Hogwarts at the beginning of the year.
Harry watched as he finally happened upon her camp deep within a forest.
He watched as they fought, voices raised and spittle flying.
He watched as the boy took out his wand, furiously casting a spell that produced a brilliant white bold of light heading straight for the girl's chest.
He watched as the girl, taken by surprise, did not move out of the way.
He watched as the spell ripped a hole through her sternum, exiting through her spine and dissipating when it hit a tree.
He watched as the girl's last words died on her lips as her body crumpled to the ground.
He watched as the boy, horrified at what he'd done, turned his wand against himself and joined his would-be lover in death.
He watched as pale shades of the star-crossed lovers rose from their bodies and, bowing to each other, set off together on a path unseen.
Shaken, Harry looked at the retreating backs of the new ghosts as the vision faded away and the stone hallway of Hogwarts returned, as did the Baron's piercing gaze.
"Alexander…" he whispered.
The Baron's eyes widened, jaw nearly dropping. Harry didn't have time to enjoy the shocked expression on the ghost's face before the Baron was gesturing him into an unused classroom. Harry closed the door and put up a silencing charm before turning to face an irate Bloody Baron. Harry squirmed despite himself. A ghost could do him no harm, but the Baron had had centuries to perfect the art of scaring students.
"How do you know that name?" the Baron demanded.
"Um...it's easier to just show you," Harry admitted. With slightly shaking fingers, he undid his tie and pulled down the corner of his shirt to reveal the silver lotus that had shaken up and remade his world.
"Merlin, Morgana and Maeve," the Baron swore, drifting closer to examine the lotus. "I thought the lot of you had died out."
Putting aside his confusion about the unfamiliar swear word, Harry shrugged and did up his tie again.
"From what I know, we had. Then Death took a shine to me and here I am," Harry splayed his hands helplessly. "I reckon I know about as much as you at this point."
"So the reason you knew my name…"
"Is the reason I know about your entire life, Alexander Byron."
"Well, hell," the Baron summed up. "Helena?"
"Yep," Harry confirmed. He was still reeling from the knowledge that one of the founder's children was still at the castle, although a little less alive than she would have preferred. He planned to fully freak out later, but right now he had questions to ask and answer. "I'm sorry for invading your privacy, sir, I've not got a handle on everything yet."
"Call me Alex," the Baron offered, "I daresay you've earnt the right to it."
"Thank you, Alex. Like I said, I don't have any control over my powers and I don't have the foggiest idea of how to stop things like this happening," said Harry, nervously shifting from foot to foot.
Alexander looked down at the boy in front of him. He looked lost, as if he had been sure of his place in the world, only to have it and everything he knew ripped out from under him. Alex felt strangely protective towards him. He himself certainly knew a thing or two about being lost. Besides, the lad had evidently witnessed his entire life, including its rather inglorious end, and still stood before him holding a civil conversation.
"If you like, I could help you with your issues. I wasn't a spirit elemental, but my mother was."
"Oh," Harry was startled, he hadn't expected this from the man, "thank you, but I've already got a tutor. The new Defence Professor."
"The Reaper?" Alex raised an eyebrow. He'd known what the woman was from the moment she'd set foot in the school. He had wondered what business a Reaper would have teaching Defence, and now it looked like the answer was right in front of him.
Harry nodded.
"Yeah, that's her. You could come along though?" Harry didn't know how Rami would take him inviting the ghost to his lessons, but he didn't want to offend Alex and ruin the tentative friendship that seemed to be forming.
"I'll be there, lad," Alex smiled. "Now, I think you've got a class to get to?"
"Bloody hell," Harry looked down at his watch and squeaked, he only had a minute to get to Potions!
Quickly dismantling the silencing charm, Harry scrambled out of the room, throwing a quick "Thanks Alex" over his shoulder.
The Bloody Baron watched Harry run down the corridor. He knew who he was, of course. He'd heard the rumors and had the majority inadvertently confirmed by Dumbledore while he was innocently eavesdropping on several of the man's meetings with his secret cabal.
"Good luck, Harry."
At dinner that night, Harry had dug out some parchment from his bag and begun to outline his potions essay. He'd gotten another essay in Transfiguration and he was relieved that none of them were due until the next week.
In double Potions, he'd managed to slip the Half-blood Prince's textbook back into its cupboard under the pretense of gathering ingredients from a neighboring cabinet. Snape was none the wiser and Harry was congratulating himself for a job well-done.
"Potter." Harry looked up to see Katie Bell sliding into the seat next to him. "I've booked the pitch for Saturday. Tryouts are at eleven, but I've asked all of the old team to get there early."
"Got it," Harry replied distractedly.
"Harry." She poked him in the ribs.
"Katie."
"At least try to not get detention this time," Katie sighed.
"Oi, that was one time!" Harry protested.
"If you say so," Katie laughed, standing back up. She went back to her seat, her job done.
"Just think, Harry, you could've been Captain and avoided all that," Ron moaned.
"What's done is done, Ron. How come she didn't say anything to you?" Harry asked. Ron had been Keeper last year and he'd assumed that Ron would be trying out this year as well.
"She caught me during my free period. I reckon we might have another Angelina on our hands," Ron mock whispered.
"And here I thought no one could be worse than ol' Ollie," chuckled Harry.
"No, Oliver's still in a league of his own," Ron chortled.
"Too true, mate, too true."
Hello! I realize I haven't updated for a while, due to school and real life, but I do have some news. I've made a discord server for those who read my fics and want to discuss them outside of AO3. There are five fics (three of which are unpublished) that are on this server. There is also a general discussion channel for anything you may want to talk about as well as spoiler channels for each fic. This is where I will be sharing my thoughts on the plot and also where I will ask for any input on my ideas!
Since I just made this server a week ago, there are very few people. I hope you will consider joining!
discord dot gg / WCJaK7RZ2C
In addition, there is an issue that I have been wondering how to resolve. This story is currently tagged as Blaise Zabini/Harry Potter, and that won't change, but I am considering switching it to Blaise Zabini/Harry Potter/Dean Thomas since Dean will have his own part to play in the plot, which you've already seen the beginning of. My concern is that this switch would throw off people who read this story expecting one relationship and now getting a different one. So, please let me know what you think about adding Dean to the relationship, I genuinely don't know which direction I want to go with that.