Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Ginny does.
LadyPhoenix68: Thank you for pointing out my mistakes. This is my first fanfic. I will try to correct them.
A10riddick: Thank you for reading and reviewing. And yes, Snape is a good guy.
A/N: Please R/R. Constructive criticism is accepted and please don't cuss in the reviews. And the name of Sharptooth, Ragnok, Bogrod are taken from other Harry Potter fics I have read.
Harry woke up in an unfamiliar bed. It was soft, had an actual pillow and he was still disoriented. After a few moments, he remembered everything that happened the day before: boarding the train, meeting Ron, first sight of Hogwarts, talking to the Sorting hat etc. Harry Potter had entered Hogwarts.
Glancing around, he saw everyone in his dorm are still asleep and might not be waking up for the time being. Eager to find the founders' room quickly and be the best in his classes, he was fired up and went to perform hid daily chores.
Completing his ablations and returning, he saw some older boys coming to the bathroom. Waving a hello to them, he went back to his room and dressed up to go and search for the Founders' Lounge.
Exiting the Gryffindor common room, he began looking around for the founders' lounge, whose main entrance, if the sorting hat was to be trusted, was approximately at the centre of the castle. After walking for some time and passing the headmaster's office, he reached the place which was devoid of anything except for the portraits and suits of armour and started to search for the entrance.
After searching for a few minutes, he saw the portrait of a jungle which was not moving unlike the other portraits. It also had the Hogwarts emblem on its frame and the 4 animals: Lion, Snake, Badger and Eagle were also present in the portrait, having the same symbol on their chests. Confirming it to be the door to the founders' lounge, he used a small needle to prick his hand and let some of his blood smear onto a ridge while flaring his magic on the bottom frame of the portrait which sucked it clean. Verifying that Harry is the heir, the animals in the portrait started to move and the portrait itself swung open to let him enter the room.
Entering, he was genuinely surprised to see that the room was filled with all house colours and having all types of books, quills, parchments etc. (Imagine Dumbledore's office, the Hogwarts library and the powers of the RoR combined together with the decor made out of Gryffindor colours, the furniture out of Hufflepuff's colour, the bookshelves in Slytherin's colour and the entrance with Ravenclaw's colour and security protocols.) There, a map was also present which showed the entirety of Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, the members present in all the above areas with their names & general information about them.
The room also created pathways to enter and exit any place in the castle with the ability to listen and see in. The entrance was laced with magical runes so that only the heir or one who he allows can enter the room. The heir can enter the room by either the normal way or setting a password which can be uttered in any language by the heir to allow him entrance. (Salazar faced this trouble when he was drunk and had uttered the password in parseltongue but the door didn't open until Ravenclaw changed some runes to recognise other languages as well.)
He was about to explore more of the room and map when his owl, Hedwig entered the room flying and dropped a letter in front of him which had the official Gringotts seal on it. Remembering his talk with Sharptooth, Harry opened the letter and what he saw really surprised him as the letter came directly from the Gringotts bank manager whose name, if Harry remembered correctly, was Ragnok. Curious whether Sharptooth succeeded or not, he started reading the message.
Greetings Mr. Potter,
My name is Ragnok. I am the director of Gringotts and an important member of the administrative council of the Goblin Nation. I have been informed of a unique situation concerning you by Sharptooth, the Potter Family Account manager. At first, I was sceptical about the information and yourself given that every wizard and witch (except for a few) we have known are somehow trying to cheat us. But Sharptooth's gut instinct and the proofs you have shown him, tell me that you might be real and made me re-think about our resolves and vows as well. Considering it, I have asked the Goblin administrative council to give permission to use the ancient guides which was granted to me after much pleading.
After using the ancient guides, we found out that you might be the true heir after all. And the fact that you can enter any and every Hogwarts founder's vaults without repercussions has strengthened the proof as well. I have shown the results to the council and they have accepted you as an heir of the founders and a friend/ally to the Goblin nation and several other magical species as well. The council has decided that we will help you and send your message to other species discreetly provided that we are ensured equal rights to that of witches and wizards which are denied to us by many. Ensure us your word about this and we will support your ideals and notions as well.
Regards,
Ragnok,
Gringotts Bank Manager.
After reading the letter, Harry felt joy because the Goblins stated that they would support him. It was his first victory against Dumbledore and his 'light side' and Voldemort and his 'dark side'. Sure, there were some conditions that would take time to fulfil but he would definitely ensure that the wishes of his allies were fulfilled. So, making up his mind, he took an empty parchment from a drawer beside him and began writing a reply to the Gringotts.
Greetings Master Ragnok,
My name is Harry Potter and I have received your message. Sharptooth might have told you about me and my situation. As of now, everyone in the magical world thinks that I am new to this. If they come to know that we are in contact or if I started executing your wish right now, it will open a can of worms, which we both don't want to deal with right now. It may take some time but rest assured Mr. Director. I, Harry James Potter, will ensure that the Goblin nation's wish is fulfilled as soon as possible. For now, I am taking it slow and gathering some wizards' loyal to my cause. After gaining sufficient strength, I will contact you for further deliberations.
Thanking you for sparing your valuable time,
Yours Sincerely,
Harry James Potter.
P.S: I have gathered from Voldemort's memories that one of his horcruxes (which is the Hufflepuff's cup) is present in Gringotts inside the Lestrange's vault. It would be a great help to me if you can destroy the horcrux and not damage the goblet and its power.
Satisfied with his writing, he put the letter in an envelope and gave it to Hedwig,
"Hedwig, give this letter to the director of Gringotts directly. Do not take any detours." said Harry to which Hedwig hooted and grabbing the letter flew off into the sky. Harry waited until she disappeared into the horizon and explored the room a little longer. After finding many interesting things and noting that it's time for his first class he rushed to the great hall for breakfast.
In an astounding amount of time, he reached the Great Hall where the staff and other students were just starting their own meals. Being an heir of Hogwarts, he could go to places directly while ordering the pathways to directly connect to his destination. Sitting down with them, he also started his meal while praising the house-elves subconsciously for their excellent cooking. While he was eating his own meal, he was greeted by a dressed-up Ron and Neville who sat beside him and started to pile the food onto their plates while Ron was trying to talk to Harry and eat at the same time.
"Ron, please swallow and speak properly. We don't have any gift of understanding your speech while you are eating." chastised Harry.
"I was asking that, where have you been? I woke up to find you missing and couldn't find you anywhere. Where were you?" asked Ron after swallowing the chicken in his mouth.
"Oh! I was just roaming the halls. I didn't sleep sufficiently due to the excitement that we are in Hogwarts and got up early to explore the place." told Harry with a poker face.
"Whatever. So did you find anything new except for the usual like moving staircases, talking portraits and armour?" questioned Ron
"Sadly, no. But I am excited for my first magical class. What about you, Neville?" asked Harry.
"M-m-maybe, but y-you shouldn't w-wander alone like that H-harry. It m-might be d-d-dangerous". stuttered Neville
"Yeah, you are right as well Neville." spoke Harry taking note of Neville's stuttering and planning to break that habit. "Speaking of which, my breakfast is complete and I am going to class. Wanna come? The first period is transfiguration and McGonagall was staring at us all the time she was handing out the schedules" spoke Harry.
McGonagall, while Ron was shovelling the food into his stomach, had given everyone their timetables.
"Ya-, e shu ga gon" ('Yes, we should get going' in Ronspeak)
"Ron, swallow and speak please" spoke the raven-haired boy
After Ron had completed eating, the three Gryffindor boys had started to move towards the transfiguration classroom. They reached the classroom a little early owing to the fact that the classroom was empty except for a cat napping on the desk. Actually, they arrived early because Harry had ordered the staircases to provide a direct route to the classroom.
An unassuming Ron began petting the cat which woke up on his contact
"Hey, there little kitty. Are you lost? Who is your master?" Ron had started to ask the cat hearing which Harry whipped his face around and saw Ron petting McGonagall in her cat form which led Harry to hyperventilate.
"Ron, stop. That is Professor McGonagall" shouted a very stressed and scared Harry.
"Are ya nuts Harry? It is a normal cat. See how it likes being petted" Ron spoke back.
McGonagall, immediately turned back into her human form which led to Ron recoiling his hand with a loud yelp and Neville and Harry turning pale green.
"I assure you Mr. Weasley that I don't like being petted but I'd like to know how Mr. Potter got to know that it was me?" questioned McGonagall
Harry froze at the question. Trying to not tell her the original reason because he saw her in his mother's memories, he came up with a reasonable excuse:
"Um, your specs were showing as marks around the cat's eyes and the cat didn't behave like a normal cat while being petted. So, I assumed that it was you." spoke Harry.
McGonagall was sceptical about Harry's answer but put her suspicions aside for the time being.
"Well done, Mr. Potter. Many first years can't find out that it is me posing as a cat. 5 points to Gryffindor for excellent observation." spoke McGonagall.
"Um, p-p-professor, how d-did you turn into a c-cat?" asked Neville
I am what you call an animagus Mr. Longbottom. A person who can change into an animal. Most persons only have 1 animal form though myths state that people like Merlin, the founders have multiple forms. Now, be quiet and be seated. I will turn into my cat form and observe other students." instructed McGonagall to which the 3 gryffindors agreed immediately.
Slowly, the other students started to filter into the classroom. Some started to comment on the cat's presence while some outright ignored it but no one recognized it as their professor except for Harry. Once most of the students have arrived, she rose up to was about to start the class when she heard a commotion. On peering through, she saw Draco with Crabbe and Goyle entering in a flurry.
"Thank goodness, the old hag is not here yet. Wonder what's with the classroom and the décor? Stupid staircases and ghosts! I am an heir of the Malfoys and of a noble descent from Slytherin! I should be given respect." moaned Draco to which both his cronies nodded dumbly and Harry guffawed internally at his rant of being a Slytherin descendant.
McGonagall turned into her human form shocking the pale haired boy and started to speak;
"I assure you, Mr. Malfoy, that even if you were Slytherin himself, the stairs move randomly without permission. Metaphorically speaking of course. Now go and sit down in your places before I lose my patience and give you detention on your first day to school."
Turning even paler than before, Malfoy and his cronies obliged, while others were shocked or surprised on seeing the cat turn into their teacher except for the 3 early Gryffindor boys.
Clearing her throat, McGonagall started to explain the basis and basics of transfiguration. Stating her subject would be difficult to everyone except the persons who are diligent and hardworking and gave them their fast task i.e changing a matchstick into a needle with only magic.
Glancing around, Harry saw that everyone wasn't not having a great time at converting the matchstick except maybe Hermione, a bushy haired muggleborn student. On checking his surroundings whether someone was spying on him or not, he slipped out his snakewood wand and changed the matchstick into a needle after 3 seconds.
McGonagall was checking everyone and pointing out their mistakes when she saw Harry's match turned into a needle without much effort. She approached him upfront and spoke out aloud:
"Fantastic Mr. Potter. I haven't seen many people who can change the match into the needle on their first class. 10 points to Gryffindor for getting the process right on the first attempt. Are you sure that you have not been practicing in secrecy?" questioned McGonagall.
"N-no professor. It just seemed simple enough and I followed your instructions to the T." Harry half-lied. He had indeed followed her instructions and had also taken some pointers from his mother's and Voldemort's memories.
McGonagall, apparently satisfied with his answer went on to correct yet another student while Ron and Neville began asking Harry, how to execute the transfiguration perfectly. Neither of them noticing a bushy haired girl staring at them intently since McGonagall's transformation from a cat to a human.
After transfiguration, Harry had a variety of other classes. He decided to perform averagely for now and show off only when necessary. In charms, he liked professor Flitwick's enthusiasm and performed adequately enough for the professor to notice him. After the end of class, he even stopped Harry to let him know more about his parents (the information his mother might have omitted or forgotten to tell) which led Harry become teary eyed. Promising the professor to attend tea with him after sometime, he exited the classroom to go to "Defence Against the Dark Arts".
In DADA, he learnt nothing worthwhile about the subject due to Quirrel's intentional stuttering and lack of knowledge on the subject. Knowing that Voldemort was leaching off Quirrel's life force and was sabotaging future aurors, he delved into his subconscious and began started re-reading the material about DADA and its origins left to him by Salazar and Godric, when they left his mind.
After completing the entirely boring class of DADA, Harry left the class to have lunch flanked by Ron and Neville, who was starting to brighten up and interact more with Ron and Harry after some encouragement.
After lunch, all the first Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs went towards the Greenhouses where they were greeted by Professor Sprout who started their first class on Herbology. Neville showed that he was a genius in this particular subject by earning a lot of points to Gryffindor while he answered questions even faster than Hermione.
After completing Herbology and praising Neville a lot which led him to have a lasting blush on his face, the first year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws arrived at the entrance of the classroom of History of Magic which was their last class for the day
On entering the classroom, they were greeted by a ghostly visage of Professor Binns present in the class. He started droning about Goblin wars and revolutions which led to Harry and almost all of the class except Hermione become sleepy and have a nice nap before dinner. Harry, particularly was tearing his hair out in his subconscious. The reason was that, this particular ghost/professor was present even during Voldemort's schooling and he is repeating the same course over and over since then !
After the class was complete, the first years trudged to the Great Hall for dinner where Ron started to gorge on food again while Harry and surprisingly Neville scolded him teasingly for his lack of table manners while Ron defended his hunger for food. After it was complete, all of the students returned to their dorms to complete their homework and call it a day.
Harry, after completing his homework bid a 'Good night' to both Ron and Neville and laid down to sleep. He knew that the next day, there was a potions class and there, he would gain a new (and unlikely for anyone) ally in form of Snape, provided that the professor read his mother's letter. Harry also vowed again to himself that he would not let Dumbles or Voldemort disturb the peace he had found in Hogwarts and will stop them at any rate humanly possible if they were to interfere.
Thinking along those lines, Harry drifted off to sleep slowly. Waiting for the moment when he would meet the potions master of Hogwarts directly.