Hey guys :)
New Chapter. This is again a "Filler Chapter" as I want to move on quickly with my story as I want to cover all the Hogwarts years. The main plot point will happen later when Harry is much older. What happens in these early chapters is all very important for that though especially for Harrys character development. I hope you understand that.
Enjoy
Harry Norwood
Chapter 6
The morning of the first November day came far to early. Harry woke up very tired and for once he wasn't the first one up. After getting ready quickly the hufflepuffs made their way to breakfast. There was a huge buzz around the hall. The main topic seems to be Potter and Weasley. In the entrance to the the great hall they saw the Patil twins together with Dean and Seamus.
"Hey whats everyone talking about?" Hannah asked them.
"Oh just that Potter and Weasley apparently snuck out of the great hall last night while the troll was out. McGonagall, Snape and Flitwick caught them just as the troll came around the corner" Dean said.
"What really?" Harry asked shocked.
"Why would they do that?" Susan asked.
"I don't know all they told us was that there was someone in the bathroom who didn't know about the troll and they wanted to save them" Seamus told them.
"Why?" Harry asked confused.
"Don't know but we believe, like most people, that they just wanted to show off and prove they are soo great" Dean said sarcastic. They all laughed.
"What did McGonagall say?" Neville asked.
"Two month of detention with Snape and Filch" Seamus said. "They also wrote their parents" he added.
"Wouldn't want to be in their place" Hannah joked and they went inside. The morning went slow after that. Harry finally managed to get the levitation charm right and with a little help Neville managed as well. On their way to lunch they once again encountered Potter and Weasley. They were discussing with Malfoy.
"Well you would have wet your pants if a full grown mountain troll was in front of you" Weasley said.
"Oh please you two are a pathetic excuse for wizards" Malfoy said with a sneer.
"Wanna bet" Potter said. Malfoy raised an eyebrow.
"Alright. Tonight at midnight. Trophy room." Malfoy said and held out his hand. Potter looked at Weasley who nodded.
"Okay Malfoy" Potter said and shock Malfoys hand. With that they parted.
"They are so stupid" Hannah said and shock her head. Susan nodded in agreement.
"Yeah Malfoy is probably not even going to show up." Harry said.
"Probably tell a teacher or Filch about it" Neville added. They were in the middle of lunch when two brown owls few in through the roof window. The bigger owl landed right in front of Potter and the other one landed or rather crashed right into a plate of Sandwiches. Everyone laughed.
"Looks like Potter and Weasley got howlers" Susan said with a quiet laugh.
"Whats a howler?" Harry asked confused.
"A Howler is a magical letter in a red envelope which enchants the written message into the writer's voice, usually at a very high volume. It will explode if left unopened for too long. Its a form of punishment as everyone gets to hear it so its very embarrassing" Hannah explained. Everyone was now looking at the two boys. It was dead silence in the hall. Potter was brave enough to open his first.
GRANT FLEAMONT POTTER HOW DARE YOU PUT YOURSELF AND RON IN DANGER. YOUR FATHER AN I ARE HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU. WE KNOW YOU ARE BRAVER AND STRONGER THAN MOST AT HOGWARTS BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD PUT YOURSELF IN UNNECESSARY DANGER. WE APPROVE OF EVERY KIND OF PUNISHMENT YOU GET. WE RISK SO MUCH FOR YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US? WE WILL DEFINITELY TALK ABOUT THIS WHEN YOU GET HOME FOR THE CHRISTMAS BREAK.
Grant looked shocked and scared. Everyone looked at him with their mouths open. They knew he was a spoiled brat so they didn't expect that he would be punished. Ron grew very very pale and looked at his own letter. Slowly he opened it.
RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY HOW DARE YOU GO AFTER THAT TROLL. IT WAS VERY STUPID AND RECKLESS OF YOU. YOU COULD HAVE DIED. I SURE HOPE YOU ENJOY EVERY LITTLE BIT OF FREE TIME YOU GET WHILE STILL AT SCHOOL CAUSE WHEN YOU GET HOME YOU WILL BE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE YOUNG MAN.
The letter now turned to the eldest Weasley son at Hogwarts.
AND PERCY WHY DIDN'T YOU LOOK OUT FOR YOUR LITTLE BROTHER. I EXPECTED THIS OF THE TWINS BUT NOT YOU. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE RESPONSIBLE ONE HERE.
Percys face grew so red it matched his hair and he sunk down in his seat. The letter now turned back to Ron.
IF I YOU PUT ONE MORE FOOT OUT OF LINE YOU WILL BE SEND HOME IMMEDIATELY. THAT MEANS IF YOU BREAK ANY MORE RULES, MISS YOU CLASSES OR BE LATE FOR YOU CLASSES...HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?
Rons face also matched his hair now. Both boys sat in their seats like they were glued to it starring at the remains of the letter. Everyone still starred at the boys. No one said a word.
"Alright thats enough. I think we should go back to our lunches" Professor Sprout suddenly said very loud. Everyone snapped out of it and continued their lunch.
"Well that was certainly something" Neville said quietly. Everyone agreed silently and continued eating. The next few days went by pretty fast. It was now Wednesday or rather Thursday and Harry and his friends were on their way back to their dorms after Astronomy class. They were very tired and it was quite dark in the dim lit hallways. They accidentally took a wrong turn and ended up in a dark deserted corridor.
"Guys I think we took a wrong turn somewhere" Hannah exclaimed looking around.
"I think your right. I've never been in this corridor before" Harry said.
"I think we are in the forbidden corridor" Susan said. The other nodded. They were just about to turn back when they saw a cat sitting in their way starring at them.
"Oh oh thats Mrs. Norris. Filches cat" Susan said.
"We better get out of here" Neville said.
"But we can't go back. If Mrs. Norris found us that means that Filch is on his way. We have to go the other way" Harry explained. The others nodded and they ran for their lives. They ran for a short while but were stopped by a looked door. Hannah drew her wand and muttered something. Suddenly the door opened and they rushed inside. They quickly closed the door. They all held their breath and tried to listen through the door. Suddenly they heard deep loud breathing and a foul smell hit their noses. They slowly turned around and screamed. In front of them was a giant three-headed-dog. Each head was fletching his teeth directly in their faces. Suddenly they started barking. Quickly they ran out of the door and down the corridor. Once they couldn't hear it anymore they stopped.
"What...was...that?" Hannah asked trying to catch her breath.
"I...don't...know...and...I...don't...want...to find out" Harry breathed out.
"I am...defiantly...writing my aunt...about that" Susan said. The others nodded. They remained there for another minute before they quickly and quietly made their way back to their dorms. The next day the four Hufflepuffs were more tired then normal. They were so tired they barely spoke all morning. Luckily they had a free lesson that day so they were able to take a short nap before heading to study group. There they told everyone what they saw the night before.
"Is Dumbledore mental?" asked Daphne clearly shocked.
"Yeah according to my grandmother he lost his mind sometime after the war with Grindelwald" Tracy said. Some of the others nodded.
"I heard the rumour that there was more than just friendship between them" Blaise exclaimed.
"I heard that too and I also heard that one of them is responsible for the death of Dumbledores little sister" Tracy added. Everyone looked at her shocked.
"Now where did you hear that?" Hannah asked.
"I overheard my parents talking about it one time." she answered simply.
"So what are we going to do about it then?" Hermione asked. They all looked at her. "Well the dog has to be there for a reason" she said in a mater-of-fact tone.
"Well I was going to write my aunt. Such a dangerous creature shouldn't be kept in a school full of people" Susan said.
"You know what I'll write my parents too. They are on the board of governors as well as the wizengamot" Daphne said. Tracy, Blaise, Neville, the Patil twins and a few others decided to do the same as their families are also on the board and wizengamot. They all got answered two days later stating that they were looking into it and to stay away from that corridor. The next few days past much like the others. It was now mid November and snow has started to fall. The castle instantly grew freezing cold. The only really warm places were the common rooms and the greenhouses. Harry and his friends were having breakfast discussing their classes when the mail arrived. Hedwig stood out amongst all the other owls. She landed right in front of Harry. He took the letter, fed Hedwig some bacon and water before she flew off again. Harry opened the letter. With every second that he read the letter his eyes grew bigger and bigger.
"Harry you alright?" Neville asked him. Harry just nodded. The others just looked at him.
"Whats going on Harry?" asked Hannah. Harry looked at his friends.
"My Mum is pregnant" Harry simply said.
"Wow thats great" Susan said with an encouraging smile.
"Yeah aren't you happy about it Harry?" Hannah asked.
"I am...I really am its just a shook you know" Harry simply said with a half smile.
"Give it time. I remember when my mum was pregnant. I was eight and not very happy about it. Now I love my little brother" Hannah said.
"Its not that its just...I mean I already have a little sister. I just don't remember Mum being pregnant. I mean I was like 3 or 4 years old back than. I guess what I am trying to say is that i need time to process this" Harry said. The others nodded.
"I wish I had any siblings" Susan said with a sigh. Neville nodded.
"Yeah me too" he said.
"So your family wrote you a two page letter just to tell you your mum is pregnant?" Hannah asked curious.
"No not just that. My sister wrote some stuff too...oh and we are visiting my mums family horse farm in Melbourne." Harry said.
"A horse farm. Sounds cool" Susan said.
"Yeah its been in the family for 3 generations...i think" Harry answered just as he noticed that everyone around them got up to get to class. Reluctantly the followed. Classes went well though Harry still thought about the fact that his mum was pregnant. He was happy, really happy but nervous at the same time. He also felt a bit sad that he wasn't there with her and that he was probably going to miss everything because of school. The days until Christmas break went by pretty fast. More snow fell and Hogwarts was buried deep into the snow. Some of the first and second years had problems moving because they are so small. Hagrid spend most of the days making paths through the snow. Whenever they had free time most of the students would spend it outside playing in the snow. The first years had a great snowball fight against the second and third years. The third years won because they are taller and they know how to bewitch a snowball to chase you. The train ride home was spend playing games, eating and trying to stay warm in this cold train. Harry marvelled at the beautiful snowy Scottish countryside and got a bit sad as they traveled down further south where the snow turned into dark gray clouds and heavy rain. It was already pitch dark when they arrived at Kings cross. Bella ran straight into Harrys arms and gave him a big hug. They all said goodbye and left for home.
The next day Harry woke bright an early. During breakfast he could not stop talking about everything that had happened at Hogwarts. After breakfast Harry asked them if he could go to diagon ally to stock up on some school supply as well a buying some presents for his friends. They agreed so Harry quickly got some of the money he saved up, which was about 200 pounds, and he and his dad made their way into London. Once they have changed their money Harry stocked up on parchment, quills, ink, potion ingredients and owl treats. Harry then proceeded to buy his friend some christmas presents. Luckily there was a postal shop in diagon alley so Harry didn't have to overwork Hedwig and the presents wouldn't arrive neither to early or to late. He also got some owl ordering catalogues from some of the shops, which he really should have gotten the first time he was there. When they went back home Harry then started doing some of the essays they got over the break as he couldn't do them once in Melbourne. That night they all went to bed early as they had they had to leave on time the next day to get to the airport. They wanted to be there as early as possible as they had quite some luggage. Their flight was scheduled for 6pm. They were flying from Heathrow to Singapore where they had a 5 hour layover before flying over to Melbourne. They were set to arrive around 8 am in Melbourne the day after tomorrow local time. While they were away Hedwig was staying with Neville so she wouldn't be alone.
The flight was both boring and exciting. Once at the airport it took them about three hours to check in and go though security. There they had to wait for another 4 hours until boarding. Luckily Harry and Bella found some kids their age to play with. They had a nice dinner at one of the restaurants at the terminal before they boarded the plane. Once it took of Harry and Bella were fast asleep. When they arrived in Singapore it was mid afternoon local time. Since they had a 5 hour layover they decided to explore the airport. The airport was amazing. They have a butterfly garden, slides, an arcade, a cinema and much more. They boarded the next plane around 8pm. Again they were fast asleep once they took off. It was a bright and hot morning when they arrived in Melbourne. They were all very tired as sleeping on a plane is hardly comfortable even when flying first class, which they did. When they left customs and went into the waiting area they were greeted by a big sign that said 'WELCOME BACK NORWOODS'. The sign was held up by 7 children of different ages with 8 adults standing behind them. They were tears, hugs and laughter all around.
Harrys mum, Clara, was the third child out of four. She had and older brother named Thomas who was married to Erin. They have three children. Caleb age 14, Jake age 11 and Lucy age 8. Thomas and Erin work on the farm as well and are set to take it over one day. After Thomas came Sarah who is married to Adam. They have two children. Cleo age 10 and Zack age 7. Sarah is a professional Horse jumper and Adam works as a jumping Instructor. Clara's younger brother Marc is married to Fiona and they also have two kids. Matt age 6 and Penny age 4. They both work as veterinarians. They all live on the farm and sometimes Harry feels a bit jealous because they all get to see each other all the time but then he remembers that the all have to share a room with someone else and that he has his own room at home and that makes him feel a bit better. Harrys grandparents were Janet and David Sanders. Most of them had blond hair, like Clara and Bella, the others had brown hair. One thing they all had in common was freckles, only Harry and William didn't have them.
The drive to the farm took about 2 hours. It was a huge plot of land very close to the ocean. It had multiple buildings. First they passed two big pastures. The street went right between them. On one side was a huge barn and on the other were the stables. Besides horses they also had a few chickens, a cat, a dog and some ducks. They stopped the car on a huge empty space right in front of a huge house. They all got out and brought their luggage inside. The house had three levels including the main one. On the main level were a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, the office and a bathroom. On the first level were the parents rooms and on the last level were the kids rooms. Behind the house was a small pond as well as a outdoor dining area, a small greenhouse and vegetable garden and play area. The whole plot of land was surrounded by trees. During their time there Harry would be sharing a room with Caleb and Jake while Bella was sharing with the three girls Lucy, Cleo and Penny.
The first day was spend relaxing and catching up. The next day Harry was awoken bright and early by Caleb and Cleo. Caleb promised Harry that next time he was there he would try to teach him surfing. He and Cleo were both passionate about surfing. They had a quick breakfast and went down to the beach which was only 5 min foot walk away. The spend about 3 hours by the beach until it got to hot and they got hungry. Harry was quite the quick learner Caleb said. By then everyone else was already up. After lunch they decided to go a bit horse riding. Harry enjoyed that very much but not as much as Bella did. You couldn't get her off the horse. For supper they had a barbecue and after that a bonfire where the older kids told each other ghost stories. The next morning they went down to the beach again. After that they spend the rest of the day decorating the house for christmas. Harry found christmas during the summer quite weird but it wasn't the first time he spend it there.
The next day was christmas eve. On christmas eve a special event happened in Melbourne called Carols by Candlelight. Carols by Candlelight is a tradition that started in Melbourne and has spread around Australia and the world. At the event people gather on Christmas Eve, usually outdoors, to sing carols by candlelight in a large-scale concert style event. The Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight which takes place at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on Christmas Eve, is televised nationwide and it has become a tradition for many Australians to watch the performance. They watched it in front of the TV with lots of baked christmas goods.
On christmas morning the kids all woke up early. They all rushed downstairs to open their presents. Unfortunately the door to the living room, where the tree is located, was locked. Disappointed they went to the kitchen instead to prepare breakfast. The smell of food and possibly because it was christmas woke up the adults. After breakfast the kids were allowed into the living room. Once in the quickly tore into their presents. It happened so fast and was so messy that all you could see was wrapping paper. The kids all got some shirts, toys, books and video games. In the corner of his eye Harry saw a few more presents with his name on them. The wrapping paper looked quite old so Harry assumed that it must be from his friends at school. He quickly hid them to open them later when he was alone. After lunch they all went for a bush walk.
That evening Harry excused himself while everyone else was sitting outside playing games. He quickly grabbed the presents he hid and went upstairs. There were 5 in total. He quickly opened them. From Neville he got some chocolates and a small book about transfigurations. Hannah got him a book about Potions as well as some sweets. Susan got him his own set of exploding snap as well as some Tracy and Daphne got books about politics and the Ministry. Luckily Harry thought about getting them something as well. Neville got a book about plants both magical and muggle as well as some seeds for some muggle plants. Hannah got a potion book Harry found while wandering around a side street of Diagon alley. The shop owner said it was old and not used anymore even though it is much better than the book they have to use at school. Harry got Susan a book about muggle history. Daphne and Tracy both got books about muggle politics. They all also got some sweets.
The rest of the week went by pretty much the same. Harry and his two cousins went to the beach everyday to practice surfing. In the afternoons they would mostly go horse riding. On new years eve there was a big firework in town, not as big as the one in Sydney but still quite big. On January second they sadly had to go home again. Harry really enjoyed his time there and was hoping to come back soon but since his mum was pregnant it wouldn't happen too soon. Bella cried a bit at the airport when they were all hugging goodbye. The flight back went almost the same as the one down there. They arrived back home on the evening of January the third. The train back to Hogwarts would leave on the fifth. Over the small break Harry had gotten a light very light tan. The day before his return into the magical world he spend doing the rest of his homework.
It was the day of return and Harry was already on the train. He was the first one of his friends to arrive. He was reading on of the books he got for christmas and found it quite interesting. It was a book about politics. He was just reading about the different kinds of houses there were and their importance to the ministry when the door opened. In came Neville, Susan and Hannah. They were all very excited to see each other again. The three told Harry all about their break and the parties they had to go to. They were in the middle of describing the annual Potter new years ball when the door opened again and Daphne and Tracy came in. The two girls were also at the ball and joined in the conversation. Harry of course told them all about his time in Australia which they were very interested in. They were so wrapped up in their stories that they didn't notice the train moving. Slowly the rainy countryside turned into a snowy one as they were on their way back to Hogwarts.
So another chapter finished. I hope you liked it.
I am sorry if I insulted anyone from Australia especially from Melbourne. I got all my information from Australian shows I used to watch as well as the internet.
