AN: Amazingly, "Why didn't Remus recognize Pettigrew" is easily the most-asked question I've received about this fic. Even moreso than "when do you update," Lol. Disregarding the canon fact that Lupin didn't realize the rat was in the school for an entire year, he was emotionally charged at this moment in this story after seeing Harry for the first time in a decade. I will cover some other reasons why that confrontation didn't happen here in-story later. But I'm genuinely shocked that so many people thought it would be instant recognition.
Coming To Terms
"Ah, thank you for coming! Please take a seat." Albus said as the four people entered his office, "I can get us some tea if you would like? It's been a long evening."
Petunia fought not to gawk as she looked around the headmaster's office while he called an elf to bring them tea. The room was filled with gadgets and gizmos spinning and tumbling and beeping, to say nothing of the dozens of moving portraits lining the walls muttering to themselves and each other, she wasn't sure how the man could possibly get work done like this. There were four comfortable looking chairs arranged in front of the man's overly large desk and Remus chuckled at his employer's barely hidden wonder as he and Andromeda took seats on either side of Petunia. Minerva pulled her chair slightly to the side and took a seat where she could see all four other people.
"Well, I must admit." The headmaster began after they were seated and drinking, "At no point did I ever suspect a thing, Mrs. Dursley."
"I would say my Accounts Advisor did a wonderful job then." The woman replied, smirking at him.
"I assume you have some questions for me?"
"Let's start with the easy ones." Petunia said, leaning forward, "Was Hermione correct about the trapdoor under that dog, and about what you have under it?"
"Yes," Albus conceded immediately, no point in hiding something so simple, "one of the defenses in that corridor, past Hagrid's Cerberus, is a troll. Though that one is contained in a room whose entrance and exit are far too small to escape without magical assistance."
"Last month," the squib continued, "she and Harry wrote to me. They said they thought you were keeping a very valuable artefact in the corridor. Don't insult me by denying it, and I don't care what it actually is. What I want to know is, why is it here?"
Dumbledore sighed deeply before answering, obviously Hagrid wasn't discreet enough when picking up the Stone, in hindsight he shouldn't have asked Hagrid to do that the same day he met with Harry in the first place…
"The object in question is harmless by itself, but would be unimaginably dangerous in the wrong hands. It's owners kept it under some of the best wards in Britain, but when those wards began to be probed they asked me to hold onto it until they felt it safe to be returned." He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Gringotts was successfully broken into for the first time in history not long after the object was removed to be brought here. This is the only place I can think of that would be more secure than there."
"What happens when whoever is after this item comes to Hogwarts?" Remus asked, "When a student is attacked while they're here?"
"You know this castle at least as well as myself, Remus." The headmaster replied, "The easiest route from outside the school to that corridor would keep an intruder within the area I designated as 'out-of-bounds' for most of their invasion since most of the second floor on that side is unused as well. In the off chance that someone manages to actually get through the wards of Hogwarts, they would most certainly be smart enough to realize and follow such a route."
Petunia huffed at his answer and he continued, "The wards around Hogwarts have been built upon for a thousand years. The idea that a thief could get through them is honestly unthinkable, it would take an army. Please understand that, despite that, if there was any other place it could be hidden and still be safe I would have it there. As it is, I don't believe that it is yet known that it is in the castle. I can only imagine that Harry figured out that it was here due to Hagrid, it was he who retrieved the item from Gringotts for me."
"Have you fixed whatever issue allowed Harry to break into the corridor?" Petunia deadpanned, nodding in resignation when she got an affirmative response.
"May I ask a question before we get too far into this?" Dumbledore asked, "I think I understand Remus's presence here. I assume you knew more about your sister's friends and life than we suspected, and reached out to him? But why is Andromeda Tonks here?"
"I invited them to dinner," Andromeda answered, "Remus and Petunia got in touch with me recently and I felt it would be a good time to get together in remembrance of James and Lily. Professor Mcgonagall found out they were over and called us on the floo. I heard what was said about a troll and wanted to make sure Poppy didn't need help. Since she had everything in hand, and I only really had a connection with Harry in there, I followed Remus and Petunia out."
"I understand." Albus said, nodding before turning back to Petunia, "But are you sure you want her here during this discussion? Some things could be a bit personal…"
"I would prefer her here actually. Some of the things we need to discuss came up over dinner," Petunia quickly responded before glancing at Andromeda, "assuming you have time?"
"Of course," The woman responded, "and I would like to hear the answer to that question as well. I know that the school has been used for 'non-academic purposes' in the past, but why was a student able to get into the forbidden area? Wards should have been in place."
"There are new wards now." The headmaster explained, "The original setup was meant to easily allow Hagrid to come and go to take care of the Cerberus. Under the new ward only he and authorized staff members can get in."
"It should have been that way to start with." Petunia grumbled.
"I agree," Mcgonagall said, "but in this case I believe the headmaster was simply preoccupied at the time." She gave Petunia a pointed look to make sure the squib knew just what he'd been focused on.
"Very well," Petunia sighed, understanding Minerva's point, she had been basically jerking him around for almost a year, "I will accept that the third floor issue is resolved… for now, as a necessary evil; and that tonight was just a tragic accident brought on by negligence. But if I hear anything else from my three about it then I'll be going to the Daily Prophet, before filing to have them homeschooled by tutors until other arrangements can be made."
Both staff members present, as well as most of the portraits of past headmasters hanging on the walls, winced at the idea of the Prophet being involved, though only Dumbledore turned truly pale at the thought of Harry Potter leaving Hogwarts, "I assure you that will not be necessary." Dumbledore hastily said, "I'm actually planning to have a final security measure installed before or during the Christmas break. Without revealing anything, this security measure will ensure that the artefact cannot be found here via magical means. Once that is installed, only those who already know the item is here will be able to find it. I doubt any of us are going to go spreading the information, though I will need to impress upon the children how important it is to keep it secret."
"In that case, let us move on to older grievances." Petunia announced, "Beginning with the very thing that convinced my husband and I that you were playing us. Why did you seal my sister's and her husband's wills? You told us in your letter that they never wrote them and we didn't believe you, Gringotts informed us the first time we visited that you had ordered them sealed as state secrets. Then they told us that there is a copy of each in Harry's vault that I planned to access once Remus became steward. But, Harry asked us not to open them before Christmas so that he could be there too. Without telling me what's inside, why did you feel the need to seal them?"
"Honestly, I have no idea what the wills say." Dumbledore answered, "But I couldn't risk young Harry going to a wizarding family, even if that had been what the Potters wanted. I sealed the wills a few days after I left him with you. By that time, Sirius Black had been apprehended and I feared the risk of another hidden death eater was simply too great. If Black could be a traitor, who could I trust?"
"That… actually makes perfect sense," the squib conceded, "so I'll accept that answer, at least until Christmas. However, if there was something in the will that you would have wanted hidden, we will deal with it." Her gaze turned much harsher, "Now explain why you thought simply leaving my nephew on the front porch like a bloody package was a good idea? As well as why you thought never checking in on Harry was acceptable? Leaving Mrs. Figg living nearby told you nothing!"
Albus started at that, in all of this it had never occurred to him that Arabella had revealed herself to the Dursleys. "What made her tell you who she was?" He asked.
"Remus here recognized her, which is how I know she couldn't have kept you informed of Harry's well being. The woman stays in her house with her cats most of the time, the only interactions she had with Harry were when he cut her lawn for her. If she had actually been trying to keep track of Harry she would have noticed that he was aware of magic and been able to tell you so." Petunia frowned, "She also seemed to be under the impression that Vernon and I were the ones primarily being watched."
"That is partially true, but I must pass some of that blame onto Minerva… and to yourself." The squib looked at the headmaster incredulously as he continued, "Minerva and Hagrid both informed me that you had had a major falling out with your sister, as well as that you were resentful of magic. I didn't have anywhere else in the muggle world I could take him, and once I realized that his mother's protection would be empowered by living with you I feared to deprive him of that security. Arabella was ostensibly there to watch Harry, but I really wanted to make sure you or your husband did not neglect or, Merlin forbid, abuse him. Obviously, that was a moot worry."
"And that's supposed to be why you left him out in the freezing cold instead of ringing the bell?" Petunia fired back, "He was half frozen when Vernon found him the next morning! I can only assume magic is what made a warm bath all it took for him to keep his fingers and toes."
Albus stared at her in confusion for quite a while, "But… I placed a warming charm on him… he should have been fine. I… I just didn't want to bother you. I had… I had no idea the charm fell off, I certainly put enough magic into it." He pinched his nose as he tried to think about what happened, "I can only guess that raising the wards afterwards caused an issue, but I do not know."
"Perhaps you are getting old and your magic isn't what it used to be. I don't care. The point is, Harry could have frozen to death that very first night because of that."
"No wonder he was so distrustful of me to start." The headmaster muttered.
"Speaking of him trusting you, he told me that your private lessons have been fun and interesting." Petunia segued, she glanced over to Mcgonagall, "How long do you think those will continue?"
"I think it would be better if the headmaster taught Mister Potter the transfiguration spell personally. I have studied it, but I do not have a familiar of my own. I wouldn't want to risk harming the snake if something went wrong that I did not understand. The spell is meant to be cast on objects or non magical animals. Najash is neither. I couldn't say how long that will take." Minerva supplied.
"The two of them have become rather close to feeling the familiar bond, which is particularly impressive since we've only met twice for a couple hours each time. They are very familiar with each other as well, at least as close as Fawkes and myself." The headmaster gestured to his phoenix as he spoke, causing the bird to trill and send a wave of peaceful emotion through the room. "One exceptionally interesting thing we've learned is that Najash has some intrinsic knowledge of alchemy, of all things. He instinctively understands the basic alchemical principles of substances more or less by smell. It will be a great boon to young Harry if he does, in fact, decide to pursue a career as a healer. Assuming his patients allow it. Though, as fast as he turned the school around on the subject, he may not have trouble with that either."
Remus thought about the snake that had been resting on Harry's chest while they were in the infirmary. It really did have Gryffindor's colours… but it was still probably going to be an issue pretty much anywhere in Europe, Britain in particular.
"The last thing I want to talk about, the Potter estate, can wait until that troll isn't on our minds." Petunia said, "Honestly, I'd prefer to end our short discussion here on a high note for the time being and Vernon is probably worried sick at this point." The headmaster sighed in relief, "But before we go, Remus will need to withdraw Harry on Sunday for some House business, he will be taking Dudley as well so that Vernon can see him after this incident. If Hermione wants to come, she may. They'll return that evening for dinner." Albus nodded at that, no use arguing, "I was also wondering if it would be possible for Vernon and I to see one of Harry's Quidditch games. I understand the first one is supposed to be pretty soon."
"Oh dear!" The Head of Gryffindor cried, "That's this weekend! Harry won't be able to fly."
"I will speak with Severus and Rolanda about delaying until next weekend." Albus placated his deputy, missing when Petunia scowled at the potions master's name, "But I'm afraid that I can't give a pass for your husband to come to the game. Unless of course he's also secretly a squib?" When Petunia shook her head in frustration, he continued, "I wouldn't want to be accused of favoritism with regards to Harry because of who he is. Muggle passes are reviewed by the school board, and are usually reserved for when students are very severely injured. Such a pass hasn't been issued since the last time there was an accidental death in the school about half a century ago, before I became headmaster. All that being said, there is nothing stopping you from attending except distance. If you wish to come and watch, there is no rule against it."
"I can pick up some omnioculars." Remus suggested, "They're like muggle binoculars except they are enchanted to basically be able to record video, among other things. We could get a few pairs and try to record highlights from the game for Vernon. Unfortunately, a regular camcorder wouldn't work around all the magic in Hogwarts."
Petunia nodded to him, "I would like to try that, if you wouldn't mind. Though, how about we keep it a secret from the children and surprise them?"
"Of course. If the professor here thinks he's as good as James then I absolutely want to see it. Plus, I'd love to see him and talk to him when he's not laid up in bed." The werewolf answered, "There is one thing I wanted to ask about though. Professor Mcgonagall said that Harry and Hermione lifted the troll with such force that it broke the stones of Hogwarts. How did they do that? Was it related to how Hermione burned her hand?"
"I intend to speak with Harry about that soon. It sounded as though he shared his magic with Miss Granger, which is loosely similar to what I'm teaching him in our sessions. But to do so with someone he has no preexisting bond with is highly irregular. Not unheard of though, some wizards just have so much magic that they can spare some for others too. One interesting aspect of power sharing like that is that the two mages casting together usually have more power than the two separately, which is what did in the troll. Though it certainly helps that a troll's magic resistance is stronger against offensive magic than against miscellaneous charms like levitation. If what I think happened really did, then I will need to speak to them about being careful. Without absolute trust between the people involved then there can be complications that result in injury."
"I was wondering about that too." Andromeda added, "I'm a little worried about the fact that Hermione's hand was burned. I worked with my husband when we warded our home, but this kind of power sharing here is new to me. I'd like to ask some other healers for their input, though I'll be sure to keep the children's names out of it."
"Please do," Petunia said, "but I really do need to be getting back to Vernon."
"Well," the headmaster said, clapping his hands, "I look forward to our next meeting. Hopefully I will have acceptable answers for you. If you'd like, you can use my floo to get home instead of walking back up all those stairs to Minerva's office.
Once the three guests had left through the fireplace, Albus sat back in his chair and popped a lemon drop into his mouth before offering one to Minerva. Fawkes swooped by and took it before she could make up her mind, causing both of the professors to chuckle at the bird's antics as it sang triumphantly upon returning to its roost to enjoy the treat.
"When did you find out who she was?" He asked once she had grabbed another candy out of the bowl.
"The day I went to check on Harry after his eleventh birthday." Professor Mcgonagall smirked like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "That was also the day that the Dursleys learned that Dudley was a wizard. Your wards kept his Hogwarts letter from being delivered on his birthday."
"Oh dear." Albus lamented, I've done so much wrong in this…
After exiting the floo at Andromeda's home, Petunia asked if she and Remus could use it again to go to the Leaky Cauldron, since her husband would be waiting for her there by now. At the woman's confused response she explained she and Vernon's plan; since Albus now knew about them they would be spending a week in the second house on Potter Isle to not risk the headmaster trying to confront them in their home. Vernon was more than capable of commuting from a parking garage near the tavern that stood entrance to Diagon Alley. Remus couldn't see a fault in that logic, and offered to place monitoring spells on Privet Drive when he went to inform the Polkiss and Grangers of what was happening. If the headmaster decided to try and pay the Dursleys a personal visit while they were gone, he would know about it and inform them.
Dumbledore never did though. Vernon suggested that maybe the wards that protect against "harmful intent" would stop him if he meant to obliviate them, since obviously that wouldn't be in Harry's interest. Remus didn't think the headmaster would do that at this point, even if he was actually antagonistic enough to try. Besides himself, there were also goblins that knew; and it was difficult to impossible to affect the minds of werewolves and goblins.
o0-0oo0-0oo0-0oo0-0o
Cedric looked up from his Charms text when he heard someone calling for 'Mister Diggory' to find Harry Potter standing behind him.
"Something wrong?" He asked. Harry usually called him by his given name, "Is Hermione not in here with you? That's a first."
"I know we're already in a library and all, but could you put up those privacy spells like you did before? When you told me about your dad?"
Not seeing a reason not to, Cedric complied. A few swishes of his wand and muttered words later there were privacy screens around them preventing eavesdroppers. "Done."
"Uh," Harry was unsure as he sat down, "I'm probably going about this wrong but… I just wanted to let you know that I've started the process of installing a new Regent for House Potter. It's not your dad, obviously… so he's not going to be my proxy anymore. He should be getting the news soon, I just didn't want you to get blindsided by it if he wrote you for answers."
Cedric frowned at the first year, "Your regent doesn't have to vote the proxy, so may I ask why you're choosing to replace my father? I promise I won't be too mad, I know he can be polarizing."
"I didn't know anything about him until after school started," Harry answered, "so I don't particularly hold any of this against him. But I've learned that his politics are pretty opposite to me." Cedric bid for him to elaborate, "It's mostly his stance on magical creatures, but that's pretty much the only thing he's done with my seat that I know of."
"I suppose it's not really my business, I know my dad can get zealous about stuff." Cedric replied, "Thanks for letting me know, I guess."
"Sorry to drop this on you." Harry replied, "My regent and steward apparently have a plan to keep your dad from drawing trouble for this if people start questioning, so you shouldn't worry too much I suppose."
"Thanks again," the third year replied, careful to remain cordial, "I need to get back to studying though."
Harry left him in peace, hoping Mister Amos Diggory didn't take the news too hard when it hit.
o0-0oo0-0oo0-0oo0-0o
The weekend after the troll incident, Harry Potter found himself nervously heading to the locker rooms, alone, to change into his Quidditch robes, as well as the arm and leg pads that Remus had sent him. How were those not a mandatory part of the uniform? He'd seen each of the Weasleys hit by those practice bludgers over the last month, with no padding that would hurt! He had slipped away from his friends before the game to clear his head a bit, and was really hoping it turned out better than his worrying had led him to believe.
Since the seeker position was fairly straightforward, and wasn't supposed to do anything but look for the Snitch, Harry had only practiced with the team once a week since he was put on it. He wouldn't let Wood schedule him for more than that for fear of his grades slipping, especially since all his potions homework had to be absolutely flawless to keep his Exceeds Expectations grade in the class overall. Though that never stopped Wood from getting the others to practice two or three times a week at least.
Despite the apparent fervor it evoked in most wizards, Harry still wasn't sure he was fully on-board for this game. In particular, no one had been able to convince him that the role of seeker was actually going to be interesting. It sounded like he was just going to be flying around doing not much of anything except being pointless until the very last seconds of the game.
Just as he was preparing to enter the locker room built into the base of the Gryffindor stands, Harry saw something he certainly wasn't expecting.
"Aunt Petunia? Mist-er Uncle Moony? What are you doing here?" He asked. They hadn't said anything about coming to see him play!
Petunia grinned at her nephew, "We came to watch, of course. What? Did you think I was going to let you dodge flying iron balls and not be here to ground you if you take risks while doing it?"
"Uh…" Harry was glad to see his aunt again, but he wasn't sure he wanted her to see him play. It would suck if she liked it but he didn't, which was still seeming possible.
"Something wrong Harry?" Remus asked, "Nervous?"
"A little." Harry admitted, "I'm still a little confused by the game though. Two months in and no one's been able to tell me how the seeker doesn't just ruin the fun. There's no time limit, and whoever catches the Snitch almost always wins. It's like the rest of the team is just there to entertain the audience while the seekers fly around fairly aimlessly until someone sees gold."
"That does sound odd." Petunia conceded.
"Plus, our captain wants me to just shadow the other seeker since he's more experienced. That's-"
"Harry." Remus put a hand on his shoulder to slow his rant, "Did you know that there isn't any rule preventing a seeker from holding the Quaffle?" Harry's eyes brightened as he imagined the implications of that, "You just can't score. If you want it to feel more like a game, try doing that if you think you can. Some professional teams will run their seeker as sort of fourth chaser anyways. Just be careful about it, in school games the snitch is enchanted to stop moving periodically unless it is actively being chased. You don't want to miss it if it shows itself."
Harry smiled, "Thanks Uncle Moony." He gave them both a hug for good luck before heading into the locker room.
"I hope it's more interesting than he thinks." Petunia said as they began ascending the stairs.
The visitors stands were above the already full student ones. Unfortunately it appeared she wouldn't get to see Hermione or Dudley until after the game, they were too far forward in the seating. This annoyed her, since it was due to Vernon delaying them that morning, he had almost kept them from even getting to see Harry before the game! When they made it to the top, far too high for Petunia's taste, they found the area totally empty save for themselves.
"Does no one else come to watch these games?" She asked, "That must be disheartening for the children."
"Not usually." Remus confessed, "It's just not a thing wizardkind do very often, the students are used to it. Professional games though, those will have packed stadiums. Even those are much smaller than the average muggle stadium though."
Petunia shook her head at that, but didn't have a chance to answer as words began echoing through the pitch. The announcer behind the voice introduced himself as Lee Jordan before beginning to introduce the school teams, beginning with Slytherin. Petunia was rather shocked at just how loud the booing was for the team, that level of distaste wasn't healthy in children. Her discomfort was short lived as the Gryffindor team began to be announced. As each player was called they flew up into the center of the pitch, often with some dramatic flourish. When Harry's name was called he shot up from the ground, pulling a backward loop much tighter than either of the other students to do so, before joining his team fifty feet in the air.
"Shoot!" Petunia exclaimed as she turned to Lupin, "We should have recorded…"
"Way ahead of you ma'am." Remus responded from behind his omnioculars. Petunia stifled a chuckle looking at him, the device looked like someone attached a half dozen moveable, coloured jeweler's lenses to the front of a pair of brass binoculars. "I figure we should record the beginning too, if Harry does what I suggested then the opening plays should be interesting."
o0-0oo0-0oo0-0oo0-0o
"Hey Gred, Forge." Harry whispered to the twins as he changed, "Can you guys back me up against Wood on changing the play a little today?" The two looked unsure of their teammate's request as he explained it until Harry threw in the best reason imaginable, "It was Mister Moony's idea. If you help, and it works, I'll try to introduce you. He's gonna be watching the game."
The twins took Oliver Wood aside before he gave his pregame pep talk, two minutes later the team captain came back and quickly explained how their plan for the day was going to be "a little different" than what they'd practiced. All the while, he eyed Harry and prayed the first year knew what he was doing.
By the time Harry exited his loop he was tentatively excited to play the game. Just because he hadn't participated in most of the chaser drills didn't mean he hadn't watched. A quick explanation back in the locker room to the three girls scoring for Gryffindor and they understood how he planned to help.
Below him, the captains stood with Madame Hooch, the referee, before mounting their brooms and heading for their respective hoops, three at different elevations on each side. Slytherin was the only other House to have a keeper as their captain, both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw apparently reserved that spot for the seeker most years.
The game was originally going to start on the ground in deference to Harry's lack of experience, but he had insisted that he could enter the pitch with the appropriate flourish and hold formation properly. Hopefully his entrance had been convincing enough. Madame Hooch rose rapidly between the two groups of three chasers before launching the Quaffle from her hands and blowing her whistle to officially start the game. The Bludgers, which had flown to the two sides of midfield when first released from their crate, immediately began hurtling around the pitch towards the players.
One of the Gryffindor chasers, a third year named Alicia Spinnet, was the first to get the Quaffle after it was released. However, mere moments after grabbing it she lost hold due to a Bludger sent her way by one of the Slytherin beaters. A Slytherin chaser was quick to scoop it from under her and made a line for the goal hoops. As the chaser passed the ball to one of his partners to avoid a different Bludger directed at him Harry flew into motion, dropping straight down between the two chasers and grabbing the Quaffle as he flew by. Lee Jordan, the announcer, began yelling praise for Harry as the first year quickly flew towards the Slytherin hoops before juking left and dropping the ball into the waiting hands of second year Katie Bell, who then easily scored the first goal of the game past a completely dumbfounded Marcus Flint.
Most of the Slytherin team had come to a standstill as their captain argued with Madame Hooch over the legality of the play.
"It looks like Flint isn't too happy about Potter's enhanced involvement in the gameplay." Lee jeered from the announcer's stand, "But too bad there, it's a legal move. Seekers are allowed to touch any ball they want, but any goals they might score aren't counted."
As no time out had been called, the gameplay hadn't actually been stopped by the Slytherin team's disbelief in Harry's actions. The Gryffindors were able to make a second goal while Flint was ordering his players around, something that incensed the fifth year even further.
What's more, Flint thought as he returned to position, Weasley had insisted that Potter had never flown a broom before coming to Hogwarts and barely knew the rules of Quidditch! That brat was going to pay for lying to him!
The game slowed down after ten minutes and five goals for Gryffindor, the other team finally adapting to Harry by grouping much closer together when carrying the Quaffle. Unfortunately, this made the chasers in green a much larger and easier target for Fred and George Weasley to whack Bludgers at. And whack they did, almost unseating one seventh year chaser who looked ready to drop all pretense and hex the twins right there in the sky after he was winded by a blow to the chest.
Harry, for his part, was having a blast. Flying on a broom was easily one of his favorite things to do with magic, and he was actually enjoying the play of the game more than he had thought possible before speaking with Uncle Moony. He kept an open eye on where the Slytherin seeker was, and whenever Harry had the Quaffle he would drift the play over to whatever side of the pitch his opposite was patrolling so he could be close if the Snitch showed itself.
Half an hour into the game, it happened. Lee Jordan was being berated over the magical loudspeaker for the second or third time by Professor Mcgonagall for talking more about the appearances of the three Gryffindor chasers than about the gameplay when Harry's broom began to malfunction. Due to Jordan's current vocal obsession with the "lovely" Angelina Johnson, who was on the other side of the pitch, the two teams almost didn't notice Harry's broom bucking him like a wild horse until he had almost been unseated.
"What is Harry doing?" Dudley asked from where he sat beside Hermione and Neville in the Gryffindor stands. As far as he was concerned, House loyalty only mattered when Hufflepuff was actually on the pitch.
"I've never seen him like that on a broom." Neville added, "He looks like I did the first couple of weeks!"
"Look over there," Parvati pointed over their heads from her seat behind them, "the professors have noticed, they'll fix it soon."
Hermione frowned as she looked away from Harry over to the teachers' box. She gasped when she realized that Professor Snape was muttering something under his breath while staring directly at Harry. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the stethoscope that Dudley had given her and put the earpieces in. The teachers' box was right at a hundred feet away, but they were sitting at the very front of the Gryffindor stands, she might be able to tell what he was saying.
Dudley grinned when he saw Hermione pull out the enchanted item, "What are they talking about?" He asked.
"Snape is incanting something," She replied, "I can't understand it very well, it's too far. But I think he's saying 'finite' a lot. What is that spell?"
"That's a magic cancelling spell." Neville replied, "The Weasley twins have used it on me a few times to get me out of hexes from the Slytherins."
"Oh my gosh!" Hermione gasped, her mind going straight to the worst case scenario, "Could he be trying to cancel the magic on Harry's broom?"
"Is that possible?" Dudley questioned at the same time Parvati asked, "Why would he do that?"
Taking Parvati's question as evidence she was right, Hermione quickly rose and ran out of the stands and down the tower. Neville and Dudley were going to follow her until a collective gasp from the crowd turned them back to Harry, where Fred and George were now circling under him causing the audience to finally notice what was wrong.
"Please stay here, there's nothing you can do to help with him so far in the air." Remus said as he stopped Petunia from storming down the stairs and onto the pitch as soon as they noticed Harry's broom issues, "The professors look to be investigating the situation, and if Harry does fall I'm confident I can land a slowing spell on him to keep it from being dangerous. I'm also sure at least half the staff is thinking the same thing while the other half is considering just how soft they'll need to make the ground beneath him to make the landing safe."
Petunia sat back down on the edge of her seat, worriedly watching as Harry struggled to control the bucking broom, she wanted to scream at the Gryffindor keeper when he tried to get the two redheaded boys to leave Harry be and stop circling under him, and more than once felt her heart drop as her nephew almost lost his grip.
After a minute and a half of fighting, the broom bucked one last time before stopping its struggle. Unfortunately, this last motion was apparently what it took to unseat Harry, who rolled over his broom and ended up hanging down from it by one hand. Harry quickly, but carefully, guided his now obedient broom to descend straight down while keeping it parallel to the ground to avoid falling. He never tried to reach up and grab the broom with his second hand, the reason for which became apparent once he landed and held it up in triumph, the Golden Snitch struggling in his grip.
The stadium went wild. Everyone was focused on the hand holding the broom that they hadn't even realized that the game was over. Above the cheers, Lee Jordan shouted, "Gryffindor wins two-thirty to thirty!"
Meanwhile, up in the teachers' box, the staff were putting out a literal fire that had erupted at their feet now that the metaphorical one on the pitch was averted. At the base of the raised box that held the staff seating, Hermione nodded contentedly to herself as she watched Harry land safely. She had run up the steps and set the hem of Professor Snape's robes on fire from beneath the stand floor. The moment that he'd noticed and started a commotion, knocking over several of the other teachers in the process, Harry's broom had righted itself. As far as she was concerned, she had her answer, though she wasn't sure how to come to terms with it. A professor was trying to kill her best friend!
As soon as Harry landed and held the Snitch up in victory, Madame Hooch blew her whistle to end the game and landed beside him. After giving him a heartfelt congratulations for his catch, the flying instructor took his broom from him and began casting diagnostic spells on it right there on the pitch. She frowned after casting before shaking her head and setting the broom down behind her as more staff, as well as the rest of the Gryffindor team, joined them in the center of the pitch.
Through all the ruckus and celebration, Harry fought to keep his heart rate under control. He knew just how close he'd come to falling, and potentially dying, today; and he was getting quite tired of life or death situations. At least there was the silver lining of the Snitch deciding to stop directly below him right as his broom came back under his control. Its timing couldn't have been better, this way if she asked he'd be able to tell his aunt that he actually lost his grip and just lucked out with the catch. He knew it was dangerous, his broom could have begun acting up again, but none of what happened to him was enough to get the officials to pause the game so he decided his best chance for safety was to just end it when he had the chance.
Harry strained his ear and heard Madame Hooch, over the loud congratulations of his teammates, tell Professor Flitwick that the broom had traces of a dark curse on it; but she wasn't able to identify it, nor who the caster was. The only thing she could tell was that it was being actively placed while Harry flew, so they had to have been an observer.
While they walked back to the locker room Harry answered the accolades of his team, mostly from Wood, more or less on autopilot as he tried to process what he'd overhead on the field. By the time they made it to the changing room, Fred and George had realized that Harry wasn't really celebrating yet and pulled Oliver off of him. The captain had been gushing about Harry's early plays, as well as his miraculous catch of the Snitch, almost nonstop without once asking if the first year was alright.
"You okay Harry?" One of the twins asked after Harry had sat in silence for half a minute.
"Yeah, I think I'm fine now." He replied as he took a few deep breaths. Harry filed away what he'd learned about this apparent attempt on his life for later, his aunt was here after all, and he was definitely going to tell her before she left. That done, he grinned and looked at the three older boys, "Pretty good for a first game though, yeah?"
The others broke out in laughter at Harry's understatement, "Mate," Oliver said, "that was some amazing flying. I'm sorry for doubting you at the start; and good job keeping on your broom while… whatever that was, was happening."
"Madame Hooch took my broom, I think she's gonna have it examined or something." Harry replied, "It just went crazy with no warning, I think it might of been cursed."
"I'll bet the Slytherins did it." Oliver mused aloud, "Flint was furious that you got a Nimbus, especially since you're a first year. Snape was supposedly one of the loudest in complaining about your exemption to play, too."
"Maybe…" Harry deferred. As much as he didn't like Snape, the potions master had been helpful when he was worried for Najash. He also found the professor much less abrasive if he went to the man in his office and asked questions in private. It was almost as if there were two Professor Snapes; one that was distant but still decent, and one that was abrasive and seemingly spiteful. Harry had seen the abrasive and spiteful Snape less in the last month or so, and Slytherin House in general had stayed away from him after the troll incident last week.
At the base of the teachers' box, Petunia and Remus were questioning Professor Mcgonagall and Sprout about what had transpired. Learning that a spectator had actively tried to murder her nephew incensed Petunia, and she was already talking about pulling Harry out when Dumbledore interceded after walking into the argument late and needing to be brought up to speed on the situation.
"I understand your concern ma'am," normally the headmaster would call someone by their first name, but he had a strong suspicion that Petunia wouldn't respond well to that at the moment, "but I'm sure we can come to some agreement that would be less extreme. Perhaps having him leave the Quidditch team would be a first option?" Minerva paled at that, where she hadn't at what she hoped were currently empty withdrawal threats, "He has been perfectly safe in class, barring the unfortunate events of last week."
Remus put a hand on Petunia's shoulder to calm her before adding his own opinion, "I think neither of those works. We shouldn't punish Harry for someone else's actions, it means they win. I can only assume that, somehow, a death eater that escaped incarceration snuck onto the grounds. No offense to the professors, but no student is capable of subverting the protective charms on a professional racing broom, so it must have been an intruder. Plus, Harry making the team as a first year was a front page article in the Prophet back when it was announced, so anyone interested would have known exactly when to come." He looked at the headmaster and continued, "Sir, I think if you could guarantee that you'd personally attend all future games, then Harry should be safe. I can't imagine anyone would have tried that with you here in the audience."
"That wouldn't be an issue. I normally attend the games anyway, my not being here was an anomaly."
Petunia looked like she was sucking on a lemon as she mulled over what her friend had said, "I suppose that might be acceptable, if I can get your word that games will be postponed if something comes up that keeps you from attending. I also expect you to be figuring out how this happened."
"Whoever did it was was rather powerful." Professor Snape said as he finally made his way down the stairs. His robes were still charred at the bottom, the effects of the magical fire being a bit difficult to fix after he's spent so much magic just moments earlier. Glaring briefly at Potter's aunt, he paused to restructure his sentence. It wouldn't do to call the boy "arrogant" or "brat" in front of someone he knows already dislikes him.
"I wasn't able to dispel the curse on Potter's broom," He finally finished, "but until something lit my robes on fire I was suppressing it a fair amount. It appears that by some miracle, the one doing the cursing ran out of steam about the same time I became distracted."
"By the way, hello Tuney." He added at the end.
"Severus." She replied curtly.
"None of that now." Remus pleaded, Petunia had told him about Snape's treatment of the three kids in the first weeks of school, "Forgetting your issues for a moment, Snape is about as strong, magically, as I am. He's also about as trained in defense as me, but he's got a knack for curse breaking that would have me beat." Snape sneered at the werewolf, remembering exactly how he became so good at breaking jinxes and hexes, which had led to curses, "Dumbledore is stronger and more experienced than both of us. Snape being able to suppress the curse means the headmaster could have broken it."
"Alright then," Petunia conceded, "if the headmaster is willing to agree to those terms then Harry can stay on the team." After an affirmative from the old man, she continued, "In that case, I'd like to congratulate Harry before he gets back into the crowd and let him know what has been decided here. He might withdraw on his own if he doesn't know." She thought for a moment, "Hopefully Dudley and Hermione are still around too, I wouldn't want to miss them."
Five minutes later, after assuring his aunt that he was totally fine and hadn't dislocated or twisted anything, Harry introduced "Messrs Weasley and Weasley" to "Mister Moony" in what was probably the most hilarious gag interaction anyone around had seen in ages. Moony made to shake their hands but before he could they retracted theirs, glancing at each other seemingly nervous over it. They decided to play rock-paper-scissors for the honor of being first, as well as the guinea pig, and needed ten rounds to have a winner.
Fred stepped up to clasp his hero's hand, and a loud clack was heard as they connected. The redhead suddenly felt that something was off, looking to his side he found his brother laughing at him.
"Thought you would try and show the last Marauder how he's just an old man?" Remus asked as he chuckled at the boy in front of him, who was now sporting sickly grey hair and wrinkles on his face. "You'll need to try harder than that my formerly young friend."
As he finished his statement he turned Fred's hand over, revealing that the third year had been palming a rune stone. The boy blushed as red as his hair used to be, which just caused those present to laugh again, as he was still old and wrinkly in the face. Remus discreetly slid the other rune stone, enchanted to reflect simple jinxes and hexes at the point of contact, in his own palm back under his sleeve to keep the secret.
"I was pranked by a Marauder." Fred mumbled as it finally caught up with him.
"Lucky sod." His twin joked, "My turn to try next time."
"Oh?" Remus asked good naturedly as he pulled out his wand, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were waiting till next time, I'll undo that if you'd like."
"Huh?" George exclaimed as he began checking himself over, turning every which way trying to figure out what the legendary prankster had done to him. "What did he do? Someone tell me!"
Harry was the first to catch on, and began chuckling at the redhead's antics. Fred realized what Moony had done a moment later, and his uproarious laughter as his face and hair slowly returned to normal sent his twin over the edge. With a howl of despair, George bolted back into the locker room to get in front of a mirror and figure out what had happened to him.
"I don't understand," Petunia said once the boy had run away, "nothing happened."
"That's the point," Harry said, still chuckling, "even if we'd said that though, he wouldn't have believed it. I bet he's in there another half-hour trying to figure it out. Uncle Moony made him prank himself, just like he did to Fred."
After a quick goodbye to his team, Harry went with the two adults to find Hermione and Dudley. He was sure they would be worrying about him after being in the stands when everything was happening. Sure enough, they were waiting at the path that led away from the pitch, along with Justin and Neville.
"Hey mum!" Dudley shouted when he caught sight of them, "When did you get here?"
As he asked he ran up to meet her, grabbing her in a hug while she answered, "Unfortunately too late to see you and Hermione since you were already in the stands, but we managed to catch Harry before the game."
"Miss Petunia," Hermione said as she and the others caught up with Dudley, "we think it was Professor Snape that did it. He was casting something at Harry; and I could hear him saying 'finite' a lot, Neville says that's a spell that makes magic stop working, when I used the stethoscope Dudley gave me. We think he was trying to break Harry's broom while he was flying."
"Actually," Petunia corrected, before turning to Harry to make sure he heard as well, Harry had been having a rough time in potions up until a couple weeks ago according to Hermione, "Severus, Professor Snape, was holding the curse back a little. The teachers think you probably wouldn't have kept your grip without him. It was lucky that whoever was cursing your broom stopped when they did. Something lit Severus' robes on fire while he was protecting you and that broke his concentration."
Hermione was standing slightly behind Petunia at the older woman explained the terms she had arranged with the school, so she didn't see the look of personal horror that flooded over the young girl's face, but Remus did. He'd seen that look before, on someone he used to think of as a best friend. Quietly getting her attention, he frowned at her before putting a finger to his lips to keep her quiet for the time being. He'd let Petunia know later, but didn't see a reason to punish Hermione more at the moment. It was clear from her expression that the thought that she might have doomed her friend was enough, and it's not like Snape was actually hurt. The sour man probably deserved it, from what he'd heard, even if the timing was off.
"And you must be Neville and Justin." Petunia said, looking over the two other boys, "It's nice to meet you, I have heard quite a bit about you."
"You as well ma'am." Justin replied.
"It's nice to meet you," Neville said, "and thank you for inviting me to spend some time with Harry and Dudley over Christmas break."
"Oh don't mention it." The squib waved him off kindly, "Harry told me about your offer to help us with our greenhouse and we are looking forward to it. My boys might have mentioned, but I do a bit of brewing myself. It will be nice to have some plants on hand for making first aid potions and cleaning solutions." She turned to the other young man in front of her, "And if you'd like to, you may certainly visit during the break as well."
"Dudley offered, and I have written to my mother about it." Justin replied, "She is talking with my father, but I think it is a tentative yes for a couple days during the break."
"Hey Mum, do you and Mister Lupin wanna have lunch with us?" Dudley asked, "I bet it's no problem."
"Oh my," Petunia gasped, "I hadn't even thought of that! That would be wonderful, Dudley. Assuming it is within the rules, I would love to meet all of your friends here."
o0-0oo0-0oo0-0oo0-0o
Father,
I hope your trip to South America was fruitful and pleasant. Unfortunately, my Saturday was ruined by having to share a dining hall with a muggle! Potter's muggle aunt, as well as a middle-aged wizard I did not recognize, had lunch in the Great Hall at the Hufflepuff table with Potter and his mudbloods! Apparently they also attended the Gryffindor-Slytherin game. How did a muggle get into Hogwarts? I thought that the board had to approve that, and you haven't been here to do it.
Speaking of Quidditch, it seems that Weasley either isn't as cunning as I thought, or is much more formidable than I had imagined. He has told me things about Potter and his mudbloods in the common room since I stopped treating him like a blood traitor. Mostly things that I believe he would consider innocent and unimportant. But today I am forced to call everything the redhead has told me into question.
He actually shared lunch with Potter and his muggle aunt, I fear that he might be working to help his father improve that bill that is bothering you with muggle influence. You should be able to use that against him though, no pureblood would stand to be bound by laws crafted by muggle hands.
That isn't the most damning thing though, the first and most adamant claim Weasley has made was that Potter had never flown a broom before Hogwarts. He even went so far as to say that Potter had barely heard of Quidditch before coming to the castle! This was why I suggested you back off of banning Potter, having him humiliate himself by failing would have been perfect. Unfortunately, and I am loathe to admit this, Potter is one of the most adept flyers I have ever seen. Even when someone hexed his broom to try and unseat him, Potter still caught the Snitch! If it's possible, you should begin trying to get him banned again.
I haven't been able to find anything out concerning Potter or Longbottom having a second wand either, though I have heard rumours that Potter's wand has a Horned Serpent core. Between that, and his pet, Potter has too many connections to serpents for a Gryffindor in my opinion.
Please inform me if you have any particular assignment for me while I am at school, I look forward to returning home to the Manor for the Holidays.
Your Son,
Draco Malfoy
o0-0oo0-0oo0-0oo0-0o
Draco,
Your father has not returned from his trip abroad. Unfortunately, he fell ill with some forest-fever that has left him weak. As the disease is apparently contagious, I have not been able to visit him either. But I have heard from the healers in Brazil, and he should be back by the solstice.
Please conduct yourself in a manner befitting of a Malfoy. While he has certainly expressed how excellent you are in your studies, Severus has informed me that you have a quick temper that will soon get you into trouble. Your father's anger is his worst trait, it is not to be emulated!
You really shouldn't focus so hard on your father's 'assignments' and remember to be young as well. I love you dear, and I too look forward to seeing you return. The Manor is simply too quiet without you around.
Love,
Your Mother
AN: I'm sure a lot of people expected this chapter to have Petunia laying the smackdown on Dumbledore like you think he deserves, but after everything else that had happened on this, the anniversary of her sister's death of all things, she decided to wait until she had a cooler head.
