Disclaimer: I own none of the things you already know of.
Harry Potter and the Smallest Change.
Chapter 03. Hogwarts' first year, Part 1. 1991.
Harry woke up to see green eyes staring at him.
He gave a shout as he scooted backward, and hit the headboard of his bed, scattering pillows as he retreated. A moment later, he blinked as his mostly asleep mind caught up to his body and realised Holly sat beside him on the bed.
Holly's eyes were dull, nothing like normal, and they were rimmed with red.
She'd been crying.
'What's wrong Holly?' Harry yawned, and she shot at him, wrapping him in a hug and pulling him down on his back again.
'I don't want you to go to Hogwarts.' She sobbed into his neck as she squeezed him tighter.
Harry blinked and let out a groan as he realised it was September first. Today, he would leave Holly for the first time, and he wouldn't see her until Christmas.
He pulled her closer and hugged her as his throat closed a little. Tears welled in his eyes as she continued to sob into him.
A few minutes later, Holly pulled back, wiping her nose with her sleeve as she sat on him.
'If you're not here, who will help me? Who will be there when the nightmares come?' she asked in a small voice.
Harry's heart broke a little as he looked into her watery eyes.
'Mum and Dad will Holly. But I'm going to need you to look after Charlus and Orion while I'm gone.' Harry choked out, struggling to contain his own emotions.
'You'll need to make sure Dad and Uncle Sirius don't get up to too much trouble. Mum will need your help to keep them in line.' Harry continued, brushing a stray hair out of her eyes as she nodded.
She fell upon him and crushed him in another hug.
'I'm going to miss you.' She whispered, and Harry nodded into her hair.
'Me too.' He murmured, and she pulled away to arm's reach where he took her pendant that he'd given her when she was six.
He pressed the button at the top and it opened to reveal the picture of the two of them on the couch in the lounge room. Harry smiled and looked up to meet Holly's eyes, the same as his.
'When I'm at Hogwarts, I'm going to learn how to enchant things like mum. Then I can do more than just channel raw magic into this for you.' Harry whispered, closing the pendant, and letting it go.
'It really helps, you know. Just feeling your magic close by when I wake up from the nightmares. It's enough to send me right back to sleep.' She whispered back, her eyes lost in thought for a moment before she blinked and shook herself.
She leapt off him and patted his legs twice.
'Get ready, Mopsy almost has breakfast ready.' Holly grinned before running out of the room at top speed.
Harry chuckled in the now silent room, stretching his muscles.
He glanced around himself, smiling a little as he saw his trunk lying on the floor beside his bed, he'd packed it the night before.
He saw his desk near the window, a pile of letters he'd received from Fleur in a neat stack on the left of the desk. They'd been corresponding weekly since Christmas, and he'd discovered that she didn't like her school very much. Apparently, the other students ignored her or picked on her for being smaller than the others, which Harry thought was dumb.
Harry got out of bed and moved over to the cupboard to see his clothes for the day sitting ready for him. He grinned at the thought of Mopsy sneaking through the house at night and picking out the best clothes for them all to wear.
Harry walked past the ornate mirror on his way out of his room, headed toward the bathroom, his grin widened. He ignored the French speaking mirror and realised that he was looking forward to the Christmas ball this year, he could see Fleur again and maybe he'd be able to cheer her up.
After his shower, Harry joined the rest of the family downstairs in the dining room, where Mopsy dished out large servings of food with a wide grin on her face. Her large ears flopped around her head as she bopped around the room, listening to the radio, which was blaring out muggle tunes for the family.
Harry didn't understand how his mum had got the radio working inside the Manor, but whatever it was, he was determined to find out, eventually.
Harry looked around the dining table and grinned at his dad.
'Thanks for staying back later this morning, Dad.' Harry said, drawing James' attention from eyeing Mopsy, who was refilling Charlus' plate for the second time.
'This is the last time I get to see you for four months, kiddo. I have to leave soon but I wanted to have a proper goodbye.' James gave a soft smile and got out of his chair, moving to Harry's side, and pulled him into a hug.
Harry melted into the embrace and turned to look at Lily.
'I don't want to go.' He croaked, tears in his eyes.
Lily rushed to his side and joined the hug, kissing his forehead and squeezing him tight.
'It's okay, honey. Everyone is going to be fine; we'll all be waiting for your letters telling us all about your time in Hogwarts.' She whispered, Harry noted the hitch in her voice, like she was fighting to hold back her own tears.
Harry sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes before Holly rushed around the table and threw herself at him. She wrapped him in a tight embrace, her long black hair mixing with Lily's red.
Harry looked up at James, who had released him and smiled down at him with a soft expression.
'I'll make sure everyone is safe, Harry. All you have to do at Hogwarts is enjoy it.' James said with a chuckle.
'And if that means reading all the books in the library for ways to defend your sister, then so be it. Though I would rather you just play Quidditch and Chess like a normal kid.' James grinned before giving a little chuckle.
'Maybe start dating Susan?' James added with a hopeful expression.
Harry glared at his father, who looked back with an innocent look, betrayed by the mischievous glint in his eyes.
Lily and Holly released Harry, both giving him a kiss on the cheek as he glared at James.
Harry sighed.
'Thanks guys. I feel a little better now.' He admitted.
'Crying is for girls.' Charlus accused with a pointed finger at Harry, who scoffed.
'If that's the case, little brother, then you're the biggest girl of all.' Harry replied and Charlus scowled, which deepened when the others laughed.
James coughed.
'Hey kiddo, are you ready to leave?' he asked, and Harry nodded.
'Yeah, I am.' Harry said, his voice still melancholy.
James knelt in front of Harry and lowered his voice.
'Harry, be wary of Professor Snape. He and I had a few, altercations when we were in school.' James said, Lily raised her eyebrows at him.
'James, you bullied Severus.' Lily corrected.
His father nodded, looking down at the floor and sighed.
'I'm ashamed about that.' He murmured and Lily knelt beside him, looking into Harry's eyes.
'Severus and I were friends until our last year at Hogwarts. We got into a huge fight. We have spoken little since then.' Lily said, and Harry nodded.
'Sniv-Snape was always one to hold a grudge and I don't want to be the cause of Snape taking out his grudge on you.' James said, a hand on Harry's shoulder.
Harry grinned.
'It'll be okay, if it gets too bad, I'll just get you to come apologise to the man.' Harry grinned and James paled.
Lily smirked at James before smiling at Harry.
An hour later, Harry stood on platform nine and three quarters with Lily, Charlus and Holly. It was ten thirty, and they were waiting for Sirius to arrive.
Harry stared at the bright red train, one hand holding Holly's. People filled the platform, families sending their children to Hogwarts, either for the first time or returning to the school.
Holly's hand tightened around his and he tore his gaze away from the train, down to her. Without a word she pointed at the platforms Floo station where Sirius emerged with Orion in his arms. Susan right on his heels.
Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around Susan as she leapt at him for a hug, Holly joined in too.
'Oh Harry, I'm so excited about today. But scared too, you know?' Susan gushed and Harry nodded.
'Yeah, I know exactly how you feel.' Harry squeezed her and the three-way hug ended.
Sirius and Lily moved to them and took the three in an embrace. Sirius kissed Susan's brow and Lily did the same to Harry.
'You two be careful this year. Don't get into trouble and make sure you have fun.' Lily said, her eyes moving between Harry and Susan, who both nodded.
'Don't do anything I wouldn't do.' Sirius grinned and Harry rolled his eyes.
'Padfoot, that doesn't really mean anything coming from you.' Harry groaned, and Susan giggled.
The train's whistle blew, signalling a last call to get on the train.
Harry pulled Holly into a tight hug.
'I love you and I'm going to miss you.' Harry whispered in her ear, and she clung to him tighter as she sniffled. He released her, and Holly turned to Susan.
'Look after him, won't you?' Holly asked, and Susan blushed and nodded.
Harry waved at his family and with his trunk in hand, he led Susan to the train. A few minutes later, they claimed an empty compartment. Harry lifted their trunks above them and out of the way before sitting down opposite Susan. Together they waved out the window at the combined Potter/Black group, where not a dry eye was seen.
As the train started moving, Harry watched a small red-haired girl who looked to be Holly's age, running beside the train, trying to keep up with it. A few moments later, the girl disappeared into the distance.
A heavy silence filled their compartment as Harry and Susan met each other's eyes. Both had tears sliding down their cheeks. Harry stood and moved over to sit beside Susan, wiping the tears from her face with his thumb.
'This is the first time I've been away from the family. I'm worried about them.' Harry admitted.
Susan nodded.
'Me too. I mean, I've stayed at Hannah's before. But that's different.' Susan whispered; her gaze dropped to their clasped hands.
'I even miss Sirius. It took a while to get comfortable with him after he and Aunt Amy started dating.' She paused, still staring at their joined hands.
'But now, it's kind of like it's always been like that. It's like they are both my parents.' She whispered; guilt clear on her face.
Harry pulled her into a hug.
'We are family and family help each other. You've never really known your parents, which is horrible. But it's okay to see others in their place.' He soothed, holding her close as she cried silent tears.
'I don't think your parents would want you to be sad and refuse happiness.' He continued, rubbing her back in soft circles.
'I think your parents would be happy to know that you feel comfortable enough with Aunt Amy and Uncle Sirius to call them parents. With them not here, I think they would love it.' Harry finished and Susan nodded into his chest as her tears continued.
Harry continued to rub her back in small circles, until ten minutes later her breathing evened out and she fell asleep on his lap. He smiled down at the sleeping red head and used his wandless magic with his spare hand to open his trunk and levitate a book down to him.
He sighed at the amount of work he'd put into his wandless magic over the years. His mother was always telling him to practice it, that it was something most people cannot do.
An hour passed in near silence as Harry read. The turning pages and Susan's deep breathing being the only sounds in the cabin, apart from the standard noise that came from a running train.
Every few minutes, a student would poke their head into the cabin, only for Harry to give the silence motion, a finger across his lips. They would disappear moments later, leaving Harry to return to his book, the 'Standard Book of Spells, Grade One'.
A bushy haired girl entered the compartment a few minutes later, an air of misery hanging in the air around her. She sat down, not paying attention to her surroundings, and Harry quirked an eyebrow at the sight.
The girl looked up and with a start, she seemed to notice him watching her.
'Eep.' She let out; her eyes wide.
Harry gave a soft grin, putting down his book and motioning the girl to silence while his other hand lay protectively over Susan's shoulder.
The girl leant forward in her seat.
'C-can I stay in here?' she asked, and Harry held his grin, nodding. Then picked his book up and continued reading, using wandless magic to turn the pages.
A few minutes later, Harry felt the girl's attention rooted on him and he closed the book, placing it back on the seat beside him. He looked at the bushy haired girl, meeting her gaze.
'My name is Harry Potter.' He said, then he motioned to the sleeping Susan on his lap with a nod of his head.
'And this sleeping lady is my, cousin, Susan Bones. This is the first time we've been away from our families.' Harry continued as the bushy haired brunette gave a shy smile.
'My name is Hermione Granger.' She said and Harry's eyes widened, not recognising the name.
'Sorry, but are you muggleborn?' Harry asked, cocking his head to the side.
Hermione froze across from him, her eyes grew wide, and tears formed in her eyes.
Harry shook his head.
'No, no. It's just that I didn't recognise your surname. I have nothing against muggles or Muggleborns, my mum is one. I just have met no one who knew about the muggle world, apart from mum of course.' Harry explained, a little faster than normal.
A confused frown settled on Hermione's face, and she blinked away her tears.
'So, you're not going to insult me then?' she asked, suspicious.
Harry's eyes narrowed, before he schooled his expression, unconsciously tightening his grip on Susan. He let out a sigh before forcing a smile onto his face.
'Hermione, the wizarding world is unfortunately quite far behind the muggle one in some ways. There are laws and behaviours in the wizarding world that were stamped out of the muggle world for generations.' He began and Harry hid a grin at the girl's eyes that were wide, soaking in the knowledge.
'In time, I plan to change that, but for the time being, the magical world is going to seem quaint at best. Outright hostile at worst.' Harry paused as Hermione blinked and frowned, deep in thought for a moment.
'How do you plan to change that? You're just one person.' Hermione asked, and Harry nodded.
'You're right. I am just one person. However, one thing that the magical world still has are Great House's, Noble House's.' Harry explained as she cocked her head.
'But, but they don't exist anymore? The Nobility was phased out over the last few hundred years, apart from the Royal Family, but they don't have any actual power.' Hermione recited and Harry grinned.
'You'll be meeting many of the Heirs of these Houses during the year at Hogwarts. It seems there will be many of them arriving at the school over the next few years.' His spare hand ran through his hair.
'See, here's one of those things that's different between the two worlds. Noble families are still in power. Did you go to Diagon Alley to get your supplies?' he asked, and she blinked.
'Yes.' she replied, slow and suspicious, a small frown on her face.
'The entire wizarding world is kinda stuck in the sixteen hundreds, when the magical world split off from the muggle one. So most of the muggle world's ideals that you know and think of as natural haven't taken root in this world.' Harry explained, then let out a sigh as he watched the girl puzzle through the new information.
Harry looked down at Susan and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face with a smile. He looked back up at Hermione to see her almost bursting with questions. He raised his palm to quiet her.
'Hermione, most wizards don't seem to understand that cars can travel faster and further than a horse.' He said, and her mouth fell open.
Harry's face fell, he met her gaze and sighed.
'Most wizards know nothing about World War Two. But more importantly for them, they don't know how it ended.' He said, his voice low.
She was silent, her face a mixture of confusion and horror as she covered a gasp with her hands.
'How could they not know about the biggest waste of life in human history? Or Nuclear Weapons?' she spluttered. Harry shrugged.
'At the same time as World War Two, there was a dark wizard by the name of Grindelwald who tried to take over the world. He was controlling Hitler and that the wizard side of the war triggered the muggle side.' He explained, and she gasped again, her hands still covering her mouth as she paled.
'Wizards triggered the War? Why isn't any of this in the books I got for school?' she whispered, face pale.
Harry gave a hollow chuckle.
'According to my parents, Hogwarts' idea of History is all about the Goblin Rebellions, of which there were many.' Harry said.
'B-but, all those lives.' She spluttered.
Harry nodded, giving a deep sigh.
'And that brings us back to my earlier point. I intend to change all that.' He declared, she gaped at him.
'How?' she asked, he grinned.
'Do you remember what I said about Noble families?' he asked, she nodded.
'I am an Heir to one of the Great Houses, as is Susan, who is an Heiress.' He paused, smiling down at the sleeping red head.
'After school finishes, most of the Heirs will follow their parents in running their Houses and I intend to drag the wizarding world into the modern age.' A fire burned in his eyes, and he saw the same in Hermione's.
'I want to make sure that the wizarding world knows that if the muggles wanted to wipe us out, they could without issue.' Harry declared, and she gaped at him.
'But why would they?' she asked.
Harry gave her a melancholy smile.
'There is a thing called the Statute of Secrecy. I can't remember when it started, but it was the sixteen or seventeen hundred's some time.' He paused, and she grinned.
'Oh, I remember reading that somewhere, I believe it was sixteen eighty-nine.' She smiled, and Harry beamed at her.
'You remembered that so quickly? Geez, that's impressive.' Harry grinned, and she blushed and looked down at the floor.
'Anyway, it was a law created to cut off the wizarding world from the muggle one, hiding us from them.' Harry continued, a small smile still on his face as her blush slowly faded.
'That's why everything in your world looks so old?' Hermione asked.
'Our world, Hermione. And yes, but it seems that wizards typically lack the initiative to better themselves, at least according to my mum.' Harry let out a breath and reclined back in his seat.
Hermione let out a breath and stared at him.
'This is a lot to take in.' she admitted, Harry nodded.
'Yeah, it is, I'm sorry for throwing everything at you, I just wanted to help.' He smiled, she grinned back.
'Thank you for giving me a crash course on the wizarding world. I appreciate it.' She said, Harry smiled.
'Any time.'
The rest of the trip occurred in relative peace. Harry and Hermione discussed their textbooks and kept on a light-hearted discussion after their previous deep conversation.
As the sun fell behind the mountains in the distance, signalling only an hour or so left in the trip, Susan groaned and woke up. She turned her blue eyes up to Harry, who grinned at her.
'Evening sleepyhead.' He said, as she blushed.
'Hey, if you need a good sleep then I'm happy to be a pillow.' Harry chuckled as she ducked her head.
A few seconds later, her blush receded, and Harry put a hand on her shoulder, gaining her attention.
'Susan, this young lady sharing our compartment is Hermione Granger. We have been having a wonderful discussion on our upcoming classes.' Harry explained and Susan smiled before she froze, a fresh blush covering her face.
'Oh, I am so embarrassed. I'm sorry, Hermione. I am Susan Bones, I'm sorry I was asleep.' Susan apologised and Hermione smiled.
'It's not a problem at all, Susan. Now, Harry said that you think you're going to be a Hufflepuff?' Hermione said and Harry smirked.
Susan blinked before a wide smile covered her face.
'Oh, yes. My Aunt was a Hufflepuff, and my parents were too.' She trailed off, and Harry squeezed her hand.
'Our kinda-cousin is a Hufflepuff in her seventh year as well.' Harry added, earning a smile from Susan.
'Kinda-cousin?' Hermione parroted.
'Yeah, she's great. I'm actually pretty surprised she hasn't come in to embarrass us already. Oh well, I'm sure she will make a point of doing that in the next few days.' Harry grinned.
Hermione smiled at the two of them before leaning forward.
'So, Harry. What house do you think you'll be in?' Hermione asked.
An hour later the train arrived at Hogsmeade and outside they met Hagrid, a massive man who greeted everyone with a beaming smile. He took the first years to the black lake and into tiny boats. Harry shared his with Susan, Hermione and Hannah.
He introduced Hannah to Hermione as the little boats followed Hagrid's almost comically small boat.
Harry stared; eyes wide in awe at the castle on the hill above them. It was lit with candles, and it evoked a feeling of timeless majesty. The feeling only grew as their boats glided over the inky blackness of the lake.
Once inside the castle, Hagrid led them up to the entrance hall to Professor McGonagall. The stern-faced woman had them wait outside until she returned.
Harry watched with an amused grin as Draco picked a fight with a red-haired boy, who had to be a Weasley. Sure enough, Draco insulted the Weasley boy and Neville defended the orange haired boy.
Harry shook his head in disbelief as Draco offered friendship to Neville, only to be upset when the Boy-Who-Lived rebuffed him. He had to stop himself from face palming, Neville would have had to be an idiot to take Draco up on the offer in front of the entire year who had just seen Draco bully another student.
Harry shook himself from trying to understand the mind of Draco, Harry turned to smile at Susan who looked to be having the same thoughts as him.
He rubbed her back in soft circles.
'We're going to be okay. Whatever house you're sorted into, we'll always be family.' He whispered, and she smiled at him, nodding.
'Thanks Harry. You're right.' She murmured, leaning into him for a moment.
Moments later, Professor McGonagall led them into the entrance hall and Harry shared a smile with Hermione before nodding to the ceiling of the great hall.
'You were right on the train; the ceiling really looks amazing.' Harry said and Hermione beamed at him.
Another student asked Hermione about the ceiling and Harry turned away, as she repeated the discussion she'd had with Harry and Susan on the train.
A few minutes later, the sorting started, and Harry watched with interest as the hat sorted students.
Hannah and Susan went to Hufflepuff. Hermione went to Gryffindor, and she smiled and waved at him from her new house.
He watched, along with the rest of the hall, as it sorted Neville into Gryffindor after only a few seconds of deliberation from the hat.
Finally, it was Harry's turn, and he sat on the chair as Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head.
'Very interesting.' A rumbling voice echoed in his head, and Harry blinked in surprise.
'What is, uh, sir?' Harry thought, and he heard laughter in his head.
'You could fit in any of the houses. It's all here in your head.' The hat spoke before going quiet for a moment.
'You have the ambition to change the world. You are studious and you will fight whatever comes to protect those you love.' The hat paused again, and Harry quirked an eyebrow as he looked up at the brim hanging over him.
'But no, all these traits that would put you in the other houses all have their basis in your loyalty to your loved ones and willingness to work at your goals.' The hat somehow gave a long whistle in his mind.
'There is nothing you wouldn't do for the ones you love. So be it.' The hat said, its presence leaving his mind.
'Hufflepuff.' It called out for the room to hear and cheering erupted from the house of Badgers, none more so than Susan and Hannah.
After dinner, two prefects, named Cyril Meakin and Erin Renshaw led the first-year Hufflepuffs out of the great hall and down a flight of stairs. The two explained the kitchens were beneath the great hall and the Hufflepuff common room was just down the hallway from it.
They walked past the kitchen, pointing out the painting of the fruit bowl which was the entrance.
'How does anyone get into the kitchen if the entrance is a portrait?' Ernie Macmillan, a brown-haired boy standing a few metres away from Harry, asked.
Erin turned to face the first years and gave them a soft smile.
'Hogwarts kitchens are run by an army of House Elves. They don't need doors to get around, they just pop around the castle as they see fit.' She said, her long black hair hung halfway down her back and her blue eyes sparkled at the first-year students.
'If you don't know what House Elves are, then we will explain once we get inside our common room. I'm sure you guys want to get to sleep after your long day?' she continued, grinning as half of the first years nodded.
Cyril motioned for them to follow him and led them past the kitchens and into a corridor on the right-hand side of it.
Harry blinked as he saw a pile of barrels in a recess on the right of the corridor. Cyril walked over to them and turned to face the group of first years.
'This is the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room.' He said, motioning at the pile of barrels.
Harry blinked.
'We can get inside by tapping a specific pattern on a specific barrel. Like so.' Cyril's hand moved over the barrels and stopped on the one that was two from the bottom, in the middle.
'If we play a little drum beat on it to the tune of 'Helga Hufflepuff.' The hidden door will open.' Cyril tapped the barrel like a bongo drum to the beat, bum-bum bum-bum-bum.
A deep creaking sound came from behind Harry. He spun to face the left-hand wall of the corridor, which opened to reveal an entrance about two metres wide and three high out of the stone blocks that made up the school.
The first years stared at the opening and Erin laughed from behind them.
'Now guys, remember that you need to tap that barrel in the right tune. If you do the wrong barrel or the wrong tune, the lids will burst and drench you in vinegar.' The female prefect said with a wide grin, turning to smirk at Cyril, who groaned.
'Yeah, that really happens guys. In my first year, I sneezed mid-way through the tune and got it wrong. I was covered in vinegar, it was not pleasant, trust me on that.' Cyril admitted with a wry grin.
Harry couldn't help the smirk on his face and turned to look into the common room.
'Come along little Badgers, we'll show you the common room.' Erin said as she walked into the room, followed by the first years and Cyril.
Once inside, Harry gaped like the other first years as his gaze roamed over the room. It was large, circular, and earthy, with a low ceiling. Round windows let in moonlight that streamed into the cosy looking room. Harry could make out dandelions and rippling grass out of the moonlit windows.
'It's like Bag End in Hobbiton.' Harry breathed and Susan squeezed his hand, they shared a grin at living their childhood dream. Lily had read them 'The Hobbit.' when they were younger, and they'd adored it.
A boy who stood on Harry's other side blinked at the room.
'Yeah, you think he based Bag End on this?' he asked, and Harry shrugged.
Erin grinned at them.
'Yes, for those muggleborn or otherwise familiar with muggle literature, Tolkien knew of the magical world. He was a squib and had some friends in Hufflepuff.' She turned to Cyril, who nodded.
'Okay everyone, time for bed. Boys follow me, girls, you follow Erin.' Cyril said and walked over to the left of the room where a rounded doorway led to a corridor that led left, away from the corridor.
Cyril waited until all the boys were standing in front of him.
'Come along.' He said with a yawn and moved into the corridor.
'This corridor is the boy's dorms. This first door is you guys, first years. The other doors lead into the other years, pretty simple.' Cyril explained, then paused after pushing open the door into the dorm room.
'Simple rules for Hufflepuff. No boys in the girl's dorms. This applies to the girls too; they can't go into the boy's dorms. Also, no fighting. You will receive a full set of rules tomorrow morning. But for now. Bedtime.' Cyril said, then motioned them into the room.
Cyril waved then walked down the corridor as the first years entered the dorm room, the door closed after they were inside.
Inside, Harry saw five beds in a large circular room, evenly spaced and rather spacious. Rather strange for a stone castle, the plastered walls bore rich redwood beams spaced throughout. They seemed to go all out on the Hobbit hole motif.
The other boys fought over their beds, but Harry took the one placed right of the door and as he sat down, the bed sunk down as his trunk appeared out of thin air. With a grin, Harry stood and opened his trunk, finding everything was in its place.
To the right of his bed was a desk large enough to hold all his writing supplies. He frowned as he saw a pile of parchment sitting on the side of the desk and sat at the chair in front of it. Harry peered through the drawers and under the parchment and let out a groan.
They had no paper, no notebooks or sheets of paper like he was used to. He sighed as he noticed the ink pot in the desk's corner.
Harry stood and moved back to his bed, idly noting that the other boys had gone quiet and the curtains around their beds were closed. He assumed they were trying to sleep. Quietly, he opened the trunk and dug through its contents until he found his notebook and a dozen pens.
With a grin, he moved back to the desk and took a seat. He tore out pages from the notebook and, using the paper, wrote a letter to his parents.
Hey Mum, Dad.
I just wanted to let you know that I've arrived at Hogwarts, and I've been sorted into Hufflepuff. I haven't seen Nym anywhere yet, but I'm sure I'll see her tomorrow. So far, I haven't really talked to any of my house mates except Susan and Hannah, who are both in Hufflepuff with me.
I'm writing this on paper from my notebook because they don't even have paper here! You could have warned me. I would have brought my stash along with me. Will you be able to send me some paper to write letters with and some notebooks too? I think I'm going to use a lot of them while I'm here.
Hogwarts really is beautiful, especially at night. I guess I'll see it during the day tomorrow.
Anyway, that's about it for now.
I love you guys,
Harry.
He put the letter aside and pulled out another torn sheet of paper to start a letter to Holly.
Hey Holly,
It's my first night here, and it really is a beautiful place, you're going to love it once you get here next year. I haven't really talked to anybody yet, but that'll happen tomorrow, I suppose.
I'm in Hufflepuff and it turns out the common room is pretty much like Bag End in the Hobbit. Apparently, Tolkien was a squib. Anyways I miss you and I hope that you're doing okay.
I love you,
Harry.
Harry placed the letter on the one to his parents before taking another sheet of paper, one of the less torn ones, and started his last letter for the night, to Fleur.
Hey Fleur,
How is being back at Beauxbatons? I hope everything is well there and that the other students aren't being too much of a bother.
This is my first night at Hogwarts and it really is beautiful here. The castle is ancient and every stone almost throbs with magic, it's amazing. But it's way too large for the amount of people here, there's so much wasted space. The corridors are massive and cold, nothing like how you described Beauxbatons to me. I wish I could see it, then I could try to give you a better comparison.
Anyway, I was sorted into Hufflepuff, the house for the loyal and hardworking. Other houses apparently think of us as the ones who won't fit in the other houses, the rejects. But I think I'd much rather surround myself with friends who are loyal and hardworking over those from the other houses. But we'll see, maybe this whole separated house system will end up making sense.
Though I doubt it.
I'm actually looking forward to the Christmas ball this year, but only because it means I'll be able to speak to you in person again. Letters are fine, but I enjoyed our talk.
Maybe you'll be able to help me speak French without butchering it next time?
That's all from me for the moment. I'm sure my next letter will be more informative.
Your friend,
Harry.
Folding the three letters up, Harry blinked as he realised Hedwig would be up in the Owlery. He was so used to her being in the room with him he hadn't considered how she would get down to him here in the basement of a castle.
Sighing, Harry placed the letters in his trunk, ready for the next day when he would head up to the Owlery, wherever that was.
He curled up in bed, and let out a deep breath then closed the curtains around his bed, and cast an alarm spell on his watch that his mother taught him years ago. Harry rolled over and went to sleep.
Harry found Nymphadora Tonks, his quasi-cousin, the next morning. He entered the common room while the artificial windows still showed moonlight streaming in and saw spiky pink hair in front of the fireplace.
Harry strode over and sat down next to his cousin on the couch she was on, reading a book.
'What are you reading, Nym?' Harry asked and the seventh-year girl jerked back, away from him.
'Harry? What are you doing up so early?' she said, her hair cycling between white, red and pink as she caught her breath.
'Me? I'm getting ready for my first day of magic school. Why are you up so early?' Harry asked with a wry grin, eyeing the book she held.
Nym narrowed her eyes at him before throwing the book aside and she wrapped him in a tight hug.
'Little Harry, you finally made it to Hogwarts. You're going to love it here.' She beamed.
Harry grinned as he relaxed into the hug, knowing he couldn't escape it even if he wanted to.
'Nym, you still haven't told me what you're reading this early.' He murmured in her embrace, wrapping his arms around her middle.
She pulled back, twisting in place to pick up her book before showing him the cover. 'Auror's Handbook. 1978 edition.'
Nym grinned, flipping through the pages.
'Your dad gave me his copy of his Auror training manual so I could prepare.' She grinned, her hair changing between pink and red.
Harry smiled.
'Well, I think you'd make a great Auror Nym. Can I help you with anything now that I'm here?' Harry asked and Nym scoffed.
'You're a bit small to be a sparring partner kid. But I would appreciate a test subject for Potions, old Snape is a nightmare.' She scowled as she looked back at the book in her hands.
'I'll do whatever I can to help you Nym, family helps each other.' He grinned and Nym scoffed, rubbing his messy hair with one hand.
'I think we should make that the unofficial Hufflepuff catch phrase.' She smirked before pulling him in for another hug.
Harry enjoyed the hug and as she pulled away, he couldn't help the smile on his face.
'Alright kid, stick close to me until your classes start, I'll show you around a little. Family helps each other after all.' She said with a wink.
The first few days of class rushed by as Harry and the rest of the first-year students fell into a routine of classes, meals and spending time in the common room after classes.
He had Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws. Professor Quirrell was a weird guy who Harry struggled to understand through the man's stutter. So, he spent most of the class beside Susan and Hannah rereading the Defence textbook and making notes in the extra notebooks his parents sent him.
Potions class was also with the Ravenclaws. Harry found out quickly that Professor Snape held a smouldering dislike for him. But other than the glares he received from the Professor, he behaved like a grumpy, oily man. Honestly, Harry was happy of the man's behaviour as it helped justify in his mind his image of his dad being a good person.
Potions would never be his forte, but it was clear to everyone in the room, including the grumpy Professor that Harry worked the hardest and was among the best at the subject. Snape seemed to look for something to target him for, but his work was as close to perfect as Harry could manage. Resulting in the Professor settling with just glaring at him.
Harry enjoyed Charms class with the Slytherins. During his first lesson he found the Slytherins all took one side of the room, while he sat in the middle and the other Hufflepuffs took the opposite side. He wondered why the green and silver students segregated themselves but shrugged it off as none of his business.
Coming in behind the rest of the students, Harry saw Daphne Greengrass enter the room and take a seat beside him. He noticed all the other vacant seats were on the Hufflepuff side of the room and shrugged. He had never really spoken to Daphne, he'd known her from various pureblood events, but she'd always been hanging out with Draco and his group, who Harry tried to avoid if possible.
Harry gave her a soft smile as she sat and she blinked at him, surprised.
'What's wrong? You seem surprised Miss Greengrass.' Harry asked, cocking his head.
'Just, well, I didn't think you would have appreciated me sitting next to you is all.' The blonde girl murmured as she unpacked her class supplies onto her desk, occasionally shooting him strange looks.
'Why wouldn't I? You've never said or done anything harmful to me or anyone I care about.' Harry said as if it was obvious. Daphne stared at him; her eyes wide.
'But Draco said…' she trailed off and looked down at her desk.
'Draco said what Daphne?' Harry asked, his voice soft as he watched emotions playing over her face.
Harry glanced around and saw no one paying attention to them, nor did he see Professor Flitwick anywhere.
'Draco said that your family hated mine, for what happened in the last war.' Daphne whispered and Harry frowned.
'What do you mean? Your family mostly stayed out of it, didn't they?' he asked, and she twisted to meet his gaze, her eyes wide.
'Besides, Draco doesn't know what he's talking about, he never has.' Harry scoffed, drawing a slight upturn of Daphne's mouth which could almost be construed as a smile.
'But…' Daphne started before catching herself and she sighed.
'I am sorry for the misunderstanding.' She murmured and Harry gave her a soft smile.
'How about we see how the class goes and see how we go from there?' Harry proposed and Daphne nodded, a small smile on her face before she turned to the front of the class where Professor Flitwick was climbing atop a stack of books.
The class passed by faster than Harry had expected with Daphne for company. He found she had a talent for the class, and she helped to explain the deeper concepts behind the Lumos charm he hadn't found in his textbook.
After that first class, Harry and Daphne sat next to each other every lesson. Harry enjoyed the time spent with the blonde Slytherin, she was smart, and they competed over who got the spell down first.
Harry had Herbology with the Gryffindors. He enjoyed sitting with Hermione during these classes while Hannah and Susan sat beside them. However, Harry soon learned that Neville and Ron were almost as bad as Draco and his friends Crabbe and Goyle.
With narrowed eyes, Harry watched Neville and Ron insulting Professor Sprout behind her back and most of the members of the class.
In one class, Harry left Hermione alone for a minute to ask the Professor something and came back to find the bushy haired girl penned up against the table with Neville and Ron on either side.
'What's wrong know-it-all? Without Potter around you have no friends left. Though why even he would hang around you I don't know. Maybe he's just as useless as I always thought.' Neville taunted.
Harry could hear the Boy-Who-Lived only because he approached from behind the group, unseen by them. Hermione hadn't noticed him because she was distracted by the two boys tormenting her.
'Brother, why are you bothering Miss Granger?' Harry asked, ignoring Ron completely.
Neville turned to glare at Harry, his face turning red.
'None of your business Potter.' The Boy-Who-Lived snarled, Harry cocked his head.
'Well, it is actually. Hermione is my partner in Herbology.' Harry said and Neville's face turned an interesting shade of purple. Ron stepped into Harry's way.
'What's wrong Potter? You should thank us.' Ron said, gesturing to Neville.
Harry blinked, looking between the two boys and Hermione who gave him a shrug.
'Why exactly should I thank you Ronald? From what I can see, the two of you are just making a nuisance of yourselves. Is there something I missed?' Harry asked, giving a small frown.
Professor Sprouts voice cut in.
'Is there a problem over here?' the Herbology Professor asked, hands on her hips as she stared at the four.
'I'm not sure Professor, I was trying to return to my partner and Misters Longbottom and Weasley were in the way. You might have more luck than I in this situation.' Harry said a moment later, not letting either boy get a word in.
Professor Sprout narrowed her eyes at the two boys.
'Longbottom, Weasley, come over here. I need to correct some of the answers you gave in the quiz.' Without further word, the woman turned and moved to the front of the room.
Harry turned and quirked an eyebrow at Neville, motioning with his head to follow the Professor.
With a scowl, Neville followed the Professor, with Ron trailing behind.
Harry turned back to Hermione and moved beside her.
'Are you okay?' he asked, his voice low, and she nodded but looked like she would cry.
'I didn't think those two would go after you so hard. Is it always like that?' Harry asked and Hermione lowered her gaze to the floor, a single nod her only answer.
'I'll help you. I dislike bullies. Have you already told a Professor?' Harry said and Hermione nodded again.
'Okay, well we'll have to find another way to stop this kind of thing from happening.' Harry said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
The rest of the class passed by, with Hermione not saying a word.
Harry had Astronomy with the Slytherins, and he quickly noticed that Daphne had a talent for it, much like with Charms. He noticed she didn't sit with the other Slytherins, the house of serpents didn't seem to fit the Greengrass Heiress well. Harry introduced her to Susan and Hannah who welcomed her with zeal.
On their first session of Astronomy, Harry partnered up with Daphne and worked in silence for a few minutes, setting up their equipment. She paused as they finished setting up and looked at him.
'Harry?' she asked, her voice only a whisper.
Harry turned and looked at Daphne in the moonlight, her blonde hair almost silver and he smiled.
'What's up? Did you want to try the telescope first?' Harry asked and Daphne shook her head, frowning.
'I just wanted to apologise for how I've thought of you for the last few years.' She started, her blue eyes darting around, watching their surroundings.
Harry smiled and moved closer to her.
'Daphne, your thoughts are nothing to apologise for. If you used to think bad things about me, that's fine. I just hope you don't anymore.' He paused, looking in her eyes.
'I'd like for us to be friends.' He said, a small smile on his face and Daphne blinked.
'Are you sure? Won't it make things hard for you to have a friend in Slytherin?' she asked.
Harry withheld a sigh.
'Daphne. I already think of you as my friend. You're intelligent and I think you'll get along really well with my other friends.' He paused again, looking around them for a moment before sighing.
'I also think that you need some friends, it's clear to me that you're not very comfortable in Slytherin.' He whispered and her eyes widened.
'H-how did you know?' she hissed, a frown marring her face.
'Maybe the fact that in the few days we've been at school I haven't seen you spend time with anyone in your house?' he smiled, and she deflated.
'But it's okay. If you would like to, I would like it if you would spend time with us, Susan and Hannah would like it too.' Harry grinned and Daphne quirked an eyebrow.
Harry pointed over to another part of the tower where Susan and Hannah worked together in their star gazing.
'Susan has always told me that friends are better when there's more of them.' Harry smiled and Daphne nodded, then looked down to the stone floor.
'It is nice to have intelligent conversation I suppose.' Daphne murmured and Harry frowned in mock confusion.
'Why do you think that? Draco seems to be the crème of the crop?' he grinned, and Daphne glared at him.
'Please don't even joke about that, that boy is an idiot.' She growled then sighed.
'I suppose we should get to work for class?' she asked, and Harry nodded.
'You're right, now, which constellation should we start with?' Harry asked, looking down at the chart, then up at the sky.
Hufflepuff shared transfiguration class with the Ravenclaws. He didn't find anyone of particular interest in the class and so sat with Susan and Hannah. The three paid rapt attention to the stern Deputy Headmistress, taking copious notes and Harry worked hard to make sure the three of them were at the top of the class.
In their first lesson of practical magic, Harry sat to the left of Susan who had Hannah on her right. McGonagall stood at the front of the class. He watched her transform her matchstick into an elaborate silver needle and his eyes shone with excitement, much like the rest of the class.
Then it was their turn and Harry watched out of the corner of his eye how Susan and Hannah dove right into the exercise. The other students around him waved their wands in exaggerated motions and Harry held back a groan, hoping no one would blow up their matchstick like he'd heard happened in Hermione's class that she'd had earlier in the week.
Harry closed his eyes and pictured the elaborate needle the Professor had created. The textbook had mentioned in passing that visualisation was key. McGonagall had mentioned it too, but only in passing. But it was her needle that made him reflect on the matter. If it were a part of the spell to turn the matchstick into a fancy needle, then everyone would get it. But the Professor told them only that it was a needle, and the textbook he'd read before class had done the same.
His eyes still closed, Harry pictured the elaborate needle and imagined the matchstick turning into it.
'Is there a problem Mister Potter?' Professor McGonagall asked from behind him.
Harry opened his eyes, blinking at the light in the room.
'No Professor, I was trying to visualise the transformation.' He said, twisting in his seat to look at the stern woman.
'Then carry on Mister Potter.' She said but made no motion to move.
Harry held back a sigh and turned to his matchstick, closing his eyes again and performing the spell with an image of the elaborate needle in his mind.
With his eyes still closed Harry heard a small intake of breath from behind him. He opened his eyes to see the elaborate needle from his mind in front of him on his desk.
A moment later, a gasp from Susan beside him drew conversation in the room to a stop.
'Congratulations Mister Potter. It has been quite a few years since one of my students got the spell correct on their first try.' Professor McGonagall said, leaning over and picking up the elaborate silver needle.
'See here class, Mister Potter has completed the transformation. What's more he made the needle to his own specifications. Though while it is by no means required for today's class, this is what I was hoping to see.' She placed the needle back on Harry's table and moved to the front of the class.
'I would like to see the rest of you continue to try the spell. I will move around the class to assist those who would like it. Mister Potter, please continue to experiment and make it so that you can do the spell immediately.' She commanded, and the class focussed on their assigned task.
Harry stared at his needle, burning it into his mind.
'Harry? How did you do it?' Susan whispered beside him. He turned to see both her and Hannah watching him.
He gave a small grin.
'I pictured it in my mind, imagined how it changed from the wooden matchstick into the silver needle.' Harry said and Hannah stared at him.
'Silver?' she asked, and Harry blinked.
'Yeah… but how did I make it silver?' he whispered, picking up the very silver needle.
That wasn't supposed to be possible. Silver and Gold were both metals that were difficult, if not impossible to create with magic.
Harry blinked, the image of Fenrir Greyback in the Quidditch shop flashed in his mind. The werewolf had stood in front of Holly and himself, moments away from killing or capturing them.
Harry's hand tightened around his wand, and he came back to himself, seeing the silver needle in front of him. Silver was deadly to werewolves, and an idea had just popped into his head for dealing with the werewolf the next time he encountered him.
He ducked down, twisting in his seat to rummage through his bag. Harry pulled out his notebook and a pen, noting down a dot point on a fresh page.
'Learn how to transfigure random stuff into silver projectiles.'
'Learn how to propel silver projectiles like bullets.'
Harry smiled at his notebook for a moment before putting it back in his bag. Sitting up again, he smiled at Susan and Hannah and turned back to his needle.
History of Magic was with the Gryffindors. While the rest of the class slept, Hermione and Harry read the textbook and did their own self-study, whispering to each other in inaudible murmurs. They found Harry was right on the train, the textbook mentioned nothing other than Goblin Rebellions, much to Hermione's distaste.
The first week of classes passed by in a rush and Harry woke up early on Saturday morning, eager to find a place in the castle to practice magic in peace. He'd completed his homework each night while the rest of the house were spending time with friends and playing games. Harry sat with Susan and Hannah and worked while they shared their time between study and relaxing.
Harry wandered the halls of the school, no idea where he was going or what exactly he was looking for. He walked past the kitchens and continued his aimless wanderings for an hour.
He let out a sigh and looked at his watch, he'd missed breakfast and now he didn't know where he was. Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
He was lost somewhere in the bowels of the castle with no way of knowing how to leave.
'Hogwarts house-elf please?' he called out and with a pop a house-elf appeared in front of him wearing a little white pillowcase looking outfit. The creature looked happy and bounced in front of him, its large ears flapping around it.
'How can Kipsy help the young Potter, sir?' the house-elf, Kipsy, asked, its eyes wide.
Harry smiled at the creature.
'I'm lost. I was exploring the castle and looking for a place where I can practice magic, somewhere hidden and out of the way. But I ended up getting lost, can you help me?' Harry asked and Kipsy frowned in thought.
'How about the Come and Go Room, sir?' Kipsy asked, its head cocking to the side.
Harry blinked.
'Come and Go Room? What's that?' Harry frowned and Kipsy's eyes shone as the creature bounced up and down with excitement.
'The Come and Go Room is a room in the castle that us elves use sometimes during the summer when there're no students to clean up after. It changes depending on what you ask it for.' Kipsy explain and Harry gaped.
That sort of room would be perfect.
'Thank you Kipsy, that would be exactly what I'm looking for. How do I get there?' Harry asked, Kipsy looked like it would start vibrating if it were any more excited.
'I will pop you there young Potter sir, if you be liking that?' Kipsy asked and Harry nodded.
Before Harry knew what happened, Kipsy placed a hand on his arm and Harry stood in a different corridor.
The stone was lighter and natural sunlight lit the corridor, though he saw no windows. Beside him hung a portrait of a wizard who looked to be teaching trolls to dance. Harry froze and peered at the portrait, he wondered why someone would even think to try that.
The trolls wore pink tutu's and gave him a mental image he immediately tried to purge from his brain.
'Young Potter sir? We is here.' Kipsy declared and Harry looked around, seeing no doors.
'What do you mean? I don't see any rooms around here, just this weird portrait?' Harry said, jerking a thumb at the portrait behind him. Kipsy vibrated as it seemed to hold itself from bouncing in place.
'The Come and Go Room is a hidden room sir. If you walked back and forth three times right here, thinking of what you want the room to be, it will appear to you.' Kipsy near shouted, a beaming grin on his face.
Harry frowned at the creature then knelt in front of it with a soft smile.
'Thank you Kipsy, you've been a great help. But why do you seem so excited about showing me this?' he asked and Kipsy blinked its bulbous eyes at him.
'Oh, young Potter sir, we elves love this room and you is the first student who has asked about it. We is excited to show a student the wonders of the room. Students rarely call for us, most don't know we is even here.' Kipsy said, before glancing around them.
'I must be goings, sir. Enjoy the room young Potter sir.' Kipsy nodded and popped away, leaving Harry standing alone in the corridor.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't even know where he was in the castle anymore. Harry sighed and cleared his head.
'Okay, so walk back and forth three times, thinking of what I want the room to be? Sounds easy enough.' Harry murmured, ignoring the fact he was talking to himself for now.
Harry paced in front of the portrait, going in a line of about two metres.
'I need a place where I can have the time to train.' He repeated in his mind as he paced.
On his third pass of the portrait a heavy 'clunk' echoed from the wall opposite the portrait and Harry turned to face it. A moment later a door appeared from out of nowhere. It was a simple wooden door, and he wondered if it was invisible before, or if it actually didn't exist.
Magic was weird.
Harry opened the door, entered the room, and froze. The door closed behind him, and he stared at the wide-open area. Large enough to fit at least fifty people. On the far side of the room stood a dozen target dummies in front of the wall.
An old dark wooden table sat in the middle of the room with a single book placed on it.
As he walked toward the table, Harry marvelled at the room. It was big enough to do whatever he wanted, and the dummies would provide him with something to use as target practice. As he approached the table, he peered at the cover of the lone book. It was made of black leather and was as thick as his arm, written in gold lettering was a single word.
'TIME.'
Harry frowned and opened the book and turned the page.
Welcome to the Room of Requirement.
If you are reading this book, then you have discovered the true purpose of this room. This is how the four of us grew to prominence in the wizarding world of our time. As I write this, I don't know what has become of us and our legacies, but at least Hogwarts and this room has survived so that you can read this.
This room can create whatever environment you want it to. It is intuitive and will create whatever you will it to create.
But it is more than that.
The true purpose of this room is to provide an area where time itself flows at a different rate to the rest of the world. When using this time dilation, time will flow at one third of the speed of the outside world.
In effect this means that for every four hours you spend in here, only a single hour will pass outside of this room.
The rest of this book will explain the other aspects of the room in greater detail.
Also, by now you are probably wondering how you can read this. The room makes the books it creates readable to whoever is controlling the room.
Make use of this room.
Rowena Ravenclaw.
Harry stared at the book, the fact that the Founders created the room didn't surprise him, the entire castle was. But that he had a book in his possession which was written by one of the Founders made his brain hurt.
Harry turned the page, it suggested that he imagine a switch or something similar that he could use to turn the time dilation on and off.
Harry frowned for a moment before he grinned, and a large red button appeared beside the door. With a chuckle, he walked over and pressed the button, which glowed. He walked across the room to stand a few metres in front of the target dummies.
Harry spent the next few hours practising all the spells he'd learned in classes that week. He cast them over and over until he was confident he could do so with little to no effort.
Harry sighed as his stomach grumbled, disrupting his thoughts.
'Oh, I wish I didn't have to leave this room to eat.' He groaned, and as he finished, a house-elf popped into the room, with a silver tray filled with different sandwiches. The little creature placed them on the table in the centre of the room and popped away.
Harry blinked at the newly arrived food before his stomach growled again and he walked over to the table and took a sandwich. He made quick work of the tray of food and sat back, looking up at the ceiling of the room and wondered how far he could push the limits of the room.
'I wish I had a book on spells.' He murmured and a stack of books appeared on the table beside the empty tray.
A wide grin covered Harry's face as he reached over and took the top book and peering at the faded leather cover.
'Hamp's Book of Curses.'
Harry spent hours in front of the dummies, casting curses at them and making notes in a notebook about each of the spells.
Hours later, Harry lay down on the stone floor, exhausted. His breath came in deep gasps and his eyes were heavy. Groaning, he pushed himself to his feet and stretched his muscles.
'Bed.' He grunted and a comfortable looking four poster bed appeared off to the side of the room, away from the dummies and the table laden with books.
'I wonder what the time is outside this room?' he mused, and a large clock appeared on the wall beside the red glowing button.
The clock read twelve o'clock and a little rectangle in the middle of the clock read Saturday (PM).
Harry grinned to himself before collapsing on the bed, still clothed and fell asleep.
When he woke again, Harry looked up at the clock which read three PM Saturday and grinned.
He went back to studying spells, only stopping to eat, sleep or go to the bathroom which disappeared after he finished.
Harry left the room when the clock read Monday six AM. He left the room, and the doorway disappeared as he entered the corridor. Shaking his head at the weirdness of magic, Harry moved left from the portrait of the dancing trolls and after a few minutes came across the central staircase and he smiled, he knew where he was now.
He peered over the railing to find he was on the seventh floor. Filing that information away for the next weekend, he walked down the stairs to the Hufflepuff common room.
As Harry walked through the mostly silent castle, he mused that in the time he'd spent away from the outside world, inside the room he'd spent a little over seven days learning and practising spells. He'd forgotten how many times he'd exhausted himself by casting spells and fell asleep.
Walking into the common room he saw Susan and Hannah whispering in front of the fireplace, both in their pyjamas.
Harry made his way to them and sat down beside them, only to get crushed in a hug from both girls.
'Harry, where have you been? We haven't seen you all weekend. Nobody has.' Susan hissed.
Harry blinked; it hadn't occurred to him that life still moved on outside the room. Though now that he sat opposite the tear-stained face of Susan it should have been obvious to him.
'I-I was practising spells and lost track of time.' He offered, lamely, as Hannah glared at him. Susan's face was just heartbroken.
'I thought something happened to you. I was so worried when you didn't show up on Saturday night. Then when we didn't see you at all yesterday.' Susan trailed off, sniffling.
Harry ran a hand through his hair.
'I'm so sorry Susan.' He paused and looked to Hannah.
'I'm sorry Hannah. To both of you for making you worry. I was perfectly safe and just lost track of time.' He whispered, and both girls stared at him, incredulous.
'You lost track of time? For an entire weekend?' Hannah hissed.
Harry ran his hands down his face and groaned, even to him it sounded like a stupid excuse.
'Susan, you know how much I want to get better and protect everyone right?' Harry asked and Susan's bloodshot blue eyes looked up at him and she nodded.
'I found a place in the castle where I can do that. I was so excited about finding it that the room was all I could think about. Honestly, I didn't even think about what was happening outside.' He trailed off and Hannah cocked her head, confused.
Susan stared him in the eye for a few seconds before pulling him into a hug.
'Are you sure you were safe?' she whispered into his chest and Harry smiled and nodded into her hair.
'You're going to go back there next weekend, aren't you?' she asked, and Harry paused for a moment.
'I want to, yes. But if you don't want me to then I won't.' Harry replied, knowing that if she asked him not to then he would hold to his promise, as much as he would hate it.
Susan pulled back and their gazes met for almost a minute where Harry could almost feel her searching for something. She sighed and pulled him back in for a hug.
'No, this is important to you. I don't want to stand in the way of it. Just be careful Harry.' Susan murmured and Hannah stared at the two of them, shock written all over her face.
Harry tightened his grip on Susan and kissed her temple.
'Thank you, Susan. It means a lot that you trust me to do this.' Harry smiled.
Hannah cleared her throat.
'Uh, Harry. We kind of told the Professors you were missing yesterday.' The blonde girl admitted, and Harry groaned.
'Damn, though I don't know why I'm surprised. I would have done the same if either of you disappeared.' Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
'Oh well, I'll have to tell them I got lost or something, not that it would be a lie.' He admitted and Susan chuckled into his chest.
Harry grinned down at Susan and met Hannah's gaze.
'I went exploring before breakfast on Saturday and got lost in the lower floors. It's a maze down there.' Harry explained and Hannah snorted.
'Only you Harry would get lost in a castle and have a fun time.' Susan muttered and Harry grinned.
'Yep, that sounds about right.' He pulled away from Susan and stood.
'I've gotta go have a shower and get ready for classes, wait for me for breakfast?' he asked, and Susan smiled and nodded.
With a wave, Harry moved over to the boy's dorms and got ready for the day.