Disclaimer: I own none of the things you already know of.
Harry Potter and the Smallest Change.
Chapter 09. Summer. 1993.
The train cabin was cosy as Harry sat with Susan, Holly, and Ginny on one side while Hannah, Daphne, and Luna sat on the other.
'Does anyone know what happened to Lockhart? No one knows where he disappeared to a few weeks ago with the Chamber incident. I wonder where he went?' Daphne asked, tucking a few stray blonde hairs behind her ear.
'The fraud probably ran away.' Holly scoffed.
Susan sighed.
'Does anyone know if every year at Hogwarts is this dangerous and scary? Or is it just the presence of Neville at the school?' Susan asked, which earned a few raised eyebrows throughout the cabin.
'I mean, drawing in You-Know-Who's spirit in first year, then his Diary in our second.' Susan continued.
Holly took her head off Harry's shoulder and stared at him.
'Why are you in the middle of things? Both years you've saved Neville, you don't even like him?' Holly asked.
Harry shrugged, aware of the gaze of the cabin on him.
'In our first year, Hermione asked for my help, and this year Ginny was in trouble. I couldn't just ignore the situation.' Harry said.
The girls wore thoughtful expressions, but Daphne and Hannah both scowled at Hermione's name.
Holly cocked her head to the side.
'What is your problem with Hermione? She seems like a nice, if rather bossy girl.' Holly asked.
Hannah and Susan turned to Daphne, who scoffed and flicked her hair over her shoulder.
'After rescuing Hermione from the Troll in our first year, the girl chose to be friends with Longbottom and Weasley, the two boys who put her in the situation to begin with.' Daphne said, her lips twisted in a suppressed sneer.
'She did that instead of staying friends with Harry, who rescued her, almost dying in the process.' Daphne finished.
Susan wore a rare scowl beside Harry, who patted her leg.
'Hey guys, it's okay. Hermione has gotten better this year. But everything is fine because I have my friends with me, and friends are as good as family.' Harry said.
Holly and Susan both latched onto his arms while the others rolled their eyes.
An hour later, Harry looked up from a conversation with Holly to see Ginny and Luna doing a puzzle on an issue of the Quibbler.
'Hey Luna, do you know anything about the Duck-Billed-Platypus in Australia?' he asked, and Luna looked up from the magazine and stared at him.
'No, why?' she asked, her usual dreamy quality not present in her voice.
Harry grinned.
'It's a mammal, with a beak like a duck. It stings like an insect, lays eggs, and lives underwater. I think it might be related to a magical animal; how else can you get so many different animal traits together?' Harry asked and Luna's eyes lit up and Ginny gave him a grin.
Daphne wore an incredulous expression and shook her head.
'Thanks Harry, that sounds amazing. I'll tell daddy about it when we get home. He'll be so excited.' Luna beamed and Harry laughed.
He leant back against the seat and closed his eyes.
After a few minutes, the gentle rocking motion and click-clack of the tracks lulled Harry toward sleep.
Until the door opened to reveal Neville, Ron, and Hermione.
Hermione received hostile looks from Susan, Hannah, and Daphne, as well as suspicious expressions from Holly and Ginny.
Luna didn't notice. She was staring out the window with a wide smile on her face.
'Thank you, Potter, for dealing with the Basilisk.' Neville admitted, then received an elbow in the ribs from Hermione.
'Thank you for saving us. I wouldn't have been able to do anything without your help.' Neville ground out.
Harry smiled at the three standing in the doorway like awkward statues.
'It's okay. I'm just glad we could get there in time.' Harry grinned at Ginny, who blushed as she stared at Neville's feet.
Neville's face turned red at the not-very-welcoming expressions he received from the girls, except Ginny, who was as red as her hair.
'T-thanks again.' Neville stuttered out before he left the compartment.
Ron met Harry's eyes.
'Thanks.' He mumbled before following Neville.
Hermione looked guilty as she looked down at her feet, avoiding the hostile looks from the girls.
Harry stood.
'I'll be back in a moment.' He smiled at the girls in the cabin and led Hermione out into the corridor.
Hermione crushed him in a hug once out of the cabin.
'Thank you for saving me and Ginny and everyone.' She whispered and Harry tightened his grip on her before he released her.
Together they stared out the window at the passing countryside.
'You're my friend, I will always do what I can to help you.' He said, and she turned to him.
'Did you find my message?' she asked.
Harry frowned.
'What message?' he asked, and she looked uncomfortable.
'I tore a page out of a library book about Basilisks. I'd written mirrors and pipes on the sheet.' She explained, and Harry shook his head.
'No, I didn't see your message, sorry. Did you give it to Neville or something?' he asked, and she blushed.
'No, I, well, I had it in my hands when I was petrified.' Hermione admitted.
'Oh, sorry. I didn't notice anything in your hands when I visited you in the hospital wing. Sorry.'
She gave a wry smile and sighed before she pulled him into another hug.
'Thanks again for saving us. I should get back to Neville and Ron.' She said before she walked away from him down the corridor.
Harry turned his gaze back outside.
'Why do I have the feeling I just missed something?' he muttered to himself before he shrugged and headed back into his cabin with the girls.
After he bid farewell to the other girls at the station, Harry, Holly, and Susan approached James and Sirius, who stood near the floo terminal. The two men's eyes sparkled with mischief, while Remus looked like he'd rather not be there.
'You've really grown Harry.' James said, and Harry smirked.
'It's what kids do, Dad.' he replied.
'And you seem to get along really well with the ladies.' James began.
'Yeah, how well do you all get along?' Sirius continued with a wink.
Harry glanced at Susan, who gave a tiny nod, the corner of her lips quirking. He wrapped an arm around both Holly and Susan, then looked both men in the eye.
'We get along very well.' Harry smirked and Remus laughed at how quick both James and Sirius' faces paled.
Harry led the two girls away, Susan held Orion's hand while Holly held Charlus', toward the floo and went through into Potter Manor.
Once through the floo, Harry and the two girls collapsed on a nearby couch.
Harry laughed so hard his stomach hurt.
'Okay Harry, first, gross. Second, did you see the looks on their faces?' Holly cackled.
'Yeah, gross, including Holly in on that. But hilarious to see their faces.' Susan held her belly as she struggled to breathe.
A few minutes later, Remus popped into the lounge, and wore a wide grin at the children.
He counted down with his fingers.
Three, two, one.
James and Sirius popped into the lounge, both turning on Harry.
'No touching Susan until you're both at least fifteen.' Sirius shouted.
'No touching Holly at all, she's your sister.' James screamed at the same time.
Remus laughed, followed by Harry and the two girls. Charlus and Orion looked at each other and shrugged before joining in on the laughter.
After dinner that night, the Black contingent returned to Grimmauld Place and Harry packed away his things in his room. He looked over at his desk and saw a letter waiting for him. He sat down at the desk and opened it.
Dear Harry,
My maturation has begun. It started last night, before I left Beauxbatons. Now I am home and am confined to my room until the change is complete.
I cannot see you this summer. The next few weeks will be hard as my body changes to my mature form.
Harry, I am worried that I will not be able to control my Allure. It will be going wild for the next few months. I may not even be able to return to Beauxbatons if I cannot control my heritage.
I hope to see you at Christmas, and I hope you are not too disappointed in me.
Fleur.
Harry read through her letter a few times; his heart sunk as he reread that he wouldn't be able to see her again soon. He shook his head and opened a drawer to get a fresh sheet of paper to write a reply.
Dear Fleur,
I could never be disappointed in you; you are my best friend. We will be okay not seeing each other over the summer. We will still write letters and I am getting closer to getting a design working for the mirrors. I'll send along my notes in case they're of more help to you.
I believe in you; You will be every bit as amazing as I know you are. Whatever you look like and whether or not you get a grasp on your allure. Whatever happens, we will find a way to make you happy.
Harry.
Harry fell back into his summer routine; he finished his homework in the first few days. His morning training with James and Holly increased. They now stood eight metres in front of him before tossing rocks and spells at him.
He filled his afternoons with helping Holly with her own homework and working on Runes with Lily when she had the time. His personal self-study filled multiple notebooks with designs and research on his theories.
Harry opened the door to his mother's study; it was the same as it always was. Books filled the bookshelves in the room and sheets of paper were stuck to the walls.
Lily sat, hunched over her desk. She held her head in her hands and let out a heavy sigh.
'Mum?' Harry asked.
He shut the door behind him and she spun around to face him.
'Harry, I'm glad you came, I'm stuck with something you can help me with.' she jerked her head toward the desk behind her.
Harry stepped beside her and peered at the battered sword that lay on it.
'So, you didn't fix it yet?' he asked.
Lily huffed.
'There's nothing to fix. It's dead. The enchantments are ruined and even the Goblin steel its made from is somehow corrupted.' Lily said and Harry frowned.
'Corrupted? What do you mean?' he asked.
Harry peered at the ruined sword and reached out toward it.
Lily took his head in hers and pulled it away from the sword.
'Harry, this sword is dangerous. Goblin steel is supposed to be able to absorb whatever will make it stronger. But you said it was hit by the Killing Curse, right?' she asked.
Harry nodded.
'Yeah, it was almost like the sword leapt out of my hands toward the spell.' Harry said.
Lily shivered and pulled him into a tight embrace.
'I'm glad that it did. If that spell had hit you, you would have died.' she whispered.
The study fell silent for a few seconds before Lily released him.
'Harry, I can't repair the sword. The enchantments that Slytherin put into it were beyond anything I've ever seen. I might be able to reverse engineer some of them, but I can't fix the sword, it's too far gone.' she said.
Harry looked down at the ruined sword on the desk. Where it had glistened in the eerily green-lit Chamber of Secrets, now it was dull, and he couldn't feel anything from it. He turned to his mother.
'How can you reverse engineer anything from it?' he asked.
Lily shrugged.
'With a whole lot of patience and time. Harry, this thing was a masterpiece, I don't even know if I can learn how he did even half of the enchantments on this thing.' she admitted, then sighed.
'But I'm going to try. Now, can you get me Tyrell's Advanced Runic Primer from the shelf over there?' she asked and pointed vaguely behind her.
A few days before his birthday, James, and Sirius pulled him aside after his morning exercise. That morning Sirius joined in, increasing those firing at Harry to three. After they finished, Harry lay on his back, catching his breath.
James put a hand on Holly's shoulder.
'Holly honey, good job this morning. Head on up and get changed, Harry will be right with you.' James said and Holly nodded, she sent one last smile to Harry who gave her a weak wave.
James and Sirius plopped down on the grass beside Harry and James let out a sigh.
'Harry, I think you're pushing yourself too hard.' James said while Sirius shifted beside him.
'All you do is study and train, kiddo; don't you want to go flying? TV? See a movie?' Sirius asked and Harry laughed.
Harry groaned and sat up. Sweat dripped down his face.
'You're right. That is all I do, but it's all I want to do.' Harry said.
Sirius facepalmed.
Harry shifted into a more comfortable position.
'But seriously, I could use your help with something.' Harry started and both men's eyes grew wide, along with their smiles.
'What can we help you with, Prongslet?' Sirius grinned.
'I'm trying to create a pair of mirrors, like you guys have, so I can talk to Fleur more.' Harry said.
Both men wore eager smiles and shuffled closer toward him on the grass.
Harry shifted away from them as much as his exhausted body would allow, suspicious.
'Why don't you just borrow our mirrors?' James asked, a twinkle in his eyes.
Harry narrowed his eyes, expecting a prank or a trick, knowing the two men.
'We're making our own.' Harry said before he looked at Sirius.
'I can't trust you two to not listen in or something else underhanded.' Harry finished and James laughed, while Sirius looked offended.
Harry's birthday arrived, and he received a single feather in a box from Fleur. He looked at it with confusion but noticed James' eyes widen on seeing it. But James refused to answer, saying it was Fleur's place to tell him.
A few days later, Fleur's sixteenth birthday arrived. While he couldn't be with her for her birthday, he sent her a present and a long letter along with it. He gave her a silver bracelet with a small emerald in its centre, it matched the necklace he'd given her earlier. The bracelet was enchanted with protective rune clusters along with a Tracking Rune, which she could activate with the words 'Harry find me.' or if she rubbed the rune in a counter-clockwise motion.
In his letter, he asked about the feather, but she replied she would rather tell him in person.
A few weeks later, Holly's birthday arrived, and Harry updated her pendant with the same enchantments as Fleur's. Holly didn't leave Harry's side all day, except when she wanted to test the Tracking Charm.
A few days after Holly's birthday, on September first, Remus pulled Harry aside after breakfast in the dining room.
'I just wanted to tell you that this year, Dumbledore has appointed me as Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor.' Remus said, not meeting Harry's gaze.
Harry pulled the man into an embrace, something he'd never been big enough to do while standing.
'Congratulations Moony. You're going to be great. That said you don't have much to live up to, we had Voldemort and Lockhart teaching us before you.' Harry joked.
Harry held up a finger.
'Hold that thought.' Harry grinned before he ran up to his room.
He rummaged around his trunk, packed the night before, and grinned as he plucked out a small square box. It looked like a black brick.
Harry ran downstairs again and found Remus where he'd left him. He handed the werewolf the black box.
Remus took the box, quirking an eyebrow.
'Thanks?' he said, more of a question than anything.
Harry grinned and held up his watch up for Remus to see.
'Help me.' Harry said, and ran his finger counter-clockwise around the watch face.
Remus' eyes widened as a dot appeared on the black brick in his hands.
Harry pointed at the brick.
'This is a tracker used with the tracking enchantment I've placed on my watch. Once I activate the Runes, that tracker will point you toward me. It will also work for Holly's tracking charm.' Harry explained, grinning at the shocked expression on his honorary uncle's face.
'Notice the details on the tracker there?' Harry pointed at a handful of symbols and numbers at the bottom of the brick.
'It tells you in what direction I am from your position and how far away. I must admit, making that distance to target work properly was a lot of effort, especially changing units from metres to kilometres.' Harry said, smiling at Remus, who stared at him.
'Why give it to me?' Remus asked.
Harry frowned.
'Remus, you're family. You'll also be at Hogwarts, so if something goes wrong, you'll be close by to fix it.' Harry explained before he scratched his chin.
'The last two years ended with crazy, dangerous stuff happening and if I can avoid it, I will.' Harry said while Remus only gave a nod.
Harry stood, patting Remus' shoulder.
'Congratulations on the job again, Moony. Please always keep that tracker handy, it'll also pick up Fleur and Holly if they activate their trackers.' Harry said, leaving the werewolf alone in the dining room.