And yello peoples! Yep, I'm back, and badder than ever before. Be prepared to see awesome!
Okay, I'm going to stop that before one of you hunts me down and sticks me in the psycho house. Anyways, I'm back with another chapter, as well as my customary apology for being late. Seriously, I should just like have something ready for when it happens and just copy and paste. Oh well, you'll get over it.
So, for this chapter I first need to warn you that it does get kinda intense somewhere around the middle, and there are slight mentions of abuse(I.E. the Dursley's treatment of Harry). Also, since I know a lot of you are going to read it and think that for some reason Quirrell used Crucio on Harry, that is NOT the case. He just tried to break into Harry's mind and because of reasons, it didn't just give Harry a twinge in the scar like normal. With that said, I'll just let you try to figure it out on your own.
Moving onto other news, I would like to warn everyone reading that I have come to the realization that Dumbledore kind of has to be evil in this series. Sorry to all you Dumbly fans, but with the rules I have set up and already kind of established for this AU, it just wouldn't make sense if Dumbldore didn't know exactly what was going on and allow a great deal of the bad shit that will be going down, at least in the first four or so books. I will be trying to not go overboard with it, and do some of the idiotic tropes of things like stealing from Harry's vault and utterly ridiculous and illegal things like that, but there will be subtle manipulation and maybe a few things like loyalty potions. Don't worry though, it won't really work because reasons.
So one last thing before I let you guys off to read this new and amazing chapter. While I was toying around with the question of who Draco was going to be paired with, I realized that undoing my previous arrangement also opened up a lot more possibility and curiosity for other pairings. As such, I literally have absolutely no clue as to who will be with who, so I decided to ask for input from everybody. Pretty much, just avoid any canon pairings(except minor ones) or ridiculously over the top pairings, and I will consider it. That basically includes things like Ginny and Harry, or Sevrus and Hermione, respectively. Also, while I will consider girl/girl pairings, I won't do any guy/guy pairings. It's not that I have any problem with homosexuality, obviously, but I am a very straight male, and as such have no interest in anything that doesn't have at least one girl. It just wouldn't really give me any inspiration, and would be an absolute bitch to write without giving me any satisfaction, so it won't happen. Sorry slash fans.
Okay, now it's really just one last thing. I wanted to apologize to all of my readers who got lost when I would suddenly change perspectives in the middle of a chapter. This only occurred because while I thought I had successfully managed to display the line breaks, I actually hadn't. I will try to fix that at some point, but for now I have simply settled for just putting XXX in it's place.
Anyways, now that that's all done, I'll let you get to it. Read, Review, and Relax. Enjoy!
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As Harry walked down the halls of Hogwarts with Ron and Susan beside him, he was once again lost in thought, contemplating the drastic changes that had occurred in the last few days. However, he was not thinking once again of the still confusing effects on his magic and body that had been forced upon him, but rather of the various changes Harry had managed to enact by his own decisions.
The first, and perhaps most obvious, was the rather large appetite Harry, along with several of his classmates it seemed, had developed. While this wasn't particularly under his control, his reaction to it was. Harry had always been on the small side, but remained somewhat fit and unexpectedly quick when compared to many of his peers. This, however, had been more from a lack of proper nutrients resulting in the Dursley's form of delayed starvation more than any particular effort or work on Harry's part. Sure, he had also grown adept at escaping from Dudley's gang, but that was really all the activity the young boy ever experienced outside the menial labor the Dursley's would often assign him. Now, with vast amounts of food at his disposal, and an appetite that would likely put Uncle Vernon himself to shame, Harry had realized that he could very easily over eat and end up looking a lot like his bloated cousin, just without the blonde hair and tendency to cry to his mummy, if she were even still alive to cry such, Harry had quickly realized that it would probably be wise to find some answer to this dilemma before he became a walking whale.
The simplest answer would probably be to just cut back on his eating, attempting to return himself to a somewhat normal diet, at least normal for everybody else. This idea was almost instantaneously discarded, however. Harry had had enough experience of being starved his cruel relatives, he wasn't about to start willingly do it to himself. Instead, he decided that he would simply have to work off the excess calories and fat before they turned him blobby. This had ended up with him starting to do simple exercises such as pushups and situps in the dorm room at night, not to mention running through the halls during freetime. This led Ron to think he was mad, seeing as the redhead preferred to simply laze about and play the strange wizard's version of chess during his free periods, but Harry ignored him. Even Susan had agreed with him that it was a good idea, and started to at least come with him on his runs since she face the same problem, turning it into a race more often than not. Harry couldn't say as to whether she chose to do physical activity, since they were in completely different common rooms, but he assumed so.
The other changes Harry had made were walking beside him. Susan, he had found, was a good friend, if a little shy and possessing of a weird inferiority complex, at least when it came to Harry. In the few days he had known her, she seemed to go back and forth between acting perfectly normal, to suddenly seeming to realize she was talking to Harry and withdrawing randomly. Several times Harry had to coax her out of the shell she would put herself in, reminding her of his lack of knowledge about pretty much anything magical and that he really wasn't anything special. Other than that though, Susan was a generally friendly person, more often than not showing kindness to everyone around her. Harry almost wished they were in the same house just so they could hang out more, since she brought such a warm presence to the conversation. In fact, the library was quickly becoming one of their little groups favorite haunts since it was the easiest and simplest place for them to meet. It wasn't really accepted for students to go to the common rooms of other houses.
Susan was not the only member of their new group, however. Ron, too was a definite change, but Harry was still unsure about him. Sure, the orange haired boy was the first friend Harry had made, having met him on the train long before anybody else, but the black haired boy was quickly becoming disenchanted with him. Ron was loud, obnoxious, and almost constantly insulting of Slytherins and Hermione Granger. Harry could understand why the boy misliked Slytherin's, sort of, but even he didn't understand the feud between the redhead and the bushy haired girl. Ron was always spouting off stuff about Gryffindors being the best and seemed to judge almost everyone solely on what house they were in, but the young girl was also in Gryffindor, but did not seem immune to the hatred Ron reserved for those of the house of the snake.
Harry truthfully found Ron kind of annoying, as did Susan, but Harry was reluctant to push the other boy away. He was still the first person Harry's age to show him any kind of acceptance, and the first of Harry's friends, not counting Hagrid. In fact, if he didn't have Susan to serve as a contrast, Harry likely would have simply ignored Ron's more… unpleasant tendencies. The golden eyed wizard had never had much of an idea as to what friends were supposed to be like, since the Dursley's had never given him a chance to have any, so Harry was desperate to cling onto anyone who might qualify. As it was though, he was starting to wonder if that might be a bad idea.
Pushing those troubling thoughts aside, Harry instead turned his musings towards the last member of their little troupe, if she could even be called as such, trailing a little behind them as they made their way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Luna was… a bit of a quandary. He had actually heard that word from her, so it was kind of ironic to use it on the girl herself. In fact, that was the first evidence as to her strangeness, the large, complicated words the girl used. For the most part Harry could figure out what she was saying, or the general gist of it really, but there were a few times where he had to look up one or more words the listless girl spouted in order to decipher her meaning. It had gotten to the point where Harry was already carrying around a dictionary with him, just in case. Still though, Luna's strange speech patterns were the least of her oddities, in some perspectives at least.
The silver haired girl had been following their little trio around ever since that first Transfiguration class, leaving only to go to the Ravenclaw tower when they separated for the night, or go to any classes she didn't share with them. She didn't talk much, at least to them, but every once in awhile the girl would throw in a random comment that more often than not had very little to do with the actual conversation. At least, it didn't seem to. Either way, the girl mostly didn't bother the three friends, preferring instead to talk to herself or read the strange newspaper she always carried around. Harry would almost say she was simply using them to fend off anyone else who might want to do something to her, as Harry had already heard several muttered insults thrown the girls way. He had plenty of experience with the way people treated those they saw as different, and Harry had no doubt that Muggles and Magicals were no different on that account.
Aside from specific changes though, Harry's world was almost completely different, now that he thought about it. Magic was amazing, with its moving pictures, man-eating plants, and reality-breaking spells. The feeling of it, the sight, the sounds, all of it was so completely different from what he knew and had previously expected of the world, and he loved it. Even the classes were never dull, no matter how much Ron complained about them. Harry had only been to a few so far, but it was enough to make him anxious to see more. He had never been happier in his life since he had found magic.
Eventually, Harry and his little group of four reached the Defense classroom, and the boy was forced to push aside all of his thoughts in preparation for the coming class. This class, if any, he was wary of. He couldn't help but remember the twisted creature latched onto the back of Quirrell's head, dampening any enthusiasm Harry had for a class taught by the man. Harry wanted to believe that Dumbledore would never actually allow anything that might harm the students into the school, but even if the beast was harmless it would be unpleasant to spend any amount of time near the was also the chance that Dumbledore wasn't capable of sensing magic as Harry and Susan were, and therefore was completely unaware that such a creature even existed, let alone was roaming the halls of the school. Harry doubted it though. The boy had felt the wards as he first approached the school, and they could surely fend off a parasitic creature such as this. No, the only way Harry could see it being capable of entering was if it was allowed.
As Harry entered the classroom, he looked around, inspecting it for dangers. Harry was feeling uneasy, even more so than he would have expected of himself. Some sixth sense was telling him that he was in danger, despite his rationalizations, setting the boy on edge. The class itself was fairly normal, the only outstanding feature being the smokes wafting through the air, drifting away from the various candles scattered around the room to create a thin veil, easy to see through. Still, Harry remained tense.
The rest of the students filed into the classroom, Susan and Luna drawing a bit closer to Harry's side. It looked like he wasn't the only one feeling off. Ron though, in his typical oblivious fashion, just blundered off to the furthest seat back, likely hoping to avoid any sort of attention from the teacher. Harry couldn't blame him, although the ginger likely had very different reasons for his avoidance. Still, Harry supposed it was better than nothing, following suit before returning to scanning the classroom.
After a few quiet seconds, Quirrel entered the room after them, looking for all the world as a simple man, nervous about teaching a class. At least, that's how he looked to normal eyes. Harry's senses told a different story, where the thing attached to the teacher's head was seething in anger. Harry had no idea what it was angry about, but he instantly started reaching into his pocket to grasp his wand, gathering as much magic as he could grasp at the same time. The sixth sense from before was now going haywire, telling him to get ready, and Harry could see Susan and Luna, and even Draco doing the same. He had no idea what was coming, but could tell it wouldn't be good. Just his luck too, stuck in the class that this thing was going to blow up in.
Strangely, it didn't blow up as soon as Harry was expecting, Quirrell instead moving to his desk and starting to call roll in a shaky voice. Harry waited, tense, as the names progressed. Nothing happened though, at least not until Quirrell called Harry's name. The boy had been keeping his eye trained on the Professor and his parasite, watching as the disgusting energy mounted with every name called. As Harry's came up, however, the Professor's eyes rose to meet Harry's, and the whole world exploded in pain.
Harry was frozen to his seat, unable to even breathe as every single nerve in his body was lit on fire, a wave of agony rolling through him. He couldn't scream, it hurt so much. The boy was stuck there, muscles clenching as he burned alive under the cruel gaze of the Professor for what felt like an eternity. Still though, he met those eyes with as much strength as he could muster. Every time a tear welled up, or Harry thought he just couldn't take it any more and that he just wanted to curl up and die, something rebelled. He had faced agony before, had wanted to curl up and die every time the Dursley's locked the door to his cupboard, every time someone called him freak. What was physical pain, when compared to that of the soul? Harry had faced hatred all his life, been shunned, yelled at, starved, and hunted down like an animal by his own flesh and blood. Harry had no idea why this man, and the thing was harming him, and yes, he had no doubt that whatever was happening, it had something to do with this lying teacher and the monster attached to his head, but if they thought they would get a reaction out of him, they were dead wrong. So he continued staring, the only thing he could do, defiance burning in his eyes as he himself burned for what felt like an eternity.
After what was in reality a few seconds but felt much longer than that, the pain lessened a little, enough for Harry to move his head to the side a bit, trying to see in his peripherals what was happening. He caught a flash of green cloth, and a burst of silver magic cutting through the shadows he had completely missed writhing around his body, but that was it. Even that bit of relief however, was not enough. Still Harry burned, until even more help arrived. A burst of gold, and then blue, washed over the tortured boy, sweeping away the darkness that had draped over him like a cloak. The three magics met, swirling above his lion mark, and pulled forth the crimson of Harry's own magic, cleansing him entirely and removing the last bits of pain. Finally free, Harry's head swivelled as he blinked owlishly, taking in the scene.
Susan, Luna, and surprisingly Draco were all gathered around him, their outstretched hands touching him in some way. Now that he had a clear mind, Harry easily recognized the fading magics as theirs, meaning they had somehow saved him. As he looked around, the raven haired boy quickly realized that while his ordeal may have felt like an extremely long time, it must have only been seconds in reality as it looked like no one had even noticed what was happening, except those three of course. They were getting a couple of odd looks, especially from Hermione, but that was all so far. After checking the room, Harry slowly and carefully raised his eyes again, prepared to face Quirrel once again in order to get some answers. He could see no other way. Before Harry could do anything, however, a voice he hadn't heard since the ride on the Hogwarts Express spoke, interrupting his thoughts.
"Sorry Professor, I think Potter's a bit sick. I'll just take him to the Hospital Wing." Harry could hardly believe his ears as he listened to the incredibly obvious, and yet ridiculously smooth lie roll off of Draco's tongue, sounding almost like he believed it. He was even more shocked when Quirrell quietly nodded before turning back to his roll sheet and continuing as if nothing had happened. Harry didn't even resist fighting as Draco proceeded to haul him up out of his chair and drag him to the door. Susan and Luna followed, but were stopped with a look from Draco as he glanced between them and Quirrell. Surprisingly, both girls nodded and returned to their seats, although Susan looked reluctant. Still, though, the message was clear enough. Keep an eye on him.
Draco dragged Harry out of the room, slamming the door shut, before suddenly shoving Harry up against the wall and staring at him intently. "What the hell was that, Potter?" Harry, startled by the sudden hostility, paused for a few seconds, his brain scrambling for an answer. Finally, he pushed Draco's arm away, a frown crossing his face.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about, Potter." Harry stared back into Draco's eyes, trying to discern his motives, before giving up and just shrugging, crossing his arms in annoyance.
"I don't know. What's it matter to you, anyways?"
"I'm going to be stuck in a class with that thing too, if you hadn't noticed. Besides," Suddenly, an evil smirk crossed Draco's face. " I just had to save your sorry self from whatever that thing did to you, so I should at least get a thank you." Harry frowned again. He was right, but what Harry really wanted to know was why.
"Why did you do that anyways? It's not like we're friends or anything." Draco suddenly looked down, his own frown appearing.
"I don't know. I felt like it." Harry snorted in amusement, smirking.
"So, which is it? You don't know, or you felt like it?" Draco shot the raven haired boy an irritated glance, but refused to answer. Instead, he just turned on his heels and stalked away, calling over his shoulder.
"Whatever. I'm not going back in there today, but you can if you want to." As the boy's silver hair disappeared around the corner, Harry looked back at the heavy wooden door and shuddered. Yeah, no way was he going back in there. He felt a bit bad about leaving Susan and Ron in there, and maybe Luna too, but they had been fine. If nothing else, they could help each other if the Professor decided to attack them. Harry, however, was almost certain that if he walked back in there right now, he probably wouldn't come out, or at least not unscathed. He needed to find something to protect himself, or at least some sort of knowledge on this type of thing, and that meant only one place. Time to go to the library.