The Peverell Legacy
A/N: I own nothing, especially not HP. Welcome to another fanfic, Italics are for thoughts and Bold is for spells. Here's chapter nine, enjoy!
Chapter Nine: The first class since all the other ones
Padma and Harry returned home from their dinner with Narcissa and the Parkinson family. Padma grumbled as she put her cloak on the rack by the door. "I hated Pansy when we grew up together, I hate Regina and Malcolm Parkinson now, keep that little pug-face away from our kids." She growled to Harry, "I'm going upstairs for a very long and very hot shower to scrub all of the bitch I contracted from being in the same room as that harpy."
She stomped upstairs and left Harry to walk next door and pick up the little Harry. His infant counterpart was at the exploring stage now and Harry sent up a silent prayer of thanks to the heavens for cushioning charms. Keeping one on his outfits meant that when the little boy took tottering steps in his nursery they didn't have to worry so much when he fell back on his bottom. Harry crossed the grass between the houses and knocked on the door. He smiled as he heard the hurried footsteps that signaled the littlest Tonks was at the door. Tonks flung the door open and smiled when she saw him, "Harry!" she cried and flung her arms around him in a hug.
"Hello Dora, how was James?" Harry asked as she finally released him from her iron grip.
She laughed, her hair going pink and then purple, "He called me by my name!" She said proudly, "We were in my room and I told him to call me 'Dora' and he did!" She was very excited as she tugged his hand and led him into the house.
Andromeda sat on the couch holding the baby on her lap, "He made a noise that could have been 'Dor' and she got very excited. I don't quite think it was her name though." She stroked his hair, "He's a very quiet little one. Must get that from you." She said looking over the toddlers head to Harry. She grinned at him, they wouldn't tell her daughter the truth until she was an adult, possibly ever.
"Were you quiet when you were a baby Harry?" Tonks asked him, releasing his hand but not moving from his side, "James' very quiet, were you?" She spoke quickly, very excitedly and Harry did his best to process the question.
"I- well I suppose I must have been." Harry said rubbing his neck, "I don't really have anyone I could ask but if James is quiet then I probably was. Padma is loud enough for both of us." He said with a grin.
"I'll tell her that." Andromeda said with a deadpan expression, "She'll probably find that very amusing."
Harry paled and walked over, scooping the sixteen-month-old into his arms and off of her lap. Andromeda smirked as Harry made a very quick escape at that.
Scene Break
Padma walked into the nursery after her shower. She found Harry having a very in-depth conversation with his younger self as she walked in. "Seriously, how do you produce these smells?" Harry muttered as he began to clean the little boy, "You need to be the fastest potty-trained little boy ever."
"Nothing he will ever produce will ever top the smells you made that night in Athens. Greengrass told you that ouzo was too strong for you." Padma said with a laugh as she cast a wandless freshening charm on the room. That night had been an interesting one, Daphne Greengrass had left the magical world after her sister's marriage and went to a muggle modeling company. Having kept some contact with Padma she had invited the couple to a party her company was holding.
That night of drinking and partying had resulted in their first threesome as a couple. 'An enjoyable one-off' Padma had termed their night with Daphne. Their time together hadn't meant anything beyond that. Though Daphne did make several overtures towards them regarding visiting her in Hawaii during the summer.
"So, your first class is in the morning." Padma said to him coming up to put her arms around him, "Want to find a Hogwarts uniform and see if I can still fit into it?" She teased him quietly, "Professor Peverell...I'm having trouble with my essay." Padma's voice was soft and teasingly innocent, "I just can't get my head around this." She smiled into his shoulder at the undignified squeak when her hands touched the 'this' she meant.
"I am literally cleaning a child, keep it in your pants." He said after a moment. "At least let me finish what I'm doing."
She giggled and kissed his neck, "I was stuck with the Parkinson's today. You know that if they ever figure out that little man here is actually Harry Potter they are going to do everything in their power to convince if not me, then you, that he should marry their little puggette." She sighed against his ear, enjoying the shiver, "I want to make sure we are both on the same page. If that means I have to convince you." The word 'convince' had been emphasized by her tongue tracing his ear, "then so be it."
"She tried to convince everyone to give me over to Voldemort." Harry said dryly, "Just admit that you are feeling frisky and knock off the pretense." He felt her sigh theatrically and move back from him.
"Very well. Come to our room when you are done, you spoilsport." Padma said and walked out of the room leaving Harry to attempt breaking the sound barrier in the act of cleaning and changing a squirming baby.
Scene Break
Harry would admit that he is excited about his first class. It showed when he arrived at Hogwarts an hour before the time he'd told Dumbledore to expect him. He came with a small case full of items and books, items and books that he would not show the Headmaster when he arrived. "Surprises for my classes," was all that he would say, earning a slight frown from the old man.
At the table, Harry sat between Professors Babbling and Sinestra. The two witches had been friendly enough when they had been introduced to him, so Harry didn't mind being put at the end with the 'junior professors', even though he noted a scowling Snape seated beside Dumbledore.
"So, do you prefer Harry over Hadrian?" Babbling asked him, "I would. My parents named me Bathsheda so Goddess knows I prefer Sheda or even B.B."
"Call her Babs, she loves that," Sinestra said with a barely noticeable grin.
Babbling frowned, "I wouldn't. You said you have a fiancee, she would probably prefer you to have your parts."
Merlin's balls, it's like being stuck between Narcissa and Padma...Harry thought with a wince. "How about I call you Sheda?"
"That will let you keep your berries." She said and then reached for her mug of tea.
"Babs is touchy about being called Babs," Sinestra explained and began to cut into her grilled tomato, dipping a piece into the yolk of her eggs. "I can get away with it because of blackmail you see."
"One time. I tell you about a blind date one time." Babbling growled over the rim of her mug, "I will never forgive Rosmerta for setting me up with him."
"Okay, now I have to know." Harry said to the Runes professor, "Who?"
"Gilderoy Lockhart." Babbling ground out, "He spent the first half of the date talking about his 'exploits' and the other half trying to get somewhere that the first half of the date closed off for him."
"There, now you can call her Babs," Sinestra said, teasing her friend.
"I will kill you, it will look like a fault runic cluster." Babbling warned.
"Sheda it is," Harry said earning a laugh from the Astronomy professor.
Dumbledore stood up, "If I may have your attention for one short announcement," he said, pausing for silence, "I would like to introduce Professor Hadrian Peverell, who will be replacing Professor Quirrell who will be taking a short sabbatical during this term. Please join me in wishing Professor Peverell the very best as he begins his career with us."
"'Beginning my career'? Does he think I'm going to stay?" Harry muttered as he rose and accepted the polite applause from the student body.
"You could always teach Defense." Babbling said to him, "Tremble isn't a very good Professor, so even if the jinx doesn't get him he probably wouldn't stay."
"Padma would kill me," Harry said as he sat back down and finished his breakfast.
Scene Break
"Hello class, as you heard from the Headmaster, my name is Professor Peverell," Harry said to assembled sixteen third-year students. "Today, we are going to talk about muggles and why anyone who tells you they are backward or primitive isn't just wrong, they are stupid."
That got a stir out of the class. Harry noted one or two frowning faces among the thirteen-year-old students. "Muggles have been to the moon." He started before using his wand to dim the lights and start the projector. The children murmured loudly as the first image was of a space shuttle. "This is the Apollo 11 program and its Saturn VSA-506 rocket. It traveled to the moon on July the 16th 1969. It carried a small crew of muggle astronauts, that is what they call the crew of these shuttles, and got them there and back over the course of eight days."
The students were silent as the slides continued showing the shuttle, the Eagle landing module, and the crew. Harry paused with each slide and explained what was going on.
"I hate that muggle pictures don't move," one of the students said, "it's boring."
Harry grinned at that, "That is why I brought the next subject for today's lesson. Everyone look at the screen please, I would like to introduce you all to Misters Tom and Jerry." It had taken some doing but Harry had managed to ensure that the projector would also play film thanks to some additional charms that sped the reels so that the static images began to move.
Scene Break
After dinner, Harry prepared to meet Dumbledore at the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Padma knew he would be late getting home, but he'd promised her that he wouldn't take long. She'd immediately rolled her eyes at his assurances and warned him that if he wasn't home by midnight he'd be sleeping on the lawn.
Dumbledore was waiting with a small silver cage tucked under his arm. Inside the cage, under the effect of a sleeping spell, was a small brownish red rooster. "Ah, Professor Peverell, how did you find your first day? From what I've heard when the students were between classes, you were very effective."
"I did have to vanish some sick after I showed the seventh-years the bikini atoll test footage." Harry said, "So, you have our rooster. Let's begin." He preempted any further discussion as he opened the door to the girls bathroom and stepped inside. "The chambers entrance is here by the sink." He pointed to the faucet, "How precisely a wizard who died before indoor plumbing managed this I don't know or care to know."
"Most likely he had a trusted-" Dumbledore began but stopped when Harry hissed to open the pipe.
"As I said, don't know and don't care." Harry said, "Right, it's a bumpy ride so watch yourself." He hopped onto the slide and made his way down. When Harry arrived at the bottom he noted that the pile of animal bones that had been his cushion both times was significantly smaller. Betsy must have been on a diet before Tom let her back out. He thought as he felt what might have been a badgers skull crack under his foot. Padma had been the one to give the basilisk a name when he'd told her about his exploits. "It keeps me from imagining it as a massive snake with a death stare" she had told him at the time.
A moment later Dumbledore slid down, landing with a much less dignified thud, the cage sliding from his hands. The impact of the cage hitting the ground woke the rooster from its magical sleep. It squawked angrily at the rude awakening. Harry stuck his wand in and cast a silencing charm before picking up the cage. "I told you it was bumpy." He said as Dumbledore stood up, mending a tear in his robes.
"So you did." The Headmaster replied dryly. "This part of the Castle doesn't show up on any map I've ever seen." He stared at the Chamber, "It appears to be Goblin craft work." He said as he inspected a pillar.
"Neat," Harry said and began to walk briskly towards the carved face of Salazar Slytherin. "Okay Headmaster, build us a hiding place and get ready." He heard Dumbledore conjuring something and opened the cage. The, by now, very grumpy rooster pecked at his hand causing Harry to flinch before he cursed under his breath and yanked the bird out, depositing it onto the floor.
"I believe this will do," Dumbledore said from behind a makeshift three-walled stone partition in the middle of the Chamber.
"Alright, get ready," Harry said as he stepped behind the stone walls. He ducked out long enough to hiss "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!" before ducking back inside the hiding place. He cursed under his breath and ducked back out, releasing the silencing charm on the rooster and then pulled his head back just as the heavy body of the basilisk began to slide out.
"Another Sssspeaker hasss came...but thisss one ssssmellsss different."
Harry was stunned, without Tom Riddle's ghostly form controlling it, the basilisk came out slowly, inspecting everything. "H-hello there." Harry hissed, "Not to be rude, but are you at all planning on eating us?"
"Sssspeakersss have nothing to fear from sssssserpentssss."
For a moment, Harry was certain he could hear the massive snake rolling its eyes at the 'silly question'. "In my defense, the last time I met a basilisk it tried to kill me. So, I think it's perfectly fair that I asked you if you were planning on eating myself and the wizard beside me."
"Perhapsss it isss fair sssspeaker. But what I ssssssay issss true. You have opened the door of my prisssson. I am in your debt."
"Well, this is awkward." Harry said to Dumbledore, "It doesn't mean us any harm. Wait a moment," "You don't mean us any harm right? This isn't a situation where you say you won't eat us, but you will kill us. I've met an Acromantula who thought that way."
"A sssspider alwayssss sssseeeksss to twisssst the truth to ssssuit itsssss neeedsss. I sssswear to you, on the Great Ssssstar Draco, to do no harm to you or the other sssspeaker."
The rooster chose that moment to crow. At the cry of the bird, the giant serpent collapsed and died. "Damn it, it had just promised not to hurt us." Harry said as he left the shelter, "I should have stunned the rooster."
"A pity you didn't. Who knows what it could have told us." Dumbledore said sadly, "Still, it will not be wasted. Severus can make good use of the carcass."
"Or we could bury the, at least semi-sentient, being that meant us no harm." Harry said, "The basilisk swore not to harm us."
Dumbledore paused, "Very well," he said, "We can discuss this later. Now how do we get out of here?"
Harry pulled a shrunken broom from his pocket. "I brought this. I don't think it'll fit us both." He tapped his wand to it and restored the broom, flying back towards the entrance then up, leaving the Headmaster in the chamber beside the corpse.
"Fawkes!" Dumbledore called out for his familiar. The bird arrived in a flash of fire and magic. "Ah, good, come help me out of here. I need to speak with Severus about harvesting what we can from-" Fawkes screeched at him and vanished. "Fawkes! Damn it all!" Dumbledore fumed as he walked to the pipe. He applied sticking charms to his hands and began to climb the slippery pipe.
Scene Break
Harry arrived home at one minute to midnight. He raced into the house just as Padma stood there in his blue bathrobe ready to lock the doors. "Good timing." She said with a wry grin as he stepped inside panting and holding his side.
"Someone mucked with our apparition point. I had to floo over to the Tonks house and walk over." He said looking at her.
She grinned, "I may have put some wards up when you missed dinner." She told him, "So, how did it go?"
Harry laughed, "It's my turn for a hot shower. You can scrub my back while I tell you everything."
With that the pair ascended the stairs to the upstairs bathroom and quiet reigned in the home of Harry Potter.
Until the next near-death experience of course, which happened when Harry slipped and hit his head on the wall of the shower.
