A.N. Sorry for the delay, and the fact that this is a cliffie. Still, new chapter! Please R&R. Also, Fic rec at the bottom.

You will also notice I changed the paring. Sorry to all you Hermione fans out there, but enough people asked for it, and it fit so well with the story, that I went for it. That being said, it bumped Hermione from medium important to integral to the story. And no, Ron won't get Hermione. Ron probably won't get anyone.

As Harry made his way up the stairs to the headmaster's office, he was exceptionally nervous. Not about the meeting, of course, he knew he hadn't done anything wrong. No, he was concerned about Hermione. He wasn't sure what he had done to her, but he hated that he had done it. Truth be told, she was really more of a sister to him than anything else, but she was the first person he ever loved. And he hated that he had brought her pain.

But, at the same time as he worried, he felt something else. Deep inside of him, near his center, the very core of his being, he felt… confident. At peace. Even… strong. His whole life, harry had had self-confidence issues. Most of it came from not knowing his parents. Some of it came from the verbal abuse and deprivation of his 'home' life. But in the end, Harry was humble. He just was that nice sort of guy that really didn't like to lord his accomplishments over other. That was what made this feeling so odd. He suddenly knew, that on a basic level, he was better. On some subconscious level, he now saw himself as worth more than the average witch or wizard. It wasn't that he expected people to bow like Voldemort (no, like Tom. He was Just Tom to Harry now. No stupid made-up names for him!), nor did he expect his every desire to be handed to him on a silver platter like he had thought Malfoy had wanted. No, he just… was. No expected bonuses or desires, just a basic recognition of value. A galleon was worth more that a Sickle. Not better, worth more. As enjoyable as this new-found confidence was, it was also rather… confusing. Ok, it was confusing as hell. What did it mean to be better? How was he suddenly eligible for that descriptor? All in all, Harry had a lot of confusing things on his plate right now.

Finally reaching the top of the stairs, Harry made his way into the headmaster's office. The first order of business, obviously, was to make his way over to Fawkes' perch and bow. He wasn't quite sure WHY that was the first order of business, but it just felt right. As soon as he did that, the regal bird looked up with what would be considered excitement on a lower being's face, trilled happily and… welcomingly? Yes, welcomingly at Harry, gave a brief nod back, and then burst into flames and shot off into the air. Slightly surprised, Harry did the only thing he could. He took the seat across from the headmaster's chair. Just as he took his seat, Dumbledore came in with Snape right behind him, looked around for a minute, and took his own seat. Not surprisingly, Snape moved to his usual stool in the corner. The three sat there for several seconds, not talking. Eventually, the headmaster started the conversation.

"I am sure you must be wondering why I called you here." He began. Harry instantly interjected. "Up until about ten minutes ago, that was what I was wondering. Now, I am contemplating the uselessness of inherent value. You see, it just occurred to mean, that an object of inherent worth, like a diamond, has no advantage over its lesser cousin, a lump of coal, unless someone outside their perspective is capable of seeing, and acting on, the difference. Object A is rarer, harder, and prettier that B, its cousin. But to a man dying of cold, B is more to be desired, but that doesn't mean that B is more valuable, just that it is more valued. Or something like that. I am rather pants at philosophy, after all, so I'm sure I botching that horribly."

"I believe I get your point," the headmaster said, frowning like he was trying to puzzle something out, "But… what does that have to do with our meeting?"

Harry broke out grinning. "Absolutely nothing. Sorry about that. a rabbit popped in for tea, and I ended up chasing rather far down the… um, rabbit hole. That sounded better in my head. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Now Dumbledore looked very concerned, and slightly insulted. "Are you sure you are all right, Mr. Potter? You seem rather more… well, philosophical and distracted than normal. You do appear much cheerier, thankfully, but if these symptoms keep up, we will want to have Mme. Pomphrey double-check that concussion of yours."

Harry couldn't help but burst into peals of laughter. "Thanks for the concern, Dumbledore, but I'm sure it's just endorphins left over from the prank to your gargoyle. Funniest thing I've seen in a while. I'll be right as rain in no time. Was that what you wanted to call me up here for?"

Now Dumbledore was furious, not that he let it show. He, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the Heir of Merlin himself, called a student to his office, and the boy showed him none of the required respect, going so far as to forgo his titles in exchange for his last name! Children these days had no clue how to act properly! It didn't matter that Potter was a Half-Blood Muggle-raised, he should have known to show him more respect. Thank Merlin, this little snot was destined for an early grave! Snape, however, was amazed. True, Potter was showing more than a little arrogance, but he was staying polite, and he was holding his own against Snape's own master. Not that Snape would ever admit his slavery out loud of course, but he wasn't just bitter because he had to teach dumb students, that's for sure!

After a few deep breaths to calm himself, Dumbledore got back on track. After all, he had important things to learn today! "Ah, yes, of course. The reason I called you here today. There have been some questions as to what happened in the arena with the dragon. To say the least, your performance was… confusing. Can you please explain exactly what happened today?"

Harry instantly got more serious. "No, sir, I'm afraid I can't."

"Are you refusing to answer? That would not be for the best, Harry, my boy."

"I am serious, sir. I can't tell you what happened today in the arena, nor can I tell you much of what happened yesterday. I would if I could, but I just… can't"

"Why not? Are you under oath?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that, sir, which is also the reason why I can't tell you what happened. I can't tell you what I don't know."

"Do you not remember? If you are suffering memory loss, we should get you to the infirmary again."

"It's not exactly memory loss, sirs. Its more like… like a really odd, half-remembered dream. I remember a few things, but none of them make any sense, and, more than that, I don't really remember DOING anything. At least, not anything that would explain what happened during the task. I remember that I got drunk yesterday to forget that today was going to happen. I remember finding out we were facing dragons, and choosing which dragon I would be up against. I remember a very bad conversation with a former friend of mine before entering the ring. And that's about it. Anything else, you would probably remember clearer than me."

"Did you have a fever? Did you do any magic? Did someone do magic to you? Please, my boy, anything you can remember could be important."

"I am sorry sir, but I really don't remember anything. If I did…"

So deep were the two of them in their conversation, neither was paying attention to, or, really, even remembering the fact that Snape was in the room. Unfortunately, that wasn't to last. Snape was following his usual orders from Dumbledore. Sit on the sidelines with a scowl to intimidate the students, interject rudely to play 'bad cop', and probe the mind of the target for information they wanted to keep hidden, nothing he hadn't done a thousand times before, really. But this time was different. He was getting nervous. There was something dangerous in the room. The more he tried to focus, the more he couldn't. he started shaking, unable to see clearly or focus at all. He smelled fire (or was it poison?) filling the room. He could hear snakes hissing, spiders skittering, dementors growling for his soul. There was a dragon in the room, a chimera coming up the stairs, he could hear the shutters being scratched by wendigos! He couldn't take it anymore! With a massive, inhuman howl, he bolted from his stool, shooting down the stairs like a lightning bolt and gibbering in terror. Both of the other occupants of the room were completely mystified.

"What… was that?" Harry asked, completely gobsmacked.

"I… I don't know. However, I think our meeting has gone on long enough. Thank you for the information, Mr. Potter. We will award the point tomorrow over dinner. You may go."

Harry sat therefor another minute, just staring. After a bit, he shook himself, stood up and thanked the headmaster (for some reason) and left to eat. Knowing the school like he did, he knew everyone would be talking about him… again. But this time, he didn't care. Let those who want to be lesser, be lesser, and those who desire to go beyond, to prove themselves. Or, something like that. Honestly, he might need to go back to the infirmary. He was getting poetic! And arrogant, but to be honest, the poetry was more concerning.

-HP—HP-

As he made his way into the great hall for dinner, Harry thought about his day. He had battled a dragon, hurt Hermione, seen a scared gargoyle, bowed to a phoenix, saw a scared Snape, had another dumb conversation with the headmaster, and was now going to dinner, where he would definitely be the center of gossip. He was suddenly taller, stronger, smarter, calmer, and apparently more arrogant. By all rights, he should have been scared and confused, but now? Now he didn't really care. It was odd, but so many things that should have, and would have previously, bothered him, no longer mattered. Maybe this last life-and-death situation got to him, but if it did, he was glad it did. It was so… freeing to not worry about what other people thought of him. He no longer feared Malfoy, or any other denizen of the snide snakes, ruthless ravens, banal badgers, or even the grumpy and grievous gryphons.

There was that bloody poetry thing again. He really needed to get a handle on that.

As expected, as he walked in through the doors of the great hall, all conversation just… stopped. He grinned as a horrible, terrible, fantastic idea struck him when he realized the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton students weren't there today. Time to put this new-found confidence to the test. This could be fun.

"Ladies and gentleman, thank you so much for making it here today. I am sorry for being tardy, but I must admit when I announced this meeting, I never expected such a turnout." He bellowed, making his way to the front of the hall. No-one moved. Every eye was on him, and every student frozen in shock. Yes, this could be very fun.

"I have no doubt that many of you are wondering what this meeting is about, as the information provided was rather scarce, and the time and place is rather… inconvenient. The answer is simple. I actually have several rather important topics to discuss with you."

As he was talking, he moved his wand subtly, casting a series of spells to set the stage. As he reached the dais at the front of the hall, the teachers table split in two, and Dumbledore's throne slid thought the gap until it was in the middle of the table. At the same time, the rather ugly lectern started sliding backwards and turning into a lower table. Piles of documents appeared in the hands of several people in the room, with cover letters explaining the prank and their part, and all of the assistants, much to his surprise, gained excited and cheerful expressions as they read. A few other people had letters delivered to them asking for their help with interactive 'yes/no' boxes that would alert Harry of their choice. Again, much to his utter shock, almost every one he asked agreed, with just one needed adjustment. This… was going to be epic.

"As many of you know, I was entered in the Tri-Wizard Tournament as a fourth competitor, causing no small concern over why a test of three people suddenly expanded to include four. As none of you are aware, our own DADA teacher, Retired Master Auror Alastor Moody has confirmed that an exceptionally powerful confundus was placed on the Goblet of Fire to make it accept a fourth competitor. A confundus so strong, in fact, that it would require an adult wizard of some considerable power to be able to pull it off, indeed, possibly several such wizards." At this point, Harry, who had taken the seat at the front of the room, looked over to the teacher, waiting for confirmation from the teacher. When the teacher responded in the (confused) affirmative, Harry moved on.

"At the same time as this was happening, my life put in peril for the fourth school year in a row, a rather large number of social changes occurred in the school, cumulating in two teachers and two students getting drunk and spending quite the day together, if the words of our two most notable pranksters and our revered poltergeist can be trusted, a rather bad day for me involving a dragon, and interpersonal problems effectively dissolving the legendary 'golden trio of Gryffindor', as an amicable split occurred between me and Ron Weasley, and Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger directly prior to the first task. No hard feelings between us, of course, but I must say that our study habits are so different as to make it so that we, alas, cannot be as close as before. All of this has led me believe, that we as a student body need to make some changes as far as out behavior as a school goes. I will now pause my speech, to ask our various teachers to provide their opinions on our current position as far as our lesson are concerned. To begin with, would the inestimable Professors Vector, Sinistra, and Hooch give us an overview of their classes."

The three very confused teachers did exactly that, with Harry carefully cross-examining each one, prying out hidden details and thoughts on progress. Given that two of the teachers were teaching basic subjects, and the other an elective, the individual opinions of the teachers matched up. Each said that, while there were very few who excelled. The general consensus was one of… adequacy. Harry grinned. This, was exactly what he was hoping for. The Marauders had had their day. Now, Harry Potter was going to prank Hogwarts in a way it would never recover from.

A.N. What do we have here? Sounds like something fun is brewing. What will Harry do, and will it really change Hogwarts History? I can't wait for the next chapter, but sadly, you will have to. Now, the real story begins.

Fic Rec for this chapter is Harry Potter and the Hermetic Arts, book one in the Harry Potter and the Gamer's Influence series by HaikenEdge. It is a little darker than some, but the plot is incredible, the story riveting, and HARRY ADOPTS A DRAGON! So, yeah, good story.

Also, I went back to try and change every Hemione to a Hermione. Sorry about that.