Chapter 7

~Hogwarts, Harry's first day in Hogwarts~

Harry woke up. He heard Terry, Michael and Anthony snoring, and quietly crept out to the stairs with his knife.

In the common room, Harry started stretching. When he was done, he walked out of the common room and started running.

Lily had said that Hogwarts was huge, but Harry didn't fully understand this until he started running down the Ravenclaw tower and back up. He only managed to do it twice before heading into the common room again.

Inside, a few people had woken up. Most of them sat in the chairs, yawning, but Hermione was sitting at the table, reading. The book she had was huge, even for a Ravenclaw, and Harry walked over to her, curious.

"What are you reading?"

She turned another page, and spoke almost absentmindedly. "Hogwarts, a History. I'm looking for a map of the castle, until I get to know my schedule."

"It's a waste of time," said a voice from behind them. Turning, they saw it was Roger. "Hogwarts is Unplottable. So, you can't make a map of it."

Hermione looked a bit panicked. "But what about getting to our classes in time? We wouldn't be able to navigate Hogwarts easily with a map, let alone without one!"

Roger chuckled. "Just ask any student second year or up. They'll know where to go. And anyway, the only teachers you need to worry about are Professor McGonnagal and Professor Snape. The others know how hard it is to navigate the castle, so they'll go easy on you."

Harry was confused. "Why make Hogwarts Unplottable? What's the point in not being able to make a map of it?"

"That's not what it's for, Harry. Hogwarts is Unplottable so that if Muggles found it, they wouldn't be able to mark it down on a map. That is, if they got past all the other wards."

Hermione was now curious as well. "Like what?"

Roger shrugged. "Like, Muggle-Deterring Charms and Illusions. The castle would look like an old broken down cottage to a Muggle." Roger leaned in. "Legend has it that Godric Gryffindor made a few more that were a bit more lethal, so the headmasters shut them off. They couldn't banish them completely, though, so now there are just dormant wards lying around, waiting to be turned back on."

Harry raised his eyebrows. He would have to let his dad know how defensible Hogwarts was; they could use this in a bad spot. His dad had little demon uprisings all the time, they were usually more annoying than anything else. There was the occasional dangerous one, however, and Harry felt that Crowley could really use a place like this in case things went south.

Harry stood back up. "I'll see you guys at breakfast, I need to change before my classes."

Roger nodded. "See you, Harry."

Hermione waved. "Bye, Harry."

~ Later, at breakfast~

Harry came down to the Great Hall in not-sweat-soaked clothes, and headed over to Hermione. "Hey Hermione, what do you have first?" he asked, as he served himself some toast and eggs.

Hermione looked at her schedule. "Charms, with Professor Flitwick."

Harry checked his. "Same here. With Hufflepuff?"

"Yes. Do you think they just put all the House's first years in the same periods?"

"I think so. What about after that?"

Hermione looked at her schedule again. "Potions, with Professor Snape."

They were interrupted by a girl walking over awkwardly, with her friends giggling and pointing behind her. "Excuse me, but are you American?" she asked shyly.

Harry sighed, and put his face in his hands. "Why is this such a big thing?"

"Because everyone who is here is British," said Padma matter-of-factly. "Having an American in Hogwarts is unheard of."

Harry, exasperated but unwilling to be rude, stood up from the Ravenclaw table, and held out his hand to the Hufflepuff girl. "Harry MacLeod-Potter, at your service."

The girl, clearly surprised he hadn't brushed her off, blushed and took his hand. "Susan Bones. My aunt works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Never heard of it, but I'm sure it's important."

Susan blushed again, and walked back to her table. Harry shook his head and sat back down beside Hermione. A few seats down the table, Roger and his friends were shaking with controlled laughter. "Harry," said Roger, wiping his tear stained face. "You're going to need to get used to that, my friend."

This caused his friends to explode with laughter again, and Harry grinned.

When breakfast was over, Harry headed out the Great Hall with everyone else, but instead of going up the stairs with Hermione and Padma, he left the group with the excuse of going to the bathroom, and walked into a dark corner where no one could see him. There, he shadow traveled upstairs to try to find the Charms classroom.

~Professor McGonnagal's POV, at the same time~

Professor McGonnagal had followed the first years out of breakfast, intent on finding Harry MacLeod-Potter to tell him Professor Dumbledore wanted to see him. She saw him walking away from the students and followed him, but when she went around the corner to get him, she found nothing. Looking around, she didn't see any door he could have gone in. Blaming it on a trick of the light, she decided she would find him when Filius's class was done.

~Harry's POV, when he found the classroom~

Harry traveled out of Hell in front of the classroom needed. He was glad time didn't pass the same in Hell as it did in the real world, or Harry would be tardy to every single class.

Walking in, he found a goblin walking around, setting books on desks and getting ready to teach the lesson.

"Hello," said Harry. "I didn't know we had a goblin teaching Charms, I heard there was some prejudice against them."

Professor Flitwick, Harry remembered, turned and greeted him. "You must be the American Ravenclaw I have. Good to meet you, my boy! And smart too, first one to find the class this quickly!"

Harry shrugged. "I got some help from the other students."

Professor Flitwick nodded, then continued putting books on desks. Harry, feeling slightly uncomfortable not doing anything, said, "Professor Flitwick, may I help you?"

The Professor turned in surprise. He couldn't remember the last time a student had offered to help him. He smiled widely and accepted Harry's helping hands. "Why, yes! Thank you, Harry. I would use a spell, but these books are slightly fragile, and the spell is not exactly gentle. Ten points to Ravenclaw."

Harry nodded, and started placing the books on the rest of the desks. This was the scene the rest of the class walked into, and Hermione came up to him. "Harry, how did you find your way up here so fast? We were walking around for ten minutes, and we had to go back down to the Great Hall to try to find our way again."

Harry shrugged again, and placed the last book on the desk. Walking back to the desk he had placed his bag beside, and said, "I don't know what to tell you, Hermione, I just got lucky."

Hermione humphed, and sat beside Padma, across the aisle. When most of the class settled in, with most of the other students slightly scared of the bulky American in the third row, Flitwick started the class. "Alright, students! Today we will be starting Charms, the most important class in Hogwarts, in my opinion."

Suddenly the door at the back of the class opened, and some more students trickled in. Among them were Susan, and Harry waved her over. "Hey," he said, when she was sitting beside him.

"Hello," she replied. "What have I missed?"

"Nothing. Just the Professor gushing over his favorite subject."

Susan chuckled, and opened her book.

Harry, following suit, couldn't believe his eyes. His mother had taught him some of the spells she remembered from first year, and looking at the index, it looked like there were only two or three that Lily had forgotten. Couple that with the fact that Harry had practiced the spells as soon as he had gotten his wand from Discreet Magical Products, and Harry had read his textbook the moment he got it, and Harry would need a new textbook.

While the rest of the class was listening to Professor Flitwick's lecture about Charms theory, Harry was considering his dilemma. He had a photographic memory, so there was no chance of him forgetting what he had read. He would probably have to practice the spells a bit more, but after that, Harry might be able to progress to the second year by December, at the latest. Harry would also need to see what other classes he would need new textbooks for.

"Harry," whispered Susan. Harry looked around, and saw that the rest of the class were writing in their notebooks. "Professor Flitwick asked us to go to page fifty and write notes on Charms theory."

Harry sat back in his chair for a moment and tried to remember that chapter. It had mentioned Gilderoy Lockhart, along with Vindictus Viridian discovering the differences between charms and jinxes. He leaned forward and started to write down the notes.

Susan watched in amazement as Harry wrote about Viridian and Adalbert Waffling discovering the uses of the Pointer Charm, along with how charms could be used for Defense Against the Dark Arts, without even opening his book. Looking down at her own notes, she couldn't find anything that was incorrect.

Harry noticed her face and grinned, whispering, "Photographic memory."

Susan stared at him for a moment longer, then shook her head and continued with her own work.

At the end of class, Harry walked up to Flitwick's desk. "Professor, I wanted to talk to you about something."

The Professor looked up at him. "Yes, what is it, Harry?"

"Well, I have a photographic memory, and I read my textbook. I also practiced the spells my mother described and demonstrated, and I could do most of them. So, when I opened my book, to take down some notes, I found that there was almost nothing I hadn't already cast."

Flitwick put down his quill and crossed his arms. He looked surprised, and deservedly so. "Harry, I want you to calm me down. Cast a Calming Charm on me."

Harry did so, and Flitwick looked a bit less surprised. He actually looked tired. "Ok, Harry now cheer me up."

Harry did that as well, and Flitwick looked ready to jump out of his chair. "My, Harry, you put a lot of power in those spells! From the level you're on, we just need to teach you a bit of history on Charms, how to regulate your power level when casting, and you could be in second year!"

Harry was happy to hear that. At that moment, Professor McGonnagal walked into the room. "Mr. Potter, the Headmaster would like to see you."

Harry was confused. "Did I do something wrong?" Harry really hoped not, getting sent back to America on his first day would not exactly make his parents proud.

"I don't know, Mr. Potter, but I would suggest going there now."

Harry nodded, and started for the door. He was stopped by Professor Flitwick's voice saying, "Harry, ask Professor Dumbledore about your problem. He'll know what to do."

"Yes, sir," replied Harry, and he walked out.

~Outside Dumbledore's office, a few minutes later~

Harry stood outside the gargoyles with Professor McGonnagal. After she said something to them (Fizzing Whizbees) they opened, and Harry walked up the staircase. McGonnagal stayed downstairs, heading to her class.

When he got to the Headmaster's office, he raised his hand to knock. Instead, the door drifted open.

Harry, walking in, found nothing that made sense. At all. There were spinning instruments that did nothing but make dripping noises, and others that hopped in a circle. On the walls were paintings of men and women that did nothing but stare down at Harry, and make him feel slightly uncomfortable.

There was one thing, though, that caught Harry's attention. At the end of the room, there was a desk, with an old man that Harry assumed was the headmaster.

But what held Harry's attention was the beautiful red and gold bird that sat on its perch.

Harry walked towards it in a trance. Dumbledore, sensing something that he did not fully understand was about to happen, did nothing but watch. Harry reached out to touch the bird, but froze when it turned to look at him. The bird looked over the hand that was stretched out in front of it, then lowered its head in permission.

Harry slowly lowered his hand to pet the bird. As his hand touched the bird's plumage, Harry and Dumbledore heard a shriek outside the castle.

The office was silent except for the numerous drips and clicks of the instruments, and Harry heard nothing else.

Dumbledore was listening for another shriek, but, hearing nothing, turned to the boy that had fascinated him within a minute of stepping into his office.

The Headmaster decided to be the first to break the silence. "Hello, my boy."

Harry turned back to the Headmaster, startled. Unconsciously, he started to stroke the bird again. "Hello, Headmaster. What was that? And what kind of bird is this?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Call me Dumbledore, Harry. This is Fawkes, a phoenix. As for what we heard, I do not know."

Dumbledore got up from his chair and walked around to Harry. "I asked for you because I wished to ask you something. Your last name- where is it from? Are you the son of Lily and James Potter?"

Harry's eyes darkened. "No. I am the son of Lily and Crowley MacLeod-Potter; James Potter was my mother's husband before he died. He also thought it was fine to beat his wife. My father saved her, and I was born shortly afterward."

Dumbledore's eyes widened at all this information. Seeing the lad was offended, Dumbledore hastily explained. "I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to be insensitive. I knew your mother and James. They helped me defeat the Dark Lord. I never knew where they went, so I assumed they had died in the battle."

Harry relaxed. He could see that the Headmaster had meant it as an innocent question, so he forced down his anger. He also could sense that there was no maliciousness meant. "Yes, sir. I understand."

Harry sensed Dumbledore's relief, and continued. "Sir, I was wondering if I could progress to the second year early, when Professor Flitwick says I'm ready. I studied my Charms at home, so I know most of them already. The Professor said he just needed to teach me some history and control, and I would be ready."

Dumbledore nodded. "If Filius thinks you're ready, then you may progress as fast as you need."

Harry nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Dumbledore smiled. "No, thank you, Harry. You answered my question, personal as it may be, and that is worth much more." He looked at his clock. "Now go, or you will be late to Professor Snape's class."

Harry nodded, and walked out.

~In the Forbidden Forest, during Harry's and Dumbledore's meeting~

In the same hollow from eight years ago, the phoenix felt its master touch another phoenix. And in its territory, too! The black and white phoenix got up and stretched, and flew off into the night. If it was going to meet its master soon, it intended for it to be on a full stomach.

Thank you guys for how this story is being recepted. I know that this chapter took longer to write, but I was sick, and I was helping my friend move out. I'm back now, though! And this chapter was hard to write. The beginning was bland, but I know where I'm going with the next chapter. To my one review, from the very prestigious Silver Dragonflymoon:

Thank you.

That wraps it up! See you guys next chapter, Gridline out.