Chapter 2
Albus Dumbledore was thrust, unceremoniously, into the waking world. He had no idea where he was, the last thing he remembered was having to have a meeting with his Heads of House and Potter, Bones and Moody. After that… nothing.
Looking around blearily he saw Madam Pomfrey had just thrown open the curtains causing sunlight to pour in and result in his awakening.
"Poppy? Why am I in the Hospital Wing?" He asked.
"You don't remember?" She asked worriedly.
"I seem to be missing a rather large section of memory… nothing since the end of the feast last night." He frowned.
"I'm not surprised really, you hit your head fairly hard." She admonished.
"Did I fall?" He asked, although it was more of a verbal wondering.
"Of course not, no, you managed to over power and explode your wand… you're lucky you still have most of your fingers!" She wagged a finger of her own at him.
Albus quickly looked at his hand and saw that the index and middle finger where missing off his right hand. "By Merlin… what happened?"
"I thought we covered that, Albus, your wand exploded." Poppy began running her wand over him. "Are you experiencing short term memory problems? Are you focusing properly?"
"What? Of course I am." He said angrily. "Wait… my wand?" His face paled.
"Complete ashes, I'm afraid you will have to see Ollivander about a new one." She said absently. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get the Wing ready for the day."
Poppy hid a smirk as she bustled away. She hadn't lied, as his wand had exploded slightly when Harry destroyed it. He was lucky to have most of his fingers as Moody and Filius were arguing over how many they should blast off and who got to do it.
Albus was not really focused on his fingers. Granted it was a huge loss, but his real worry was his loss of the Elder Wand. He felt that he needed all the help he could get as he knew Voldemort would return.
But then he realised something… he had overpowered the Elder Wand… he must be incredibly powerful. He doubted that Tom Riddle could do such a thing, even after all his power enhancing rituals. Potter may have to be the one to deliver the killing blow but it would be Albus Dumbledore who beat him into submission!
Harry sat down at the Slytherin table the next morning still trying to figure things out. The Bloody Baron hadn't given him any information but simply led him to what turned out to be Salazar Slytherin's old chambers. The Baron had stated that if he was to be the new Lord he would live and act like one. Then he had left. Harry had been too tired to care and just flopped down on the bed and nodded off in his clothes.
This morning he had discovered just how weak his body was after ten years of neglect and abuse by the Dursleys. His seven years in Hogwarts had allowed him to repair some of the damage but his little eleven-year-old body was barely functioning. He had headed straight to Madam Pomfrey who gave him some potions, which helped make him a little stronger for the day. She had warned him that he needed to exercise and eat right so he could stop using them.
All around him the students of all houses where whispering and pointing at him. The Boy-Who-Lived was a Slytherin. It was the biggest scandal of the century.
He could see Snape eating sullenly at the staff table. The Hat had been quite clear about what the bond entailed, there was nothing he could do to harm Harry or even his reputation on his own. He had only the freedoms his master allowed him.
There was a sudden commotion at the entrance to the hall as Draco and several other Slytherins marched in and headed straight up to Snape.
"Professor Snape, we demand Harry Potter be expelled. He has dishonoured the House of Slytherin, he entered our Lord's chambers." Said the eldest boy pompously.
Snape was desperately trying to do something to make this possibility real but before he could do anything Professor Flitwick intervened.
"Before we investigate your claims, are you aware of the bylaws of Hogwarts regarding such accusations?" He asked calmly, but there was a hint of annoyance in his eyes.
"We know that if he breaks certain bylaws he can be expelled."
"But are you aware that if your accusations are proved unfounded and the accused wins, you will suffer the punishments demanded by yourselves? In other words, you could be expelled."
"My father would never allow that." Malfoy said dismissively.
"Your father would have no say in the matter." Severus said, in his mind he was seething at his traitorous body. This was not happening to him and he would end it… somehow.
"Professor Snape is quite correct, Mister Malfoy. Hogwarts herself would deny you entrance; the bylaws are a part of her wards." Flitwick agreed.
"I believe what my colleagues are trying to say is, are you sure you wish to carry on with your current course? Especially as you will be expelled if you fail." Minerva explained.
"But he disgraced Slytherin and violated the sanctity of his chambers!" One girl said passionately. "How could he possibly get away with that?"
"The solution is obvious if you would just use your brains!" Snape snapped. That was actually his own willing contribution.
"But only Lord Slytherin can enter…" The prefect trailed off.
"Ah, I see the penny has dropped." Filius smirked.
Snape was fed up with this. "How many of you have approached the cobra portrait? How many have been allowed entrance? How many do you think have tried to force their way in? Only one student in the past century has gained access other than Potter, that student could speak to the cobra and it granted him access because he was the Lord of Slytherin. Now cease this foolishness and return to your morning meal." He dismissed them angrily before turning to his bacon and eggs.
The older students paled and began to move off, one of the prefects had to grab Draco before he could continue his protest.
Back at the Slytherin table the other first years and those that had not participated were staring at Harry.
"What?" He asked uncomfortably.
"Are you really the new Lord Slytherin?" Daphne Greengrass asked.
"Apparently." Harry shrugged unconcerned.
Tracey Davis was white as a ghost like most of her classmates. "But… that means…you…"
"Means what?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You're related to You-Know-Who!" Pansy Parkinson hissed.
"Who?"
"You know! You-Know-Who!"
"I don't know who. Last I checked I was related to the Potters… hence my name." Harry said as he put another spoon of porridge in his mouth.
"She's talking about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Daphne explained.
"If he can't be named then how am I supposed to know who she's talking about?" Harry frowned. He was really enjoying himself.
"V-V-V-V-"
"Vonder Voman?"
"Who? No! V-V-V-V-"
"Valentino?"
"She means Voldemort!" Came the highly irritated voice of Professor Snape.
The Great Hall was filled with screams and gasps with some people actually diving under the tables and running out the doors.
"Thank you Severus, for that." McGonagall said dryly she said as she stood to go and corral the frightened children.
Harry smirked quietly at the chaos before turning back to his classmates. "I'm not related to Voldemort and stop gasping, he's gone, pitiful excuse for a human that he is."
"If you are not related then how are you the new Lord of Slytherin?" Marcus Flint asked.
"Easy, I kicked his butt as a baby, and now, by Right of Conquest, Magic recognises me as the new Lord Slytherin."
"Hmph, so I just have to defeat you and I will be the new Lord of Slytherin!" Malfoy grinned.
"Mister Malfoy, you do not have the authority to initiate such a duel, only a Head of House may make such a challenge." Snape said as he handed out the timetables.
"Then how did Potter do it?"
"Isn't it obvious? I thought everybody knew what happened that night." Harry rolled his eyes. "First he killed my father, that made my mother the Head of House. Then he killed my mother, making me the Head of House. Then I destroyed him, making me the new Lord of Slytherin." Harry looked at Draco with a curious smile. "Would you like me to inform your father that you wish to challenge him for the Headship of your house?"
At this point Severus Snape once again found himself a passenger in his own body as it betrayed him. "Actually, all Death Eaters entered their houses into a Vassal arrangement with the Dark Lord in his role as Lord Slytherin. Mister Potter has inherited those arrangements."
Everyone including Harry looked at Snape in surprise.
"Wow! I really need to go speak with the Hat some more." Harry muttered.
There were two lessons on his first day that Harry enjoyed. Potions… because he could see Snape seething in his head whilst his body provided a lesson on safety and brewing that surpassed all previous lessons… by any potions professor… ever.
The other was Transfiguration.
Harry made it to class with time to spare. As with his first time as a firstie the Professor was sitting on her desk as a cat. Seeing as they were nearly all there… barring Ron who still managed to be late… Harry decided to have more fun.
"Well my fellow students. It seems that we are currently without a teacher." He smiled as he walked up to the front of the class.
The cat watched him curiously.
"But, I actually know some transfiguration!" He beamed a Lockhart grin. "First of all we need an object as this will be transfiguration and not conjuration. Everybody take out your Transfiguration text book."
There were wary looks between the students.
"Come on, come on! No dilly-dallying! We don't have all day. Get out your books." He ordered as he gave his best impression of a teacher.
Eventually everyone had them ready.
"Excellent now the incantation is 'Continenfors'. This will be cast at our books turning them into a bowl. The important things to remember are to imagine what the bowl will look like and to be firm in your incantation. Remember, this is your magic, your wand and your book. You own them all and they will obey you. So be forceful without being violent. Like so:
"Continenfors!"
The class watched in amazement as the boy-who-lived-and-had-never-had-a-lesson-before turned his book into a simple metal bowl approximately fifty centimetres in diameter.
"Go on then, give it a shot. Weasley, get in and sit down. You're late." Harry snapped at the tardy boy.
He was so believable as a teacher that Ron didn't even question being taken to task by another student.
"Come on, remember, its 'Continenfors'." Harry instructed.
All around the room students started incanting. This went on for several minutes. Harry absently began stroking the cat.
The cat gave a sudden squawk as Harry picked it up and cradled it whilst still stroking it. He began walking around the room whilst giving advice. Quite a few students had managed to get the book to take the shape of the bowl but none had managed to get it to be metal or solid. They were simply bowl shaped books.
"Ok! Wands down everybody." Harry instructed. "I said wands down!" He said with a slight snap. "Now then, some of you had a good start and some of you got nowhere. Let's start with those first.
"Seamus, you didn't get any change. Explain to me how you tried to cast the spell. What did you say?"
"Ah' said 'Continenfors'." The boy scowled in his thick Irish brogue.
"Excellent. Now, what were you thinking of?" Harry asked.
"Making ah' bowl." There was something about Seamus' body language that made him look guilty.
"Really?" Harry asked sceptically. "Was there anything else going through your mind?"
"No." He said petulantly.
"If you aren't honest then I can't help you, you will forever fail because of it. You won't lose points or marks for telling me what was going through your mind, but I need to know before I can help you succeed."
Seamus huffed. "I was thinking about filling tha' bowl wi' rum, ok?" He snapped.
Harry tried to smother a smile. "How many of you were thinking about uses for the bowl you were going to make?" Harry asked the class.
A few hands went up.
"An important rule for casting is that your mind must be focused on the task at hand. If you are trying to transfigure a book to a bowl and are thinking about chicken dinner you are more likely to wind up with a chicken shaped book! Your sole focus should be the bowl. Its look, its feel. All of you; try again."
The classroom was again filled with sound of young voices incanting.
The results were much better this time. A lot of the bowls were nearly wooden but a few had a nice metallic finish.
"Wands down!" Harry instructed. "An excellent improvement." Harry praised them. "I suggest that you practice so that you can achieve better results. You can then use what you learnt about focus from this spell and apply it to others." Harry put the cat down and picked up his wand.
"I will now demonstrate a charm." Harry informed them. "Aguamenti!"
He pointed his wand at his own bowl and filled it with water.
Once full, he turned back to the class. "The wand movement is that of a wave." Harry demonstrated. "With these two spells you will never be without water to drink. An important survival tip for you.
"Now, I will show you a very unique technique." Harry said seriously. "Animal to human transformations. It is more of a ritual that requires a transfigured bowl and conjured water."
"Mrow?" The cat said with suspicion.
"We take an animal, such as this delightful little kitty, and we bathe it in water, like so."
The cat screeched and leapt out of his arms, transforming into Minerva McGonagall as it landed.
"And there you have it class! A perfect animal to human transformation!" Harry crowed triumphantly.
The class was looking on in awe… except Hermione who was viciously flipping through her textbook looking for the documentation.
"Mister Potter!" Minerva screeched.
"Class, as you can see, the specimen now has all of the speech and mental abilities of a human as though it were that human."
"Potter!" She took a step closer.
"In fact, the specimen has no idea it ever was an animal."
"Sit down Mister Potter!"
"Catnip?" Harry asked innocently as he held up a hand holding the feline addictive substance.
Minerva involuntarily moved forward to sniff his hand.
"As you can see, the specimen retains some of its natural instincts." Harry lectured.
Minerva raised her wand with difficulty and vanished the source of her addiction. "Harry Potter, take your seat now!"
"Does anyone have any questions?" Harry asked as he ignored the fuming teacher. "Pavarti, yes?"
"How do you reverse the process?" She asked curiously.
"Oh for Merlin's sake." The Professor groaned.
"It's difficult, but it can be done." Harry nodded gravely. "Often you need to just wait for the specimen to revert on its own. But otherwise…" He raised his wand quickly and cast a transfiguration that turned the Professor into a cat that largely resembled the Professor's previous feline form.
The cat started to growl at him.
"Erm… that's it for class today." Harry said hastily as the cat backed down into a pouncing position. "Your homework is to be able to complete the book to bowl transfiguration, research animagus or ask Granger about it and finally… ask the Weasley twins about the perils of pranking teachEEERSSS!" Harry practically screamed the last bit as he ran from the room with an angry cat on his tail.
The rest of the class turned to Hermione who started to giggle in realisation.
"What's so funny?" Neville, her table partner asked.
"I think Professor McGonagall is a cat animagus. She can turn herself into a cat. Harry knew this and took over her lesson."
"Why is that funny?"
"Because right now Harry Potter is being chased through the school by a professor in the shape of a cat."
Harry ran to the only place he could think of. The hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey was shocked as the school's celebrity student came barrelling in before darting behind her.
"Protect me Madam Pomfrey! An evil cat is after me!"
Poppy could see the laughter in the boy's eyes and wondered what was going on.
Her answer arrived in the form of her colleague in cat form.
"Is there a reason you are stalking Mister Potter, Minerva?" She asked as she valiantly tried not to smile.
Valiant though her efforts were… she failed.
The cat began meowing and hissing and growling.
Poppy raised an eyebrow at the fact that Minerva had not transformed to human form. She took out her wand and cast some diagnostic spells.
She then determined the problem and reversed the transfiguration.
"Really Minerva, beaten by a first year?" Poppy chided teasingly.
"That… first year is a menace!" She hissed. "He not only took over my class but he threatened to… bathe me in some fantasy ritual." She said bathe like a curse.
"Minerva! Harry is only eleven, I doubt he has those urges yet." Poppy scowled.
Harry looked a little green as Minerva was outraged.
"As a cat! He was going to bathe me as a cat."
"Perhaps one of you could give me a full accounting of what has occurred? As enjoyable as hearing snippets is, I believe I need the full story."
"The Profess-"
"I will tell the story Mister Potter." Minerva said warningly.
Poppy chuckled as she pulled up a chair and indicated for Harry to sit on a nearby bed. She then listened to Minerva's tale with much enjoyment.
"Do you agree with Professor McGonagall's recounting, Mister Potter?" She asked as Minerva finished.
"She forgot the homework I set, but that's about right."
"Homework?"
"To be able to perform the book to bowl transfiguration by the next lesson, to ask or research animagi and to ask the Weasley Twins about the perils of pranking a teacher." Harry shrugged.
"Harry, did you know the cat was Professor McGonagall at the beginning of the lesson?" She asked shrewdly.
Harry looked sheepish. "Yes'm."
"How many of your fellow students managed to complete the book to bowl transfiguration?"
"None of them. They all managed to make something that will hold water, but only a few had anything near metallic."
Poppy nodded. "Minerva, what were you planning to do to Mister Potter?"
"Aside from getting him to change me back?" She asked with a sarcastic sneer.
"Minerva." Poppy said warningly.
"The boy will be serving detentions, that is for certain."
"Good, then give him some points and make him your assistant in class."
"The boy is a menace worse than his father!"
"Yes, and quite the prodigy." Poppy said calmly. "Personally I think he would give James a run for his money in raw talent. Even if most of his knowledge does come from that blasted scar, he still has the skill to use it. Give him his detentions and make him work on OWL level spells. Maybe if you get him to pass his exams early you can be rid of him."
"Aww… more work?" Harry groaned. "I already had to teach a class today."
"Silence Harry, you brought this on yourself." Poppy chastised, she was enjoying herself far too much.
At dinner that evening things became quite awkward when Seamus Finnegan wobbled unsteadily over to the Slytherin table and up to Harry with a ridiculous dopey grin on his face.
"You're a'righ' Po'er." The boy slurred. "You know your stuff… best… day… ever."
Seamus then collapsed in a heap on the floor.
Severus and Minerva quickly rushed over.
"Disgusting. The boy is drunk." Severus sneered.
"Impossible! Where would he get alcohol?" Minerva challenged.
"I blame those reprobate twins of yours." Severus smirked.
"Perhaps Seamus could use a sobering potion?" Harry suggested pointedly to his Head of House.
Of course from Severus' point of view it was more of an order and he merely turned on his heel and left to carry it out.
"Erm, Professor, I think Seamus managed to transfigure the water into rum." Tracey Davis said hesitantly.
"How on Earth would he know how to do that?"
"I don't know Ma'am, but I overheard him talking about it as we were leaving class."
Harry had to bury his face in his hands as he tried not to laugh. Apparently he was so good a teacher that whereas in his previous time round Seamus had blown himself up, this time round he had the focus to actually make the rum.
Quirrenus Quirrell was truly nervous. Not the simpering, stuttering fool he played to trick Dumbledore and the rest of the school, no… he was beginning to get truly worried. He was seated at his desk and pulling yet another nail from his purple turban. So far he counted ten, and that didn't include the ones he had seen embed themselves in doorframes, walls, blackboards and other surfaces.
He was beginning to think his cover was blown.
"Cease your infernal worries, you fool!" His master hissed into his mind. "It is clearly some childish prank, your act as a bumbling idiot is clearly working and some of the more rambunctious children are capitalising on it."
"As you say, My Master, but should one of these nails hit their target, I may be forced to seek medical attention and that would risk exposing you!"
"You truly are a pitiful creature that a tiny piece of metal scares you." The Dark Lord hissed in disgust. "A simple Obliviate will deal with anyone who discovers me."
"Of course, My Lo- OW!"
Quirrell suppressed the urge to moan in further pain as he rubbed his ear where it seemed one of the nails had hit its target.
Harry was having the time of his life. His first week back at Hogwarts and he was top of the year academically. His professors commented that he had a very mature essay writing method. Harry didn't care, he did his homework as soon as he got it, he knew he would have to start studying by third year but for now, first year work was boringly easy.
His current project was Quirrell. He couldn't just kill him, but it was on his list of backup plans. No, what he wanted was to expose Voldemort; so he had taken to banishing nails at Quirrell's turban to try and unwrap it.
His aim sucked.
He decided to take a break for a few days, after he had actually got one on the man's ear, to avoid drawing suspicion. But it was still fun. He also had plenty of ideas.
Over the past week he had been presented his cloak by a suit of armour that had apparently marched into the old man's office and taken it whilst the old man fired spell after spell at it. He had followed the armour all the way to the Great Hall where the students were having lunch.
The students watched in amazement as the suit marched up to Harry and bowed low.
"Mister Potter, you must return that cloak to me!" The Headmaster ordered.
"Why? Is it yours?" Harry asked.
"You know full well that it is not, but you are clearly not ready to handle such a responsibility."
"If it's not yours then you don't have the right to say that." Harry shrugged as he carefully placed the cloak in his bag.
"I am far older and wiser than you are and-"
"Prove it." Harry interrupted.
"I beg your pardon?" Albus asked taken aback.
"Prove you are older and wiser."
Albus was slightly flustered for a moment before he rallied himself. "The fact that you even asked such a thing shows I am."
"How?"
"What?"
"How does it prove it?" Harry rolled his eyes.
"I'm afraid you wouldn't understand." The aging Headmaster said sagely.
"Well… there are over two hundred people here right now ranging from me and my fellow firsties up to Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. I'm sure someone will understand and be able to dumb it down for me."
Dumbledore then realised that he had an audience… and some of them were livid.
"This is neither the time nor the place, Mister Potter. Now, I will just take that cloak for saf-"
*CLANK*
"AH! MY DOSE!"
"EWWWW"
The assembled Slytherins quickly backed away as they were splattered by blood flying from the Headmaster's nose thanks to the metallic fist of the suit of armour impacting with his face.
"Midder Potter! Dat wad uncalled for!" Albus said angrily as he held his fractured face.
"I didn't do it! He did!" Harry said pointing accusingly at the suit of armour.
Unfortunately the armour merely turned and bowed to Harry.
"Albus! Cease this ridiculous farce!" Minerva ordered angrily as she stormed down with Poppy. "You were warned by Mister Potter and Madam Bones that you would be charged with stealing if you didn't return his family heirloom. Now go with Poppy and get your nose fixed."
"Midder Potter id clearly do immadure do be trudded wid de cloak!"
"Dat is- THAT is not your decision."
"Maybe he could use an escort to the Hospital Wing." Harry muttered.
To Harry and the student's amusement the suit of armour bowed again before grabbing the Headmasters elbow and frog-marching him away and ignoring the protests of his captive.
"Are you sure you didn't have anything to do with that?" Tracey Davis leaned over and asked as they watched the Deputy Headmistress and School Nurse follow the unusual pair out of the Great Hall.
"I don't think I did." Harry scratched his head thoughtfully. "I didn't even ask the suit of armour to get me my cloak."
"What's so special about a cloak?" Daphne asked.
"It was my father's. It's his invisibility cloak and it's all I have left of my parents." Harry said sadly.
Both girls and Pansy gave Harry a look of sadness. With Draco temporarily neutralised things were rather nice in Slytherin. He still tried to lord over everyone and insult their social standing and bloodlines, but he was rather ineffective.
The other thing that happened was Harry had confronted Hermione. He actually found it cute this time round, how she would try and answer every question. Unfortunately she was very annoyed with him because he was ahead of her on winning points and grades. But Harry didn't want her to suffer the same way she did last time so he cornered her one afternoon when classes had let out.
"You have to stop trying to answer every question." He said bluntly.
"What? Why? I suppose you want to be the one to answer them." She sniffed indignantly.
"Have you seen me putting my hand up?" Harry asked pointedly. "No, I know that I know the stuff. The teachers know because they have seen my work."
"Then why don't you put your hand up if you do know the answers?" She asked doubtfully.
"Because the questions aren't meant for us." Harry smiled. "They are meant for the rest of the class who might not know the answers."
"That doesn't make any sense!" She argued. "If they don't know the answers then why would they try to answer?"
"Professor Flitwick says that they ask the questions so that the students can think about the question and work out the answer. You and I know the answer and don't have to work it out. We have it committed to memory already. So… by answering the questions we are hurting our classmates' chances of learning."
"What about questions about facts? Like history questions, or names of plants and their attributes?" She asked, she was having trouble believing a teacher wouldn't want them answering questions.
"Apparently it is to do with helping them remember stuff. If we let them try and focus, they might remember. If they give the right answer then they will remember it because they are praised, if they don't they will remember because they are told they were wrong. Professor Sprout told me that one."
"Why did you ask the Professors these questions?" She asked suspiciously.
Harry just smiled warmly. "Because I saw that your actions were making you unlikeable. You should see the looks Ron Weasley gives you.
"You really should go to Ravenclaw, you will have a much better group of people to study with."
"Maybe if I stay in Gryffindor they will learn better study habits." She countered primly.
"Or you could damage their self-esteem and force them into habits that don't work for them.
"Why did you want to go into Gryffindor?" Harry asked. He knew the answer from his first time in Hogwarts, but the answer might not hold water at this point.
"It's where Headmaster Dumbledore went."
"And he's such a great role-model." Harry laughed.
Hermione was livid. "Headmaster Dumbledore is a great man! He has done so many things!"
"That just makes him experienced, I would have thought that having seen him around me, you'd realise that he's not the best person. Besides, if you want a role model, follow Professor Flitwick."
"I want more than just academia." Hermione sighed unhappily.
"Then Professor Flitwick is your man." Harry declared. "Did you know he is a Champion Dueller?"
"Of course I do!" She said indignantly.
"Right… what was I thinking." He sighed with a smile. "Go and talk to Professor Flitwick, tell him about everything we talked about and you might find life becoming a bit nicer here."
The next day Hermione had sought him out and thanked him. She still answered a lot of questions but she only put her hand up if it seemed that no one knew the answers.
Harry was now sitting in his room with the Sorting Hat trying to get some answers.
"It's only natural that the Castle wants to aid and protect you. You are the Master and she is your very willing servant." The Hat assured him.
"Was it like this for all the heirs… what about Riddle?"
"Ah… Riddle." The Hat spoke with some shame. "It seems that we might have aided in the making of Voldemort. The power and prestige the Castle granted him amongst his peers only fuelled his ego.
"Make no mistake, he was a sick minded little boy when he got here, but we didn't help."
"But it's ok to help me?"
The Hat laughed. "You aren't a greedy little eleven-year-old with no compassion. You have lived seventeen years and subconsciously dedicated your life to helping others!"
"I have?"
"Professor Flitwick has been around to ask if I would talk to Miss Granger about the houses again. Something about a green-eyed boy discussing the important things in life with her?"
Harry blushed. "I just wanted her to have a better start to her schooling than she did the last time."
"And you helped her, even if you weren't intending to be altruistic, you were."
Harry sat there for a moment. If he was honest with himself then, yes, he did seem to go out of his way to help people.
"So I should expect the castle to be keeping an eye on me?" He asked warily.
"Think of it like a child wanting to make sure it's parent is ok."
"Don't you mean a parent wanting to make sure it's child is ok?"
"Usually, but the Castle is unique with its regard for you. To everyone else it is motherly, but from you it seeks love and comfort."
"Really not sure I'm the best person for the job." Harry muttered.
"Tough! Now, let's focus on more important things." The Hat said sternly. "Are you really going to spend all year firing nails at Quirrell just to try and expose Voldemort?"
"Of course not, in a few weeks I was going try fire. I also have a plan that involves Cornish Pixies!" Harry declared proudly.
"By the mercy of the gods." The Hat groaned. "Why don't you just report him to Madam Bones?"
"And how am I going to explain that I knew he was carrying Voldemort around?"
"Because the Castle told you?"
"Wait… are you asking me to lie or are you telling me that the Castle actually knows that Quirrell has Voldemort because it can sense it?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"I think we are well past the point of caring about lying, Harry." The Hat chuckled. "The Castle has wards to detect dark magic… Voldemort is as dark as they come. I told you we knew about Quirrell at your Sorting, the Castle and myself are not able to communicate with the outside world, especially against the wishes of the Headmaster. But you, as Lord of Slytherin, can hear what we say and speak on our behalf."
"Why doesn't Dumbledore just deal with him?"
"He wants to try and save Quirrell, remember?" The Hat scoffed.
"Save Quirrell? By putting temptation at his front door?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Indeed, and that doesn't even take into account that you and I know he is committed to his master."
"Is Dumbledore clinically insane?" Harry asked.
"I wouldn't know, he certainly acts like he has lost his marbles at times."
"Wow, and I still have to deal with the Basilisk, Pettigrew, Sirius, the Tri-Wizard Cup and the horcruxes." Harry sighed.
"Nobody said you have to do this alone, Harry." The Hat said soothingly.
"Of course not, I just have to convince people to help me without telling them everything I know!"
"Let's deal with Quirrell first and handle the rest later."
Convincing Amelia Bones was actually fairly simple. Harry had gone with Professor Flitwick to see Professor McGonagall who had invited Amelia Bones to Hogwarts. The word of the Sorting Hat was enough to convince them all. It also begged the question from Amelia:
"Why the devil hasn't Dumbledore done anything about this?"
"He's on this whole redemption thing." Harry shrugged as they sat in Harry's chambers. Being the Lord of Slytherin came with a few perks like access to the outside of the Slytherin Dorms directly from his room and Floo access.
"Albus Dumbledore would do well to remember his place!" Amelia fumed. "It is my job to handle crimes and the punishments befitting them!"
"Why is Voldemort even hiding in a school professor?" Filius asked.
"The Philosopher's Stone." The Hat said solemnly.
"I beg your pardon?" Amelia asked.
Minerva sighed. "Albus decided to remove the Philosopher's Stone that belongs to Nicholas Flamel from Gringotts and hide it in the castle. He tasked various teachers with creating traps and tasks to protect it."
"Including Quirrell." The Hat added.
"WHAT?" Came the collective response from the adults.
"Why the devil would he do that if he knows Quirrell is possessed?" Minerva asked.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but a first year, Harry especially, could easily get past my task. Albus refused to let me install some active protection wards that even You-Know-Who would falter at." Filius admitted.
"Why 'especially Harry'?" Pomona asked, she had been updated on the situation with Harry, Snape and Dumbledore as everyone thought she was trustworthy and deserved to know.
"Young Lord Slytherin here is quite the Seeker." Filius grinned. Harry looked a little shocked. "I quite enjoy an early morning walk around the grounds, my boy. I've seen you practising."
Harry was very relieved, but so was the Hat as both were worried that the tiny charms master had discovered Harry's true secret.
"Harry's future in Quidditch aside we need a plan to deal with the You-Know-Who."
"How about Lord No Name?" Harry piped up.
"I beg your pardon?" Amelia asked.
"Everyone is afraid of his name, but he was beaten by a baby and lost everything. The Hat was telling me about how Draco could be cast out of his house for challenging me because it would be seen as challenging his father and that would make him 'Draco No Name'. So call Voldemort 'Lord No Name'. Seems fitting."
"And quite the slap in the face." Filius giggled.
"And legally binding." Amelia mused. "Anyway, regarding Lord No Name… we need a plan."
"Why not just stun Quirrell?" Minerva asked.
"Quirrell was not given the post of DADA professor lightly, Minerva. He was highly skilled, I trained him myself at duelling." Filius warned.
"Would you like to have some fun with some people?" Harry asked the adults with a cheeky grin as a plan formed in his mind.
