Disclaimer: You're reading fan-fic. Enough Said.
A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Several errors and inconsistencies were pointed out by a rather rude Heinleinian critic. Despite his lack of tack we decided we were early enough in the story to go back and fix the problems. At the same time we added a few things we thought about that needed to be there. This has caused us to make many changes to the first four chapters, though the prologue stays the same.
Harry Potter and The Winter Court Chapter 5
Harry took his time getting to the bathroom where Hermione was hiding. During the walk he was very careful to keep his grip loose so Ron would not pass out. He wanted a few minutes to talk with the young idiot before they arrived. "You really shouldn't treat people like that."
He waited until they reached the next floor before he continued, "Not only could you end up hurting an innocent unnecessarily, but you could be hurt in return by one of that person's friends."
Finally reaching the floor of their destination Harry decided to relieve the redhead's fears. "I'm not going to hurt you now. But I would appreciate it if you apologized to my only friend."
When they reached the hall Harry noticed a rank smell hovering in the air like a toilet had backed up a few days ago. He dropped Ron and began running toward the bathroom, saying over his shoulder, "If she's hurt it's your fault."
Ron stood their processing this last part when the smell registered with a description he had once heard. Troll.
The raven-haired boy burst into the bathroom and skidded to a halt on the wet floor. Hermione had obviously dodged the first swing of the huge creatures club, which was now resting in a crater of porcelain and tile where a sink used to be.
Harry yelled, "Stop!" The magically amplified command echoed around the room like a gunshot, rattling the windows.
The troll turned slowly to investigate the source of the noise, swiveling its ugly head around. When its eyes met Harry's the dumb monstrosity paused. The power it saw in those glowing green orbs caused it to have second thoughts about attacking their owner.
The troll quickly threw off its indecision and lifted the massive piece of wood in its hand to attack the shrimp that dared to command it. Harry shot forward, ducking his head and driving it into the troll's crotch. The creature let out a howl of pain and doubled over, Bringing its head within inches of Harry's.
Harry put his hands on the sides of the monster's face and drew back.
"Never!"
WHAM!
"Try!"
WHAM!
"To hurt!"
WHAM!
"My friends!"
WHAM!
The faculty came running past Ron just in time to see Harry headbutt the troll for the last time. The giant beast keeled over backwards, causing water to fly out over the scared girl just peeking out of the stall where she had been hiding.
The headmaster pulled a small pouch out of his pocket and looked at it. Shaking his head, Dumbledore turned and walked out, muttering, "Made this batch too strong."
Harry stood over his victim, content in his victory. It had been a long time since he had been a descent fight, even though this troll lacked the tactics to really make it interesting. He did so miss Skuld at times like this.
"Mister Potter! What are you doing here?" Minerva screeched.
"I was coming up here to help someone apologize to my best friend. It just so happened that the troll was here when we arrived." Harry said.
"So you were accosting one of my students," Snape sneered, "and just happened to be in the right place to end up fighting a troll."
"Yeah, that's about right." The green eyed boy said.
"Ten points from Ravenclaw for endangering a fellow student. And another ten for not heading straight to your dorm when ordered to." Snape said, a cruel smile on his face.
"Hold it right there dickhead. I was never ordered back to the dorms, and I didn't endanger Ron. I left him down the hall when I realized there was a troll here. Him coming to the door was his own stupidity." Harry snapped back.
"Don't talk back to me, Potter. Another ten points from Ravenclaw." Severus growled.
"Get this straight pencil dick. I don't care about your stupid house competition. I've been preparing for something bigger since I could stand, and the only reason I'm here is because someone wants me here. So you can go fuck yourself if you think taking a few points from me is going to matter." He turned to the other teachers, who were a little shocked at what they had just heard, "I think that is enough excitement for tonight. We're going to our dorms now."
Harry went over and helped Hermione up, leading her toward the door. Just before they got there Snape moved to block their path. Emerald eyes flashed briefly, the visual side effect of a wave of magic that sent the greasy haired man flying back into the wall. Snape slid down the wall, his eyes glazed and head lolling to the side. With the path clear the pair of students left, ignoring the red-head waiting outside. Ron decided this was a good time to get back to the Slytherin dorms, before he got into trouble himself.
The teachers were left standing there, wondering what had happened. Flitwick tapped McGonagall on the shoulder, "Still think I've been watching too much now Minerva?"
"But how is this possible? How could an eleven year old boy be capable of controlled wandless magic?" Sprout asked.
"Because he's not eleven. Something about him is out of phase with what he should be. He's not using ordinary wandless magic. What we just saw was a mage using his aura to increase the force of a hit and push a pompous ass out of his way. Somehow that young man has been trained in a form of magic even Merlin thought was a myth." Flitwick said.
"We need more information before we proceed. One of us, someone he trusts, needs to ask him about his childhood." Minerva sounded like she was thinking out loud.
"Didn't you say that he met Poppy first?" Flitwick asked.
"Indeed. He seemed to open up to her in Diagon Alley." McGonagall nodded, "I'll have a word with her and we'll see what's up."
xxxXXXxxx
The next morning Harry was surprised to have a school owl land right next to his plate and hold its leg out. Detaching the letter and feeding the owl some bacon he wondered who would be writing to him. The owl flew off as he broke the wax seal, with the coat-of-arms of Hogwarts, and unfolded the letter.
Dear Mr. Potter,
I have been wondering how you are doing since the last time we saw each other. If you are not otherwise engaged please come by to see me in the Hospital Wing.
Sincerely,
Madam Poppy Pomfrey
Healer
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Harry glanced at his best friend, who had read the note over his shoulder, and asked, "Think it's about last night?"
"Most likely. They probably feel that since she was the first one of them you met that you'll open up to her and spill all your secrets." The bushy haired girl said.
"I wonder how I could turn this to my advantage? Maybe I could get the where abouts of my godfather out of her." Harry pondered the possibilities.
"But what about your childhood? Won't they be a little weirded out about you being raised in another reality and all?" Hermione's voice was barely more than a whisper.
"It wouldn't even be the first time I've lied to them. And I wasn't told not to tell them eventually, just to delay it as long as possible." He answered her, "And the trade off could be very valuable to me."
xxxXXXxxx
"Hello Madam Pomfrey." Harry said as he entered the medi-witch's office.
"Why hello Harry." She said in reply. "It's good to see you again. How have you been?"
He took the seat opposite her, "Fine. Bit of trouble with a lumbering brute last night, but nothing I can't handle."
The somewhat smug tone of his voice made her wonder if this was the same small boy she had met just a few months ago. "And are you making friends?"
"I'm not sure you'd call them friends. There's one boy in who keeps wanting to hang out with me, but he just rubs me the wrong way. And he keeps insulting Hermione." He said, "Then there's Draco. He seems like an okay guy, but he has some weird ideas."
The medi-witch motioned for Harry to sit and started casting some diagnostic spells on him. The information was even more surprising than the base-line she had received so many months ago. The malnutrition was gone and his muscle tone was so much better she could hardly believe this was the same young boy. Then the signs of broken bones flashed, confirming that it was Harry.
"Madam, Pomfrey." Harry began tentatively, "Where is Sirius Black?"
A little shocked at the question she answered before she could think about it, "He's in Azkaban for betraying your parents and causing an explosion that killed a group of muggles and one wizard."
"But that's not possible." He blurted out.
Having recovered from her surprise Pomfrey responded, "I assure you Mr. Potter, that the evidence is incontrovertible. He was found by Aurors on the edge of a crater littered with the bodies of the people he killed. Including the finger of Peter Pettigrew."
Harry considered this for a moment. They had gotten it all wrong, and the only way to prove both charges false was for Wormtail to turn up alive and well. He could remember all the stories his father had told about his one time friend, including his Animagus form. The young man decided he had to find the traitor and get his godfather out of that hell hole.
"Is there anything else Madam Pomfrey?" He asked, knowing he was going to be busy on the long weekend looking for one of his father's friends in order to free another.
"I would like to know how you defeated that troll last night?" The medi-witch asked.
"Oh that." He smiled, "That was just a simple shield hit. It works best when you're fighting a larger opponent who is resistant to magic."
"I see you've been studying then, to know that a troll is magic resistant." She said, a little proud of the young man.
"Yeah, studying." He said a little doubtfully, having learned all this information through practical means. "Is that all?"
"I think so, Yes. But if you start to have any problems come and see me immediately." Harry was out the door before the older woman had finished speaking.
The raven haired boy had too much to do. First he had to contact someone from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and request transcripts for his godfather's trial. This would allow him to start formulating an appeal, since those damn birds had drilled the law codes of this magical Britain into his head. Then he had to find the real traitor, wherever he happened to be, and secure him for the shock factor it would cause in court to have the man they thought was killed appear before them. This presented the most trouble, as the filthy little creature could be anywhere, even on the other side of the planet. Finally, he had to find some time to spend with Hermione. His best friend had been through a very traumatic experience the previous night and would need someone's shoulder to cry on, maybe even literally, pretty soon. Regardless of how she was acting this morning, Harry knew her well enough to recognize the haunted look in her eyes.
His thoughts had carried him back up to the Ravenclaw common room. He had even answered the question at the door without noticing, but making plans was something he liked to give as much attention to as possible. Harry found the room almost completely empty but recognized the mass of bushy brown hair sitting in one corner. He made his way over to his best friend, sliding smoothly into the chair opposite her.
"How's the book?" Harry asked, indicating the leather bound volume lying open in her lap. He could tell she wasn't actually reading it.
"Not bad, just seems to be going slower than usual." Hermione said, not really registering him at first.
"Helps if you're actually able to focus on it. Want to talk?" He asked.
"How did you defeat a Troll? They're supposed to take two or three adult wizards to bring down."
"Only if you do it the hard way. But knowing how to use magical resistance against them helps."
"But you could have been killed. All because I was in there crying my eyes out." Tears started to course down her face as she berated herself.
"Not bloody likely. I've faced things a lot more dangerous than a troll." He leaned forward, placing his hands on her shoulders. "The only thing I was worried about at the time was you. Now lets go play in the snow and just call last night a learning experience. Besides, I need my best friend to be able to help me out with a long term project."
She brightened at being reminded of their relationship. She knew he would let her talk herself out when she was ready, but now wasn't the right time for her. Hermione stood, saying, "Just let me get cleaned up and grab something warmer."
Harry watched her as she ran for the dorms. He went to one of the tables and started writing a quick letter to the DMLE. When he was done he sent a mental signal to Scheherazade, letting her know there was a letter to be delivered.
As the green eyed boy stood there waiting for the two women to arrive he contemplated the possibilities of the future. If Sirius was released he would probably be healing for some time, especially as bad as dementors could be. Harry had encountered a similar beastie on a wilder plane during his training with Mage Diggers. That thing had been feeding on the emotions of a whole clan of primitive humans. The mage had easily been able to banish the foul thing out of that reality and restored a few of the people that had been suffering the worst of the effects.
Now Harry had no delusions about his own ability to do such a thing. He had never progressed far enough with his aura magic teacher to even come close to the effect, and the dementors of this land were slightly different. He would not be able to banish one from this existence, as the walls around the pole of chaos did not allow for the transfer of physical matter anymore. Harry would have to learn this realities method for dealing with them, as they were inherently destructive entities.
The snowy owl flew into the room, landing on his shoulder. She looked at him quizzically while holding a leg out. Harry scratched her head gently, causing her to hoot softly. Then he tied the letter to her leg and she launched into the air.
Hermione came back into the room to find Harry making note in a small book she had never sen before. "What's that about?"
"I keep track of how many letters Scheherazade delivers. That way when she gets close to a thousand I'll know." The raven haired boy replied. He pocketed the book and turned to face his friend. "Are we ready to have some fun?"
xxxXXXxxx
Making their way out onto the snowy grounds Harry could see several good snowball fights already in progress. They ran over to a pair of redheads that were currently hunkered down behind a berm, weathering a hale of projectiles from another redhead.
The green eyed boy looked at them, "Want some help?"
The left twin spoke over his shoulder, not bothering to look at him, "Sure."
The right twin then said, "We're just waiting for him to run out."
"Then we'll get him back." The left one said.
"Mind if I try something?" Harry asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
The twin flame tops just shrugged.
A mop of unruly black hair popped over the hill of snow, directly into the path of a dozen balls of snow. He held his hand up and all the projectiles came to a lazy stop some distance away. Several more of the ice bombs came in before the red haired boy stopped launching them and began screaming, "Hey, Fred, George, that's no fair. This was supposed to be a family game."
One of the twins shouted back, "It was also supposed to be no magic, Percy."
The other one joined in, "Until we started kicking your ass."
"And you decided to pull your wand."
"That's when our friend came up."
"And now we think he's going to return the favor."
On cue Harry threw every snow ball back at the person that had thrown them his way. The fifteen rough globes of frozen water streaked in to hit the older brother across his entire body with enough force to throw him backwards for five feet. The fifth year boy landed with a thump, forcing the air from his lungs.
Fred and George ran over to catch as much of the expression on their brother's face as possible. To their combined disappointment they got there just in time to help him up, holding him steady while he sucked in air to fill his lungs. As soon as Percy saw the raven haired boy who had put him on his ass he stuttered, "You're Harry Potter."
Harry nodded, remembering all those jokes his dad had taught him, "Hope so. I'm wearing his underwear."
The twins laughed, both at the ice breaker and look on their prefect brother's face. Percy regained enough composure to be affronted by the recent loss, "I would have prefered to keep this particular fight a family mater, Mister Potter."
"You're just mad..." One twin said.
"because we found a cheat..." The other twin.
"That beat your cheat." The original speaker finished.
Fred and George threw their arms around their new friend and turned him to go back toward the castle.
"So, Harry, how..."
"Has life been treating..."
"You during your..."
"First year?"
Fortunately for Harry he had gotten used to whipsawing with his least favorite instructors, the dispicable birds. As Hermione joined them George wrapped an arm around her shoulders as well, showing that any friend of Harry was a friend of theirs. Harry answered their question, "Pretty good, except for three things."
"Only three things?" Both the twins asked together.
"First is Snape. I would have expected him to throw me out of class by now." Harry said.
"Ah, yes."
"The unpredictable..."
"Potion maker. You..."
"Have become quiet..."
"The legend around here."
"What is it with him? Can't he figure it out that I'll never produce the potion he wants." He smiled and lower his voice, "I honestly think Hermione is the only reason none of our stuff has exploded."
"He hates to..."
"let anyone go."
"Since it's a..."
"Required course..."
"He can torture..."
"Them for five years..."
"At least."
Harry thought about this for a moment, considering all the ramifications it might have on his plans. He was trying to explore the castle grounds in his free time, and having a class during the day would only add to his ability to do so. "Looks like I'm going to have to try a little harder."
"Don't get yourself into any trouble, Harry." Hermione admonished.
"Where's the..."
"Fun in that?"
"If you need..."
"Any help just..."
"Let us know."
Having reached the entrance hall about this time, the twins split off and headed for the sweeping staircases leading to the upper levels. Harry looked at his best friend and smiled, motioning for them to head the same way.
xxxXXXxxx
Minerva McGonagall was about ready to have a serious fit. Whatever was going on here was beyond her ability to deal with. First she has a student who can somehow manage to make the most unusual potions. Then she found Filch unconscious in a corridor the night before, muttering about that same student. Add to that his strange abilities with magic that had not been spoken of since the time of Merlin. And now the head of the DMLE was flooing her about a letter he sent inquiring about the traitor Black.
It was time to get Albus out of his fog and have him deal with this. Entering the headmaster's office she was immediately assaulted by the smelly cloud of smoke that hung in the room. She already had her wand out, as the man at the center of that cloud was not likely to cooperate. Minerva gave it a quick flick, clearing the offending haze.
Albus sat up, shocked to see his deputy standing in his office with her wand trained on him. "Minerva," He said with the minor slur of a long term stoner. "It took me four hours to build up that clou..."
That was as far as he got when he was hit with a sickly looking green light. The older man thought briefly that it looked like she had somehow managed to create a cannabis spell from the look of the light. That was until the energy washed over him. It had been over a decade since the Headmaster of Hogwarts had been stone cold sober, usually floating somewhere between smashed out of his mind and unconscious. The only reason he had survived this long was his magically enhanced regeneration and life span.
When Dumbledore's eyes cleared he instantly ran for the wastebasket sitting next to his desk. He emptied his stomach with three huge heaves, and then kept going. The suddenly clean system found itself horribly out of balance, and continued to make its owner try to purge.
After five minutes the gray haired man finally rolled onto the floor, exhausted from the ordeal. He quickly found his good friend and attacker standing over him, holding her had out with a sad look on her face. "Are you clean now Albus?"
He coughed for a moment before answering in a hoarse voice, "Yes, Minerva. Though I would like to know why you did this."
Helping him up she began to explain everything that had been happening over the past few months. When McGonagall finished the old man was looking a little shocked. "I'm sorry my good friend. I've been neglegent these past few years, especially this one."
"Don't you dare think you can apologize your way out of this. But we don't have time for you to make reparations, we have an eleven year old to unravel.
xxxXXXxxx
Hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter should be out much quicker.
