Chapter 2: (2020 words)
"Hey guys, we should send a letter to Dumbledore about us going to Hogwarts, right?" Ron asked. It had been a week since they travelled back in time. The trio were currently sitting in one of the living rooms, Hermione reading a book on the sofa, Ron sitting at a chess table thinking of plausible moves, and Harry drawing in a sketchpad on the floor.
"Yes, that's a good idea, Ron," Hermione returned, putting down her book. "We should come up with convincing backstories as well. It wouldn't do well for anyone to grow suspicious."
The other two nodded at the idea. "And our names, too. It would be very unusual if a long-lost Potter and Weasley just showed up out of nowhere!"
"Good point, Harry," Ron complimented his friend and put down a rook. "Hmm, we could always just use our Lordships, right? So, I would be Ronald Bilius Prewitt and 'Mione would be Hermione Jean Prince. But what about you, Harry? You have so many names!"
"Well, true, it's best if I only use one," Harry shrugged, "Probably Peverell, as Potter and Black are still active and I would be harshly judged for being Lord Slytherin."
All three nodded at once. "Alright," Hermione began, "I suppose it's decided. Ron is now a Prewitt, I am now a Prince, and Harry is now a Peverell. Huh, our surnames all begin with 'P'. How coincidental." They all grinned, before Hermione turned her gaze onto Harry's innocent look, "Harry… are you sure you didn't just pick Peverell for that particular purpose?"
"What?! I would never!" he couldn't help but grin, "Anyways, the reasons I gave make perfect sense." Receiving amused nods from everyone in the room, Harry huffed as Hermione stood and went to fetch some parchment and a quill to write a letter. She returned a minute later and sat down at the table, starting to write the letter to Dumbledore.
Ron stopped playing chess and sat down on the floor next to Harry, "Hey, Peverell." They shared smirks. "What are you drawing?"
"I'm not sure to be honest," Harry mumbled, "Probably us three." It was likely as three figures that seemed to be human were on the page, two on brooms and the other, a more feminine body, standing on the ground. Their features and clothes had not been added and it was a very rough sketch but Harry believed them to be the trio themselves.
"Well, whoever it's supposed to be, it looks amazing, Harry!" Ron grinned. "Hey, want to work on our Animagus forms?"
Harry's head whipped up, "Hell yes! I've always wanted to be an Animagus, especially since dad and," he swallowed, "Sirius were ones."
"Mmhm," Ron nodded his head, "We should get started then after Hermione finishes the letter."
"No need to wait, boys: I'm finished," she smiled at the two of them and received two smiles back. All three of them were excited to return to the castle, especially one without Death Eaters on the staff. "Want to read it?"
"Yeah, please," Harry politely asked, and Hermione handed him the letter.
Dear Headmaster Albus Dumbledore,
My two friends and I have recently lost our Godmother to a tragic accident
and, as we were previously home-schooled, we decided it best to ask to attend
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the best education possible.
If it is agreeable with you, we will be there on September 1st for our seventh and
final year of schooling. We already possess all of the necessary equipment and
money to purchase more if it is required.
Good day to you, Headmaster,
Sincerely,
Lady Hermione Prince
"Is it any good?" Hermione nervously asked as Harry handed Ron the letter to read.
"Merlin, 'Mione, it's perfect!" Harry assured her, "And good quick thinking on the backstory part, it would explain our close friendship if we shared the same Godmother, and you didn't say who Ron and I were so it'll leave him wondering."
"Yes," she giggled, "That's quite amusing, but we will have to tell him before we go so Professor McGonagall can call out our names."
"I know, I know," Harry rolled his eyes but nodded all the same. "Anyways! Do you lot want to start on our Animagus forms?"
Ron looked up from the letter. "Hermione this is wonderful! Truly, I don't think it could be any better than it already is." Hermione blushed and thanked him. "And Harry? I certainly wouldn't mind starting now!" he grinned and slammed the letter on the table before racing out of the living room and into the duelling training room. "See you guess there!"
Harry and Hermione shared a look before simultaneously shaking their heads and mouthing, "Ron."
(-Line break!-)
"Ron, mate, I know my Animagus forms!" Harry grinned two weeks later. It was early in the morning and he had crept into Ron's room and poked him awake. Harry had only been lying in bed, having woken up from nightmares like every other night, but this time be felt completely relaxed and calm, almost as if he had been practicing his occlumency, which he had mastered last year with the help of Ron and Hermione, and suddenly the figure of an animal appeared in his head, followed by a second one.
Ron groaned and sat up before his eyes snapped wide open, "Wait, did you just say forms?"
A smirk appeared on Harry's face, "I sure did."
"Wow, alright, mate, go for it," Ron told him as Harry sat next to him in his bed.
"Okay, I'm a shadow phoenix and I'm also a fox!" Harry smiled, a bright, happy look in his eyes. "I still can't believe I have two forms," he giggled.
Ron shrugged, "Then again, you are Harry Potter, it's kind of to be expected by this point, let's be honest, mate." Harry grinned, though it looked strained. "Yeah, yeah, I know Harry, 'Mione and I don't like it as much as you do but we've grown to accept it, Harry."
"Thanks, Ron," Harry mumbled as he gave the redhead a hug before getting up from the bed and heading down to the kitchens. Over the past three weeks, he had grown a lot closer to Twinky and Harry believed that he could safely state that they were friends. They had cooked together before and had bonded over their neglect and abuse. Growing slightly hungry, Harry entered the kitchen and began to cook some pancakes for when Ron and Hermione would wake up.
"Master Harry Peverell, sir," Twinky greeted as she entered the kitchens. A couple other house elves entered the kitchens as well, one washing the dishes from the previous day and the other sweeping the floor. "What you's be cooking, Master?"
"Good morning, Twinky," Harry smiled, "I'm just cooking up some pancakes for everyone. Would you like to help?"
"Yes please, Master. What would you like me to do?" she asked him.
"Well, you can either set the table up in the dining room, or help me finish these pancakes," Harry suggested, and Twinky immediately popped away. "I'll take that as setting the table."
(-Line break!-)
"Harry, what's this?"
"Uhh," Harry blushed under Hermione's hard gaze. Ron stood next to her, itching to sit down and devour all of the food on the table. "I was bored, so I made some pancakes?"
Hermione sighed, "Alright." The three friends sat down at the dining table, Ron rapidly picking up his knife and fork and putting three pancakes soaked in syrup on his plate. Hermione did the same but much slower, and Harry only placed one on his plate as opposed to three. "Anyways, Ron told me that you discovered your Animagus forms…?"
"Hah, yeah," Harry smiled, "Shadow phoenix and fox."
"Interesting," Hermione's eyes widened, "How did you find out?"
"It's like when we were learning occlumency: you just empty your brain and find peace of mind," Harry shrugged. "We'll work on it later today if you'd like. We don't have much time until we go off to Hogwarts. It's only a week left."
"True," Hermione nodded. They both ignored Ron munching his way through a fourth pancake. He might have grown up quite a bit but he still had horrid table manners. "Hey, look! What's that?" She was referring to an owl tapping on the window. Twinky popped into the room and opened the window for them and popped away while the owl flew into the room and landed on Harry's shoulder.
"An owl…?" Ron spoke after swallowing, "Who's it from, mate?"
Harry took the letter from the owl and opened it, "Huh, it's from Dumbledore."
Dear Lady Prince,
I must say I was quite surprised when I received your owl over your wish to
continue your schooling at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with
your two friends.
I require the names of your two friends for them to join the school, but other
than this, there is no other problem.
I look forward to when you three begin your final year at Hogwarts, and I wish
you all the best in your future endeavours.
Sincerely,
Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin (first class),
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump
of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot
"Damn, why does his name and title have to be so sodding long?" Ron moaned as Harry read out the letter.
Hermione had already rushed to grab parchment and a quill like when she did the same two weeks ago. When he finished reading the letter, Harry looked up at Ron, "I know right. Dumbledore might be on the light side but he's a bit, well, full of himself, no?"
"It's true, mate," Ron nodded as Hermione entered the room again, sat down, and began writing out the letter. "Honestly, placing you with the Dursleys was literally the stupidest thing he could have done. Same with Voldemort when he was younger. Actually, I bet a lot of kids are being abused when they leave Hogwarts, like Sirius." Harry's eyes turned sad as he remembered that he'd have to meet his Godfather all over again.
"Don't forget Snape, boys," Hermione reminded them as she finished off by writing her signature and stamping her Lordship ring on the parchment under it. The letter only stated that she had received the Headmaster's letter, and then she informed him of her friends' names, 'Ronald Bilius Prewitt' and 'Harry Hades Peverell'. "Okay, done! And stop looking so guilty, you forgot, that's fine, just try to be nice to him, alright? He's a son of my house, it's of my duty to protect him."
Ron and Harry rapidly nodded at her. "Sorry, 'Mione," Ron mumbled, "It's easy to forget about that when it's Snape but you're right, it's the wrong thing to do."
Nodding along, Harry added, "I'm sorry too, but I wonder if I'm still Lord Potter at this time or if it's my grandad?"
"Hmm, I'd say you lost the Potter and Black Lordships but if you went back to 1997, you'd get them back? Either way, you're still incredibly influential, Lord Peverell-Slytherin," Hermione smirked. "I assume it's the same situation with Ron. He's not Lord Prewitt anymore, his grandfather is. However, it's still suspicious being a Weasley so I'd say it's best to remain a Prewitt and just not be the Lord of the House or take one of or names, Ron."
The red-headed boy nodded. He looked different enough from his parents to not get anyone suspicious and Hermione was distantly related from her Prince ancestor, she doesn't look anything like those ancestors. Ron thought for a moment, "Perhaps I'll just be a son of the House of Prince?"
"That's perfectly fine, you can be Ron Prince now, and… I don't know, my brother?" She shrugged and changed his name on the letter, "Sure, why not? Now, if you're finished, Ronald," she jokingly glared at said boy, who took a large bite of his pancake, "shall we get started on our Animagus transformations?"
She received two excited cheers.
A/N: Here's the second chapter for you all! I hope you all liked it. I'm half asleep 24/7 by this point in the year already (SCHOOL IS SO FREAKING HARD) so I don't even know what I'm writing most of the time – I'm sorry if it's not the best. XD
Either way, I hope everyone's having a great time! Hermione changing Harry's second name will all be explained next chapter. I don't know if this counts as a cliffhanger? Who knows. Anyways, we shall be meeting Snape next chapter! Try to guess how if you'd like!
Enjoy!