A/N: Hello, people! Thanks for liking this fic! 13 Communities so far! :)
I don't own Harry Potter.
I have no beta.
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The last week of the summer holidays was filled to the brim for Harry. He and Varix returned to Britain with the Weasleys. After that, they returned to Potter Manor to find a letter from the school, waiting for Harry.
It was his student list. The books he needed for classes.
Hagrid's demon book was on the list and Harry felt relieved at not having to get another, especially with the price. Though not too much, who spent ten Galleons on a book? Probably Hermione. But other than her?
Dorea informed him that Advanced Rune Translation, Ancient Runes Made Easy, Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms, Rune Dictionary, and Spellman's Syllabary, were in the library and he just had to go and get them, making his list even shorter. Just the normal supplies for every school year.
This year, he completely stopped using all quills and inks when he learned the former year that they weren't required to have them, they were just a suggestion or a guideline for people to use. He could have been using a pen the entire time!
Varix pointed him to a shop that sold Muggle appliances. It was the only pure Muggle thing in the Alley. Harry loaded up on various fountain pens, making sure he had a lot just in case he lost one, someone stole one, or he just used it all up.
He also purchased a Liner, which was used to guide writing on parchment by making lines appear when needed to keep the writing neat and even. The lines disappeared when done. He could have used that in his first year had he known about it.
Stacks upon stacks of parchment and envelopes for future use. Some sweets because he wanted to be prepared. A thick book on Runes because he could never have too many. It also added on to the four he bought in Egypt, which Varix was translating for him.
He grew a little over the summer! That meant he could get new clothes!
His Hogwarts robes this time were made of much better fabric, with Runes woven near the stitching to provide extra protection against the elements. Harry loved Runes. They could be applied to everything!
As for everyday clothes, Varix denied his request for the grey shirts with the black outlined collars. Apparently they were 'dorky' and getting several of the same shirt would make him look like a 'hobo' had dressed him. He got one at least.
Leaving everything at home, Varix took him to St. Mungo's, where he was going to met Sirius Black for the first time.
The Healers and medi-witches practically fell over themselves when they learned that Harry Potter was in the building. Harry had never experienced service like that before.
All he wanted was to meet his godfather. He didn't need any potions or Healers, or Merlin forbid, a girlfriend.
Varix was efficient in handling the situation. She threatened to get Harry's solicitor after them and suddenly the waves of people parted like the Red Sea. Harry rushed through the crowd, not wanting people to bother him any longer.
In Diagon Alley, people didn't know him. He could blend into the crowd easily. But there, when the witch had heard his name and just had to say it really loudly, everyone swarmed him like some disease.
Finally reaching the floor and room where Sirius was being held, Harry let out a breath of relief.
"I swear, people have no lives of their own," Varix said with an eye roll.
"Come on, room ten."
The man inside, was in between the stages of ill and healthy. Like he was getting over a really bad sickness.
Sitting with him, was a Healer.
The Healer looked to the door and stood when Varix floated through the door. She waved him off and gestured to Harry, who was inching slowly into the room, eyeing the Healer warily.
"Is he well?" the man asked Varix.
"He was mobbed by your coworkers down on the first floor."
The man flushed, "I am so sorry! It's terribly unprofessional of them and I'll be having a word with the head of the hospital. Shall I leave you alone?"
"Sure, I got this."
The man scurried from the room, giving Harry a wide berth of space, before closing the door. The teen sighed in relief and sat in the chair beside the bed, meeting the stormy, grey eyes of the man who had been watching him in silence.
Varix conjured a chair for herself and sat in it. "So, what sort of treatments have they put you through?" she asked, getting the ball rolling.
"They removed the rest of my teeth and regrew them. And then because they grew them too large, they had to shrink them to a manageable size. And they made me sit in a replica of a Muggle sauna in order to 'open my pores' and then they began casting all these spells to clean me. That took a few hours.
They've been shoving these gross potions down my throat to counteract the starvation. My ribs are still visible though and they're trying to make me eat all of these different foods that I don't like. Hospital food is disgusting!"
Sirius looked away for a second, before his head snapped back. "Who are you anyway?"
"Probably should have asked that first. I'm Værix̂ Tɛmpaʊð and I'm Harry's fairy godmother."
Sirius' eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything. He simply turned to Harry.
"I'm Sirius Black."
"You don't seem crazy."
Sirius barked a laugh, completely undoing Harry's words.
"Don't worry, I am. It's a family thing. The Black's are known for the Black Madness. All of us have a little of it."
"Thank you for my broom."
"I was told that you were made Gryffindor's Seeker in your first year! Not even James managed to get Minnie to let him on that early!"
"'Minnie'?"
"McGonagall."
"Oh. Did you break a lot of rules when in school? My parents' Will made it sound like rule breaking was a good thing."
"Oh, the rules we broke! Drove Minnie up the wall!"
Varix had to admit that Black had a lead over her. Knowing Harry's parents already made the young teen give the man all of his attention. He'd cling to the memories and stories of them and think that Black was amazing simply because he had some funny things to say.
What would Harry like?
Hmm...
The day before the end of the holidays, the British wizarding world was put on alert.
The Daily Prophet was delivered just like every morning, but instead of a normal headline, Harry was assaulted by blinking letters.
CONVICTED DEATH EATER BELLATRIX LESTRANGE, ESCAPES FROM AZKABAN! THE MINISTER CALLING ALL DEMENTORS!
My dear readers the news is true! Bellatrix Lestrange, also known as the You-Know-Who's most faithful servant, has managed what none other has!
Unknown to the rest of Britain, Bellatrix Lestrange is skilled in wandless magic! The remains of her cell were searched and the Aurors have confirmed that she had been pouring her magic into the stones of her prison, over the past twelve years. The fortress, being covered in all manner of protective wards and charms, isn't supposed to be able to break.
According to a reliable source, the magic seeped into the stones, causing those protections to wear away, allowing for the crazed, mass murderer to blow the wall out with enough focus on a blasting curse.
'No sight of Bellatrix Lestrange has been mentioned. All we know is that she cackled madly before disappearing in a plume of black smoke. We were unable to trace her destination,' said one Auror.
The Ministry has ordered for the search of all properties of former Death Eaters.
Dementors have been sent out and stationed around Hogwarts. It is the fear of many that her target may just be Harry James Potter, Boy-Who-Lived. The mad witch may attempt revenge for her fallen master.
People of magical Britain we must all work together to ensure that Bellatrix Lestrange is found.
For more information on Death Eaters… see page 2A.
For more information on Bellatrix Lestrange… see page 3A.
For more information on Harry James Potter… see page 4A.
Rita Skeeter, special correspondent to the Daily Prophet.
Varix winced in sympathy. "The Dementors are horrible. Only one spell repels them. And they can only be killed by Elvish Magick."
"Is this really something to worry about though?"
"Yes. Dementors don't ask questions. And if they take an interest in you, even if you are innocent, you will find yourself Kissed.
The Dementor's Kiss sucks your soul from your body, leaving you in a vegetative state. Not so different from being petrified, but it isn't good. Once your soul departs from your body, your consciousness goes with it. And your body remains until it is burned.
There is no known way to retrieve a soul after a Dementor has taken it and no one is foolish enough to attempt to find a method."
"So... you wouldn't even go near a Dementor?"
"Hell no!"
"And these things that even you wouldn't go near are going to be stationed around the school this year."
"Shit."
The two shared a look.
Varix managed to sum everythign up perfectly though.
"This year is going to suck."
Making their way into the train the next morning was a hassle. There were Aurors all over the platform, running scans over the students and the parents in order to verify that none of them were Bellatrix Lestrange in disguise.
Four Aurors would be on the train during the ride to Hogwarts. There were also two professors, one at the back of the train and the other at the front with the conductor. The students were disgruntled at having to go through the check, but they were only five minutes later in leaving the station so it could have been worse.
Harry had met up with Ron while on the platform and they waited around the entrance for Hermione. The witch was extremely tanned, rivalling Varix.
"We should get a compartment in the back," she said, handing her trunk over to one of the workers. Crookshanks was clutching her shoulder as she walked.
Harry released Hedwig and handed her cage over. Ron mimicked him, letting Gideon follow after the Snowy Owl.
After being checked by the Aurors, the three waved to Mrs. Weasley who told them to be safe.
Their compartment was already occupied by a brown haired man in a grey pullover. Since none of them felt like looking for another compartment, they situated themselves inside. Varix magically expanded the inside to give them more space.
"I love magic," Harry smiled.
"Who do you think that is?" Ron murmured.
"Professor R. J. Lupin," Hermione answered.
Harry and Ron looked at each other before giving her the same look.
"It's on the trunk above his head."
"Oh."
The man, was leaning against the seat, his head tucked into his chest. His eyes were closed and his hands were folded lazily on his lap.
Varix, who was relaxing as Harry's 'Muggle watch', sniffed a bit. "Someone's coming!"
The three cognizant people in the compartment turned to the door, which slid open to reveal a handsome face that was very familiar to Harry.
"Tom!"
Tom's gorgeous eyes landed on Harry immediately and he smiled. Harry was too busy taking in his appearance. He was exactly the same as the last time Harry had seen him, except this time he was in school robes. And while he didn't have any colors on his robes, he was wearing a Prefect's badge.
"Hello, Harry," Tom greeted with a smile.
"You're coming to Hogwarts?"
"Indeed. I passed my OWLs at the Ministry this summer. I decided to attend Hogwarts for my NEWT studies."
"You made Prefect even though you're new and haven't been sorted yet? Hogwarts accepts people who aren't first years?"
"It's in the Hogwarts Charter," explained Hermione. "Hogwarts accepts transfers, war orphans, and homeschooled students, at any given time."
Tom's attention moved from Harry to Hermione. "You must be Ms. Granger?"
"Yes."
"Headmistress McGonagall is on the train currently and she wishes to speak with you and I over scheduling conflicts."
Hermione popped up from her seat. "Thank you! Harry, Ron, I'll be back soon!"
Tom sent Harry a wave before sliding the compartment door closed.
Ron, who was staring at Harry the entire time, asked loudly, "Do you fancy him?"
"Yes he does!" Varix chimed with a laugh.
"No I don't!" Harry denied, trying to ignore the fact that he was flushing too much.
"He seems kind of uptight. Not Malfoy uptight, but definitely a prat."
"Tom is not a prat! He's very nice and he helped me in Flourish and Blotts!"
"Ugh! He's gonna be a Ravenclaw!"
Harry huffed and folded his arms.
The silence was broken by the witch who came around with her trolley of sweets. She slid open the door and smiled, "Anything off the trolley, dears? First stop!"
Ron rummaged through his pockets and Harry pulled out his change purse. Ron ended up getting a pack of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, a Licorice Wand, and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Harry on the other hand had ten boxes of Chocolate Frogs, two packets of Jelly Slugs, Three packs of Ice Mice, a Blood Pop, and his own Licorice Wand.
With their new treasures in their arms, the two returned to their compartment, eating amicably.
Hermione came back a while later and the three talked about the upcoming year, especially with all of the Dementors around.
"The Ministry is supposed to have control over them though," said Hermione.
"They're also supposed to have control over Azkaban and we all know how that went down," Ron countered, making Hermione's nose wrinkle.
"But Lestrange is different. She was trained personally by… Voldemort. And she'd been working over the years on breaking out."
"That's no excuse. Sirius told me he personally was planning to break out and while he didn't telling me enough about it, I have a feeling that he was close. Maybe if the Ministry used their brains instead of their money purses, they'd actually get things done."
"That too!" Ron nodded.
"I can't wait to go to Hogsmeade!" Ron said suddenly around a bite of his Licorice Wand.
"Could you please endeavor not to eat like a pig?" Hermione sneered, wiping a piece of chewed licorice off her cheek where Ron's spittle had carried it.
"Sorry, I'm hungry."
"Although I agree about Hogsmeade. It's the only completely magical settlement in Magical Britain. The history is very old-"
Ron, who had finally swallowed, added, "I'm looking forward to Honeydukes. It's got the very best of the best sweets available. The biggest sweetshop in Magical Britain. Their Chocoballs are to die for. I really want to try their Sugar Quills. I can pretend to pay attention with those and-"
"-it's said that the 1612 Goblin Rebellion took place mostly in the Headquarters which was located in Hogsmeade. And the Shrieking Shack is the most haunted building in Britain, but what I'm confused about it how most people in Hogsmeade have attended Hogwarts where ghosts literally haunt the school all the time and then there's Peeves, like, what can be so scary that no one will go near it? I think I'm going to go and see what's wrong with-"
"And I want to try the Pepper Imps that make you smoke from the mouth, that'd be cool."
Harry looked back and forth between them. "I deserve a medal for literally managing to keep up with both of you."
Hermione flushed and Ron shrugged.
Just as Harry was about to ask what classes Hermione was taking, the compartment door slid open to reveal the Slytherin Trio of Idiots. Malfoy seemed to have lost all baby fat and his blond hair was no longer plastered to his head with Stick It Gel. Crabbe and Goyle didn't change all that much though, besides height that is.
Malfoy's pointed face was pinched a bit as he sneered at the occupants of the compartment. Crabbe and Goyle merely grunted and waited for Malfoy to give them an order.
"Oh look who it is, Potty and his pet Weasel."
Ron bristled and stood. "What do you want, Malfoy?" he spat.
"Oh, just wondering if your family decided to get you better robes for once, after all of that money they won this summer. Apparently not," Malfoy sniffed.
Crabbe and Goyle laughed uproariously.
"Draco," Harry purred, "you wouldn't want to wake the professor, would you?"
They all turned to Lupin who was snoring lowly.
Malfoy's eyes trailed over the man and his sneer deepened. "Most likely a disgusting Mudbloo-"
"Is there a problem here?"
Harry thought he was happy to see Tom before, but this time, he was like a Godsend.
Tom stood imposingly over Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, his Prefect's badge eye level to the teenagers.
Malfoy gave Tom a lookover, seeing the badge. "Who are you?" he rudely demanded.
"Cadmus Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy. Watch your tongue lest I remove points from Slytherin before the term has even begun."
So he managed to change his name. Good for him.
Malfoy's face when Tom gave his name however, was priceless. His already pale face seemed to go even paler.
"Yes, sir."
The three Slytherins left after that.
Tom turned to Harry, "Everything alright?"
"Yeah, thanks Tom."
"This is a normal thing between you?"
"More like him. He bothers us until he has to leave."
"So I'll just prepare myself for the upcoming year then."
Tom smiled and left.
"Cadmus Slytherin?" Hermione said a moment later.
"Thomas Cadmus Slytherin," Harry clarified.
"He's three years older than you," she pointed out.
Ron waved a hand, "That means nothing. Mum's older than dad by a year. And my great Aunt Tessie is nine years older than her husband. What I'm worried about is the Slytherin part!"
"There is nothing wrong with him being of the Slytherin Line. He's only recently found out about it and has been working hard to catch up to what he should know. Apparently his mother was a Pureblood Squib who tried to keep the existence of magic from him. He's not happy about that. And I know how he feels with the Dursleys trying to keep it from me."
"Okay! Okay! You're defensive, I can see it."
Harry had nothing to say, so he simply remained quiet, glaring at his two friends who were grinning at him like they knew something that he didn't.
His glaring was cut off by the sudden jerking motion of the train. Hermione was dislodged form her seat, Crookshanks falling off her lap. She landed on Harry. Lupin woke up with a jolt and Ron was clutching his seat.
"The bloody hell was that?!" he demanded, looking out the window.
It was raining outside, with the wind whipping against the train.
"The wind isn't strong enough to stop a train," Hermione commented as Harry helped her to her feet. Both fell onto her seat when the train moved again.
Ron was pressed against the glass, looking out into the darkness. "There's something moving out there and I think it's coming aboard!"
Another jerk and the lights in the compartment and the ones bleeding in from the corridor of the train, shut off, leaving them in eerie darkness. The temperature dropped suddenly, the window suddenly frosting over.
Lupin stood, his wand in hand. "The Dementors have come to search the train!"
"Fuck!"
Varix popped into visible view, ignoring Lupin's flinch at her arrival. She faced the door, with both hands raised. A dark form appeared on the other side, just as Varix started to chant in a language that Harry didn't recognize.
The door slowly slid open.
A startling red light appeared between Varix's raised palms and started to grow. She spread her fingers apart and drew her hands away from each other, until they spanned the length of the compartment, a large spear of red, crackling energy floating before her.
The creature on the other side of the door was tall and covered in a black cloak. And with it, came a coldness that chilled Harry to his bones. He blinked furiously, trying to stop his twitching. His heart was pounding relentlessly. Distantly, he could hear the high scream of a woman in pain.
The last thing Harry saw before collapsing, was Varix taking hold of the red spear and lunging at the cloaked figure with a loud battle cry.
All was lost.
Varix lifted her battle spear and charged at the Dementor. Its cold, bony fingers grabbed into her left arm, but was unable to stop her right arm from swinging the spear forward and stabbing it right where the mouth resided.
With an inhuman shriek of pain, the Dementor began to tremble, even as the bolts of crimson discharge electrocuted it. The Dementor exploded in a shower of black shards, covering the surrounding area of the corridor in a mess.
Varix, though feeling pain in her arm from where she was grabbed, pointed the spear at the nearest Dementor, which was a several yards down the corridor, on her left.
Dementors weren't stupid. They could tell when they were in danger. The Dementor turned around and left through the nearest door. Students all down the train were looking out the compartment doors, even as Varix carefully scoured to make sure that all of the Dementors had indeed gone.
"You destroyed a Dementor," one of the girls she recognized from Gryffindor, said breathlessly.
"Yeah. It nearly froze my arm off too. The bastard. I'm going to talk to your Headmistress. Get back in you compartments and don't come out until a Prefect, Aurur, or a professor tells you it's safe. Go!"
She found the McGonagall woman in the front with the conductor, raging over the Dementors daring to stop the Hogwarts Express.
"I just killed a Dementor," she announced, shocking the woman and the conductor.
The Scottish woman turned, regarding her closely.
Her dress had shortened considerably because she had used Elven Battle Magick to kill the Dementor. Her left forearm was covered in a deep blue stripe that was so cold it burned.
"I think Harry collapsed. He was about five feet away, but his life compared to his friends or the other students was much worse. He'll need to be watched. As for the students, I told them to stay in their compartments until a professor comes to tell them it's safe."
McGonagall was looking at her arm, "Did the Dementor do that?"
"Yeah, it hurts a lot."
Raising her hand over the freeze burned flesh, Varix began to sing, using more Elvish Magic to heal herself.
"It's such a shame that the more interesting aspects our magical history have to be illegal," McGonagall frowned. "I'll go speak to the Prefects and Heads. Perhaps you should get Potter some chocolate until we reach the school. And don't overwork yourself."
She was marching off down the train in the next second, calling over her shoulder, "Thank you!"
Varix popped herself back to the compartment her godson was in, seeing Hermione waving a hand over his face and Lupin breaking a bar of chocolate and giving Ron and Hermione some pieces of it.
Lupin jumped again, but she ignored him in favor of waking Harry up.
Snap.
Harry came to very slowly. He could hear what people around him were saying, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't open his eyes. His eyelids were too heavy.
"Harry?"
That was Hermione.
"Mate?"
There was Ron.
"Damn kid, you better not be dead or else I'll resurrect your ass just to kill you again."
Ah, there was Varix.
"I'm fine, sort of," he managed to mumble.
"Oh yeah, totally fine. You just fainted when a Dementor got too close, no biggie," she said in a dry tone.
Someone was helping him sit up and cold fingers forced his eyes open. He winced at the bright light, blinking rapidly to stop the pain.
"Who screamed?" he asked, looking to Hermione and Varix as he remembered the woman screaming.
Hermione looked at Ron, who shrugged, "No one was screaming Harry. Though Varix did give quite the war cry."
"Meh, habit."
"I-I heard someone. A woman. She sounded like she was in terrible pain."
The occupants of the compartment shared a worried look.
A bar of Honeydukes Chocolate was being pushed in his face and he turned to see the Lupin man, offering it was a small smile. "Chocolate has healing properties and helps fight off Dementor effects. It'll warm you up as well."
Varix was nodding, so he accepted the sweet with gratitude and took a bite.
Already he was feeling better.
The window was no longer frozen. The lights had all come back on. No one looked ready to die. Varix's dress was incredibly short though.
"What happened?" he asked, eyeing the purple dress barely covering her.
"I used Elven Battle Magick and Healing in one day. I'm kind of tired and since there is no sunlight at the moment, I'm really low on energy."
"You should sit and rest."
"Yeah, yeah, Goggles told me not to overwork myself."
Varix plopped into Harry's former seat.
Lupin was looking back and forth between them.
"I'm going to look for the Headmistress."
The start of term was unlike any other time. The students were in mass panic over the Dementors. Some of them ended up getting real close to the creatures and were feeling ill.
McGonagall announced that she would not be allowing them inside the school which helped to put the children at ease.
Professor Sinistra, who was the new Head of Gryffindor, lead the shivering first years into the hall. Tom walked behind them slowly, eyes trailing over the Great Hall.
The Sorting Hat sang a new song and the students were sorted. Tom came last.
"Cadmus Slytherin!" Professor Sinistra said finally, making the hall go silent from shock. Tom stepped forward and she placed the hat on his curly head.
There was a moment of silence and Hermione leaned in to whisper, "His sorting is almost as long as yours was!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
Tom took a seat among the Ravens and sent a smile in Harry's direction.
McGonagall gave the annual warning against the Dark Forest and told the students not to go anywhere alone. Groups could always send someone ahead if a Dementor came too near.
After the feast, the Gryffindors made their way on up to their Common Room. The third year boys were shoved into a new room, up another level. And the rooms this year didn't surround a bathroom like a doughnut. No, there was a bathroom, that had seven doors leading to other rooms. Literally, the rooms made no sense because in order to enter or leave, you had to pass through the bathroom first.
So after bypassing the toilets and sinks, they had to find the door with their names on it. Finally, the one on the far right, showed promise and they entered to find a large square room with a big metal railing surrounding an old, cylindrical, coal stove to keep them warm in the winter months.
Harry and Ron were on opposite sides of the room and the boys along with Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnegan, started rearranging everything to the way they liked it. Neville in the far corner where there was space for his plants that he brought, Ron and Harry and the Seamus and Dean.
"Much better."
Seamus pulled a goblet out of his trunk and opened the nearest window. He held it out for a moment, before bringing it back.
"You a bit parched?" Dean asked, looking confused.
Seamus simply grinned before tapping the goblet with his wand and murmuring something too low for any of them to hear.
He drank the contents of the goblet in one gulp.
"Finally made a spell to turn water to rum!"
Neville's jaw dropped.
"Really?" Dean asked, leaning forward.
"Me mum helped me. It's great!"
"She lets you drink!" Ron said, sounding put out. "My mum doesn't want us drinking unless it's for important occasions."
"Varix doesn't want me drinking until I'm fifteen," Harry mumbled.
Seamus, who was busy filling another sup with rain water, winced in sympathy for him.
"That's tough, mate."
A/N: Another one is done.
-Varix killed a Dementor. This won't be regular though. The magick used in the attack made her foot length dress shrink to her mid thighs.
-Yay Seamus!
-Yay Tom!
-The thing about Harry's shirts. Did anyone else notice that he seems to wear the same grey shirt with the slight V shaped, black collar in every movie? I had Varix put a stop to it immediately.
-I updated Androgynous Lover and Mors Atra today! Check them out!
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CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR. THE LINK IS ON MY PROFILE. I FOLLOW BACK.