Harry Potter and the Power of Time

by RossWrock

Now AU, 6th Year, following OoTP. Tired of the way Dumbledore and the Order treat him, and ready to face his destiny, Harry dedicates long hours to muggle and magical training to take the fight to Voldemort for a change. Slight HPGW, not shippy though.

13. School Daze

Harry Potter and the Power of Time

Chapter 13 – School Daze

The trip to the headmaster's office was made in silence, regardless of the fact that each had a lot to say to the other. McGonagall herself was dying to know what Harry had been up to the summer, but refrained from asking at the headmaster's request. Harry had a few questions about the Quidditch season for his head of house, and wanted to know what she was told about his situation as well, but didn't say anything. He knew this day was coming ever since he wrote that first letter to Dumbledore.

Finally the two reached the gargoyle statue at the bottom of the spiral staircase. McGonagall wanted more than anything to accompany her student up the steps, but knew she couldn't.

"The headmaster is waiting for you, Mr. Potter. The password is 'Cauldron Cakes' for the next fortnight. Use it at your discretion. I'll see you in class Tuesday." Without another word, McGonagall left Harry alone, turning down one of the castle's many twisted corridors.

Harry waited a few moments before saying the password and riding the staircase up to the headmaster's office. In that time he gathered his wits, and quickly went over the story he had prepared for just this instance. When he arrived at the top of the stairs, he knocked on the door softly, and was rewarded a moment later.

"Come in Harry." Some things never changed.

Harry opened the door and was met with a view of the office virtually unchanged from the last time he had seen it. All the silver instruments he had broken were either repaired or replaced, and were in the exact positions they had previously taken. Dumbledore's desk too, which Harry had flipped over and broken, was repaired and back in excellent condition. The many portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses slumbered in their usual state, but Harry caught a few eyes open in the corners of his peripheral sight. One portrait who didn't bother to fake being awake was that of Phineas Nigellus. His last meeting with Harry hadn't been a good one, and Harry feared that Phineas still blamed him for the ending the Black line. No matter how much Sirius wasn't liked by the rest of his relatives; he was still the heir to the prominent pureblooded family. Now, that family was gone.

"Ah, Harry, how good to see you! I was much worried these past few months at your disappearance. I'm glad to see that you return to us unharmed."

Dumbledore certainly didn't waste any time getting to the matter at hand. Harry actually preferred that, and likewise didn't waste any time.

"I told you sir, that I would be fine." Harry reminded him. "And I didn't disappear; Remus and others knew where I was. I just wanted some freedom this summer, and unfortunately, that meant disappearing from you."

While he said this, Harry took the offered seat in front of Dumbledore's desk, and helped himself to a tray of cookies as well. He hardly had room after the huge feast he had just left, but wanted to appear at ease in the headmaster's office. He didn't want to show that he was plenty nervous.

Dumbledore frowned as Harry ate his cookie, while he pondered what to say next. He was trying to convince Harry that he only had his best interests at heart, but with the rift between the two, it was hard to do.

"Harry," he finally began," I understand your need for a degree of freedom in your life, especially considering the life you've led before attending Hogwarts. However, as I'm sure you know, you're also at a great level of danger most of the time, especially now with Voldemort publicly back in action. For you to simply go off on your own is unacceptable. You must be looked after; at all costs. I don't know where you've been this past month, or how you've survived, but I can assure you it was accomplished with a great deal of luck. Do you know that our spies tell us Voldemort himself is aware that you had gone missing? The moment you left your relatives, the blood magic that protects you greatly weakened. So much in fact, that Death Eaters were able to approach your uncle at his workplace to question him about you. Luckily Order members were able to interrupt them before any serious damage could be done, but do you see how dangerous this game is you're playing? Now that you're back at school a lot of this information is moot, but Harry, I implore you, consider your actions next time before acting on them."

Harry didn't take much time to think about a reply to what Dumbledore had said, because he largely ignored it. "Headmaster, I told you a month ago in my letter that I didn't want to be scolded for going against your wishes. That's exactly what you're doing now. The truth is you have no idea what I've been doing these last weeks, so you're in no position to tell me what 'serious damage' I've done. I don't care about any blood magic being weakened. And I don't care what happens to the Dursleys. Whatever they get they greatly deserve twice over, so they're not my concern. And seeing as how I'm never going back there, I don't see any future problems."

"But Harry, you must return next summer to strengthen the bonds that...."

"I mustn't do anything you say!" Harry yelled. At realizing he was raising his voice at Dumbledore again, he took a few breaths and calmed down. He then continued. "At least, unless it has to do with my schooling. I'll certainly listen to your advice, but hear me well. The final decision about what to do in my life comes down to me and me alone. Too many times you've interfered with my life, and have caused me undue pain and suffering. I won't let that happen again. I've got my own agenda now, and it won't necessarily correspond to yours anymore."

Dumbledore was about to ask about the interfering he had been accused of, but Harry didn't let him. Instead, Harry slid across a yellowed piece of parchment that answered the old wizard's questions. It was the letter Harry had found in his family vault, addressed to him posthumously by his parents. Dumbledore picked it up and read it silently. When he got to the part about Harry either being placed in Sirius's care, or being placed with a family that would love him, Harry could tell by the surprise in Dumbledore's eyes.

"As you can see," Harry explained, "I found out some more secrets you've been keeping from me. I warned you to come clean, and you haven't. And this letter isn't even the beginning of what I've discovered."

Dumbledore tried to explain. "Harry, you must understand there were reasons I kept this from you. You couldn't...."

"What possible reason could there be for keeping track of how much money I spend?" Harry didn't let him finish. Even if Dumbledore felt the reasons were justified, Harry didn't. He had made his position abundantly clear in the past, and Dumbledore had lost his chance. "What about my family vault? Just one of the many books in there, or the furniture, or even this letter, could have told me more about my family than anyone else has before. What right do you have to keep this from me?"

Dumbledore's face was shocked. "You entered your family vault?" If it were true, Dumbledore knew that there was nothing he could say or do to regain Harry's trust. He did have his reasons of course, but they were hard to explain to an emotional teenager. And were they even worth their original intentions; decided so long ago? Dumbledore began to question himself for the first time in many years.

"Yeah, I did. So you can see why I'm so upset! So Professor Dumbledore, I thank you for letting me continue with the DA this year, and for lifting my ban on Quidditch. I have no doubt that you're one of the best headmasters Hogwarts has had in a long while, and I'll continue my schooling under your supervision. But I just don't trust you anymore to make decisions affecting my personal life."

The two of them would have gone on for some time further, if they hadn't then been interrupted by a knock at the door. Both Harry and Dumbledore turned their heads to look in the direction, and they both spoke at the same time. The person on the other side of the door was not one to keep waiting.

"Come in, Minister Fudge/Cornelius." At hearing Harry's words echo his own, Dumbledore's glare turned once more to pierce that of Harry's. How had he detected the presence of the Minister? Just one more question Dumbledore had for young Harry.

"Albus, sorry to interrupt you so late at night, but I had a splendid idea that I'd like to move along on as soon as possible." The Minister didn't even pause long enough to look around the room, as he barged in and hung his bowler on a hat rack in the corner of the circular room. Magic could do wonderful things.

"I'd like to arrange a press conference to...." Fudge stopped in his yammering when he finally spotted Harry. "Ah, Mr. Potter, how good to see you again. Actually I'm glad you're here, as my idea largely has to do with you."

It amazed Harry how the man could greet him as if the two were old friends. Not two months ago, Harry was being called a liar and a troublemaker by the Minister. A few months before that, Harry was labeled a "crazy" who couldn't be trusted. Harry didn't know many other than the ones he had met during his trial, but he really hated politicians.

"What idea would that be Minister Fudge?" He asked.

Fudge took the other seat in front of Dumbledore's desk as he explained his visit.

"Why Harry, you've been approved for the prestigious award of Order of Merlin, Third Class, for your ongoing efforts to not only fight He-Who-Must- Not-Be-Named, but by surviving multiple encounters with him as well. This last time at the Ministry being your most valiant attempt. After much investigation by my own office, we've uncovered that when you learned that You-Know-Who was going to break into the Department of Mysteries to steal a highly guarded prophecy, none of the school staff believed your claims. So you took it upon yourself to thwart the evil wizards. I'd like to hold a press conference to bestow the award on you, for your dedicated commitment to uphold Ministry of Magic laws and regulations, and to show the wizarding world that the Boy-Who-Lived and the Minister of Magic are working side by side to do all that they can to stop any further Death Eater acts of terror. Why, with the recapture of You-Know-Who's most trusted servants, I don't doubt that his days are numbered."

Dumbledore remained silent during Fudge's tirade, but Harry couldn't take any more of it. Enough was enough.

"But that's not what happened! I didn't even know of the prophecy till I was already there! And there's plenty of other Death Eaters out there still. Lucius Malfoy, Nott, Avery, McNair, Bellatrix Lestrange! They all got away Scott free."

Fudge didn't pause long enough to even consider Harry's words. "Nonsense. What other reason could you of possibly had to be in the Department of Mysteries that night? Besides, my investigation team has reached their final conclusions. The team leader even knows you quite well. Percy Weatherby; I believe you know his family. And Lucius Malfoy and the others were found to simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's been proven innocent of all charges. True, Bellatrix Lestrange did manage to elude capture, but that won't last long. She's all alone now with her husband back in Azkaban. She can't be very stable at the moment. It's just a matter of time until we capture her and she leads us to the few others still out there. Problem solved, I say!"

Harry couldn't believe that Fudge could be so pigheaded, even taking into account the things he had seen the man do and say before. Even then, Fudge continued to spew utter nonsense about how the Ministry was back in control of the situation, as had been their plan the whole time. Dumbledore didn't even try to argue with Fudge's proclamation, and Harry now knew why. The man couldn't be reasoned with! 'Well,' Harry thought, 'maybe I can use this to my advantage.' The rough outline of a plan started to form in Harry's mind, and he believed it was doable. It would take some creative planning and a few well written letters, but Harry came to believe more and more that it would all work out.

"Count me in, Minister. I'd be honored to accept an Order of Merlin from you."

Both men stopped cold in their tracks when Harry spoke up. He didn't know which was more surprised; Fudge at so easily convincing him to agree to the award, or Dumbledore, who was surprised that Harry would participate in such an obvious attempt for the Minister to gain public favor. It was hard to keep a straight face, but Harry managed. Dumbledore reclaimed his wits before the other, and he was the first to speak.

"Harry, perhaps you should think this through before making any rash decisions. After all, accepting an award of such prestige is a lot of responsibility."

"Nonsense Albus," Fudge disagreed, "what's there to think about? It's a great honor for such a young wizard to receive an award like this. I'll make all the arrangements then. How does this weekend sound to you Harry? We can have the press conference in Hogsmeade, and I'm sure Professor Dumbledore can make arrangements for you to be escorted into town."

Harry agreed. "Sounds good, Minister. After all, if an Order of Merlin was good enough for Peter Pettigrew, than it's good enough for me.

"Yes, Pettigrew," Fudge reminisced, "a fine man. It's a shame that traitorous Black killed him before the ministry found out about Black's involvement with You-Know-Who. A truly heroic man."

Both Harry and Dumbledore knew differently, but said nothing. They had tried to convince Fudge of Sirius' innocence before, and that hadn't worked. So Harry let the pompous man think what he wanted. He knew the real truth.

After that, Fudge left as quickly as possible before Harry could change his mind. Harry stood too and made ready to leave, when he was interrupted by Dumbledore.

"Harry, we aren't done here yet. I still think you should reconsider accepting this award. You must see that the Minister has ulterior plans. And we haven't finished our discussion about your summer either." While Dumbledore spoke, Harry noticed his mind was being lightly probed by an excellent Legilimens. Dumbledore was trying to read his mind!

Harry brought up his inner defense walls to full alert while Dumbledore sifted through the random thoughts of his outer mind sphere. Not knowing he had already been detected, Dumbledore spread his mental powers thin, to cover as much space as possible. That made him susceptible to attack. Without any warning, Harry directed his thoughts of the Dursleys' treatment toward him to his outer sphere. The same areas in fact that Dumbledore was searching through. All the hate he had felt; all the emotional pain, the neglect, and the abuse he had ever been subjected to by the Dursleys rushed from its tightly contained subset into Harry's outer sphere, and assaulted Dumbledore with force. Served him right!

Dumbledore's eyes snapped closed as he relived the many verbal assaults and physical beatings Harry had endured the first ten years of his life. Because Dumbledore's mental facilities were spread so thin, it would take a good deal of time before the wizard was strong enough to break free from Harry's grasp. He had thought that Harry was still an amateur at best; he had no idea that Harry might now be even more advanced at Occulmency than he himself was. The punishment would have gone on even longer, but Harry took pity on Dumbledore after a few more short moments.

"Yes, we are done here. I'll decide whether to accept the Order of Merlin or not, and I choose to attend the ceremony. And about my summer, so far you haven't asked one single question. You've just accused me of not knowing what's for my own good. If you come up with any actual questions, which you're not just asking so you can regain some control over me, I'll be glad to answer them. As you can tell, I've been studying more than just 6th year potions this summer. That's what I've been doing with most of my time; studying and practicing. In the future I would suggest staying out of my head without permission. You might not like what you see."

Without another word, Harry left the room, and climbed the long staircase to Gryffindor tower where his roommates were already sleeping. He removed his shrunken trunk from his pocket, placed it at the foot of his familiar four poster bed, and changed into a set of his silk pajamas. The weather wasn't cold enough to need them, but with the open windows and cool Scottish breezes, Harry wanted the comfort they provided compared to just sleeping in his cotton boxers. The feel of silk on his skin helped Harry focus as he reorganized his mind's spheres, and put back the memories he had unleashed in Dumbledore's office. Thirty minutes later, Harry too was asleep.

In his own private quarters, attached to the circular office he had just left, Dumbledore too thought about the memories Harry had just subjected him to. Had the Dursleys really been that bad? If they were; which was most certainly the case; then he didn't blame Harry for wanting to get away from them. Dumbledore had never been one to judge people in the past. Each person, no mater their choices in life, had both faults and positive attributes that shaped their character. But the horrors he had seen directed at Harry his whole life, starting at the age of a mere toddler, were beyond approach. As he fell asleep, long after all the students and staff that occupied the castle, Dumbledore slowly began to understand just how upset and angry Harry was with his position in life. And that greatly troubled him. For if it was true, then Dumbledore feared he might have not just weakened it as he suspected. He feared that he might have already lost young Harry Potter's trust completely.

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The next morning proceeded without incident. Since it was Saturday, breakfast was delayed till its usual weekend time, and the whole student body had a chance to lie in.

After the meal, which Dumbledore had only looked at Harry once to try and apologize with his eyes, most of the student population left to do whatever it was that students do on weekends. Most would probably be doing some last minute summer homework, but Filch suspected that they were all up to no good. He wasn't happy that the first days back were a class free weekend, and made no attempt to hide the fact. He prowled the halls as vigilantly as always.

Snape wasn't too happy when he discovered that two of his most hated Gryffindors were slated to give his students a tour of the school grounds, but couldn't do anything about it. Since no Slytherins had volunteered to take their place, and he had lesson plans to finalize, he made do with leaving after giving Harry and Hermione a stern warning.

"Potter, Granger! Make sure you stick to only what the students absolutely need to know. Keep you Gryffindor prejudices and heroics to yourself. If I hear that these students were mistreated in any way, or that they've been told a bunch of blatant lies, then you two will have the honor of being the first students in Hogwart's history to serve detention before classes even begin. Do I make myself understood?"

After that, the morning ran more smoothly. Because of her knowledge imparted to her by many years of reading "Hogwarts: A History," Hermione took it upon herself to lead the tour of first year students along the halls and empty classrooms. Harry brought up the rear of the group, and only interrupted Hermione a few times when he had something additional to say about a certain hallway or painting. The tour schedule had been developed by the Head Girl ahead of time so the four tours wouldn't interrupt each other, and so for the next two hours, Harry and Hermione had only the nine new Slytherins for company.

To give them credit, the first year students listened attentively, and caused no trouble. Harry thought that it was because of the stern McGonagall-like expression Hermione was wearing, but wasn't positive. Most of the students also took many quick peeks at Harry's forehead, as if to prove to themselves that he was indeed Harry Potter. So far, he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

As promised, Hermione kept her part of the tour in the library to a half hour, even though she suggested that the students come back in their spare time to further acquaint themselves with the cataloging system.

"The library here at Hogwarts is among the most well respected in all of Europe. A half hour isn't nearly enough time to get to know the intricacies of such a large inventory. As this will be as much of your home as your dormitories during the next seven years of your life, I highly recommend spending some of your free time here to really get to know the place. Madame Pince as well can be a great source of information as long as you get on her good side, by following her rules and keeping any social conversations out of her library. Madame Pince likes her library staying quiet."

About halfway through the tour, Hermione thought it would be a good idea to stop at one of the small lounges on the third floor to give the first years a chance to ask any questions they might have. There were only eight chairs available, so Harry waved his wand to conjure three more for him, Hermione, and the odd student. Hermione raised her eye at Harry's talent, but said nothing in front of the younger students.

"Wow! Will we be able to do that after a year in class?" The small girl Rebecca, one of the few muggleborn students in Slytherin Harry and Hermione found out, asked the question about Harry's conjuring skills.

"No Rebecca," Harry answered, "that takes a few years to learn. It's actually a 7th year spell, but I know it because I studied it ahead of time this past summer. The chairs will only last for an hour at the most, and then they will disappear. It takes a lot of strength and practice to conjure and object that will last permanently." Harry lied about the chair, in part because he didn't want to be subjected to Hermione's endless questions, and in part because he didn't want it to leak to other students that he was capable of such advanced skills. What Voldemort didn't know, in this case, could hurt him want it to leak to other students. Harry reminded himself to vanish the chairs before they left.

"What else can you do?" Rebecca asked in reply.

Harry gave Hermione a quick look, but she just shrugged her shoulders. These weren't the type of questions Hermione was prepared to answer. She wanted to be asked about the history of Hogwarts' founders, or the building of the castle. Harry didn't think it could hurt, so he showed the group a few simple charms.

He levitated the coffee table a few feet off the floor, changed the color of it to a horrible shade of purple, and then added a sound charm to it so that every time someone would put there feet upon the table, it would make a sound like a hippogriff. The Slytherins enjoyed the talking table for a few moments, before it lost its appeal, and Harry returned it to normal. None of the spells were beyond what he was supposed to know, so Hermione wasn't impressed wither.

"Those are some of the spells you'll learn this year in Charms class. It's only your first year, so more advanced stuff will have to wait until later. But it's still loads of fun."

Of the nine first year students, Rebecca's eyes were the widest during the whole demonstration. She was obviously impressed, and asked if she could see more.

"What's the matter with you?" Another boy her age asked. "You act like you've never seen magic before. Haven't your parents shown you all this?"

Rebecca looked uncertainly at the boy before she answered, but did so with a confident strong voice. "I've never seen magic before, because I'm what your kind calls muggleborn. I still don't know exactly what that means, but I didn't even know magic existed a few weeks ago. All this is so amazing to me."

Another student in the group seemed to have a problem with her being muggleborn. Of all the first year Slytherins, Harry thought this one would be the most trouble. The student's name was Loren Zabini, and Loren looked just as androgynous as the older sibling.

"That's impossible!" Loren exclaimed. "There's no such thing as a muggleborn Slytherin. We're all purebloods."

Some of the others nodded in agreement, and some didn't know what to think. This type of stereotype is the exact reason why Harry chose the group of Slytherins over the other houses. Hopefully, he'd be able to stem any hateful attitudes before they could develop.

"Actually Loren," Harry corrected, "that's not entirely true. Although they're rare, there have been many muggleborn or mixed blooded Slytherins. I'm sure they just keep quiet about it because of the house prejudice. I'm muggle raised, and my mother was muggleborn, and the sorting hat tried to put me in Slytherin at first. I only asked to be put in Gryffindor because the only friend I had at the time had already been placed there."

A quiet girl who hadn't yet said a word, Staci, was surprised. "You mean you were almost a Slytherin? Harry Potter a Slytherin; imagine that."

Harry laughed with the rest of them. Even Hermione found a little humor in the situation. It was widely known throughout the wizarding world that Harry displayed his Gryffindor colors proudly.

"You want to hear something else even more ironic?" All the kids nodded. "Well, Voldemort himself, who's the actual heir to Slytherin, is a half breed too. His father was a muggle. Of course he doesn't spread that particular rumor around, but it's true."

Harry knew he was taking a gamble with the Slytherins, but was willing to risk it. What was the worst that could happen? Nine more Slytherins would hate him? He wouldn't even notice the additional amount. But if he could get these nine to believe in the truth, than maybe future generations of students wouldn't be so quick to judge. As he knew would happen, eight of the nine students cringed with fear at the mention of the name, while Rebecca remained blissfully ignorant.

Todd, another of the boys, didn't believe Harry. "That's not true. You- Know-Who hates muggleborns. That's the whole reason behind what he's doing. His father can't be a muggle!"

Harry was encouraged that at least he hadn't used the word "Mudblood." He might have a chance to get to know and like these students after all.

"Actually, it is the truth. Voldemort's real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr., named after his muggle father." Harry took the time to write the name out in smoke, and rearranged the letters to prove his point. "His father abandoned him and his mother before he was born, so Voldemort swore he'd have nothing to do with him. His hate for his father transferred to a hate for all muggles, even though it's a stupid reason. Years later, Voldemort went back and killed his father, and his father's new family. Now, he fools all his believers by changing his name and omitting the fact that he's half muggle. All his pureblood worshipers would probably mutiny if they found out the truth."

A girl asked Harry how he found this all out, and he gave them a brief description of his second year and the magical diary. He left out Ginny's involvement and the number of students who had been petrified, but got the point across of how his final encounter had come to pass. After that, it was a free for all on Harry.

"Did you really duel You-Know-Who and win?"

"I heard you killed a basilisk with your bare hands!"

"Can you really turn into a phoenix?"

"My cousin says that you killed a Death Eater in cold blood. Is that true?"

This wasn't exactly what Harry had planned, but he wasn't surprised. Hermione too looked to be very upset. The extra time these questions were taking had delayed them from their schedule, and if anything, Hermione hated to deviate from a schedule.

"OK, OK, listen! Settle down!" The questions stopped, and Harry made a deal with them. "How about this? No more questions about me or Death Eaters during the tour so we can finish. Then afterwards if you want, we'll go into an empty classroom and you can ask me a couple of questions. Sound good?"

The first year Slytherins quickly agreed, and the tour continued. Hermione was much happier back in her element, and made up for lost time as she lectured them all on the history of different suits of armor and told them all which trick steps they should avoid on certain days.

When the tour finished, Hermione excused herself to the library, and Harry and the nine Slytherins entered an empty fourth floor classroom to sit and talk. The questions they asked for the most part were absurd, but Harry kept his promise. Most of the good questions he couldn't even answer himself, as he still wasn't sure how he had originally survived Voldemort's first assault. But they learned the most important things about him. That yes, he had fought Voldemort and lived to tell about it. And that no, he didn't hate all Slytherins, only some of them who gave their house a bad name. Harry even went as far as to tell them that he personally knew of a Gryffindor who had done far worse things than most Slytherins, and that a Death Eater could come from any house. Loren Zabini especially had a lot to think about at hearing the truth. Either the Zabini family or some of their friends had long ago told Loren that Harry Potter hated anyone who wasn't a Gryffindor, and that he was a spoiled brat who thought he could get away with anything. After spending the morning with him, that didn't seem the case.

Eventually Harry got tired of the many questions, and they were becoming a bit too personally for his taste, so he put a stop to them. Everyone complained of course, but Harry had an idea how he could further befriend the nine youngsters.

"I'll tell you what. How about on the way back down to the lunch, I show you some of the secret passages I've discovered over the years?"

"Secret passages?" This came from Lizzy, one of the girls. "There aren't really secret passages, are there?"

"Sure there are." Harry replied. "No castle can be complete without secret passages. I've discovered loads in the five years I've been here, and I'm sure there are dozens more. Come on, let's go!"

In truth, Harry only showed them a few of the better known passages that would save time while running between classes, but the whole group thought finding each one was like unearthing another wonder of the world. The last passage Harry showed them, a narrow tunnel that started in a dead end corridor off the Great Hall, ended in the same hallway that the door to the Slytherin common room was located on. Harry showed them this before he had a chance to think about what he was giving away. Loren Zabini caught on though, and questioned Harry about it.

"How do you know where the Slytherin common room is? That's supposed to be secret!"

Harry got a little nervous, but answered with one of his lopsided grins.

"Let's just say that secret passages aren't the only things I've discovered in the past five years. There's loads more to Hogwarts than meets the eye, and I've found a fair bit of it."

Without saying anything more, Harry led the group back up the tunnel to the Great Hall for lunch.

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The rest of Saturday and all of Sunday passed without incident, and Harry spent most of his time catching up with friends and getting prepared for the first week of classes. Because he was only taking a total of five classes, his schedule wasn't as heavy as most of the other students, but Harry still wanted to be prepared.

The schedules were actually handed out Sunday morning at breakfast, a day earlier than normal. Each of Harry's five classes met twice a week, and as luck provided, Harry only had two classes a day. One in the morning, and one in the afternoon. The times varied because there were five periods in each day, but Harry was still left with a lot of extra time during the week.

"How'd you only get five classes, mate? I thought you did well on your OWL's? Even I got seven classes." Ron had qualified for NEWT level classes in DADA, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, and Divination. Because of his low grades and losing the title of prefect, it was decided by his mother and McGonagall that he would also have to take remedial Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions. His small comfort was that the remedial classes weren't taught by the same professors. They were taught by a secondary teaching staff, who only worked at the castle part time. So few students opted to take the remedial classes, there wasn't a need for them to work more than one or two days a week. In fact, most of the secondary staff was only a few years older than the students, and lived in Hogsmeade or other nearby towns.

Harry answered Ron, and Hermione as well because she had raised an eyebrow at seeing Harry's schedule. "I only chose to take the five classes. I qualified for more, but didn't want to waste the time. I've got other things to do that will be more beneficial than Herbology or Astronomy."

"Oh but Harry," Hermione lectured, "your NEWT scores will largely dictate what type of job you can get once you graduate. You're severely limiting yourself by only taking five NEWT level classes."

"Four actually. I've decided to take Arithmancy, but McGonagall won't let me take the sixth year level class. She says I've got to pass my OWL first, so I'll be taking the class with fifth years."

Hermione wasn't pleased with the news, as she thought Harry was capable of much more. Ron likewise wasn't happy either. Although he knew he didn't do as well as his two other friends, he had hoped that the NEWT level classes he did have would all be together. Now, the only class they would share was DADA. Hermione was in Herbology with him, but he'd have to take CoMC and Divination alone. Facing Trelawney with only Pavarti and Lavender as his fellow Gryffindors wasn't a pleasant thought.

Monday morning finally rolled around, and Harry's first class was Charms. It wasn't the first period of the day, so Harry had some time right after breakfast before class. While nearly everyone else was in class, Harry rushed back to his dorm to take an extra long shower in his trunk and to get his books. One of the purchases he had bought was a new bag to replace Dudley's old worn one. It was charmed to be feather light no matter how many books it held, but Harry only used it for the bare essentials. If he put his entire library in it after all, he'd never find the book he was looking for.

Charms class was more of an introduction than anything else. Since the class format changed over previous years, Professor Flitwick took the time to go over the course syllabus and introduce all the students who may not know each other. In NEWT level classes, all four houses had class together, instead of divided up by house. It made for a larger class size sometimes, especially in popular subjects like Charms, but Professor Flitwick assured the class that he'd show just as much personal attention as always.

Harry sat by the door with Hermione and Dean in class, and it was a good thing too. One of the students showed up late to class, and was instructed to take the first empty seat. If Harry wasn't surrounded on both sides, he might have had to sit next to Draco Malfoy for the entire 70 minute class.

Professor Flitwick didn't show them any new incantations or wand methods that first day, but did describe a few of the new charms they would be learning. The time before Christmas holidays apparently was dedicated to common household charms. Harry realized that many of them he either already knew, or had learned advanced versions of. So far he had one class down, which didn't look to be so bad.

After lunch, Harry headed to the familiar DADA classroom, with both Hermione and Ron in tow. No one had yet seen the new teacher, but they were about to find out. Just like in Charms class, all four houses were accounted for in the large classroom. With pleasure, Harry noted that most of the students were all DA members. Slytherin house only had three students present, none of which was Draco. Ron's day was looking up.

Professor Ruthesis Rofordit stepped out of the attached office just as the final bell rang. Or rather, she crawled out. It took almost two whole minutes for her to get to her desk at the front of the room, and then another five to go through roll call. She was ancient!

"Crikie! She must be as old as Dumbledore!" Ron whispered in Harry's ear. "Now I know where I've seen her name before. She's on one of the plaques in the Trophy Room. I must have polished it a dozen times over the years."

"Yes, I remember her now too." Hermione put in her two cents. "She was Dumbledore's first appointed professor of DADA when he became headmaster. She retired years ago. Ron, I bet she might have even taught your parents."

Similar discussions were passing around the room in quiet waves, and Professor Rofordit didn't seem to hear any of it. After roll call she went over the syllabus just as Flitwick did, and then she instructed all the students to read the first chapter in their books. Harry did as told, but was becoming concerned that the class was beginning too much like the previous year.

Twenty minutes later, when the class had finished its assigned reading, Rofordit stood up and came to the front of the room. She addressed the class.

"I'm sure most of ya have heard by now that it's been many years since my last Defense Against the Arts class. In truth, it's been 37 years. I taught this subject for eleven years, and before that I was an auror for almost 50. So, it's more than apparent I'm not exactly a spring chicken anymore." This earned a polite chuckle from most of the students.

"However, even though I'm not at the top of my game anymore, I have years experience that I can share with ya. We're in some troubled times right now, and the future doesn't look any brighter. That's the only reason why I agreed to come back to teach once again. It's a special favor for Dumbledore, so you'd be wise to listen to what I have to say. There's some spice to this old gal yet."

The class laughed again more earnestly. Maybe she wouldn't be so bad after all.

"We'll dismiss class early today, so ya can get a head start on your homework. I want 18 inches describing your previous professors in this subject, and what they've taught you. It's due next Monday at the start of class. But before you go, let's have a short duel. Raise your hand if ya think you can beat me in a simple friendly duel? I'll give 50 house points to anyone who manages."

The class broke out into excited whispers. 50 points! That was a lot of points to be offered. In fact, the only person to ever award so many points at once had been Dumbledore, during the End of Year Feast. A few looked like they wanted to try against their new professor, but most remained quiet. All the DA members gave looks to Harry, but he didn't raise his hand. Privately, he thought he might be able to beat Rofordit. He had no doubt she knew more spells than he did, but Harry figured that by moving quickly and never giving her time to rest, he might be able to best the older woman. Still, he hardly knew anything about her, and he wanted to see her in action before he tried a duel.

When nobody raided their hand, Professor Rofordit gave an eerie grin. The wrinkled skin and age spots marring her face gave her a frightening look.

"What the matter? Nobody thinks they can beat an old woman? I'm over a hundred years older than ya! Surely someone wants to try for so many points?"

It looked like no one would, but then a person in the front of the room raised their hand. Harry couldn't see who it was until he stood up, but then he knew. It was Zacharias Smith, the Hufflepuff from the DA.

"Alright now! We finally got someone with some hair on their chest." Rofordit praised Smith for stepping forward. "Tell you what. Just this once, for volunteering first, I'll give ya 5 points for the effort."

The rest of the class watched in anticipation as Rofordit magicked all the desks and chairs against the walls, and ushered the class behind a protective barrier. That way, only Smith and herself would be in danger of getting hit by a stray curse. Since the duel wasn't an official one, they didn't bother conjuring a regulation sized dueling platform. Instead, she explained that the whole area could be used, furniture and all. Harry knew that could be a huge advantage for someone with transfiguration skills like himself, but doubted Smith had any practice like that. Rofordit probably had though.

Finally the duel started. At first, neither Smith nor Rofordit made a move. In fact, Rofordit hadn't even drawn her wand yet. Two of the Slytherins in the back were placing wagers on who would win, but Harry didn't know how it was possible to; without having seen them fight before.

Smith threw the first curse; a disarming spell that Rofordit easily side stepped. Harry inwardly swore. The DA students would probably be awfully rusty if they couldn't remember to never begin a duel with a disarming spell. Smith should have cast some simple charms instead to gauge Rofordit's speed and maneuverability.

In retaliation, Rofordit just stood there and smiled. She had ample time to cast something in return, but let the opportunity pass. Smith didn't seem to notice, as he cast a second spell, this time a stunner.

Rofordit again side stepped the light beam, never even drawing her wand. The two combatants stood about thirty feet apart from each other, with nothing in between, and neither one made a move to get any closer. Harry could tell that Smith was getting frustrated with Rofordit. More than half of the spells Hogwarts students learned were defensive spells, and Rofordit was decisively taking them out of Smith's arsenal by not attacking.

The next volley of spells that Smith cast were more up to par with what Harry had taught him the year before. In quick succession, he cast a leg locking curse, Furnunculus (which causes boils), and a strong Flipendo curse. The most affective of these was the Flipendo, which could possibly knock out an opponent. The other two were just annoyances. Smith's hope, as Harry had taught him, was that in the process of dodging or blocking the Flipendo, his opponent wouldn't have time to avoid the others.

So it surprised everyone when Rofordit easily countered all three. She actually stepped into the path of the leg locking curse, while stepping out of the way of the Furnunculus spell. The Flipendo would have hit her straight on, but while moving forward, she finally drew her wand to cast a simple protection shield. The leg locker curse hit her full on just after the Flipendo was reflected, but half a second later, she had cast the counter charm and was back in fighting form.

After that, the match didn't last much longer. Smith had lost confidence after the failed multi-spell attack, and had resorted to dueling like a second year. He cast one failed spell after another, and Rofordit countered, dodged, or blocked it each time. The only offensive spell she cast was her last one, which successfully disarmed Smith. Six minutes after the duel had begun, Zacharias had dropped his guard while strategizing, and had forgotten that his opponent had chosen not to attack, rather than being prevented from doing so. When he dropped his guard, Rofordit pounced on the opportunity, and struck before Smith even had a chance to defend himself. The match was over.

After all the desks were returned to their normal positions, and the class had retaken their seats, she congratulated Smith on his performance.

"Good job Smith, especially being the first one to try. Ya started out a little shaky, but that one burst of spells would have worked against a less experienced fighter. After that though, you got discouraged. Ya wanted me to attack ya, and it was plainly written on your face. So I simply stood there until ya dropped your guard. Can you think of anything else ya did wrong?"

Zacharias though for a moment, and then spoke. "I shouldn't have started out with a disarming spell, and I shouldn't have let you tire me out so quickly. I used up all my energy casting one useless spell after another. I should have taken my time thinking up more combinations instead of just casting random spells."

Professor Rofordit agreed with Smith. "Right ya are. The reason why it's bad to start out any duel, be it a friendly one or a fightn' one, with a disarming spell is that it's too expected. It's the obvious choice, so everyone always expects it. You might get lucky every once in a while, but not often. And the time it takes to cast, gives your opponent time to cast something more dangerous. For example, if ya cast Expelliarmus, and I cast a Reductor Curse, and they both hit, what would happen? You'd have a hole in your chest, and I'd just have to spend a moment picking my wand up off the ground. Expelliarmus should only be used when your opponent is on the defensive or tired, or when you're certain that he won't be able to get to his wand again.

"As for randomly casting spells without thinking, yes, it was wrong in this instance. But sometimes it can be the right strategy. Anyone know when?"

Harry was the only one to raise his hand. He didn't know if he would normally know the answer, but this one he had read in the auror's handbook he had picked up over the summer.

"Mr. Potter, is it? I expected ya to be a little taller." Rofordit's comment gained a round of chuckles around the class. "What do ya think?"

"You can successfully cast random spells when your opponent is on the defensive." Harry explained. "Instead of giving them time to regroup or form a plan of attack, keep them moving by not letting up in your assault. Meanwhile, while you're casting random spells, you can think of a new strategy, or try to maneuver your opponent into a compromising position."

Rofordit might have been impressed, but she didn't show it.

"Very good Mr. Potter, five points to Gryffindor. I see someone hasn't let the lack of decent defense teachers get in the way of their education. That's it for today. Next week, someone else can have a go for those 50 points. I'll challenge students once a week until I get beat, or until ya all give up. Class dismissed."

The rest of the day, while Hermione and to a lesser extent the others, began their first homework assignments, Harry made posters and sign up sheets advertising the new DA meetings. Students from any house and any year were able to join, but final membership was still decided on by Harry. He hoped that Malfoy and his stooges wouldn't be dumb enough to attempt to join. It was obvious that if they did, it was only to spy on the group and try to disrupt their meetings. Other than them, Harry didn't have any problems with any others joining. He did want to keep the DA down to a manageable number though. So on the posters and sign up sheets, Harry placed a limit on the number of students that could join. Fifty in each group sounded about right to him. It was more than he had had before, but with the additional help of Remus, Harry figured that would be alright. So the thirty or so students in the advanced DA would get a boost in numbers, and the novice group would start out strong. Harry didn't know how popular the groups would be, but the goal he set of seven students in each year from each house, in both groups, sounded reasonable.

Because he couldn't get into the other three common rooms to post the sign up sheets, Harry made a trip down into his trunk's living quarters that night before curfew. While they didn't work for the castle anymore, Dobby and Winky still knew their way around, and could be of some use. Luckily they were in their own quarters, and appreciated the work Harry offered them. The past few days had left them quite bored.

On the way back out of his trunk, Harry ran into his double. When Harry had made the trip to Hogwarts, he had stopped time traveling temporarily to get accustomed to his new schedule. By the week's end however, he must have felt ready to start up again. The odd thing though, other than there being a perfect copy of himself standing two feet away, was that there was only one double, not two. For the past many months, Harry had got used to seeing three versions of himself. Having only two left him feeling naked in a way.

"Hey, aren't we missing someone?" The original Harry asked his future self.

"Nope." He replied. "You decided that while at school, you didn't need to push yourself so hard. So we'll only be traveling once each week from now on. Monday nights at eight o'clock, we go back six days. The current us will worry about classes, the DA, Quidditch practices, prefect patrols, and so on, while the future version of us will keep up with advanced training, and do all our homework for next week. Trust me, it works out great. And boy, are you in for an exciting week!"

The future Harry laughed at his own joke, whatever it was. Harry hated when his future selves hinted at something that would happen in the future, but wouldn't tell him what it was. He always had to wait until it happened to find out what was so funny.

The other Harry wouldn't say anything more, so they made their goodbyes and turned in for the night after their daily meditation. The real Harry in his four poster bed in the Gryffindor dormitory, and the future version of himself stretched out in the luxurious sleigh bed inside his magical trunk.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Tuesday passed as quickly as possible. Again, like everyday during the week, Harry only had one class in the morning, and one in the afternoon.

Transfiguration with Hermione in the morning was pleasant, and Harry was pleased with the level of success he was able to cast his spells with. The practice Dobby and Winky had given him during the summer had helped tremendously, and Harry was consistently one of the top five students to finish his transformations correctly. The total class size was smaller than both DADA and Charms had been, but it was still substantial; perhaps twenty students. Draco Malfoy was one, but fortunately Professor McGonagall never let him get away with his usual snide remarks and insults.

Hermione and Harry had both finished the last exercise early, and had time to talk the last ten minutes of class. They had been working on cross species transfiguration, and Hermione spent most of the time congratulating Harry on his improvement. He had even almost beat her once, although just barely. That's what made Hermione suspicious. It was well known that Hermione was the best Transfiguration student in their year; possibly even in the whole school. Beating her was no mere feat. Harry laughed the whole thing off, again reminding his noisy friend that he had done nothing but read ahead and practice all summer long. Grudgingly, Hermione bought his excuse. Privately, Harry thought she was just upset that she might no longer be the top transfiguration student.

Arithmancy was his afternoon class, and Harry was nearly late because he had never been to the classroom before. If he had been smarter he would have left early to try and find it, but Professor Snape had caught him in the hallway right after lunch. He demanded to know how Harry had posted DA sign up sheets in the Slytherin common room, and why they wouldn't come down.

Harry had asked Dobby and Winky to use a permanent sticking charm in the dungeon, like the one the portrait of Mrs. Black used, but he didn't tell Snape that. Instead, he just said that he had one of the students post it there for him, but couldn't remember who it was. He didn't know anything about a permanent sticking charm!

Snape was miffed, but could do nothing without proof, so eventually let Harry go. He did hint though, that the Potions lesson tomorrow morning would be particularly painful. Harry wasn't surprised.

Unlike his NEWT level classes, Arithmancy was a fifth year level class, so it wasn't comprised of students from all four houses. Instead only two houses filled the seats; Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Harry had never had a class with only Ravenclaw students before, but that wasn't surprising. Each year had a random lottery to decide which houses would share their classes, and Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had never been paired together in Harry's year. In the past, his group had always been matched with Hufflepuff for Herbology and Astronomy, and Slytherin for Potions and CoMC. The rest of his subjects had been Gryffindor house alone.

The only student Harry knew in the strange classroom was Ginny Weasley, so he made his way over to her and asked if the empty seat was taken. It wasn't, so she smiled and offered it to him.

Harry should have known better; that Ginny would have been in the class, but it had slipped his mind. After the trio's horrible experience in Divination, he, Hermione, and Ron had all warned the younger girl to stay far away from Trelawney, and take another elective. At first Ginny had wanted to take Muggle Studies, but changed her mind at the last moment. Her older brother Charlie had taken Muggle Studies when he was in school, and whenever home, he was endlessly questioned by their fascinated father. Ginny preferred some free time during her holidays, so she decided to take Arithmancy her third year. It might not be as much fun as another choice, but at least she could ask Hermione for help with her homework.

Unlike his other classes, Harry found that he was far ahead in the subject matter when it came to Arithmancy. He wasn't joking when he had written McGonagall saying that he would be ready for NEWT level classes when the summer ended. Harry thought he was even beyond a sixth year experience. Besides perhaps potions, Arithmancy was the subject he studied most during the summer. Harry had already made some progress on his personalized stunner spell, and thought it might be ready before his Halloween deadline. It was things like that he studied in his free time, while everyone else was off to their extra classes.

Because the class came so easy for him, Harry went about his work quickly, and then worked on his own formulas. The first day of class became a pattern for how the professor liked to work, and Harry soon discovered that every class would follow the same schedule.

The first twenty minutes or so would have the teacher, Professor Vector, lecturing about the assigned reading, and answering any questions the students might have. Then she would assign a few equations to work out, followed by an advanced one for extra credit. All the work would be collected before class ended, and anything that wasn't completed was to be finished by next class, in addition to the assigned reading.

As he didn't have many questions for Professor Vector during the first part of class, Harry usually started work on the day's equations, so he finished well before anybody else. Then, for the remainder of class, he worked on his personal stunner, or anything else he fancied. As long as he remained quiet and the work stayed on paper, no one knew the difference. Harry almost thought of the class as a study hall for him. When class ended, he turned in his work just like everybody else, and left without Professor Vector never knowing the difference.

"Harry, wait up!"

Harry was so occupied with keeping his extra work private, that he had run from the room, totally forgetting that Ginny was right behind him. It was rather rude, and Harry apologized.

"Sorry Ginny, I forgot you were there for a second." Ooops, that sounded bad. "I mean, I was so involved with the work, I just got stuck in my head. What's up?"

If Ginny was insulted, she didn't show it. "I just wanted to talk about tonight's prefect patrol with you. Hermione says we have to meet the earlier shift in the Great Hall at exactly midnight. I figured we could meet up a little early, so we wouldn't be rushed."

"Sounds good." Harry agreed. "How about we meet in the common room at 11:30, and then walk down together. I'll bring the Marauder's Map too, so we'll have an easy time keeping watch."

Ginny thought that a fabulous idea. The Marauder's Map would let them do virtually anything they wanted, and still be able to patrol the hallways for unauthorized names. They could just sit in a hallway all night long, and not have to worry about patrolling.

"I bet we get loads of opportunity to break up some snogging or something; using that map. Fred and George will be so jealous!"

Harry remembered that the Map had originally belonged to the twins, but didn't take the time to remind Ginny of it. In truth, he didn't know if she knew. And he didn't want to get his business partners in trouble, so Harry didn't risk it.

"How about we wait to see what happens?" Harry asked. "I don't want to be known as a killjoy throughout the whole school. Besides, we'll seem like peeping toms if we manage to interrupt every snogging session. Let's wait to see who we catch out of bed first."

Ginny gave in, and the two parted on the fifth floor. Harry was heading back to Gryffindor tower, but Ginny still had another class to attend.

The actual patrol route wasn't as fun as the two thought it would be. Since it was both their first time, they didn't know that the first week back to school, the only thing they could expect to find was Mrs. Norris and a few dead rats. It seemed that because the prefect patrol route had just been reintroduced, no students were willing to risk being caught so early in the year. In a few weeks, maybe, but not so soon after being warned about extra security.

Harry and Ginny spent the two hours roaming the hallways with no particular path in mind. Because of the map, it was impossible for them to get lost, even if they didn't recognize that part of the castle. They talked about many things, mostly about their first days of class, and about the upcoming Quidditch season. Besides them, only Ron would be a returning member. The two beaters they had found after Fred and George were banned, Sloper and Kirke, both decided that watching the sport was more enjoyable than playing it, and had let Harry and the team know they weren't coming back. McGonagall was happy enough, but that left the team in an even tighter spot than before. Instead of three spots, now they had to replace five instead. Four if you counted Ginny as a chaser, which wasn't guaranteed. A few times the two came across a team of aurors who were likewise roaming the castle, but other than that, they were left alone. The aurors, they were informed, wouldn't always patrol alongside the prefects. They would do random patrolling from their posts outside the school grounds, but would most of the time stay out of sight.

2 am finally rolled around, although Harry wished it wouldn't. Not because patrolling with Ginny was so great. If anything, Harry was getting a little tired of talking Quidditch strategy. The Weasley's never gave up! But instead, Harry didn't want the night to end because once he fell asleep, the morning would follow. And the following morning, Harry had his first Potions lesson with Snape. Arghhh!

Harry's bad mood continued into breakfast, where he hardly ate anything. Hermione was busy with her nose in a book, but Ron noticed Harry not eating, because the two often competed to see who could eat the most strips of bacon. The standing record was 37, held by Ron.

"What's the matter Harry? You've hardly touched your food?"

Harry took a moment to grab his napkin and wipe his shirt clean of the mess Ron had just sprayed on it, and then threw it back on the table. Any other day he would have made a joke about Ron's eating habits, but wasn't in the mood today.

"Got Potions with Snape after breakfast. I'm just not looking forward to it, is all. I swore to myself that I wouldn't take any of his crap this year, and he's already been really hard on me so far. Yesterday he even threatened me; saying that class was going to be particularly painful. I just don't know how to handle him anymore. I'm not going to sit back and let him insult me, but I can't just get up and walk out of the room either"

"Why not? I'd love to see the look on his face if you did. It would almost be worth showing up to that class to see." Ron made the joke as he shoveled another forkful of eggs into his mouth. "That's one great thing about these remedial classes. No Snape! I might actually learn something in potions this year. God knows Snape's never taught us anything useful before. If it weren't for Hermione, I'd never have even gotten this far."

Harry agreed with every word that Ron said, but none of it was useful to him. He still had to go and face down his most hated professor, and in less than fifteen minutes. "At least," Harry thought, "we haven't had our first Occulmency lesson yet. I don't even plan on showing up tomorrow night. That will really put him in a foul mood!"

The schedule he had gotten from McGonagall Sunday morning had two nightly sessions blocked out with Snape, which were obviously intended for Occulmency lessons. Harry had no intentions of showing up, as no one had even asked him whether he wanted the classes or not. Even if he had been asked, Harry didn't need the extra study any more. Dumbledore could testify to that! And if Snape had any problems with Harry not showing up, Harry could show him his proficiency just as easily as he had shown the Headmaster.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry was seated as far back as possible in the smelly potions dungeon, with only Hermione and Lavender as his fellow Gryffindors. This class was his smallest yet, having only fourteen students. Not surprisingly, Draco Malfoy was present, as were Crabbe and Goyle. Those two were surprising. There was no way they could have qualified for NEWT level Potions on their own merits.

"This year," Professor Snape began a second after the bell rung, "will prove to be more difficult than you could possibly imagine. I doubt that half of you have the potion skills to correctly brew even the simplest tonic on my agenda this year. In fact, I don't understand how many of you even managed to convince your OWL examiners that you posses the knowledge required for NEWT level Potions." Snape was intently staring at Harry as he said this. The underlying content wasn't lost on the class. Harry turned red in frustration, and Malfoy's snicker could be heard clear across the room, but Harry didn't rise to Snape's bait.

"How about you, Potter? Do you have any idea how it is that a student with an obvious lack of skills could have qualified for this class?" The jab was made at him, but Harry neatly turned it around to insult Snape.

"I don't know Professor." Harry said as he stared directly at Crabbe and Goyle. "I guess any student could have gotten in with the right faculty involvement. Personally, I think it reflects poorly on the rest of the staff, when one professor favors students in their own house over others. Assuming that the professor is a head of house, of course."

Malfoy's sneers came to a dramatic end as he shot daggers at Harry. He had to, because Crabbe and Goyle were to dumb to do it on their own behalf. Malfoy's glares were nothing however, compared to the icy cold look coming from Snape.

"Ten points from Gryffindor Potter! For your judgmental view of our faculty. Who are you to question your professors?"

It wasn't fair by a long shot, but Harry knew that arguing would only result in a further loss of points. So he remained quiet, and was rewarded by a diversion of Snape's attention. Harry thought that Snape didn't want to give him another chance to trade insults again. Harry wasn't the timid eleven year old boy he once was. He could give as well as he got these days, and Snape knew it.

After a few more soft insults against Harry and Gryffindors in general, Snape finally got around to the day's lesson. They were to brew Skele-Gro for Madame Pomfrey, as the sixth years did every year at the beginning of term. Although the potion was only sold publicly by one company, Rubens Winikus Inc., Snape explained that the school had special authorization to brew the potion because the original inventor had been a Hogwarts professor at the time. Harry was alarmed at first to discover that the potion he had consumed in second year was brewed by students, but was put at ease by the fact that the potion had worked. Harry thought he might even have an advantage over the others, as he remembered the color and smell of the final potion.

There were an odd number of students in each house, so partnering up took some time. The odd Slytherin chose Terry Boot in Ravenclaw to share a desk with, and after apologizing to Hermione for leaving her with Lavender, Harry went to approach the lone Susan Bones from Hufflepuff. The Slytherins greatly outnumbered the other houses, so no one was feeling very comfortable.

Harry and Susan working as a team proved to be more beneficial than either thought would. Harry, who gained plenty experience with a knife at having to serve the Dursleys their meals for so many years, prepared all the ingredients for the cauldron. Susan, who didn't like the actual handling of the ingredients, gratefully maintained the fire temperature, and stirred the formula when needed. That Harry had never had patience for, as he was always confusing directions and the difference between a swirl and a stir. Only in the quiet confines of his private potions room could Harry concentrate enough to do both jobs.

The one problem Harry had, was when he began the potion and put on his black bandana. He hadn't had opportunity yet to wear it outside of exercising, but with the cauldron smoke and intense heat, Harry wanted to keep his hair out of his face.

"What's the matter Potter? School uniform regulations not good enough for the famous likes of you?" Snape hadn't missed a beat of the new cloth on Harry's head.

But Harry had been prepared for this. He had expected Snape to make fun of him the very day he had bought the bandana back in June, and had been through every school rulebook to make sure their wasn't a code somewhere that the potions master could take advantage of.

"Sorry Professor." Harry answered. "I like to wear a bandana when I work with potions. It keeps my hair from getting oily.

Many spoons and measured beakers clicked hard on the stone tabletops as every student stopped what they were doing to gawk at Harry. Sure, everyone knew that Snape had greasy hair. Even the Slytherins joked about it. But no one said anything! It was almost taboo.

"Take that ridiculous rag off you head this instant, Potter! And ten points off Gyffindor for being insubordinate!"

"I didn't mean to offend you Professor Snape." Harry apologized. "I wasn't even talking about you. But you're the one who brought up uniform regulations. I looked through them, and it says that in lieu of a wizarding hat, which is cumbersome and possibly flammable, students can wear appropriate headwear as long as it doesn't impeach another's learning. I don't see a problem with my bandana interfering with anyone else, so I don't really see a problem. But if I've overlooked another rule which you know off, then I'll gladly take it off. Just let me know which rule it is so I can read into it more clearly. I wouldn't want to break any others."

Snape was besides himself with rage, but their was nothing he could do without having Harry break any rules; besides taking another 15 points off Gryffindor for being a know-it-all, which he gladly did. After that, Snape locked himself in his office during the remainder of class, no doubt researching school uniform regulations.

"Gee Harry, thanks!" At Susan's odd statement, Harry asked her what she meant by it. She explained. "Well, with you in class, Professor Snape hasn't even looked at me or any of the other Hufflepuffs. Ravenclaws neither. It looks like with you in class, the rest of us don't have to worry about his bad temper anymore."

She couldn't have been more right, as Harry leaned during his second potions lesson Friday afternoon. Wednesday afternoon and Thursday were just a repeat of Charms, Transfiguration, and DADA classes. All interesting, but with no real new progress. Friday morning was another uneventful day in Arithmancy, but potions class proved to be nothing but eventful. By dinner, the whole school was talking about it.

"Last lesson," Snape began, "you all attempted to brew Skele-Gro. Not many succeeded. But who am I to say? So to see which of your potions work properly, and which of them fail, I've decided that one person from each team will test their own potion to judge the effects for themselves. We'll begin with you, Potter. I believe you have some experience with this formula, do you not?"

It was downright dirty, and Harry wasn't going to stand for it. But before he could say anything, Hermione stood and voiced her own opinion.

"But Professor Snape, you can't! The potion is supposed to taste awful, and hurt something fierce. Besides, no one is missing any bones. What's going to happen to someone who drinks the potion, but doesn't need it?"

"I don't know Miss Granger, but I suspect it will greatly hurt." Was Snape's cold reply. "Now sit down and do not interrupt me again. Five points from Gryffindor! Say any more, and you'll be the first volunteer."

Hermione had more to say, but held back. As she quickly retook her seat, she sent an apologetic look to Harry. She didn't see a way out of him having to drink the potion. But Harry did.

"So now we'll begin. I think I will remove a bone or two from you after all Mr. Potter. I have a special spell in mind that will do just that. Which would you rather have removed? Your pelvis, or the thing you call your backbone?" Snape was playing to his Slytherin students now. He never could pass up a chance to grandstand in front of his masses.

"No." Harry simply said.

"No to the pelvis, or no to the backbone?" Asked Snape. Apparently, he hadn't understood Harry.

"No to the whole thing, Professor. I don't think it's fair or proper to make us test such a dangerous potion. And I certainly won't let you perform unneeded surgery on me. Been there, done that. So thank you for the offer, but no."

The class gasped at Harry's point blank refusal, but he did see a masked look of pride on Hermione and Susan's faces. He was doing what all the students wanted to do; stand up to Snape.

"I don't care what you want, Potter!" Snape was livid, but his voice remained oddly quiet and controlled. "This is my classroom, and as long as you're in it, you'll do as I say, whether you want to or not." Snape reached into his left sleeve for what the class assumed was his wand, but he never got the chance to use it. Harry beat him to it.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Harry didn't know who was more stunned; the class who had never seen an attack on a professor before, or the teacher who was frozen in place; eyes silently cursing their attacker. Once the full implication of his actions set in, Draco and his goons stood up to defend their head of house, but Harry already had his wand drawn, and was ready for them. Quickly he disarmed them, and told them to sit back down with authority. With the class's attention glued to his every move, Harry got out from behind his desk, and slowly approached Professor Snape. Currently, he was leaning against the chalkboard off to the side of the room.

"Harry!" Hermione pleaded with him from somewhere in the back. "What are you doing? You'll be expelled for attacking a professor!"

Harry shook his head as he continued his slow walk towards Snape. "Dumbledore won't expel me, and Snape knows that. Besides, Snape was reaching for his own wand; we all saw it. I was only defending myself. It wasn't like I caused the man to drink a potion that would cause unnecessary pain, I only petrified him. Isn't that right, Professor?" By now Harry had reached his goal, and was standing just a few inches from the frozen wizard.

"You'll get yours for this, Potter! You don't think Professor Snape will let you get away with this, do you." Harry was still facing away from the class, but the drawl could only come from one person.

"I don't expect to get away from this without being punished, Draco. But I won't be punished by a man who clearly plays favorites. And I won't serve any detentions either only to have to sit through hours of listening to him insult me and my family. I warned you on the train to stay away from me and my friends, Draco. Now, I'm warning Snape. Teach potions, cheer for Slytherin in Quidditch matches; do whatever you like. But stay out of my way, and leave the personal comments out of the classroom."

Harry turned his attention back to Malfoy and the class. "I earned my OWL score, unlike some people, even with his blatant favoritism over the past five years. I've a right to be here. I don't think I should have to listen to his insults every time I come down here. McGonagall doesn't try to embarrass you every moment she gets, does she? So I don't care if I get in trouble proving my point, as long as he isn't the one punishing me. So I'll punish myself, I guess. How about, 100 points from Gryffindor, and a week's worth of detentions, to be served with Mr. Filch. That sounds about fair, doesn't it?"

Harry turned around to see the class's reaction, and they all nodded their heads except for Malfoy. Even the other Slytherin students thought a week's detention with Filch plus 100 points was more than fair. Not even Snape would have done any worse.

"OK then. I'm a prefect, so I can take 25 points off myself at once. Draco, Hermione, Susan? You're all prefects. Would you take another 25 points off me as well. That way everything will be fair, and legal as well."

The others didn't know what to say or do, so they complied with Harry by way of not having any other options. Regardless of the fact that a teacher was present, Harry was clearly in charge.

Punishment taken care off, Harry got back in Snape's face and spoke quietly so only the professor could hear him.

"I refuse to sit and take your abuse any more. Lighten up, or everyday will be like this. I'm a damn good potions student if given the chance, and you know it; otherwise I wouldn't be here. So stop bellyaching about whatever happened in the past and teach potions. Do that, and we'll get along just fine."

Harry turned back to the class, and approached Hermione. He summoned his school bag as he gave her Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's wands. "I'm going to see Professor Dumbledore, to tell him what's happened. Once I leave, wait a few minutes and unfreeze Snape. Tell him that I'll be waiting in the Headmaster's office if he feels the need to discuss this further."

Throwing his bag over his shoulder, Harry walked out of the potions room for the very last time. After that day, he was banned for life from Professor Snape's classroom.

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After the debacle that happened in the Headmaster's office late Friday afternoon, Harry retired early to spend some time training with his double, and getting ready for the next day's press conference. He had gotten a Ministry owl days before confirming that all arrangement were taken care off, and that the conference would start promptly at 11 am. Professor McGonagall had arranged for Hagrid to escort him to Hogsmeade, and keep watch while in town. None of the other staff could, because it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend, and they all had summer homework to grade.

For the occasion, Harry decided to dress the part. Instead of his normal black school robes, or even his colorful everyday robes, he wore his black dress robes at his double's suggestion. The ones with a white phoenix embroidered on the back. Next to his fellow students, Harry would have felt overdressed and out of place. But next to whatever colorful getup Fudge was bound to wear, Harry thought that the outfit would be fine.

A stage had been erected in the middle of town, with seats for himself, the Minister, and the Ministry's "crack team of investigator" headed by Percy Weasley. A good sized crowd had turned out too; much larger than the population of Hogsmeade. Harry recognized many local shop owners in the crowd, as well as correspondent from all the major news sources. The WWW, the Dailey Prophet, Witch Weekly; they were all there. Rita Skeeter herself had a frontline seat, and she and Harry shared a polite nod to each other. The article she had published last year had done wonders for patching up both her relationship with Harry, and her reporting reputation as well. Tomorrow, Harry had no doubt that she would be one of the most sought after reporters in the wizarding world.

Molly and Arthur Weasley were also in the crowd, further back, along with sons Bill and Charlie. Harry didn't know if they were present to show support for him or Percy, but he knew that either way, he couldn't avoid another conversation with him. Mr. Weasley practically had to hold down his wife to prevent her from jumping on stage and assaulting Harry with a bear hug.

After too much lobbying and taken photo opportunities, Minister Fudge finally made his way to the podium to begin the ceremony. "Today we are gathered here for many reasons, the most important of which is to update the public on the recently discovered threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and his army of Death Eaters.

"Two months ago, Ministry officials responded to a call that a fight had broken out in the Ministry lobby when the building was supposed to be empty. When aurors and myself showed up to investigate, we were shocked to find numerous wizards engaged in a firefight, with none other than Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and You-Know-Who at the middle of the action. It took weeks of intense investigation, but a special task force compromised of my hand selected staff has finally published their findings. It has been discovered that a number of Death Eaters, previously escaped from Azkaban, gained illegal entry into the Ministry building that night to attempt to steal a prized prophecy highly sought after by their master. Since his resurrection, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has remained in a weakened, fragile condition. The prophecy he seeks supposedly has information that will return him to his full strength; something we dearly want to avoid t all costs."

Harry was squirming in his seat as he was forced to endure the utter nonsense coming from the Minister's mouth. Where did he come up with this stuff? Voldemort in a weakened state? If that were true, why's he such a threat?

"Miles away, Harry Potter learned of the plan by an owl sent to him to taunt him with the truth. When he tried to warn his teachers and Hogwart's personal, he was largely ignored by the incompetent staff. Former Headmistress Delores Umbridge is still under investigation for here alleged abuse of power while in office. So proving that he truly belongs in Gryffindor house, Harry Potter made his why to Ministry headquarters by riding an untamed Thestreal commandeered in the Forbidden Forrest. Through his brave and selfless efforts, Mr. Potter was able to delay the Death Eaters long enough for a rescue team put together by the Ministry to show up and properly combat the enemy. After a brutal battle which eventually involved Albus Dumbledore and He-Who-Must-Be-named himself, the Death Eaters were finally beaten. All but one were recaptured, and I'm proud to say that through clear communication and team effort, not one of the brave souls fighting on our side suffered any serious injuries. The prophecy was kept out of enemy hands, partly due to the efforts of Harry Potter."

Fudge paused in his trash speech long enough to let the crowd cheer in response. Harry almost ran up to the podium to scream "What about Sirius?" in Fudge's face, but managed to restrain himself. Harry noticed the Weasley's, who also knew the truth, looked just as ill as he did. He gave Bill a half smile that they could both appreciate.

"That moves us on to our second order of business today. In appreciation for his heroic act, and his continuing defiance of the very man who orphaned him years ago, today I have the distinct honor of awarding the Order of Merlin, Third Class, to none other than the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter. We've had our differences in the past, but I'm proud to say that in contrast to falsely reported arguments, Mr. Potter and myself have been working hand in hand to bring down the last remaining, but few in number, Death Eaters, and eventually the weakened man they serve. Harry Potter, please step forward."

Harry eagerly rose from his seat and stepped towards the podium, if only to stop the man from further embarrassing himself. Fudge motioned Harry to stand besides him at the podium, and Harry did.

"By the power entitled to me as Minister of Magic by the International Conference of Wizards, I, Cornelius Fudge, bestow the Order of Merlin, Third Class, on you Harry Potter."

The crowd applauded wildly as they all leapt to their feet. Except for the Weasleys and Hagrid, who were still confused as to why Harry was letting Fudge get away with such nonsense, every seat in the house was showing full support for the Minister and his false words. The medal itself was placed in a velvet lined wood box that Fudge proudly thrust towards Harry's chest, but didn't let go of until a few pictures had been taken by photographers. When he finally let go, Harry held the box close to his chest, and studied it closely. There was the expected medal on a fine gold chain, as well as a lapel pin, and a wax seal with the official Order of Merlin logo on it. It really was an impressive set.

"Harry, would you like to say a few words?" This was perhaps the only genuine thing Fudge had ever said to him. How could he refuse?

"Thank you Minister." Harry said into the magical equivalence of a microphone. Fudge moved fully out of the way to let Harry have the floor, and Harry took full advantage. Before he really began though, a high pitched screech sounded in the distance. All eyes, not just Harry's, turned their heads to the offending noise. High above them all, rapidly closing the distance between herself and her master, was none other than Hedwig. She had changed a lot in the week since he had seen her last; she had fully regained her plumage. If possible, she looked even more impressive than the first time he laid eyes on her.

The crowd responded with "ohhs" and "ahhs", as many had never seen a phoenix before, let alone a white one. The crowd was even more surprised when Hedwig alighted on Harry's offered shoulder. Fudge in the background was positively glowing. The extra publicity of him being in league with someone with a white phoenix was no doubt going through his head.

He privately greeted Hedwig, but Harry made no other acknowledgement of her presence. He continued.

"As I was saying, thank you Minister Fudge, for the honor of having the chance to accept such a prestigious award. However, considering the utmost lack of respect I hold for you, and the fact that the story you just told is complete rubbish, I must refuse. Your administration has told lies for far too long. I'm here today to tell the public what really happened."

The beaming look on Minister Cornelius Fudge was no more. All throughout the crowd, whispers broke out about what was really happening. Charlie Weasley's face was a sight of pure ecstasy; he was positively cracking up. Even Hagrid was laughing, and his loud boom carried over the quiet crowd. Boy, were they in for a shocker!

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AUTHOR NOTES:

This is going to be a long note, as I have a lot to say. First off, congratulations to those who caught my huge mistake last chapter. Indeed, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny never saw Sirius die, so it's impossible for them to see a Thestreal. My bad. Since then I've gone back and changed the last chapter, and have worked in a way to solve the problem. In actuality, it proved to be a great writing exercise, as I had to work within the confines of what I had already written. Hope everyone likes my patch work. Next, before I forget, I'd like to thank the author Aerie22 from www.schnoogle.com for the tour of the first year students idea. It's all her. Of course I changed a few things, but she's the inspiration. Also, I'd like to apologize for taking longer than usually to update. I've been trying since Wednesday, but FF.net had been giving me problems. It kept saying that the "login area had been disabled." So, it's not my fault it took so long; sorry. What else can I say? Lots of confrontation in this chapter, that's for sure. I realize Harry being so tough, especially towards Snape and Draco, is a little out of character, but I couldn't help myself. It was too much fun to write! I hope reading it is equally enjoyable. Don't worry though, I plan on reigning in Harry in future chapters. I also know that everyone's disappointed in missing out on the Headmaster scene following the potion class. Don't worry, that will be in the next chapter. I purposely left things out of this first week, so I could go back and fill them in through the perspective of the second, future Harry. Besides his press conference speech, the next chapter is going to show exactly how Harry spends his time the second time around. And all lose ends (Where's Dobby and Winky? What happened to Wormtail? How does Harry train? What will he say to the Weasley's?) will be addressed. I must admit unlike last chapter, this cliffhanger I left on purpose, as they're so much fun. Don't worry though, I don't plan on making a habit out of it. I'm eager to see what everyone thinks about my descriptions on the first days of class, and the new DADA professor; Rofordit. How'd the duel scene go? I think it's obvious Harry will be the one to finally beat her, but it will take awhile. For those purists out there, I know the idea of a secondary staff teaching remedial subjects is very original and is all me, but I don't care. It's not a main plot point; it's just to get Ron out of the way, and not have him deal with Snape. Besides, I think it's a possibility, and it's never discounted in cannon. For those worrying about Harry's relationship with Dumbledore, don't worry. I think it hit a high note in this chapter. From now on, each will give the other space for things to cool down, and soon they'll be on their way to reconciliation. I've got a quick challenge for any interested readers. Anyone notice the sex of newbie Loren Zabini? For that matter, what's Blaise's sex? The most conclusive evidence I've found so far, is that in the Spanish version of Harry Potter books, the publicist use the masculine form of verbs when describing the character. That's a far stretch if you ask me. I hope we find out for sure before book 7 ends. Any takers? Later, and thanks for reading.

Siripiritus – I've done that with Ron's name a few times, but I usually catch it. It happens when I write "Ron and" really fast, but accidentally type "Rona nd" instead. The spell checker goes back and adds an a to the nd, but leaves the Rona behind. If you could tell me where it happens in Ch. 12 I'd appreciated it, as I still haven't found my mistake. Regardless, glad my misspellings give you joy. I'm not much of a Ron fan either, and like any butchering he takes. If it weren't for Draco, he'd be my most hated character. The funny thing is that I don't hate him from the HP books, but from the endless number of fanfics that cast him as the diehard best friend. He's always in the way. Kill Ron, I say!

LavenderWolf – Sorry my spelling's not up to your standards, but I type so fast, I make many mistakes in the process. I have spell checker and all, but it's not fullproof. As I've said before, I have considered using a beta or two, but the time it takes is too much in my opinion. I'd rather publish my story as is, and go back later to fix any problems. My grammar isn't so bad to leave the reader totally in the dark, after all. In a way, it's like every one of my readers is a beta. So thanks for keeping a sharp eye out, but continue to expect the same types of little errors in my writing. If you or anyone else would like to go through my already published chapters to make any corrections, I'll be glad to post changes to those. Thanks.

TuxedoMac – Glad you liked the sorting song. I still don't like parts, but I agree that overall it gets the job done. You know what? I was looking through my reviews the other day, and I noticed that you were my third review ever. Thanks for sticking around so long.

Adj – What can I say about Ron? I don't like him. You accuse me of returning him to a younger age. But I ask you, what type of emotional growth has he shown in books 4 and 5? However I feel, rather than turning him into a complete bad ass evil character, like others have done, I've chosen to keep him the same he's always been. You'll see very little character development with Ron from me. Sorry, I've just got other concerns in the story that are more important. As for Ginny checking his homework? Remember that it wasn't school assigned. Molly gave them both the work, and I'm sure she's not up on current syllabi. The work was just busywork to keep Ron occupied, and it's very possible for Ginny to check up on him. She's only checking to see if he's written complete nonsense, or has actually taken the time to put together a tangible argument.

Lauren – I'm glad you brought up the fact that Harry isn't perfect, and shouldn't be portrayed as such. Believe it or not, that's what I'm trying to do. It's hard sometimes, but I tried in the Knockturn Alley scene when he manages to lose his wand, and almost die. I also had him sloppily kick Crabbe and Goyle on the train, as opposed to performing a perfect martial arts routine. In the upcoming story, I'm going to try and make Harry seem as imperfect as possible, but he's still got to win, doesn't he? Thanks for noticing.

Josh Potter – Don't worry, I didn't take offense at your last review. Harry and Ginny will be getting involved, but very slowly, and not very far. As for the R/H, N/L you asked about? I can't tell you what my other pairings might be, but I will say that some of the characters will be involved, and some won't. I will give the hint, that nobody will expect what will happen. I don't think a fanfic exists yet with the pairings I have in mind.

Samyjoc – That's all good to know, but I don't remember specifying what type of kick Harry used. I just said that he pivoted on his foot, and kicked the guy in the chest. If that's a roundhouse, so be it. I'm not a martial artist, so I'm trying to be as vague about the physical fighting as possible. Truthfully, I don't know how it's possible that what I described could be interpreted, because I never mentioned any types of details. But if it is indeed a roundhouse kick, and it's impossible in the scenario I described, my apologies.

Lightning Rain – Want to lose the Macarena song? How about this. "I really want to make you sweat. Sweat til you can't sweat no more. And if you cry, I'm going to push it, push it some more. A la la la la long, a la la la-la la la la long. OK!" Remember that one by Inner Circle? I hate that song, and if you remember it, now you hate me too. Man, I love doing this.

Coolpadfoot – Jeez, give me a break, would ya! Hermione and Ron have just been reintroduced into the story, and you're already talking about me showing them having no depth of character. Let me get past the first day of class, alright! I actually have read Full Pensieve's story, and like it quite much. Not to toot my own horn, but if you look on his webpage, I'm listed as one of his favorite authors. Obviously he likes my work enough to give me a chance, and that's all I ask from you. Give me another 5 chapters or so to really get into supporting characters, and then review again. After that, I'll be more receptive to a scolding.

Christ4Ever – Thanks for finally reviewing. I agree that I might have told Neville and Luna too much initially, but their positions in Harry's life are going to change in my story. And remember, Harry only told them the bare essentials on the train. He's still got other things to tell only Ron and Hermione. Want an example? Next chapter, Ron will confront Harry about his new trunk, and get a private tour. And remember how I said Harry would let Hermione borrow any book from his library? See, I don't tell Neville and Luna everything. Sorry, but you'll just have to wait and see what Harry decides to share with others. Later, and thanks for reading.

Gooey Rod – You must be new to reading fan fiction. All these names at the bottom of my chapters aren't co-authors, they're reviews who asked questions in previous chapters. I take the time out to personally respond to some of the better ones each new update. If I had this many co-authors, I agree, the whole story could be finished in a matter of weeks. But alas, it's just lonely old me. Keep reading though, I don't plan to quit publishing before I finish.

Gotta B Writin – Thanks for the review. Believe it or not, I actually read both your stories before I even published my own, so it's a great compliment for me that you're getting reviews praising both our work. I think I wrote you a private email, but feel free to note my work in your next story. I'd be honored. I agree about some of the crazy advice we get. There was this one guy, MaidenMasherV, who wanted my Harry to get all sorts of body piercing and go a little too dark for my taste. I've seen other reviews of his around the block, and he's always suggesting that Harry get a few tattoos, learn to ride a bike, and go gang rape some bitches. A little morbid for my tastes, but to each their own. I've seen and heard it all before. We should trade some outrageous suggestions sometime. Bye.

I don't respond to everyone's reviews personally, just those that have comments or questions. Especially now that I'm receiving almost 100 reviews per chapter, I just can't fit them all in. So if you've written to say you liked my story and are waiting for more, than thank you.