A Different Start

by Percy Ignatius Weatherby

Aunt Petunia takes drastic action after Harry's eventful first year at Hogwarts. She had never done anything out of love for him before, but will her decision benefit Harry in the long run or prove to be his complete ruin? DISCLAIMER FOR THIS FANFIC: I do not own Harry Potter and I am not making any profit from this.

4. Chapter Four: The National-International

AN: I apologise if there are a lot of mistakes in this chapter. It is very long and I don't have a beta reader, I do go through to edit it but naturally I miss some things. This is the next instalment, I hope that you like it! If you would be so kind, leave a review if you do.

Chapter Four: The National-International Transfer Student

Harry stretched his long form out on the grass, breathing in and out calmly, the greenery relaxing him and his eyes gently drifted shut as a warm breeze kissed his face. He was in the fields that he had taken Alli to in his first year at Dourbies and fondly remembered the first time he had ventured there. The rolling hills and lake had mesmerised him in its beauty and it had swiftly become his favourite spot to retreat to when things got too tense at the school. He was in his final year and the teachers had bombarded the pupils with homework on top of coursework and the impending winter exams. The fields and the school were no Hogwarts, but it was nice all the same, in a modern and unassuming kind of way. He had been shocked that a muggle school could look so grand, and then he realised that no matter what Aunt Petunia seemed to think, he had grown to be a snob in the year he had been in the magical world.

His reintroduction to the magical world was something that bothered him from time to time; he still wasn't sure if he wanted to go back or whether he could. Now was the time that he should start looking at colleges if he was going to continue with muggle education – and it made sense for him to do so as he was still undecided about what he was going to do with his life, career wise – but there was something about the applications and research that was making him stand still. The school that he was at did not have a Sixth Form, which meant that it was likely he would have to go to a bigger city. And he definitely did not want to be in a place that had many more people that he could encounter. He was happy right now remaining in an anonymous space, he knew how to navigate that, and for all his work that he had done figuring out how to manage his magic, he did not want to spend each day in disguise.

The breeze gently played with his tussled hair where he lay and the sun came out from behind a cloud warming his pale skin. He had not spent much time outdoors that summer and so had not returned to school with his usual tan. It didn't bother him much, but many a girl had commented on it, wondering if he were feeling alright or whether or not he had managed to enjoy his summer. Alli had teased him when he had complained, explaining that the female population of the school were just disappointed that their "Greek god of a broody teen" hadn't come back to play this year. A smile tugged at his mouth at the thought of his friend, he could always trust her to wind him up – the end of that conversation had not been pretty – as he had told her exactly what he thought of her musings – but that was just them.

Soft footsteps were approaching him slowly and Harry smiled wider at the thought of Alli having come to join him. She always knew where to find him, somehow, and he enjoyed her company when they weren't bickering. He could hear the gentle splashing of the wildlife on the lake in the distance and the rustling of the trees a few yards from where he rested. Alli's tinkling laughter and witty interludes would be most welcome in addition to the comforting sounds of nature's music. The footfalls stopped somewhere by his feet but he did not hear the familiar sound of Alli's undignified huff as she threw herself down on the ground.

"Wotcher Harry."

Harry all but burst out of his skin at the unfamiliar voice, his eyes wide and back rigid as he swiftly sat up and stared at the intruder. Standing over him was a pretty woman, with bubble-gum pink hair and a bright smile. Her smooth pale skin had taken on a rosy tint, no doubt flustered at how startled she had made him, and her robes rippled in the wind. Harry swallowed nervously, wondering whether she was friend or foe and cursed at the fact that he had been made to leave his wand behind at Privet Drive all those years ago. But it would not do any good to alert the woman at how uncomfortable and vulnerable she made him feel so he merely raised an elegant eyebrow at her.

"How have you been?" Was the next thing that passed her lips as she slowly sat down next to him on the grass. Her movements were careful and calculated, she didn't make any unnecessary gestures at all. Her casual question did nothing to make him feel at ease as she had taken her wand from out of her sleeve in one quick motion as she sat down. Again, Harry swallowed inaudibly and tried to make light of the situation even as he brought his long legs underneath him, knowing that if he needed to run, that would make it easier. 'How is it that whenever I get some time away from Alli, I get bombarded by females?' He eyed the way that the woman was running her fingernail down the ridges of her wand nervously, the thought having done nothing but heighten his awareness of the fact that they were alone and there was no way for him to call for help.

"I'm fine. Would you mind explaining who you are? You seem to already know who I am." The woman's mouth had dropped and she was staring openly at him.

"That is the sexiest accent I've ever heard." She gushed enthusiastically, "Can you speak again? Please?" Harry resisted the urge to smile, for all the friendly act that she was putting on he still did not know who she was. His Aunt Petunia had drilled into his head that he was to lay low while he was in France because the man who had killed his parents was obviously still after him. And how this woman had managed to find him, was a troubling question too – Aunt Petunia was the only one who knew of his whereabouts.

"Will you answer my question?" Harry's eyes were now narrowed into speculative slits and he shifted right onto his haunches. He noticed that she too had stiffened her stance and firmed her grip on the wand. But still she grinned,

"You know, I'm surprised you haven't attacked me yet, or run off somewhere. You doubt that I would be able to catch you," She took the opportunity to scrutinise what she could of his long legs. "I'm here to bring you back to Hogwarts." It was then that Harry was glad that Ginny had seen to keeping him well informed of what had been happening in England. Wizarding Britain was definitely not somewhere that he wanted to go any time soon, especially with how they currently viewed him.

"What is your name?" Harry hissed, starting to lose his temper. He was not going anywhere with this woman, a vibe that she picked up on quickly.

"I'm afraid that you don't have a choice, you know, you are coming with me. Are you going to be difficult? I only want what's best for you." She was met with a stony silence as he finally stood, not yet walking away as he did not want to turn his back on her. She remained crossed-legged on the ground.

"Listen, Harry," the young man gritted his teeth as this stranger carried on insisting on being familiar with him, "I know that you feel oppressed and unhappy that you can't practice magic. I know you wish that you could tell your girlfriend about your gift and that ultimately, you miss the wizarding world."

They both looked at one another for a few tense moments.

"You still haven't told me your name." She gave him a grin and held out the slender hand that was not tightly gripping her wand. For a moment Harry was distracted by the thick band of silver on her thumb that glinted oddly in the sunlight; there was something strange about it not matter how elegantly decorated it was with a runic alphabet. But shrugging that off, he reached out to grasp her hand as she finally introduced herself.

"Tonks, at your service."

But as soon as their skin made contact, Harry knew there was something wrong. Tonks held his hand in a bone-crushingly tight grip and the metal of her ring felt oddly cold against his skin for a moment before he felt a disturbing lurch in his stomach. He closed his eyes as he fought to fight down his nausea while tearing his hand from her grip, but Tonks did not allow him to let go. It was then that he knew she was taking him somewhere and he berated himself for foolishly allowing himself physical contact with an unknown witch. She said that she would take him back to Hogwarts, but only time would tell and it already seemed like forever since he had taken her God-forsaken hand. His head span around and around and his body felt weightless and still he did not open his eyes. He was missing his peaceful field already and the only indication that they had been there were the body shaped indentations left in the grass.

XXX

In the centre of the room were two worn sofas, they looked soft but awfully lumpy and the brown material clashed horribly with the red carpet. The coffee table between them matched the wood of a heavy oak door to the left of the room, both were bare barring the scratches they boor. A fire crackled warmly in the hearth, although it was September and still warm outside, and a few pictures of smiling people sat on the mantle. A fat grey cat lay lounging on the window sill, it's small eyes shut in laziness and contentment. Other than those few things, the room was relatively empty and quiet.

With a loud thud and a few select curse-words Harry dropped to the floor, his knees having buckled and he was shaking violently. Tonks still held his hand tightly, though she was not fairing too well either. Portkey trips across different countries were never pleasant and she had the added pressure of making sure that Harry did not lose contact with the portkey itself. The previously gleaming ring on her thumb had been set to activate when in contact with Harry's magical signature and it was now a dull grey, the magic having been drained out of it. It took both of them a few moments to collect themselves and for Tonks to gain her bearings. Harry, still reeling, opened his eyes a fraction in order to glare accusingly at the woman who had kidnapped him.

"I didn't agree to go with you." He intoned manically, swallowing down his lunch that threatened to make an unwanted reappearance.

"I know, I don't think you would have either, no matter how long we talked for, which is why I took you nonetheless." Tonks smiled at Harry somewhat weakly, her face extremely pale. "The headmaster should be with us momentarily."

"And where are we, exactly?"

"Hogwarts, the Head Girl's Private Quarters."

Harry stood slowly, wincing at how queasy and dizzy he still felt and bit his lip hard to try and dull the feeling. He straightened to his full height and muttered darkly, "So the headmaster is behind my abduction." Tonks tripped over her feet as she stood too and plopped down clumsily on one of the lumpy looking sofas.

"I wouldn't call it an abduction exactly-"

"Oh, no? How do you usually describe tricking an unsuspecting minor into leaving their boarding school and travelling into a different country – without their guardian's expressed permission – then?" Now the nausea was passing, Harry was beginning to feel a totally different emotion churn in his stomach.

"Harry! You know I have your best-"

"Save it Tonks," Harry bit out angrily, "If you had my – 'best interest at heart', was it? Then you would have left me well alone!"

He crossed the room to what looked like the back of a portrait – if the Head Girl's Quarters were anything like the Gryffindor Common Room had been, that would be the exit. But as he pushed against it, he realised that there was something off with this too.

"Ah, you have to have the password to leave Harry. I'm sorry, but I'm not giving it to you. You'll have to wait until Dumbledore speaks with you… then you can go back to your dorm."

"I don't have a dorm, you insufferable woman, I don't attend this school anymore!" Harry all but shouted at the back of the portrait, still pushing. His anger was rising and bubbling in his chest dangerously, and he felt like he was twelve again – coiled spring and all. He had worked so hard to control his emotions and magic, and a little distress shouldn't do this to him! He had spent countless afternoons hiding away from Alli, pouring over books like Harnessing your Magic and Accidental Outbursts: how to manage your toddler, for new parents. Books such as the latter made him feel so stupid and weak, but he had done it… for what though? It hadn't been enough.

Tonks gazed on at the boy whose narrow shoulders were hunched over palms pressed desperately against the wall. Everything around him had taken on a slight haze and magic seemed to radiate off of him in intense pulses. The cat who had been all but nonplussed by their unseemly landing into the room had now retreated under the bookcase in the right hand corner of the room, the furthest point away from Harry in fact. Its fur had stood on end as it had scarpered off of the windowsill, hissing all the way. It still hissed actually, amber eyes gleaming from the darkness of its shelter, but the noise was nothing compared to the pounding silence of Harry's anger. Perhaps it hadn't been a good idea to bring him back and then lock him in this unfamiliar room, but that was what the Order had decided was the best course of action. Looking at the boy now, Tonks had the stark realisation that they had been very wrong: they knew nothing about the lad.

"Calm down Harry," was the ventured whisper and she withdrew as far as she could into the lumpy cushions of the sofa that she occupied. The quiet plea was intended as an encouragement to go back to what was a relatively civil conversation. Anything was better than this; she was starting to feel slightly unsafe and could not even bring herself to lift her wand at him. Who knew if a spell could cut through all of that energy surrounding him and if it didn't, who knew how he would react. If anything, her words exacerbated those dangerous feeling pulsations and she had never before wished so hard that she could take her words back. But to her relief, what came next was not directed to her at all. In his deep, accented voice Harry growled at the room itself,

"Let me out." And the portrait door opened with a quiet click. He did not look back at her at all. He stepped out, looked left and right and then strode straight ahead, down the staircase that the Portrait was directly opposite. The hall was eerily quiet, as though nothing wanted to disturb Harry in his fury, and Tonks realised that it was probably dinner time. She hoped that Harry hadn't realised that also.

XoX

The aching feeling of uneasiness had not left me since I had woken up this morning. At first I had thought that I was channelling Trelawney – God forbid that I ever have such musings again – and that one of the children that I had class with today was going to blow up their cauldron and land us all in the infirmary by dawn. So with that thought, I had responded to my classes in kind; if a child thought that they were going to do that today, I could at least put the fear of God into them first. But surprisingly, nothing of the sort happened. There were a few poorly hidden tears from class to class, but everything else had gone relatively smoothly. Which had made me feel even more at odds – Longbottom had survived a two-hour block without one mishap. It wasn't until I entered the Great Hall for dinner and sat next to Minerva that it hit me. Her thin mouth that was usually pressed into a line of disapproval was actually neutral and her nostrils flared every so often. She was clearly lost in her thoughts and anticipating something… and I finally remembered. Today was the day that Potter was supposed to be coming back to Hogwarts, if Tonks had been successful in her mission. I hoped to God that she hadn't.

When the boy had left for the summer after his first year, I had never dreamed that he would not come back. I assumed that he was just like his father in that respect, like a lingering bad smell. The first time I realised that Lily's child looked like a miniature version of his father I had felt dread for the years to come. I thought that he would harass me in a similar way, call me names in a similar way, endanger me in a similar way. It was all illogical, he was just a boy (and newly introduced to the wizarding world at that) but the sharp lick of anxiety whenever I saw his messy head bop down the corridors didn't care much for logic. I hated him just as much as I hated his father. I hated him because I hated his father.

And so I sat at the Head table looking dejectedly at my plate. I toyed with my fork, pushing the pie and mash around until it became one gloopy mess that I figured resembled my stomach perfectly. The thing that I hated most about that damned boy was his expressive eyes, the same eyes that his mother used to look at me with. He was the embodiment of my nightmares, and had walked around daily, giving me attitude and being so utterly distrusting of me. But perhaps that was something else the Dark Lord had gifted him with. Perhaps it wasn't just the parseltongue, maybe the boy could intuitively sense those that were affiliated with the Dark Lord, willingly or not. I sighed and moved to rise from my chair. Being in the hall with hundreds of chattering children was doing nothing to calm my frazzled nerves. Minerva put a hand on my arm (right over the Dark Mark, which was unnerving), probably to still me and ask me what was wrong. But she didn't get the chance. The doors to the Great Hall swung open with a loud bang and I fell back into my seat in a startled rush.

The boy stood in the doorway for a few moments. His face wore a surprised expression, as though he had shocked himself at the entrance he was making but I grew to understand differently as his wide, green eyes began to drink in the scene before him hungrily. Perhaps the Order had been right and the boy did actually miss Hogwarts. Potter began to stalk forward in slow, measured steps, his brown brogues clicked on the polished floor loudly in the silence of the Hall. No-one seemed to even breathe as he walked between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables towards where the teachers were gathered. He had grown in the past four years, and looked healthier too. Gone was the skinny, sallow looking little thing – he was replaced with something much sterner and confident than I ever would have imagined. After the boy had left the school, I had thought back on my interactions with him and had thought about how wrong it all had seemed. How wrong the extremely baggy clothes and the ugly fading bruises were. How wrong that he was so small, even for a first year… but it seemed time had righted everything, there was nothing to feel guilty about anymore. He was alright.

He was also proudly wearing his muggle school uniform, clothing which in today's climate no self-respecting witch or wizard would be caught doing. His muggle clothes looked alright on him however, better than those awful huge things that used to swallow his tiny frame. Thinking on it, I realised that it was the sharp form fitting navy, flecked suit that he wore that gave him such a confident air. The suit complimented his lithe form in a way that reminded me painfully of Lily. James Potter had been far stockier than this lad, Harry took after his mother in more ways than one it seemed.

The question that arose in my mind at the time was what kind of school the boy went to – he was so well dressed. Most schools in England did not have a uniform like that, most parents could not afford to dress their children so smartly. My eyes drifted over the inhabitants of the Great Hall and I sneered disdainfully at the scruffy black robes that many a child was wearing.

"Mr. Potter! How good it is to see you," Albus had stood and started to make his way around the table to greet the boy who was getting steadily closer. The children were starting to whisper amongst themselves, only to be shushed every so often by those that wanted to hear exactly what was going on. The closer Potter got the more menacing I realised his expression had become. This was not going to end well; the discomforting feeling I had awoken with deepened.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" His voice was deeper than I remembered it, and had a slight French lilt. All activity stopped in the hall. Potter's eyes were glittering dangerously and Albus who had made his way to the front of the table and had started down the steps, faltered slightly.

"I never asked to be taken away from my home, so why did you do it?" His voice rang clear and true, not one corner of the hall escaping its ferocity. Albus stepped closer to the quietly fuming young man and murmured quietly,

"Harry, my boy, I would much rather continue this conversation in private."

"I am not your boy, Professor Dumbledore, I do not even attend this school any longer. I would like to be returned to my school campus before anyone realises I am missing, please."

"I'm sorry I can't do that Mr. Potter. Hogwarts is the safest place for you right now and I must insist you stay, you do have certain duties to fulfil in our world. Your parents too would have wanted you to continue with your magical education, there's not much we can do about that now, except start you on our program again."

The hall was so quiet, Albus' murmur had sounded like a shout. I watched as the older wizard rose his hand, no doubt to cast a privacy incantation, but he wasn't nearly quick enough.

"You don't know what my parents would think or want, neither do I, they're dead." Potter's new-found man voice was deadly quiet, "Do not talk to me about shirking my duties, I wasn't even aware I had any, as you say, I'm just a boy."

Stiffly, Potter turned on his heel, as though he was restraining himself from turning around and doing something rash. He retraced his steps and walked right on out of the Hall, head held high and not another glance spared for the students, I smiled a little to myself. Albus was going to have a hell of a time to try to get this one to conform to his game. His parents had always sounded like petulant children when confronted with news they did not like, albeit they did not get the chance to live long into their adulthood, but Potter had evidently matured better than they had. It made me wonder what the boy had lived through for him to sound so much like a man already, but I shrugged the thought off quickly, not wanting to delve into darker thoughts in front of the population of the school. A little female red-head, probably that Weasley girl, ran out of the Hall seconds after the boy and then the hall exploded into loud speculations.

Albus stood at the front of it all for a moment, literally and metaphorically at the head of the confusion and chaos, before clearing his throat and casting a sonorous.

"Calm, please!" His voice boomed over the squeals of excited children and I could feel the beginnings of a headache. The din turned into whispers and then silence once more as several hundred pairs of eyes trained on their headmaster. "As you have witnessed, Mr. Potter has returned to the school once more. I must ask you to treat him with all the respect and welcome that you can. He is understandably disoriented and unsure of his place here, and I do not expect any of you to give him any more grief than he already feels. If you would continue with your meals, and return to your dormitories with due haste, I would be much obliged." It always amazed me at how much benevolence and authority he could display at moments like these, moments where he was actually saving face. Albus cancelled the charm and turned his head a fraction, now addressing the staff.

"Please see to it that the students return to their houses in an efficient manner. There shall be a meeting tonight at eight, in the staff room." The headmaster's voice tickled my ear intimately, as though he stood next to me whispering into it and I wished he would not insist on doing such things. I knew that I was not the only one who did not appreciate his breach of personal space with his magic, I spied Minerva's knuckles turning white under the tight grip in which she held her goblet. Albus left the hall swiftly, bright blue robes swirling at his ankles. The noise of excited students gossiping returned at full force the moment the heavy oak doors banged shut behind him. This was not going to end well.

XxX

Harry stalked down the hall towards the Hospital Wing if he remembered correctly. The short conversation with the headmaster had left him feeling even more out of sorts that when he had arrived. As he had made his way to the Great Hall he had begun to recite some passages from Accidental Outbursts and it had calmed him down enough to have the impromptu meeting but he found himself duly wound up again.

'The best way to calm your toddler is to implement these practices yourself. Quite obviously, it is not an option to tell your child what they have to do as they most probably will not understand these instructions but children are very perceptive of your own behaviours and will most likely imitate you. If you can, bring your child into a seated position on your lap, with them facing you. Take deep measured breaths, exaggeratedly so in order for them to see what you are doing and do this for several moments until they start to calm down and copy…'

And so Harry found himself once again controlling his breathing, 'Deep breath in… now let it out. Deep breath in… now let it out. Repeat numerous times until calm…' He most certainly did not want to have a private meeting with the headmaster, he wanted an apology and a ticket back to France. But even with that he knew it was likely that someone would be monitoring him until he got back to Dourbies and that entirely defeated the point of him being there. How had they even found him in the first place?

'Now that your child is calm, place his/her arms across their chest. This gesture acts as a magical centring technique and after a few moments they should start to feel more in tune with their core. Make sure that you are not feeling anxious, as your own emotions can project onto the child, but rather focus on exuding a calming energy…'

Harry was sure that he looked rather odd walking at pace with his arms crossed neatly on his chest, but it did honestly help. The difficulty that he had run into when first practicing these steps was that he did not have anyone to surround him in calming energy. It had saddened him to think that normal children had their parents to do this with and that he was left to cope alone, but he refused to dwell on that too much now. The only thing that had begun to worry him was the ending notes on that particular chapter in the book. It stated that as the child grew older, their magical core would stabilise and so these steps would no longer have to be practiced. An unstable core was a sign of not only emotional instability but also a powerful child, so there was no shame in having to do this with toddlers. It worried Harry that he was apparently that messed up that he had to do this at his age; he was fifteen for goodness' sake.

"Harry! Harry wait!" A familiar voice called to him, wobbling slightly with the effort it was taking to catch up. Harry spun around in jubilation, his arms dropping to his sides. Running towards him was Ginny, her mass of fiery red hair flying behind her. As she got closer, he realised that she wasn't slowing down and flung his arms out just in time to catch her by the waist. Harry brought her close as her legs circled his waist and laughed into the long hair that obscured his vision.

"Missed you Gin." Harry muttered into the side of her neck, holding on tightly, she still smelt like apples and cinnamon.

"Missed you too Harry," she replied breathlessly, "but must you walk so fast?" Still grinning, Harry let her down onto the ground gently.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise you had followed me… I was a little agitated."

"To say in the least! I thought you were going to blow Dumbledore up, it was so tense in there." Harry studied the soft curve of the girl's mouth for a moment. She was smiling in a secretive kind of way and it was making him wonder what she was thinking. He cleared his throat.

"I haven't been in this castle for years Gin, could you take us someplace that we can talk undisturbed?"

Ginny blushed under his scrutiny but didn't comment on it. She nodded and took his hand, leading him to the main staircase of the left wing. They started their ascent and although Harry briefly wondered where she was taking him, his focus was more on the small soft hand encased in his own. She was the second girl to take his hand that day, but this somehow felt much more intimate and he was not sure whether or not he was comfortable with that. Ginny had a boyfriend.

The teenage girl was also lost in her own thoughts. She had decided to take them up to the astronomy tower, lessons would not be on today as it had been overcast and they usually took place on the weekend anyway. Harry was everything she had imagined him to be; he was tall and handsome and his green eyes still twinkled with kindness. His mouth, too, was somehow inviting to her. When his green eyes had trained on her own, his lips had bowed in an echoing smile that she was certain was an unconscious gesture. He had spoken with such menacing authority to the headmaster but with her, he expressed nothing but welcoming warmth… that mouth.

They had rushed to catch the fourth flight of stairs, it had just started to move as they had reached the landing, and Harry was becoming uncomfortable. Bead of sweat lined his forehead and he untangled his fingers from Ginny's self-consciously as he realised that his palms were becoming sweaty too. He had worn both his black school jumper and navy blazer that day because the weather had started to become a little nippy, but it was definitely not appropriate attire for all of this activity. Harry let out a long sigh in order to cover up the fact that he was ready to start huffing and puffing. 'I knew smoking wasn't good for me, but am I really that unfit because of it? Or is it just that Ginny has become used to these crazy number of stairs?' The girl in question looked at cool as a cucumber in her heavy black robes and was starting on the next flight with gusto that Harry just could not imitate. He held his side as he trudged up the steps,

"Are we there yet Gin?" He managed to choke out as they came to yet another landing. She turned and openly giggled,

"Yes we are." Harry tried to sigh in relief only it came out more as an exaggerated huff and Ginny laughed harder.

"Oh? I'm glad you find me so amusing, Ginevra!"

"Come on Harry!" She made a grab for his arm when he slowed to a halt, intending to rest, "It isn't that bad, surely." She tugged him down a tiny corridor, ignoring his tired protests.

"Yes, it is. I don't know whose clever idea it was to run a school in a castle. Honestly, did you have to work my poor body so hard just because I suggested we go somewhere private?"

"Stop your grousing, old man – we're here." There was a single door, smaller than a normal one and hidden behind a grand tapestry showing the history of the Elves, right at the end of the corridor. Ginny reached it first and opened it with a flair; immediately a gust of the cool night breeze soothed Harry's sweaty face and he slowly stepped out into the opening.

"I never came up this way before, where's here?" There was a circular table placed in the centre of the opening that looked like it could fit around thirty students. Beyond that were railings and just enough room to sit cross-legged on the floor. They were at the height for a fantastic view, Harry knew that in the day time you would be able to see the entire grounds, but this evening all he could see was the dark silhouette of trees and a few stars that hadn't been blotted out by clouds. The moon was bright and high in the sky and its reflection glittered off of the surface of the lake majestically. It was as though he was suspended in the air and nature here seemed just so sublime.

"The astronomy tower. Students start lessons here in their second year." They made their way around the table and by the railings in the open air, their backs resting against two wooden chairs.

"It's a shame that I never managed to find this when I was here. It's lovely." Harry commented lightly. Ginny turned her head and looked at Harry.

"I found it in my first year, funnily enough. I would come up here when I needed to get away from everything. Being the only Weasley in Slytherin was extremely tough at first." Harry smiled sadly at this, he had known that she was Slytherin material from the minute they had talked about Houses all those years ago. "What I didn't tell you about my sorting is that the hat changed its mind halfway through its announcement. Literally, it started saying Gryffindor and stopped mid-word before placing me in Slytherin." Harry could hear the unamused smile in her voice. "People did not take kindly to that. My housemates would say that they did not want muggle loving cast-offs in their house. Some still do sometimes, actually. I wasn't able to make a lot of friends, apart from Luna, and it was tough thinking that everyone was against me. So I came here to get away from it all."

Harry frowned and reached for his cigarettes. There was something innately dangerous, he felt, in an eleven-year-old to be able to find their way to the top of the school unsupervised. Especially one that was having such a hard time and was being possessed. He thought that there ought to be measures put in place that ensured the safety of such vulnerable children – practicing their magic and learning how to become a functioning adult wizard or witch was pressure enough. With that aside, in some ways he truly hated Hogwarts, for all the judging and bullying that took place unchecked. In fact, Harry was beginning to think that Professor Dumbledore in some ways actually encouraged the animosity. Harry sighed deeply, not wanting to become too upset again. Dumbledore was just a man, an old one at that, who made mistakes like everyone else… it didn't help any that it so happened that he was also clearly stubborn and set in his ways.

"You not going to offer me one?" Ginny said as Harry fumbled to put his smokes back in his inside pocket. He jerked his head towards her in surprise and she was staring right back at him. They sat so close Harry could count the number of freckles on the bridge of her nose but that wasn't what caught his attention. He remembered writing to her and her family, comforting her on the change that her eyes had gone under as a result of her contact with Voldemort. But seeing it up close was unnerving. There was a bold ring of a deep bloody red surrounding her iris and her pupils were subtly oval. Tom Riddle had left a physical mark, there was no doubt about that, but Harry wondered how much of a mental scar had been inflicted.

"You smoke?" He asked, not missing a beat. He did not want the girl to become self-conscious, least of all with him.

"No, but I would like to try one… please?" Harry looked at Ginny through narrowed eyes as he tucked the packet neatly back into his pocket.

"No, it's a bad habit and not at all glamorous. I don't want to get on the wrong side of your family, which I would once they learned that I had turned their daughter into an addict." Harry hunched his body over, partially to recoil from the playful blow Ginny dealt him with her small fist ("I am perfectly old enough to make my own decisions about my choice of bad habits, thank you very much!") but mostly to shield his flame from the wind as lighted his cigarette.

They sat quietly for a moment; there was a natural companionship between them, like they had been doing this their entire lives. Harry exhaled and his smoke billowed back into his face in the wind. His cigarette was held between his fingers and his arm rested on a knee drawn to his chest. The outdoors always made him feel calmer.

XxX

Being so short in a world that is so large is one of the biggest disadvantages you can face when trying to be treated as an equal. I mean, that's the main reason why we were treated so badly, why we were slaves. It was all because we were short and can be kicked around easily. House Elves have the worst end of it really, with no friends other than ourselves. So far there has been not one race that has treated us with kindness: they looked down on us, they did us wrong.

We are quite placid creatures and do not like to disappoint those who have aided us in any way. We are quite foolish! The Goblins were able to steal our homes from us and the humans were able to put us under this curse.

And now all we can do is serve. We, who once had a beautiful language, can only speak a garbled version of how humans speak – we were not made to communicate in this tongue. There was a deeply personal way that we would communicate and another level of understanding between us that no other race could begin to comprehend. The talking that we did do was not even audible to the ear of a human. Knowing this and not liking the idea that there was a superiority innate to the Elves, that there were things they could not understand (above all, it was fear that drove them) they decided that they had to control us. They cursed us with their tongue and enslaved us as soon as they could.

The humiliation, the shame, that we had to undergo before the humans realised how intelligent we were, is unspeakable. The abuse we had to endure because our Masters thought that we were mocking them silently, and that perhaps we were plotting against them, is unspeakable.

I am what is left of the early generations. Being several hundred years old, I have seen the changes. My mother would shout and scream; would lecture anyone that would listen if she saw how the younger ones were turning out. They were without a thought of their own. The humans had actually succeeded in something without trying to get there. They had made natural born slaves of a race; the children knew nothing of the Old Home and were actually content with what they had. They wanted to work, they wanted to be ordered around, they revelled in their lives of servitude and claimed that it was natural! It was strange at first, when I saw this in the children. These new Elves, only being called House Elves now, were changed. They were broken at birth and it was sad. It was tragic that I had to be one of the few left to witness this change.

I hated the fact that I was old. To be able to blissfully work as though I had been born to do so, the way the youngsters act, that was what I really wanted. I wanted the peace that they had obtained. I wanted the ignorance.

Stories of how life used to be have long since died out among us. We have lost the Old Ways and with that, lost our identity. It would be an exercise in futility for me to try and organise a revolutionary group, to try and go back from whence we came because no-one has a clue! Not a clue! And those humans have destroyed us! We are dead within our minds and our souls.

I hate humans, every last one of them. And so help me, I am going to teach them something. I am going to teach them the wisdom of one that has lived hundreds of years. I am going to teach them that they are not to fear the death that I shall leave in my wake – it's natural. And as I teach them, I will smile, and I will exterminate every last one.

"Dobby! Here, now!" I started slightly and smiled. My leg bobbed up and down in excitement. I was really going to be the demise of the humans. I was in my quarters, or more accurately, the bit of space in the dungeons that had been so generously bestowed to me but the connection I had to my Master rung loudly in my ears.

I looked around my room several times, my sightless eye trying to seek something out that I knew was out there somewhere. I never ceased in seeking out the doorway to my own realm, not even when in places I knew I had already looked. Not many could see my sightless eye as I kept an illusion up at all times. I doubt even my Master knew about my sightless eye. If he did, I'm sure he'd send me somewhere to get it fixed, and then I'd never be able to get home. Ah, yes, my Master.

My Master was calling, and so I had to go. I brushed a hand down my pillowcase in self-consciousness. You would have thought that I would have been used to it, with all the years I had been wearing rags, but I wasn't. I still felt the shame of not being able to wear clothes. In my day, when a Master let you go and presented you with clothes, it would have been the proudest day of your life. You got to leave and start anew with your family, and everything would be okay, because you were free Elves. You would not even have to worry about humans for the rest of the time you lived. You could go back home, back to where the rest were waiting. Those that hadn't been captured would always wait.

I popped out of my living space to the entrance of the master bedroom – the Mistress absolutely abhorred my arriving directly into the room – and pushed open the heavy door.

Master was sitting up in the bed he shared with the Lady, both were as naked as the day they were born. This was another thing that irritated me about humans; they had no sense of modesty. All the ones that I had met up with in any case.

"Dobby, we have a very serious mission for you." Master looked at me sternly and I gazed seriously back at him. This was one of the rare occasions where he was not shouting abuse at me, so I already knew that this mission of his would be treading on dangerous grounds. I had to listen very carefully and follow instructions exactly as guided. I knew this because I had been in life threatening situations like this before. I had known my Master before he even knew his own name. I had been serving the Malfoy family for at least a hundred years now. Every so often down the line I am swapped, or I move with Mistresses, but usually I spend quite some time with the family first. I do know, however, that no-one knows how old I am. If they did, if they knew that I was hitting adolescence when the Goblins raided, then I would be long since dead.

Master rummaged in the draw by his bed. Everything in this room was lavishly decorated, nothing had come cheap. I gazed around shamelessly as it was not often I was welcomed in here. I could feel the Lady's eyes on me, as if she were daring me to even think about stealing anything, just to have an excuse to beat me.

"This is your new uniform Dobby." My eyes snapped to my Master in an instant. "Don't get the wrong idea, I am not presenting you with clothes. These are part of the mission." My ears which had stood up at the mention of uniform, relaxed again. My Master looked at me amusedly and my back stiffened at what my sudden excitement had implied. "Are you that anxious to leave us Dobby?" He chuckled at my obvious discomfort. "To continue with the issue that matters-"

Now that stung. My freedom always mattered to me.

"I am asking you to disapparate – or whatever you House Elves do – to the border of Hogwarts grounds, from there I want to make your way into the kitchens and blend. Do you hear me Dobby? You have to blend in." Why would I disapparate to the border? I could just apparate into the kitchen, the Elves already knew me there as Young Master Malfoy needed my assistance at times throughout his schooling. It was permitted for House Elves from home to comfort students who were finding it hard to adjust. So if I was already trusted, why was it that I would need to go the long way about entering?

My confusion must have shown on my face and my Master reacted to it immediately.

"Do not question why I am telling you to do this, just follow my instructions accordingly."

I nodded and waited for him to continue.

"I want you to stay for a few days before you do anything, got it? This," He held up a flask and in the light it reflected a prism. I always thought prisms were pretty, I loved rainbows.

"Is the flask that will be the headmasters undoing. My father told me that you are absolutely terrific at illusions. I want you to disillusion yourself, appear totally invisible to everyone and slip this in the Headmasters drink at the dinner of your last night there. You are able to stay there for as long as seven months in order to map out your mission seamlessly, but no longer than that because I will need you back here. It is absolutely imperative, Dobby, that this goes no-where near the main food source. I do not want you to put this in everybody's drink, so do not put it anywhere near the main food source. Only after the Headmaster has sat down to enjoy his meal will you put the potion in the drink because he will not eat or drink anything that has been previously standing by itself, okay?"

There was silence for a moment as he stared me down, making sure that I had got all of it. I was going to have to slip – poison I presumed – into the Headmasters drink, without him seeing me, while he was sitting there. It was not so difficult a task, so why would I need seven months?

"One more thing. Do not get caught. If you do and are holding this potion, my neck will be on the line as I am responsible for you and your actions."

He threw the potion and the clothes at me before dismissing me. When I was out of the room, I stood still to ease my erratic breathing. This was my chance: I could wreak havoc! I could kill the humans. But most importantly, I could go back home.

The rest of the day was filled with my preparations for leaving. I cooked the meals that the Master and Lady would need – they could just heat them up when they saw fit. I completed the rest of the laundry and cleaning scheduled for the day, everything else would have to be left for my assistant finish. I was leaving. I really couldn't believe it.

Finally taking a moment for myself, down in my dungeons, I played with the soft cloth of the Hogwarts uniform. I assume my Master had the Young Master ask for a set. Although I knew they weren't the clothes to set me free, I kind of rejoiced in the fact that I could wear them. It gave me a sense of dignity, and so I was going to relish in it all that I could.

I put the vial in my pocket and hoped it wouldn't smash under the pressure of travelling. Everything was set and I was ready to go. It had taken me a while to remember what went where, but I had finally got the clothes on and in my opinion, they suited me pretty well – never mind that they were the uniform of slaves.

That Dumbledore, I thought to myself, was so self-righteous but he didn't really do much good. He claimed to be on the light side but to me he was no better than a dark wizard. He had established his school on the backs of my race, without even a thought to their welfare. He didn't award the Elves with any time off (I doubted he even knew when one of them fell ill, until of course they did not respond to his summons because they were dead) to collect themselves, nor stop to think that perhaps some needed spending money to support their families. This was the type of man that I had been ordered to kill, and I was going to do it gladly.

XxX

"Do you feel uncomfortable around me?"

"No, why would you ask that?"

"Well, because I asked you a question and you gave a really vague answer…"

"You haven't been exactly candid with me either this evening." Which was actually something that Harry found strange. He always viewed the letters that they shared as open and honest but actually sitting with Ginny he was beginning to doubt that was the case. Perhaps it was because with a letter you cannot see the other person's reaction and the confessions you write are therefore somehow emotionally displaced… or rather that they transcend the limits of ordinary conversation because judgement is left suspended in the time in which the person reads the words, not quite relayed in a response. Not in the same way at all. Or maybe, on a similar thread, the ability to edit and choose your words carefully masks the organic thoughts in your head and yet still comes across as frank…

"That's not true! You can ask me anything you like and I will answer truthfully," Ginny exclaimed. Harry looked in her eyes, studying the ring of red again and wondered what version of the truth she would offer up at his question.

"What really happened in your first year Gin? You glossed over it completely in your letter to me." Her eyes widened and her cheeks took on a pink tinge. She obviously had not expected him to take it there.

"I was being slowly possessed." She admitted carefully. "Tom would encourage me to write in the diary while I was asleep – he appeared to me in my dreams – and the moment I woke up, I would. I told him all sorts of things, about my family and where I lived and how hard I was finding it at school. It wasn't until I told him my name, my full name, that I started having blank spots in my memory. I had poured my entire soul out to him and gave him the most precious information about me – there is so much power in a name, Harry, don't ever underestimate that. When I realised that hours were going past that I had no recollection of, I started getting scared but by then it was too late. I couldn't get away. I saw his face in my dreams and sometimes he would be standing behind me when I looked in the mirror – and there was no escape! I guess its lucky that I made friends with Luna, even though she wasn't in my House. She was the only one that noticed something was up. She saved me really. She managed to get help before the secondary stage of possession took place. If not for that, I would have died and so would have a lot of other people."

Harry took another drag of his cigarette while in deep contemplation. What would have been Voldemort's motive behind possessing Ginny, was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time or had it been targeted? She hadn't done anything to harm anyone or get in the way of anything, she had been a little girl. Could it be me? Was I somehow the reason for her possession? Harry flicked ash over the edge of the building and frowned, suddenly feeling guilty that he had chosen this topic as his ammunition.

"Your brothers didn't notice that something was wrong?"

Ginny shook her head. "My mum actually laid into them for that. She said that they were supposed to at least help me get along, not just watch me wither away." Ginny looked up at the sky with bright eyes, her hair slipping over her shoulders. Harry had known that she wouldn't have wanted to talk about it, but his plan had back-fired because she had and he was going to have to answer her questions too.

"I would have been there for you Gin. And I would have noticed."

She gave a strange laugh and patted his hand.

"I know you would have. Thanks."

Harry watched her closely trying to find signs of the character he had come to know through their writing. He admired her cute lips and big eyes. He noted the way her nose curved elegantly and turned slightly upward. He smiled as her brow creased in perhaps what was concentration. She had changed over the years. One thing that hadn't changed about her appearance was the stubborn set to her jaw when she had made her mind up about something.

Ginny turned probing eyes to his own and smiled slightly at the intense look he had on his face.

"Why don't you want to be here?"

"I – um – I don't know…"

"None of that, Potter. I answered you properly. No editing please." Harry took a deep breath and started picking at his nails.

"If I'm honest, I'm scared, upset, frustrated and excited all at once. There was a reason that my Aunt Petunia sent me away so suddenly and I'm afraid that now is all for nothing. It's understandable that when I was younger I shouldn't have been exposed to such a dangerous situation, but now that I am older I am none the wiser in terms of magical ability and fighting technique. Being back here would mean that I can learn some new things and have feedback from teachers… But I should have been asked! I was literally taken away in an instant and I didn't even get to tell Alli that I was going away and that I would be ok. I hope she isn't too worried – they must know by now that I'm missing. For that reason alone, for her peace of mind, I want to go back."

"But you could always send her a letter? I mean, the reasons you gave for staying seem like pretty good ones to me. You should never let anyone hinder your growth, least yourself and your pride."

"When you put it like that, you make me sound silly."

"Well, I don't mean to. I know you aren't silly; you are just a teenage boy with a pretty big ego."

She grinned at him cheekily as he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I forgot that you would be able to make that diagnosis so quickly, what with all the teenage boys you've been exposed to. How is Dean by the way?" Ginny giggled as he poked the tip of her nose with his finger.

"He's fine, thank you."

"It's getting rather chilly, shall we go back in?" Ginny's answer was drowned out behind an unfamiliar nasally voice,

"Ron! Stop whining so much, we're here now anyway. Let's just enjoy the view for a little while ok?"

"Who told you that you would have any time to enjoy the view?" The door slammed shut and Harry looked at Ginny in horror who was mirroring his expression comically.

"Wait – wait! Let's just make sure alone." A female voice followed, trying to be seductive but failing terribly. The guy chuckled as the girl squealed,

"There's no-one here, relax." They heard the thump of a body hitting the round table and Harry stood in quickly, instantly regretting it as the blood rushed to his head. He hadn't had dinner and suddenly realised that he was quite hungry. The couple, however had not yet realised that they weren't quite alone. He was facing the girl's back but her robes were bunched up by her waist, revealing the pink lacy knickers that she was wearing. Ron was completely out of sight, but he could hear his eager chuckles. Harry cleared his throat and the girls head swivelled around scarily fast, while she pushed at what could only be Ron's head, "Stop!" she hissed.

Harry averted his eyes, embarrassed and could hear the rustling of clothes. Ginny was now standing next to him, her hands covering her mouth in mortification. Having caught a glimpse of the unknown girl's face, which was oddly familiar, Harry was raking his memory for who should could be.

"Pansy Parkinson, Ron?" Ah, the Slytherin girl.

His eyes travelled back to Ron, who was now crowding over his embarrassed girlfriend and taking in the scene of the two of them standing awfully close together in this unused classroom. His face was slowly turning puce and Harry was struggling to find words that could diffuse the situation.

He didn't get the chance.

"What," Ron growled, "are you doing up here with my sister?" Harry opened his mouth to try and explain, but Ron didn't really care for an answer.

"Ginny, why aren't you in your Common Room? It's past curfew." He was growing angrier by the second.

"We were just catching up..." Harry supplied. He didn't really mind much of the curfew comment. It was good to break the rules once in a while.

"I wasn't talking to you just then Potter." 'Potter' was it? Harry straightened his stance and gazed on the couple coldly. "And what do you two have to catch up on? You write to each other almost every day!" Ginny scrambled around the table now, to get closer to her brother, not liking the tension in the air.

"Assuming that the last comment was now actually directed at me, I will answer if that's ok with you?" Harry began sarcastically, "We do not correspond every day. That would be taxing on Hedwig's health seeing as we were in two different countries. If you are showing anger to mask how jealous you are of the friendship Ginny and I share, I will be taking my leave as I do not have much tolerance for stupidity. If you will excuse me Pansy, thank you." Harry now made his way around the table and gestured for Ginny to leave too.

Pansy was rather red in the face, perhaps from being recognised, or maybe it had something to do with the suggestiveness of both parties' situation. Either way she allowed Harry to side-step the two of them without any fuss.

Not that he got very far. Yes, his legs were long and he took measurable strides, but Ron had been incensed further at the snub and Ginny's angry glare.

Ron spun on his heel and took off at a sprint. The air was crackling with energy and anger and Ron was like a volcano that had at last erupted. His fury glowed redder and redder the closer he got to Harry.

Ron catapulted himself head first, hurtling towards Harry's back. Both went sprawling across the floor.

Ron had the upper hand as he was the one who had initiated the tackle. He straddled Harry and swung his fist at Harry's face, grinning cruelly when the connection was made.

The boys were faintly aware of the background noise, Pansy was screaming at the top of her voice and Ginny was cursing her brother loudly, but both couldn't care less. Harry took advantage of Ron's rage however, which made him swing carelessly, and managed to get the upper hand. In one clean movement, Harry thrust his palm into the boy's chest and shouted,

"Still!"

Ron fell backwards with a thud, now unconscious, and Harry kicked him all the way off of his legs mercilessly.

Ginny ran up to Harry as he stood gingerly.

"Are you okay? He didn't hurt you too badly, did he?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry breathed. "Make sure you tell him to stay away from me, Pansy."

Pansy looked at both Ginny and Harry, with a calculative look in her eye but merely nodded.

Harry rubbed the side of his face absent-mindedly, flexing his jaw as Ginny took his arm to lead him away. He looked down at Ginny who was frowning, staring at the ground.

"Before I forget, Harry, Hedwig is in the owlery and you can send her to the Post Office in Hogsmede with a letter to Allison. They send letters and parcels on the muggle way from there."

Harry threw a comforting arm around Ginny's shoulders. "Thanks Gin, I'm going to have to do that. Come now though, let me escort you to your Common Room before we run into any more trouble."

They walked off, completely unaware of the invisible set of green eyes that followed their every move.

xXx

It was the Potter boy, for sure, and he was back... I could not believe when my Master informed me that the whelp had actually disappeared from the wizarding world after I had told not to come back to Hogwarts. The coward! He had messed up my Master's plan completely and I had not been able to sit for an entire month.

I hadn't really cared much for the plan itself, humans was so barbaric, but if it had failed he was supposed to be around in order to engineer my freedom at the very least. I had been counting on him to be defiant! I would have befriended him and he would have found a way to get my Master to give me the clothes that I so desperately sought. My plan had been almost perfect.

My mission may be to poison the Headmaster but the opportunity to deal with this personal vendetta could surely also be handled with the seven months. I will attack. Not him first, of course not! I will first attack his little girlfriend, the pretty little redhead, and then all the others that are close to him.

Let him know this: I am the hunter and you are the hunted, Harry Potter! You will never escape because you will never be aware of the blessing of death I intend to bestow upon you. You will have no clue that I am an enemy until you have already lost!

I laughed to myself, catching the attention of the few Elves that flitted around invisibly. I could see them very well, just as they could see me. Us Elves were always around, whether the humans knew it or not. We had a different kind of magic that allowed us to roam undetected, but it was best that I didn't bring too much attention to myself.

I watched retreating backs of Potter and the girl intently - they would pay! I felt as though my wide grin would split my face in two, but I didn't care; this was going to be an interesting couple of months.