I'm really sorry for the long wait, but so many things were happening…
When the magic is back in balance and the animated wards come up, what will happen? If Harry gets again transported into is own time, the problem with the wards will still be there…
Harry has taken all this into account and will be suitably prepared when the time comes.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Also, my muses feed me many ideas that they picked up from other stories. If you can claim any of the ideas I put here and I can verify it by looking at your story, I'll give you credit. I've noticed my muses feeding me a lot of material from my favorite Harry is Salazar fanfic: Too Clever By Far by Gamana.
:Mindspeech:
-Parseltongue-
Chapter Nine: Classes in the Past
Harry went directly to the Transfiguration classroom, pausing every once in a while as he knew that Dumbledore was still monitoring him through the tracking charm and it wouldn't do to make it too obvious that he knew his way so well already. By the time that he finally reached the classroom he was thoroughly bored, though did not allow a trace of this show through the look of interest that he had attached to his face.
He opened the door and peeked inside, his mind automatically registering where every person sat. It seemed like everyone had their own, self-appointed seats and forgetting where one belonged could be dangerous, although he needed to take that sort of thing more seriously with the Slytherins than with the Gryffindors. The room was small compared to some other rooms, as it held only the Gryffindor sixth years.
The marauders were in the back corner, near one of the large windows overlooking the grounds. Lily was sitting in front, her books beside her and an eager look on her face. Three girls, a blond who he recognized as Neville's mother and two brunettes were whispering in the back corner opposite the marauders; the rest of the seats were empty.
Harry carefully chose his seat in the front corner, in between Lily and a window and two seats in front of Sirius. He settled down in his selected place, pulling out books, quill, ink, and parchment. There was some whispering behind him and Remus got up, moving to the seat directly behind him. Harry turned around, giving the werewolf a questioning look.
"I'm supposed to show you around," Remus whispered, "I intend to do a good job." Harry wasn't sure whether to be grateful or annoyed but eventually decided on grateful. After all, he wasn't supposed to know his way around and having a guide would make it look less suspicious if he was actually able to get to his classes on time and by taking the correct route the first time round. There was also the bonus that having Remus as a guide might deter some of the marauder's pranks. Might.
Harry smiled gratefully,
"Thanks! I was worried that I'd spend all day wondering around. Dumbledore gave me some sort of map but it's so confusing!"
Transfiguration had not changed one bit, despite the twenty year difference. Professor McGonagall's teaching style remained the same despite the twenty year difference and, Harry suspected, so did the material they learned.
After transfiguration, Harry headed over to Divination. Remus did not accompany him as he did not take this class (Harry thought that this may have had something to do with the large number of silver instruments scattered around the room); his electives were Ancient Ruins and Care of Magical Creatures. Remus had instead hurriedly marked the way to the classroom on Harry's map (with suspicious ease for someone who supposedly didn't even know where it was), and given him careful instructions. One, Harry noticed with amusement, was 'If you see the painting of a mad little knight named Sir Cadogan, just ignore him and hurry away'.
Professor Fortuna was a wispy looking old witch who wore just as much jewelry as Trelawney, along with a similar shawl. Just as with Trelawney, the clothing gave her the delicate look of a large insect and her vocabulary was just as fancy. The way she spoke was very vague, although she managed not to sound as air-headed as the future professor.
Thankfully, none of the marauders save Pettigrew had joined the class out of support for their werewolf friend, so he didn't have to put up with them. With none of the other sixth year Gryffindor boys in the class, however, he quickly found himself surrounded by girls. Usually, Salazar wouldn't mind, preferring to ignore the other gender, but Harry had had bad experiences with giggling girls and the class passed very slowly and painfully for him. Honestly, at least a thousand years ago the girls had shown some restraint!
Well, at least neither his mother nor Neville's mother were flirting with him. Harry shuddered, grateful for small favors. He didn't think he would be able to last long with something that disturbing going on. Harry stared blankly into his crystal ball, watching the mist swirl lazily inside the glass. Next to him, Lily shifted impatiently.
"Why did you sign up for Divination?" Harry asked quietly, after making sure that the teacher was on the other side of the room, "I'd have thought you were more the Arithmancy type."
Lily looked up in surprise at the sudden noise,
"But Divination sounded so much more interesting. It was a hard choice, actually, but I could only choose one of them. And I really wanted to do Care of Magical Creatures, but Ancient Runes sounded more challenging…" She sounded like she had wanted to talk to someone about that for a long time, and Harry was confused. Didn't she have any friends, anyone to talk to?
His mind flickered back to the scene he had witnessed in Snape's pensive and grimaced internally. Of course she didn't: no one wanted to be friends with a Gryffindor that took sides with a Slytherin; no one wanted to be friends with someone who broke up fights other people were enjoying; no one wanted to be friends with the person who James Potter wanted to date, in case it was taken the wrong way.
"It was pretty easy for me. I already know some Arithmancy and Ancient Runes," More than most people do today, he added silently, "But Divination is an easy class, and I love Care of Magical Creatures, although that second one probably has a lot to do with my previous teacher."
"What's it like?" Lily asked eagerly.
"Well, I haven't had a Care of Magical Creatures class at Hogwarts yet, but I've had two teachers," Harry said, careful of how he weaved his truths and lies together, "One of them was really fascinated with dangerous animals and didn't really understand that we, the students, were afraid of them. He was my friend, though, so I signed up for the class. The second one was more your average teacher. She was sort of strict but covered everything we needed to know for the OWLs quite thoroughly."
They chatted for the rest of the class, first about one thing and then another. At lunch, Lily sat next to him on one side and Remus sat on the other. It was noticeably the closest Lily had ever sat next to the marauders since the Welcoming Feast when they were first years.
At the end of lunch, they each went to charms together. Charms classes apparently hadn't changed in the twenty year time lapse either, and Harry, Lily and Remus had a pleasant conversation while learning a neat little charm to change someone's hair color. The charm, along with the other ones that they would learn over the next couple of weeks, was supposed to be used for disguises but, according to the plotting gleam in Sirius and James' eyes, they had other ideas.
Professor Assero was the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher and the Head of Slytherin House. She was looked down upon by many Slytherins because she was female and because she didn't teach potions, which was apparently traditional for the Slytherin professors to do. That she had abandoned potions to be the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher also offended many Slytherins, most noticeably those that Harry knew would one day become Death Eaters. As another bonus, she was fair and did not take points from any house without reason.
After an interesting lesson on magical shields they had to separate, Lily going off to Ancient Runes and Harry and Remus heading out onto the grounds for Care of Magical Creatures. The class was held, not by Hagrid's hut as Harry was used to, but on the open grass in front of the Forbidden Forest.
The Care of Magical Creatures teacher was Professor Kettleburn, as he had been for decades before Hagrid had taken over the job. He was an energetic little man (although not quite as little as Professor Flitwick) and Harry knew that in the next twenty years, the Professor would loose both his legs and an arm to various wild animals, a thought which simultaneously worried and amused him.
He was a good teacher and stressed caution and respect for even the smallest animal. Sirius and James complained loudly about the class as they seemed to often get detentions for messing around, though that might have had something to do with the fact that sixth year Slytherins were in the same class.
Harry stayed away from the Slytherins, not ready for a confrontation, and would have stayed as far away from the marauders as possible if it wasn't for Remus' determination to help him. He mostly ignored the marauders but sometimes when he turned, he caught them looking at him, identically scheming looks on their faces. It made him very nervous and he was glad when the class was over and he could escape.
It was hard to get Remus to leave him alone but Harry was persistent, saying that he could find his way around reasonably, and he wanted the chance to explore. Remus protested that Harry could get easily lost but eventually the plotting look that his friends wore worried him enough that he had to go over and see what they were doing. When he got back, Harry was gone.
Sixth year Gryffindors had a free hour and Harry was ready to use this as much to his advantage as possible. He crept down to the dungeons, the unused part that only he knew about. Because the wards kept the house elves away, the hallway was dusty but a couple of quick charms fixed that.
He spent the hour inspecting, cleaning and repairing the maze of passageways that he knew like the back of his hand. He personally was quite proud of how far into the castle the dungeons extended; it was significantly further than anyone else knew, even the other founders. At this reminder, his eyes stung with unleashed tears that the student battled with fiercely.
It was over, done. It had been over for more than a thousand years. Then why did his eyes still sting with tears whenever he thought of the other founders?
Harry pushed the thoughts out of his head but the dungeons suddenly felt alien; so much had changed in a thousand years; the crumbling walls and dusty, unused rooms were proof of it. He had a personal connection with each and every little stone that he had used to make his dungeons and, on a larger scale, every stone or piece of wood that went into making Hogwarts a home to so many witches and wizards. They were so…old, so ancient and peaceful when, a thousand years ago, they had been young and thrumming with magical energy.
He headed towards the Great Hall, feeling out of place. He was too late to do anything; too late to fix anything that his own fear of telling the truth had caused. He was too late to apologize or try to repair his friendship with the other founders, however unlikely that may be. But then again, he was too early to live his life. Harry Potter, Golden Boy, Savior of the Light or not, he was still who he was. He was not Evan Harrison, no matter how much he pretended.
Picking at his food, he missed the worried glances that Lily and Remus were shooting at him. He missed also the gleeful looks that James and Sirius traded and the feeling of the spell that gently brushed his aura, coming from the food he ate.
What Harry did not miss was the slight tugging at his head as his hair coiled into black snakes of different breeds. At the same time, golden words few into the air above the teacher's table 'Brought to you by Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs'. Harry sat very still, not wanting to cause them to strike, as he tried to identify whether they were poisonous or not. The absence of mirrors in the Great Hall hindered his progress, but he used his reflection in his gold goblet.
Once he was sure that none of them were poisonous, Harry relaxed. As a Parselmouth, snakes naturally liked him and would hesitate to bite him, even if he didn't speak to them so the student determinedly ignored the creatures and went back to his meal, avoiding the cursed food.
By the end of the meal, nobody else's hair had changed at all and Harry was sure that the prank was aimed directly at him. Everyone was staring at him again, wondering what he would do next. He looked around the hall and noticed that Snape had already left. He wasn't surprised, but it did make his job harder.
He left the Great Hall towards the dungeons, and was surprised to encounter Snape just around the corner. They both stopped inches from a collision but both managed to look distinctly unruffled, as if they just happened to see each other on a stroll around the castle.
"I forgot that I was supposed to show you around the dungeons," Snape said, not bothering to look apologetic although he did appear a little embarrassed, "What have you done to your hair?"
"I was wondering where you ran off to," Harry said with a bit of false Gryffindor cheer, "The Marauders pranked my hair when I wasn't looking. At least they had the decency to choose pretty snakes," He added, causing the serpents to preen and hiss with delight. Like many animals, these had the intelligence to understand human speech although their mouths weren't built to pronounce it.
"Yes, well, follow me then," Snape didn't seem to know very much about showing people around, something that Harry had to wonder about. The head of Slytherin House would most certainly have to have some skill with showing the first years where everything was in the vast dungeons. Apart from that, Snape seemed to have gotten over his earlier curiosity and instead seemed annoyed that he had to act as Harry's guide.
"Slytherin Pride."
The hidden door slid open and Snape stepped inside. Harry stepped inside without hesitation, letting his aura flare up. Even though most couldn't read auras, they could still feel the power radiating off of the newcomer.
"Back so soon, Snape? Why aren't you off playing with your potions?" said the sneering voice that could only belong to a Malfoy. Sure enough, when Harry turned, he came face to face with Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy visibly measured the new kid up. "I'm sorry if Snape has been bothering you with his potions rubbish. The Snapes are an old, pureblood family but they have no wealth to speak of, so you'll have to understand that he isn't of a very high social status at all. You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Harrison. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
Malfoy held out his hand to shake Harry's but Harry was too busy being amused at the repeat of his first year to care. He wondered if the Malfoys memorized the same lines from the cradle or if Draco had just been copying his father when he gave Harry the same speech.
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," Harry said, repeating his past words.
Lucius glared at him,
"That's the biggest mistake that you'll ever make, Harrison."
"I'm trembling with fear," Harry said dryly as Lucius stalked off, before turning to Snape "So, where do I sleep?"
"You're sleeping in my room," Snape said.
"Sorry about that," Harry said, allowing a slightly apologetic look to cross his face.
"I'm sorry you have to share a room with me," Snape said. He was obviously used to people thinking along these lines and misinterpreted Harry's look.
"Oh, its fine with me, I'm just sorry about invading into your privacy like this. I'll see if I can get a different room."
Snape was surprised,
"You're sorry about invading into my privacy?"
"Well, I do value my own personal space and I…have nightmares sometimes. I don't want to keep anybody up," Harry said sincerely.
A bit of puzzlement flashed behind Snape's emotionless mask. Harry knew that it would mean trouble for him; once a Slytherin had a question, he or she would keep asking it until it was found out. He mentally filed away that he would have to be careful around Snape if he didn't want anyone finding out any of his secrets.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Snape said.
"You're sure?" Harry said. He wasn't sure if he could get another room from Dumbledore, but if he asked the castle…Well, he would at least put a couple of good silencing charms around his bed so that his screams wouldn't be heard. He wondered when his thoughts about his midnight screams had become so casual but decided it was best not to worry about this.
"Our room's over here," Snape said, leading the way to the medium sized dormitory. They didn't talk much as they got ready for bed and it was only once the lights were out (and several silencing charms were put up on each bed without the notice of each other) that they spoke.
"Thanks, Snape."
There was a pause,
"You may call me Severus."
"You may call me Evan," Though that isn't my real name, Harry added silently.
"Good night Evan."
"Good night Severus."
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"He didn't even notice!" Sirius exclaimed, annoyed, to James and Peter, who were lying on their beds, "I can't believe it, all our hard work and careful planning…"
He was cut off by Remus storming into the dormitory,
"You pranked him! It was his first day!"
"He insulted us. Besides, he didn't even n…" Sirius started.
"I was supposed to be looking after him! Why didn't I even know about this? Is it that you don't trust me any more?" snapped the werewolf, looking more than slightly hurt.
"Look Moony, it's not as if we don't trust you but you were too close to the victim. We did that to Sirius when we pranked his girlfriend, remember," James interrupted.
"And it's not as if it's permanent," Peter said, "It'll wear off in a month." He seemed to find that extremely amusing and collapsed on his bed laughing. He abruptly stopped when Remus fixed him with a glare that could have melted glass.
"He's the new kid. It's his first day of classes. Why. Did. You. Prank. Him?" Remus ground out.
"It was nothing personal," Sirius said, "but he insulted us."
"Does it matter so much that someone annoyed you just a little bit that you had to go embarrass him in front of the entire school?" Remus snapped.
"We've done it to Snape plenty of times…" Sirius trailed off, "I can't believe it! You're actually defending the little brat!"
"How very observant of you! What did you think I've been doing for the last five minutes?"
"I thought you were just…you know, because it was your job," Sirius said with a shrug.
Remus growled at him, his teeth bared as some of his wolf instincts leaked into his human consciousness,
"Have you failed to notice that he's a human, a Gryffindor even? Or have you been too wrapped up in your anti-Slytherin attitude that you didn't even try to look that far?"
Sirius backed up nervously,
"Remus, I didn't…"
"I know perfectly well what you did and didn't mean," Remus snapped. He grabbed his hangings and pulled them so hard that he nearly ripped them from the bed.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
My muses have been working overtime…unfortunately, they managed to grab hold of ideas for two new stories and spend a lot of my time plotting out said stories which are currently multiplying…(sigh) Its inevitable that I write some of them out eventually, so sorry about that…
Please give me more prank ideas; they're all helpful.