A/N: There's a big time jump in this story going from King's Cross station all the way to a point somewhere after chapter 10 of Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone. This note is just to avoid any confusion.
The day to depart for Hogwarts had finally come. Harry was waiting for the Auror from Ministry to pick him up. Heathbert decided to come along for the ride to King's Cross. They waited and waited, but it seemed like the Auror was never going to come. Much like boys his age, Harry wasn't keen on being patient. He finally decided to take matters into his own hands.
"Maybe I could just fly there?" suggested Harry.
"No, you're sure to be seen and that would cause quite a ruckus with both wizards and muggles," answered Heathbert.
"But we can't wait here forever."
"You could transport yourself there"
"You mean disappear here and reappear there? And what about my stuff?"
"It would probably work for your stuff too, including me of course. Oh, yeah, and that owl," Heathbert said with a shudder. "That owl has been eyeing me ever since we met. Still don't know why you wizards use them. With all the magic, you'd think you could just send a message some other way—some way more mouse-friendly. Anyway, you might want to hold on to all the stuff for good measure."
Harry stuffed Heathbert in his shirt pocket and hung on to his belongings. He concentrated on King's Cross Station and felt the now familiar feeling of being sucked into a tight space and not being able to breath. In a moment, he was there. Harry found a cart and loaded his trunk and Hedwig.
"Are you sure you can't come with me? I really would miss you."
"I would miss you too, but this is as far as I go. London is the place for me. I don't know what I would do so far away from home. I'm not as brave as you are."
"Brave? More like scared out of my trousers. I was just starting to get used to Tom's pub and now I'm on the move again."
"Didn't Hagrid say that you'll be staying at the castle and spending your summers at a place that's not too far from it? Why, it's kinda like you're going home."
"Yeah, a home I don't know and have never seen before."
They walked until they found platforms nine and ten, but could not find nine and three-quarters. Harry asked around, but no one could help him. He was starting to panic when he overheard a plump woman who was with four boys and a little girl talking about muggles.
"Well, looks like you can just follow them. They seem to know where they're going," said Heathbert.
"Right … well … I guess this is good-bye then," Harry replied, trying to suppress the urge to cry, wanting not to embarrass himself in the middle of King's Cross Station. Besides, it would only appear to others that a boy was standing on a train station platform crying to himself with a mouse in his pocket and an owl on a cart.
"Yup. Take care of yourself Harry Potter. I'm sure we'll cross paths again whenever you visit the Leaky Cauldron."
And with that Heathbert jumped out of Harry's pocket and disappeared into some crevice at the base of a wall. Harry pushed his cart to catch up with the plump woman and her children who all had red hair.
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It was a Friday afternoon and the students had time off as usual. Harry and Ron were lazing around by the lake. It was an unusually hot day for this time of year. They had broken off a couple of fronds from a nearby fern and were fanning themselves with them.
Harry was pensive. After all this time, he had still not shown anyone the magic that he was capable of. From his classes thus far, Harry found that the magic he could do was far beyond what he was being taught. He didn't want to be the odd-ball and be singled out anymore than he already was, so he decided to follow along and be a good student.
"But then again, there's potions," Harry thought. "Why do I need to learn Potions, for god's sake? I can do magic for everything I'd ever need a potion for. I can't think of one thing that I couldn't possibly just do myself without having to rely on a stupid potion. That Snape can kiss my magical bum. I should just transfigure him into a flea and see how he likes it!"
Harry, forgetting that he was laying beside Ron, put both hands underneath his head and let the frond fan him by itself. He whistled a tune, summoning a strong breeze to blow on them. Ron bolted, sitting up straight.
"Blimey, did you do that?!" exclaimed Ron.
"Uh … did what?" Harry answered, surprised and a little fearful.
"That! The … the fr—frond thing … and th—the wind!"
"What do you mean?" said Harry, desperately trying to find a way to evade the issue.
"Come off it! There's no one else around and I sure as hell didn't bloody do it, did I?"
"Maybe you did"
"Harry."
"Ok, so I did it. What of it? Are you going to tell everybody now that I'm a freak," Harry's temper started to rise. "Ooh, look at the friggin' famous Harry Potter. Now, he can do amazing magic, too! Unbe-friggin'-leivably brilliant, isn't it? Let's take a picture, shall we?!" Harry yelled, neglecting the possibility that he could be overheard by anyone in the vicinity.
"Look, I'm sorry I got excited, but it is amazing, isn't it? Who ever heard of a first-year doing that stuff? They don't teach nonverbal spells until sixth year."
"Exactly! People will think I'm weird! I'm different enough as it is, with all this 'boy-who-lived' stuff. I don't need anything else keeping me from … well, from being normal!"
"So you've been keeping this all to yourself this whole time just so you can be like everyone else? Is that it? I mean, you could possibly be the most brilliant student in our year—if not all of Hogwarts—and you're just going to keep it all under wraps?"
"Ron, you'd never understand."
"Understand what exactly?"
"Look at you," Harry said downhearted. "You've only seen a couple of tricks and you're all worked up. I just don't want to be a freak. I don't want to be pinched and prodded like I was some weird alien experiment. So please, please don't tell anyone—not one soul, not even Hermione. I really would rather forget that this even ever happened."
"Ok, ok. My lips are sealed, but what if you happen to slip-up again?"
"Well then, you'll just have to help me cover up, won't you?" Harry said with a chuckle.
"So, is there anything else you can do besides controlling the wind and performing wingardium leviosa without saying a word? Er, I guess that was wingardium leviosa, although it did do more than just float. How do you do it?"
"Well, when I do magic, I don't really think of an incantation; I don't think of the words or say it out loud. I just do it. It's hard to explain exactly how. I … well, I … I just think of what I want to do and feel it happening and it does. Kind of like moving my arms or fingers. I don't have to think 'I'm moving my finger now' to move it; I just do it," Harry explained, wiggling his finger. As he did this a tree branch that was hanging down beside Ron was wagging along in time with Harry's finger. Ron sat there astonished. Harry smiled at Ron, amused by Ron's expression.
"Tell you what, watch this," Harry said enthusiastically, now feeling secure in the idea that Ron would keep confidence about his abilities. Harry stood up and motioned for Ron to do the same. Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder and pulled out his wand. He and raised it above his head and in one swift motion cut the air with it. All of a sudden the sound of insects buzzing around them stopped. The breeze no longer blew. Everything was still. Ron looked around and saw that nothing was moving. Some students who were running up the hill were frozen in place, some of them mid-run. Bees that were flying around close to them had been suspended in midair. Leaves that were being blown around stayed in place as if someone had painted them there.
"How … how?" stammered Ron.
"You like it?"
"Like it? It's brilliant!"
As Ron was talking, Harry climbed the empty space in front of him and floated a few feet above ground. Ron looked on with mouth agape. Harry was alarmed for a moment thinking that he might be seen and sunk down a bit. He realized that he had stopped time and that no one would actually see and he smiled at Ron.
"Blimey!" exclaimed Ron.
Harry motioned to Ron, as if to call him up to where Harry was standing and Ron rose from the ground.
"Whoa! Whoa! What are you doing?!" shouted Ron, taken off guard.
"Taking you for a ride."
Harry flew about thirty feet up and circled the lake with Ron in tow. They looked at the stillness around them, touching the trees as they went. Harry then doubled back towards the castle, weaving around it's turrets and spires. They saw Professor McGonagall in the midst of talking to a sixth-year in her office. They saw students dotting the grounds, all remaining completely still and paused in the middle of their activities. They sighted Hermione in the courtyard reading a book. Harry and Ron set down beside her.
"I don't think I can say the word enough! BRILLIANT! Absolutely Brilliant!" yelled Ron at the top of his lungs. "You do know that there is no wizard—at least that I know of—that can fly! Not one! Who needs a broom?! I mean, you are still pretty good on one, great seeker and all. I still can't believe you want to keep this a secret. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep my mouth shut about this!"
"RON! You promised!" retorted Harry. "Remember Ron, not a word to anyone!"
"Sure, sure. I'm still not convinced why, though."
"Ok, hold on. I'm going to start everything up again."
"Yeah and let's give Hermione over here a good scare. It'll be good for her."
"Ok. Let's stand on either side of her. Now on the count of three. One … two … three!"
"BOO!" both Ron and Harry shouted at Hermione as Harry started time back up. Hermione jumped up and threw the book she was reading high in the air.
"AAAHHH!" Hermione screamed. "What the … ?!"
The boys were laughing so hard they were clutching their stomachs. "Got you Hermione!"
"Where in the world did you come from?! It's not very nice to give someone a scare like that, especially not when their sitting in peace and reading for an exam! An exam that you two should be studying for as well, mind you," exclaimed Hermione, still very much flustered.
In the mix of the boys' laughter and Hermione's frustration, they didn't notice that Draco Malfoy had approached with Crabbe and Goyle that his sides.
"Mudblood drop her books, did she?" Draco sneered.
Harry quickly turned around and both he and Ron glared at Malfoy angrily.
"Oh, Potter, so you're here, too? Well, we're just having a great little mudblood loving party, aren't we?"
"Shut up and go away, Malfoy" barked Ron.
"Oh, did I offend you Weasley? Why don't you go run to your dad and beg him for some help. You Weasleys are used to begging anyway."
Harry's anger rose up from within him. He couldn't stop himself. Harry took his wand and twisted it in the air, as if wrenching someone's arm out of it's socket. Malfoy doubled over in pain, but could not speak. Crabbe and Goyle took step back. Malfoy continued to squirm and writhe on the ground.
"Harry stop! Please, Harry!" pleaded Hermione.
Harry came to his senses and stopped at once. He felt both victorious and guilty at the same time. He had never used his abilities to hurt anyone, but he figured that Malfoy gave him a good enough excuse to do so. Malfoy got up, groaning and still in obvious pain, and ran away. Hermione quickly grabbed Harry and Ron by their robes and dragged them to a hallway where there would be no one to overhear them.
"Harry! That was stupid of you to do!" rounded Hermione
"I know, but I couldn't help it. I'm tired of that foul-mouthed idiot! He got what he deserved"
"Since when do you know how to do spells like that anyway? A nonverbal one and an unforgivable curse at that!"
"Unforgivable? What is that supposed to mean?"
"You just performed what I think was the Cruciatus Curse! I've read about it in an advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. You mean to tell me you didn't even know what you did?"
"Harry didn't even say anything! How did you know it was that curse? How did you know he was the one that did it at all? Maybe I did!" interrupted Ron, trying to keep to his promise and doing his best to cover for Harry.
"Ron, let's be serious. I was there and I saw Harry use his wand," retorted Hermione.
It suddenly occurred to Harry that he had performed magic out in the open for everyone to see. "Hermione, do you think anybody else saw what happened?"
"Well, it didn't seem like anybody else noticed. It helped that Malfoy couldn't scream out loud—but that is beside the point!"
"Listen, it's just a spell that Ron and I happened upon in the library. It's no big deal. I promise not to do it again, ok?"
"I'm not sure I can even believe that the two of you would be hanging out at the library, but I guess you must've learned it from somewhere. I'm surprised that you could even work a spell at all considering how you've been doing in class" Hermione answered in a know-it-all kind of way.
"Oi!"
"Anyway, it is an unforgivable curse and you dare not use it again."
"Right, Hermione," both Ron and Harry said with a "yes, mother" sort of tone.
Out of nowhere, Snape came marching towards them. "Potter! I heard from Draco that you cast a spell on him that made him ache unbearably all over. I cannot bring myself to believe that you could possibly cast such a spell—or any that would actually amount to much, for that matter. However, for causing a disturbance I'm taking fifty points from Gryffindor," Snape said curtly and briskly turned around and walked away.
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Harry lay in bed thinking about the events of the past day. He was glad that he finally had someone with whom to share his secret. It was fun flying around with Ron and seeing the wonder in Ron's face. Harry wondered what other secret adventures they might have together. He also thought about the Cruciatus Curse. When he cursed Malfoy he felt a distinct power that was coursing through him. It was something that he had only felt when he transfigured the Durselys. Something about his anger made his magic more potent. It intrigued him, but scared him at the same time. He thought about Hermione and she having witnessed him exercise his abilities. Knowing Hermione, he hoped that she would not talk about the incident with anyone, but at the same time he knew that Hermione would likely not easily forget about it. It annoyed Harry that Snape hated him so much as not to attribute him any competence whatsoever, but still found a way to punish him somehow. In all, though, it was a great day. Harry hoped that he could share more days like this one with Ron.