Thank you, all of you who have read this story so far and to everyone who took that extra minute to review, thank you Harriverse and Draw4life
Harry Potter and the Trip to the Past
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Chapter – 12
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Harry closed the door behind him and walked out of the dungeons only to be pulled into a small alcove on his right. "Mhpmn." Merlin! What was happening to him the last two days. Everyone was able to catch him and disarm him. "Potter." The voice said urgently and Harry relaxed. It was Malfoy. Harry calmly removed the hand off his mouth and turned to smile at the boy. "Draco. What is it?"
"Why did you have detention today also?" he asked. "Weasley didn't." Malfoy pointed out in addition to his initial question.
"Yeah I know. I kinda of messed it up yesterday and you how your Head of House is. He made me come today and write where I had gone wrong and hand it over to him. Whew! I finished only now and I got out as fast as I could. How did you know anyway?"
"I saw you walking behind Snape and go into his office. I waited until lunch and you did not come out. So I went up to the Great Hall and asked Neville and Hermione and they told me. I finished lunch and came back here to wait for you." Malfoy explained.
Harry was quiet for a long minute while he processed what Malfoy was saying. Then he smiled brilliantly, "Hey! Thanks for waiting for me, must have been boring. Snape made me write about the potion I had messed up yesterday; the one to heal curse boils and he made me re-do the damn thing until I went mad. Thankfully he has not taken away any points from Gryffindor and so I am okay."
Malfoy who had been watching Harry intently nodded looking a bit relieved. "Snape can be a bit harsh to those not in Slytherin."
Harry looked disbelievingly at him. "A bit harsh?" he asked sarcastically and rolled his eyes when Malfoy nodded seriously and then grinned at Harry when he rolled his eyes, and drawled, "Riiight!"
Malfoy laughed outright at that and then slightly pinked and looked down. "What are you going to do now? I mean er, will you go to your common room and stay there?"
Harry cocked his head and looked at Malfoy. "Yes." He nodded and saw the disappointment on Malfoy's face. "But," Harry said smiling, "Why don't you come with me and spend the day there?"
Malfoy stared at Harry and began to nod before he stopped with a slight frown. "I don't think that is a good idea Potter." He said slowly and catching Harry puzzled and slightly hurt look he continued hastily, "Not because I don't want to, but because I don't want the others in Slytherin to know and spread the word to everyone that I have access to Gryffindor." Malfoy told him earnestly hoping Harry would understand.
Harry did. Malfoy did not want his father to know because if this went around, Lucius Malfoy would definitely hear about it and that would cause complications. "You don't want the other Slytherins to know?" seeing Malfoy nod his head in relief Harry continued very puzzled, "But they do know we are kind of friends don't they?"
Malfoy blushed profusely. "Not fully. They think I am being friends with you with a reason. If they come to know I came to your common room, they will write, er, what I meant was er… I mean they will talk." Malfoy finished lamely.
Harry looked at him. "It will get you into trouble?" he asked simply.
"And you." Malfoy nodded, shuffling his feet and looking down.
"Okay, come to the lake in about fifteen minutes. I will bring Hermione and Neville down. And be warmly clothed." Harry told him and Malfoy grinned relieved Harry that had not questioned him more.
"I will go down right now." Malfoy blushed again looking at Harry. "I mean I don't have anything important to do right now, so it should be fine." He said attempting to look pompous and failing miserably.
"That's great. See you then." Harry told him, ignoring his blushes. Malfoy was coming along nicely. Hopefully he would stay this way and not get back into the nasty bully he had been before.
Harry and Malfoy left the dungeons and glancing back towards the dungeons Harry saw Snape lurking in the shadows. He grinned to himself and kept up a steady chatter until they parted, Harry going to the Gryffindor common room and Malfoy leaving for the lake.
Harry opened the Gryffindor common room and found almost everyone was inside. Hermione squealed when she saw him and ran to him and hugged him hard. "Don't tell me you have detention once again."
"No." Harry made a show of wiping the sweat off his brow. Hermione laughed and Neville shuddered.
"I am feeling hungry. Coming with me?" Harry asked them and soon they waved to the other first years and went out of the portrait hole and to the kitchens, chattering about Snape and his detention.
Harry tickled the pears and went inside and soon came out with a huge picnic basket with food enough for more than ten people. Carrying it carefully Harry, Neville and Hermione went down by the lake where Harry saw Draco Malfoy standing and throwing stones into the frozen lake. The stones were hitting the lake with a 'pling' and rolling away.
"Hey Malfoy, hungry?" Harry called and soon he was devouring sandwiches along with the others who also ate as if they had missed lunch that day. Replete, Harry lay on the blanket that Hermione had warmed with a warming charm and once again told the others what Snape had made him do in detention because Malfoy asked him one more time about it and then they were all quiet for some time.
"You should really stop fighting with Ron you know." Harry told him lazily.
"Hey that's not fair. I don't fight him, he starts it every time." Malfoy protested. Harry did not answer and continued to lay down looking at the dark skies. It was bitterly cold outside and no one else was there apart from them. Hermione and Neville were shivering visibly and Malfoy was rubbing his hands together in an effort to keep warm.
But Harry loved the cold breeze that chilled his face that day. After two days of suffering interrogation with Snape and having his brain fried, the outside was very refreshing.
"Harry?" Hermione asked him, her teeth chattering. "Let's go inside. We are all freezing."
Harry laughed and stood up and packed the picnic basket and all of them went inside with huge sighs of relief from Hermione, Neville and Malfoy.
"Shall we sit in the library?" Hermione asked them, jerking her head at Malfoy, understanding that they could not take him to Gryffindor and nor could they go with him to Slytherin. Harry nodded and all of them went to the library and sat there for the rest of the day, whispering to each other and Hermione ordering Harry to start with everything that he missed and attend to his work.
They had a very good time the whole day and Harry did not notice the invisible form of Albus Dumbledore frowning at him and the others. He would have known had Dumbledore peeped into his mind, but Dumbledore did not peep. Instead he spent a good portion of the day watching Harry.
The book of Ignotus Peverell had shocked Dumbledore and he wished he could tell Harry to write about the Hallows and get information. He did not know that Harry had already written and received the relevant information which was not much more than what the Headmaster himself had told him.
Harry had always admired Albus Dumbledore, and he had soon after war with Voldemort learnt a great many things from him. But after the war Harry was not the same innocent boy he had been before and his questions were sometimes very tough.
It was only after a few years that the fights started in earnest and their relationship deteriorated with the differences showing up sharply between them. But Harry knew it was because of him that everything went downhill; Dumbledore had been the same. Harry also knew that he had loved Harry like the son he did not have and Harry also loved him very much but he saw the flaws in this Dumbledore that made him very human.
Dumbledore was much too manipulative and the points of view that sometimes Dumbledore did not defend nor explain led to this rift. Snape had been the last straw.
That night Harry crept out of the dorm, checking his new marauder's map for anyone in the common room and outside, and breathed a sigh of relief when both places were empty.
Harry had cast the required spells on the map the day he stepped into the School. He had also added the Chamber of Secrets but the Room of Requirement refused to be mapped. Harry made sure the map was with him all the time and also the invisibility cloak.
Now at eleven Harry stepped out of the Gryffindor common room and went swiftly to the forbidden third floor corridor. He slowed down once he reached there and took out his map and spotted Snape standing with probably an invisibility charm on him, just in front of him. Harry once again checked the entire floor and took off his invisibility cloak. The next moment Snape was visible looming and scowling at him.
Casting notice-me-not charms at both of them, Snape cautiously opened the door and stepped inside. Harry stepped inside after him and flicked his wand, shutting the door simultaneously and locking it with a wave of his hand. Snape was already hitting the three headed dog with stunners when soft flute music began to play. In a minute the dog was asleep.
Snape turned astonished eyes to Harry before he scowled. Harry grinned and levitated the huge three headed dog to a corner of the room from where it had started sleeping, which was right over the trap door.
Snape and Harry jumped in and tackled the Devil's Snare and went into the room of keys. Harry and Snape summoned a broom each and they caught the key in no time and opened the door and went in to meet the giant chess set. Harry let Snape handle this one and Snape quirked an eyebrow at Harry. "Not very good are we?" he asked, smirking when Harry scowled, and removed a knight and a Queen to start playing.
The next half hour went by tensely before Snape defeated the white King and they were to walk into the next room, when Harry called to Snape. "There is a troll in the next room Snape, let me open the door from here and both of us can cast the Reducto together. What do you say?"
Snape sneered and nodded. Harry waved his hand, looking at the door and did not notice Snape's surprise at Harry's wandless magic. The moment the door opened, the troll loomed trying to come out and, "Reducto!" came two clear voices and the troll was blasted away. Harry went into the room followed by Snape and they cleared Snape's challenge in no time and came to the last room. The Mirror of Erised was not there; Harry had not seen it this time. The Stone though, was hidden and Harry used a wandless revealer spell and saw the Stone in the centre of the room and surrounded by many wards.
Harry motioned to Snape to stay silent just in case Dumbledore had listening charms all over the place and started scrutinizing the wards while Snape watched with an expressionless face but was inwardly very impressed. Harry Potter was proving to so different from what he had envisaged. Since yesterday he had almost forgotten the James Potter connection. He was sarcastic and slightly cynical and he obviously had issues with the Headmaster. Snape would have loved to know about it but he knew Harry would not tell him.
But he trusted the Headmaster. Potter had told him that. He wondered what had happened with Dumbledore for Harry to keep everything away from him. And most importantly who had killed Dumbledore? Who could have, was the more pertinent question. Who would dare to? Snape looked as Harry was working slowly and confidently around the wards; wards Dumbledore had placed. To break that without alerting the ancient Headmaster was something really.
After some time Harry wiped the sweat off his face and stood up and smiled at Snape and went to a particular point and started working on the wards both on the Stone and those surrounding it by moving the wards carefully and pulling the Stone itself. The moment Harry summoned the Stone to him, Snape at once levitated a fake Stone that looked exactly like the one Harry was holding in his hand. Harry looked at Stone and started placing all the wards that he had slowly pushed away from the original.
Wards to break were very easy. To place a powerful ward needed a good amount to power. But to work around the wards¸ to lift them and place them back exactly the same way needed special expertise and knowledge about them. Harry had both and now it was coming in very handy as it had many times in his other life.
Now Harry started placing all the wards in exactly the same position they had been in before. He worked carefully and slowly and then got up after he finally finished. They left the room silently and closing the door carefully both of them walked out. When they came to the chess room Snape turned to Harry. "When will you go to Gringotts?"
"Next weekend. It is a Hogsmeade weekend for third years and above and I am sure I can slip away and go over to Diagon Alley."
"I would like to come with you." Snape told him, staring at him. Harry grinned. So Snape did not trust him still. "Sure. But not into my vault." He said thinking of his parents' portraits.
Snape flushed in anger. "I do not wish to step into your vault Potter. Do not worry. I do not steal. I will wait outside."
Harry sighed in dismay. He had truly blotched by speaking thoughtlessly. "I did not mean it like that."
"It does not matter." Snape said dismissively but his thin face was still flushed with anger and hurt and insult.
"Snape," Harry started softly but Snape said just a bit loudly. "I said it did not matter Potter. I understand very well. I merely wished to accompany you to protect you. That was all."
"My mother's portrait is inside." Harry said softly and Snape stopped the angry snarl that was about to burst from his face. He stood there completely frozen and stared at Harry his black eyes wide with emotions swirling in them and then he turned away.
"Is her portrait activated?" Snape asked after a brief pause, his voice all strangled with the desperate effort to keep it normal.
"No." Harry replied to his back wanting to hit himself as Snape was still keeping his face turned away. "Snape we have to leave." Harry told him when Snape had not spoken anything more and Snape abruptly billowed away.
Harry was cursing himself at his stupid mistake. Her portrait was not activated. What could have been the problem? Snape could have come into the vault. Harry had spoken thoughtlessly and had angered and hurt Snape needlessly. He sighed and followed Snape.
They went up through the trap door – Snape had conjured steps and found Fluffy still sleeping and the soft music still playing. Harry checked his map once again and looked up to see Snape glaring at it, though his eyes were very turbulent and his face was still very pinched and pale. Harry grinned; he knew Snape had realized in that second how the marauders had got away all the time and how they had been able to spot him accurately even when he had been hiding. Harry had heard many, many stories about those times.
They walked out into the corridor and just before the door closed, Harry cancelled the music. As he shut the door behind him, Harry saw the three headed dog Fluffy opening all its six eyes and yawning with all its three mouths. Then Harry shut the door and after Snape locked it, looked at him.
"Walk." Snape told him and set off brusquely not waiting to see if Harry would follow him. Harry walked behind him wondering what Snape was thinking of now. He was still very pale and his eyes were very stormy, something Harry had never seen in the other Snape. Not even when he had seen his mother after so many years.
They walked silently Harry walking behind Snape and soon they were at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Snape gestured Harry to go inside, casting the invisibility charm on himself so that the Fat Lady would not see him and Harry softly said the password and waited for the sleeping Fat Lady to open the door.
"Wandering so late my dear!" she asked sleepily opening the door and Harry went inside glancing where he thought Snape would be standing. Harry waved a bit and closed the door and went inside. The common room was empty and Harry walked up and carefully placing his invisibility cloak and map into his trunk, was soon asleep.
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Snape in the meantime was having another drinking session. He had seen Harry off to his common room and then had swiftly walked to the dungeons and had summoned his Firewhisky, a hangover potion and two glasses. He had taken the first glass and thrown it against the wall and had repeated the action with the other glass. He had repaired them and had once again thrown them against the wall. Seeing them shatter a second time, a little bit of anger and frustration left him though and shame and bitterness lingered; they would never go away after all, and repairing the glasses once more, Snape banished one glass and sat down heavily pouring the Firewhisky into the other glass.
Lily's portrait was inside Potter's vault and it was not activated. Why? And why could he Severus not speak to her? He wanted to cry to her and apologize for killing her and seek his redemption and also try to do the impossible, heal just a little bit. Why did Potter refuse? He looked morosely into his drink and it was almost dawn when Snape staggered and somehow managed to place his hand on the hangover potion and gulped it.
Then he stumbled to his bedroom and sprawled out on his bed and was out like a light. Snape slept until well after breakfast and was not awake even for his first class that happened to be seventh year Slytherins and Gryffindors. The seventh years waited silently the whole time and then feeling relieved that Snape had been absent, all of them left for their next class wondering what had happened to Snape.
The theories varied from 'sure he's dead' to 'he's run away with somebody, I think it's that troll, another one came to seek out Snape' to 'he's got a contagious illness because he never washes his hair'. At the end of the first hour a worried and wondering Albus Dumbledore who sent an elf to ask the potions professor to meet him at his office.
The elf went into Snape's chambers and woke him up. Snape blinked and seeing the elf he was about to yell at it when it hastily explained, "professor Dumbledore sir, asked me to tell you to go to his office at once sir." And the elf bowed and disappeared.
Snape blinked and stretched and cast the tempus charm and groaned when he saw the time. Now Dumbledore would chew him out and peer at him and wonder what had happened and Snape knew from now on he would come under Dumbledore's extra watch list.
He snapped his fingers and asking for breakfast went to have a long shower, ignoring Dumbledore's orders. He came out and took a pepper up potion and had his breakfast slowly. Feeling very alert, Snape went to his living room and throwing a pinch of floo powder into the fire that was blazing away and called 'Headmaster's office' and a second later he walked out of the fire gracefully and went around the huge table and stood there.
"Sit down Severus. Are you feeling quite well?" Dumbledore asked him, his blue eyes piercing Snape.
"I am sorry Dumbledore. This will not happen again." Snape told him stiffly not bothering to sit down and staring back at the Headmaster.
"But what happened Severus? I must ask you once again if you are quite well."
"I was slightly unwell last night Dumbledore." Snape told him impatiently, his black eyes carefully looking at the Headmaster betraying nothing. Snape saw to his annoyance that Dumbledore was not buying it, but remained silent.
Both of them were quiet for a long moment and then, "If that is all Dumbledore, I have to leave for my next class; I have already missed my first two." Snape said softly, his black eyes devoid of any emotion. Dumbledore sighed and nodded. "You can come to me for anything Severus. I hope you know that."
Snape nodded once and then turned around and billowed swiftly away. That day he was brutal to everyone and even the Slytherins were very quiet. Snape slowly got a hold of himself and waited for the first Hogsmeade visit after Yule break with both anticipation and dread in his heart.
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Harry in the meantime had perfectly normal days and he went through them handing out subtle and sometimes not so subtle hints at everyone. Most nights in the common room Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ron, the twins, Seamus, Dean and a few other second years would sit chattering about various issues that Harry would pull from The Daily Prophet or from the Self Updating Book of Spells. He had similar sessions during week-ends with Draco, Blaise, Pansy, Millicent Bulstrode, Crabbe and Goyle. Slowly Harry was thinking of drawing the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs by his second or third year.
Usually only Malfoy would join Harry, Hermione and Neville until Harry asked him to invite a few others along. They had come doubtfully. The first time had consisted of a lot of jeering and sneering until Harry, and Neville and Hermione taking their cue from Harry, had jeered and sneered along with the best of them. Then all of them had had settled down affably to really talk. Harry was hoping that this time around there would be less prejudice and attitude unlike the last time when everything had been so difficult and different.
That week-end Harry was sitting in an un-used classroom, their usual meeting place waiting for the Slytherins to arrive. Harry had pulled up this topic from an advertisement in the Daily Prophet and had discussed it loud and long with the Gryffindors the day before and he was planning to do so with the Slytherins now.
They trooped in lead by Malfoy and after some time Harry kick started what he believed to be the most important discussion, one he hoped would catch on throughout the School.
Harry pulled out The Daily Prophet and turned the pages to a small advertisement almost right at the back and in a corner. Clearing his throat Harry read aloud.
In this week in Wizarding Ancestry there is an exclusive report about muggle borns being descended from squibs and weak witches and wizards who married muggles and moved away from the Wizarding World to live in the muggle world as muggles. They had only squibs until suddenly 'Bang' there is your muggleborn witch or wizard.
Is this really the truth and can it be verified? Read this month's Wizarding Ancestry and find out once and for all the secrets of the muggleborns.
Harry finished reading the small advertisement and looked around. The Slytherins looked blankly at them and then predictably Malfoy started.
"What? How can that be Potter? All muggleborns do not belong with us." He subsided at that point when Harry, Hermione and Neville all glared at him.
"What? Are you saying that Granger is as magical as you, because you are a half – blood Potter?" Pansy pointed out.
Harry shook his head. "No I am not saying so. I am merely reading this article that says so. But I want to find out if there is really some truth in this. I am very interested."
Hermione nodded her head. "I am too. Harry has already asked for a copy of this magazine from Flourish and Blotts. He will receive it this Monday morning. Then I think we should all meet and read it and discuss it among ourselves and also see if they have given a method of finding out our roots."
"In fact I think we should all get together and write our findings to The Daily Prophet with all our names at the bottom. I think that would be great." Harry added grinning at everyone.
"When, now?" Blaise asked him doubtfully wondering how eleven year olds could do all this. The others sounded doubtful also.
"No. we have to read the thing first, understand it and work out everything. Then we can prepare our paper and publish it in the Daily Prophet. What do you guys say?" Harry asked them. All of them agreed and they parted after sometime of simply bickering amicably with each other.
Monday dawned cold and windy and Harry received his copy of the Wizarding Ancestry and looked around excitedly at everyone. Snape and Dumbledore looked at each other when a delivery owl came to Harry and frowned trying to see the magazine Harry was opening, they could not see it from the Head Table but they could see that Harry and his friends were visibly excited. Dumbledore let his eyes roam over the Great Hall and saw quite a few Gryffindors and indeed some Slytherins looking straight at Harry and the magazine.
Harry opened the magazine to search for the article and saw a two page spread about how magic tends to stay within magical communities and muggleborns are actually witches and wizards with latent magical development in a long line of squibs. He did not read it then, but put it away to read it together with everyone later.
This would make for a very interesting reading, Harry thought grinning widely. He hoped to make everyone who cared to listen, think on this. The Wizarding World was so prejudiced on blood status it was bordering on the ridiculous and Harry hoped this article would help.
The whole day Harry was very excited and that evening after dinner Harry was about to leave for the common room to read when Malfoy and Blaise came up to their table.
"You are going to read the article Potter?" Malfoy asked.
When Harry nodded, he said, "Then can you come to the classroom where we meet? We all want to hear this." Malfoy said a tad scornfully.
Harry looked thoughtful for a second and then nodded. "I will bring the other Gryffindors who wish to come. None of you will fight will you?" he asked doubtfully.
Malfoy smirked. "If they don't, we won't." he declared and left Harry to walk back to his table.
Harry looked at the others who had been unashamedly listening and raised his eyebrows.
It was Fred who answered a big smirk on his face. "If they don't we won't." and turned and glared at Ron who was beginning to protest. Ron subsided muttering something to himself about evil Slytherins and how they would hex everyone.
But no one was really listening and after dinner all the Gryffindors followed Harry and he led them to the usual meeting place and found all the Slytherins plus a few second years also present. Harry felt very happy.
There was not much talk while everyone settled down and looked distrustfully at each other and then expectantly at Harry.
"Okay all of you are here to hear this article that I thought was very interesting and most of you agreed with me, when I told you about it. I am going to read this article now and I would be very happy if all of you will remain silent until I finish. Then all of us can talk or argue. But, please no fighting and no hexing."
No one answered but everyone looked at the other House members suspiciously and then turned to Harry.
"This article is written by Actis Ansetor." Harry began.
"I am a pure blood wizard who has been brought up on the importance of blood status while I was young. I was taught that blood status was the most important factor and keeping that blood pure was the best way to preserve our magic and by extension our world. My family could trace its ancestors up to the middle ages and we were related to many prominent and important families in the Wizarding World.
"I received my Hogwarts letter when I was eleven and was sorted as my family had been for as long as anyone remembered, into the great House of Salazar Slytherin."
"Wow!" Malfoy gloated and then sulkily subsided when every Gryffindor and Harry frowned and glared at him.
"There I spent the next seven years excelling in all subjects, though potions were my forte. I also learnt the Dark Arts like any child from a pure-blood home. When I grew up, I followed my father in our family business which was running an apothecary. As I researched and perfected the delicate art of potion making, my mind would not leave the hold it had somehow had on the issue of pure bloods and those who are outsiders and would be a cause to destroy our world. Our magic."
"Harry, mate are you sure this is about muggle borns who are descended from witches, wizards and squibs? This looks like something else." George asked him.
"Yeah more like Slytherin worship and other Houses bashing." Fred added.
"And what may I ask is wrong with that? Slytherin is the best of all the Houses and there are no two opinions about it." Malfoy told them pompously.
Ron opened his mouth angrily to tell Malfoy what exactly was wrong with Slytherin when Harry shouted at Fred, George and Malfoy.
"Will you three shut up and let me read for Merlin's sake? Otherwise we will never know what he discovered about blood – pure and mixed." Harry glared at the three of them who looked back innocently at him.
"Please go on ickle Harrykins. You better our mum,"
"And that is a compliment not lightly given." George added to his brother's voice of wisdom and both of them visibly shuddered. Harry simply rolled his eyes and looked at the magazine, "I am going to continue now and I hope all of you will listen first before making assumptions or accusations."
Hearing no response and hoping the rest would not be like the first part that looked like it was more of Voldemort's speech rather than anything beneficial to the muggleborns, Harry started reading once again.
With that in mind, I started my first research into the genetics of the muggleborn witches and wizards. I took extensive blood samples and conducted many tests that I have given below and after many years of painstaking study, I have found to my shock and astonishment that every muggleborn witch and wizard and I tested and I tested more than a hundred muggleborns; every single one of them had a magical history. Most were descended from squibs, who being shunned and looked down upon in the magical world, made their forays into the muggle world and slowly settled down as muggles.
A few generations later the descendents had all but forgotten that they had been a part of a world that was magical. They continued to live in the muggle world as muggles with no knowledge of the Wizarding World until one of their children showed magical ability and then they were once again sucked into the Wizarding World, a world that was by now alien and new to them.
A world that they did not know existed and a world they had not until then believed in.
Given below are the names of a few muggleborn friends who allowed me to use their names here and the potions that would reveal the ancestry of the muggleborn witch or wizard. So in essence there is no muggleborn. There are only those who moved away from the Wizarding World and are once again being re-inducted.
Those of who are interested may try these potions; they are very expensive and they have to be brewed very carefully and they take a very long time to brew, I am afraid. But for those who wish to know their roots, this surely is the perfect method to tell the Wizarding World that you are not an outsider but a very integral part of our society."
Harry finished and below that were some names and the ancestors who were witches or wizards. And further below that were three potions along with the method of preparation. They had to be brewed correctly to find the magical ancestry of a muggleborn witch or wizard.
Everyone looked awed when Harry finished. It was truly spectacular news.
"When can we start Harry and how much will it cost?" Hermione asked him her eyes gleaming with anticipation. The Slytherins were shocked that something like this could even be.
"Potter, may I write my father about this?" Malfoy asked abruptly standing up. All the Slytherins stood up at once a determined look coming over their faces too. They were all going to write their fathers', they decided.
"Sure." Harry told them and Malfoy immediately started walking to the door. Harry turned to the Gryffindors as soon as the Slytherins had all rushed off.
"I will beg Snape to help us." Harry began.
"Wow Harry, you are really two times better than our mum."
"Even she would not approach Snape." George added bowing to Harry.
Hermione smacked them and turned to Harry, "When can you ask Snape Harry?"
"Maybe this week-end. I will show this to him and ask his opinion. He will be busy during the week and will not give us the time of day but on Saturday he should be free." Harry said thoughtfully. This would also help him get out of the castle without suspicion. This might work out best for everything concerned.
The Gryffindors too, left the room and went up to their common room discussing about this startling information and Harry as he chattered along, hoped this would spread to the entire School.
End of Chapter – 12
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