"Wake up, Potter! We're going to the zoo!"
Dust and tiny wood chips fell onto Harry's face as Manny jumped up and down on the stairs over Harry's cupboard. He heard Manny's voice accompanied by that of his robot's. "Wake up. Pot-ter. We are going. To the zoo."
Cousin Manny was a greedy bully, but he was good with electronics. Not that he'd ever let Harry play with Little Mean Robot, of course.
"C'mon, kid, we're hungry," called Uncle Vernon.
Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes. He shook off the memories of the weird dream he'd been having, where Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had been British like Harry instead of American, and they'd lived in Little Whinging instead of New York, and instead of Manny they'd had a kid named Dudley, and they're last name had been Dursley instead of Spamboni…
Brushing aside a cobweb, Harry put on his glasses and went to make the Spambonis breakfast. Manny always liked to get to the zoo early, so he could wake up the animals with lots of obnoxious noise.
Pound. Pound Pound.
Harry and the Spambonis cowered in the corner as the pounding on the door continued.
Finally, the door was knocked down with a loud thud. Standing there was an extremely tall man with a long, brown beard.
"Hello, Harry," he said, looking directly at Harry.
Harry gaped. "Wh-who are you?"
The man held out his hand and shook Harry's. "I'm Shogrid. And you haven't been getting our letters, have you?"
Harry, confused, shook his head. Shogrid glared at the Spambonis. Manny tried, unsuccessfully, to hide behind his mother, clutching his robot like it was a weapon.
Vernon, trying to sound tough even though his voice was cracking, said,"We-we swore we'd put a stop to all that freak stuff when we took him in!"
Shogrid shook his head and put his arm around Harry's shoulders kindly. "Come with me. We have a lot to talk about."
As they left, Harry had the strangest feeling that he was finally going home.
Shogrid led Harry into yet another shop in Diagon Alley. It was all so incredible to Harry, first meeting Shogrid, then being told he was a wizard, being told his parents were wizards and had been killed by an evil wizard called Voldemort (but wizards never said his name if they could avoid it), then coming to this magical place to buy supplies for wizard school called Hogwarts. Shogrid was the school's resident gamekeeper, though he also brewed tasty potions and was quite good at magical beatboxing (which, to be brutally honest, wasn't that different from regular beatboxing).
Shogrid checked the list. "Okay, so we have your wand, books, quills, robes… now all you need is a pet." Harry looked around the shop and saw cages filled with all sorts of animals.
Shogrid continued. "You can have a cat, a toad, an owl… or a gorilla."
Harry's eyes widened. "A gorilla?"
The young wizard behind the counter said "Well, we only have the one, but nobody seems to want him, poor guy. His name is Paul. But hey, if you buy him, we'll throw in a free Size-Changing PowderTM- you know, to make him more portable for school. But, if you're a first-year, then it might be a bit too much, so it's perfectly fine if you don't buy him."
Harry had stopped listening at this point, an excited look on his face. "I'll take him!"
From the big cage in the corner, the Paul the Gorilla grunted happily.
As Harry and a crowd of students approached the entrance of the Hogwarts International School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he took stock: on the train to the school, he'd made five friends and two enemies. More friends than enemies, so that was good.
The first friends he'd made had been the Weasley siblings, Hector and Jessica. They both had red hair, Hector's far more meticulously combed than Jessica's was. They had offered him a place to sit when he was having trouble finding one. They were both very friendly and adventurous. Then there was Lisa Lovegood, who came to join them and almost sat on tiny Paul. She had apologized profusely, and said Paul was cute, and just like that, Harry made another friend.
The four of them were then joined by another, one Keith Shacklebolt. His father was Leo Shacklebolt, a famous Auror (whatever that was). "Not that I ever brag about it," Keith had told Harry, after bragging about it.
Finally, just when Harry was feeling elated for making more friends in nine minutes then he had in his whole life, a short girl with big glasses had poked her head into their car and asked if she could sit with them.
"There's this blonde older girl that keeps trying to boss me around," she'd explained. After they'd welcomed her, she'd said her name was Gilda Granger, and she was a first year student like Harry.
After making five new friends, the world seemed to have lost no time in giving Harry enemies. The first was a blonde girl apparently named Francine Malfoy, and came from a very wealthy wizarding family. She'd come to their car trying to find her "new mudblood servant" (Gilda).
When Francine saw Harry, she recognized him from the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. When she saw that she was sitting with Gilda and the Weasleys, she was unimpressed.
"Watch yourself, Potter," she'd said, "you don't wanna get tangled up with the wrong sorts of wizards." She'd then turned and strutted away.
The Weasleys and the others told Harry to just ignore her. Harry had made his next enemy when a boy named Danny Longbottom had come into their carriage and had brought his toad.
But then, out of nowhere, Danny had yelled "Hey! Why are you breathing in that MOCKING way? Is it my toad? Are you making fun of my toad!? WHY IS EVERYONE MEAN TO ME!? YOU'LL ALL PAY FOR THIS!" and had stormed away, leaving Harry dumbfounded.
And so, that was all the new friends and enemies Harry had made so far, and he hadn't even started school yet. He really hadn't meant to do anything to offend Danny Longbottom, but Danny had exploded at him anyway. Some people were just overly sensitive, he supposed.
He looked around in wonder as they entered all entered the gigantic castle that was Hogwarts.
The Sorting was about to begin. Harry wondered what school house he would be sorted into. He looked around at the house tables for anyone he recognized. He saw Hector, Jessica, and Keith at the Gryffindor table, Lisa at Hufflepuff, and Francine and Danny in Slytherin.
He watched as Gilda, looking nervous, stepped up and put on the Sorting Hat. "RAVENCLAW!" it cried.
Gilda looked relieved that it was over as she was welcomed to the Ravenclaw table. A few first years later, and it was Harry's turn. The hat, who informed him that it liked to be called Bob and used to be part of a race car, took a minute to make up which house to put him in. Finally, it exclaimed "GRYFFINDOR!"
Relieved, Harry went to the table with the cheering Gryffindors. Hector high-fived him, and Jess clapped him on the shoulder. Lisa shot him a thumbs-up from the Hufflepuff table, and Gilda gave him a shy smile.
After all the first years had been sorted, an old man in decorative robes stood up.
Jessica leaned over and whispered to Harry "That's Sigmund Dumbledore. He's the headmaster. Everyone says he's the greatest wizard of all time …except for the Great Calvero, of course."
"Who?" Harry asked. Keith shushed him.
Sigmund Dumbledore cleared his throat and said "Welcome, everyone, to the Hogwarts International School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Before you begin, I would like to say a few words: nitwit, blubber, oddment, hypnotism, and tweak."
Everyone laughed.
He continued "Those are your five words. Watch out for them in today's show!"
Everyone muttered confusedly.
Dumbledore coughed. "Oh, sorry. Wrong speech. Anyway, bon appetite!"
As he sat back down, plates of food appeared before all the students.
His nervousness fading, Harry began to eat. He found himself looking forward to his new life as a Hogwarts student.
It took a little while, but Harry got used to things. His classes were Transfiguration, taught by the firm but fair Professor McGonagall and head of Gryffindor house. He also took Charms, taught by Professor Flitwick, who was a funny little grey man with a huge afro who liked to sing the incantations. History of Magic was taught by an enthusiastic ghost named Dax who wore an odd necklace. In the greenhouses, he took Herbology, taught by Professor Sprout. Defense Against the Dark Arts was taught by Professor Bowser, who claimed to be a human wizard but looked a lot like a robotic blue dog. Apparently it had been a defensive spell that had backfired; whenever anybody asked about it, Bowser got a faraway look in his eyes. He often taught of different methods of escaping magical traps. But the worst was Potions, taught by Professor Snape. It seemed like Snape always had it out for Harry, though Harry didn't know why. He wasn't very nice to anyone else, either except members of Slytherin, his own house.
Harry slept in the Gryffindor house with several other students, including the Weasleys and Keith. Even though Lisa and Gilda were in other houses, they all hung out so much she might as well have been in Gryffindor. Lisa was always great for Harry to talk to when he needed a boost of positivity. Gilda was a bookworm, and a bit of a pushover, but she was smart and nice. She and Harry often talked and did homework together.
During free hours, when he wasn't hanging around with his friends in school, Harry sometimes went down and talked to Shogrid. Sometimes he would just walk around the castle, exploring all the rooms and corridors. Sometimes he'd run into Wiki Wiki Nearly-Headless Nicky, one of Hogwarts's more famous ghosts. And sometimes he'd just get lost. The staircases in Hogwarts often shifted and moved.
It was crazy, chaotic, and head-spinning. And Harry loved it all.
One afternoon, Harry, the Weasley siblings, Keith, Lisa, and Gilda were all sitting in the library during study hour, talking and laughing and just having fun. Jessica had just finished telling them all a story about how Fred and George, two of her and Hector's older siblings, had once pranked him by hiding a big beetle in his underwear drawer. They had thought it was uproariously funny. Hector hadn't.
Keith looked up, then whispered "Heads up. Snape's walking this way."
Gilda buried her face in her book as Snape walked by, giving them all the evil eye.
In his cold voice he said "I trust you are all behaving yourselves… especially you, Mister Potter."
Harry nodded, trying not to get angry. Why did Snape always single him out? Snape glared at them all a little more, then turned and walked away.
Everyone released their breaths.
"Man, what is with that guy?" Keith wondered aloud.
Lisa looked thoughtful. "You know, I think maybe he just needs more people to be nice to him."
Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. She looked around. "Well, have any of you tried it?"
She had them there. She crossed her arms defiantly. "Well, I'm going to do something nice for him. Maybe that will change his attitude." And with that, she got up and walked off. The others stared after her, apprehensive.
A little while later, Snape was sitting in his classroom between classes, writing something down. He heard footsteps, and looked up to see Lisa approaching him, carrying a pot with a large plant in it.
He raised an eyebrow as she set it on his desk.
"Hi, Professor Snape."
He looked at her coolly. "I don't know what you want, Miss Lovegood, but I'm very busy at the moment and don't have time for… you."
Lisa turned red. "Excuse me, I thought now would be a good time. I just wanted to say… thank you for being our teacher. Here, I brought you a little something to show all of our appreciation."
Snape's face wasn't exactly the picture of enthusiasm. "You did, did you?"
She gestured to the plant. "I got it from Professor Sprout's greenhouse, she said she had plenty."
Snape looked at her. "Do you know what type of plant this is?"
"Professor Sprout said it was a Tellorian Darkvore, sir."
Snape started to back away. "Exactly. A Tellorain Darkvore, which usually remains dormant and lovely, but in the presence of someone with black hair-"
Suddenly, one of the plant's leaves opened to reveal a fanged mouth. It shot forward, out of the pot, and bit Snape on the stomach.
Yelling, Snape ran out of the room and down the corridor, the plant hopping along after him and viciously snapping at him. Lisa just stood there, mouth covered in horror.
After Snape got out of the hospital wing, he gave Lisa two months of detention. But, as she told the others, she had tried her best, and that was what counted.
Elsewhere, in a deep, dark place far beyond where most humans dared tread, things were happening. Evil things.
Being a deep, dark place far beyond where most humans dared tread, of course the things that were happening there were evil.
Annie Lestrange, her dark hair a mess, looked down at the skeletal form below her, lying splayed out on the dirt. The form of Lord Voldemort.
Annie watched eagerly, almost not daring to breathe. Come on, come on... she thought desperately.
And then –there! The Dark Lord's face shifted slightly, raspy breath started to drift from him. His eyelids slowly crept open.
A hoarse, cold voice. "Annie…?" the Dark Lord hissed. His red eyes looked up at her. "…explain."
Annie grinned. "My lord… I've brought you back. I've given you your body again!"
"…impossible."
"Feel it, my lord, feel yourself. I've really returned you."
Trembling, heaving, Voldemort slowly began to pull himself up. Annie went to help him, but he pushed her away.
When he made himself fully stand, Annie gave him a dark robe, and he draped it around his shoulders. He eyed Annie. "How?"
"Well, I-I was in Azkaban, but I escaped, and went out to find you and bring you fully back. I was prepared to take your mind into my form, but I knew you would prefer your own. It took me years, but I was able to create a potion… none existed, but I scrambled the ingredients I thought would work until… it did."
Voldemort said nothing for a moment.
"And Harry Potter?"
Annie smiled wickedly. "He's at Hogwarts now. My spies told me."
She handed something to Voldemort. "Here, your wand."
Voldemort looked at the wand in his hand as if it was a foreign object. Then, he pointed it towards the sky, and a geyser if blood-red light flew out of it, turning the whole forest a sinister ruby color.
Annie laughed in delight.
Lord Voldemort was back.
Down in the Hogwarts kitchens, the house-elves merrily prepared breakfast. The house-elves of Hogwarts lived for making food and watching students consume it; it was their purpose.
One such house elf was a youngster named Marcus. He worked on his own little table away from the others, because even the other house-elves got annoyed with him and his loud tangeants. Before coming to Hogwarts, he used to be the servant of an old, refined witch, but she'd given him a glove and removed him because he was apparently so loud she couldn't hear her opera records.
As Marcus fooled around with some kappa sauce, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see a tall boy and a shorter girl. The boy bent over and whispered "Hey, little house-elf kid. Wanna help us out?"
Marcus's eyes widened in excitement. "Oh, yes! It would be Marcus's pleasure to help sir and madam!"
The boy nodded. "Great. You've gonna be a hero, kid!"
"Marcus? A hero?!"
"Yeah." The boy handed Marcus a parchment with some writing on it. "Here's a list of objects and where to find them. Once you find them, you need to destroy them. Then bring the pieces back here. We'll tell you what to do next."
Marcus jumped up and down gleefully. Marcus will do it all, sir and madam! Marcus won't let you down!" He took off out of the kitchen.
"Marcus, wait!" cried the boy.
Marcus peaked his head back in the room. "Yes?"
"You forgot the list."
"Oh. Marcus sheepishly came back, took the list, then ran out of the room again, leaving the boy and girl alone with the other house-elves.
The girl looked at the boy. "How come I didn't get to say anything?"
The boy looked smug. "Because it's my story. Besides, you got to say something just now."
"Oh yeah, I guess I did."
"…and you just did again."
Professor McGonagall repeated "All right, try it again. Remember, picture the candle in your mind's eye."
Harry looked around at his fellow students. He'd managed to transfigure the rolled-up newspaper into a candlestick fairly quickly, but some of the others were having trouble. Danny Longbottom's newspaper had exploded, which was followed by him claiming that his wand was defective, or the paper was, or both.
Keith was having trouble too. He seemed to be able to turn the newspaper into anything but a candlestick. He waved his wand and concentrated.
Whipsh!
It was a toy car.
Whipsh!
It was a turtle.
Whipsh!
A clock.
Whipsh!
A potted flower.
Whipsh!
A big spider.
Hector jumped and hid behind Jessica. He hated bugs, especially spiders.
Whipsh!
A glass eye.
Whipsh!
A half-eaten donut.
Whipsh!
A Dalek. "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"
Everyone ran out of the classroom as the Dalek chased after them.
Lord Voldemort sat at the head of the table in Malfoy Manor.
He looked around at his reunited Death Eaters. He stroked Nagini.
"Everything, at long last, is falling into place. We begin out assault on Hogwarts in two days' time." His mouth twisted into a mirthless grin. "I look forward to visiting my old school again."
Lucius Malfoy quietly cleared his throat. Voldemort waved his hand dismissively.
"Yes, yes, Lucius, your daughter will not be harmed. Lord Voldemort remembers to reward faithful servants."
Lucius looked relieved. Voldemort continued "Our time is at hand. The wizarding world will not be prepared. We will fall upon them and take them, starting with the school. I, and the chosen few, will control undisputed."
From her seat, Annie simpered.
"And Harry Potter…" Voldemort had a far-away look in his eyes. "…Harry Potter will not escape me again."
Shogrid was watering his pumpkins, beatboxing under his breath with a content look on his heard Fang barking loudly, and glanced up to see what that dog was making a fuss about. His face darkened.
Everyone was eating lunch in the Great Hall when the doors burst open. Shogrid ran in, looking wild. "Death Eaters!" he cried "An army of them! Headed for the school!"
There was dead silence for a moment. Then everyone started to talk and panic. "Death Eaters?" asked Snape. "Impossible," breathed McGonagall.
"We must all remain calm," said Sigmund Dumbledore. "Teachers come with me up to the tower, maybe we can get a view of this. Head Students, please lead your houses back to your dormitories."
The teachers all left behind Dumbledore, and the students hurriedly exited the Great Hall. Everyone was pale and shaking. Harry felt sick. Death Eaters. Followers of Voldemort.
He asked Hector, who was Head Boy of Gryffindor, "Do-Do you think it could be true?"
Hector's brows were furrowed. "I don't know, Harry." He glanced over at Lisa in line with the Hufflepuffs and mouthed It'll be okay.
A few minutes later, they were all in the Gryffindor common room, sitting or anxiously pacing about. When the portrait hole creaked open, they all jumped, but it was only Professor McGonagall.
"Mister Potter," she said, looking very shaken, "come with me, please."
All eyes were on Harry as he followed McGonagall out of the common room. She led him through the twisting corridors and stairs to Dumbledore's. They entered to find Dumbledore and all the teachers.
Dumbledore looked at Harry and said "Shogrid was correct. There are many wizards in Death Eater garb coming towards the school, and… it appears that Lord Voldemort is among them.
It felt like Harry had had all the wind knocked out of him. "But… but he's dead!"
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, he was never dead, just merely in a disembodied, immaterial form. Too faint to do anything, but it seems his followers have found a way to let him fully return. Now he is attacking the school… and quite possibly looking for you, Harry."
Harry felt sick again. Dumbledore turned to the teachers. "Severus, Pomona, please alert the Ministry of Magic immediately. The rest of us must do everything we can to protect Hogwarts." McGonagall nodded. Shogrid clenched his umbrella. Professor Bowser's eyes narrowed as he smacked his fists together.
Dumbledore continued "Now, as for you Harry, we must…"
His voice trailed off. Everyone else turned to see what he was looking at.
Harry was gone.
He's after me. Whatever I did when I was a baby, that blasted his spell back at him. I'll go and tell him… tell him that I'll come with him if he leaves Hogwarts alone. No, I'll… I'll tell him how I did it. Yes. I'll make something up, something that'll sound magical. If nothing else, it'll buy the others time…
These were Harry's thoughts as he crept across the grounds towards the Forbidden Forest. He glanced around quickly. He was alone. Good. If anyone else saw him, they would try to stop him, because they were his friends. However, it was also because they were his friends that he had to do this.
The sun was just beginning to lower towards the horizon as Harry made his way between the trees. Its light was filtered green through the leaves. Though Harry heard the occasional distant cry of some weird creature, he saw nothing moving, not even any insects. It was like the calm before the storm.
He saw a faint, flickering glow coming from deeper in the forest. It must've been coming from the Death Eaters' camp. Harry swallowed and started towards it.
The Death Eaters were all clustered around the campfire, uneasy. They were waiting for the Dark Lord to give the order to attack. He was silent and brooding. A rather foolish Death Eater had asked him why the Potter boy was so important, and, one flash of green light later, had shut up.
Lucius Malfoy was hiding how nervous he felt. It was good to be at the Dark Lord's side once more, but he hoped that Francine would get out of the imminent battle unharmed.
At the edge of the clearing, bushes rustled. All eyes swiveled towards them.
And there, facing an army of some of the most powerful wizards the world had ever known, was the Boy Who Lived.
Voldemort stood. He looked into Harry's eyes. Harry looked into his. Slowly, silently, they both walked closer to each other.
Voldemort spoke first. "I must confess, boy, you are… brave. Or are you foolish? However, I suppose the two are not so different."
The Death Eaters watched them, transfixed. Annie held her breath.
Harry nodded, not daring to say anything for fear that if he opened his mouth, he would throw up.
"I must confess, I had not expected this from a boy of a mere eleven years. But, I thank you. It will save me time."
Harry had to speak now. "If y-you don't hurt anyone in the school, I-I'll tell you how I defeated you before."
Voldemort laughed, a cruel, cold sound. "Do you take Lord Voldemort for a fool, boy? He realized how it happened long ago. It was your mother's pathetic love for you that saved you. Very sweet, of course, but she's not here now, is she?"
Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Harry. As he did so, he spoke. "It was not supposed to be like this, boy. I know it. Things were supposed to be different, people around us were supposed to be different. Other things, other forces, have changed our lives. Everything is not what it was meant to be."
He stepped closer. "But, no matter how much the story changes, we must still face each other in the end. That, Potter, will always be our destiny." His mouth twisted into a sneer. "Just as it is you destiny to now die." He sneered, and his mouth started to form the killing incantation…
At that very moment, Marcus came bursting into the clearing, lugging a huge pile of things. With a mile-wide grin, he threw it all to the ground and looked around at the crowd excitedly.
Voldemort and Harry both stared.
Marcus pointed at the pile of things that he'd put on the ground. "See? See? Marcus got everything on the list! He found and destroyed all of it!"
Voldemort looked. Then his eyes widened in understanding. He screamed in fury and pointed his wand right at Marcus. "My Horcruxes! How dare you little-"
Light flew out from Voldemort's wand, headed right for Marcus's heart, and would have hit it if Harry hadn't leaped in the way and taken the full blast.
Harry heard shouting and voices, but they grew fainter and distant as his vision blurred and darkened…
When Harry opened his eyes, he was in a world of fog. Standing above him, he saw a tall teenage boy and a shorter teenage girl.
"Where… where am I?"
The boy said "Kid, we don't have much time, so let's make this quick. Those things that house-elf was carrying were Horcruxes, things that kept Voldemort from fully dying. We had Marcus destroy them all, but he accidentally made you into a Horcrux too when he attacked you when you were a baby. So, the only way to make you, well, not into one was to hit you with a killing curse, which he did. So now, you can go back and destroy him once and for all. Good luck."
Harry blinked. Something had just occurred to him. "Are… are you my parents?"
The boy and the girl looked at each other. The boy said "Um… yeah. Yeah, we're your parents. But we gotta go now! Bye! We love you, we're so proud, et cetera!"
Before Harry's eyes, the world began to blur again…
"I don't even have red hair," the girl muttered.
Harry opened his eyes once more. He was back in the Forbidden Forest. Dazed, he sat up.
He saw Voldemort getting up. He had been knocked down by the blast as well. Only a few seconds seemed to have past here since while Harry was… wherever that had been.
He shakily stood up, catching Voldemort's attention as he did so. "Impossible," the dark lord hissed. The Death Eaters gaped.
Voldemort's shock didn't last long. Aiming his wand at Harry once again, he said "Very well then, Potter. However many times as it takes."
Then all Prankster Planet broke loose.
Like a gigantic tidal wave, Harry's friends, students, and teachers of Hogwarts swept down into Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Voldemort's attention turned away from Harry to battle the newcomers.
Harry, still slightly dizzy, fell down again as the battle raged around him. A hand came down and helped him up. It turned out to belong to Lisa. She hurriedly led Harry out of the fray, and wrapped him in a hug.
"HarryHarryHarryohmygoodness are you okay?!"
In spite of it all, Harry smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked back at the battle. He saw Voldemort battling Sigmund Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and man who must have been Leo Shacklebolt all at once. Then, he gasped as he saw something behind Voldemort. He crossed his fingers, and knowing how sensitive Lisa was, looked up and told her, "…you might want to cover your eyes right now."
Lisa looked confused, but did as Harry suggested. Harry, on the other hand, watched as a certain tiny gorilla scurried up behind Voldemort. Voldemort was so preoccupied dueling the three powerful wizards that he didn't see Paul growing up to his full size right behind him... until it was too late.
After Voldemort was killed, the battle hadn't lasted long. Without their powerful leader, Annie Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy and all the other Death Eaters had been defeated by the Hogwarts and Ministry forces, and were taken off to Azkaban. Their death threats and screams for revenge were ignored.
As everyone went to regroup back at the castle, Harry's friends surrounded him. Hector told him how brave he'd been, Jessica had told him how stupid and brave he'd been, Lisa expressed relief at how they were all okay, and Keith was asking everyone if they'd seen his father in action. Gilda and Shogrid didn't say anything, but Gilda kept giving Harry squeezing hugs, and Shogrid's eyes twinkled with pride for his little friend and kept saying how proud his parents would have been.
It was all nice, and Harry was certainly relieved that he was even still alive to be with his friends, but what Harry really wanted to do was go back to Gryffindor house and have some quiet by himself. His friends seemed to guess what he needed, as when they got to the castle and everyone went to meet up and take stock in the Great Hall, Hector led Harry up to the common room. Standing in the doorway, he said "I'll be down the corridor. If you need anything, just call for me. You were a real hero today, Harry." He smiled, and closed the door.
Harry collapsed into a chair by the fireplace. A hero? He didn't know about that. he was just glad that it was all over and his friends were all right.
This year was completely mental, incredible, and beyond anything in my wildest dreams, he thought.
I wonder what next year will be like?
This time, when they popped back out in the library, everyone was frustrated.
"What happens the next six years?"
"Why am I the villain?"
"I am not a Slytherin. I'm very offended by this!"
"How come everybody else got to be a human?"
"Where did Paul come from?"
They were all too busy complaining to even notice the two strangers hiding behind a rather large bust of Calvero. Nor did they notice the boy throwing a book at Hector's head until it was too late.
"Well, that's one way of doing it," Annie muttered.
"What book is it?" Keith asked, secretly hoping he could be the main character this time. Being a sidekick all the time was getting pretty old.
"A Christmas Carol," Hector read.
"You'll shoot your eye out!" Marcus shouted.
"Wrong story, kid," Danny informed the young Electric Company member, "But good try."
Jessica sighed. It showed how crazy of a day it was shaping up to be if the Pranksters were being friendly.
"Are you guys ready?" she asked.
After a few people confirmed, Hector opened the book.
A.N.: So the story doubles in length thanks to Gandalf's hard work. Honestly, this chapter is the reason we've split it up. This would've felt way too long as a oneshot. So you get to wait for updates and I get to have the illusion of productivity and having my life together!