Title: "One Plus One Equals One "
Rating: PG-13 for now, may go up to R later. Genfic.
Disclaimer: Honestly, I own nothing. Don't sue.
Summary: Daniel descended as a 11 years old Harry Potter…well, sort of.
Inspirited by Corwalch's "Two Shall Be As One", diverged as Daniel went back a bit further.
One Plus One Equals One
by nova-carta
Y1: School Life
"The man was half hidden behind the railing, and he moved so fast that I only saw him for a few seconds. Fortunately, I returned just in time to secure the stone from his clutch." Dumbledore put down the scarlet stone on the desk, allowing the teachers to have a good look at the item they had worked so hard to protect.
He had already checked the stone over, and much to his dismay, found it completely intact. It seemed the hardness of the artificial stone had exceeded his expectation, which posed an unexpected halt to his laid out plan. He was hoping to use the stealth thief as an excuse to destroy the stone, because smashing the stone into pieces was preferable to leaving it in wrong hands. Yet, the stone couldn't be destroyed by fire or physical impact, and it was a magical artifact with power too great that he didn't dare to curse it with destructive spells and risk a massive explosion. Nicolas had yet volunteered the proper method to destroy the stone, which meant instead of pretending to protect it, he now had to put actual effort in securing the stone from the lurking thief.
"Have you found out how the thief managed to intrude and pass the traps?" McGonagall turned to Professor Fliwitch, who was the first teacher arrived on the scene.
"Isn't it obvious?" Snape interrupted with a snort. "Our so-called security was a joke. Even a first year could get pass them."
"The thief did pass them embarrassingly easily." Fliwitch admitted. "He lured the cerberus out of his way with a little bunny, burned the devil's snare severely with a fire, burst apart the unprotected wall in the keys chamber, shrunk the pieces on my chess board to normal size, knocked out the troll and solved the logic puzzle. I don't know what have you set up as the final trap, but the last room was empty when I checked it. The thief used the bare effort to pass the traps in the fastest and most efficient way. It probably only took him ten minutes to reach the stone."
"Might be it is safer to keep the stone with you." Professor Sprout turned to the Headmaster. "No one will dare to attack you or steal from you."
"Oh, I am flattered, Professor Sprout." Dumbledore chuckled slightly. "However, I'm afraid my age won't allow me to guard the stone with all my attention constantly without tiring me out. Anyway, tonight's incident has confirmed that someone is indeed going after the stone. We will replace the traps with something more lethal, until then, I will keep it on my person for safekeeping. Please present me your ideas by the end of this week. Hopefully the new security will protect the stone until the Flamels and I could agree on the disposal."
All four heads of house nodded in agreement.
"Should I inform Hagrid and Professor Quirrell about the arrangement?" McGonagall asked.
Dumbledore thought for a moment, shook his head and spoke slowly. "I would prefer this incident remained among ourselves. I could trust Hagrid with my life, but this is too big a secret to burden him. As for Quirrell…"
"He has changed too much in only a year, and I'm not convinced of his vampire hunting story!" Snape said.
"We should not accuse anyone without evidence." McGonagall argued.
"He stutters." Snape grumbled. "And he smells."
McGonagall sent him a disapproving glare.
"I must insist you to keep your suspicion to yourself. After all, one must be presumed innocent until proven guilty." Dumbledore said calmly. "However, I won't object if you wish to keep an eye on him either." It went without saying that he too suspected Quirrell of those strange behaviors.
"What about Harry Potter?" Professor Sprout asked. "Did you found anything?"
"Severus?" Dumbledore turned to the man.
"Nothing useful or conclusive in No. 4 Privet Drive, I'm afraid." Snape sent him a meaningful glance. "Aside from a few protection wards around the house, the house is no difference from other ordinary muggle households. Potter has been away from the house too long to have any significant magical trail remained."
"Alas, the wards worked perfectly to keep dangers from the boy…" Dumbleoder sighed.
"Sadly, your pathetic wards failed to keep the boy inside the safety." Snape snorted mockingly.
Dumbledore smiled tolerantly at him. Judging by the dirty looks, the man must have discovered the barely legal blood ward around the house, and made haste to remove the ward before the aurors arrived. The task was tiring and time consuming, no wonder Snape looked so grumpy when he returned.
"Then what should we do? His disappearance is bound to be the front-page news. There are hundreds of letters being on hold already! We can't keep the owl block up any longer without arousing suspicion." Professor Sprout exclaimed.
"You might release the owl block after this meeting, Pomona, and thank you for your hard work." Dumbledore gave her a thankful smile as he explained. "I have informed the Law Enforcement Department an hour ago, and an investigation order has been issued to start investigation immediately. According to the information from Gringotts. Mr. Potter visited the bank again on 2 August and withdrew all his money in form of traveller's cheques. The aurors deduced that he was planning to go aboard, though there is no record in Portkey office or Floo logbook indicating his departure from the country."
"But it makes no sense. If he had no intention to attend the school, he wouldn't board the Hogwart Express at all!" Fliwitch pointed out.
"That's why we did not rule out the possibility of kidnapping or abduction. For now we could only wait and hope for the best." Dumbledore said. "The night is getting late, my dear professors. We should retire to our rooms and prepare for the classes tomorrow."
The professors moaned at the reminder of the end of their peaceful summer holiday and endless schoolwork waiting for them. All facts considered, the teachers and students were surprisingly alike in this aspect, though none of them would ever willingly admit it.
********
As an ascended being, he shouldn't need to sleep, nor that he should crave for coffee every morning. Yet he was here, gulping down freshly blew coffee as if it was water, couldn't care less about his tongue being burned by the steaming liquor. He wondered if the caffeine could somehow affect the energy structure and its stability of an ascended being to have the same stimulating effects on them. Not that he understood very much of the scientific aspects, especially after he got kicked out of the ascended library of collective knowledge, but the idea was interesting enough for an respected interplanetary explorer, aka himself, to conduct in-depth study and experiment on.
Daniel chugged down another cup with a dreamy sigh.
Sumatra Mandheling. One cream, two sugars.
Perfect.
"How come you can drink coffee like a fish but cut down on my cocoa?" Harry complained loudly as he walked down the spiral stairs.
As soon as he stepped inside, the entrance closed behind him to conceal itself from the outside world. The enclosed area was as large as a hotel royal suite, and the goblins had surpassed all expectations in the luxury decoration. Harry had aptly named it "Daniel's Den", or "the Den" for short, since it was where Daniel spent most of his nights.
Only when he spoke up Daniel had noticed his arrival. "Huh?" Daniel blinked at him.
"Cocoa!" Harry pouted as he sat down at the table.
"Now, little urchin, your teachers and fellow students have done nothing to deserve a sugar high kid thrust on them, have they?" Daniel ruffled his hair affectionately. "Besides, you need more than cocoa to grow bigger."
Harry huffed petulantly. "'Meet me in the Den ASAP'?" He waved a note at the man, repeated it word for word. "So?"
"So," Daniel sat straight up in his chair to start his tale. "Something happened last night." He then told Harry about Quirrell, the mysterious voice inside the purple turban, the possibility of a spiritual possession, and last but not least, the gou'ald control crystal.
"You conned the headmaster!" Harry beamed from ear to ear.
"Yup." Daniel too felt proud of himself, grinning widely. "I only hope he doesn't get any gou'ald device too."
"Well, it doesn't really matter, isn't it?" Harry tilted his head at the crystal sitting by the coffee pot. "I mean, even if Dumbledore has an alien device, without this crystal it would be useless."
Daniel had to admit the boy was right. The control crystal was large enough to be a significant part of a gou'ald device, which meant its missing would guarantee the failure in activating said device, if such device indeed existed.
He would just sit tight and let things unfold in their own time.
********
It was half past seven when two Hufflepuff prefects shepherded the first years to the Great Hall for breakfast. Although Harry had escaped from the Dursleys for a whole month, he was still suffering a shrunk stomach after years of underfeeding. A few bites of toast and bacon and he was uncomfortably full until lunchtime.
[You should eat more.] Daniel urged him. [Don't pretend you didn't notice that you are the smallest kid in the school.]
[I just haven't hit my growth spurt yet.] Harry huffed sulkily, gaining strange glances from his fellow housemates.
The sound of flapping wings and screeching hoots made them looked up to the ceiling. Hundreds of owls flew into the Hall, dropping letters and packages to their owners. A big owl landed in front of Ernie, a newspaper held in its beak.
"Here, five Knuts." Ernie put the bronze coins in the pouch tied on its leg before he took the newspaper. "Oh! Harry Potter made the front page!" He then spread it out on the table for everyone to lean over and read it.
Harry Potter Goes Missing!
While people were still discussing and celebrating the return of our famous Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived has mysteriously disappeared from Hogsmeade Station where he has been last seen. This distressful news was revealed when Headmaster of Hogwarts School Albus Dumbledore personally filed a missing person report to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement last night.
According to the headmaster, Mr. Potter boarded Hogwarts Express at Platform Nine and Three-quarter and arrived its destination safely, however the boy failed to show up in the sorting ceremony. Further investigation indicated that he had not stepped into the school area.
Inquiries among villagers in Hogsmeade have also drawn a blank, said the head investigator Gawain Robards in the press conference. The Aurors were eager to locate Mr. Potter and have appealed to anybody who may have seen him or know of his current whereabouts.
Could the boy who lived leave by his own free will? Or if the boy was abducted by his enemies who only wish him harms? When the reporter asked about the safety of the missing Potter, Auror Robards admitted the possibility of kidnapping could not been ruled out, but he refused to comment further.
Harry Potter was last spotted at the train station in Hogsmeade Village at about 1815 BST yesterday. He was around 4ft 9in (1.45m), slim, short black messy hair, round eyeglasses, green eyes and a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. He was wearing a black school robe and blue muggle trainers at the time he was last seen. Anyone with information please floo or owl the investigation team at the Ministry of Magic.
Daily Prophet would like to express our worry and blessing to our missing Harry Potter, and hope that he will rejoin our community soon.
There was a large photo underneath the article, showing the hilarious scene on Platform 9 3/4 repeatedly. Luckily the photo seemed to be shot from afar, thus it only got a brief and unclear glimpse of "Harry Potter" when the train conductor pulled him out of the crowd.
[Rumors are more interesting than the actual news.] Daniel snickered, listening to the latest ridiculous rumors around the table. Obviously the Lady of the Lake fell in love with Harry Potter at first sight and lured him into the Great Lake to have her wicked way with him.
[Ewww!] Harry grimaced at the disgusting suggestion. Daniel laughed harder.
The fifth year boy prefect Marus Stebbins approached them with a stack of parchment in hand. Stebbins was assigned to take care of the first years, and so far he had done an excellent job.
"Timetable." Stebbins handed out the parchments and explained. "It is set for the whole school year, but the time of your flying class will be posted on the notice board."
"Potions on your first day, and the first thing in the morning no less." Cedric Diggory leaned on Harry's shoulder to peek at his timetable, shaking his head in mock sympathy. "I tell you. You guys are doomed."
Stebbins smacked him upside the head. "Stop terrifying the first years! Professor Snape is the Head of Slytherin House, naturally he will favor his house members. He might not be the nicest person, but as long as you are not in Gryffindor, he is all bark and no bite."
Cedric snorted loudly.
Stebbins ignored him. "Just remember. Don't protest when he docks house points for no reason."
"We don't care about house points anyway." Cedric explained.
"NEVER ask question in class." Stebbins said firmly. "He will only dock points."
"NEVER ask question after class." Cedric added. "He will dock even more points for asking foolish questions."
"Get teary-eyed if he's gone too far." Stebbins suggested to the girls.
"Don't actually cry in his presence." Cedric warned them. "He hates sobbing kids."
"Be grateful that you have Potions with Ravenclaw. Gryffindors have double potions with Slytherins on Friday mornings. " Stebbins concluded with a comforting smile, which sadly only unsettled them further. "Honestly, I know some of the professors seem a bit weird, but they are generally good and normal people."
The first years turned to the high table at the same time, just in time to see Quirrell staggering in the Great Hall, extremely pale like a chalk, swaying as if the purple turban on his head was too heavy to walk a straight line, and shrieked in terror when he realized the only vacant seat was the one next to Professor Snape.
So much for normality.
"What's that smell?" Justin sniffed the air, clearly disgusted.
"Garlic, I think." Harry wrinkled his nose, watching Quirrell carefully. Despite what Daniel told him, he still couldn't believe the stuttering professor was the one who tried to steal the control crystal right from under Dumbledore's nose and almost succeeded.
[Appearances can be deceiving.] Daniel shrugged. [Admittedly, I wouldn't suspect him either if I haven't caught him red-handed.]
[What are we going to do with him?] Harry asked. [Especially as you can't get rid of the wraith without killing Quirrell.]
[Well, your grandfather have done some research on soul magic. Hopefully I will figure something out from his notes. If we know find out how Quirrell got possessed, we might know how that wraith got into your head too.] Daniel said. He had been studying those research notes since he confronted the wraith in their mindscape, though so far his progress was painfully slow. Without enough background knowledge about advanced magic, he spent most of his time struggling with the abstruse theories and intricate concepts.
[Until then you'd better stay away from him. The wraith is much stronger then that one in you, I don't want to cross his path and risk another possession.]
Harry agreed without complaint. He didn't want to be anywhere close to the garlicky man anyway.
********
Potions class turned out to be as dreadful as the Potion professor looked. After a roll call and an intimidating speech about the fascination in potion making, Snape paired them up to make a boils-curing potion, which should be simple enough to encourage the beginners to enjoy the subject. Regrettably the lesson was doomed to failure when Snape decided breathing down the back of their necks and berating even the minimal mistake were the best ways to teach a subject that required precision, patience and undivided attention.
Forty-five minutes in class, a Ravenclaw pair in the front was distracted by the barking Potion Master and accidentally put the ingredients in wrong order. Harry had to duck under the table to escape the explosion. Terry Boot, the Ravenclaw partnered with him, was not as quick in response and got knocked out by a flying cauldron. Needless to say Snape was terrifyingly furious. He growled and howled and yelled until the Headmaster came to rescue.
[I most certainly will be better off studying potions on my own.] Ears still ringing from the deafening shouts, Harry grumbled as he and his classmates fled from the dungeon.
[Consider it done.] Daniel added the subject to their self-study plan without second thought. [I hope other teachers are not as bad. But after Potions, everything else would be a piece of cake by comparison.]
There was no truer word said.
Transfiguration started off in an excitement where Professor McGonagall morphed herself into a tabby cat, but the lecture afterward was disappointingly lengthy and dry. They were told to turn a match into a needle in the practical session. Harry kept overpowering the spell that burned a dozen of matches to ashes until he finally had a better grasp of his magic, which for some reason suddenly grew stronger since after the wraith in his head was gone, while Daniel kept tapping into his ascended power that burned another dozen of matches to ashes until he got used to accessing the magic core inside Harry's body instead. They managed to finish the assigned task, but not before they had single-handedly depleted the storage of matches, much to the dismay of Professor McGonagall.
Charms on the other hand went smoothly. Professor Flitwick taught them a color-changing spell, and had them changing each other's robes into different colors. All students got it right by the end of class, but Harry's robe noticeably stayed pink for the longest.
DADA classroom stank of garlic, and the professor stammered nonstop. Harry and Daniel grabbed a seat from the very back row, kept a half an eye on Quirrell, and the other half on the schoolbook. They figured it would be easier to read the book than decode the terrible stutter.
History of Magic was extremely boring. Professor Binns merely read out from the schoolbook, his monotonous voice droned on and on until everyone in the classroom was sound asleep.
Astronomy would be interesting if the weather was not so cold. The class took place in the middle of every Wednesday night on the top of the astronomy tower. Too chilly, too windy and the students were too sleepy to pay much attention to the professor.
They also had Herbology three times a week in a greenhouse outside the castle. Professor Sprouts was one of the handful competent teachers, however Harry had done too many gardening works for the Dursley to enjoy the class. Luckily Neville didn't mind taking over the larger part of work when they paired up.
The week was one of the busiest Harry could remember, but classes and homework aside, without backbreaking chores to fill his time Harry still had a lot of free time at his disposal. Only then he realized how boring a boarding school could be.
********
Friday finally arrived. By tradition every first year had the afternoon free of class. That's why Harry and the rest of Hufflepuff first years were enjoying a picnic and basking in the afternoon sun on the lakeside lawn celebrating their survival from classes.
Harry looked up from his copy of The Lord of The Rings when Neville and Dean slumped down on the grass next to him.
"I didn't see you in lunch. Come to think of it, I didn't see any one in your year at the Gryffindor table! Where have you been? What happened?" Harry took in their gloomy expression, asked.
"Double Potions, Slytherins, fifty points and detention." Dean said glumly.
"Oh." Hufflepuffs chorused, understood immediately. Everyone knew that Potions was a nightmare to those who wasn't Slytherin, and a hell to those who was Gryffindor.
Harry gave them each a chocolate frog as a gesture of sympathy. "Come on, spill it."
"Ron was paired up with Malfoy, and they got into a fight when the potion was still boiling. They knocked over a few cauldrons, spilling the potion all over the place." Dean pulled a face. "Snape made us clean up the classroom by hand, so we missed lunchtime and only finished just now."
"Malfoy had to visit in the infirmary. He can't even walk properly." Neville explained. "You know, boils down there." He gestured his thighs vaguely.
All boys within hearing range shuddered in fear.
"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Dean asked.
Harry shrugged, ducking his head back behind his book. "You know. Chess, exploding snap…"
"Wizarding school is so boring!" Dean complained. "Can we at least have some action?"
"It's not as if we can play Quidditch." Ernie replied. "We don't even have brooms. The broomshed is locked until after our flying class."
"We can always play tag or Hide and Seek…" Harry suggested helpfully, but he trailed off when he saw the pained look Dean threw at him.
"Football, might be?" Dean asked in a hopeful voice.
"You've got one here?" Justin raised a questioningly eyebrow.
"No, but I am thinking about transfiguring it." Dean said.
"Isn't it quicker to ask your family owl you a new one?" Harry said.
"What is a football?" Ernie interjected.
"A muggle sport. The players chase after the ball and kick it to the goal." Justin offered the simplest explanation offhandedly, making the sport sounded dumb and boring.
"Now that's outrageous!" Dean felt insulted, scowling. "Football is much more than that!" In defence of his favorite sport, he went on eloquently with detailed and accurate description of West Ham, which in turn led to a heated debate between the football fan and the other Quidditch supporters.
Harry returned to the book, letting the chatter wash over him. He continued reading for a while until he saw someone approaching out of the corner of his eye, and then Draco Malfoy was blocking the sunlight from in front of him.
"Peverell." Draco said coldly.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy." At Daniel's prompt, Harry closed the book and stood up slowly, greeting the blond with a mask of social politeness.
"It looks like owls have a hard time to locate you." Draco stated flatly.
"Owls tend to do them." Harry admitted, offering no explanation.
Draco Malfoy frowned at him for a moment before he held out an envelope. "My father would like to extend an invitation for you to attend his birthday party. We expect your answer in a few days."
"Thank you." Harry took the envelope with a nod of his head, and watched the boy walk off with his nose in the air like an arrogant peacock. Only after Malfoy was far away from the lawn then the others plied him with questions after questions and talked at the same time.
"How many times must I tell you? I don't have a clue." Harry whined and sat back down on the grass. He had to push a few heads out of his way to have a better look at the envelope. "Now stop bugging me and let me read it!"
He opened the wax-sealed envelope and pulled out an ivory parchment card. The invitation was short and simple, beautifully inscribed in elegant handwriting and green ink.
You are cordially invited to
an evening of dinner and dancing
to celebrate the 34th birthday of
Lucius Malfoy
Monday, the Thirtieth Day of September
Nineteen Ninety One
Seven o'clock in the evening
Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England
The courtesy of a response is requested by September 10.
[An evening of dinner and dancing?] Harry grimaced. [With Malfoy? Why would I want to dance with the snob?]
[Well, they probably would rather introduce you a nice pureblood witch than let you dance with Draco…] Daniel assured him, snickering.
[Might be we should turn it down.] Harry wrinkled his nose at the irritated scentof violets coming from the envelope and pulled a disgusted face. Everything about Malfoy from attitude to hairstyle was too stuck-up for his liking.
[The party is on a school day. I don't think they really expect you to attend. Malfoy must have heard of our muggle upbringing by now, so the invitation is most likely just to test the water, to see what could be expected from the Peverell heir.] Daniel explained. When they decided to take the Peverell name, Lord Ragnok had warned of its significance in the wizarding world. Obviously the Peverell family was one of the founder members of the Wizards' Council, and the patriarch had been granted a permanent seat in the Wizengamot when the Council replaced by the Ministry of Magic. Lucius Malfoy was one of the wealthiest and insightful political creatures at the present time, Daniel would be very surprised if the man didn't try to seek influence and control over the wide-eyed innocent Peverell heir.
[So?]
[I will write him a reply to politely decline the invitation and wish Mr. Malfoy a happy birthday.] Daniel said in a matter of fact one. [But we might have just become the hot topic of the gossip mill.] He warned.
Secrets didn't stay in Hufflepuff.
Harry suddenly was aware of the curious looks his housemates throwing at him and swallowed hard.
********
AN: Real Life sucks. Irregular updates will be continued for a while.