Okay, I know it's choppy and awkward, but 1st year is boring and I just can't seem to focus on it. I'm easily distracted and rather impatient. So, if you've got any questions about what happened during the school year in regards to just about anything, ask and I'll be more than happy to tell, but it's June now and we're moving forward with the next big conflict, which should move forward into some kind of plot.

Disclaimer: Standard works. I don't even know what that means. But it's a disclaimer, so you do.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 14

The map was… less helpful than expected. It wasn't actually a map. What it was, was a series or rectangles-one for each floor-with marks indicating where the classrooms and offices generally were. Plus a comprehensive list of things like trick-steps and doors that likes to be walls and little things you needed to know. So it was helpful, but it wasn't a map. Flitwick was nice though. Unnervingly short, but really nice.

It was lunch when Ginny finally failed in her efforts to avoid her brothers, the set of twins he'd seen on the train stalking across the hall towards the Slytherin table before they could do anything to get away.

"Hello-"

"Ginny-"

"We are so-"

"Very, very proud of you."

That was obviously not what she expected.

"Never could we ever-"

"Pull a prank as big as this one."

"It will go down in history!"

"Mum's beyond shocked-"

"Ron's in fervent denial-"

"Dad doesn't know what to think-"

"And Percy-"

"Dear Percy-"

"Nearly had a heart attack."

"He's scared you'll ruin his reputation."

The twins sniggered.

"You really did a number on everyone, sis."

"Couldn't be more proud," he wiped a fake tear of joy away from his face, his voice trembling with exaggerated emotion.

Ginny smiled in spite of herself.

"We'll be seeing you, Gin."

"Prepare yourself for Mum's letter."

"Yeah, who knows what direction that'll go in."

They shrugged in time and then wandered back over to the Gryffindor table.

"Well that was unexpected."

Ginny nodded. Luna smiled. Luna always looked like she knew something no one else did.

ooo

Potions that afternoon was in a large classroom on the first floor. Professor Wifferdill was a no-nonsense professor who obviously wasn't going to let them get away with much, but that made sense, seeing as how they were going to be working with lots of poisonous ingredients. However, when Davis Appleton sneezed so hard his stool fell over beneath him, she did smile, which was something.

Like Herbology, that day's lesson seemed to be an introduction course. They went over class rules, then learned the difference between slicing, dicing, crushing, chopping, shredding, and squeezing. They got to use knives, which was something Hayden hadn't really done in a while, which was cool. And they got to use their wands for the first time, learning the spell for controlling the enchantment that kept the fires burning at the correct temperature. It was a lot like twisting the knob on a stove to change the burner temperature, but with magic.

And then they all got assigned essays on proper equipment care to work on with their partners. Hayden's partner was Luna, and lucky him, Luna's mum had been a potion's mistress. Meaning, Luna knew a lot about equipment care.

ooo

Saturday morning came with the arrival of Hayden's first letter by owl—the response from his Tad. He opened it at the table and was relieved to see it was written in Welsh. Call him paranoid, but he really didn't want the people reading over his shoulder. Not that it was impossible for anyone else in the school to know Welsh, but he hadn't heard any prominent Welsh accents yet.

Hayden,

Do not put yourself in a dangerous situation. If the Great Hall bothers you, your dad and your head of house can work it out.

I'm glad you like History. You always have when your dad and I were teaching you, but there's a difference between a parent and a teacher. And a huge difference between individualized lessons and a classroom. I'm sure you'll learn something in Herbology. It will probably tie into your potions class. As for astronomy, Professor McGonagall promised that advanced options would be available, so talk to your teacher and see if you can get something more on your level. You shouldn't be wasting time going over things you already know. But no, helping isn't cheating. Helping is a good thing as long as it never crosses the line to you doing the work for them.

The library sounds fascinating and your common room sounds very nice too. If things move around though, that could be dangerous. Be careful, Bach.

Things at the Hub are going as smoothly as they can go, your lucky pencil was under the couch cushion as I said it would be, and yes, we spoke, although I didn't think I was being that obvious. You weren't supposed to know. We're working it out, Hayden, slowly. It takes time.

Do not go exploring on your own. Take an older student if possible and several friends your own age if not. Take precautions.

Love

-Tad

The pencil was in the envelope and Hayden grinned, tucking it into a pocket.

He'd barely finished eating when Professor Sprout came up behind him. "Mr. Harkness, your father will be here soon."

He turned around, grabbing his ever-present backpack from the floor behind him. "Absolutely, Professor."

And then they set out walking across the near-mile of dew-covered grass to the gates.

When they reached their destination, Hayden's feet and the bottom foot of his robes completely soaked through, Captain Jack Harkness was standing there waiting, black and shiny Torchwood car behind him. His hands were in his pockets, holding the edges of the coat back and showing his braces. Professor Sprout stopped, gasping in surprise.

"Nice castle you've got here."

"You can see it?"

"Why, shouldn't I be able to?"

"Well, it's got anti-muggle wards all the way up to the heavens, so I should say not. I don't suppose you're a squib?"

"Well, not that I know of, but that would explain that thing trying to push against my mind."

Professor Sprout opened the gates and Captain Jack stepped through. "Ah, and there it's gone. Hey Kiddo, survive the last couple days?"

Hayden nodded, smiling widely.

"And you walked all the way out here okay?"

Hayden shrugged. Not great, but it's… well, I managed, see?"

"Yeah, I can see what you mean about everything being big." He fished a bottle out of his coat pocket. "Here, doc says these'll be a bit stronger."

Hayden took the bottle and nodded. "Thanks."

"You gonna show me around?"

He grinned.

ooo

When they stepped into the castle, Jack's eyes went wide, but when they moved on to the Great Hall, his lips set into a hard line. "Professor, this is going to be a problem. Hayden, did you have a panic attack on me? Did you?"

Hayden bit his lip and looked away.

"He can't deal with feeling vulnerable. Without the ceiling being visible, a closed room, no matter the size, is a huge problem. Something needs to be done."

"Dad, it's fine. If I sit at the Slytherin table, it's not a bit deal."

Jack scowled.

ooo

By lunch, Hayden's shown his dad the library and his common room and had explained, in detail, all that he'd learned in his classes so far. When he plunked down at the Slytherin table with his muggle father though, it was asking for trouble.

"So, the mudblood's still sitting with the blood traitor, and now he's brought his daddy along. Scared, were you? Honestly, muggles in the school. What is the world coming to?"

Hayden flinched at the words but said nothing.

Ginny didn't do the same. "Blood traitor, am I? Really? And what exactly does that make you, Thicknese? Because I'm the one reaching out and creating a network to help me in future life. What've you got? Just your daddy's old money, as far as I can see. Can't wait to grow up and add some more inbreeding to your family tree, can you?"

The girl really did never shut up. Standing, she huffed across the hall to the Gryffindor table, throwing a "C'mon Hayden," over her shoulder.

Jack raised an eyebrow, looking up at the head table questioningly, as if to ask the teachers if this was common and accepted behavior. A teacher in all black with greasy hair lazily responded with "Thicknese, 5 points."

The older boy didn't seem too bothered, but was a bit surprised. At any rate, they moved over to the Gryffindor table, where Collin talked their ears off and Luna soon joined them.

Hayden introduced his dad to everyone, then moved outside to take advantage of the sunshine with Luna while his father went to go speak to Dumbledore.

"What do you think about moon frogs, Hayden?"

"Nothing lives on the moon, Luna. Why?"

"How do you know?"

"Records of people going there, mostly."

"I'd like to see one. Or a Star poet. Daddy's talked about those."

"Wait, glowing, floating, kinda blue, and lots of little tendrils?"

She looked at him oddly. "Yes."

"Ha! You mean Arcateenians. Butterfly people. They come to Earth all the time."

"You… you're surprising. Not many people believe in things like that."

"Well," he shrugged. "'S just aliens."

Her eyebrows got a bit closer and she bit the inside of her cheek, thinking hard about that.

ooo

Jack left a bit later, stopping to give Hayden a hug before going. "Make sure you keep writing to your Tad and don't forget that we want to see the results of your latest translation and physics experiment."

Hayden groaned, but nodded. "See you in a week."

"You, don't put yourself in any dangerous situations. Use your head and don't be an idiot."

ooo

Defense Against the Dark Arts on Monday was a joke. The quiz was on the teacher instead of any kind of subject material. Charms that morning though, had been reasonably enjoyable. They learned about different wood types and wandcrafting, which was pretty cool. And Professor Stebbins was kind of a fun teacher. And transfiguration with Professor Ginderford included their first real spells, which was really awesome. Hayden was practically jumping up and down with joy when he got his match to turn into a needle, and he got 10 points for it, too!

Collin didn't get it during class, but Hayden knew he would eventually, based on the look of determination on his face.

And History, well, it was awesome. So very, very awesome. It made up for DADA being so bad.

It was early November when lots of the school started talking quietly over newspapers about some odd disappearances and his tad showed up alongside his dad for the second time.

Just like last time, he had to be dragged through the gate before he realized that no, his flat wasn't on fire and he didn't have urgent calls waiting and the thing in front of him was not just a dangerous ruin.

"Damn," he grumbled, smoothing out his suit. "I've never liked mind-altering substances."

Hayden smiled, then graciously accepted the hug from his tad. Then he was told to run along while his parents talked to his teachers.

By the end of the day, he'd been moved up to 4th year Astronomy and had a meeting scheduled with Professor McGonagall the next day to discuss his shocking progress in Transfiguration.

Ooo

When Hayden left for Christmas break, he caught sight of Ginny laughing as she ducked behind a snow barricade next to Percy and the twins tried to pelt them with snowballs. Was that what having siblings was like? He didn't think he'd mind having them.

He met his dad near the gates though, and before he knew it, the Weasley twins were right behind him. "So we were wondering-"

"Mr. Harkness sir-"

"What it is you do-"

"That allows you to come up to the school-"

"Every week."

"Are you from a foreign ministry?"

Jack laughed. "Nice try, boys, but no. I work for an international muggle organization." They looked surprised and he decided to play them, dropping his voice and whispering in an overly dramatic fashion "Protecting the world from aliens!" Then he laughed again at their puzzled and flabbergasted faces. "Ready to go, Kiddo?"

Hayden nodded, his face red, then waved to Ginny, who waved back.

The drive to the new Torchwood base was a long one, but it was fantastic to be back in a world with technology and he was more than pleased to play around with his dad's laptop on the way. And getting to explore the new set-up and hear about the newest alien encounters was great. The mountain of science homework and language practice was annoying, but it didn't detract from the Christmas spirit, and he was excited to see the presents from his friends under the tree. He only hoped they liked the ones he'd sent.

Getting to do some proper skating on a proper ice rink was fantastic too.

ooo

The meeting in November had gone well, Hayden thought, and Professor McGonagall had been giving him private lessons on Sunday mornings ever since.

The first one had been frustrating, to say the least, and the extra homework wasn't exactly appreciated, but by April, Hayden was turning buttons to beetles, which was second-year curriculum, and Professor McGonagall assured him that James Potter would have been more than proud of him, as he'd been a Transfiguration prodigy and had had these kinds of lessons himself. Hayden had felt like he was glowing after hearing that.

Overall, the extra and advanced lessons were mildly awkward, but enjoyable. Better than being bored, at any rate. Ravenclaws seemed to hate him and Slytherins viewed him with open distain, but despite obstacles, Hayden had become close friends with Luna and had interesting and pleasant friendships with Ginny, Colin, and Zacharias. He disliked those who disliked him, for the most part, but had a particularly vicious rivalry with a Ravenclaw girl named Olwin Bush.

ooo

It was after Easter break when he got stuck enough in some aspect of Transfiguration theory that McGonagall sent him to another student. Hermione Granger. She was… something different. Quiet and shy, yet ridiculously firm in her beliefs and methods, she was a contradiction. The wheelchair might explain it though. Anything severe enough to result in a wheelchair is severe enough to change a person from what they seem like they should be, even if they themselves don't remember the incident, which, if the way Hermione sometimes struggled with the chair was any indication, she probably did. It was most likely recent.

She was helpful though. And friendly, if defensive. The first couple of times, she seemed to take his questions as a personal attack at her beliefs, but soon, they got into a groove and things started to make sense. They'd talked a few times since then, most notably when Hayden had been spinning and gliding and jumping through a corridor in his socks on a Saturday afternoon and had slid straight into a landmine style prank left by the Weasley twins. She laughed till she couldn't breathe as he struggled to remove the rose-coloured soap bubbles from his hair.

What he liked most about Hermione though, was that when she'd found out about his various medications, instead of asking nosy questions, she'd just shown him hers. Pain and anxiety meds. Apparently there'd been a troll attack during the previous school year. She was an outcast, but if he had anything to say about it, she'd gain some confidence soon.

ooo

On the fifth of June, Hayden woke up shivering. Exams were finishing up that week and the weekend should have been a welcome reprieve, but despite popping double his normal dose of anxiety meds before getting dressed, he remained in a sort of blind panic, jumping at everything. A blond second-year Slytherin looked at him oddly as he stood in the doorway of the Great Hall, trying and failing to talk himself into going in. After only a few minutes, he decided that breakfast wasn't that important and he found a nice tight nook to sit in just down the corridor from it.

He didn't even really realize time was passing, but when he flinched away from a hand on his shoulder, he looked up at the worried face of his Tad.

"What does this mean, exactly? Are people safe?" Jack could be heard asking softly in the background.

"What's Dad talking about?" Hayden asked.

"I'll tell you later. Hayden, what happened?"

"I… I don't know. I just… woke up… really anxious. I tried to get breakfast, but I… couldn't go inside."

Ianto nodded. "Hey Jack, can you bring some food over here?"

Jack and Professor McGonagall's voices got quieter as they walked away and Hayden tried to focus on his breathing.

Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Leave me a review! Next chapter: big bad rising.

Thanks for reading!

-MP