Summary: An AU fic set in the trio's sixth year. What happens when Harry is asked to test an ageing solution and everything goes horribly wrong once more?
A/N- I am so proud of myself! I got this up before my last document even expired! I'm trying to update faster so I stop leaving readers in suspense and subsequently losing them smiles sheepishly However, if I do, have no fear for I have no intention of letting any story I have up die, even if I'm away for ages. Anyway, haven't the holidays gone by quick? For all of you who are on holiday. First Christmas, than New Year... it went by so fast and I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that it's 2008 now!
Chapter Sixteen; The Dreaded 'm' Word
Harry huddled underneath his bed covers, which were pulled tightly over his head, just as he had always done in order to avoid the creeping darkness in his cupboard when he had lived at the Dursleys. Yet here there was no darkness to fear and he was safe in the knowledge that he was in company as the sound of Ron's heavy and rather humorous snoring permeated the quiet of the night.
"There is no such thing as magic!"
Harry shuddered ever so slightly. Ron had dropped that bombshell on him only that evening, but he just knew the red-head had to be kidding. There was no such thing as magic, right?
And Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had always told him that people who thought they were magic-users were bad people. But Won and 'Mione weren't bad people, he was sure of it.
No, it was safer to assume that there was no such thing as magic.
"There's no magic," he whispered to himself and shivered slightly again. They had told him he had been doing magic too. "There's no magic…"
HPHGRWHPHGRW
Hermione was concerned as she looked at her silent charge who was merely picking at his breakfast in a way highly reminiscent of his sixteen-year-old self. Something was obviously wrong, and she highly suspected it having to do with finally realising that he had been living around magic.
"My Aunt and Uncle hate magic," an eleven-year-old Harry told her good-humouredly as he searched for a Charms book in the library. "So they hate me, too, since I am magic."
"But that's horrible!" she said, aghast.
"I didn't even know of the existence of magic before I got my Hogwarts letter, even though my relatives were supposed to tell me," Harry informed her, finding the book and sitting at their table. "They like to think they're normal and don't like anything that threatens that."
What exactly had Harry been told over the years by the Dursleys about magic? If they hated magic, would they not have tried to teach their nephew to fear what they abhorred?
But it hadn't worked, right? Harry Potter had come to school amazed and awed at the world that had been opened up before him and had charged into learning his spells and potions.
But Harry's not eleven now, she suddenly thought. He's only four, and I can't keep forgetting that. He's four and very impressionable.
"You should eat a little more," she said to Harry gently, if a little unsurely. An unruly Harry she could handle. A brooding, sulking Harry she could deal with. A mischievous Harry… she was getting there. But she didn't know what to make of this silent, almost shy little boy, so different from just yesterday.
"I'm okay," Harry said quietly, putting his fork down and locking his eyes on a spot on the table.
Hermione looked up at Ron only to find him shoving food in his mouth. She sighed slightly; Ron had not thought anything was wrong.
"He'll come 'round, Hermione," he assured her. "Just like with everything. Could you help me with Potions?"
"We have Charms now, Harry," she said to the little boy and, just to test it, added, "I can show you some more magic if you want."
At the word 'magic' Harry flinched slightly and looked up at Hermione with wide-eyes. She smiled at him and, when he leaned forward to whisper something to her, she obligingly leaned down to him.
"But there's no such thing as magic," he whispered urgently but with such conviction that she was a little taken-aback.
Now what? He obviously did not believe magic was a real and, from all the signs, he was very obviously afraid of it. How was she to alleviate this fear of his?
"Harry, I can tell you magic is very real," she said seriously but quietly, pulling out her wand and showing it to him under the table. "Watch this; Lumos!"
The end of her wand lit up and Harry shrunk back slightly from it. But a moment later curiosity came to the fore-front and he hesitantly reached out to touch the end of the wand where the light was emanating. There was no bulb, so there was only one other solution for his young mind.
But magicwasn't real, it couldn't be real.
"Just think about, ok?" Hermione said encouragingly, beaming when Harry nodded to her. "If you would like you can spend some time with Molly; you haven't spent much time with her lately."
Harry's face lit up. He loved spending time with the woman he had dubbed 'Mama Molly', she was always very kind to him and she told him lots of stories. Perhaps she could even help him with his new problem.
"Ok," he agreed happily, the smile on his face not as large as normal but the biggest Hermione had seen since the previous afternoon.
"Ron, I'm going to go and drop Harry off with your mum," Hermione said to her red-headed friend as she got up. Seeing him looking mournfully at his half-finished breakfast, she rolled her eyes. "I'll meet you in class."
"'K 'Minee!" Ron said cheerfully, his mouth full.
Wrinkling her nose in disgust even as Harry couldn't help but smile, she started walking off with Harry's hand firmly in hers.
"Now, you be good for Molly, alright?" Hermione said, smiling down at him as they climbed the marble staircase.
"Yes, 'Mione," Harry said dutifully.
Mrs Weasley was in the hospital wing helping Madam Pomfrey when they found her, restocking the shelves of potions. She smiled when she saw the two of them.
"Hello, Hermione, Harry," she said, giving Hermione a hug and then leaning down to give Harry one too. "What brings you here today?"
"Would you object to looking after Harry today?" Hermione asked.
"Of course; any particular reason?" the woman asked shrewdly.
Hermione pulled her away from Harry, who was looking around the white room in a bored sort of manner, and lowered her voice.
"Harry found out that everyone's been using magic, and he's gotten scared of it for some reason," Hermione said quietly. "I think it might have something to do with his relatives, but I can't be sure. Can you talk to him?"
"Of course," said Mrs Weasley, looking a bit grim. "I'll do whatever I can."
Hermione smiled and said goodbye to Harry before leaving, walking quickly so she wasn't late to her first class. Harry looked at Mrs Weasley and she looked back at him with a smile.
"Would you like to help me, Harry?" she asked, extending a hand to the small boy.
For the first time since she had seen the boy when he had de-aged, he smiled shyly and nodded, taking her hand. She wondered about this sudden bout of shyness, but decided it might have to do with the recent revelations and more memories returning to him.
"I'm putting these new potions on the shelves for Madam Pomfrey," Mrs Weasley explained. "When I tell you what colour I want can you hand it to me?"
"Yes," said Harry with a firm nod.
"Well, now, can I have a red potion?"
They continued in this vain for quite some time, Mrs Weasley wondering when to approach Harry with the subject of magic. She did not want to scare him off, but she could not let the fear get out of hand lest he start suppressing his own magic. As she thought about all the things she had heard Harry do, she wondered if perhaps he had already done so during his first childhood.
As they finished she still had not come up with a good way to broach the subject. She sat down on the nearest bed and Harry scrambled up beside her, looking curiously at the completed shelves of potions.
"Molly?" he asked quietly, tugging her sleeve.
"Yes, dear?" she replied, half of her wondering why he called her 'Mama Molly' to everyone but her. It was a name she would have loved to hear from him.
"Are potions m-magic?" he asked, stuttering on the forbidden word.
"Potions are like medicine," Mrs Weasley explained. "We use potions to help us most of the time and we get better by them, though a lot quicker than normal medicine. The only magical thing about potions is they use magical ingredients."
Harry flinched at her use of the word 'magical', not unlike the way most people did when they heard Voldemort's name. After a long moment of silence he thought of another question, the all-important question.
"Is magic bad?" he asked quietly.
"Goodness no, child!" Mrs Weasley said with a laugh, putting an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close. "It is not a bad thing to use magic! Magic is a gift, just as playing a musical instrument or painting a picture outstandingly is a gift that is given."
"A gift?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"Yes," said Mrs Weasley with a nod. "You were given magic as a gift on the day you were born and you were meant to use it as much as you could to help you on your life's path."
"B-but, witches and wizards are bad people," Harry said, lowering his voice again.
"Some witches and wizards are bad," Mrs Weasley admitted. "Some witches and wizards use their magic for evil purposes, to kill people and to destroy places. But most witches and wzards, like me, and Hermione, and Ron, and you, use their magic for good so the world can be a better place."
From the pleased smile on Harry's face she could tell he like that idea. She smiled and tightened her hold briefly on Harry's shoulders.
"Who told you magic and people who use magic are bad?" she asked.
Instantly the smile disappeared and he looked down at his hands.
"Uncle Vernon," he mumbled. "Is magic real?"
In answer Molly lifted her wand and conjured a stream of flowers before Harry's astonished eyes. The light from Hermione's wand he could perhaps have managed to explain away had he had more time to think about it. But this… if magic wasn't real then how else could flowers appear out of nowhere?
He picked up of the flowers that were sitting on the bed tentatively. It felt real and it smelt like one of the flowers from Aunt Petunia's garden.
"But magic's bad," he whispered, more to try and convince himself then anyone else.
"Magic is not bad," Mrs Weasley said gently.
"Magic hurts," he said stoutly. He was not sure how he knew it, he just knew that some magic was bad and that some magic hurt.
Mrs Weasley hugged him even tighter.
"There are spells that the bad wizards use to hurt people," she said quietly and the truth seemed to calm Harry and he relaxed again. "But good wizards like us don't let them hurt people."
"So when I grow up I can make bad wizards stop hurting people?" Harry asked innocently, suddenly shy again as a small smile appeared on his face.
A small pang entered Molly Weasley's heart as he said that, for she was well aware that it was the job he would come to dislike as he was pursued by Voldemort. But still she smiled at him.
"If you want, Harry," she said. "But you've got to be able to do magic."
"I don't have magic," he said guardedly.
"Then how did you conjure bubbles once?" Mrs Weasley asked patiently. "How did you create Black? You are very good at magic, Harry."
"I'm not bad?" he asked, his eyes suddenly fearful.
"No," Mrs Weasley said, knowing that Harry needed to hear this before he could ever decide to continue doing magic. "You are not bad by doing magic."
All of a sudden the small boy jumped up and threw his arms around Mrs Weasley's neck with a beaming smile.
"Uncle Vernon says I'm bad when things happen," he said but, before Mrs Weasley could intervene he continued confidently. "But I'm not! You said so."
"So I did," Mrs Weasley laughed, hugging him back.
"So – so I can do magic all I want now?" Harry asked with a pleased smile.
"Within reason," said Mrs Weasley with a sparkling of humour in her eyes. "No more turning Professors different colours."
Harry giggled. Though for him that episode was two years ago, he could still vaguely remember it. His laughter, however, was more a reaction to Mrs Weasley's own amusement.
"So, would you like me to show you more magic?" she asked, pulling out her wand.
When Ron and Hermione returned for Harry that evening before dinner, they were met with the sight of Harry, using his hands, and Mrs Weasley, using her wand, directing colour illusions all around the room as they laughed.
"Oh, hello, dears," Mrs Weasley said when she saw them, entirely unembarrassed as she put her wand away. "I was just helping Harry learn how to do some more magic."
Harry beamed and nodded and Hermione smiled gratefully at Mrs Weasley. Clueless, Ron looked from Harry to his mother to Hermione and frowned.
"Did I miss something?" he asked.
Hermione and Mrs Weasley looked at each other and laughed, joined by Harry who decided to be as happy as them.
"Never mind, Ronald," said Hermione, hitting him playfully on the shoulder and nearly bursting out with laughter as he looked around blankly.
"I can do magic!" Harry piped up, grinning at Ron.
"You could do magic before," Ron said, not at all sure what was going on.
Harry frowned and suddenly Ron felt a soft breeze wash over him. As his mother and Hermione started laughing again he looked into the mirror on the wall opposite him, gaping in horror as he saw his bright green skin and silver hair.
"Harry!"
Coming Up- Chapter Seventeen; Winter Wonderland- Without the severe restrictions placed on him by his dastardly relatives, little Harry is quite enamoured by and fascinated by the snow. But when a blizzard comes to Hogwarts is this a bad thing?
A/N- Okay, first of all, thanks to everyone who is reading this story. And thank you to the reviewers;
Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, deitarion/SSokolow, B2J, Seku238, razmataz13drums, The Midnight poster, DeathlyPhoenix, boycrazy30002, Evening12, Sephony, hittocerebattosai, Robin, SilentWhisperWolf, and mydisconeedsme.
I have to admit I got more reviews than I expected after such a long period of time! Thanks to those who have kept with me and thank you to all the new people who have decided they liked my story!
I also have a question for those who are reading down this far :). Actually, thinking on it, two questions. Or polls, however you like to look at it.
Very soon, perhaps even next chapter if I can fit it, I am going to implement interaction between the other Houses. My question is; which of the three other Houses would you like to be first?
My second questions is about Harry's aging. Due to my own thoughts, Harry is going to stay four during Christmas before he ages a little more again. My question is, would you like him to stay at his next age, which will be eight, for his birthday? It will be the last age before he returns to sixteen (House points to whatever House you want if you can see my ageing pattern :)!) and I have a fair bit to fit in anyway before that happens, so what do you think? I think it would be a good idea, and thanks to The Midnight Poster who gave me the idea. But, I thought I would leave it to the readers and/or reviewers! So please, let me know what you think!