Disclaimer;I don't own Harry Potter or any characters or scenes you recognise. I own Aaron, April, Rose and Mason (the Slytherin wanted to be created and there wasn't much I could do about it) and the re-aging potion Snape created… but otherwise all I have is my plot and wacky imagination!
A/N; -whistles innocently and rocks back and forth on heels- Weeelll... I honestly didn't mean to leave it so long, and I had really meant to update as quick as possible, but then University life got in the way and then I had a really severe bout of writer's block (and when I say severe, I mean I couldn't write anything for at least two months). And then, suddenly, I was looking at it yesterday and I thought 'I want to write the next chapter!' So, here it is. And it's extra-long and just over 11-pages to reward everyone for their patience! Thanks to all my readers and reviewers, you guys are what keep me going!
Chapter Nineteen; Fair and Foul
Soon the end of the year had come and gone as quickly as had Christmas. Harry was amazed at the fireworks Dumbledore made light up the sky, though his eyes drooped more and more the closer it came to midnight. By quarter past the excitement had worn off and he was sound asleep as Ron carried him up to bed.
The next morning, however, the first of January, he was the first one up and dressed at nine o'clock. Neville and Ron, the only boys in their dormitory who had stayed over the break, were still sleeping, their loud snores making him giggle.
No one was down in the common room either, not even Hermione. It seemed even the brilliant girl was sleeping in after having stayed up so late.
Harry frowned. There was no one to talk to, which he had hoped 'Mione would be awake for. Perhaps Granpa would be awake? He had once told Harry that he always had to get up early to run the school, whatever that meant.
Deciding this was a good idea, he pushed the portrait hole open (the fat woman in the portrait liked him very much and let him come and go as he pleased, despite being specifically asked not to let him out) and climbed into the corridor. The big woman in pink smiled down on him.
"Where are you going, young Harry?" she asked.
"To visit Granpa," Harry said seriously.
"Well, you go on up, then, the portraits will tell you the way and I'll send someone along to let the headmaster know," the lady said, shooing him off.
Harry smiled at her and walked up the corridor. He didn't quite understand why people called Granpa a 'headmaster', he just knew it was something some people liked to call Granpa.
Shaking this thought out of his mind he continued on his way, asking directions as he went. Only one portrait, of what looked like a vampire, wouldn't help and just sneered at him, causing him to hurry along.
The way to Granpa's office, however, was awfully long and Harry quickly got bored of walking. With a huff he sat down at the top of the nearest staircase to wonder what to do now. He knew, of course, that walking to Granpa's office would take a long time, but he hadn't anticipated the way being so dull.
"Hello."
Jerking his head around at the sound of a voice, Harry's eyes widened as he saw a group of people standing nearby, looking as equally unsure of him as he was of them. They didn't look as old as Won and 'Mione, and he had not seen them before.
"Don't talk to strangers."
He bit his bottom lip. He had heard someone say that once, but he didn't think they had been telling him, so it should be alright to talk to them, right?
"Hi," he said with a shy smile.
The three children looked at each other and, as though coming to a unanimous, silent agreement, they sat down around him. There were two young girls and one slightly older boy and, though Harry didn't know it, they were all Hufflepuffs.
"My name's Aaron," said the boy, sticking out his hand. "And you're Harry?"
"Yep!" Harry said, eyeing the hand curiously. Seeing this, the boy grinned and grabbed Harry's right hand before giving it a firm shake.
"I'm April," said one of the girls, a short-haired blonde, and then she gestured to her black-haired friend. "And this is Rose."
Thrilled with the new way of greeting he had just learnt from Aaron, Harry shook both their hands enthusiastically, making them both laugh.
"What are you doing here, Harry?" Rose asked him. "Aren't you supposed to be with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley?"
"They're still asleep," Harry explained. "So I'm going to see Granpa."
"Can we help?" April asked. "No one else is awake in our House either."
"Ok!" Harry cheered.
April and Rose each took one of Harry's smaller hands and Aaron lead the way. Harry felt very content with his new friends and hoped that Won and 'Mione wouldn't be too upset to not find him.
HPHGRWHPHGRW
Ron and Hermione, at that current moment, were not even aware that Harry wasn't where he was supposed to be. Hermione was yawning as she slipped out of bed and Ron was still snoring, on the verge of falling off his bed.
Fifteen minutes later Hermione was sitting in the common room with a fairly large book, unable to believe she had slept so late and, not long after she had seated herself, Ron lost his unconscious battle with gravity and crashed to the floor.
As he opened his eyes and gazed blearily at Neville, who laughed at him and left the room, and at Harry's empty bed, he thought nothing of it. After all, if Harry wasn't in the dormitory, he must be down in the common room, because he couldn't get out of the tower, right?
It took him nearly half an hour to get downstairs and he was still yawning when he flopped into a chair.
"Morning," he said.
"Good morning," Hermione said distractedly.
Ron looked around, a greeting to Harry on his lips, and then realised that he couldn't find him. Frowning he bent over and looked underneath the chairs and table and then stood up so he could get a proper view of the whole common room.
No Harry.
"Hermione, where did Harry go?" he asked.
"What do you mean 'where did Harry go'?" Hermione asked, startled, looking up from her book. "Harry hasn't been down yet this morning."
"But… his bed was empty and his clothes were gone," Ron said slowly. Vaguely a thought occurred that this seemed to happen much too often.
And then, suddenly, the panic settled upon them as the reality of Harry being missing once more hit them.
HPHGRWHPHGRW
They had been walking for nearly half an hour, wandering around in the vague hope of stumbling upon the entrance to the headmaster's office, before Aaron finally stopped and sighed in exasperation. Rose, April and Harry stopped behind him.
"Does anyone actually know the way to Professor Dumbledore's office?" he asked.
April and Rose looked at each other over Harry's head. And then they looked back at Aaron.
"I thought that was the reason we were following you?" Rose asked.
"Because we don't know the way," April added.
The three Hufflepuff students looked at each other, stumped. The silence was only broken by the sound of Harry giggling at their expressions.
"It's not that funny," Rose informed him, but she could not help a smile that spread across her face; Harry's laughter was infectious.
"Maybe we can ask someone for help?" April suggested.
"Well, I was told the headmaster's office is guarded by a gargoyle," Aaron said self-importantly. "So I think we can find our own way."
"As we have been doing for the last half hour?" Rose asked dryly, causing Aaron to scowl at her.
"I know!" Harry said with a beaming smile, his eyes finding a much taller person who had just turned the corner ahead of them. He pulled his hands away from Rose and April's and ran towards the new figure before any of the Hufflepuffs could object.
The tall seventh year student looked down in surprise as something small collided with his side and took one of his hands in two smaller ones. Blinking, his mind still not quite fully functioning properly, his eyes met two large brilliantly green ones and a sweet, wide smile.
"Hello," Harry said somewhat shyly. "My name's Harry and we need help to find Granpa."
"Granpa?" the seventh year repeated, wondering if he was perhaps still sleeping and he was just dreaming.
"Professor Dumbledore," someone in front of his answered and he looked over to see three second year students.
Professor Dumbledore… wait…
"Harry, as in, Harry Potter?" he yelped.
Harry blinked innocently up at him.
"Yes," he said. "Can you help?"
"Er… I guess," the seventh year said cautiously, wondering if this was all just some sort of trick. "My name is Mason."
"Hi, Mason!" Harry said brightly, pulling away and tugging on his hand. "Come on, let's go find Granpa!"
The little boy was surprisingly strong and he almost pulled Mason off his feet. Unbidden a chuckle burst from his lips as the younger students laughed.
"Well, I would, but you're going the wrong way," he informed the boy, wondering what on earth was possessing him to help these people.
"Oh," said Harry, blushing. "Ok, that way, then."
He took one of his hands from Mason's and grabbed Rose's hand. Mason expected him to hold the hand of the other girl too, but was surprised when Harry continued holding his.
"Right," he said, blinking.
"I'm Aaron," the younger boy offered as they walked. "And this is Rose and April. We found Harry and were trying to help him, but we didn't know which way to go."
"Well, I think I'm more than qualified to help," Mason said with another chuckle. "I haven't quite managed to avoid the headmaster's office in the seven years I've been here."
"Seven years?" Harry gasped, staring up at him with wide eyes. "You must be old!" He paused and then added thoughtfully, "Not as old as Granpa."
"That's good," Mason said. "Professor Dumbledore is the oldest person I know. But seven years isn't that long. I'm only seventeen now, turning eighteen years soon."
He hadn't realised it was possible for Harry's eyes to get any wider until they did.
"Eighteen!" he said in awe. "I'm only four!"
"Can you count to eighteen?" April asked with a smile.
"I can count to twenty," Harry said proudly. "One, two, three, four, five…"
"Six, seven, eight, nine," April joined in, and Rose chimed in at number 'eight'.
"Ten, eleven, twelve," Aaron said with a slightly embarrassing laugh as he joined the other three.
Mason was rather surprised when he found himself joining in at number 'thirteen' and, before long, they had counted up to 'twenty' and Harry cheered.
"See?" he said with a nod.
"Yep!" Rose said.
She grinned at Mason, who was determinedly not looking at any of them. He had momentarily allowed himself to let his guard down and join them in the childish game, and now he was kicking himself for being foolish. He was seventeen; he didn't count to twenty with four year olds!
HPHGRWHPHGRW
Meanwhile, the very person that five rather determined people were on their way to see was making his way down into the bowels of the dungeon with a cheerful smile that looked extraordinarily out of place in the dark environment. He reached a certain door and knocked on it, resisting the urge to tap out a tune – it most certainly would not be appreciated at this time of the morning.
His patience was rewarded by the door opening and he was greeted by the sour "bat of the dungeons", Professor Snape. Despite the early hour, or perhaps because of it, his scowl seemed more pronounced than Dumbledore remembered.
"Good morning, Severus," the headmaster said with a smile. "May I come in?"
Snape grunted and stepped aside. While far from a pleasant morning greeting, Dumbledore decided that he had to take what little he was offered in good spirits.
"I've been working on the antidote," Snape said as soon as the door was closed and striding over to a cauldron that was emitting a slightly green haze. "And I think I may have it this time; though whether it will age him to the appropriate age, I do not know."
"As long as he ages," Dumbledore said with a nod. "Last time he aged two years… it is perhaps too much to hope that we can age him another twelve years in one go."
"Yes, I think so," Snape agreed, sounding a little disgruntled. "But even so, I'm not sure whether I should meddle with it if it works this time."
"I disagree," Dumbledore said. "I know you'd want to find out why it didn't work completely, and I think you may even find yourself able to age him even more at once. Perhaps, if it only ages him another set few years again this time, you can change it so it ages if the rest of the way. The problem is that we must not age him too far."
"Yes, I know," Snape said with a sigh.
"Very well," said Dumbledore. "I shall take my leave then and see if I can find Harry and his guardians. Happy New Year to you, Severus."
"You too, Headmaster," Snape grumbled, causing the old wizard to chuckle as he closed the door behind him.
HPHGRWHPHGRW
The trip to the headmaster's office was going smoothly, despite Mason's occasional bursts of arrogance and Aaron's somewhat sulky frown every time he was called on his lack of directional skills. Harry was happy in the company of the four people even though they were almost complete strangers, and he felt nothing could make him happier… except getting to Granpa's office.
The little bubble of happiness burst, however, when they turned a corner and encountered three very unpleasant people. They looked just as surprised to see them as the smaller group was to run into them; however their surprised expressions quickly turned to disdainful sneers. All three of them were tall, even taller than Mason, and Harry had to crane his neck to look up at them.
"Helping mudblood lovers, Mason?" one of the boys, the ringleader, scoffed.
Mason's lips thinned as he pressed them tightly together and his hand clenched tighter around Harry's, but he didn't respond. April, however, had no such qualms, and she stood protectively in front of Harry.
"Go away," she said fiercely. "We're not bothering you, so don't bother us."
"Look here," guffawed a second boy. "A brave little Hufflepuff! You should leave the courage for the Gryffindors."
"What are you doing with Potter and these Hufflepuffs, Mason?" the ringleader asked in disgust.
"If you must know, we are going to Professor Dumbledore's office, who is expecting us," Mason said, crossing his fingers as he said the lie.
Harry shot Mason a confused look. Granpa was expecting them? Then why were they taking so long to get there? They had to hurry!
"Slytherins don't lower themselves to their level," said the third boy derisively. "You should be ashamed of yourself."
"I'd be ashamed to stoop to your level," Mason snapped back and Harry shot him a small glare; the grip on his hand was starting to hurt.
"Slytherin?" Aaron whispered to Rose.
"Who cares?" Rose whispered back with a shrug. "He's been nice so far."
"Are you a Slytherin, Mason?" Harry asked innocently, tugging on Mason's jumper.
"Yes, he is," jumped in the ringleader. "A dirty, rotten Slytherin who has no sense of pride in his House. And you know what they say about Slytherins…"
"Won say's they're all evil," Harry informed him, tugging his hands away from Mason's and Rose's and stepping out from behind April, crossing his arms. "But Mason's not."
Mason blinked at the little boy as he showed a strange lack of prejudice for a boy who had spent so much time in the company of Ron Weasley. Must be Granger's influence.
The other three Slytherin's were just laughing at what Harry had said, which Harry did not like; he hated being laughed at, and that was just what the three unpleasant people were doing. His fists clenched and his eyes narrowed.
No one recognised the danger signs. If Ron or Hermione had seen this, they would already have been backing away or, if that gaze was directed at them, running fast in the other direction. But the three Hufflepuffs and four Slytherins didn't know Harry well enough to know what would happen when Harry got mad.
Thus, when a wind started blowing around them with enough force to make Rose stumble into Aaron, they weren't sure exactly where it had come from.
"Go away!" Harry cried, making an abrupt shooing motion with one of his hands.
One of the Slytherins was blown over and, when he got up, he was completely bright green – hair, clothes and skin. The remaining Slytherins looked from Harry to their companion and took out their wands.
Mason, April, Rose and Aaron took out their wands as well in order to protect themselves and Harry if need be. When one of the Slytherins shot a silent curse at Harry, Mason cast the Shield spell.
However, it wasn't needed. Before the curse could hit the shield Harry made a funny motion with his hand and the curse turned around and shot straight back at the castor, making him suddenly wobble about on jelly legs.
"I'll get the last one, Harry," Mason grinned and shot a well-placed bat bogey hex that followed the three down the corridor as they dashed away.
The wind died down and Harry's four companions stowed their wands away again, barely able to believe what they had just witnessed. Harry Potter had never struck anyone as being exceptionally powerful in anything except Defence, but they had just witnessed first hand the power of a raw wandless magic that had suddenly seemed to have come from nowhere.
For a long moment there was silence and then Harry turned around and looked up at them innocently with a sweet smile.
"Can we go find Granpa now?" he asked.
HPHGRWHPHGRW
Aaron, April and Rose, who had never been in Professor Dumbledore's magnificent office before, were in awe as they looked around at the various contraptions around the room as well as the many portraits of deceased Headmasters and Headmistresses, all of whom appeared to be sleeping. Even Mason was looking around curiously; every time he had been sent here was for some sort of infraction so there wasn't much time to look around.
Harry, however, was frowning, because the only living being currently occupying the office was a sleeping Fawkes. Granpa was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Granpa?" he asked, looking around as though the headmaster was going to suddenly jump out from behind something.
"He must not be here right now," April suggested.
Harry's looked at her and then over at Fawkes. He smiled; Fawkes would know where Granpa went! With this thought in mind he ran over to the bird and poked it in the side.
"Fawkes," he whispered loudly. "Fawkes, wake up!"
Fawkes made a funny sounding noise with its beak and nestled his head further under his wing, ignoring whatever was trying to pull him out of sleep. Harry frowned slightly and poked the bird again, harder.
A little too hard. The jab was enough to send the all-powerful phoenix tumbling off his perch with an undignified screech and the bird landed in his ash tray. A snort from one of a nearby portrait told the four astounded watchers that the portraits weren't quite as asleep as they were pretending.
Fawkes untangled himself and stood up on the tray, glaring down at little Harry, who was looking quite sheepish.
"Sorry, Fawkes," he said, wincing a little when the bird's glare intensified. "Do you know where Granpa is?"
With a huff, Fawkes flew back onto his perch and shuffled until his back was to Harry, who looked very put-out. And slightly annoyed at being annoyed about such an all-important issue.
"Fawkes, please?" he pleaded.
Fawkes looked over his shoulder and regarded him seriously for a moment with his black eyes before shaking his head and continuing to ignore the boy who had roused him from his slumber.
"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Rose offered, kneeling down and smiling at Harry. "He'll be around somewhere."
"Right here, actually," said an amused voice right behind Mason, making the Slytherin start.
"Granpa!" Harry cried in delight, running across the room and hugging Professor Dumbledore around the legs. The three Hufflepuffs and one Slytherin blinked, and then their mouths fell open when Dumbledore laughed and swung Harry up into his arms.
"You've caused quite a stir this morning, young man," he said sternly, though the effect was lost because of his twitching lips. "Ron and Hermione were frantic with worry because you were nowhere in Gryffindor Tower. It wasn't until we questioned the portrait guarding the tower that we found that you were on your way here."
"I wanted to see you, Granpa," Harry beamed, most of what Dumbledore was saying going straight over his head because he was so pleased to finally find the old man.
"How can I scold that?" Dumbledore laughed, ruffling his hair and setting him back on his feet. Then he straightened and smiled at Harry's companions. "Thank you very much for seeing him safely up here."
"No matter!" said April cheerfully, elbowing Aaron and Rose to make them close their mouths. "We wouldn't mind seeing Harry around again!"
"Nor would I," said Mason smoothly.
"But you're a Slytherin," Aaron pointed out, obviously still not have quite gotten past that small fact.
"Your point being?" Mason asked coolly, making Aaron swallow back a retort.
"Well, my thanks, and I'm sure Harry will want to see all four of you again," he said. "Ten points to each of you for your help."
"Oh, we didn't help Harry for points, professor," Rose said earnestly.
"I know," said Dumbledore simply. "Which is why you have earned them."
There was nothing any of them could say to that. Harry grinned at them and they just grinned back and said goodbye, though not before extracting a promise to come and visit them.
When just Harry and Dumbledore were left in the office, Dumbledore looked down at the small boy.
"Now, Harry, have you been good?" he asked.
"Yep!" Harry replied brightly, eliciting what sounded like a disbelieving screech from Fawkes. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in the bird's direction, but didn't say anything, deciding he could get the full story later.
"Well, Harry, Ron and Hermione are currently waiting for us in Professor Snape's classroom," Dumbledore said, holding out his hand for Harry to take. "Professor Snape has another potion for you."
"Yucky," said Harry, wrinkling his nose as they travelled down the moving staircase.
"Yes, I do agree," Dumbledore smiled. "However, you do need to take it. And you might be getting a little older."
Harry looked up at the headmaster with wide eyes.
"Will I forget things, Granpa?" he asked, his eyes starting to fill with tears at the very thought.
"Merlin, no, child!" Dumbledore laughed. "I wouldn't let you take it if Professor Snape said that it did that."
"Oh," said Harry quietly. He bit his lower lip and looked at his feet. "Will I go back?"
"Back?" Dumbledore enquired. "Back where, Harry?"
Harry shrugged, not even sure himself. He just knew that there was somewhere that he very much did not want to go back to.
"Well, you won't be leaving Hogwarts, Harry," Dumbledore said with a reassuring smile. "You'll stay here with all of us."
Harry perked up at that, making Dumbledore wonder if Harry had perhaps been talking about going back to the Dursleys. His downcast expression had looked somewhat odd on the generally cheerful boy, and it disturbed the headmaster that just the thought of that family could bring on such a change.
However, he decided that that was a thought that was best saved for later, perhaps when he was a little older and he could question Harry a little more thoroughly. Right now they had an appointment in the dungeons.
Professor Snape was waiting impatiently for them in the classroom, along with Ron, Hermione and Madam Pomfrey. The moment they saw Harry and the headmaster Hermione's eyes lit up and she rushed to Harry and hugged him.
"Harry!" she said. "I was so worried! Where did you go? Did you get to Professor Dumbledore's office? Did anyone help you?"
"Not to worry, Miss Granger," Dumbledore smiled. "He was safe and sound in my office when I found him and he had the help of four very kind individuals who I am sure Harry will want to introduce you to later."
"Can we start, now?" Snape snapped, the little patience he had left wearing even thinner.
"Yes, yes, of course," Dumbledore said, directing Harry to one of the tables when Hermione had let go of him and lifting him up so he could sit on it. "There you are, Severus."
"Here, Potter, drink this," Snape said, handing the boy a goblet.
Harry looked at the green potion inside and wrinkled his nose again in disgust. The potion neither smelt nice nor looked nice and he didn't particularly want to go anywhere near it.
"Come on, Harry," Ron encouraged while Hermione just smiled at him.
"But it's yucky," Harry complained.
"It's alright, Harry," Dumbledore said, eyeing Snape who looked like he was ready to force the potion down the poor boy's throat. "I'll give you a lemon drop after you drink it to get rid of the taste."
Harry's eyes lit up; much to Dumbledore's delight and Molly and Professor McGonagall's dismay Harry had discovered a liking for the little yellow sweets that rivalled the headmaster's. Which meant it was excellent incentive to get him to drink the potion.
"Just take a deep breath and drink it as fast as possible," Hermione suggested.
Harry did so and than gulped down the potion in the goblet. When he was done he let it drop to the floor and he shuddered at the awful taste.
It was as Snape was bending down to grab the goblet that it happened. Like before a brilliant light surrounded Harry, though this time it was a bright blue and it surrounded Harry for longer.
When it had finally ebbed away it was easy to see that he was not yet sixteen still, and Hermione wasn't sure whether to groan in frustration of sigh in relief. He was taller than he had been and Madam Pomfrey quickly waved her wand over him and smiled.
"What age?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
"Eight years and five months," the nurse announced as she ruffled Harry's hair and Dumbledore gave him a lemon drop. "Exactly four years old than he was five minutes ago. Seems you'll be caring for him a little while longer."
Hermione and Ron exchanged a glance and smiled.
Coming Up; Chapter Twenty – Experimenting with Magic; Caring for a now eight-year-old Harry Potter should be a cinch, right? No more tantrums, for a start, hopefully. But if Ron and Hermione think that life should get easier now… then they had better watch out because being the guardian of a very magically powerful Harry is about to get harder.
A/N; So, Harry is now eight years old! What terrors can an older Harry Potter, with more memories, magic and mischief inflict upon his poor guardians? –grins- Well, you'll just have to wait an see! Now, the points stand at, so far;
Hufflepuff; 20
Gryffindor;
Slytherin; 20
Ravenclaw; 30
I gave half points for a half guessed answer, so if you just guessed Hufflepuff or just Slytherin, you got five points. Where are all the Gryffindors?! You're falling behind! –grins- personally, I was always either a Ravenclaw or a Gryffindor for the most part, so I'm good! Go Ravenclaw!
Anyhow, I've thought, and I've decided that I'm going to give out 10 points for those that know what the next major shift and occurrence is going to be HINT it's easy to get, and I've already said it in one of the previous eighteen chapters. I think. If you can't be bothered checking, or it just isn't there, take a guess! (This is my way of saying; oops, writer's block made me forget to think about it until just this moment.)
Thanks so much to;
iluvchocs, Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, Siriusly-in-luv-wif-Sarcasm, Lena Yvonne, oxymoron8, Sakurabound, stag-star, Mikee, SaphirePhoenix, air maiden, bookaholic-au, The Midnight poster, tatewaki2000, hemotem, Leopardkala, boycrazy30008, Diamonde and grey-shadow-horse
With those reviews I have reached 237! I couldn't believe it when I saw, and I'm so happy and proud and thankful to everyone who has review!