Chapter 2: The Delegates Arrive
Days went by and Harry, once again with his emotionless, stern demeanor went back to normal. He didn't see much of Eleanor but thought it would be better for her to take some time out, he cursed himself for worrying about her; it was totally contradictory to his character. He was the Kaiser of Hogwarts, emotions had no uses for him in that role. Apart from that small problem, classes were dull as usual for the prodigy. Harry was often the envy of his peers, he was simply perfect in everything he did, the perfect student and duelist.
"Potions, Merlin I hate that class." Roger complained as the two walked towards the direction of the dungeons. Harry scowled deeply, Severus Snape, the Potion's Master was the scum of the planet in his opinion and should be given the Dementor's Kiss publically. That would be one show he would pay a fortune to watch, the man was nothing but a coward, an insignificant piece of dirt below Harry's boot.
TwoYearsAgo
"Potter detention after class!" Snape sneered when he saw Harry's perfect Draught of Peace lying in front of him.
"And pray, why should I listen to you Death Eater?" The response was calm,cold,quiet as Harry stared straight into the black eyes of Snape with intense hatred. Immediately Snape was violently thrown backwards into the shelves full of cauldrons and glass instruments with a loud crash. The entire class was too scared to move a muscle as the Kaiser of Hogwarts walked calmly around the desk, with a whirl of his fingers, four sharp glass shards impaled themselves deeply into Snape's arms and legs, not allowing any movement.
Everyone shuddered as they heard the painful screams and cringed as they heard a crack, the girls all turned away as Harry stomped on the Potion's Master's face with uncontrollable rage.
"One day…it'll be your soul the Dementors will be sucking out,and I'll be in the front row." Harry whispered with a cruel smirk and kicked Snape in the face one last time before walking out of the dungeons without a care in the world.
Harry had sent his message loud and clear, he was going to capture every Death Eater, follower of Voldemort and submit them, the more unwillingly, the better to the kiss of the Dementor. After the event, Dumbledore who was less than pleased by the confrontation and summoned him to his office.
"What were you thinking Harry?" Dumbledore yelled at him with rage. Harry made a note to mark the date as the day Dumbledore legitimately raised his voice against him.
"Me? I was just warning a piece of useless filth to stay out of my way." Harry said while crossing his legs, folding his arms and tilting his head sideways. Dumbledore was speechless, in all of his years; he had never seen Harry, which he considered to be one of his finest students and a grandson to behave in such a manner.
"Headmaster, enlighten me…how did a DeathEater get exempt from the Kiss? As I recall, it was you who ordered the exoneration." Harry said smoothly. Stung by the revelation of Harry's knowledge about the trial regarding to Igor Kakaroff, Dumbledore hardened his gaze as he knew Harry was an exceptional Legillimens like himself and a very powerful wizard that had the potential to become the next most powerful sorcerer in the world.
"That…is a matter between myself and Professor Snape." The ancient headmaster said.
"Hn…no matter, I have a hunch that the reason will be borderline pathetic… like everything that he is." Harry replied calmly while examining his fingernails. Dumbledore's hand twitched as fire place flared and two figures emerged.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER!YOU EXPLAIN YOURSELF RIGHT NOW!" Lily shouted as soon as she stepped out. James had a look between pleased and disappointment which Harry simply smirked at.Without looking at them, Harry simply waited until his mother was finish ranting by going through Arithmancy formulas in his mind.
"All Death Eaters deserve to rot in hell for an eternity, and I will be the one to send them there." He said very calmly and tried his best to not smirk at the image.
"Violence will solve nothing!" Dumbledore thundered, pacing edgily behind his desk.
"Oh really? You really believe that. Sir, you believe people like Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Fenrir Greyback and our dearest Snivellus really deserve a second chance instead of being butchered like the dogs they are?" Harry asked leaning forward in a mocking tone. Dumbledore stopped pacing and turned towards the black haired teen, he seemed to have problem speaking as he digested the question.
"I thoughtso…I think we're done here." Harry said softly standing up, and without another word walked towards the door, opening it and closing it behind him.
Harry and Roger took their seats at their favorite desk in the middle of the classroom. He kept a blank face as he heard all the chatter around him, Quidditch, potential boyfriends/girlfriends etc.
"How pathetic…" Harry thought, they would all turn out to be people of insignificance, forgotten quickly; something that Harry did not wanted to take part of. He had long noticed the dysfunctional ways the Wizard World had operated itself in and he was going to change it.
That is why; he had assembled several people for his future team. They weren't necessarily powerful but they were influential. Eleanor Zabini, Roger Davies, Cedric Diggory, Edward Malfoy, Cho Chang were all highly intelligent, powerful in their own unique ways but were all displeased with the current Ministry of Magic and its bigotry. When the Dark Lord returns, they'll be ready to change the world and the rest of the world would have to adapt or fall behind.
As Snape entered, Harry stuck out his foot suddenly and the greasy haired Potion's professor was sent sprawling onto the cold dungeon floor. Nobody dared to laugh as Snape stood up, turning around black eyes met green and at that moment Snape was fearful for his life. Nothing but a promise of eternal pain were etched deeply in the seventeen year old Champion Duelist's eyes, Harry had meant it when he said that he will enjoy watching Snape's getting the Kiss from a Dementor.
Snape would have never thought that there was someone that could surpass James Potter in humiliating him but he could do nothing since the boy was well superior in his magical capabilities.
Luckily for him, the class proceeded normally and no incidents occurred. As the week progressed, Harry noticed that something was off with his former mentor, Mad-Eye Moody.
"Drinking in classes and by the hour too…" Harry mused to himself softly as he surveyed the Black Lake from the edge on a grassy flat plain. His black robes billowing freely behind him, he couldn't help but think that something big was going to happen this year.
Ryan had told him earlier in the day that he was awoken by Longbottom's screams of horror in the middle of the night.
"What're you thinking about?" a soft, feminine voice broke Harry's thoughts as he turned his head sideways and saw Eleanor standing beside him.
"Nothing of importance." Harry retorted emotionlessly and crossed his arms across his chest.
"I've known you since we were in diapers Harry. You can't lie to me." Eleanor replied and giggle at the memory.
Harry scowled lightly but with a sigh said, "I can't help but wonder….if everything is connected."
"What'd you mean?" Eleanor asked.
"Bertha Jorkins' mysterious disappearance…The Dark Mark at the World Cup…Moody's reappearing from his retirement…the Triwizard Tournament." Harry said, his green eyes fixed on the horizon.
"When you say it that way…it sort of does sound like it was all planned." Eleanor said after a moment of reflection.
"But why Moody?" She asked.
"Hnnn…you're losing your touch Ellie." At this, Eleanor slapped her long childhood friend on the shoulder, eliciting a small smile from him. It was so rare to see Harry smile these days, he was always distant, cold, calculating and alienating everyone around him. Eleanor wished that they could return to when they were both five years old, when there was only the two of them. To her, Harry will always be the boy next door, her best friend and even if he was unresponsive, her first love. She wanted her Harry back, the Harry that wasn't so focused on becoming the strongest sorcerer on the planet, the Harry that laughed freely and played with her, the Harry that she loved.
"Harry?" A nine-year-old Eleanor was sitting in the backyard of Potter Manor with a nine year old Harry.
"Yeah?" Harry asked and a look of rare shock appeared on his face when Eleanor suddenly pecked him on the check and turned her face away, blushing furiously.
The memory, still fresh as if it had happened just yesterday, slowly faded in front of her as reality came crashing back down around her.
"Harry?" The king of Ravenclaw turned his head towards sideways in response, his forever glowing green eyes met with Eleanor's own soft blue ones.
"Do you think the world will really change?" Harry took a moment before answering her.
"It will…nothing in the world is permanent. But it won't change if people don't will it."
"Leave it to Harry to be all philosophical." Eleanor thought to herself with a smile.
"A storm is arriving." Harry stated softly out of the blue, his eyes fixed on the horizon once again. Eleanor looked onto the horizon, he was right. A barely hearable sound of thunder broke the silence along with a barely visible bolt of lightning.
"Did you notice anything off with Mad-Eye?" Harry suddenly inquired.
"Apart from constantly drinking in class and suddenly insulting my father, everything is in order." Eleanor stated with a heavy drip of sarcasm in her voice. Harry actually let out a chuckle at that particular remark, Eleanor smiled with him; she had not heard Harry laugh freely after the night when they had heard that the Dark Lord will one day return when they were sneaking down to listen to the grown ups in the living room in Potter Manor.
People didn't really understand why Harry was always delving into books and studying wand theories before and after starting Hogwarts instead of doing things that a child would normally do, everyone except her, that is.
She knew him better than anyone else, save his parents that he wanted to protect his siblings from the raging storm that was on the horizon. Harry, contrary to what people say about him was very loyal towards his younger brother and especially his baby sister, Rose.
"That girl would have serious trouble finding a boy to date." Eleanor mused to herself, Harry and Ryan were both overprotective beyond comprehension when it came to their sister, in addition to James Potter; it was pretty much a lost cause to whomever wished to date the youngest Potter.
Harry saw her chuckling to herself and with a raised eyebrow of amusement, decided to question her about what was so funny and when Eleanor refused to answer, began tickling her mercilessly despite her cries and laughs for mercy. Everything else was forgotten as Eleanor tried her best to fend off Harry's attacks with some of her own, it was if they had returned to that innocent but brief period of peace when they were both children.
Unknowingly to the couple, two pairs of eyes were watching them from behind a bunch of shrubs with a binocular.
"By Merlin, is that my brother and your sister?" A shocked Ryan exclaimed to an equally surprised Blaise Zabini. Blaise was an exact miniature of her big sister, with shoulder length golden blonde hair, beautiful blue sapphire eyes and aristocratic facial features.
"Not surprising, my sister is always talking about your brother. She has it bad for him." Blaise said with a wide smile. Ryan only raised an eyebrow at his close friend's statement, apart from Draco, Blaise was his best and closest friend as long as he could remember.
A sigh escaped the messy black haired fourteen year old, his brother never laughed anymore and was hell bent on driving everyone save his family away from him. Whenever he tried to subtly question him about it, he just repeated the same response "I'm preparing for the storm that will inevitably arrive." Ryan knew that his parents knew the real truth behind it all, and Dumbledore for that matter. His brother was never truly the same after his first training session with Mad-Eye Moody. Based on his lessons with said man, he had a pretty good idea what his brother's training sessions would have been like and man did he not envy him.
"I'm sure. But if my brother felt the same, he would have done something." Ryan replied sarcastically and cringed when Blaise punched him on the shoulder hard. Then after a while, the two younger Potter and Zabini watched as their older siblings walked off back towards the castle.
Ryan was about to follow when Blaise yanked him back down to the floor and with a questioning tone said, "What is that?" Turning to where his friend was staring at, Ryan saw a dark shape moving through the skies. From where they were, it looked like a flying house, then it became clear; the flying object was actually a carriage pulled by Abraxans, large horses with wings.
"The delegates must be arriving today." Blaise said as the two forth years walked back to the castle. Whilst everyone was seething with excitement over the delegates arriving, Harry found himself in his favorite spot on the balcony of the Astronomy Tower with a copy of one of his favorite plays, Hamlet by William Shakespeare in his hands. With him was Fenris, perched on his shoulder who was looking amusedly at his master.
"Why do you always read such depressing material?" He asked through their mental link.
"It's a classic, Shakespeare is and will always be immortal through his works. Very impressive." Harry responded while never once taking his eyes off the popular play.
"Would you think it is best if you joined the feast now? No doubt will there be a fascinating speech to listen to." Fenris said sarcastically. Harry smirked and after petting the eagle's soft feathery wings, he began his journey to the Great Hall.
Fleur Delacour wasn't in the best mood as she stepped out of the carriage, her clothes were not best accustomed to the cold climates of Scotland and she shuddered at the thought of more boys ogling her due to her Veela allure. It was bad enough back at her school already. Most women would want to be a Veela but to Fleur, it was more of a curse most of the time.
Men would stare and drool after her, but it was only because of her physical attributes and women would ostracize her simply because they believed that she was stealing their men. That was the main reason why she'd left France to compete in this tournament held in an entirely foreign country, to prove that she was more than a pretty face.
As her headmistress told them all to stand tall and act on their best, she heard footsteps and found herself staring as a tall, fairly looking, messy black haired boy with the greenest eyes she had ever seen walked calmly passed them. He was wearing knee length black leather boots, long, straight fitting black pants that complimented his long dancer like legs, a white button up shirt accompanied with a navy blue tie and a black v-neck sweater. A knee length black robe with a pronounced collar and tightly bound sleeves completed the effect.
She couldn't help but noticed the way he walked, it screamed vigilance and grace, it didn't hit her until he walked pass her did she realize that he didn't once look at her. Many of her female colleagues were giggling as they whispered frantically of how perfect the boy looked. An unknown sensation overwhelmed Fleur's senses as the boy's aura flared up, a beautiful graceful, yet bright silver light surrounded him.
She struggled with herself to control her body and it wasn't until the boy disappeared beyond the door was she able to relax.
"Fleur Isabelle Delacour checking a guy out…the world must be ending." Fleur scowled as she turned towards her best and only friend, Claire Fontaine. Claire had short curly chocolate brown hair, large, pixyish matching brown eyes and a good-natured face. Claire was very supportive of her friend knowing that she wasn't at fault with everything that happened around her and Fleur was extremely grateful for it.
"I wasn't…" Fleur feebly defended herself. "I was just curious as to why that man didn't look at me once. No one has done that before."
"Right, and you weren't fantasizing about having your legs wrapped around his waist while he ravishes you." Claire whispered back. Fleur glared at her but didn't get the last word as their headmistress signaled them to walk into the Great Hall.
Fleur hardened her face as she walked straightly and proudly passed the doors, she noticed that there were four tables each had a different banner above them and a long table that was no doubt the staff table several steps up. She ignored all the ogling and drooling directed at her from the male population as she walked pass, a particular redhead little boy was the worst. She watched with slight amusement as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, who was a somewhat tall and old man with a long white beard getting dwarfed completely by Madame Maxine while he kissed her Headmistress in greeting.
"My dear Madame Maxine," Dumbledore said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."
"Dumbly-dorr," said Madame Maxine, in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"
"Oh excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.
"My pupils," said Madame Maxine, waving a giant hand carelessly behind her. By now, Fleur was shivering against the cold as she covered her face and neck with her baby blue colored scarf. Madame Maxine, after talking with a giant man that was an astounding eight feet tall and three times as wide about the Abraxans, told them to have a seat. Claire dragged Fleur over to the table filled with blue tied students as their peers walked towards the same table. Fleur sat down and gulped when she met the glare from a familiar pair of green eyes.