Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or its characters
AN: Alright I am planning to do this story strictly as Harry's pov for at least the first few years but after last chapter I thought I might show the Dumbledore and the house heads opinions of Harry. I may add random povs into the story, you will quickly notice the difference as you read though. Anyway hope you enjoy chapter 4.
AN2: Last edited Nov 2012
Dumbledore's Pov
Albus Dumbledore sat in his office contemplating the young man that is so integral to his future plans, one Harry Potter. He had sent the boy to live with his muggle relatives away from the wizarding world, with the purest of intentions. Not only could he make an illegal blood ward strong enough to prevent anyone from locating him, but it was also so the boy would grow up loved by family. Away from the magical world or a magical family at least, so he wouldn't develop a big head for his so called actions, in the downfall of the dark lord. Something that being raised by a wizarding family would have definitely produced, he had seen it happen to others in the past.
Albus had an old squib acquaintance of his, Mrs Figg, watch over the boy as he grew, so he had a way to not only quickly get to the property through her floo if needed. But to ensure that any potential attack on young Harry would reach him before the ministry. Her reports in, always stated that he was a kind, timid boy. There were minor concerns of his small frame, a possible sign of malnourishment, with old rags for clothes that were many sizes too big. But Albus felt that the squib may have been exaggerating slightly. Albus wasn't sure what to make of this. He just assumed the family were poor, after all he didn't do much research on them before placing Harry in their care.
This thought pattern eased away any potential flaws that had been bubbling beneath the surface of his more negative thoughts though. If the Dursleys couldn't afford many nice things, well, Harry would turn out even better than he truly hoped. So when he finally comes to realize just how much money his family held, he wouldn't needlessly waste it, hopefully much like how many of the Weasley family turned out. Despite how well off young William and Charlie are now, they didn't throw their money around like many in the pureblood community. Besides rich guardians tend to make their young charges minds, think a certain way about how money and the world works. Albus didn't want that for the boy, which is why even though he was Harry's magical guardian, he never sent the family money to help raise him.
When Hagrid spoke of the boy he was quite surprised. Harry obviously didn't get along with his family in the least, Hagrid himself was quite upset with them, it was quite rare to see the kind hearted half giant so upset, to such a degree that he was yelling at the headmaster himself. But regardless of the larger man's personal opinions, he was even more proud of Harry for turning out to be as level headed as his two contacts had told him.
Also Hagrid stated Harry wasn't the small malnourished boy that craved attention, the boy that he consistently told of by Mrs Figg. His belief that the woman was edging towards making up stories to make him happy with the results seemed more and more likely. It seemed for an 11 year old, the boy was very well developed, seeming to radiate confidence and power much like an heir to a pureblood family would. He was quite concerned at why Mrs Figg spoke such different descriptions for so long, but after much thought, he realized it may be fear that drove the woman's actions. If Harry was developing so well, she may have thought Albus would revoke the offer for her paid house and comfortable life.
It was true as well, if Albus had gotten word of Harry getting to confident, he would have taken Harry and placed him with another family, one that would raise him to be just as he needed him to be, kind, timid and easy to please.
The trip to Diagon Alley was as expected from what Albus heard. The boy was in awe at the magical world, easing away any concerns that Harry may have met magicals at some point. Harry didn't seem to reach out or shy away from all attention given to him though, Albus couldn't help but smile thinking that was a very wise course of action. At the very least, Harry wouldn't be easily manipulated by some of the darker family's offers.
It would keep all those who wished to control the boy who lived at a distance, those who would try to manipulate and those who would follow, if Harry was indifferent, all the better. Even showing respect to the Goblins by bowing back was smart of the boy, but then he would have no idea of the wizarding customs with magical creatures either, which clearly helped in his dealings with the greedy creatures.
He also bought a large amount of clothing, quite a fair amount from what he was informed by Malkin herself. This brought back concerns in full force. Was Harry going to take the wrong path and splurge his money because he had it, use it in a way many pureblood children do? His concerns grew, thinking that if Harry was money hungry, he may accept bribes from some of the darker children in the school for services to their goals.
But it was only the start of the semester, perhaps Harry merely got a little excited over actually having money. That logic would make Mrs Figg right about having no clothes to truly call his own after all, buying a high security trunk to protect them from his relatives made sense too, if the boy disliked them as much as he now suspected. Albus only hoped that hate wasn't too great, he had yet to speak to the boy in question himself, he didn't want to make mistakes like he did with Tom in the past.
When Harry arrived at Hogwarts, Albus had to say the boy presented an aura of power and confidence, much like many pureblood children would strive for. Hagrid did state he bought books on pureblood customs, so perhaps he wished to fit in more. For a moment Albus was concerned the boy would end up in Slytherin though, but thankfully he was sorted into Gryffindor as he had hoped. A house full of light members that would surely steer him down the right path, Albus watched him with his housemates and was pleased at how he acted with them, speaking and listening happily like any other student. Yes, this boy was not a cold, calculated boy like Riddle was, his words carried emotion, not intent.
Albus's thoughts were disrupted from further internal discussion, when his Heads of Houses walked into the office. Today was the end of the first week, like every year, they were here to discuss their new charges before their first staff meeting. They spoke about each new student that was sorted into their respective houses, Albus's eyes twinkled when he heard even the children of death eaters, were not showing obvious signs of dark hearts, proving to him that there was hope for them yet. He had expected the young Malfoy heir to be as much of a bully as his father, with his target likely being the boy who lived, but surprisingly he was acting civil according to his staff.
"Yes, I can see young Miss Perks will be an asset to your house Pomoma. Now though, the one I must admit I am most curious about is up. What do you all think of young Mr Harry Potter" Unlike the previous students, everyone was eager to talk at once, not at all surprising the headmaster. Raising one aged eyebrow, all in the room silenced, nodding his head towards his deputy, he stated "Minerva, you are her head of house, you speak first. The rest of you may have your say after, go ahead"
"Albus, I have to admit, he was not what I expected in the least. Just his skills themselves have surprised me greatly" She paused as she let that sink into the others, who were nodding their heads in agreement "The boy seems to have inherited his father's skill in Transfiguration, as well as his charm with the girls, from what I've seen with his interaction with some of the girls in the class. He was one of only two students that managed to turn the match into the needle during the first class, with the second doing so only after he aided her"
Here McGonagall got a slight smirk, pride showing through her eyes "You should have seen it Albus, never in all my years teaching Gryffindor and Slytherin classes has this happened before. He actually managed to release the tension in the room completely. I couldn't see any Slytherins that outwardly showed their dislike for the boy. Well Mr Zabini did seem annoyed at his proximately to Miss Greengrass, if his glares at the boy and subtle looks her way are any indication. Mr Weasley was not to impressed with his choice in seating arrangement, but by the next class he was fine as well"
That got the others to raise their eyebrows in surprise, the Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalries had existed possibly since the days of the castle's founding. Albus stroked his beard thoughtfully, but to a keen observer, they would notice that his eyes were not twinkling as usual. The headmaster was inwardly quite suddenly concerned, it sounded almost like the boy was building his forces much like Tom did in his youth, charming and controlling all around him. Making up his mind, he got up and collected his pensive "Deposit the memory in here Minerva, I think we would all like to see how he achieved this"
Noticing the questioning look in his deputy's eyes, he nodded gently and she put her wand to her temple. From it, she pulled a long blue string like substance out, than deposited it within the bowl. Albus tapped the bowl and a transparent image flickered to life above the bowl. The Headmaster and the heads of houses, watched as he moved Miss Greengrass, getting the classes attention. Made an entertaining scene, that loosened the tension in the room as Minerva stated, with another simple action of hiding from Ron Weasley, got the entire class relaxed. They all noticed Severus had a pensive look on his face, when Harry used another Gryffindor to release the tension, clearly that prevented him from stating what he wished. They all knew the large rant they would have had, if Harry had used a Slytherin instead.
Curiosity peaked in the headmaster's mind, wondering what was going through his youngest head of house's mind. Looking over his glasses Albus stated "What bothering you my boy?" Watching the man give off an annoyed sigh, he said nothing, just pulled his wand and like his co-worker, deposited his memory into the pensive. With another tap Albus allowed the memory to shimmer to existence. They all witnessed Severus make the assumption that Harry was abusing his students, removing him to the Gryffindor side of the room. Once more they all appeared surprised, as in their experience, this would have led to name calling and the like amongst the two houses. Instead they were all silent, all looking confused at the Professor's actions.
They then watching as Severus began taunting, bullying and generally trying to goad Harry into losing points. Not only did the young man not fall for his taunts, he remained calm and collected. Answered all questions correctly, as well as doing so respectfully. Their eyes all widened when he returned his points that he deducted, even going as far as giving Harry 10 points for his perfect potion at the end of class. Mind you he did so quietly so the students didn't hear him give them, well they thought so anyway, but Minerva and Albus both saw Harry's mouth twitch as if he reacted to it. It was likely a coincidence though "The boy is not his father, he makes adequate potions" Albus's eyes were twinkling madly, coming from Severus that's the closest thing to 'I like him'.
The shock from his co-workers quickly switched to amusement, as the usually calm and collected Minerva McGonagall loudly exclaimed "Severus you gave a Gryffindor points"
Severus muttered something under his breath while the others laughed. Albus twinkling got stronger "Filius, Pomona have either of you got anything to add?" From what he had seen so far, it wasn't like he was gathering followers, merely trying to make friends with as many people as possible. Mrs. Figg did state he was attention deprived so trying to be popular would make sense, James was much the same in his youth. It was that memory from Severus that made him belief that he shouldn't be worried about Harry at all. He seemed to act like a combination of his parents, nothing at all like the boy who grew up to become one of the worst dark lords in history.
Filius merely stated "Mr Potter also is civil to my house. He gets along well with my student Miss Patil. Also I believe I should state that Ms Granger appears quite frustrated with him" Although Albus would never say it out loud, he had great respect for skilled witches. However, he was quite pleased that Harry was outshining a muggleborn. Unlike most in the wizarding world, he wasn't so naive to believe muggleborn's weren't needed for the magical population to grow and prosper. But that didn't mean he liked the fact that there were muggleborn students, doing much better than half or pureblood students.
Pomona declared "He is also civil to my house members, he willingly went to work with my own Ms Bones and Ms Abbott when the numbers were uneven, a Gryffindor would had have to work with a few of my students. Mr Potter not only appeared to get along well with them, he has appeared to have become quite good friends with them, and in such a short amount of time. If nothing else, the boy is charismatic and defended their honour when Mr Weasley spoke some harsh words of them"
Severus let out a loud snort "If I may Headmaster, Weasley appears to be some sort of Potter fanboy. He appears jealous of Potter talking to anyone other than him, even if they are from their own house. To be honest, Weasley reminds me much of Black in first year" They all knew who the man was speaking off, as quite a few eyes in the room darkened. "Regardless, Potter also seems to be a very accomplished Occlumens, at least he is more than just a natural Occlumens" Albus's eyes twinkled merrily again at this information. It truly pleased him to hear this, it was one of the key concerns he had held since he first saw the scar on the young Harry Potter's forehead. "I tried to scan his surface thoughts, as I was trying to goad him, to see if his calmness was only on the outside. Not only did he detect my attempt, but he pushed my probe back with slightly more force"
Albus could see Minerva looking completely livid at this piece of information, cutting her off before she could have her say, he stated "Hagrid did say he bought an Occlumency book during his trip for his school things. If I had to guess, I'd say he was a natural Occlumens, he has merely reinforced his defences. To think he's already so far, I am curious how he could handle a proper assault, but alas I cannot allow such a test. While scanning surface thoughts isn't illegal Severus, it isn't condoned, I do hope this is not a regular occurrence?"
Albus let out a mental sigh of relief, when he saw Minerva back down, he hoped Severus would see reason. After all, he was fully aware that Severus regularly scanned students minds, he authorized it so he could determine those who may join Tom's army when he returned. Thankfully Severus wasn't a spy for him for nothing, as the man nodded his head in agreement "Very good. Now on to the matter of Ms Granger, I believe she is a high achiever, she would have been much better off in your house Filius. But I do believe, from what I have seen so far, Mr Potter will sort her out himself. Now let us begin the first staff meeting for this year"
Back to Harry
Harry once more awoke early the following morning, so decided to do the homework that was assigned to him on their first week. His housemates were well aware he seemed to wake up early everyday so they shouldn't be too bothered with him being done. Even Hermione should be somewhat calmer, now that he had shattered the walls that were isolating her from the others. Although Harry knew getting her to accept he was simply better than her would take much longer, he could tell she could be a good friend someday. But the way the girl acted, that would be a long time coming. He had an annoying feeling that had Merlin not helped him, they would have been close due her to in the face attitude, or both being on the outside, but Merlin did help him, so those thoughts were useless.
Unfortunately, thanks to his ability to pull up information with his Occlumency mind skills, he finished the few essays he was assigned rather quickly. Harry lay on his bed pondering what to do for the next hour, when curfew ended, so he could head down to the hall for an early breakfast, there was only so much reading he could do that would keep him entertained. He would much rather actually do something, suddenly an idea popped into his head.
Harry hadn't had a chance to test out his fire elemental abilities yet, well to be truthful, he also had no idea on how to bring it out. Merlin didn't exactly leave him a manual for how his many abilities really worked or anything, he would just harp on about greater potential and similar statements. For the next hour, he tried to call it out into the palm of his hand, believing it to be as natural as his wandless ability. But so far, absolutely nothing had appeared, not even a spark or a whisper of flame.
Sighing in frustration, he decided to try out something smaller like a finger, glaring at the finger like it had done something wrong. If anyone had been looking at his eyes at that moment they would have gasped, his Emerald green irises began to glow lightly, as his frustrations grew, his anger being to boil, the eyes brightened more. Harry began to feel something, like a burning deep in his body, he couldn't locate or even compare the feeling to anything. Suddenly he saw his surroundings were lighter than they should have been, his anger fading to surprise. But the glow faded with his rage, with a sigh, he decided to head to the hall for breakfast.
Once he got to the hall he noticed Hermione, Fay, Neville and Keelah so went over to sit with them. Confusion entered his mind since he didn't hear Neville get up and leave the dorm, although he was focussed on figuring out his ability. They were talking about the flying lessons they would be doing at midday. Fay being a Quidditch fanatic was giving them tips on how to make it easier. He was pleased to see that Hermione was now putting in the effort like he asked her to attempt.
Unfortunately once Fay was done Hermione decided to speak "But I read you had to –" Harry let out a loud groan and the bushy haired girl turned to him, surprisingly without a glare "What?"
"Hermione, can you ride a bike?" She looked at him strangely and nodded. "Did you read a book to learn how to ride a bike?" Blinking a few times she shook her head "Learning to ride a broom is like learning to ride a bike. Brooms are the wizarding world's version of a bike you have to actually try to do it through trial and error. Tips might help and they might not, every person is different"
The girl in question merely smiled sheepishly and thanked him before turning back to her new friends. Harry let out a sigh of relief. Obviously his little speech did some good after all. He turned to Neville who was watching the exchange curiously "How about you Neville, you nervous?"
Neville nodded meekly "I've never been on a broom before. Gran never let me near one, she thought if I did I'd lose control and hurt myself or -" Stopping himself before he finished and he looked down at his plate.
Harry was inwardly confused at how Neville got into Gryffindor but obviously he must have potential or the hat wouldn't have put him here. Thinking about what he just said then and in the past he thought his family might be the cause of his lack of self worth. Knowing exactly what that felt like thanks to the Dursley's he decided to help him out.
"Well that just sounds foolish on her part. Just follow the instructions and don't panic, I know you'll do fine Neville." The boy's head snapped up and looked for any deceit in Harry's eyes and features but seeing only honesty and confidence. Smiling at Harry brightly he said "Thanks Harry"
Soon after most of the students began to file into the hall and exciting discussions of flying came from the first years as the older years talked about how the 'firsties' would do. Ron had run in out of breath obviously having run the whole way to the hall, he sat down next to Harry and glared him "How come you didn't wake me up?"
Harry blinked in surprise and looked at him "I came here at 6, since you complain about getting up early for classes I didn't see a point of waking you that early on the weekend"
Ron's mouth opened in shock "Why would you want to wake up early on the weekend, there's no classes, its barmy!"
Harry merely shrugged "I'm a light sleeper, do you want me to wake you up at 6 everyday?"Ron shook his head frantically and paled slightly. Harry shrugged and went back to his conversation with his housemates.
Neville received a glass remembrall when the mail arrived, when it turned Red Neville began to panic. His housemates began listing random things he might have forgotten. It turned out he had forgotten the password to the common room and Harry sighed before whispering it to him and the ball turned clear again.
After lunch the first year Gryffindors headed out the entrance hall towards the Quidditch pitch where the flying lessons would take place. Once they got there they noticed 20 brooms and the Slytherins waiting for them. Tension seemed to rise while they waited and since the lesson wasn't due to start for another few minutes Harry walked over to Daphne and stood a foot away from her and just stared at her.
She stared right back and all students looked at them waiting to see what would happen. "Potter" Daphne greeted with a nod, Harry just kept on staring at her not even acknowledging what she said.
Madam Hooch then arrived and was about to ask what they were doing before Tracey asked "Hey Harry, uh what are you doing?" He ignored her and kept on with his staring competition with Daphne.
A few of the Gryffindor's tried to get a response out of him but he ignored them as well, Draco also tried getting the same treatment. Finally Daphne was starting to get annoyed and stated "What are you staring at Potter?" He didn't even blink as he kept staring. 10 seconds passed and Daphne narrowed her eyes "That's enough Potter, stop now" She demanded but Harry ignored her.
Her right eye twitched after another 10 seconds and hissed "Harry-" Harry interrupted her before she began her tirade with a smile and his eyes closed "Daphne, how are you? You excited?"
Daphne didn't respond she just glared before stating "What the hell was that about?" Everyone was watching the interaction like one of them would explode, even Madam Hooch was silent, curious as to what would happen.
Harry opened his eyes and tilted his head "I was waiting for you to greet me" A few observers laughed loudly for a few moments, they stopped quickly when they realized no one else joined in
Daphne's eye twitched again "I did greet you Potter" Harry's smiled vanished and his face went blank again as he began staring at her once more.
Daphne growled lightly before she stomped her foot "Harry ="
Harry interrupted her again with a smile once more on his face "Yes Daphne?"
The young blonde was looking quite angry at the messy haired wizard at this point, her face was going red and her eyebrow was beginning to twitch irritably "Damnit Potter. Will you stop". Harry's face once more went blank. Draco seemed to recall what Harry had told him '...just call me Harry, not a fan of the whole surname greeting thing...' and began to chuckle to himself. A few others, who also remembered Harry wanting to be called by his first name began to laugh too.
After a minute of Daphne glaring now quite a few people had caught on to what Harry was doing and joined in with those laughing, giggling or chuckling lightly. When Tracey suddenly joined in on the laughing having caught on, Daphne whirled to her best friend "What's funny about Pot –"
Harry rolled his eyes at Daphne still not picking up on what he wanted, deciding to take things to the next level, he quickly reached out and covered her mouth before she said it again "Bad girl"
Daphne removed his hand from her mouth roughly, spun around after seeing Tracey's wide grin and growled out "Harry d-"
Harry kissed her on the cheek making her freeze with a light blush before he said "Good girl" By now everyone minus Ron, Goyle, Crabbe and a few of the other boys had caught on and were laughing, smiling or sending Daphne jealous glares. One Slytherin was glaring so hard at Harry that if looks could kill...
Daphne meanwhile was still confused and stuttered out "W-wha-" Tracey giggled before whispering in her ear and her eyes widened before turning back to Harry and narrowing her eyes once more. "You could have just asked me Harry"
"Where's the fun in that? Plus you wouldn't have gotten that kiss" He stated with a big grin that got wider when she blushed. The group heard a cough and turned to see Madam Hooch with a smirk on her face.
"Alright then, shows over. Everyone go stand by a broom" No one moved right away and she barked "Come on, hurry up, hurry up!" They all scattered and took their places, Harry wasn't sure how it happened but Ron had managed to get the spot to his left with Daphne on his other side and Tracey next to her.
Madam Hooch blinked when she noticed that unlike usual, there wasn't one house on either side, they were mixed. Shrugging after being told of the influence of the famous first year, she barked out "Now stick your arm above your broom and say UP" There was multiple sounds of "UP". Only Harry's, Draco's, Blaise's and surprisingly Neville's came up on the first call. Most others after the next few, Harry sighed when he heard the 'tones' that the remaining people were using to 'command' their broom up.
Sighing loudly he stated "Come on you are meant to be giving it a command not asking it politely. Command it to come up don't ask it too." Noticing that Hermione was one of the few that was struggling the most, plus the fact she was next to Ron, so closest to him, he decided to help her out a bit. "Hermione think of it as an animal, one that you can't reach that you want to come, command it to come to you"
Looking at him in confusion she tried it his way, she said sternly "UP" and the broom shot into her hands. She let loose an excited noise as it worked finally. After that the remaining people's brooms shot up quickly and they all gave Harry grateful grins or nods.
"Thank you Mr Potter, I'll have to use that method in the future for the stragglers. Now all of you mount it like this" She demonstrated the right way, than she began walking to each person, correcting people's grips, when she corrected Draco, Ron laughed loudly. Before Draco could retort, Harry smacked Ron on the back of his head making him groan and curse to himself quietly, Draco looked quite pleased.
They began practicing simple manoeuvres a few feet from the ground and she asked those she knew wouldn't be able to handle real flight to sit it out and gave the option for anyone else that wasn't confident enough. Neville looked over to Harry and he smiled encouragingly that gave Neville the confidence to join those flying properly.
In the end those that chose to go were Harry, Ron, Neville, Tracey, Daphne, Fay, Draco, Blaise and Theodore Nott. Hooch took off slowly asking them to follow, she started to pick up the pace steadily and they began ascending.
Hooch had them doing practicing the same manoeuvres they did on the ground and she was impressed with some of the skill some of them possessed. Potter stood out by far though and she called him over to ask him to stay behind to try some harder moves after the lesson.
Just after Harry agreed to stay back they heard a shout "NO my remembrall" Harry turned to Neville and saw a glint falling towards the ground and without another thought he shot towards it. His fingers grazed it but he couldn't get a good enough grip and it fell straight down. Ignoring the others shouts, he did a flip and shot towards it again being completely vertical with the ground. He pushed the broom as fast as it could go and was making it closer to the ball. He didn't pay attention to the ground and focused on the task at hand.
His hand clasped around it 40m from the ground and he tried to pull up sharply but at the speed he was going caused him to continue descending. 20m he felt the speed reducing significantly and cut out the screams he heard nearby. 10m he was worried it wouldn't be enough and it was strange, it felt like his descent was slowing down. 1m his feet inches from the ground he levelled out and came to a complete stop.
Harry let out a sigh of relief and turned to his left seeing his classmates either staring at him in shock or awe. He heard simultaneous shouts of "MR POTTER". He blinked before he hopped off the broom and turned to the first voice, Professor McGonagall stood stock still, clutching her chest with a look of pure shock embedded on her face.
He then turned around to the second voice, Madam Hooch looked at him in awe and he couldn't help but grin when thinking of the two Professors opposite reactions to his catch. He heard McGonagall mutter "Never in all my years" As his fellow first years landed, he walked over and gave Neville his ball back. Turning back to his head of house, expecting a punishment for 'reckless behaviour', all she said was "Come with me Mr Potter"
Harry looked over and shrugged at the shocked looks of his friends. As he began walking over to McGonagall, suddenly everyone ran up to them, and began trying to appeal to the strict teacher, even Hooch defended him. Sighing McGonagall merely stated "Now Mr Potter, follow me"
They arrived outside an empty classroom and Professor McGonagall left Harry inside. Just as his patience was beginning to thin Harry's eyes widened for a moment when he saw who entered and got a massive grin, he turned to his head of house and asked "Are you putting me on the team Professor?"
Oliver Wood captain of the Quidditch team's eyes widened, he too turned to his head of house in surprise. The Professor too seemed shocked that Harry knew who Wood was already, and correctly deducing what she had planned. With a small smirk in place she stated "That's not up to me Mr Potter, Wood here is the captain of the team"
Turning to Wood she stated "He caught a snitch sized ball during a high speed dive and pulled up inches from the ground. The boy seems to have inherited more from his father then I thought" Noticing Harry's inquisitive look she merely stated "He was good enough to play professionally when he graduated, he instead chose to join the Auror corps and help in the war effort"
Wood however looked extremely happy at this turn in events "This is perfect, the team already knows him, all we needed was a seeker since the team's other spots are already full. Also no one will guess Harry is the seeker, if we keep this low key he can be our secret weapon! He has a good build for a first year, better than most I've seen, Merlin he could probably take on a few of the older years. Ah but he'll need a broom Professor."
"Not to worry wood, I'll speak with the Headmaster about getting such things sorted, I'd suggest getting Potter up to speed with the game rules and the like." McGonagall stated quickly.
When Wood was dismissed when he started to rant about the Quidditch cup, Harry voiced the unasked question "Who's going to pay for it though Professor?"
She blinked before she stated "As you were left with your muggle relatives, Professor Dumbledore became your magical guardian for our world. He can make transactions on your behalf until you reach the reach adulthood"
Harry instantly made a note to inquire to any transactions over his stay with his family from the Goblins at a later date. It wasn't that he didn't trust the man who was deemed the leader of the light, but he still wanted to make sure. "Uh does he have access to only my trust vault or my family vault as well?"
The Transfiguration teacher got a scowl on her face before stating "I'm not sure how you know of your family vault Mr Potter, such things aren't usually told to one in your position until they are the age of majority. However, family vaults require authorisation of the current head of house to enter, a guardian may not, with no current head of house, no one may enter. Why do you ask Mr Potter?"
Harry ran a hand through his hair and gave a sheepish grin before he stated "I kinda withdrew my monthly limit the day I went with Hagrid, to get my school things. The Headmaster would not be able to withdraw anymore. Also the bag that contains the galleons according to the Goblins is designed that only I can use it to make transactions"
Although he knew he could authorize another he wanted to make sure the headmaster had not tapped into his funds. Not that he cared for the money a great deal, but it would show if the old wizard was trustworthy. With a stern look in her eyes, she eyed Harry for some time. With a great sigh she relented "Very well Mr Potter, come with me we'll see the Headmaster now and see about allowing you to go out to get a broom in Diagon Alley"
They arrived at the Headmaster's office and Harry looked around in wonder at all the strange devices, former school leader's portraits and a beautiful red, orange Phoenix that immediately took a liking to him. After a loud trill, it flew to him to sit on his arm once he was seated, rubbing it's head affectionately against him. "His name is Fawkes and it would appear he is quite taken with you Mr Potter" Albus Dumbledore stated eyes twinkling like crazy at the scene, it just proved to him all the more that the young man in front of him was completely in the light.
After Professor McGonagall explained the situation to the old Headmaster, he stroked his beard thoughtfully. Casting the tempus charm, he sat back and eyed Harry, feeling a light probe against his mental barrier, the old man chuckled softly "Well I don't see why not, Harry would you like to go now? There's plenty of time before dinner and I had no other plans for the rest of the day".
Both McGonagall and Harry looked up surprised at the offer to personally take Harry into Diagon Alley. Harry was slightly irked about the probe, but he was the headmaster and Harry was requesting to leave the school grounds on his own. "Yes sir, that sounds fine, I've already completed my set homework so haven't got anything to do today either"
"Very well, come then, we'll floo to the Leaky Cauldron and go from there. Minerva I ask that you not reveal where we go to anyone else, people may see it as me playing favourites." Here Albus cast a stern gaze at his deputy, more for show then anything, as some of the portraits laughed. Minerva merely rolled her eyes before nodding crisply and leaving the room.
"Now Harry have you ever used the floo before?" Harry just raised an eyebrow and the headmaster chuckled "No, of course not. Forgive me, with your attitude, it is like I'm speaking to one versed in our ways. You have my apologies. All you have to do is throw some of this powder-" Opening the container containing the floo powder and showing Harry "-and toss it into the flames like so, they will turn green, you step into it and call out your destination. In this case 'The Leaky Cauldron', I'll go first to demonstrate then you follow after"
Once the headmaster saw the boy understood he vanished into the green flames. Harry copied him and eyes widened and felt dizzy as he was spinning at high speeds before it stopped with him tumbling out of the Leaky Cauldron fireplace. Somehow he managed to stay on his feet and he heard chuckling, turning he saw Dumbledore's eyes twinkling "Not my favourite form of travel but it is on of the more convenient methods. Come now Harry, we shouldn't waste to much time dawdling"
Following the headmaster they entered Diagon Alley and multiple people greeted Dumbledore and eyed Harry curiously. Finally they arrived at Quidditch Quality Supplies and entered the store, the man behind the counter saw Harry and stated "Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts lad?"
His eyes then travelled to Dumbledore and widened for a moment "It's not a problem, I gave Mr Potter permission to come here to purchase a broom. I'm his escort"
The man eyes widened again before glancing at Harry's forehead where his hair covered the lightning shaped scar. "Of course Headmaster, now what were you looking for Mr Potter"
Thinking it over for a moment he stated "Uh well I've been told the Nimbus 2000 is the best out at the moment, how much is that?"
The owner responded "80 galleons" with a bored look in his eye, as if that is the question he gets asked very often. Harry blinked at the price, everyone spoke of how much brooms cost. Glancing around at various other brooms in the store, he took notes of the price tags and realized just how rich he must be.
Harry contemplated buying new brooms for the whole team, not only would it give his team an advantage but people would assume he had bought his way on the team so would underestimate him. That and the fact he was a first year would add to those thoughts. "Ok I'd like 7 Nimbus 2000s"
The shop owner's eyes bulged out when he heard what the boy who lived wanted "E-excuse me? I think I misheard what you said"
Harry just grinned wider before he repeated "I'd like 7 Nimbus 2000s"
Now the man was sure what he heard was right he got a greedy glint in his eyes before running to the back of the shop. A few minutes later he came back with a bag. "Since you're buying multiple brooms I'm reducing the total cost to 500 galleons, no negotiations. The inside space of this bag has been expanded and all 7 are on a rack inside the bag. Is that all for today sir?"
Harry sighed at the sir comment, thought for a moment before asking "Out of curiosity, when is the next model set to be released?"
The man blinked in surprise, looking thoughtful "Well that would be the 2001, it is going through the official testing right now. If you were looking at getting one, you'd have to wait until March at the earliest"
Nodding his head in understanding, Harry thought for a moment "That's fine, I'll think about that later. What is the next best model out right now after the 2000 model?"
Once more the man looked shocked, but shook his head "That would be the Cleansweep seven broom sir, not as good as the 2000 of course. But it is easily the closest competitively on the market. Also cheaper, being 50 galleons"
Turning to the headmaster, Harry stated "Sir, what is the best broom on any of the House teams at the moment"
Dumbledore was startled at the question, he was wondering what Harry got the Nimbuses for, this explained that question, but to think of the other teams as well. Pondering the boy's question he stated cheerily "I do believe the best is cleansweep fives on a few of the Slytherin & Ravenclaw teams Harry. Why do you ask?"
"I don't think it would really make for an exciting match, if we completely dominate the field with superior brooms sir" Turning back to the shop employee, who had the greediest glint Harry had seen yet he stated "Can I get 21 Cleansweep Sevens. Also 7 broom clean and repair kits, your best brand"
The man looked absolutely ecstatic, taking back the bag he put Harry's nimbuses in, he went to the back of the shop and Harry heard the loud scream of joy, showing the man clearly didn't think of using a silencing charm. Coming back out he gave the bag back to Harry calmly, even if his hands were shaking slightly. "Due to the amount you bought sir, I shall reduce the total to 1450 Galleons total. I also included for free, 7 broom polishing kits" Harry nodded, pulled out the vault bag, said the amount and watched as 1450 galleons appeared on the counter. Thanking the man, he left with the headmaster eyeing him curiously, seeing the bag and knowing that the young man filled the bag with the monthly limit. The shop employer called out an eager "Please come back again".
As they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron Dumbledore kept watching Harry intently before he asked "Early Christmas present shopping Harry?"
Harry looked up with a confused expression before his eyes widened. He had never received Christmas or birthdays presents before. The Dursley's always made an extra special effort to give him twice as many chores on those days. It was now that he realized he would have to buy presents for each of his new friends and he might even receive a few. But what was he meant to buy them? Would they even want them?
Meanwhile Dumbledore's eyes had started to twinkle seeing Harry's confused expression that went to shock and then panic. Once they got back to his office he chuckled before saying "Not to worry my boy I won't tell anyone about them" Completely misreading Harry's inner turmoil.
That snapped Harry out of his musings before he said "No Professor, these aren't for my friends. They are for my teammates and opposition. I'm just slightly worried, you just reminded me that I'll have to go Christmas shopping though and I'm not sure what to buy any of them. I've never had a present or bought presents before, so I'm not really sure what to do"
The twinkle that is usually present in Dumbledore's eyes faded out of sight for a moment. Not expecting that answer, but soon enough they returned full force when he realized how different Harry was to Tom just for thinking the way he was "Well that was very generous of you Harry. I'm sure your team mates will be most appreciative of them, but I would recommend that you not reveal you got the brooms for the other teams."
Harry blinked before smiling "Actually sir, I was hoping you could help me out there. I was thinking they could be a donation to the school teams from a generous donator."
Chuckling softly Dumbledore agreed to go along with the plan. Harry took out the brooms for the other teams, for Dumbledore to sort out. "As for Christmas presents my boy, I find the least obvious thing they expect makes the best presents. However, try to make it something they will like" Dumbledore stated in a Grandfatherly fashion.
Harry looked at the bag that contained the Nimbus brooms for his team and asked "Sir is it possible for me to somehow get straight to my dorm room? I want to put these in my trunk but I don't want anyone to see the bag since it has that on it" Pointing to the bright logo saying Quidditch Quality Supplies.
Dumbledore stroked his beard before calling out "Botty" A small humanoid creature with massive eyes and pointy ears popped into the room before bowing. "This is a house-elf Harry, the elves that work here are actually tied to the wards themselves so they are able to use their version of apparation. Botty can you take Harry to the First year Gryffindor dorm rooms. Make sure no one is there first"
The elf popped out and a few moments later popped back "There is being no firsties there sir" He nodded once and the elf took Harry's hand and Harry felt an odd squeezing sensation before he appeared in his room.
Turning to the elf in curiosity he said "Thank you Botty"
The little elves eyes widened before she bowed dramatically "You is kind wizard, you is calling Botty if you needs anything sir. Botty is always ready to help Mr Harry Potter" Then she popped out as she had come before Harry had the chance to ask how she knew he was Harry Potter.
Harry placed the Brooms in his third compartment just in case one of his dorm mates had heard him mutter the password for the first two by chance before he walked out into the common room. The noise instantly went quiet and he blinked once, twice then said "Uh Hi" Immediately questions started to be thrown around.
"Weasley told us you got expelled" "What happened, you've been gone for hours" "Is it true you pulled up from a high speed dive inches from the ground" "Harry that catch was awesome" "How did you come from the dorms, we've been here waiting for you"
They began to come more and more in number and he sighed dramatically, he looks to the twins who got matching grins. One loud bang later and the room went quiet again, Harry had to give the boys credit, they knew how to get the effect they want. Running a hand through his hair he grinned sheepishly "I'm not in any trouble they just wanted to talk and Dumbledore brought me here after our chat"
That caused even more questions since he had to see the Headmaster and he remembered the password to get into his office as he stated "I'm not in any trouble, we got into an argument about what was better, muggle chocolate or wizarding lollies" There was complete silence before they all began yelling out questions even louder while the other half began cheering.
He merely shook his head and began walking to the portrait hole and somehow got out without anyone noticing, as the portrait shut he heard the distinct voice of Ron yelling "Hey where'd Harry go?" Knowing they'd figure it out in a few moments he ran towards the hall. When he was sure he was alone after focusing on scents and noises around him he went as fast as he could go making record time.
Walking into the great hall Draco made his way over to him "What happened Harry? When my father hears of this-" Harry merely chuckled at the boy's odd protective nature "I'm not in any trouble, I was just talking to the headmaster"
Draco nodded and retook his place between Crabbe and Goyle. Daphne and Tracey walked over having overheard what he just said and pulled him out into the entrance hall "What did you have to talk to the headmaster about Harry?" Tracey asked with concern written all over her features.
Daphne eyes had a concerned gaze but her face betrayed no emotion. Harry made a show of thinking of what to say and he deadpanned "It's a secret"
"What do you mean it's a secret Harry?" Daphne demanded, her face now sporting a scowl.
Harry merely gave her a wide grin "You're cute when you make that face Daphne" Causing her scowl to deepen
"Don't change the subject" Tracey stated while rolling her eyes at his flirting.
Harry took a step back in shock "Tracey how could you think I would ever think of changing the subject about a pretty girl. What do you take me for, a normal 11 year old boy?"
Both girls exclaimed "HARRY" Daphne's scowl and Tracey's pout was too much for the young wizard and he let out a barking laugh.
Once he realized they were still looking at him expectantly, he sighed "Fine, fine, damn pretty faces taking advantage of me" He waved them to come closer and they both approached him eyeing him suspiciously as they did so. He whispered "Can the two of you keep a secret?"
They looked at each other then at him before nodding their heads, he took a deep breath and they watched him in anticipation. "I can't decide which of you is prettier"
They both smacked an arm each causing him to laugh loudly, once he stopped he said "If you really want to touch me that badly, all you had to do was ask"
The look in Tracey's eyes unnerved him slightly, but the heated glare in Daphne's made him inwardly laugh again, she kept glaring at him and he sighed before saying "Alright alright, I was made seeker on the Gryffindor team" Causing both girls eyes to widen in surprise "We were discussing how to get me a broom and all that. Oh you two are the only students that know now so try to keep it quiet" He looked at Tracey when he said quiet and she just grinned back at him.
They walked back into the hall and Harry immediately went to Alicia, Angelina and Katie Bell and whispered to them "Did Wood tell you?" The three nodded and he stated "Can you make sure the twins don't go yelling about it or tell Ron, I don't want the whole school to know, best to keep it a surprise for the first game" The girls agreed and he left to go sit by Neville and he gave the same excuse he gave in the common room.
2 weeks later
The last few wks passed by with Harry maintaining his constant top spot in all his classes. The Professors were beginning to call him a Prodigy since he always seemed to grasp new spells within the class that it's set. Unheard of since Dumbledore was in school.
Wood had taken him out to the pitch early one morning to test out his flying. Needless to say his new captain was practically on cloud nine talking about the Quidditch cup being his non-stop.
No matter what he tried he couldn't seem to be able to get any further in his fire element attempts. But not knowing what it was he was actually meant to do didn't help either. A few nights earlier, he had gotten bored with no homework left to do. Not feeling like reading any of the books he had borrowed from the library, he had decided to go for a walk in the middle of the night.
He had to outrun Finch but that was easy with his enhanced speed but he had wound up on the forbidden third floor corridor. Naturally curiosity got the better of him he ventured into it. Confused at why it was forbidden since there was nothing significant around, he eventually ended up at a locked door. Beyond it he could swear he heard heavy breathing.
Opening it he saw a massive three headed dog that he had looked up and discovered was a Cerberus. It had also been standing on a trapdoor, Harry had a feeling that whatever it was guarding, was likely that small package Hagrid took from Gringotts on his birthday.
Today however was his first practice session with his team and he was eager to be back on a broom. It was exhilarating flying through the air, he refrained from using his Nimbus since his session with Wood in an effort to maintain his secret of being a seeker. There was always the chance that someone happened to see him.
Opening his trunk and getting the bag with the brooms from his apartment he locked it up before heading down to the common room. Most of the team was there except Wood. Before he could ask why the Quidditch fanatic captain wasn't there Katie responded "He's apparently got play plans drawn up but he left them in his dorm"
Soon enough Wood came back down with an insane grin on his face and when the four 3rd years groaned Harry realized that the look on his new captain's face must be a warning for a hard training session.
Harry asked Wood to disillusion him so that anyone they might run into won't see him and find out he's the seeker. He eagerly agreed realizing Harry was like a secret weapon for the team and they set off to the pitch. Some people had indeed been waiting near the entrance hall that Harry found stupid considering it was 5am and they were annoyed when they saw only 6 people.
Due to school rules only people the Quidditch captain allowed to watch the games could come to the training sessions. So no one followed the team as they headed out to the pitch.
Once there and making sure no one else was present he took the spell off Harry and looked at him oddly "Where's your broom Harry?" Harry just grinned before he put his hand into the bag and pulled out a Nimbus 2000 and tossing it to him.
"Why you giving it to-" Harry pulled out another one and tossed one to Katie who's eyes had widened, she looked at the broom in her hand to the broom in Oliver's then back to her own. He then pulled out two and tossed them to the twins who didn't say anything just stared at the brooms in shock. Finally he took out the remaining three. Two to the remaining girls who had matching grins and ran up to kiss him on each cheek, Katie got over her shock and did the same.
When Oliver just stared at Harry, the boy's grin widened "What you didn't think I was going to be your only secret surprise for the other teams did you" A smile started to form on the captain's face before he began to chuckle and then laugh loudly before he charged at Harry. The boy's eyes widened when he was suddenly lifted off the ground in a bone crushing hug.
The twins looked at each other before they too got wide grins and tackled the two to the ground all laughing insanely. Meanwhile the girls just watched them and he heard Katie mutter something about boys. When Harry managed to get out of the tangled mess the twins had created he had looked at Katie and her eyes widened at the cheeky grin on the young seeker's face. Not wanting to see what he had planned she got on her broom and shot off.
Harry took off after her while the others all regained their senses before following them to the skies shortly after. The session ended up going well and each of them having gotten adjusted to the new brooms speed and easier manoeuvrability.
October 31st – Halloween
The weeks have flown by for most students but for Harry he was starting to find that classes were becoming more of a chore and he made up for it by teasing his friends in each class. Ron still followed him around like a lost puppy but Harry was so used to it by now it no longer bothered him. Classes were his salvation playing mind games with Daphne, Tracey, Susan and Padma.
He had given up on any Fire element training until he could find a book to help him understand what he would need to do. Harry couldn't help but wonder if age or magical power had a factor in it and it might just be too small for him right now to draw it out.
His Quidditch training sessions had become interesting as well. He had started to join in the chaser's plays much to the groups shock, it wasn't technically illegal for the seeker to join in on the others roles after all. When it worked out well and Oliver had begun asking him to look out for openings in plays, so he could use such tactics in real games. Harry really did it since sitting around looking for a snitch was pretty boring, plus annoying the 2nd year Katie had become a new hobby of his during practices. Plus flying around in the mix of things allowed him to see more anyway, he had seen the snitch and caught it much faster this way.
Today was Halloween, Harry had never known his parents, never knew they died on this day until Hagrid walked into the hut he was in 3 months ago. Because of this he found it difficult to mourn for them like any child would on the day of their parent's death. He wasn't sure if this was a bad thing or not, he figured his parents would rather him enjoying himself than sulking over the fact they were no longer there.
To start the day off in a good way, he talked to his teammates and had them agree to his plan, after getting McGonagall to pass a note to Dumbledore the day before, his plan was set to go off during the breakfast of that morning. When the morning post arrived, every member of each house Quidditch team got quite the shock as two owls dropped a long package in front of each player. This included the Gryffindors shock, as they were not aware of the other teams getting brooms too.
Harry saw Wood looking ready to explode, the only thing holding him back was the shock he was likely in. But just before he erupted, his eyes turning slowly in Harry's general vicinity, when their eyes met, Harry shrugged and mouthed 'wasn't me'. At that moment the hall heard Roger Davis from Ravenclaws team shout out "DRAGONS BALLS, IT'S A CLEANSWEEP SEVEN"
That set off all the other teams and players, as they ripped open the packages to see the same, Wood began laughing insanely making many people roll their eyes at his expected behaviour. He grabbed the parcel and ran from the hall, rolling their eyes, the rest of the Gryffindor team, minus Harry followed after. Everyone in the hall was disappointed to still not see who the new seeker was, as no broom had landed in front of any of the Gryffindor students other than the main 6.
Speculation at who would have bought brooms for all the teams circulated the halls the rest of the day, some made some sense, others made no sense at all, from a gift from the ministry of magic, to someone trying to bribe Dumbledore. Katie had pulled him aside later the day and described the sheer excitement emanating from Wood, who apparently was very pleased that the matches would be on a more level playing field, well close too. She made sure to congratulate Harry on making their captain even crazier than before, as well as issuing a warning of more intense training sessions. Not that Harry admitted to being the one behind the extra broom handouts.
As Harry walked into the great hall later that night, he was surprised to find that it was very different to how it normally was. Bats were flying overhead, floating candles left eerie glows in the mist. The ceiling was enchanted with an eerie full moon and dark clouds. Thunder roared every few mins causing at least a few girls to scream each time, a thin mist was around the whole room making other students appear blurry, even if they were more than one metre away from each other.
Harry had become very familiar with certain people's scents, with practice, he had learnt how to single out one scent out of thousands. Deciding he would have a little fun before the actual feast began, he abandoned Ron at the table, ignoring the redheads calls for him and took off to the Hufflepuff table, he went there first since it was on the other side of the hall.
He moved quickly straight towards Susan and snuck up behind her quietly. With a massive smile he got right behind her and screamed loudly in her ear. She let out an ear splitting scream that caused a chain reaction to those around her. Everyone heard laughter coming from the area of the first scream and Susan recognized it immediately, standing up red faced from embarrassment, she muttered "Potter". Getting onto the bench, she tried to locate the annoying Gryffindor, but couldn't see him through the mist. In her anger she roared "You're going to regret that Potter" Before turning back to the table and seating herself.
Harry had discovered that Susan was nothing like the others in her reactions. Daphne tried hard to remain calm and collected even when she's extremely frustrated with him, Tracey just flirts, as if by instinct. Susan however didn't have red hair for nothing. She had a fiery temper that Harry loved to face off against.
"I never knew you could scream that loud" Harry chuckled to her left, she turned immediately in that direction of the voice to find the seat empty.
"I'm not mad anymore Harry, why don't you come over here?" She asked with false sweetness. Harry scoffed inwardly, who was she trying to fool with that false kindness.
"Only if you play nicely" He whispered from behind her, she spun around quickly to see him smiling brightly at her.
Remembering the embarrassment from a moment ago, she glared at him, her violet eyes seemed to sparkle slightly "Don't you ever do that again Harry, or you'll find the consequences, well, they won't be pretty"
Harry gasped with a face of pure shock and horror "You would deny me seeing your pretty face. That is beyond cruel, how could you even suggest such a thing?"
She blushed lightly before scowling "No you prat, I'll hex your bits off"
Harry's grin and expression suddenly put Susan on edge, it was clear from the laughs of some of the other students that she had walked into some sort of trap with her wording. She realized it too late though "Bits? Oh you want to remove my robes and clothes Susan? I'm pretty sure you're insinuating you have easy access to be able to access those bits so easily, to get rid of them and all"
Her blush got brighter and Harry was finding it hard to tell if it was anger or embarrassment at this point "N-no, aarrgghh why don't you just go back to your fanboy Harry. I'm pretty sure I can hear him from here"
Harry pouted childishly when she said that, but lord and behold, the whole hall heard a very girlish scream that was obviously a boy coming from the other side of the hall. Harry just knew it was Ron as well. Sighing Harry looked over to Hannah, walking over he sat himself between the two girls, despite the redhead's protests and looked at the blonde seriously "Trade mine for yours?"
The Blonde Hufflepuff put a thinking pose, she gazed over Harry at Susan who was frantically shaking her head and poking Harry in his side, who was showing no reaction. Tapping her chin she said "I'll think about it" And she burst into giggles that turned into laughter when Susan sent her a glare.
"You can go now Harry" Susan stated with a wave of her hand.
Harry didn't listen however, went right into Susan's face, he moved slightly to make it look like he was looking at her from all angles. "So Hannah, how do you deal with that friend of yours all day? I mean you sleep in the same room, must be rough" Harry was keeping his eyes on Susan as he talked and she knew it. Hannah was giggling at Susan who was currently trying very hard to ignore him, but the threats she was muttering were signs that it wasn't working. She was trying extremely hard, not to whip out her wand and hex him on the spot, her fingers were even twitching.
Harry finally turned away, to face Hannah who giggled again as Susan started making faces at the back of Harry's head. He leant in close to her and whispered loudly so Susan could hear "Is it true she talks about Harry Potter in her sleep? Well from what i hear, it's more like moans, but-" He burst into laughter when he felt her smack the back of his head, she seemed to try to get him into a choke hold but he moved enough so that he locked onto her arms, making it look more like she was hugging him from behind "See, she even holds onto Harry Potter so desperately, it must be true"
Realizing her actions had just fuelled him further, she hissed out quietly "I do not talk in my sleep"
Gaining a coy grin that had Hannah in another fit of giggles "Oh but you don't deny you dream of Harry Potter Susan, or the moaning" He stated loudly so that those nearby heard. She again blushed and sputtered as he burst into laughter again. Hearing a low growl he took that as his cue to leave. Letting go of her arm, hopping up quickly, he turned and speedily kissed Susan's cheek as she was getting her wand out of her robes. He batted the incoming hex out of the way with his own wand effortlessly, bowed, kissed Hannah's cheek as well "A pleasure as always ladies, until next time" Before he ran deeper in the mist laughing loudly.
He got back to Gryffindor table where everyone in the vicinity of Ron was glaring at him "What?" Harry exclaimed and they all just kept glaring, shrugging he said "Uh, who screamed from this end, I caused the one on the other side of the hall but what happened here"
Seamus burst into renewed laughter and Ron was turning red with embarrassment or anger. "Harry you shoulda seen it. A tiny spider crawled in front of Ron and just stopped and seemed to look at him, he was frozen in fear. Then the spider started to move slowly towards him and he screamed like a girl. Hermione had to grab it and take it away before he calmed down"
Harry let out a sigh "Ron why exactly are you scared of a tiny spider? An Acromantula I could understand, they are the size of cows."
Ron looked up in horror "T-there are spiders that big" His eyes glazed over and he shivered while Harry sighed and shook his head. Soon after the mist faded away and the food appeared on the table and Ron completely forgot about spiders with food now in his sights.
Harry was impressed with the creativity of the food since they all had Halloween type themes to many of them. Half way through the meal the great hall doors slammed open catching anyone's attention before Quirrell yelled out "TROLL! Troll in the dungeons. Thought you ought to know" Before he appeared to faint... forward.
Panic suddenly erupted from the students and some started running towards the doors. Harry suddenly realized Quirrell didn't stutter when he announced that. His thoughts were disrupted by Dumbledore standing "SILENCE" The command worked flawlessly as everyone froze and turned to look at him. "Prefects, get the students back to their common rooms. Professors, follow me."
Narrowing his eyes Harry stood onto the table and called out "PROFESSOR" When Dumbledore nodded for him to continue he stated "The Slytherin common room is in the dungeons, where the troll is"
Many of the Slytherin students suddenly paled realizing this fact, many others looking at the Gryffindor in appreciation or confusion. Dumbeldore stroked his beard before he bellowed "Very well, all students remain here, Minerva, Severus, Filius with me. The rest of you watch the students, I'll magically seal the room" Before he marched out and magically sealed the doors.
A minute later Quirrel 'awoke' and glared at the sealed door. Once on his feet, he walked over to the staff table and took a seat away from everyone else, he looked almost like he was pouting. Harry saw him talking to himself and narrowed his eyes. There were far too many voices for him to focus on Quirrel from this distance, so he had no idea what he was saying.
30minutes later the teachers returned without a scratch, Dumbledore announced the troll was now dead and asked the students to return to their dorms. He gave a subtle nod in Harry's direction, for the foresight he had over looked. Harry himself, nodded to his Slytherin friends as they were leaving the hall.
AN: Last edited Nov 2012