Harriet Potter Chapter 13: Year 2: The Dreams of Yesterday, a harry potter fanfic

Harriet Potter Year 2: The Dreams of Yesterday

"The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."

~Albert Einstein

Peter Pettigrew-June 5, 1992

Drip...

A nondescript, grey rat scuttled quickly through the storm drain, not letting the foul odor and general unpleasantness of his situation bother him. It would be over soon, he comforted himself. Provided, of course, that Lucius would help. If he didn't...No. He wasn't going to think about the implications.

It wasn't long before the rat emerged from the pipe, blinking in the bright sunlight of the afternoon. Hardly the sort of day for plotting, but the rat didn't really care about that. He had never been picky when it came to that sort of thing, unlike some of his friends ("friends" being used loosely).

He had a sudden flashback where he was romping with a large black dog, werewolf, and stag, in a large field, similar to the yard he found himself in now. He shook off the thought as he scurried into the spacious manor (making sure to avoid the sharp beaks of the peacocks). That part of his life was over.

It was time for a new beginning, which he hoped Lucius could provide. Since the demise of the Dark Lord, Death Eaters were hardly close and rarely kept in touch, so when Lucius had managed to contact him (he didn't even attempt to figure out how; Lucius's resources and influence were unsurpassed among pureblooded wizard families), he had naturally been a bit apprehensive.

But what choice did he have?

None.

Peter Pettigrew was at the end of his figurative rope.

Lucius Malfoy, Malfoy Manor-June 5, 1992

Tap...

Lucius Malfoy, who was currently waiting in his study and drumming his fingers on the hardwood table, was not a patient man. That being said, had it been under any other circumstances, he would not find himself nearly so inclined to wait for the rat, but, alas, his plan could not work without him. Shame.

He picked up the tattered diary and looked at with interest. Rather inauspicious, he never could have guessed the power held within its faded pages, had his old master not explained it to him before his untimely demise. Granted, the Dark Lord had not explained to him the mechanics of the enchantment, but few followers of the Dark Lord were privileged with that sort of information.

Previously, he had had no intention of actually using the diary. Rather, it had been a mere insurance policy: something to cash in on if his influence at the Ministry ever diminished. Which it was. He mentally cursed his cousin (by marriage, he comforted himself, not by blood) and those infernal raids. Unless he wished to lose all of the power he held at the Ministry, he needed to act quickly.

Lucius liked power, after all.

After some careful thinking, he decided now would be a good time to set his plan into motion. Lucius had his reservations that the diary would actually work, but, if he played his cards appropriately, he would be able to gain ten times the influence which he had held previously (at a fraction of the price) and discredit Dumbledore once and for all.

Fudge was on the warpath, furious had having been outwitted by Dumbledore and the old alchemist Flamel. Fudge would be happy to use any means of discrediting the old coot regardless of how morally ambiguous.

If his master's plan actually worked...If he was able to return to life... the Dark Lord's take over would be made infinitely easier with Dumbledore discredited and Fudge (the oblivious idiot) feeling grateful towards him. His Master would be thankful.

But his grand plot was not without a few hitches. The first being that Hogwarts was well protected. There were few ways for him to be able to get the diary inside, and even fewer for the diary to be controlled and opened once inside the castle walls.

Thus, the rat become necessary. He shuddered at having to work with such a spineless, stupid, creature, but the rat had easy access to Hogwarts. He was also completely mindless and, considering the fact that every wall in Diagon Alley was plastered with his WANTED posters, he was also desperate for protection.

Protection that Lucius could provide.

He smirked. Yes, that part of the plan would work out well, assuming that the rat agreed. Which he would. He was nearly as power-hungry as Lucius himself, although infinitely more stupid.

The next part of his plan was a bit harder: he had to do nothing. he had to trust that his master's memory would know enough to be able to pull off his end. He scowled at the tattered page. Trust was not something that came easily to him... especially not of the Dark Lord.

He could wait, though, for a time. If all went well, he mused, Fudge would be crawling to him on his hands and knees and Dumbledore would look like a washed-out, outdated, incompetent Headmaster.

Dumbledore was not Lucius's only problem. There was also the small problem of Dumbledore's "golden girl": Harriet Potter. She had caused quite a stir since her return to the wizarding world, Malfoy sneered. His own son had written to him not a day into his arrival at Hogwarts to complain about her.

Not that Lucius blamed him: she was becoming a thorn in his side, as well. She had already shown herself to be persistent, curious, and stupidly brave. Cursing Gryffindor's and their surprising tenacity, he knew he was going to need something else to keep her busy at the castle. Something rather dangerous.

Perhaps he could convince Fudge to put some things in motion...

A pop alerted him to the arrival of a house-elf. It looked at him with those annoyingly large eyes and rubbed its nose on the grubby pillowcase it wore. What was its name? Lucius frowned. Dumby or Dippy or some other such nonsense?

"Dobby would like to inform you, Master Malfoy, that you have a visitor."

"And?" snapped Malfoy, not in the mood to be kind to his unpaid servant, "why didn't you show them in, you worthless piece of filth?" The elf's eyes filled with tears, but it resisted the urge to punish itself, dissapparating suddenly, then returning with his visitor, a short, beady eyed man who was looking around him cautiously.

"Peter," purred Lucius softly, gesturing with his arm for the uncomfortable man to take a seat. "Dobby," Lucius turned his eyes to his useless servant, who was anxiously tugging at its overly-large ears, "You are dismissed."

The elf gave an undignified squeak and left. Lucius could hear the banging coming from the other room as it punished itself, but paid it no mind. He turned his steely gaze on the frightened man and smirked at him.

This was going to be easy.

Dobby the House-elf, Malfoy Manor-June 5, 1992

Bang!

Dobby's head was spinning by the time he had finished hitting himself upside the head with the large book. He carefully placed the book back on the table and sniffed.

Dobby does not like being a slave, the elf thought mutinously. One day, Dobby will be free!

Dobby always had been a peculiar elf. He knew this. Or, at least, a part of him did. None of the other house-elves he met ever even thought of freedom. But he did. All the time. He imagined himself working for pay and not having to listen to Master Malfoy.

Dobby didn't want to listen to Master Malfoy. Master Malfoy was a bad man. He could hear him now, talking with his friend. Fragments of their conversation floated into the foyer, easily picked up by Dobby's large bat-like ears.

"...the Dark Lord's return..."

Dobby frowned. The Dark Lord was a bad man, too. Dobby remembered the days when he had wielded power. They had not been pleasant times for house-elves.

"...Tom Riddle?"

"The Dark Lord's given name. If we can manage to get past the protections at Hogwarts..."

Dobby squeaked in fright. Whoever this visitor was, they were going to try and breach the protections at Hogwarts. Dobby had friends had Hogwarts, other house-elves who were both safe and happy. Dobby knew of Dumbledore's powers, but from what he knew of his master (and he knew a surprising amount), the magic being used was of the sort that no decent wizard would ever dream of using.

"Harriet Potter is a problem..."

"...get rid of.."

Dobby's ears perked up at the mention of Harriet Potter. He had heard of her, of course. There were few among the wizarding world who did not know her name. Her tale was legend. His master was plotting to hurt Harriet Potter, Dobby frowned. Dobby had never had the honor of meeting Harriet Potter personally, but from what he had heard of other house-elves, she was a brave and noble sort.

Of course, what he had heard from his young Master Malfoy, Harriet Potter was very bad, indeed. He had ranted, when he had first come home for Christmas, that Harriet Potter was "proud and arrogant" and that "the little tart things everybody should worship her all because of a funny birthmark!"

Dobby had "accidentally" dropped one of Master Malfoy's books on his foot for that remark. He had to throw himself off of the top of the stairs for it, but it had been worth it.

Dobby refused to believe anything that the Masters Malfoy said about Harriet Potter. It was not true. It couldn't be true. She had saved them all from one of the darkest wizards in existence. Now, though, his Master, and a wizard whom he could not identify, were plotting to kill Harriet Potter. He was not going to let them. He couldn't let them.

Harriet Potter had saved his life, whether she had known it or not. Now, Dobby decided, with a determined flap of his ears, it was his turn to save her.

"Dobby!" came young Master Draco's voice from his bedroom, "My room needs cleaning!"

Dobby grimaced. First, he must go clean Master Draco's room.

Then he was going to save Harriet Potter.

I feel kind of bad giving you all such a short chapter, but, like I said before, I never really intended for this to be particularly long. I'm already working on the first chapter, so hopefully that will be up soon.

What do you guys think? Year 2 look interesting? And what do you think about how I did Dobby? I wasn't too sure about him, since I wasn't too sure about how a house-elf thinks (especially as peculiar an elf as Dobby).

I feel really excited about Harriet's second year. Partially because, if it works out the way I hope, the Golden Trio is in for a very interesting time. However, I'm also excited because I never really thought I would get this far with this story. It started out as nothing more than some stray thoughts running around my head...and now look at it!

I appreciate everything. From the quick notes telling me how much you enjoy the story, to the long reviews filled with advice, to the subscriptions and the favorites.

Okay. I'll stop. At this rate, the note will be longer than the chapter! Sorry! It just kinda hit me as I was putting this up!

As always, enjoy!

tinyrose65