Thanks for the many helpful comments as well as the flames. To all, if you're going to do nothing but criticize, you might as well not read and review my story then. I wanna thank sanbeegoldiewhitey, part of me really didn't want to continue but you reminded me that we can't satisfy everyone's wishes. Thanks for the encouragement.
Notice- Sorry, I was in a rush last night to post this, Harry's familiar is called Rina
Chapter 7: Fifth Year, The Fraud, Bad Feeling
First of September came quickly, as usual, Harry climbed out of bed just as the sun began to rise and did his routine jog in a nearby park and 100 sit ups and push ups. Sweat matted his hair as he walked back to the manor, he then quickly went into shower and came out wearing a white tank top which fitted his muscular body perfectly and his favorite black colored jeans.
He was drying his hair with a towel as he walked into his room and it suddenly hit him that there was another letter on his desk. As he took the envelope in his hands, Harry smiled, seeing it was from Fleur Delacour. He had been unhappy that his rights was violated lat night when Lily Potter opened his letter from Gringotts but was too tired to start an argument so he just left it alone. The first thing he did after waking up was re-charging the privacy wards and locking ward around his door, he figured that it must have weakened during the time he was absent. He then slowly flipped the folded parchment open, reading the neatly written French
Dear Harry, (Please call me Fleur, I want you to)
Thank you for accepting my friendship, it has never been easy for me to make a friend… ever since my veela powers manifested, all my female friends pushed me away because they were afraid that I might steal their boyfriends. Besides Gabby, I have no other person I can relate things to that. So you can't possibly believe how happy I was when you said you didn't care about my heritage and would be here to listen to what I have to say. Thank you Harry, no one has ever said that to me. I can't believe school's starting so soon, I really hate having to put on my mask in public, but what can I do? I hope you have a great school year.
Love,
Fleur Delacour
P.S. – Please don't forget me, promise you'll write, it gets lonely when you don't have anyone to talk to
Harry smiled as he finished reading the letter, he could smell the seducing light fragrance of Chanel perfume wafting from the piece of parchment. He was stunned when he spotted a photograph behind the parchment, his blood froze when he saw it. Fleur had her silver blonde hair in a bun and was in a ballerina outfit which greatly showed off her perfect curves, Harry's nose nearly bled out when he saw Fleur grab the front of her ankle and pulled back, bringing her foot near her head, demonstrating her incredible flexibility. She then smiled dazzlingly at the camera, if she knew how Harry would react and did an elegant spin, finishing with standing on her left foot, her right was perpendicular to it while she had her arms spread out wide.
Placing the photograph down, Harry was in a confused state, not that he didn't like what Fleur had shown him but why. He just shrugged it off as he assumed that she wanted to show him her passion for ballet and went off to put his new bought books into his trunk, along with his potions ingredients and several sets of robes and uniforms.
He then shrunk his trunk with a wave of his hand and stowed it in his pocket, he pocketed Fleur's photo in his other pocket. As he was walking out the room, a squawk made him stop at the door. Turning around, Harry saw a silver feathered owl standing on his windowsill with an envelope in its beak. Harry walked over and took the envelope, tossing an owl treat which the owl gobbled with glee. Breaking the seal and unfolding the parchment, Harry's eyes narrowed as he read the letter.
Dear Mr. Potter
It is with great pleasure that you have been selected to become prefect for Ravenclaw house, you along with another newly selected prefect will hold the responsibility of keeping our students safe and from harm.
From,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
A prefect badge fell out of the envelope as Harry tilted the envelope, he just groaned, "That's great, hallway babysitter. I knew I shouldn't make fun of Percy Weasley, now karma has just bitten me in the arse" He thought as he stuffed the badge into his pocket. Then he walked out of his room, down the stairs and into the kitchen where his parents and siblings were already seated.
Lily Potter was staring disapprovingly when she saw her eldest son wearing nothing but a white tank top and black jeans. "Harry throw something on, I'll not have you walking like that in King's Cross." She snapped. Harry just rolled his eyes and with a wave of his hand, a thin black leather jacket flew towards him from his room and he pulled it on, ignoring the shock looks on his parents' faces when he did wandless magic and the jealous look from his brother. Little Rosy was just clapping loudly with her small hands, as if it happened all the time, Harry offered her a small smile.
He grabbed a box of cereal and poured some into a bowl and after pouring some milk from the refrigerator; he devoured it without saying a word.
"So Harry, fifth year eh? How're you doing in your classes, ready for your O.W.L.S?" James asked, trying to start a conversation. Harry just simply scooped the last of his cereal into his mouth and with another wave of his hand, the bowl became glistening clean.
"Are you deaf? Dad's asking you a question!" Eric shouted but shrunk when Harry sent him a glare that was worse than Snape's.
"Ask Professor Flitwick if you want to know." Harry said coolly.
"Think you're all high and mighty now that you can fly on a broom? You spotlight stealing arsehole!" Eric Potter shouted.
"MIND YOUR LANGUAGE, I'LL NOT HAVE YOU TALK TO HARRY IN THAT TONE!" Lily Potter yelled, making her son widen his eyes in disbelief.
"How ironic. Coming from someone who can't stand leaving the ground." Harry muttered with a mirthless smirk and left the table.
Soon, the Potter Family drove to King's Cross, Harry staring emotionlessly out the window from behind his sunglasses. As the car stopped, Harry stepped out the car with Rosy's hand firmly in his and went towards Platform 9 and ¾ ignoring his parents who were fussing over with Eric. Harry smirked as he heard his little sister squealing loudly as they ran together pass the barrier, brother and sister then found themselves on the busy platform.
Keeping a low profile, Harry quickly found Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy in their usual location, far away from all the other families. His eyes widened behind his shades as he saw Sirius and a shabby looking Remus Lupin standing next to the Malfoys.
"SIRIUS, MOONY!" Harry shouted as he sprinted with Rosy towards the two people who were always there when his own parents were not.
"Arrgh Pup, careful, you're no longer that small little boy." Sirius said with a dog like laugh as Harry crushed him in a hug.
"Yes and Padfoot isn't exactly a young lad anymore." Lupin said jokingly.
"Hey! Women still love me." Sirius retorted getting a swat in the head by Narcissa.
"Ow…you've been taking lessons from Andy then dear Cissy?" Sirius joked and was rewarded with a kick to the shin.
"Yep, definitely, Harry you were fantastic in the final. I couldn't believe what I saw, Moony and I are very proud of you. Excuse us for a minute, Cissy, Lucius…Harry listen, I have something for you." Sirius said leading Harry and Rosy away a bit and pulled out a cage which Lupin had held in his arms, Harry gasped, in the cage was the most beautiful, proud looking Red-tail Hawk Harry had ever seen.
"Beautiful isn't she?" Sirius remarked, smiling at Harry's awed face. Harry could only nod, as the majestic bird suddenly locked its fierce brown eyes with him.
"Hello young one" Harry gasped when he heard the voice,
"I'm not imagining things am I?"
"Of course not, my hatchling, do you think I'm just a simple bird?"
"No, I didn't mean that…but what are you exactly?"
"I was a red tailed hawk one time, roaming the skies like any of my species, one day I was shot by an arrow by hunters…I thought I was going to die when I smelt a forest fire coming my way but suddenly the undead one appeared, I was healed by his tears of pureness and it in a way gave me the abilities of the undead one." Harry watched as the hawk's wings began to turn into orange flames.
"I am honored to be your companion." Harry said through the connection.
"Likewise hatchling."
"But what shall I call you?" Harry asked, the hawk just stared at him, as if giving permission for him the decision. "How bout Rina?" Harry asked out loud, the hawk squawked loudly with approval.
"I take it that you two are acquainted." Sirius said grinning with Lupin.
"She's perfect Sirius, thank you so much." Harry said giving his godfather a bear hug. Rosy was now staring blankly at Harry's new companion, and squealed when Rina nipped her fingers playfully. Then the Hogwart's Express gave a low whistle and Sirius then ushered Harry to the nearest entrance after Narcissa had given him his ritual hug and Lucius with his handshake.
Rosy sulked as she held on the hand of Narcissa, watching her eldest brother sprinting onto the train, she hated it when Harry wasn't around her to play with her or to read stories at night.
"Don't worry Rosaline, it won't be long until you start your first year." Narcissa said warmly,
"I know, I know Auntie Cissy." The little four year old chirped, still looking down.
"I can't believe our little pup is so big now." Sirius said, his eyes moist.
"I know exactly how you're feeling Padfoot. He's a man now." Lupin said tiredly as he watched the train move away from the platform. On board, Harry quickly scurried into the front compartment where he knew where his friends were sitting in, passing many gasps and mad giggling that caused goose bumps to rise on his skin. He quickly slid the compartment door open and was greeted by a crushing three man hug,
"How're you doing Potter, who's your friend?" Elan asked he sat down at his window seat, nodding to Rina.
"Good, this is my companion Rina. She's a phoenix red tailed hawk hybrid. See you all in a bit, prefect business." Roger and Elan's eyes widened in wonder as they gawked at the hawk who just glared back, making them gulp.
"Do I have hearing issues or did Harrikens just say he had prefect business?" Roger asked Elan who was suddenly in shock. Harry went into the prefect compartment and inwardly groaned when he felt all eyes on him.
"Potter, I see you received your prefect badge." Elena Turpin remarked, already in her school robes with a prefect badge next to the Ravenclaw House badge.
"If by prefect you mean hall way babysitter then yea." Harry muttered and took a seat next to his fellow Ravenclaw. The meeting went by quickly as Harry spaced out the entire time the Head Boy and Head Girl talked about rules and nighttime patrol, he had no idea why McGonagall would pick him as prefect of all people.
After an agonizing patrol of the train's corridors with many female students harassing him for autographs, he successfully made it to his compartment in one piece. Roger and Elan were playing wizard's chess as he walked in and both smirked at him.
"Have you guys been to Diagon? Quality Quidditch Supplies was absolutely swamped." Harry asked.
"Of course, we're champions, of course everyone's going to want to buy a replica robe." Elan said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yeah, I can't believe Harry and Ceddy here are the most popular with the babes." Roger whined.
"Awh, looks like someone needs a hug." Harry said comfortingly.
"Bloody Arse." Roger muttered but still smiled.
"Luckily father warded our particular compartment on the train so that it would only allow the four of us and my brat of a brother in. Or we'll be swamped" Elan explained.
"That's amazing, I have to remember to thank your father. And speaking of Ced, where is that manwhore?" Harry asked.
"Went out to see Chang couple minutes ago, probably snogging the brains out of each other." Elan snorted, who was reading the sports section of the Daily Prophet. Harry just shook his head as he took out his copy of Advanced Dueling Techniques: Non Verbal Casting by Antonin Dolohov, a well-known Death Eater who was now locked up in Azkaban. The book was particularly difficult to find, Sirius had told him that he had to go deep into Knockturn Alley to acquire it, an experience which he didn't wish to go through very soon.
Harry couldn't help but admire the man who wrote the book he was so grossly entranced to, sure Dolohov was a Death Eater but he was also a master duelist, charms master and an ingenious spell creator, on par with Bellatrix, who had been the dark lord's favorite. He was particularly interested when he read the line "the light is foolish, they only think of stunning and disarming their opponents, such intent reflects on their spells and thus they will never be a match against one who aims to harm and kill." Sirius had told him once that even though Dolohov was a Death Eater, he was to be respected in a duel since he single handedly killed the Prewett brothers in the first war between Voldemort and the rest of the magical world.
Noticing the compartment door opening, Harry close the book and saw a glass eyed Cedric walk in. with lip shape marks in red lipstick on his face. The three froze for a minute then broke down in uncontrolled laughter, in Roger's case, he had dropped to the floor.
After several failure attempts to stop their laughter, the three finally had their laughter controlled, much to Cedric's embarrassment.
"I take it that it has been a rewarding endeavor." Harry mused.
"Shut it, Potter…as I recall, you were mind-shagging the day lights out of that French girl that other night." Cedric said, hoping to relieve some of the spotlight, Roger and Elan turned to Harry and immediately let out cat calls and wolf howls which Harry ignored, however that didn't stop the three from ganging up and teasing him. Harry just shrugged and went on reading.
"Oh I heard that your savior of a brother never made it on the train, overheard some second years." Cedric added in a much serious tone.
"I could care less, if he doesn't come then thank God." Harry said in an uncaring voice.
"Oh congrats on making prefect by the way. Have fun doing nighttime patrols with Turpin." Cedric added with a grin on his face. Harry just rolled his eyes as the rest of the train trip went by quickly. The train lurched to a halt as it rolled onto Hogsmeade Station, the four Quidditch superstars quickly filed out from their compartment in their respective school robes and quickly went into one of the carriages which pulled them slowly to Hogwart's castle. Relieved that they were the first of many to arrive at the Great Hall, they took their seats at their house tables.
Very soon, students filed into the Great Hall, the noise level became excruciating. Harry breathed with relief as Cho Chang took the seat next to him, Roger on the other hand also let out a sigh of contentment when Elena Turpin took the seat that sandwiched him. Both were grateful that they were surrounded by friends instead of rabid fan girls.
Harry smirked when he saw Elan yanking a protesting Draco into sitting next to him. Then as always, the sorting started. Harry didn't pay much attention except when a dirty blonde girl with a dreamy expression named Luna Lovegood was sorted into Ravenclaw. The girl was definitely odd, with a bottle cap necklace around her neck.
As he scanned around the Great Hall, he saw Hermione waving wildly at him. Which he returned with a wave of his own causing all the girls at the Gryffindor table to glare daggers at the resident human library, ever since that troll incident, she had been like a sister, which he cared greatly about.
Dumbledore then stood up and gave his monotonous opening term speech, which Harry ignored. When the headmaster introduced the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Harry and Roger both sniggered. Posing haughtily was one Gilderoy Lockhart, or as the four Quidditch players like to address 'Goldylocks'. Sirius and Lupin had told Harry before school term that Lockhart was nothing more than a narcissistic fraud with an ego as large as Eric Potter, who took the credit for the accomplishments of others, they would know since they went to school in the same era. Harry was reduced to tears with laughter when he heard that Lockhart had the lowest grade in Slytherin's history. How could people not notice the low life was a fraud was something that intrigued Harry to no end. Just by reading the first sentence of his books, he knew that Defense this year would be a load of rubbish just like last year.
"Here I was, thinking that at least we'll learn something in Defense this year, is that too much to ask?" Cho sighed; the Ravenclaws of all houses had been most quiet during the introduction of Lockhart.
"Well, its not like we need it anyways. Hogwart's is a pretty secure place." Marietta Edgecombe, Cho's best friend said.
Then the doors of the Great Hall swung wide open, Harry smirked when he saw a sneering Snape leading a pompous Eric Potter into the Great Hall, Snape looked like he had been forced to down an entire barrel of boil skele-grow. The entire Great Hall was filled with deathly silence until Dumbledore enunciated in a loud voice for everyone to dig in.
The mutterings then started as voices gradually became louder. Harry piled his plate with a rib-eye steak and mash potatoes and began to eat very delicately, he was less than impressed when he again saw the poor table manners standards set by his brother and his friend Ronald Weasley as he glanced around the Great Hall, the Gryffindors around them trying their best to ignore the two who looked like they haven't eaten in weeks.
"So Harry, I heard that you won't be re-joining the Ravenclaw Team this year." Cho asked, being a Quidditch Fanatic. Harry nodded and smirked when she pouted.
"Sorry but World Cup Qualifiers are more important, we're going to set a new age record. And besides, players playing on professional teams are prohibited in joining the house teams." Harry explained. Roger nodded sagely at his explanation.
"What the hell? Now who's going to replace you two?" Cho groaned in frustration. Harry just smiled and shrugged. Soon chocolate pudding was served and finished, Dumbledore then stood up from the teacher's table and bade all students farewell.
As always, the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs rushed out of the Great Hall, pushing and shoving each other to see who would get out first while the Ravenclaws and Slytherins watched with amusement. Then the Ravenclaws filed out, with Harry grumbling whilst he led a group of chattering and giggling first years up to Ravenclaw Tower. He allowed Elena to fill them out, only piping in when they arrived at the portrait entrance. Fan girls then swarmed him as he entered the common room, quills and parchment shoved into his hands. Harry, being the man he was, made sure every witch or young wizard who wanted an autograph got one.
With a resigned yawn, Harry was heading to bed when he saw the small form of Professor Flitwick entering the common room.
"Harry, the headmaster would like a word with you." The tiny charms master squeaked. Harry narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything as he nodded and followed his head of house out the open portrait.
"I watched you fly from the Leaky Cauldron, I have no doubt you will lead England onto glory the coming World Cup." Flitwick squeaked happily.
"All thanks to you Professor." Harry murmured as professor and student walked to the Headmaster's office.
"The Headmaster wishes to see you alone." Flitwick squeaked with a sigh as Harry stepped onto the staircase, suddenly a burst of flames erupted out of no where and a regal looking red tail hawk was suddenly on Harry's shoulders. "My feelings tell me that I should be here. I'm not taking any chances, even with mental shields as strong as yours." Rina said through their link.
"Professor, meet my familiar, Rina." Flitwick was just stunned, his star pupil's familiar was a new species, he gave a short bow while Rina simply gave a calculating glare.
"Nothing ever is ever ordinary for you isn't it, Harry?" Flitwick chuckled. "Sherbet Lemon." With that the staircase began to shift upwards.
Dumbledore was still in a pensive mood when Harry walked in, he immediately felt the boy's aura leaking out of him. It was strange, Eric Potter was still average in terms of his magical core, the leader of the light was certain that the potential of the boy who lived should have manifested already.
"You wished to see me Headmaster?" Harry's lips curled into a sneer, he had always thought that Dumbledore was a good person when he was younger but it turned out that he was only another Emperor Palpatine, a two faced manipulative bastard.
"Ah, Harry my boy, it has been some time since we last conversed, has it not? Your parents have told me earlier when I went to pick up your brother that you are planning to move away. It is in your best interest to not do so." Dumbledore said in his grandfatherly voice.
"Let me make this clear headmaster, I am not your boy. And who are you to tell me what to do? Unlike my parents and 'almighty' brother, I am not your personal lap dog one you can call on for your personal entertainment." Harry said, placing his hands on the headmaster's desk, staring straight into those falsely warm twinkling blue eyes and instantly he felt a probe trying to shatter his mind barriers.
At that moment, Rina appeared, screeching in her phoenix form; Dumbledore cried out in pain as he felt a new force combining with Harry's drove him out and not too gently.
Harry just smiled at his flaming companion, "I think I could have handled him on my own just fine love."
"I know hatchling." Rina responded and changed back into her hawk form as she perched on Harry's shoulder and sang a musical note.
"I see that we are done here then sir?" Harry sneered at the old man who was trying to stand up after being crudely exorcised from Harry's mind. "Nice to see you again Fawkes." Harry bowed his head at the phoenix who was looking amused at the entire confrontation and inclined his head. Harry then swept his robes as he turned around and left the office.
As he walked alone back towards Ravenclaw Tower he stopped when he suddenly heard a weird voice hissing "Blood….I smell fresh blood…..kill….I must kill…"
"Hatchling, something dark is lurking behind these walls, head back to your common room IMMEDIATELY!" Rina screeched hurriedly through their mental link. He smacked his face, he really had a bad feeling about his following nine months at Hogwarts