Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter J. K. Rowling does. I am using a few lines from the first book but that is not my work that is hers.
A/N: Italics mean Parseltongue, mail, and/or lines for Philosophers Stone
Big Thank you to my co-writer Costalfirebird.
Halloween
Ministry of Magic
Arthur Weasley sat down at the cafeteria; he had sent a memo for Lord Greengrass to meet him for lunch. He looked at his watch noticing he had fifteen minutes till he had to be back in his office. Just as he was about to leave he heard a deep voice behind him.
"Mr Weasley."
Arthur stood up and bowed towards the lord as the Greengrass family was consider an Ancient house, Arthur knew to show him respect. One of the things he was taught was to show respect to those of a higher standing. Clyde sat down and gestured for Arthur to do the same; looking at the red haired man, Clyde coughed politely. "I understand you wish to discuss my adoptive nephew Harry Potter." Clyde spoke with a calm, collected voice.
Arthur sat down and looked across at the lord. Even sitting down he felt a little intimidated by the lord opposite him. Arthur brought his arms up on to the table. "I have received a letter from my youngest son, Ronald. In the letter he mentioned that he is trying to make friends with your nephew. According to your nephew it seems he doesn't want to be friends with my son because Harry feels I think your family to be Dark."
This got Clyde attention. He looked at the man in front of him with a glare that could kill. Clyde noticed Arthur gulp. Clearly he felt he had overstepped the mark with that last comment, however Clyde decided to let it slide. "The Greengrass family was never a Dark family. Just because I refused to take sides in the first war does not make me Dark. The Light, led by Albus Dumbledore, decided we were Dark no matter what! Simply because my wife and I refused to give Dumbledore custody of Harry Potter. Tell me, Mr Weasley, what did Albus tell you about the night of October 31st 1981?"
Arthur hesitated for a while because he knew he had to choose his words very carefully. After all, here was a lord with six seats on the Wizengamot, and five of those belonging to the future Lord Potter. The slightest mistake with his words could bury his house with no possibility of recover.
"Albus informed us that you kidnapped Harry, and refused to hand him over to him when asked. Albus also mentioned that he had orders from Lord and Lady Potter to have Harry moved to Lady Potter's sister. He said you were being unreasonable and needed to be brought to the side of the Light."
Clyde burst out laughing, "Why that old sneaky bastard! We never kidnapped Harry. He was transported to our home as we were his next magical guardians. It was a safety measure that the Potters put on their son; to stop the old goat from taking him. Did he ever mention the Potters' will and what was said in it?"
Arthur looked at Lord Greengrass in confusion; he knew the Potters made a will, however Arthur had no clue what was in it. He was just about to drift off into his own little world when Clyde started talking again.
"In the will of Lord and Lady Potter, it states that in the event of their deaths that my wife and I were to be his guardians. Harry was to be taken care of by the following people should my wife and I die: Sirius Black, Lord and Lady Longbottom, Mr and Mrs Tonks or Amelia Bones. If, I say if, that person could not fulfil their duty then it was passed down to the next one in line. Martha was best friends with Lily at Hogwarts, so they both agreed that if something was to happen to either of them in the future then we would act as guardians for the others' children, hence why Harry was transported to us." Clyde paused to let this information settle into Arthur's mind. "The will also states that under no circumstances is Harry ever to be cared for or in the vicinity of Lily's sister due to her hatred of magic."
The two men carried on back and forth talking about everything when Arthur looked at his watch. He bid his farewell to Lord Greengrass then went back to his office armed with new information that unsettled him more.
Hogwarts
Charms classroom
Harry sat next to Daphne with Tracey on his other side. He was trying to listen to Professor Flitwick; when he caught a rather heated argument from the corner of his eye. Ron was in an argument with a bushy haired girl. Harry had never spoken to this girl, yet he couldn't help feel sorry for her. It seems she didn't have any friends, and she spent most of her time in the library. The lesson had just finished when Harry heard the red haired garbage bin say "Granger, you're such a know-it-all. No wonder you have no friends."
Harry watched as the bushy haired girl ran off crying. Harry turned to Ron and growled. "If that's the way you treat all people then screw being your friend. You need to remember your place Weasel."
Ron was furious, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry, "You will regret that Potter!" Before Ron could hex him Harry had already fired a disarming hex followed by a binding hex. Ron tried to move, however Harry had already elevated him to the ceiling. Harry used a simple time delay sticking charm to hold him there. He pointed his wand at the new ceiling decoration and used a silencing charm to stop him from talking. Harry placed his wand back in his holster. He then walked off with the rest of his House towards the Great Hall for the Halloween feast.
Great Hall
Harry, Daphne, and Tracey sat down for the feast; they noticed all the different treats and food appear on the table. While Daphne and Tracey were piling stuff onto their plates, Harry glanced over to the Gryffindor table. He noticed that the bushy haired girl had not made an appearance. He ignored it for now; that was until Quirrell came running into the Great Hall shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Troll in the dungeons! Troll in the dungeons! Thought you should know."
Harry watched as the crowd of students erupted into panic. Harry, however noticed that Quirrell had fallen forward. Common sense told him unless you're faking it you fall backwards when you faint. This raised a number of questions in the young wizard's mind. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't hear Dumbledore speak. Soon Harry's mind was back on to the Gryffindor table, noticing the girl still had not come back. Then the shock hit him. She doesn't know about the troll. Harry shot out of the Great Hall before Daphne could stop him. He quickly made his way down the corridor. He was wondering how to find her. Then he remembered she had a very unique perfume. Trusting his instincts he transformed into his panther and began to sniff the air. He finally caught the scent of the perfume and made his way in the direction her smell was the strongest. Her scent was coming from a girl's bathroom on the second floor. Harry quickly transformed back and shouted from the door. "Hermione! It's Harry Potter, just to let you know a troll has been seen in the school. Can you come out and we can make our way to the Great Hall."
Just as he heard the door unlock inside the bathroom he picked up an awful smell coming down the corridor. All of sudden he saw the troll walking towards him. Harry was thinking what was best to take down a troll. He recalled that they were highly resistant to magic, however they were fairly stupid. Harry pulled Hermione to the side. "Hermione what you're about to see, you cannot tell anyone, okay?" He asked in a low whisper.
Hermione was shocked. Here was a boy who had not said one single word since they arrived at the school, and he was telling her she couldn't tell anyone about something he was about to do. She could see the troll coming down the corridor. Her eyes grew large then turned to Harry and just nodded.
Harry knew the transformation he wanted, but he was worried that it could cause collateral damage. In the end Harry decided on his panther. He was quicker and more agile in this form. Harry quickly transformed and turned his head towards Hermione; with a quick wink from one of his green eyes he started running towards the troll. He watched and waited to see what the troll was going to do. Harry noticed the troll raise his club before bringing it down right near him. Quickly Harry leapt to the side avoiding the impact. He jumped and gripped the front of troll with his claws. He then opened his jaw and clasped them around the troll's neck. While Harry was on the front of the troll he used his momentum to cause the troll to fall backwards. Harry ripped the troll's neck to shreds. Green blood was spraying everywhere. Harry carried on shaking his head, using his teeth to rip further into the troll's neck. Soon Harry could feel the troll stop moving and knew it was dead. He leapt off it and made his way towards Hermione. He quickly transformed and in front of Hermione and placed a finger to his lips.
Hermione was in complete shock. She had just seen a fellow student transform into a panther and rip the throat out of a troll, and here he was in front of her giving her directions to stay quiet. She took one look at Harry then fainted. She fell back into his arms as he caught her. Harry quickly fired off a blasting hex from his wand at some armor then laid Hermione down on the cold floor. He heard a number of footsteps coming towards him.
The headmaster was shocked to see two of his students a few feet away from a dead troll. He was wondering what had happened. Of course he wasn't alone; Professor Flitwick had done a head count in the Ravenclaw common room and found that Mr Potter was missing. Professor McGonagall had also found that one of her cubs was missing and joined the hunt. She gasped as she saw the sight before her. The three professors made their way toward the two children. Dumbledore was the first to speak "Mr Potter, could you please explain to us why you are here and not in your common room like instructed?"
Harry looked at the headmaster, he felt a small probe against his mind shields. Harry knew what the old fool was doing. After all Clyde had warned him of his talent for reading people's minds. "Sir, Hermione was not at the feast; she had been crying all afternoon since Ron Weasley called her a know-it-all. And humiliated her saying she had no friends. Hearing about the troll, I immediately made my way toward the bathroom, I overheard some girls talking about how Hermione had been heard crying in the bathroom on the second floor. Realising that she wouldn't know about the troll I came to look for her. After all I am Lord Hogwarts, and couldn't allow another student to be injured or worse killed. I then raced here to warn her. However, the troll seemed to come around the corner just as Hermione had came out of the bathroom. She saw the troll and fainted. Focusing all my magic, I used a blasting hex. I was lucky to hit it in its neck, blasting it throats to pieces."
Dumbledore tried to read Harry's thoughts again, but found him to have very strong shields; this would not do. Dumbledore wanted Harry defenceless for his plan to succeed. However here was a boy, older in years of magic then he portrays. Picking up Harry's wand he performed a spell to see the hex used.
"It seems Mr Potter you were extremely lucky. Please, in the future, do as you are told. Twenty five points to Ravenclaw for rescuing a fellow student and taking down a troll. Now if you could go with your Head of House I will see that Miss Granger is transferred to the Hospital Wing."
Harry was worried. He kept looking over his shoulder as he walked side by side with his Head of House. However, Harry wasn't worried that Hermione might reveal his secret, but that the headmaster might read her thoughts and see everything that had taken place. After all it would be rather simple for him to view the memories seeing Hermione had no mental shields in place. Harry then decided that he would tell Daphne and Tracey what had happened, and maybe try integrate Hermione into their little group.
Hospital Wing
Dumbledore was pacing back and forth in the Hospital Wing waiting from Miss Granger to awaken. Madam Pomfrey wanted him to wait until tomorrow to question Miss Granger, but she might have seen the 'dark' things the Greengrass family had been teaching him. This would give him the proof he needed to get Harry removed from their custody, and then he could place Harry with his aunt and uncle. Just thinking of it made him crack a smile.
The sound of Poppy talking snapped the headmaster out of his mental calculations. When he turned around he saw Miss Granger sitting up in her bed. He walked over and stood beside the bed and asked, "Miss Granger, what happened tonight?"
Dumbledore began using passive Legilimency on her the moment she began to speak. "I was coming out of the bathroom when I saw the troll sir…" He could tell she was hiding something. He could see that Harry had knocked on the door, and then the troll showed up. Before he could ask his next question the sound of metal grinding against stone reverberated through his ears like the beating of a drum. "What is wrong Professor?"
"Nothing is wrong Miss Granger. Now is there anything else that you can remember happening; something that might have caused you to faint?"
Albus could see the memory shift, but in that very moment the sound of grinding metal filled the room. The headmaster spun around looking for the culprit, but could find no one else in the room. When he turned back to look at his one hope of getting Harry away from the Greengrass family she was gone. He then started looking around for Poppy, but she too was gone from the room. Albus then looked in Madam Pomfrey's office, but again there was no one there. When he returned to the room he found both Madam Pomfrey and Miss Granger had not moved from their original location within the room. Madam Pomfrey asked if he was all right, and after setting her mind at ease Albus said he would see her in the morning, and that he hoped Miss Granger had a good night's sleep.
Once he returned to his office he took out his bottle of firewhisky and poured himself a small glass. Once he set the glass down on his desk he noticed a small piece of parchment folded neatly in the underneath the ring containing the resurrection stone. He did not remember looking at it today, and he would never leave this foul thing sitting out for any reason. He dropped the note the moment he read it. It was not from Tom, nor could it be from Harry. The six simple words were written in to delicately to be his. He could not resist saying the words aloud "The debt that all men pay."
Slytherin Boys Dorms
Draco was furious. His father had written him back on the results of his talk with Lord Greengrass. And the results were not as he hoped them to be.
Draco,
As pleased as I am to hear that the wounds on your face scares are nearly gone I must stress to you again: As long as Harry Potter is alive he or his proxy can control whether a law passes or fails. So I am afraid I cannot "convince" Lord Greengrass to nullify the marriage contract between his daughter and Lord Potter without revealing my duplicity in previous events, and for other political reasons. My associates tell me that they have been unable to even come close to the Greengrass estate, and the last one to try was reduced to dust. In addition to that the half-blood owns Hogwarts. Let me stress this to you again: Harry Potter OWNS Hogwarts.
In answer to your next obvious question: no I cannot change this. I have checked every law, even the wills of the founders, and they are all crystal clear and ironclad. The wording is as follows: If someone who is heir to three of the four founders. That heir will own Hogwarts. By right of conquest Harry Potter is the heir of Slytherin. His mudblood mother was a heir of Ravenclaw, and I can only assume his father was a descendant of the other two. I have looked for any loopholes in the wills son, and if there is one I cannot find it. Even though I am on the board of governors I cannot revoke this right, and I must press upon you: do not make another advance on Madam Greengrass.
Aside from that I hear that Lord Greengrass has had a meal today with that disgrace to wizardkind, Arthur Weasley. Maybe they have chosen to align themselves with the Light, and if so maybe this would not be a good paring for you in the end.
May your enemies never see their demise coming my son,
Father
"How could a measly half-blood have that much power?" Draco growled. "Fine! I must find a way at the earliest convenience to get rid of him, and convince Daphne to disown her father."
"Shut up Draco, I am trying to sleep." Theodore Nott said in tone Draco found disrespectful.
"Do you know who I am!" Draco bellowed out.
"You are nobody Draco. Now go to sleep I don't want to be late to breakfast because of you." The Nott heir flicked his wand and the light he had been using went out.
Draco glared over at Nott's bed. He was the most powerful wizard in this dorm, and he would prove that to everyone. Eventually he would rule this school with an iron fist.
Hospital Wing
Hermione was laying there in bed thinking of what Harry had done to save her life. She was sure that he would have killed her when she fainted. Or at least that's what she thought. In her transfiguration book it stated that a person turned into an animal lost all their sense of humanity, and mentally became the animal they had been turned into. So how could Harry transform into a panther, and then return to being human without someone reversing the spell.
"This looks like something I need to research." And with that Hermione retired for the evening.
In another dimension
A woman in her late teens sat viewing a tapestry she had woven. The tapestry was showing a young boy's life from his birth to his death. The woman kept staring at the piece of art in front of her. She then took a knife and began to slash it to ribbons. The tapestry was supposed to show the life of Harry Potter. Everything up to his parents' death had been correct, then for some reason things had started to change. In her original work, Harry was supposed to end up at the Dursleys, yet somehow he had ended up with the Greengrass family. Fate wondered who was interfering in her plans. There was absolute no way the boy was doing this on his own. She then looked down at her own viewing globe and spotted Death gliding away from the castle. Her eyes blazed. So he was the one interfering, well he wasn't going to interfere no more.
A/N: Big Thank you to HowlnMadHowie for proof-reading this chapter.