Chapter 9—But there is Hogwarts
By ten years old, they started the embarrassing part of my education. I got a dancing instructor and a medical expert to give the talk both were females. Broom training did not last long as I started out flying the instructor on the third day. I was floored with the hand kissing part of the training. No, you did not give the second knuckle a lip smack and call it even, there was a fitness of how your lips brushed over the knuckle. Dancing is easy right. No sir there is the etiquette of introduction, dance decorum per individual dance, and exit from the dance. The magical were still in the Victorian ages and practices.
Some things were very useful and discouraging. They showed how the ring could detect love potions and other dangerous things like poisons. We then went into flushing potions for all kinds of dangerous things that made a person do something they normally would not.
Not all of my training was quick or unpleasant; they sent me off to an island they said I owned with trainers to teach me physical exercises and how to swim. I am happy my trainers were Goblins as they failed to send bathing trunks. They did provide a leather loin cloth for when we were practicing the swords. Clothing became optional very quickly. Catching lunch or supper in the ocean was also fun.
Time passed to soon and they still had to drag me away from the island.
/Scene Break/
"Harry I need to discuss a few things with you before you board the train tomorrow."
"Now comes the bad new is my guess." I laughed.
"More like information as you have proved that you have a level head on your shoulders. Dumbledore believes that Orion is TBWL. We have seers as does Dumbledore but I will not tell you what they prophesied."
"Why shouldn't I know?"
"Prophesies are strange, most are never fulfilled but some are because the people believe them so they make sure that it happens. Its call self-fulfilling and we do not want that to happen with you. We have our seers, Dumbledore has his, and there is at least one that Dumbledore believes. Therefore, Dumbledore has been training Orion in curses and spells based on TBWL prophesy. As you know he has the wrong boy, so what else does he have wrong?
"This could be interesting if he found out he made a mistake," I was thinking aloud.
"We did a little checking and Dumbledore has had his Potter living comfortably and receiving training. The other Potter, you, he has dumped into that hell you were in without a second thought. So I warn you not to trust him and then there is all his spies, his order of the Phoenix and maybe more."
"Going to make me paranoid before I get there," I laughed.
"All you need to do is not to walk in blind or blindly trust some one who may be working for Dumbledore. To that existent, we had our tailors make this dragon hide travel vest and had your travel cloak lined with spell resistant materials. Just be careful Harry, a spell is just as deadly as a girl with a knife."
/Scene Break/
I 'floe' transported onto the train platform and hurried across it to find a compartment. I had a perfect view of the platform as people entered and boarded the train. I guess every student hopes he will be good and not embarrass himself at school. I had read all the textbooks for the first four years and could do most of the spells. I had even picked up extra books on wards and runes. Wards were fine but runes they could keep. Ah, here comes a circus of red-heads, plus one dark-haired boy. A fat woman is making like a mother hen over a brood. The little girl is hanging on her mother but seems to be drooling over dark-haired boy. It's difficult to tell if they just met or what, oh here comes a silver-haired boy puffing up to the dark-haired boy. The dark-haired boy turns and I see myself in a way, if a twin he really doesn't look exactly like me, his hair is spiky , mine straight and pulled back into a pony tail. My green eyes, his eyes are blue, more like twins in name only.
Free entertainment especially now that the train is about to leave and they are all falling over each other and their heavy trunks to get onboard. Do they not know the shrinking charm for the trunks?
I pull out my warding book to catch up on a new ward. I have noticed that the train is moving and the compartment door is slid open. I look up and see an absolutely stunning blond girl, well for eleven. As she introduces herself as Daphne Greengrass and a dark-haired girl enters, followed by a redhead. Tracy Davis and Susan Bones, the next thing I know my compartment if full of girls. All are squeezed in; I would guess a couple more than normally would be fit in this compartment. After a short introduction of everyone, things settled down. There was Hannah Abbott, Yvonne Bampton, Liza Cherks, Padma Patil, Parvati Patil, Becky Arncliffe, Jennifer Dawn, Susan Bones,Daisy Corran and the lovely Daphne Greengrass.
Then the gossip starts on things like did you see "The-Boy-Who-Lived"? Who are all those red-heads? While some answers were accurate, most was gossip.
What houses everyone wanted into was discussed after the girls verbally sliced and diced the blond ponce Draco Malfoy before he decided earlier to leave them alone. Now I would not say any of the girls were flirting with me but I sure was not treated like an obnoxious brother.
/Scene Break/
This cluster of females stayed with me even though we had to have more than one carriage to get to Hogwarts. When it came to sorting I ran into a small problem when the hat was put on my head..
"Hi there Harry heard you were coming".
"Err, what?"
"I am Abe the sorting hat, Dumbledork told me you were coming and to put you in Gryffindore. Some higher-ups told me to make sure you are happy. So which House do you wish to be sorted into? Dumblebunny I can handle, lightning bolts from the sky I wish to avoid." Want to follow were all the girls went they were all very enamored of you."
"Sure, they all were nice, why not?"
"Ravenclaw" the hat shouted.
As I sat down, I made the mistake of looking at the head table. The Headmaster, a greasy looking Git and a dumb looking guy with a turban were all staring at me. There was nothing that I could take from those looks.
My brother and the red-head were sorted in Gryffindore, the blond ponce went to Slytherin. The meal was fantastic and the girls kept drawing me into their conversations.
"Harry would you escort us to the common room asked Daphne, with a nod from the girls I could see and a "please" from Tracy.
Now confused is my normal state but this was different, but I was not going to complain.
We arrived in the Ravenclaw common room and I was assigned a room. Here in Ravenclaw I had a whole room to myself so I started to ward it. Woops, here come the girls straggling in to my room. So I made sure that the wards let these girls enter without problems. They all seemed harmless and I was really enjoying the attention. Anyone else would be in a world of hurt if they tried to enter without my permission.
In the morning, I was again with the girls that were up and ready to head to breakfast. Off we go and sit at the end of the table. Not long after we arrive the rest of the girls come rushing in and join us. While we are chatting I noticed that Orion has entered with the younger redhead who is called Ron and two other blokes. They head for the Gryffindore girls and are not at all welcomed by the Gryffindore girls. Later the blond ponce enters and does the same and is rejected by the girls at his table.
Now while they are being rejected I am noticing that I have girls asking if I want some sausages or pumpkin juice and if I say yes they are putting the items on my plate or poring the juice in my goblet. If this is not strange enough some of the girls from Orion's table and the blond ponces table are wandering over and sitting with us, me and the Ravenclaw girls. The girls chatter away;
"Draco had the gall to say if we did not become close with him his father would…"
"Yes I heard Orion say that he was the savior of the world or some such crap…"
When I asked their names I got the biggest smile, there was something wrong, even I mister no body was like a magnet for the girls. I had best shut up and enjoy or someone would put me in my place or take a swing at me like at the Dersley's. I did not know how close I was to the truth.