It took me some time to update. My husband died in January and I was really not motivated.
Eventually, it turned out that the goblin-like professor was Professor Flitwick who was both the head of his House and his Charms teacher. He welcomed the new Ravenclaw students by reminding them that knowledge was a good thing but not an end in itself and that they should find ways to use what they learn.
Harry intended to put that advice to good use. And if what he was learning was different from the usual curriculum… Well, he would put it down to curiosity, after all. That was one of the Ravenclaws' flaws.
The Common Room was warm and encouraged reading. The walls were covered with bookshelves full of books that Harry was eager to peruse. The room was divided into two areas which were distinguished by their furniture. On one side, large tables lined with many chairs allowed students to do their homework while the other side had large armchairs that were visibly very comfortable and invited them to read.
When the lessons started, Harry quickly learned that the Potions professor was Severus Snape, in other words his birth godfather, and that their relationship promised to be rocky. He apparently looked a lot like his adoptive father and that seemed to strongly displease this greasy bat. James Potter was obviously not as angelic as portrayed in the books and Hagrid's tearful words. If what Snape was saying was true, the man used to be terribly arrogant and spoiled rotten. A magical Dudley, in short.
No big deal, he had already memorized a good part of this year's manual and had read several books on the various methods and preparation and on the theory behind it. Even if Snape tried to fail him in class by throwing humiliating remarks at him for nothing (a very slight shade too light, a millimeter mismatch in his cut…), Harry intended to succeed. Potions were something very useful for someone who couldn't use magic outside of school until he was seventeen.
If there was one thing that baffled Harry, it was the general low academic standing in the school. Apart from the Ravenclaws and a few Slytherins, the students seemed to take their schooling lightly. Gryffindors preferred to play in the hallways rather than go to the library (Harry literally drooled the first time he walked in!) and Hufflepuffs seemed to fly through life without questions. In another context, Harry would have compared them to hippies…
Harry had already read and memorized the first year syllabus while his classmates hung around, preferring to behave in a purely immature way. Would he have been like this if he hadn't had to mature before age? Probably.
The young Ravenclaw divided his time between the library in which he did his homework and deepened what he was learning in class (he also introduced himself to subjects that were not taught), his common room where his comrades from the upper years were usually exchanging information aloud (what better way to know what to expect next) and the classrooms where he excelled in all subjects (when the teacher was honest, he didn't count Potions, huh).
It was extremely new for him to be able to display his real abilities. The first time he had reported for a test where he had a better grade than Dudley, he had been severely scolded and locked in the cupboard all weekend, only being able to go out to use the bathroom. Strangely, since that time, he had tried to do worse than his cousin. It was far from easy because he refused not to learn and cheat convincingly to get a bad grade when you know all the right answers is harder than would think.
But his aunt and uncle didn't give a damn about his grades at Hogwarts so Harry had a field day. He found all the courses fascinating and was almost always the first to cast the new spells learned.
Alongside his studies, he showed himself to be a sociable and polite student. He refused to let others get too close and therefore didn't really have any friends but often helped his comrades with homework and revision and was kind to students from all houses without overdoing it. He avoided attracting attention, he already had too much for his liking with his Boy-Who-Lived status (what a stupid nickname!) and portrayed as the perfect student. If his uncle and aunt saw him, they would be unable to recognize the submissive child they hoped they fashioned.
He behaved in the same way with his brother, adopting the respectful attitude due to an heir of a large family without bowing to him. The Slytherin had been curious for the first few weeks before adopting a neutral attitude towards him. He was obviously just part of the scenery now, which suited Harry just fine. It is much easier to analyze someone's attitude if that person is not paying attention to you. And, for the moment, what he saw did not impress him. Draco Malfoy was a good student but he spent his time bickering childishly with the Gryffindors and he moved around the castle as if he were its King. He would have to mature before Harry would want to approach him.
The only student who infuriated him was a Gryffindor student, Hermione Granger, who seemed to take umbrage at the fact that he consistently got better grades than her. They shared just a few lessons together though, the Ravenclaws were more often paired with the Hufflepuffs but she always seemed to know his grades. She kept approaching him in the library, looking at what books he was reading, sometimes even trying to peek at his homework. This forced him to be tricky when he wanted to read a book that was not related to the first year courses.
The Granger problem, as he called it, solved itself on Halloween. Professor Quirrell had interrupted dinner by shouting troll in the dungeons before fainting. The Ravenclaws had all religiously followed the Headmaster's instructions and went to their common room to finish their meal. Harry thought to himself that Dumbledore was no more logical than the rest of the wizarding population, endangering two of the houses that had their common room in the dungeons. But that was none of his business, after all, he hoped that his brother would be smart enough to escape a troll, even if it meant throwing one of his comrades in front of him to create a diversion.
It wasn't until the next morning that he learned that two Gryffindor students had been seriously injured by the troll in a toilet. It would seem, from the rumors (and Harry's ears had picked up enough information to get a pretty good idea of the reality) that Granger was crying in the toilet over a disparaging remark from Ronald Weasley since their Charms class. When the redhead realized that his classmate was not in the Great Hall he had found it wiser to go searching for her instead of informing a professor. The troll was obviously not in the dungeons as he had found them in the middle of an argument and had given them a good blow with its club.
Fortunately none had suffered a fatal injury but Granger's muggle parents had decided to withdraw their daughter from this school which was too dangerous for their taste (looks like some muggles have more sense than wizards).
Weasley had received a Howler a few days later. His mother seemed to realize the stupidity of her son who had preferred to dive into danger without thinking but was still disappointed that he had not been able to save his friend. Harry had been appalled by the attitude of this shrew. OK, Ron Weasley wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer but he was a Gryffindor! Throwing yourself into danger without thinking was almost a requirement for entering this house! And putting his son to shame in the middle of breakfast… Damn he was glad the Dursleys didn't know about the Howlers. He dared not imagine the sadistic pleasure they would take in sending them to him regularly. Well, if they didn't have a visceral fear of magic, of course.
Harry watched Professor Quirrell even more closely afterwards. He was really very suspicious and his fainting was as fake as Bülent Kayabaş's death scene in Karate Girl (yes, he had seen it while mopping the floor when his uncle was watching the movie and he had to bite his cheek until he bled to avoid laughing and thus receiving a beating). His scar tingled every time the professor turned his back to him which was quite weird.
This scar was the result of Voldemort's Avada Kedavra. For it to react like this meant something fishy was going on around his DADA professor and he intended to shed some light on it all. Hopefully, he would learn a bit more about the wizard he was supposed to have defeated.
Quirrell exuded quite a dark aura when you knew how to look. An aura at odds with his apparent weakness. He wasn't as good an actor as he thought he was, clearly his shoulders were held too straight even as his voice quavered, for example. For someone for whom observing others is a matter of survival, the trickery was obvious.
It was in December that Harry decided he had to talk to him. He waited until the end of the Wednesday lesson, it was the last lesson of the day and therefore allowed them to discuss unimpended.
"M… Mr. Po… Potter?"
- Professor, can I talk to you please?
- Y… Yes, of course.
The young boy decided to take a very big risk, a risk that could cause him to lose everything he had accomplished since the start of the school year. But he had a good idea what was causing the tingling in his scar and he wanted to be sure. And, most importantly, he had repeatedly observed suspicious little glances from Dumbledore and Snape towards Quirrell after the troll debacle, which had cemented Harry's impression of him.
So he decided to partially drop his mask. His face became more closed, more neutral, and his gaze became more piercing.
- Professor, I wondered why we learned Defense against the Dark Arts without ever addressing exactly the spells against which we learn to protect ourselves. Shouldn't you have to learn both dark spells and their counter-spells if you really wanted to defend against them?
- Y… You surprise me, Mr… Mr. Potter. The ch… child of a fa… family on the s...s...side of the Light who is interested in the D... Dark Arts?
- Oh, you know, professor, you shouldn't believe everything you read in books. Besides, I find it hard to believe that a child under the age of two can stop a wizard as powerful as the Dark Lord. And then I find it ridiculous to classify everything between Light and Dark. After all, I can kill someone with a levitation spell if I release the person too high or above something dangerous and that is considered light magic. It is a matter of perspective. If we take Parseltongue as an example, it is considered a dangerous and evil gift in Britain while people who can speak to snakes are highly sought after in India because healing magic in Parseltongue is very powerful.
- You raise very good points. But don't talk about that to other professors, Mr. Potter. Not everyone has a point of view as open as you and me. What do you think happened the day your parents died if you doubt your role in that event?
- Well, I think Lily Potter was very good at runes. Chances are she performed a ritual using a willing sacrifice, her own, to save me and attempt to kill the Dark Lord.
- That's an interesting theory, indeed. And more believable than the Headmaster's theory about love. Do you call your mother by her name? I do not perceive any particular sadness when you speak of her sacrifice.
- Ah, it's because I was adopted by the Potters, so she's not really my mother, is she? Maybe if I had known her more, I would consider her as such, but she was not the one who raised me, in the end.
- Oh ? I did not know. Why tell me, this is information not to be put in everyone's hands.
- I know I'm taking a risk, professor. But I think you will keep this secret. In exchange, I won't tell anyone that you pretend to stutter and that my scar reacts when you turn your back on me. I'm sure Dumbledore would love to know about that.
Harry accompanied his last sentence with a wink and a smirk. Quirrell frowned before realizing that he had indeed forgotten to stutter, caught up in conversation with this young boy. This one already did not correspond to the image he had of the Survivor before the start of the school year, showing himself to be very talented and studious, but he had just changed his face again.
How did Harry Potter not end up in Slytherin? He was manipulating everyone with his model student facade! All the teachers except Severus were eating out of his hand and singing his praises in the Staff Room.
- Very well, young man, I will keep your secret if you keep mine. I want to ask you a few questions before it's dinner time, if you don't mind.
- I do not promise to answer but ask me whatever you want.
- If you were adopted, who are your biological parents? Do you know? How did you learn about it?
- Ah… I would prefer not to say it for the moment, professor. I discovered it when I first went to Gringotts. I took an inheritance test because I wanted to know more about my family and I learned more things than I expected. Just know that this is not a family that seems to appreciate our dear Headmaster.
- A dark family you mean? Amazing... What do you think of that? And of the war that took place?
- As I told you, I find the distinction between Light magic and Dark magic ridiculous. They are two sides of the same coin. Magic is magic, that's all. It's how we use it that makes us good or bad. As for the war… aaaaah, what can I say… I learned that I was a wizard last summer and the only information I had about it came either from Hagrid, therefore from Dumbledore, or from books, therefore on the side of the Light. How can you form an informed opinion in this case?
- Indeed. Out of curiosity, what did you hear about the Dark Lord's goals?
- Oh, it's the Big Bad, the monster under the bed. He wants to kill every Muggles and Muggleborns. Or enslave them, depending on the book. Ah, and he distributes torture curses like candies to his minions and killing curses to all who are against him. He lives only for torture, rape and murder.
- And your personal opinion?
- I don't have enough information about him. I would have liked to get a little closer to the children of dark families, but Dumbledore is watching me. I've found that the paintings listen more intently when I'm near, so I can't be more than just polite to them on school grounds. However, I would be surprised if it was as bad as that. Oh, I'm not saying he's not capable of being cruel or killing, the Potters are a perfect example of that, but I think the Light side is exaggerating greatly. After all, he wouldn't have had so many people to serve him if the only reward to expect from him was not to be tortured. And the "crazy killer" picture doesn't match his actions.
- I see. I think we'll stop there for today, it's almost dinner time. All this conversation stays between us, of course. And avoid looking Dumbledore or Snape in the eye.
- I know. I felt them several times trying to scan my thoughts. Fortunately, I found a very useful pendant in a catalog, it helps to repel superficial mind readings. It cost me a small fortune and wouldn't block a direct attack but it's better than nothing. Good evening, Professor.
Harry left the classroom after putting his mask back on, only now putting his book back in his bag to look like he had spent several minutes asking the professor questions about his subject.
This interview had been very rewarding and the boy had no longer any doubts about Quirrell's allegiance. Contrary to what he had thought, he hadn't felt threatened like when Dumbledore was interested in him. On the contrary, he had felt more in his place than he had ever done. Odd.