Chapter 16

Walking back down to the dungeons where the potions lab was, Harry was ambushed by the Marauders and James was practically gushing over Harry's dueling skills when he approached the group, "Did you see him? He made Shacklebolt look like a fly on the wall, and then he handled Lily and Bones simultaneously."

James threw an arm around his cousin as he steered the boy towards the Great Hall with his group in tow, "I thought you were good on a broom, but that is nothing compared to what you can do with a-"

"It was nothing, James." Harry interrupted becoming uncomfortable by his true father's praise, "Professor Black put a challenge before me, and I overcame it. Nothing more, nothing less."

Sirius laughed, "That wasn't nothing, mate. You made some of Hogwarts' best duelists look like first years."

"I did what I was trained to do." Harry corrected, "The Potter family has many enemies far beyond what Hogwarts students are capable of. Therefore, modestly speaking, I was trained to be far beyond what Hogwarts students are capable of."

James was smiling no longer, and the other boys looked confused by his words. James huffed, "Enemies? I feel like the family is keeping more secrets from me than necessary."

"Only because it's in the interest of my safety, and yours." Harry consoled, "Give it some time, and I am sure I will find ways to tell you safely."

Before James could protest a soft voice called his name, "Harry?"

Turning to face the young woman that called his name a smile began to tug at the corners of his mouth, "Miss Evans. What can I do for you?"

"You can start by calling me Lily." The young woman offered with a smile, "Then you can walk me through what you did in your duel with Yaxley. I've never seen magic like that."

Offering his arm to the girl he grinned, "Well, Lily, I would be happy to explain it to you. If you aren't afraid to be seen walking with a Slytherin then you can join me on my way to lunch?"

The girl blushed a pretty shade of red, and nodded looping her arm through his. Turning to face the Marauders, Harry offered them a nod, "Gentlemen. We can continue this discussion later."

The three boys all looked at James who had an unreadable expression on his face. Harry knew of his father's infatuation with his mother, but he would not deprive himself of a chance to develop his own relationship with the woman. In time James would see that there was zero romantic intentions behind his pursuit to get to know the young woman, and hopefully he will not hold it against him.

Lily dressed in her school robes, with green eyes, and tied back red hair told Harry that his mother was a beautiful young lady. Horace had told him in his time that his mother had many admirers, but she'd remained diligent in her studies until her final year when his father finally gained her attention. He could only hope his presence would not interfere with that, or create problems between the pair.

"Before I tell you about what I did during my duel with Yaxley, tell me what you thought about your own duel with me?" Harry asked curiously.

"You are really fast." Lily said honestly, "Amelia and I are both towards the top of our class, and she easily could have been Head Girl over me. I have been in fewer detentions, and it is for that reason I think that I was chosen over Elaina and her. I only mention that because we have both dueled each other enough to understand one another's strengths and weaknesses. We didn't need to sit there and put a game plan together, because we knew to play to each other's strengths. Instead of playing defensively though, you went straight after us, and put us off balance from the start. I wish I had cast a wider area of effect spells to hold you in place, which would've kept you from pinning Amelia down. I was afraid of breaking the ward though, so I was too cautious. Your shields were large enough that I think it would've been okay though."

Concurring with her opinion Harry nodded his head in agreement, "You definitely would have prolonged the duel that way. Initially, my plan was to have you stun Amelia, and then I would pin you with rapid spell fire like Kingsley tried with me. My concussion hex however disoriented you more than I expected, so I capitalized quickly."

"How could I have been shielded from that?" Lily asked curiously with a grimace on her face.

"Without knowing legilimency you couldn't have." Harry admitted, "You would've had to have known what my spell was before I cast it for you to shield it perfectly. The best thing you could have done was bear with the pain, and refrain from panicking. The charm doesn't last for long, and as soon as you began casting spells at me it would have dissipated."

"It was a clever trick." Lily admitted, "For the rules, we were given it was a perfect answer to try and take us both out."

Grinning at the compliment, Harry decided to quit while he was ahead, "It's good to think about what we could have done better after losing a duel. My father does it to me after each of our bouts. Maybe the line of thinking doesn't give you a win, but it does make you better."

"You grew up dueling a lot?" Lily asked, "It would explain why you are so good at it."

"Let's say I had a lot of hands-on training, and leave it at that. Besides, I believe you wanted to know about the magic I used against Yaxley?" Harry asked, and she nodded her head, but frowned at his answer, "How well versed are you in wards and arithmancy?"

"I'm the best in our year at Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Admittedly my knowledge of actually summoning defensive wards is rather limited though." Lily confessed.

"Well, basic arithmancy tells you what you need to know." Harry explained carefully, "While Yaxley pranced his way to the front of the room, and Professor Black began putting up the defenses I was trying to determine what he was casting. The Fianto Duri ward is very basic, and that was his first layer. Anyone could have seized that from him without a battle of wills, because it is more like a thin layered shield than it is a fully powered ward.

The first spell that Yaxley cast would have undoubtedly shattered it. However, it was combined with Protego Diabolica and Protego Maxima, which made them formidable enough that anything Yaxley legally cast would have been absorbed by the wards. Now let's consider wards as building blocks. The base layer is Fianto Duri, the middle block is Protego Diabolica, and the top block is Protego Maxima. Do you follow?"

Nodding in understanding, a look of concentration was on Lily's face as Harry continued, "Now in the case of the building blocks let's say I stole the middle block. What would happen to the other blocks?"

"They would crumble?" Lily asked curiously.

"Not quite, but they would falter, and if not reinforced then, yes, they would collapse. This meant that instead of fighting me in a battle of wills for Protego Diabolica, he was forced to keep control of Protego Maxima to protect all of you. It was clear to me from the beginning that Professor Black was also not expecting me to seize control of his wards. I surprised him so much that by the time he began to resist them, I already had control of them before he finished calling out 1."

Lily stopped, releasing his arm as she turned and looked up at him, "So you put the class in danger to make an example of Yaxley?" she asked, frowning.

"Not at all." Harry defended at once, "I only took control of one ward that would hold long enough for me to make an example out of him. Fianto Duri was still in place, and would've absorbed at least one spell before shattering. Plus, Protego Maxima would've absorbed anything I deflected into that area. We would've both had to cast spells directly into the wards for the class to have been in any danger."

The two held each other's eyes, and Harry had a moment to appreciate how alike they were. He had heard the words so many times in his life, but now he understood them. He did have his mother's eyes, and he wondered if she would question it. Comprehension was slowly crossing her face however as she analyzed his words, and finally, she sighed continuing to move towards the central staircase, "Fascinating. Your understanding of wards is far beyond my own. Did your family teach you?"

"No, I had a friend that was immensely brilliant. She taught me almost everything I know about wards. I didn't even take Ancient Runes or Arithmancy. My dad taught me some specific spell-casting techniques for certain wards, but all my theory, and most of my spell repertoire came from her." Harry admitted.

"Wow." Lily said, clearly impressed, "It must have run deeply in her family for her to be able to teach you so much."

"She was actually a Muggleborn just like you." Harry said with a smile. Hermione had often been compared to his mother intellectually, and it was a nice feeling to hear Lily was impressed by his best friend, "She was just a very good student."

"Was?" Lily asked, "Did she graduate already?"

"She died actually." Harry said as they arrived just outside the Great Hall.

Lily recoiled at his words, "Oh, Harry, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to…How did she die?"

"Violently." Harry said ominously, "I'd honestly rather not talk about it. Did you have any more questions about my duel with Yaxley?"

The inquisitive look in Lily's eyes was swimming with questions, but instead, she took a deep breath and asked, "When you started to fight back, how did you throw Yaxley off balance?"

"A wandless summoning charm." Harry answered easily, happy to get away from the gruesome topic of what had happened to Hermione, "I am sure you recognized the reducto curse that followed."

Lily's eyes widened at his answer, "A wandless charm against an entire person? That's difficult magic."

"Certainly difficult to learn. Not so difficult to cast." Harry explained, "Learning wandless magic is extremely time-consuming, but once your magic understands how to do it, it becomes quite simple."

"Could you teach me?" Lily asked curiously.

"I could certainly give you the theory behind it." Harry confirmed, "Though I am afraid a lot of the work is frustrating and monotonous. It took me a long time to be efficient with the wandless magic I am capable of. As you can likely imagine though, all the spells I put the effort into learning are immensely useful."

"How many spells can you cast wandlessly?." Lily asked with excitement evident in her voice.

"Not enough." Harry answered with a grin, "A wizard has to have a few secrets, my lady."

The young woman rolled her eyes, and Harry chuckled when she said, "It seems you have more than a few, Harry Potter."

With a slight bow of his head, Harry winked at the girl one last time as he made his way toward the Slytherin table. Before he made it Lily called out to him, and he turned his head to face her, and she offered him a smile, "Thanks for explaining all that to me."

With a nod, Harry shrugged, "You're welcome…and Lily, I just want you to know that despite me being in Slytherin there is no reason we can't be friends. I know you have not had the best luck with my house, but I grew up far away from the prejudice that you have experienced. You have nothing to fear from me."

Not waiting for the girl to respond, Harry strolled over to the direction of the Slytherin table, and sought to join his new friends.

Taking a seat next to Andromeda who laughed at something Pandora Lovegood said, Harry greeted the two of them as he reached for a plate, "Afternoon, ladies."

Andi casually greeted him, while Pandora looked at him curiously, "Hello, Harry Potter."

The voice made Harry instantly smile, but it faded quickly as the screams of his blonde friend echoed through his mind. Luna was not the same after she had been rescued from Malfoy Manor, and while the two did not share many resemblances, it was a painful memory to recall that Pandora addressed him exactly as Luna had many years before. Trying to seem unphased, Harry offered the girl a forced smile, "Hello, Pandora Lovegood."

"Impressive dueling today." The young woman commented as she stabbed at her food.

"I thought the same about you." Harry offered in return as he loaded his plate up.

Andromeda chuckled, "As cute as this interaction is, how do you two know each other?"

"We don't." They both answered at the same time.

Andromeda looked confused, and glanced between them a few times as if expecting that they were having her on. When no explanation was offered she raised her eyebrows at Harry, "You know she is married, right? You shouldn't be inquiring after married women, Harry."

This made Pandora laugh, and Harry grinned, "That is actually how I know of her. I heard her last name being called in class, and I have a passing familiarity with her husband. I am quite the fan of the Quibbler."

Pandora seemed surprised at his words, and suspiciously she narrowed her eyes his way, "Really? Rumor has it you haven't been in Britain very long. How did you hear of it? It's a pretty new publication."

"I don't trust the prophet." Harry answered easily as he stabbed into his food glancing around the table to see that the stares his way had not lessened since the night before, "I wanted a second opinion on current events, and I stumbled across your husband's paper. He has an interesting taste in politics."

Frowning, the woman defended her husband, "He is unique. It is a good thing in modern times. People are so boring these days."

"His unique point of view is what I enjoy the most." Harry said holding his hands up in defense, "I think he disguises allegories behind his eclectic thoughts. Things that can't just be said without offending the pureblood agenda."

Andromeda blinked a few times, and Pandora just stared at him with curiosity. Finally, she chuckled, "Careful there, Harry, those were two big words in one sentence. They are going to re-sort you into Ravenclaw at this rate."

The three all chuckled at this, and went about their lunch. When it was time to disperse to their next classes, Andromeda bumped him with her shoulder, "I saw you talking to Evans when you entered the Hall. Has she ensnared another Potter male?"

Her tone was teasing, but Harry shook it off at once, "Not at all. She asked me a scholarly question, and I obliged her with an answer, that's all. Nothing more. Nothing less. She was quite friendly though."

"Quite pretty too." Andromeda said teasingly.

Harry hummed his agreement, but didn't commit to anything as they crossed into the dungeons. Speaking softer now she said, "You should be careful with who you interact with, Harry. Evans has made enemies in our house. She was friends with Snape at one point, but that ended poorly. Now she is basically in open season. The girl has crossed wands with more members of our house than anyone."

Harry stopped now, the expression on his face taking a dangerous edge, "Why? Because she's Muggleborn?"

Andromeda raised her eyes at his tone, but answered him nonetheless, "Muggleborn, brilliant, and beautiful. Everything the purebloods say they can't be."

It was clear by the disgust in her voice that she didn't agree with these sentiments, but still, it infuriated Harry to know that his mother was being attacked by members of Slytherin house, "I won't stop conversing with someone because our house looks down upon them. I will form my own opinions, and defend my friends with whatever level of force I deem necessary. You will find no prejudice in house Potter."

Andromeda grinned at his words, "I knew there was a reason I liked you, Potter. Just watch your back. You will definitely get a pass for speaking with James and the other Marauders due to the family dynamics, but Lily will cause the house to ostracize you."

"A Potter does not concern himself with the opinions of sheep. Besides you saw my dad and I dueling on the grounds of Potter Manor. You also saw how I handled Yaxley in Defense. If someone in our house were to try and test me in combat I would make them regret it." Harry said firmly as he stepped into the Potions classroom ending the line of conversation.

Potions was much like it was in his previous timeline during his last year with Professor Slughorn. The class itself wasn't so different in attendance from his Defense Against the Dark Arts either. All four Marauders were present for this class. Lily was sitting next to Marlene, while Alice and Frank sat together at a table nearby. Harry was about to ask if Andromeda wanted to grab a table with him, but she scampered off to sit with Pandora in the corner. Amelia and Kingsley were sitting together again, and Harry was forced to move towards the front of the class to the only open table left.

Sitting next to Snape in class was a bit of an odd circumstance. The young man didn't even lift an eyebrow at Harry when he sat down, nor did he show any signs of discomfort. When Slughorn gave his welcome speech to the class it was much more friendly and jovial than what they received from Professor Black. Slughorn was laughing and smiling, saying that their class was the largest NEWT class in memory with some of the most gifted brewers he had ever encountered. With the number of Aurors this Hogwarts graduating class produced, Harry shouldn't have been surprised by this knowledge, but still nodded in appreciation that he could have some real talent backing him in the coming years when it was time to battle the Dark Lord.

The man had big smiles for Lily, and even a large grin for Snape in the front. When he assigned the potion, Harry immediately went to work hoping to avoid any uncomfortable encounters with Snape. He figured they could both work on the Wiggenweld potion in silence without any issues.

With the lessons he had learned from the Prince, Harry set about preparing his potion to the best of his ability. It was odd to think that everything he learned about potions one way or another was from the man beside him. Compliments and critiques barely registered through Harry's mind as he listened to Slughorn move about the room.

When Harry came towards the final steps of his potion he used the blade of his silver knife to crush a dark berry to draw as much juice as possible when a voice brought him out of his concentration, "The instructions say to cut the boom berry."

Freezing for a moment Harry fought the grin that threatened to cross his features, "You get more from the berry if you crush it."

With a quick movement Harry dumped the juice into his potion and began stirring it three times clockwise, one time counterclockwise, and three times clockwise, another trick from the Prince. When the young man finished he took a deep satisfied breath as the potion matched his book's description, and he turned to see Snape watching him with curious eyes. There was no disgust present like there had been the night before, "You are not what I expected."

"What did you expect?" Harry asked curiously.

"Another idiot like your cousin." Snape admitted freely, but did not remain on topic, "You have brewed this potion before?"

Deciding not to address the insult to his birth father Harry shook his head, "Not this one in particular, no."

"Yet you did not follow the instructions in the book." Snape stated quietly.

"My previous teacher taught me many tricks that can be used for a wide variety of potions." Harry admitted, "He was a surly git, but he was gifted in potion making."

Snape looked jealous by his words, "I figured out crushing the berries last year as well. I wish I had someone that would have taught me things like that. Slughorn is excellent, but not prodigious. He is very by the book, and not very creative."

"I admit I am not a prodigy in potions either." Harry returned in a quiet tone, "I just had good teachers."

Snape looked at him with confusion now in his eyes, and when Harry raised his eyebrows at him the long-haired boy shook his head, "Like I said, just not what I expected. I think I will seek you out during the dueling club. Perhaps I will see if Yaxley was just a fool or not."

No further words were said between the two, and Harry did not see a reason to tell the young man he had no intention of joining the dueling club with the others. Slughorn congratulated both boys with a booming voice on perfect potions, and Harry offered Snape a respectful nod at the end of their lesson before each went their separate ways.

Walking to the Slytherin Common Room Harry found himself in deep thought. The devastation Voldemort had on this generation became more and more apparent with each class he attended. The number of students around him was much more numerous than they were during his time at Hogwarts. It was disturbing to think so many of these unfamiliar names and faces were likely murdered by Death Eaters in his timeline. Thinking of people like Elaina made Harry pause in thought. Maybe some escaped? According to everyone who spoke of her she was talented enough, but maybe that also meant Voldemort targeted her himself?

A part of him longed to be back at Potter Manor with Dorea and Charlus. Perhaps it was a mistake coming to Hogwarts. The two were more than capable of teaching him what he needed to know to defeat Voldemort. He could develop a relationship with Lily, James, and the other Marauders once the Dark Lord was defeated. It wasn't too late to drop out. He could go home and resume the focus on his training.

On the other hand, he was sent here to make a difference. Perhaps some were still redeemable before they joined Voldemort forever. Snape had saved his life many times in his previous life, and if he could return the favor he would. The young man was not as antagonistic as he thought he might be, so perhaps he was not as set in his ways at this point in time. He could definitely tell some were already lost to the dark arts, however. Harry had recognized a few of the spells Yaxley tried to immolate him with, and that was in a classroom. He could only imagine what the man might resort to when he could hide behind a mask.

(A/N) Bit of a filler chapter here, but we get our introduction to young Severus Snape. Lots to unpack with Lily and Harry's interaction as well as Harry brushing off the Marauders when they attempted to gush about his abilities! Looking forward to sharing more and if you guys want to read through chapter 31 you can follow me on Pat(reon) OrionB15 for just 1$ a month no long term commitment necessary! If you want to read six additional chapters FOR FREE you can follow me on discord. Just delete the spaces from my link below, and if not then I will see you all in two weeks.

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