Sib
by Roff
CHAPTER FIVE
"Fine," he said with a look of relief as he sat down across from Harry on the same side as Luna. "I worked a lot in my greenhouses. In fact, my gran bought me a new greenhouse. She seemed to be proud of me for once after what we did at the Ministry."
"She should be proud of you, Neville, and not just because of what we did at the Ministry. You're a powerful wizard. She has a lot to be proud about."
"Thanks, Harry. Hey! She even bought me a new wand. This one actually works better for me."
"That's right your wand was broken at the Ministry," Harry remembered. "I'm so sorry, Neville."
"It wasn't your fault, Harry. There's no need for you to be sorry," he assured him. "The wand was my dad's. I never was taken to get my own until this summer. His wand didn't really work all that well for me either."
"Well then, you'll be something to see this year since you now have a wand that chose you," Harry encouraged him.
"It did choose me. I knew it as soon as I picked it up. It was amazing. I never felt that from my dad's at all."
"We're all a little different, Neville, so we all need our own wand."
Just as Harry was speaking the door opened and there stood Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis.
"Yes, ladies?" Harry asked standing. "What can I do for you?"
"Potter!" Tracey exclaimed.
"Yes, I believe that's my name," Harry replied with a smile.
"Can you believe this Daphne?" she asked turning to her friend.
"What happened to you, Potter?" asked Daphne. "We saw you on the platform but thought you were a new transfer student or something. Up close we can tell it's you but my goodness you've changed."
"I just had a productive summer and a big growth spurt, that's all, Greengrass."
"I'll say," replied Tracey looking him up and down.
"You even dress nice now, Potter," said Daphne gesturing to his clothes.
"Oh, well, this summer I was emancipated when I became the head of two houses. I no longer had to be under the thumb of my relatives. Plus, it was important to start looking the part, you know."
"Two houses?" asked Daphne.
"Yes, my godfather left everything to me and made me the new Head of House Black. Once that happened then I was free to take up my role as Head of House Potter."
"Harry, that's two very prominent houses," said Neville impressed.
"I know," he said turning back to Neville, "and I told my relatives that I would not be returning. It was a very good feeling."
"Good for you, Harry," Neville told him.
"I think we're missing some things here, Potter," Daphne interjected.
"Right, ladies, I suppose you wouldn't be in the know about a few of the things I alluded to just now. Let me see if I can sum it up for you. My relatives hate magic and hate me too. I was treated worse than a house elf and my bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs until I received my Hogwarts letter, even though there were plenty of bedrooms. They only gave me my cousins cast offs to wear and he's extremely fat, easily 3 to 4 times bigger than me."
Both girls mouths were open at the new information about the Boy-Who-Lived and how he grew up.
"Next, Sirius Black was my godfather and no he did not betray my parents. He was innocent. Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper and was the one that committed the crimes Sirius was accused of committing. Sirius never received a trial. He was just thrown into Azkaban without one. Peter is still alive and he's a Death Eater."
"How in Merlin's name did we not know about all this," asked Tracey.
"Fudge is in the back pocket of Lucius Malfoy and follows his council. Dear old Lucius is a Death Eater who kisses the arse of that half-blood Tom Riddle, also known as Voldemort."
Both of the girls gasped at the name and the information. Neville and Luna never responded to the name. This did not go unnoticed by the Slytherin girls.
"Wait a second, Potter. Are you trying to tell us that the dark lord is not a pureblood?" asked Daphne incredulously.
"Yes, it's true. Don't get me wrong, he is a descendant of Slytherin on his mother's side, but his father, whom he was named after, was a Muggle." They were looking doubtful so he continued. "You don't have to take my word for it. Go look up Tom Riddle. He was the Head Boy at Hogwarts during the years 1944 and 1945. He was a brilliant Slytherin student who won awards and did very well for himself. He was also a murderer. He opened the Chamber of Secrets for the first time in 1943, during the Spring semester of his fifth year. That was the year Moaning Myrtle was killed by the Basilisk."
"The ghost in the girls lavatory?" asked Daphne.
"Yes, Myrtle Warren."
"How do you know all this?" asked Tracey.
"I've had some interesting conversations with the Headmaster, and I've done some research of my own. Had you joined the D.A. last year you would have already learned this."
"No one asked us to join, Potter," said Daphne.
"I suppose the ones doing the inviting were unsure of your motives."
"That's likely, but trust me, Potter, not all of us in Slytherin think like Draco and his bunch. I'm a pureblood and Tracey is a half-blood. She is also my best friend. That should tell you something."
"Then I apologize that you guys never got an invite. If we need to do it again, then I will personally invite you myself."
Daphne nodded in acceptance.
"You guys really missed out," Neville jumped in. "Harry is a really good teacher. I made an O in Defense because of him and I'm pretty sure most all the DA members did well on their Defense tests too. Those students who only had Umbridge must have found it difficult."
"Tracey, Blaise, and I did our own studying together for Defense so we wouldn't do so poorly on our OWLs."
The Weasleys came in late as usual with Hermione coming with them, so the two Slytherin girls left when the new group wanted to enter the compartment with them standing in the doorway.
"We'll talk to you later, Potter," said Daphne.
"Bye, Potter," Tracey added.
"Looking forward to it, ladies," he said with a bow of his head.
Hermione, Ron, and Ginny entered the compartment with questions on their faces. They were wondering why two Slytherins were talking to Harry and they were trying to wrap their heads around all the changes they were seeing in him.
Harry and Ron put all the trunks in the overhead while Ginny sat between Luna and Neville. Hermione sat on the same side Harry was sitting before and then he and Ron sat down with her. Harry sat by the window since Hermione sat in the middle. Ron took the other side. They were all just staring at Harry in disbelief, except for Luna and Neville.
Neville finally spoke.
"Ron, Hermione, Ginny? Have you met Harry Potter? He's a good friend of mine who had a very productive summer, didn't you Harry?"
"That I did, Neville. I've already spoken about it once but I guess I'll have to explain it all again."
"You had better, Harry James Potter!" said Hermione. "You look so different!"
"I want to know what happened to you too, Harry, but I also want to know what those two Slytherins wanted," Ron added.
"Those two Slytherins, as you put it, were Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis, Ron Weasley, and they are both nice girls," insisted Hermione.
"They're Slytherins, Hermione!" he insisted back.
"So! That doesn't matter, Ron," she responded.
"You can't trust Slytherins!"
"Wait a second, Ron," Harry jumped in. "Do you mean to tell me that you think all Slytherins are the same?"
Ron nodded. "Of course, they are."
"Tracey happens to be a half-blood and Daphne is a pureblood. They are best friends. Do you think Malfoy would be best friends with anyone other than a pureblood?"
"No, but you still can't trust a Slytherin."
Harry took a big breath and let it out. "Ron, I'm going to ask you a question and I need your honest answer." Harry paused for a second or two. "Are you a bigot?" he asked sincerely and concerned.
"What?!"
"I asked if you're a bigot, Ron. It's a simple question. Are you?" he asked calmly again but a little worried.
"How could you ask me that? I'm supposed to be your best mate!"
Hermione was looking worried all of a sudden at where this was going, especially since she was in the middle between them.
"It's a very simple question, Ron. Let me ask you this. Do you think all Ravenclaws are just alike? Have the same attitudes, look at people in the same way?"
"Maybe."
"What about Hufflepuffs? Do you think all Hufflepuffs are exactly the same? Have the same attitudes and beliefs?"
"I don't think so."
"Is that because you know more people in Hufflepuff and can see the differences?"
"I think so."
"Now, what about Gryffindors? How about them? Do you trust everyone in Gryffindor? Are all Gryffindors exactly the same?"
"No, of course not. We're all very different."
"But yet you still think that all Slytherins, even the ones you've never met or spoken to, are all the same and none of them can be trusted?" he asked incredulously. Ron started to speak but Harry cut him off. "And, Ron, please think before you speak. Because if you say yes, then that makes you a bigot. And, if you are going to insist on remaining a bigot, then I can no longer be your friend. I refuse to be friends with a bigot. My relatives are bigots and Malfoy is a bigot. So, no thank you."
Ron's face suddenly turned beet red. He got up suddenly and left the car. The train had already started moving. Several seconds passed before anyone spoke.
"Harry, I know my brother was upset by what you said but he really needed to hear that. I think what you told him may actually make him see what he is doing wrong. If he'll just think it through instead of only reacting based on what he's been told by idiots, then he will come to the right conclusion."
"I think so too, Ginny. I hope what I did wakes him up. I would hate to lose him as a friend but I meant what I said. I will not be friends with a bigot. I've had more than enough of that in my life."
"Ron, just needs to grow up more." Hermione added. "He does tend to respond more with emotion instead of reasoning things out first. I think given time he'll come around. I have to go to the prefects meeting and Ron does too. Maybe he headed there already. When we get back you have to share what happened to you, Harry."
"Sure," he said as she was leaving.
"Well, Luna and I are about to go visit with our other friends. Do you think you could share that with me now, Harry?" asked Ginny.
"Neville, why don't you give Ginny the synopsis. I'm sure Hermione and Ron will insist on hearing it only from me. I will of course answer any questions I can, Ginny."
She nodded her head so Neville told her the abridged version of what he explained earlier.
"I will add some extra just for you guys," Harry spoke after Neville finished.
Harry then told about bonding with Dobby and how he found problems immediately afterwards so did a ritual on Harry with some of his elf friends that freed up his magic and improved his body overnight, causing him to grow five inches and suddenly be in much better health. He explained that he was always supposed to be this tall at this age and how he actually grew another inch over the rest of the summer.
They were all three amazed at what he told them. They had never heard about an elven ritual like that. He then told them how elves can remove the trace from your wand and how purebloods with elves did that to give them an advantage. The Weasleys and Lovegoods didn't have an elf, and Neville's gran never shared that with him. He said he would go home at Christmas and have their house elf do it for him then.
Ginny asked if Harry could get Dobby to do it for her and Luna. Harry said he could but since the Ministry wasn't very fond of him, he didn't need to take the risk of getting caught doing something like that. They would come after him in a heartbeat. They understood and thought it better not have Harry do that. Secretly, Ginny wondered if she could get one of the Hogwarts house elves to do that for her.
Ginny and Luna left after that to visit their friends and only Hermione returned later after the prefect meeting. She said that Ron was quiet during the meeting and decided to sit with Dean and Seamus after the meeting ended. She supposed he needed more time to think it over.
Harry went over the story again with Hermione. Neville decided to read one of his books on Herbology while Harry went through it all again. He never told them about Sib. He wasn't sure when he would tell them. For now, it would be easy enough to keep him hidden although they would have to understand about him needing time to himself. He decided to explain it to Hermione now.
"Hermione, I'm going to be working harder on my studies this year. I've been using magic all summer and learning new spells."
"That's great, Harry!"
"I also bought a new seven compartment trunk that has a 2 bedroom flat in the seventh compartment. Since I'm the head of two prominent houses now, I'm going to have to spend some time in there alone working on that. It's private family business so no one else can see it. If you can't find me for some reason, then I will likely be in my trunk, but please don't disturb me unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Sure, Harry. Can I see it sometime? I've never seen a flat in a trunk before. That must have been expensive."
"I wouldn't mind seeing it myself, Harry," Neville added.
"Not a problem, I'll have you both over sometime. Dobby can even fix us up something. He's a good cook. I've eaten very well this summer."
"Will Dobby be staying in the trunk?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, he's actually in there now. I didn't order furnishings until a couple of days ago so he's been in there fixing it all up."
"Where's your trunk now," asked Neville.
"In my pocket."
"And Dobby's in there right now?" Hermione asked in shock.
"You do know that the expansion charms on the inside of a trunk are not effected by anything done to the outside of the trunk? Right, Hermione?"
She was thinking it over and trying to remember what she had read. Harry explained more. He had made sure he understood before leaving Sib in there while he shrunk the outside.
"The spatial dimension of the expansion charms stay constant inside the trunk so it never changes, nor is it effected by movement of the trunk as a whole. Dobby popped me to the station to catch the train this morning. Then he popped into the flat to get to work. So right now, Dobby is working away inside the flat, which is inside the trunk, which is also shrunk and in my pocket."
"How do you know all this?" asked Hermione.
"Do you honestly think I was going to allow Dobby to be in my trunk while it was shrunk if I wasn't sure about that? Dobby told me it would work, but I had to read up on it myself. At the store where I bought the trunk, the proprietor explained that his type of work creating these was very specialized."
"Sounds like it," said Neville.
"Hang on just a second. Dobby?"
Pop!
"Yes, Harry Potter sir?"
"How's it going in there?"
"Dobby is happy to be very busy getting the flat ready, Harry Potter sir. I is making good progress."
"Great, Dobby. Thanks for the update! See you later."
Pop!
"Wow! That's amazing," Hermione exclaimed. I'm going to have to read up on this now. It sounds super interesting."
"The proprietor also said that this type of work normally requires masteries in Charms and Transfiguration, not to mention extensive knowledge about Runes."
"I should think so," Hermione agreed.
Ron never joined them again on the train and he sat with Dean and Seamus during the feast. Nearly all eyes were on Harry when he entered the Great Hall. Since he came in with Hermione and Neville, they placed who he was right away, especially since they could see his face better now.
The professors were staring too.
"I'll be right back, guys," he told Hermione and Neville.
They took a seat while Harry walked up to the head table and approached Dumbledore. All eyes were watching Harry. When he reached the table, he told the Headmaster that he needed to talk to him in private as soon as he could spare the time. Dumbledore was thinking this was very fortuitous since he planned on requesting a meeting with Harry after the opening feast anyway.
"Why don't you meet me in my office this evening after I dismiss everyone, Harry? We can talk then." With an afterthought he added, "Oh, and I'm very fond of Hershey's Kisses."
Harry smiled and nodded, then walked back to the table to sit next to Hermione and across from Neville. Ron refused to look at him when he passed by. Once Harry was seated, he looked around at the students at all the tables. Most of them quickly looked away when his eyes landed on them. However, Daphne and Tracey waved at him and smiled. He smiled back at them.
Draco Malfoy saw the interaction and was not pleased.
Some girls at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables saw the interaction too and became suspicious. They wondered if Greengrass and/or Davis were making a move on the new and improved Harry Potter. They didn't think Harry really knew them all that well. They weren't in the D.A. last year like most of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff girls were, so they weren't sure why the smiles and waves from those two Slytherins. They all knew about Ginny Weasley's interest in Harry Potter, but she seemed to have moved on last year and was dating other guys.
The interest in Harry Potter as a potential boyfriend just went up several notches in many of the witches' minds. If the two Slytherin girls were interested too, then they knew the competition was on. Many teenage girls put on their game face that night and paid attention to the sorting and announcements while at the same time they made furtive glances at the boy in question.
Hermione, being a hot-blooded teenage girl herself, had no romantic interest in Harry. Their relationship was purely platonic, since they acted more like brother and sister. She took note of what many of the girls were doing and found it quite amusing. Harry was definitely looking a lot hotter these days and it looked like he was going to have his hands full with all those interested witches.
After they were dismissed to their houses, Harry got the password for the Gryffindor entrance from Hermione and went to meet Dumbledore in his office. Harry gave the word 'Hershey's' and then made kissing noises with his lips. The gargoyle refused to budge.
"Oh, you're none fun at all," he told the guardian. "Fine. Hershey's Kisses."
The gargoyle then let him through once he provided the correct password. Harry frowned at the statue on his way past it.
Knock, knock
"Come in, Harry."
Harry went in and stood before Dumbledore. The headmaster studied him closely. Harry was sure he knew about the horcrux that was in his scar.
"Something tells me you had an interesting summer and I'm not referring to you getting emancipated and becoming the head of two houses. I believe something significant happened," he said looking at Harry's almost non-existent scar and tall, well-built frame.
"Why didn't you tell me about the horcrux that used to be in my scar?"
"You figured that out, did you?" he asked with concern.
"Why?"
"Well, obviously I was wrong about this, if indeed the horcrux is gone now. Is it?"
"It is."
Dumbledore let out a big breath of relief before explaining himself.
"I honestly thought you would have to die to get rid of it, Harry. I was hoping Voldemort would hit you with the Killing Curse but have it take his soul fragment instead of yours, so you could live. Long shot I know but I thought that was your only chance. I just couldn't bring myself to share that horrible news with you. I was hoping to come up with another solution before it was too late. I'm sorry, Harry."
Harry nodded. It was as he suspected.
"What happened to your hand?" Harry asked, noticing the blackened appendage.
"I found another horcrux but it had a nasty surprise," he said holding his hand up so they both could see it better. "Severus was able to stop the rapid advancement of the curse. He's quite knowledgeable with dark curses."
"I bet he is. It can't be completely healed?"
"I'm afraid not. The curse was an extremely nasty one. The damage was already done."
"Which horcrux was it?"
"The Gaunt ring."
"Did you destroy it?"
"Yes, I did manage to do that even after being cursed by it. Can you explain how you got rid of the horcrux in your scar?"
"Elf magic."
"Hmm. I know some interesting information about elven magic but I'm not actually that well versed in the more esoteric things they can do. I doubt going to them would have ever occurred to me."
Harry went on to explain about Dobby bonding with him and detecting the soul fragment immediately afterwards, then with help from his friends they were able to remove it using a ritual. Then he explained about the changes he discovered the next morning when he woke up.
"That is amazing! I can't tell you how thrilled I am that you don't have to die now. This proves that no matter how old you are you never have to stop learning, and just between you and me, Harry, I am quite old."
"Don't take this the wrong way, Professor, but I kind of figured that out already," he said with a smile.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Nothing ever escapes you, right Harry?"
"I did want to thank you, Professor, for coming to my aid in the Ministry atrium and taking on Voldemort for me. I was very impressed with the amount of magic the two of you were able to throw at each other."
"Regretfully, I wasn't able to completely stop him, Harry, and I'm sorry about that."
"Has he become too powerful, sir?"
"No, I'm quite sure he's still not as powerful as me. He's more like a somewhat close second and I would wager you are a close third to him, but your magic is still growing. What he does have and I don't, is youth. I am nearly twice as old as Tom, Harry, and he's not a spring chicken either. However, his body is really just a magical construct and that gives him even more mobility. That was why I was not able to stop him. I may be able to use my extra power and abilities to out fight him due to my experience, but I just don't have the physical strength anymore to back it all up."
"Do you really think I'm that powerful?"
"That's what you took from everything I just said? You're not going to rib me again about my age?"
"Why would I keep stating the obvious, sir?" Harry asked with a straight face.
Dumbledore laughed. "Very good, Harry, and yes you are that powerful. In fact, your magic increased significantly after the horcrux was removed. You will be at least as powerful as Tom, if not more so by the time your magic reaches its full potential."
"Even so, that won't put me on par with his experience and ability with a wand."
"No, but he always underestimates you. Plus, you proved your worth when you sent him packing at the Ministry. I may not have had the juice left to do it, but you sure did when he wrongly decided to possess you."
"I remembered what you said about love and how he couldn't stand it, or much less, fathom it. I simply shared with him the love I have for my friends and especially my godfather whom I had just lost. I imagine that was a very powerful feeling of love he felt when I remembered Sirius."
"He could not stand it and left you immediately. Well done, Harry, well done. You now know the formula for keeping Tom out of your head and I firmly believe that whenever your final confrontation with Tom happens, that you will be victorious."
"If not, then I will find a way to take him with me, sir. I swear it."
After everyone became more accustomed to Harry's new look and many of the female students increasingly became very flirty with him, Harry started settling into another year at Hogwarts while spending as much time as he could with Sib. Most of their time together was spent training the little tiger and often going for walks in the meadow and woods inside the armoire. This way he became more familiar with the other parts of that environment.
Harry kept the gate closed on the picket fence when he was not around. He figured once Sib was big enough to jump over the fence then he was big enough to go exploring on his own. After all, he was bound to come back when he was hungry. If not, then he was sure Dobby could find him easy enough.
Harry also managed to get Sib accustomed to some magic. One of the things he did was place the Disillusionment Charm on him to get him familiar with the feeling of the spell. For instance, when you're tapped on the head with a wand, casting that spell on you, it feels like an egg being cracked over your head and a feeling of coldness running over your entire body. Warmth is felt when the charm is removed.
Harry thought it might come in handy when Sib was older and could use it to enhance his stalking or help hide him better. The first few times he cast it on the feline, Sib would shake his whole body similar to a dog shaking water off itself. Now, he just took it in stride. He was starting to get more accustomed to using it too, since he realized he was practically invisible with the spell applied. You couldn't see him at all if he was being perfectly still.
In addition to working with Sib, Harry had to expand one of his other compartments on his trunk and turn it into a Potions lab. He made an O on his Potions OWL but Snape was very unhappy about it. He immediately started in on Harry when the first Potions class of the semester began.
"Potter, how you managed to get into my NEWT level Potions class is beyond all reason. You are one of the worse potion students I've ever had the misfortune to teach. You're just like your father! He was as lousy at brewing potions as you."
Everyone in the class had witnessed the confrontations between Snape and Potter over the years so just sat back and watched.
"Well, sir, I beg to differ," Harry responded cheerfully. "Apparently, I'm more like my mother when it comes to potions. My father received an E on his Potions OWL. My mum received an O. I must have done something right because I made an O on my OWL too, just like everyone else in here. Wasn't that part of the requirements for anyone to be able to take this class?"
"Twenty points for your cheek, Potter!"
"Really, Professor? Are you going to start this again? I made on O on my OWL in Potions because you weren't there distracting me and Malfoy and his cronies weren't throwing things into my cauldron to contaminate my potions. A problem you never addressed once. I'm not inclined to put up with your gross misconduct as a professor any longer. If you can't behave, then I will report you and find another way to get my NEWT in Potions."
"It's bad enough you have to be like your pathetic father, Potter, but why channel that worthless mutt of a godfather, Sirius Black?"