Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot. The original concepts belong to JKR and Warner Brothers. Any concepts brought from other fictions are either coincidental or will be used in their own way, and no plagiarism is meant.
Chapter 8: A New Year Begins
Beyond
Harry was suddenly blinded by light, before it cleared, revealing a 1950's styled diner, and a man in a familiar cloak sitting in the only occupied booth, eating a burger and fries alongside a shake. "Sit Harry, let us talk."
Harry took the proffered seat, before finally finding his voice. "I thought I wouldn't die for a while, being partially immortal? How am I here?"
Death laughed, and after calming himself down, spoke. "I never said you couldn't die, Hadrian. I said you would live until it was your time. Sometimes, your time will come, and then I will send you back. It is nice, you know, being able to chat with someone who doesn't fear me." At Harry's aspirated look, Death laughed, before continuing, "And yes, right now, in your dorm, your body is there. Not breathing, no heartbeat to be found. Don't worry, I will return you moments after I stopped your heart, I just wished to chat with you, mainly about the guests present around Hogwarts."
Harry felt pretty stupid at Death's response. He knew Voldemort… no, Riddle was still alive in a sense, despite having died, so it wasn't impossible to believe that Harry was able to be partially immortal, dying and being sent back to his body. His might be a different method, but it was still feasible.
"The Dementors?" Harry asked. "Why are you concerned about them?"
"Because I created them, sort of." There was an audible sigh from him before he continued. "A very long time ago, a veil was made, a partial gateway between here and the living realm. It is one way, as what is dead should stay dead. For a while, it was used as a place for executions, until it was found that some were able to return, nearly ten, but they returned soulless." Death explained.
"They are soulless victims, or more aptly, soulless convicts, that without their soul, crave what they miss. They consume the soul in its entirety, and exude their hopelessness and despair onto others, feeding from the person's happiness and soul. They, unfortunately, can still breed, and that is how they number in the hundreds. It is why the veil now sits in the Department of Mysteries, as they didn't want any more dementors on their hands."
"Why bring me here then? For the history lesson?" Harry asked.
"No, it is because you have journeyed here. They have sensed my magic on you, and they will seek you out. When you return, you will find a page with a spell on it. Learn it." Death said.
"Learn the spell that drives Dementors off. Got it." Harry replied. Death shook his head.
"No, it does not drive them off. It will kill them. They do not belong there, and until now, I had no one to do it for me. Sure, learn that silly positivity charm first, it will make my spell easier, but I want them dead before you die. As many as you can kill, if not all of them. They do not belong." Death said with anger.
As Death stood, he spoke one last sentence, "Oh, and don't get your soul sucked out, it would be very bad for us both…"
Everything darkened, and suddenly Harry was awake in his bed. Like death had said, there was a page laying on his chest that looked to be from an extremely old book. He saw the Latin incantation, Mortium Patronum, but didn't dare test it here, and not without learning the 'silly positivity spell' as Death called it. Hiding the page in the Library of his trunk, he turned to look at the clock, and saw it was already six in the morning, so getting up, he went to do his normal workout routine. He returned in time for a quick shower, before getting dragged out of the room with Neville by a starving Ron.
"Blimey mate, where were you? I was dying there." Ron said dramatically. Internally, Harry laughed, as Ron had definitely not been the one dying. They met Hermione at the table only minutes later.
"But you didn't. And I was working out. Running, pushups, sit-ups, crunches, it all helps the body, which in turn helps your magic." Harry replied finally, having not been able to talk in his attempts to keep up with Ron. Harry immediately noticed Hermione's thoughtful expression.
"That makes sense if you think about it, though if that trend works, then I shudder to think how strong Dumbledore is physically." She said, faking a shudder. Neville choked on his eggs laughing as Harry had to stop himself from taking a drink of pumpkin juice.
Of course, Professor McGonagall saw that as the perfect opportunity to hand everyone their schedules, though she was eying them suspiciously. Eying his schedule, Harry noticed the day consisted of Ancient Runes and Transfiguration before lunch, and Care of magical creatures following lunch. Harry was ecstatic to start Ancient Runes, as the books had all held his attention with their endless uses. Hermione looked at her schedule and frowned, and after Harry saw it, he agreed. She had almost no free time due to the course load.
"Why must you take everything Hermione? You see all of the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students struggling, and that is with a normal course load. Why would you willingly put yourself through this much stress?" Harry asked.
She just looked down. "Hermione, look at me." Once he had her attention, he continued, "You are the brightest witch in our year, and top of our year overall, you don't have to prove it by doing everything. You can't hold that top spot by doing everything." Harry said, trying to be mindful of her feelings. He knew her academics were a soft spot.
"Why not?" Hermione asked defensively.
"Because, think about the homework load. Snape, McGonagall, and Flitwick often assign at least an hour and a half each week, plus whatever time it takes for research and corrections. Astronomy takes another two hours, History takes another hour, and Herbology is an hour to three hours depending on if we have projects to attend to outside of class. If I had to guess, Professor Lupin will also assign an hour's worth each week. That's not counting our new classes, which is probably at a minimum another hour each. If you say the day is 8am to 8pm, with how your schedule is, you have nine hours to do your homework, plus another twelve on the weekends. You are looking at over fourteen hours before research, and that is before studying and preparing for the next classes, or worrying about practicing spells. I know it sucks to hear, but you don't need to push yourself, not like this." Harry said.
Hermione sat deep in thought, clearly repeating everything Harry had said. Neville and Ron wondered if it was possible for someone to be right against Hermione, and were eagerly looking forward to her next words.
"What should I do then?" she asked quietly, but trying to not accept defeat.
"You're muggle raised, and the course is out of date anyways, so drop muggle studies, and drop divination. I asked Fred and George about her, and I was told she is a fraud at best. Doing that opens up four hours of class time, and another two or more hours of homework time." Harry replied.
Hermione nodded, thinking for a minute, before getting up and walking to McGonagall. The professor looked pleased by Hermione's choice, and after holding her schedule a moment, handed it back to her, dismissing her.
They all made a quick trip up to the tower, where Ron was staying for the duration of first period, as he hadn't taken the class. Hermione and Neville followed him up to the sixth floor where the classroom was, and entered. The teacher was a younger woman named Bathsheda Babbling, and it was clear from the beginning that she was a very cheerful and outgoing person, and probably a prodigy in Ancient Runes. She went over the course, how runes were used, and what a few of her own projects were, one of which was a bowl that would keep whatever was in it either hot or cold, something that hadn't been done before, while also keeping it fresh.
Then she broke Harry's heart by telling them that they wouldn't actually be carving runes until the end of their fourth year, and that everything until then was theoretical knowledge. Harry sighed, and they began working learning the Elder Fukhart runes, which Harry had memorized. Hermione was shocked at his knowledge of the runes, but took it almost as a challenge, and managed to get one right that Harry had flipped with another, Eihwaz and Ehwaz.
Of course, after having the second period free, they made their way to Transfiguration. Transfiguration was as exciting as normal, well, as exciting as a theory lesson over Animagus transformations and registrations were. The most interesting thing was that apparently Neville had been told he would die at some point in the year. It terrified him nearly as much as Snape does.
"Mr. Longbottom, Let me first say that in the thirteen years that she has been employed, Sybill Trelawney has never accurately predicted such a thing, and you need not worry about dying. If you do though, you are excused from class." Professor McGonagall said.
The seriousness in her voice caused every student to laugh, including the terrified boy. Eventually thing's evened out, and everything returned to normal. Lunch was nothing spectacular, other than wondering what 'interesting' animal Hagrid would provide for his first lesson. Something that they didn't have to wait long for.
They made their way out to the Paddocks with the rest of Gryffindor, meeting Slytherin third years already waiting. Some looked interested in what Hagrid might teach, others were wary, and then there was Malfoy's group, who were talking badly about Hagrid. Ron, being the quintessential Gryffindor, had to open his mouth, and Malfoy chose to use it as an opportunity to insult Ron's home and family. Thankfully, Hagrid returned, stopping all conversations with what he brought back.
Four… Half eagle, half horse animals, each looking positively lethal and yet regal too. They were truly impressive. "These 'ere are called Hippogriffs. 'Hey are part Griffin, par' Horse, and part Eagle. Ne'er insult one, as they are very proud creatures, and 'hey will attack if they perceive offense." Hagrid spoke loudly.
Harry was the first, and only volunteer, to walk up to the one called Buckbeak. Hagrid had instructed him to bow, without blinking, and if Buckbeak bowed back, Harry could approach him. Of course, this snow plowed into Harry taking a ride on the back of the creature, which was both incredibly thrilling, and yet relaxing at the same time.
On his return, he saw that some of the class had been assigned different hippogriffs to work with, and once Harry thanked Buckbeak, Buckbeak was sent over to Malfoy. Harry had a gut feeling that Malfoy would do something wrong, so he dropped his wand into his hand and watched, waiting for Malfoy to act.
At first, the blonde boy was well behaved, bowing and being polite, but once he had started petting Buckbeak was when he did it. "You aren't so dangerous, are you, you great ugly brute."
In a flash, and almost too fast for Harry, did the Hippogriff shoot up to its rear feet, slashing down with its talons. "AEGIS FORTUS" Harry yelled, casting a more powerful version of the Protogo shield. It wasn't meant for spells but it worked amazingly against solid objects.
Buckbeak was knocked back by the force of the shield before attempting again with more effort, and Harry felt the strain on his magic from stopping such a force, but held out until Hagrid calmed the raging creature. "What were you thin'in'" Hagrid yelled, his voice echoing through the trees.
"Tha' was the first warn'ing I gave you, 'nd you di'n't listen. Leave my 'lass, twen'y poin's from Slyt'rin, and detention with me 'omorrow."
An angry blonde stormed from the paddock, clearly annoyed his plan hadn't worked. "'Nd twe'ty poin's to you, 'Arry, for the protectio' o' another student." Hagrid said proudly.
Class moved pretty quickly after that, and they knocked out what little homework they had before going to dinner. Of course, by the time dinner was over, the story had spread about Malfoy's idiocy in Hagrid's class, and that Harry had saved him from possibly losing a limb.
Harry sat in bed that night, thinking back on how the day had gone. He knew that saving Malfoy was a necessary evil. As much as he would have liked seeing the blonde git injured, he knew the Malfoys would use it as a reason to get Hagrid fired and the beast killed. Sitting back in the bed, Harry focused on meditating, and then working on his occlumency a bit more before laying down to sleep, a last thought passing through his consciousness.
'Overall, It hasn't been a bad first day at Hogwarts'
September 10th, 1993
"Hey handsome." Harry recognized the voice, and turned to see the youngest of the three Gryffindor chasers standing there, a smile on her face. Katie Bell was one of the more fancied fourth years. She stood an inch or two shorter than Harry now, with long blonde hair, a soft face, and bright blue eyes. That she was a quidditch player, and had a good figure only made her appeal more to most boys in the school.
"Hey Katie!" Harry replied to the cheerful girl, as she sat down at the lunch table, "How was your summer?"
"Good, mind passing the stew over there? It looks good." Harry passed it over, as she continued to speak, "Oliver has scheduled practice starting at 6am tomorrow. Expect to be pushed heavily as he wants the cup this year."
She laughed at Harry's visable wince. Oliver Wood was a fanatic of quidditch and was a highly scouted player in the past two years. Already he had offers from the major league but he was aiming for the best, Puddlemere United. Last year, the man had them training five days a week, and in just about every single weather condition possible.
"Yay." Harry replied unenthusiastically. "The man is a menace sometimes about practice, but I admire his dedication. Alright. I'll be there."
They talked for a little bit, mostly about their summers and how they were preparing for the year, and Katie, being the outgoing person she was, flirted more with Harry. Harry laughed at some of them but kept the blush from his cheeks for the most part. However, as she left, she made a last attempt, "If you ever want to escape your group for a short bit, come find me. There are plenty of broom closets and abandoned classrooms for us to visit.", she said, winking as she stood and walked away.
Once Harry had calmed his far too red of a face, he stood carefully and made his way to Arithmancy. The class was mostly based on spell creation. Though that wasn't until after O.W.L.s. Right now, it was just mathematics, and next year was algebra.
Hermione asked what happened with Katie after class. Evidentially, she had witnessed it, yet hadn't saved him!
"She… uh… well she offered to… 'visit the abandoned classrooms and broom closets' with me, and I didn't miss the double meaning." Harry admitted, blushing once more.
That caused the bushy-haired girl to erupt in laughter, "Oh, you have no idea how many girls want to drag you into one, do you?"
Harry shook his head.
"Harry, before, you were famous, and some girls wanted a chance just for that. Now you are tall, extremely good looking, dressed in good clothes, and your glasses are gone. You look a hundred times better. It's no wonder every girl is trying to drag you into one." Hermione replied, with pinkened cheeks.
Harry turned even brighter red, but managed a laugh all the same. "Thank you Hermione, I am only trying to be my best."
"It is only the truth, Harry." Hermione responded.
Ignoring the slightly awkward silence to the DADA classroom, he was dreading Quidditch practice, as he knew it would be hell. Though now he had more immediate concerns. Professor Lupin had managed to get a boggart, and today they would be facing it. Walking into the defense classroom, Harry immediately noticed the cabinet in the middle of the room shaking a little, as if the Boggart was excited about the opportunity to traumatize some children. Harry was more concerned at what his boggart was, though Neville seemed worried as well.
Remus had already explained the lesson beforehand, so once he said line up, everyone was up and in a line in front of the cabinet. Somehow, poor Neville was first and looked terrified as he openly admitted that he feared Snape. Remus, being who he was, leaned and whispered something into Neville's ear, making the boy grin a little, before stepping back.
"Ready Neville?" the professor asked. Neville gave a nod, and with a flick of the wand, the cabinet opened, and a few seconds later, a not-Snape stepped out, wearing the iconic sneer and loathing in his eyes while his robes billowed at his feet. Neville raised his wand, and with a stutter, "R-riddikulus!"
Suddenly, there was a puff of black smoke, and once it cleared, not-Snape stood there in robes Harry recognized immediately, Madam Longbottom's robes. Now, Harry hadn't seen these robes before, as they were the robes that the woman wore when she wasn't doing official business, or so Neville had said. Harry watched as not-Snape looked at the robes, bright green in color, with frilly lace around the neck and cuffs, and a matching hat with a stuffed vulture on top.
Harry was both shocked, appalled, and trying not to burst out laughing at the sight in front of him. His peers had no such reluctance, as many of them were laughing loudly. Neville had a smile on his face as Remus called for the next to approach, allowing for Parvati Patil to face a mummy, changing it to be wrapped in bright pink and polka dots, Ron with spiders, and removing their legs, and Dean to face a banshee, making her voice crack and deepen randomly.
Several others were given the attempt before it was Harry's turn, as he stepped forward, twisted from a snake, before slowly solidifying into a Dementor, but before anything could happen, Remus stepped forward, blocking everyone, and forcing it to change a second time. Harry saw the moon appear before Remus called out 'riddikulus', and banished the balloon into the cabinet.
"I apologize, but it seems it is time for class to be dismissed, a point for everyone who faced the boggart, and I want five inches on the experience on how to face one, due at our next class. Everyone is dismissed." Remus called out.
There were several disappointed groans as everyone picked up their bags and headed from the room. Not Harry though, he was annoyed and hurt that he was stopped, so he waited patiently, signaling the other to head on out of the room. Remus had noticed, but said nothing, waiting patiently. Once it was empty, Harry spoke.
"Why did you stop me from facing the boggart?" Harry asked. Remus knew that Harry was upset, and wisely chose to be honest in his reply.
"Well, wrongly, I thought it would form into Voldemort, and I wanted to avoid such a situation. I realized too late that you fear Dementors more, but those too were not something that should be formed here. I shouldn't be surprised though, Dementors are fear embodied. That you fear them is not surprising." Remus replied.
They stood in silence for a moment. "I think I hear her." Harry voiced quietly, "My mom. I heard her screaming on the train when the Dementor was there. I always remembered the green flash… but they brought the memory forward more. I keep having nightmares of that night, though they are still fuzzy." He hadn't told anyone about those few moments in front of the creature, but it had somehow drug up just a few more moments of that night in Godric Hollow.
Remus got up and walked around his desk, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder. "I am always here for you, and my door is always open if you wish to talk. Dementors… they are the worst creatures in the world, and they feed on suffering."
"Can you teach me the spell you used? The one that drove off the Dementor on the train?" Harry asked. It seemed like a good time to ask, and he knew the full moon was still a week away.
"Maybe. The spell is called the Patronus charm, and is a spell most cannot perform. Even some charms masters struggle with it." Remus said. "I don't want you to be disappointed if you can't perform it, but we will see if it can be done. It will have to be a short while though."
Harry nodded, "Thank you." Harry stopped, thinking for a moment, "When are we going to meet to discuss where you have been these past years?"
Remus sighed, knowing he wasn't escaping the conversation, "How about after our first lesson with the charm?"
Harry nodded, and after a quick goodbye, left the room. Remus sat in thought, dreading the upcoming conversation, and happy that he was getting to spend some time with Harry. Even his wolf side seemed eager to be around the child, though Remus was unsure of what that could mean, it was something that could scare him.
September 11th, 1993
Harry wished he hadn't thought it would be just Oliver pushing them, as it was the wind, and the storm that moved in overnight that was pushing him too. Thankfully, it calmed down halfway through nearly five hour long practice, but it was still oddly chilly out. Harry suspected it had to do with the Dementors, as it felt similar but more distant to what they felt like when he was closer to him.
Walking back up to the castle was when Harry saw him for the second time, the large black dog. There were alarms going off in his head, that this dog meant more than just being present, and being a dog. He chose a possible stupid idea, and began to approach the dog once more, noticing how its gray eyes followed every little movement Harry made.
Harry approached the dog slowly, reaching out and rubbing the dog's ears. The tension didn't leave the dog, nor did it leave Harry, but neither made any moves away from the other.
"I wonder why you are following me? Or how did you even find me?" Harry wondered aloud. "There is something familiar about you, and something screams in my mind that you are important, but I can't place my finger on it."
Harry's stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since six this morning, and that lunch ended in an hour. "I've got to go, boy, but stay safe out there. Maybe I will see you again."
Walking back to the castle, Harry found a seat with Ron, Hermione, and Neville. The three were talking about Defense, and how the boggart was cool. Hermione wanted a chance to face it, as she wasn't sure what her greatest fear was, and wanted to know. Ron and Neville were stuck on Snape in womens robes. Said professor was immensely displeased, and was glaring between Gryffindor and Remus at every meal since dinner the night before.
Apparently, the rumors had spread rapidly about what had happened with the boggart. Snape had given three different older year Gryffindors detention for a week when they had loudly made a joke about it at dinner the night before. Judging by the look on the potions master's face, it seemed his mood was unlikely to lift anytime soon.
Not that his mood was ever very bright anyways. Harry thought.
September 19th, 1993
Headmaster Office
Albus Dumbledore was in a state of panic. Since his conversation with Remus Lupin at the beginning of the term, he had spent a large amount of time paying attention to one Harry Potter, and searching all of his notes when he wasn't dragged between meetings for the Ministry of Magic.
So far, he had nothing. Everything he knew was either wrong and everything was fine, or he had a lot of very serious problems and everything was in the dragon dung.
Harry's scar, he knew, had contained a soul shard. One that belonged to Voldemort, or Tom Riddle. The soul shard was likely a Horcrux, or at least a close version of it. And it was possibly gone. The scar was, Dumbledore knew that much, but what happened to the shard? And how did it happen? Was it really Harry walking around or was it Tom?
The last question on his mind worried him more than anything. Harry had been more academically inclined, walked with better grace, and seemed to be more outgoing and charismatic. Yet Dumbledore saw a few subtle differences. There wasn't any coldness or aloofness, there was no cruelty. Harry had even asked Lupin to teach him the Patronus charm.
Even more alarming was Harry possessing a new wand. Oh, Dumbledore knew the story of Harry getting a new wand, and how Ollivander had lied and said it was broken, but had, in trust, told Dumbledore the real reason for the new wand. Dumbledore was still slightly irked that all he got was that Harry only had gotten a wand with dragon heartstring and Cherry, a volatile combination, though the wandmaker refused to give up any more about the wand. What he didn't understand was the necessity for a new wand. If it was Tom, then why did the Holly and Phoenix not work? If it was Harry, was it because the soul shard was gone that he got a new wand? And if it was Harry, how did he burn the wand out? Was the binding still on him?
But if it wasn't Tom possessing Harry, then how did the shard get removed? The goblins were the first answer and the most obvious, but if Harry had been there, then he would know about his heir status and wealth. While Harry was wearing nicer clothes, it seemed he hadn't been spending frivolously, meaning he was likely still unaware of his status. Dumbledore suspected the little magicals knew how to destroy one without destroying the container, but also knew they would never share the secret.
Was it a Dementor? Theoretically, they could suck the souls shard out, but it would have happened before the start of school. Maybe, somehow, he was hit with yet another killing curse, not done by Tom, but then how was he alive? Unless… maybe the blood protection went for all of Tom's followers?
There were just too many possibilities and unknowns with the magic involved, both the soul magic, and what Dumbledore suspected was sacrificial ritual magic. Neither branch was one he had studied in-depth, and what was 'known' wasn't clearly defined, or tried and tested knowledge. Everything was a guessing game and it put the older man on edge.
Albus Dumbledore knew that he needed to talk to Harry, but was wary of doing such a thing. If he met with the boy alone, and it was Tom, then there was a chance that he could attack, and someone could die. If it was Harry, it would likely be fine. Maybe he should meet with him, and make another attempt into the boy's mind and see if there was any extra information on what had happened. He hadn't done so after the Chamber incident, but now it may be necessary.