Hermione Granger stood up as Neville and Harry Potter did, following behind them as they went. They split off at the Great Hall, Harry calling out, "See you at Potions, Neville!" before vanishing out of the double doors leading to the grounds. Hermione followed Neville for a bit, since they were both heading to Transfiguration anyways.
"He gave you that thing, didn't he?" Hermione prompted, causing Neville to jump and whip around, shock on his boyish face, "the Soul Crystal? He gave it to you."
"W-what if he did?" Neville asked.
"I've never heard of one before," Hermione said, "you should turn it into a professor."
"Because you've never heard of one?" Neville said.
"It might be a dark artifact, Neville!"
"You really think Harry Potter would give me a dark artifact?" Neville asked.
"Nobody knows where he's been or what he's been doing, Neville!" Hermione insisted, "You don't just turn up as an adult when you're supposed to be eleven!"
"I-is it that, or are you just jealous?" Neville asked.
"Jealous? Whatever would I be jealous for?"
"You heard Harry. The Soul Crystal holds knowledge! Everyone knows you're obsessed with knowing things, Hermione."
"You can say that again," Ron Weasley said snidely as he passed by, "leave him alone, Neville can make whatever decision you're arguing about by himself."
"And what if that knowledge is of dark magic!?" Hermione demanded.
Neville's lips grew tighter, and he turned around, walking off in a huff, "I would never use Dark Magic!"
Hermione followed after, still trying to convince him all the way to Transfiguration, but Neville had apparently decided implying he would use Dark Magic was a step too far, even for him, because he had begun ignoring Hermione completely. They entered and sat next to each other, which Neville didn't seem thrilled with, and the one sided argument stopped there.
Professor McGonagall came in then, walking forwards and flicking her wand and small statuettes flew to each student.
"Today, we will be practicing the Avifors spell, this spell, when properly done, transforms the object enchanted into small birds, the incantation is also Avifors. Now, yes, Miss Granger?"
"Neville was given an object by Harry Potter," she said, lowering her hand, "and, well, I think it might be a dark artifact."
Hermione felt Weasley's eyes bore into the back of her head at the same time Neville gave her a look of betrayal. Couldn't they see this was for Neville's own good?
"And what evidence do you have of that, Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"I… It's just a feeling I have," Hermione said, blushing.
"Then you'll forgive me for not immediately confiscating the object and getting Mr. Potter's side of the story first."
—
"Hagrid!" Hagrid looked up to see Harry walking towards Fang and him, a large staff with a half moon tip on his back, "Need any help with anything? I'm free until this afternoon and figured you could use a hand. Not that I think you're bad at your job or anything, I just find it's always funner to do things together."
"If ya really want ta, 'arry," Hagrid said kindly, taking two large slabs of meat off their hooks and tossing one to Harry, who caught it with a grunt and then mounted it on his shoulder, ignoring the blood leaking down his front like it was nothing.
"Where to first?" Harry asked, and Hagrid smiled, leading the way to one of the paddocks around Hogwarts. Inside were hippogriffs, creatures with the front of a eagle and the back of a horse.
"Toss that meat in there, 'arry," Hagrid said, and Harry did so, leaning against the paddock as the hippogriffs gathered around the meet and began to tear chunks out of it.
"What are they?" Harry asked, eyes trained on the 'griffs with fascination in his eyes.
"Hippogriffs," Hagrid said, proudly,"Take care of them meself for Professor Kettleburn."
"Anything I should know about them?" Harry asked.
"They're very proud creatures. Gotta bow to 'em while keepin' eye contact to get their permission to get closer. Wicked claws, don't want to be on the recivin' end o' them- 'Arry!"
Harry had jumped the fence, approaching a grey Hippogriff with a foal around her legs, which looked up in his approach. Harry bowed at the waist, eyes locked on the orange eyes of the hippogriff. After a moment, the griff bowed, and Harry stood up, getting closer and beginning to pet it.
"Beautiful," Harry said.
"Ye like Magical Creatures, 'Arry?" Hagrid asked
"Have a stablefull back home in Ishgard," Harry said, "I love riding anything that can be ridden. Always wanted to ride a unicorn, but they're skitish."
"Aye, they are. C'mere, I got another animal ta show ya, though you probably won't see them."
Harry gave one last pat to the Hippogriff's neck before leaving it to eat. They walked further along, until they came to another paddock, where black, skeletal winged horse with bat like wings. Hagrid tossed the carcass of a cow into the paddock, watching the thestrals begin to eat.
"What are these?" Harry said, sounding fascinated.
"Thestrals," Hagrid said, "Only people who 'ave seen the death o' another person can see them, so it must look like air's eatin' the meat to you."
"No, I can see them," Harry said.
"Oh…" Hagrid said, "I'm… I'm sorry to hear that, 'Arry."
"You see people die in my line of work," Harry shrugged.
"Ya have a job back home?"
"Adventurer," Harry said, simply, "We travel around, helping people who need help. Sometimes you see, well, you see people die, other adventurers, people you couldn't save- People you had to kill. It's not a career for the faint of heart."
"I'll say," Hagrid said darkly at the mention of killing people, "No wonder yar in Gryffindor. Anyways, we'll take some time for them and the griffs to get used to ya, then we'll see if they'll let ya fly on them. Would ya like that, 'arry?"
"I'd love it," Harry said, eyes sparkling.
—
Severus Snape watched the brats he was expected to teach for the next seven years (or, more realistically with people like that dunderhead Longbottom, five) walk into the classroom ending with Longbottom and… Potter.
Severus felt a snear split his face as Potter dragged Longbottom to a table in the back of the room, setting up their cauldron. His eyes met Lily's, and he cast a silent Legilimens on Potter.
A star shower and a voice telling him to Hear, Feel, Think.
A bipedal dragon hovering beneath a red sun.
A blue haired man smiling as blood leaked from his mouth, a hole in his chain mail armor through to his chest. "A smile best suits a hero."
Magic swirling around him as he stared down a man with a katana.
Another man with a hole in his chest, smiling. "Remember us, remember we once lived."
A giant, bird winged, woman with a face as white as chalk,
What… Were those?
At the same time, Potter's eyes grew foggy, and he seemed to stare off to nowhere before snapping back to looked at Severus with a puzzled expression.
Severus shrugged off his confusion and began to take role call. Finally, he got to Potter and sneered, "and, of course, Harry Potter, our new celebrity. Who couldn't help but be fashionably late to his own education."
"I didn't want to come here," the voice that came out, surprisingly, wasn't James Potter's, it was scratchier, like someone had run a blade across his throat. And there, across his neck, sat a scar that implied someone had, "You're lucky I'm even humoring you all on this. I was happy at home, yet you insisted on kidnapping me to come to this damned scbool!"
"Yet you picked up the portkey," Severus said dryly. Lily's eyes blazed and Potter snapped.
"I didn't know it was one, I just thought it was one of those damned letters you people were harassing me with for months."
"Five points from Gryffindor for your lip, Potter," Severus said.
"See if I care," Pottsr snarked. Well, there went one of his weapons against disobedient welps.
"Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there. I don't know, how could I? I just got here and haven't had time to read my books."
"Feeling snide, Potter?" Severus snapped, snapping his wand towards the board, "there you will find the instructions for the wiggenweld potion. Follow them, to the letter."
They got half way through the class before Longbottom spilled his potion, causing sharp boils to appear across his arm.
"Idiot boy," Severus snapped, vanishing the a flick of his wand, "I suppose you-"
"He's hurt," Potter snapped, grabbing Longbottom and dragging him through the doors, "how is he supposed to learn anything while he's in pain, you ass-"
"I didn't give you permission to leave, Potter," Snape said, locking the door, only for Potter to kick it off its hinges.
"I don't particularly care what you want, I want my be tended to. And I don't think either of us will be coming back to this class. We don't need a bully for a teacher. We'll find someone else to teach us," he called as he disappeared down the hall woth Longbottom. They'd be back. They always had to in the end.
—-
Harry sat Neville on the edge of the bed, switching into his Sage gear.
"Why aren't we in the hospital wing?" Neville asked through his sniffling.
"Dunno where that is. Don't worry, I've been a Sage for… Well, not too long, but long enough for this. These boils will probably sting to get rid of, sorry in advance."
The Hagneia flared around him, and all four shot beams of light at the first boil, popping it in a burst of pus. Neville flinched, but didn't pull away.
"Did you mean it? That we're not going back to that class?" Neville asked as Harry popped two more boils.
"Absolutely. You made a mistake and he decided to yell at you instead of getting you medical attention. That's unforgivable. Not to mention his sniping at me."
They sat in silence, letting Harry pop boil after boil until they were all gone, and all that was left were red marks that Harry began to fire the Nouliths at to heal up.
"Why are you being so nice to me? Is it just because the Soul Crystal chose me?"
"I'm naturally a nice guy, I just am being forced to put up with a lot of bullshit I didn't ask for. That doesn't mean I have to take it out on you, you had nothing to do with my kidnapping."
"Yes, that would be my fault," a voice said in the doorway, and Professor Dumbledore stepped in, "Mr. Longbottom, once Harry is done healing your injuries with that rather remarkable magic, may I ask you to leave so we can have a conversation alone?"
—
Thoughts, questions, opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?