Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter.
With a light yawn, I reluctantly got out of bed, the warm covers slipping off. Glancing at Terry, I saw that he was still asleep, his face half-buried in the pillow as I made my way to the attached bathroom. I washed my face with some cool water to fully awaken, after which I showered, the stream of water helping to fully wake me, and donned the robe over my regular attire.
Afterwards, I recalled the sealed envelope Penelope had discreetly given me the previous night. Inside, I found a rolled parchment which I opened and spent the next twenty minutes carefully reading. If what she had written inside detailing her abilities was accurate and not an exaggeration of her skills, then investing in her tutelage might prove worthwhile indeed.
She could perform all the spells in the curriculum up to the 6th Year for Charms and Transfiguration with confidence. She was competent, though admittedly not the best, at Defense Against the Dark Arts. Her defense was that they had suffered from terrible teachers across all her years so far, which, knowing the curse on that position, I could somewhat understand. However, where she truly shone was in Potions and Spellcrafting. She had included an impressive list of her feats with advanced Potions. While she wasn't on par with the Half-Blood Prince's skills for Potions, she was certainly a match for him at the art of Spellcrafting, and the thought of the various spells I could devise from other stories paired with the strength from becoming a Sorcerer could prove invaluable during the war.
I'll have to ask her if she's got a personal vault at Gringotts, as I don't think I'll be permitted to leave the grounds to obtain the necessary funds, and before that, I'll have to draft a tight contract so that she cannot back out after I've provided her the money. And as distasteful as it was, I might have to reluctantly crack open 'Charm The Mind' to truly ensure her loyalty is secured to me.
I left our dormitory after waking the still-snoring Terry with a firm shake. He told me that apparently the beds were enchanted to wake us up at the time we wanted, otherwise they would rouse us precisely an hour before breakfast started. Terry had read that useful detail in 'Hogwarts: A History' - if I didn't already have a full plate, I would definitely give that book a read as it would have been helpful to know about those dormitory enchantments beforehand to wake up earlier and have more time to myself.
In the Common Room, I noticed that only the older students were up, some sitting around the dancing flames of the fireplace while reading, while a few others were chatting on the plush couches.
I saw Penny as well sitting with her fellow fifth-years as I gestured with a hand for her to come over. She politely excused herself and came to sit across from me.
"So I've thou-" I started to say but she raised her hand, interrupting me as I pursed my lips in slight annoyance.
"I'm sorry, just let me cast a silencing spell that I've recently learned," she said, looking apologetic and worried about being overheard.
"It's fine, cast the spell," I said flatly. I still took out my wand and aimed it at her out of sight just in case, even if I doubted she'd try anything overt in the middle of the common room.
She waved her wand and the background noise and the chatter of other students around us immediately faded away. "Right, sorry again, I just didn't want people overhearing our discussion," she said.
"Right, well I've been thinking about your offer," I said as her expression grew increasingly nervous. "I accept," I said simply, as her face turned into a genuine smile of relief. "But, we first have to discuss what your exact duties will be and for how long a duration," I finished firmly.
"You'll be tutoring me daily while at Hogwarts," I stated as she nodded in acceptance. "And, you'll brew me whatever potions I require, for which I will provide you with money for the ingredients, but no extra compensation beyond that," I added, watching her reaction carefully. "As well as crafting new offensive and defensive spells specifically tailored for my own use and no one elses." I let that last part sink in for a moment before continuing. "All of this service for… let's say a period of seven years total?" I raised an eyebrow questioningly.
Her face was contemplative for a few moments, lips pursed slightly as she considered my terms. I could see the faintest crease of a frown start to form on her brow as she processed the scope of my demands. I had to move quickly to prevent any objections from taking root.
"That's my only offer on the table, Clearwater," I stated firmly, holding her gaze steadily. "I'm being more than generous with this opportunity - I've consulted discreetly, and if you were to instead pursue employment even as an Auror or for Gringotts itself, it would likely take you at least 15 years to earn that amount in wages alone." It was perhaps a slight exaggeration to strengthen my negotiating position, but based on the costs and prices I had seen so far, it was not an outrageous estimate.
I leaned back slightly in my chair, letting the weight of my offer hang in the air between us. Penny opened her mouth to respond, but I quickly cut her off. "This is my final proposal. Take it or leave it, but don't insult me with any counter-offers." I gave her a hard look to reinforce my seriousness, then sat back and waited for her decision, my fingers idly toying with my wand beneath the table.
"I...accept," she said, her voice carrying a faint note of disappointment despite the words. I briefly considered reminding her that she had also previously offered her body as an incentive, but decided I had pushed her limits far enough for now.
"Right, I'll have a contract drafted up and sent directly to you, after which I'll have the full funds transferred to your personal account at Gringotts. You do have a vault there, I presume?" I asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow, to which she gave a small, reluctant nod of confirmation.
"I do, but..." Her voice trailed off as she hesitated, teeth briefly worrying at her lower lip as she glanced away briefly before meeting my gaze once more, "Is an official contract really necessary between us?" A hint of concern flickered across her eyes.
Were the contracts of this world magical? Perhaps even binding in nature? Similar to the one shown by the Goblet of Fire, perhaps? Regardless, I wanted an ironclad agreement and it was better for me if it was.
"Yes, Clearwater, it is absolutely necessary," I stated firmly, holding her gaze steadily. "Frankly, I've only just met you and all you've done so far is make a rather negative first impression on me. As such, I don't fully trust you yet with something of this value." I paused to let that sink in. "For all I know, you could simply take the money and abscond without upholding your end of the bargain. A contract eliminates that risk for me."
She exhaled a soft sigh, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly as if resigning herself to my condition, but nonetheless she gave a small, acquiescent nod of agreement in the end.
"Very well, if you insist upon a contract, then I will agree to sign it," she relented.
"Well, is there any particular potion that you wanted me to brew for you first? Or any spell that you wanted me to teach you?" she asked, her voice regaining some of its composure as she changed the subject.
I considered for a moment before giving a small nod. "I'd like you to teach me the Summoning Charm, if you don't mind."
Penelope returned the nod. "That's a fourth-year level charm, but it should be doable. I'll show you where my private room is located. When do your classes conclude for today?"
"They end at three o'clock, though I have Astronomy later tonight at eleven," I replied.
"I should be free in the afternoon then. I'll lead you to my room after your other classes, and teach you the Summoning Charm at that time," she said, rising from her seated position. "And truly Harry, thank you." I could sense the sincerity in her tone, an undercurrent of genuine gratitude towards me.
"Since you'll be working for me after Hogwarts for the agreed five-years, then the more you improve your skills now, the better quality of worker I'll have at my disposal," I replied with a light shrug, stating the obvious.
Penelope opened her mouth to respond, but then glanced over my shoulder. "Your classmates seem to have finally woken up," she pointed out.
"I'll meet you here at 3:30 o' clock, then." I said as I stood up to which she agreed and dispelled the noise-cancellation spell and went back to her own classmates as my own approached.
After that, we all greeted each other and left for the Great Hall. After a pleasant breakfast, we made it to the History of Magic, and Binns wasn't a particularly bad teacher. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't a good one either; his tone was very dry, and the way he spoke words, I'd say, was two words per second precisely with little inflection. I've been through very boring university lectures, and I'd compare this to one of them. It genuinely made sense why eleven-year-olds would have to sleep through this.
After that, we had Transfiguration, and we learned about the Material-Alteration and Shape-Alteration branches of Transfiguration. Unlike the original story, Transfiguration wasn't taught with specific spells, such as turning a matchstick into a needle. Instead, it was first taught to us by altering the shape of an item without changing the material. Another change was that Transfiguration didn't have any incantations; all of it was done silently. While we still weren't given anything to practice on, at least the theory was interesting.
After that, we made our way to the dungeons for our double Potions class. As much as I hate to admit it, Snape was a decent teacher as he taught all of us in the first hour how to properly dice, cut, swirl, and mix our potion ingredients, as well as going over a list of ingredients and what would happen to us if we mishandled some particularly volatile ingredients in great violent detail.
Oh, that wasn't to say he wasn't being an asshole. If my cut was even a cm off from where he exactly said, in his own words, "Potter, do you perhaps need to get your glasses replaced? You have done it the wrong way. I expected better from our celebrity." Ignoring him was simple. I didn't inherit any of Harry's connections or feelings - not that he had many in the first place. I had dealt with many of his kind; you ignore them for long enough, they go away.
After that, we brewed our first potion, and the experience was odd. It didn't feel magical, that much I can admit freely. The potion that we made helped to remove some bruising quicker and was relatively easy with simple instructions, though the color was slightly off, which Snape insulted several times, but I couldn't care less about the pathetic man and his grudge.
Seriously, how much of a pathetic loser do you have to be to hold a grudge after you get the man who bullied you killed? Well, then again, I'm sure he's committed far more atrocities as a Death Eater.
"So what are all of us going to do now that classes are done?" Padma piped.
"I'm going to go and get some sleep, the stupid bed woke me at 6 AM," I said as an excuse. I didn't want them to know that I was getting extra lessons. I wanted to keep whatever I'm learning down-low.
"The enchantments must be fading, best to let the Prefects know so Professor Flitwick can fix it," Anthony chimed in.
"Mm, yeah, I'll do that," I said, faking a yawn as I left for the Common Room to meet up with Penelope.
After entering the Common Room, I saw Penelope standing alone in a corner.
"Hello, Harry. Ready for your lesson?" She asked, a small smile on her face.
"Yes," I said while I followed her to her private room as a Prefect.
AN: Ending the chapter here because I was starting to burn out a bit near the end, and I want the chapters to be of the highest quality possible.
I have a that you can check out if you want to support me and motivate me to continue and write faster. Any support at all is highly appreciated, but don't feel pressured, lads. I'll still be posting here.
Pat reon. com/ spiderlite
The only current advantage is that you'll get chapters earlier! From now on, updates to this story will be on Wednesdays Sundays. If you decide to support me there, you'll get chapters as soon as they have been proofread.
Thank you so much for reading! You can motivate me even further by liking and following the story, as well as commenting on your respective sites.