Ch. 9: Hogwarts here we come
It was a cool, crisp morning on September first and one occupant in Slytherin manor was bouncing up and down in excitement while the others were trying to enjoy their morning coffee. "Come on, drink up! We need to get going. I need to save a compartment for my friends." Harry zipped around the room like a little kid on Christmas morning. Minerva smiled at her grandson ('ah to be young' she thought), Remus and Severus just glared at him (they were not morning people). "Harry, while I am so excited you are ready for school, I don't think your dad and Uncle Remus are fully awake yet. It is too early to go to the station. We won't leave for another hour or so. Why don't you and I take a walk down to the stable to visit with the hippogriffs." Minerva said. Harry stopped pacing about the room and looked at the adults and just blushed, "Ok Granny. Let's go." And with that the two lions left the grouchy morning people.
After a nice walk down to the hippogriff stable and spending some time with his favorite hippogriff, Raven, Harry was both happy and a little sad to leave the manor. Severus noticed his son starting to look a little sad. "What's wrong my little lion?" he asked his son. Harry looked up at his dad as tears started to form in eyes, "It's going to make me sound like a baby first year but I'm sad to leave home. For the past two years Hogwarts has been more of a home to me than Privet Drive but now I finally have a family and a home I don't want to leave for long". Severus gave his son a big hug and whispered, "Well this was meant to be a surprise for you at the feast but Uncle Remus will be the new defense teacher so you will have all three of us at school with you. I know it will be different than being home but we can make time to have family time on the weekends if you'd like." Harry hugged his dad back and whispered, "Thanks Dad. That made me feel better." After the father son moment, the family flooed to the special wizard entrance to the platform. They decided the night before to arrive as a family because everyone has missed out on bringing Harry to the platform and Remus and Severus would also be on the train in the staff compartment while Minverva headed to Hogwarts to distract Albus. As soon as they got there Harry quickly found a compartment to put his stuff in and then went back on the platform to find his friends. The Riddle family plus Remus had only been there a minute when they heard, "Hey Riddle! Looking forward to losing in quidditch this year?" Draco smirked. Harry smirked at his friend and said, "Malfoy I will not be the one losing this year. For once I had plenty of time to practice during my summer." The two former rivals have developed a fast friendship over the summer after it was discovered the Malfoys, Bones, Lovegoods and Longbottoms were potioned as well. Now Harry, Draco, Neville, Susuan, and Luna were thick as thieves. The rest of the group came quickly after and after many hugs and promises to not cause too much trouble and to write, the kids were boarding the train to head back to Hogwarts.
"So Harry, are you nervous to head back to the castle?" Neville asked. Harry thought for a moment before saying, "Honestly, a little bit. I know the goblins will be sending their letter to Dumbles tomorrow morning at breakfast so tomorrow will be the real show. Tonight he may be suspicious because I look different and I will be walking in with all of you guys instead of the weasel but I know he won't do anything tonight. My dad also told me if I get called to the headmaster's office to ask granny to come with me since she is my head of house." The kids decided to stop worrying about what will happen once they get to school and instead started plotting pranks they can play on Dumbledore and certain Weasley children. Eventually their plotting was interrupted when their compartment door opened up. In the door stood Ron and Hermione. Hermione looked confused and Rons' ears started to turn red (a sign of his rising anger). "Hi Harry. We have been looking for you for a while now. Why aren't you in our compartment?" Hermione asked. Ron then blurted out in disgust, "Mate you know you're sitting with Malfoy right? Why would you sit with this slimy snake?!" Harry took a deep breath and glared at his former friends, "Well something you two would be interested in knowing is this summer when I went to Gringotts I learned some new things. Hermione you like learning new things so why don't I share with you." Harry smirked as he watched the color drain from their faces, "I found out some people in this very compartment have been getting paid quite a fortune to be my friends. Also one of the spies was promised a collection of rare books and the other was promised even more money starting this year." Ron huffed his chest and spat, "Of course we need to be paid money to be your friend. You have risked our lives for the past two years. We need some compensation if we are going to risk our lives." Hermione then spoke up. "Harry, Professor Dumbledore said what we were doing was for the greater good. He wanted us to make sure you didn't turn dark after your encounters with Voldemort. Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of all time so he must be listened to." All the other kids gaped at the two Gryffindors in shock. Harry just shook his head at the two, "All I wanted when I came to Hogwarts was to find some true friends. Sadly, I thought you two were my friends but I learned you are nothing but traitors." He then slammed the compartment door and sent a locking charm towards it so they would not be disturbed for the rest of the trip. "Wow they are something else." Susan said. The others nodded in agreement and decided to forget about the traitors and start a game of Exploding Snaps.
The kids were in the middle of their game when all of a sudden the train stopped quickly causing them to slide off their seats. "We can't be there yet. It is too early." Luna observed as they untangled themselves from each other and got back into their seats. Harry unlocked the compartment door and poked his head to look around the hallway. He noticed others looking around confused as well and then he saw his dad and uncle walking down the hall. "Everyone get back to your compartments. We are going to the conductor to see what is wrong." Severus said in full dungeon bat mode and the students quickly ducked back into their apartments. Harry gave his father a questioning look but his dad waved at him to go back into the compartment and whispered, "We'll be right back. I promise.". As soon as Harry got back to his seat he noticed the window was starting to get icy and the temperature in the compartment seemed to be dropping. Luna and Susan huddled together to try and stop from shivering, Draco and Neville were just sitting still as statues. Their compartment door opened slowly and black hooded creature started to enter. The kids felt all the happiness start to drain from them and Harry felt his eyes start to get heavy and he heard a faint female voice crying, "Please, no! Don't do this to my family.". Before he could pass out, Harry saw a bright light that was in the shape of a doe rush towards their compartment and then the creature fled. Severus rushed into the compartment, "Are you all alright? Here take some chocolate, it will help you feel better." The kids all took some chocolate and Draco looked to his godfather and asked, "Uncle Sev, why would those dementors come into the train?:" Severus sighed, "Well we all know Sirius is innocent but Dumbledore has everyone else tricked into thinking Sirius is a madman on the loose and he will come to Hogwarts to attack Harry. Fudge being the naive idiot who believes Albus can do wrong, thought it was a great idea to send Dementors to Hogwarts to protect the students." Susan mumbled, "Why do we keep the bumbling idiot in office". That comment got everyone in the compartment laughing and raised their mood. "Remus, your guardians and I were talking about teaching you all the patronus. Harry has started over the summer but he still doesn't have a corporeal patronus, it is just a smoky shield." Severus shared with the kids who all looked excited to learn advanced magic.
A little while later the train pulled into the station and the quintet were in a carriage on their way to the castle. As they got closer to the castle, Harry started bouncing his leg until Luna put her small hand on his lap and said, "Harry we have your back, no matter what. Also your dad, uncle, and granny will be here to watch over you." Harry looked at his friend and smiled. "Thanks Lu" He whispered. The rest of the ride was filled with talk over what they hope their schedules will be.
They were walking towards the Great Hall and Harry gave a quick wave to his granny as he walked past her. Before he walked into the hall he stopped the group and smiled, "This is it guys, who is ready for some fun?" The four others looked at him and smirked. Luna looped her arm through Harry's, Susan looped one arm through Draco's and the other through Neville's. The group walked in with Harry and Luna in front. They drew the looks of many other students and even the headmaster himself. Draco and Neville walked Susan over to her house table before going to their respective house tables and Harry did the same with Luna, Dumbledore's eyes never leaving the raven haired teen. Harry plopped down to Neville who chose to sit across from the twins and the rest of the quidditch team. "Hey Harry. We missed you at the Burrow this summer." Fred said. George whispered, "Can we talk after the feast? We have something we need to tell you." Harry nodded, "Neville and I will meet you in the abandoned classroom closest to the common room after the feast." With a plan in place the twins and Harry went back to chatting with the others until the doors opened and Minerva entered with the first years following behind her. "They look so little. Nev, were we ever that small?" Harry asked. "Uh Har, you were a shrimp until this summer." Neville said with a chuckle. Harry laughed, "Yeah you're right".
With the first years sorted, it was time for the feast. Dumbledore stood up and walked to the podium. "It is so nice to see your smiling faces and to hear the sound of students back in this hall." He said with his blue eyes twinkling," Now before we dig in a few housekeeping notices. All forbidden products are listed in each common room, no wandering into the forest, and no magic is to be used outside of the classroom. Now dig in." and with a snap of his fingers all the tables filled with a variety of food. Harry was enjoying being around his friends when his granny, ('Professor McGonagall now that we are back in school' Harry reminded himself) came over and said, "Mr. Potter, the Headmaster is requiring a meeting with you as soon as the feast is over." Harry nodded and asked, "Professor since you are my head of house can you join me in the meeting." Minerva nodded and went back to the head table. Harry looked at Fred and George and whispered, "This will push our meeting back a little bit but I will meet you guys in the room after I meet with the headmaster"
The feast ended and Minerva collected Harry so the two could go to the headmaster's office. Minerva threw a privacy charm around them as they walked, "Harry, remember to keep your cool. Try not to look him in the eyes since we don't want him to know you have full occlumency shields." Harry nodded, "Granny I got this." Minerva removed the privacy charms and the two walked the halls in silence. When they got to the gargoyle guarding the office Minvers said, "Chocolate frogs" and the gargoyle moved to allow them up. "Ah Minerva, thank you for bringing young Harry here for me. You can head to your newest lions and give them your start of the year speech." Dumbledore said. "Ummm actually headmaster, I asked Professor McGonagall to stay for this meeting so I can just head back to the tower with her after." Harry said shyly. Dumbledore looked angry for just a second but then quickly schooled his face to seem like that of a caring grandfather. He nodded and waved for them to sit down in front of his desk. "Well Harry I know I am just your headmaster but I was always so close to your parents so I feel you are more like family to me. I noticed this evening you weren't with your friends and I saw you walk in with young Mr. Malfoy. I am just a little concerned about who you may be associating with." He said in a fake concerned voice. Harry looked like he was thinking for a moment, "Uh sir, I don't mean to sound rude or ungrateful since you care about me but who I spend time with doesn't concern you. If you must know, Ron, Hermione and I had a little argument on the train so I needed some space from them. As for my relationship with Malfoy, that is none of your business, respectfully. " Harry said calmly. Dumbledore glanced at the young man before him for a moment before replying, "You're right, Harry. I apologize. Well that is all I had to say so you and Professor McGonagall can head back to your tower."
Minerva and Harry walked back to the tower in silence. Before they entered Minvera told Harry, "Mr. Potter, can you come to my office after breakfast tomorrow. I need to discuss something of importance with you." Harry nodded and then Minvera gave the password to the Fat Lady ("Unity") so they could enter. The common room was filled with first through seventh years who were all chatting with their friends. Harry quickly found Neville and the twins sitting in some chairs in the corner of the room and joined them. Minerva cleared her throat, "For the new first years, welcome to Gryffindor, and for everyone else, welcome back. I just wanted to go over a few things before you all head up to bed. First years you will get a 6th year mentor who will help you with anything you need as you adjust to being at Hogwarts and for the first week of classes they will walk you from class to class so you do not get lost. Curfews for first and second years will be 9 pm, third through fifth years have to be in bed by 10 pm, and sixth and seventh years must be in bed by 11 pm. I will hand out our schedules tomorrow at breakfast. Now it has been a long day and you need to rest up for classes tomorrow, good night my little lions" Minerva smiled at them.
Once the common room emptied the four boys sitting in the corner snuck out of the room and headed towards the nearest empty classroom. George threw up some basic privacy wards and Fred smirked at the look on Harry and Neville's faces, "When your older brother is a curse breaker and leaves behind some books and you need to keep your nosey mother away from your pranking you learn some stuff.". The two thirds years just smiled and said, "wicked". The twins looked at the other two solemnly and George spoke first, "We overheard some stuff while spying on our parents and well…" "It's not good," Fred explained, "We overheard them talking about how Dumbledore promised them a raise this year for helping him take care of you. Which we thought was weird." "Then they were talking to Ginny and Ron to make sure they knew to play their parts. Ginny whined she didn't even have a crush on you, she fancies someone else, but mom reminded her if she can get you to fall in love with her then she will be the richest witch in Britain. Harry, we swear we had no idea those four were being paid to keep an eye on you or trying to take your money." George finished.
Harry and Neville huddled together to go over what they just heard and how much to tell the twins. Finally the two broke apart and looked at the very nervous twins. "Fred, George, first of all thank you for telling us this." Harry said, "Second, I knew what was happening. I learned some very interesting things while at Gringotts this summer." He told them of learning his true heritage, reuniting with his family, spending the summer training and plotting, and helping his allies who had been caught in Dumbledore's manipulations. Fred and George were shocked. "Harry, we will help in any way we can." Fred promised. "We can reach out to our older brothers, Bill and Charlie, to let them know. Also we can talk to Percy. We know we tease him but we love him and he would never do something like this." George said. The four boys sat in the classroom for another hour trying to plot some pranks to do against the terrible trio (Ron, Hermione, and Ginny) before heading back to their dorms to go to bed.
The next morning
Before coming to school the quintet promised to keep up with their training so they found themselves running laps around the lake as the sun was rising. "Ugh why did we decide to wake up this early?" Susuan asked as she plopped onto the ground after their run. "Because we like to torture ourselves" Luna smiled as she sat next to Susan. The boys just laughed. 'Come on girls! Don't you feel energized?" Harry asked still jogging in place. "Harry if I was more awake I would hex you. " Susan grumbled, "Not all of us are morning people like you." The kids decided to sit and watch the sunrise before heading back to their dorms to get ready for the day. "Be fast, breakfast should be interesting." Harry smirked. The kids rushed to get ready not wanting to miss out on the show that was about to go down in the Great Hall.
"Uh guys, is there any rule about seating at our house tables for normal meals?" Harry asked before entering the hall. Draco, the resident Hogwarts rule expert, smirked, "No Harry there is not. Should we all eat together at Gryffindor for breakfast." The kids linked arms similar to last night and laughed knowing they would cause a huge scene yet again as they entered the hall. The quintet was early so there were not a lot of people in the hall just yet but Dumbledore was there and he was staring right at them. "Look who noticed us," Luna whispered. The other turned towards the head table and noticed they had caught the attention of a few professors. Dumbeldore was trying to keep up his grandfatherly facade, Minerva smiled at them, Severus and Remus were trying their best to hide their laughter. Harry just waved at all the professors and gave his dad a wink. "I wonder how old Dumbles will react to his Gringotts letter? I know they can't have the ministry arrest him at this moment since we are waiting for Uncle Sirius and grandpa to be with us but seeing him learn that we all know the truth will be satisfying." Harry said. "I bet you five galleons he will call you to his office as soon as he finishes the letter" Draco smirked. Harry thought about it for a moment before replying, "Nah. He will go let some anger out before summoning me. I bet I get called right before lunch though. So here's to five galleons'' The two shook hands to seal their bet.
The other students started filling the hall and the quintet drew a lot of curious looks. "Way to shake things up Harry." Fred laughed. "Well you know we couldn't have a boring year so I figured I'd start the fun a little early." Harry smirked. As the kids were enjoying breakfast, Harry felt someone standing behind him. He turned around and found himself staring at the terrible trio. "Hey mate! I know we had some words on the express but Hermione and I forgive you. Also Ginny asked if she could hang with us so we said you'd have no problem with that" Ron said happily. Before Harry could even speak up Luna turned to face the trio. 'I'm sorry you seem to be infested by nargles Ronald. Harry made it quite clear he was no longer friends with you. Please leave us alone." She said in a no nonsense tone. Ron started to get red in the face and blurted out, "No one asked your opinion Loony. Leave my friend alone. And mate, why are you allowing a raven, a puff and a snake at our table?" He asked as he just noticed the three non Gryffindors at the table. "Never insult my friend Weasley," Harry said coolly, "And there aren't any rules against it. We are trying to promote inter house unity like the sorting hat always tells us." Before Ron could blurt anything else out, the hall was filled with the sounds of screeching owls delivering their owners mail. Hedwig came down even though she had no letter. She just wanted to steal some bacon from her owner and possibly more from his father if she could. Harry and his four friends carefully watched the headmaster as he opened his Gringotts letter. Albus noticed he was being watched by the five students at the Gryffindor table and he narrowed his eyes at them before storming out of the hall. "And let the fun begin" Draco said as the others chuckled at him.