"I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the related characters. The Harry Potter series is created by JK Rowling and owned by Warner Bros. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights of the original Harry Potter story belong to Warner Bros."
— CHAPTER NINE — The Midnight Duel
Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.
"Oh Harry, hate is a very strong word"—Lily said.
"That should give us the idea of how bad that boy is"—Ted said.
'Typical,' said Harry darkly. 'Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy.'
"Nonsense, you're a Potter. It's a natural gift we have"—Monty said proudly, he had carried the captain badge for fifth year until he graduated.
Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.
Augusta pressed her lips together. Frank sighed, he had played for the team, against his mothers' permission. But he still had his father to support him, Neville had been left alone to defend himself from his mother.
Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.
The marauders and Potter felt a ping of sadness every time they heard how alone Harry was.
"Augh, Harry can't be the only boy without family not getting letters. Why is he targeting him?"—Marlene asked.
"Daddy dear probably told him"
A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. 'It's a Remembrall!' he explained. 'Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red – oh …' His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, '… you've forgotten something …'Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand. Harry and Ron jumped to their feet.
Andromeda smacked her lips—"For a rich boy he certainly has sticky fingers."
Lily and Molly were proud of their boys.
McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash. 'What's going on?' 'Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor.' Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. 'Just looking,' he said
"Of course, I am, I've had my fair share of problematic students"—Minerva said and shook at the stare the Marauders received— "No, these were troublemakers, but I've had very troublesome children, those who can't be left alone"—
Marauders glared at everyone who stared at them. They knew their limits and they certainly never stole shit from other people.
Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.
"You're going to kill my child."— James stated to Dumbledore. —" A broom like that can go crazy and smash a student to the ground, to the wall or it could fly them to the Forbidden Forest and you won't be able to catch them."
"Brooms are donated. The school can't buy new brooms for every student."
"Then we're donating brooms."
"Hogwarts will appreciate it."—Minerva told Monty.
Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles. 'Stick out your right hand over your broom,' called Madam Hooch at the front, 'and say, "Up!"' 'UP!' everyone shouted.
Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once,
Monty clapped, making the people around him jump.—"What did I tell you? Didn't I tell you he was a natural?"
AP smiled.
"My son's not playing Quidditch."—Lily said to her father-in-law.
"Lily, we already had this conversation and you lost."
but it was one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry;
"That's not a wrong theory. Flying is all about confidence. If you're afraid of heights, then the broom is never going to come up for you."— James said.
Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.
The marauders snickered.
"I can only imagine the letter the private instructor got."
Learning how to fly a broom should be something a father does with his son.
James looked at his father in pain, Monty realized what he said.—"Oh damn it. He's a natural. Don't worry about it."— He told James, who had a devastated look on his face.
Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.
"Oh no"— Alice said. —"Nevi, doesn't know how to fly"
'Come back, boy!' she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle – twelve feet – twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and – WHAM – a thud and a nasty crack, and Neville lay, face down, on the grass in a heap.
"See, this is what I mean. This could have been prevented."
"My son got slammed into the floor because of a stupid broom. This is why I don't fly. Flying is dangerous Lily is right they are not allowed to play quidditch, and staying on the ground is the wisest thing you can do. But fine, fine. Frank, we're going to donate some brooms"—
Frank gave his wife an amused look. — "Yes, dear. But I have to agree with James. It's about confidence, I don't think it's the height, he's just afraid of the broom."
'Broken wrist,' Harry heard her mutter. 'Come on, boy – it's all right, up you get.'
"Oh"— Alice murmured closing her eyes.
"It's all right, Ali. Poppy will have him up and running immediately"—Marlene told her.
"Did hooch just leave Slytherins and Gryffindors together with brooms in their hands, all by themselves?"
Minerva sighed—" She did, this isn't going to end well."
No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.
'Did you see his face, the great lump?'
"Shut up, you little ferret."—Alice said angrily.
"Ferret?"— Kingsley asked her confused
"Haven't you noticed? the Malfoys look like ferrets, Spoiled brats that lot of them"
'Shut up, Malfoy,' snapped Parvati Patil. 'Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?' said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. 'Never thought you'd like fat little cry babies, Parvati.'
"Are children always this cruel"— Alice crossed her arms.
"Yes"— A.P. Said—"Don't worry, Uncle Neville is great."
Alice and Lily looked at each other and smiled. If A.P. called Neville Uncle that meant that Harry and he were good friends.
'Look!' said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. 'It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him.'
"Then leave it where you found it."—Dorea said.
'Give that here, Malfoy,' said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch. Malfoy smiled nastily. 'I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to collect – how about – up a tree?' 'Give it here!' Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt on to his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been 'Come and get it, Potter!'
Dorea looked exasperated. — "Of course, it's us. Because we're natural flyers and defenders of the peace, we also can't mind our own business. I blame you"— she pointed at her husband. —"And you"— then back at her son."
"Auntie"— Marlene said looking at Dorea— "The one who can't mind her business is Lily."
Lily rolled her eyes. —"I never heard you complain Miss Don't worry I've got your back.
Marlene blew a kiss at her.
Harry grabbed his broom.
"What the hell is he doing?"— Monty said.
"I thought he was a natural?"— Alastora asked him amused
"Natural or not, it's the first time flying for real. He can kill himself."
"Potter man"—Lily shook her head.
"We know."
'No!' shouted Hermione Granger. 'Madam Hooch told us not to move – you'll get us all into trouble.' Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared, air rushed through his hair and his robes whipped out behind him – and in a rush of fierce joy he realised he'd found something he could do without being taught – this was easy, this was wonderful.
The Marauders and the Potters had their mouth open. —" Holy shit he is a natural."
Lily groaned and hid her face between her Hands.—"At least he still has one more year before he can try out for the team."
"Come on, Lily. Listen to that, he's practically flying."
James turned to look at Albus Potter.— "Did he get in the team?"
"Dad loved flying, but he never really liked the game."
James deflated— "Oh Well, that's OK, I guess. He could be the commenter."
He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron. 'Give it here,' Harry called, 'or I'll knock you off that broom!'
Lily gasped.— "No Harry. No violence"
Harry knew, somehow, what to do. (...) Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about turn and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.
"That's talent."—Sirius said proudly
James was vibrating with excitement
'Catch it if you can, then!' he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back towards the ground.
Dorea leaned forward.— "Harry James Potter. Don't. You. dare."
Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leant forward and pointed his broom handle down – next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball – wind whistled in his ears,
Lily grabbed onto her husband's shoulder in panic—" Oh, don't crash, don't crash."
James was bouncing next to her, excited about that stunt, he looked up at Sirius who looked at Remus who looked back at Monty. They had a quidditch prodigy.
mingled with the screams of people watching – he stretched out his hand – a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently on to the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.
"Yes!"—Quidditch aficionado screamed even Ted and Kingsley had joined the celebration.
Kingsley was impressed—"If he doesn't join the team, that would be a waste of talent."
'HARRY POTTER!' Professor McGonagall was running towards them. He got to his feet, trembling.
"Oh no. Come on, Minnie, even you have to admit that was impressive."
Minerva agreed— "Impressive or not, Mr. Black? It was reckless and irresponsible. I'm sure I didn't let that go."
"His first Detention!"
Lily rolled her eyes— "Don't sound so proud, James."
"I'm not"— he quickly said.
'Never – in all my time at Hogwarts –' Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, '– how dare you – might have broken your neck –'
"Never in all your time in Hogwarts?"—Alastor questioned her.
"I can't go around giving students ideas Moody. They would burn these halls to the ground. I have to pretend that they have done the biggest crime so they can feel they deserve the punishment."
"Wait, are you saying that we weren't the first ones to ever start a food fight in the Great Hall."—Remus asked her.
"No."— Minerva stated.
"You're going to make them cry."— Alice chuckled.
'It wasn't his fault, Professor –'
'Be quiet, Miss Patil –'
'But Malfoy –'
'That's enough, Mr Weasley. Potter, follow me, now.'
Minerva frowned. —"That's new. I normally let children explain themselves. Why? Didn't I?"
"Perhaps it was really scary and you were in shock."— Alice said frowning
"For Merlin's sake James. —Frank said- "Your child is Dramatic."
"He's created his own little story in his head."
Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant.
Hagrid laughed. – "I'm sure Professor Dumbledore won't expel him, but I would be willing to keep him."
'Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?'
Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?
Lily made a sound of pain. —"That, that that doesn't mean anything, right? The fact that he immediately jumped to that conclusion doesn't mean that someone has used a cane on him, right?"
But no one knew what to say, Lily's lower lip trembled.
Dumbledore turned to look at Minerva.— "Are you doing what I think you're doing?"
"What is she doing?"— Kingsley asked.
'Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood – I've found you a Seeker.'
"No fucking way."— James said with his mouth open.
"Minni, you didn't"—Sirius said shocked.
"What did I tell you"—Kingsley said. —"It would have been wasted talent."
Lily looked at Minerva. —"I feel betrayed."
Remus said. —"You have to admit that was impressive."
"It was but he's 11 and everyone in the team is over third year, they are going to hurt him."
"That's why you have to train with the team."— Monty stated. – "Now he needs a broom. That's why we heard about the Nimbus 2000. He's getting that one, isn't he? "-He turned to Albus Potter.
"He does, his favorite broom, he has it framed in his office."
Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight. 'Are you serious, Professor?' 'He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive,' Professor McGonagall told Wood. 'Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it.' Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.
"Charlie Weasley, you say?"—Sirius said looking at Molly and Arthur
"We are a Quidditch family."—Arthur said.
"Do you think this room will give us brooms?"—
"Quidditch match"—Frank approved.
'Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team,' Professor McGonagall explained.
'He's just the build for a Seeker, too,' saidWood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. 'Light – speedy – we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor – a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say.' 'I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule.
"And Dumbledore is going to say yes because he never says no to anything McGonagall wants."
"I have full trust in her capacities to make decisions, yes."
Snape stayed silent through the discussion pointing out that once again the Potters get everything without working for it. The fact that Minerva would go as far as to bend the rules that she is so vehemently defender of Disgusted him.
Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks …'
Snape couldn't control the smile that came to his face.
Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry.
'I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you.' Then she suddenly smiled. 'Your father would have been proud,' she said. 'He was an excellent Quidditch player himself.'
James beamed at his professor. — "Thank you, Minnie."
Minerva just waved him off.— "It's the truth. You were also a very good captain."
'Seeker?' he said. 'But first-years never – you must be the youngest house player in about –' '– a century,' said Harry, shovelling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. 'Wood told me.'
Remus said out loud—"He broke a record"
"Yes so?"— Ted asked—
"Every time someone breaks a record it becomes a fact in the new versions of Hogwarts of History for future generations. The Cub's name is going down in history for his own merits."
"Aww"—Lily said smiling proudly—"Ok, I guess that as long he is careful…"—
Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry and hurried over. 'Well done,' said George in a low voice. 'Wood told us. We're on the team too – Beaters.' 'I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch Cup for sure this year,' said Fred. 'We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant.
Molly beamed proudly at Arthur.
James smiled at them— "Can we play with your children now?"
Arthur laughed—"As long as you return them in one piece."
The three marauders nodded at once. —"We can't promise that."
"Then I'm going to have to supervise."
"Sure."
You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us.' 'Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school.' 'Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you.' Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up:
The Marauders turn to look at the professors.—"You're not going to block it, are you?"
"I'm very tempted but if we block the passages. Hogwarts tends to do more. So, I'll rather keep the ones we already know."— Dumbledore said.
Dorea level a glare at James-"For what motives did you use that passage?"
James ignored her
'You're a lot braver now you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you,' sai Harry coolly. (...) 'I'd take you on any time on my own,' said Malfoy. 'Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?' 'Of course he has,' said Ron, wheeling round. 'I'm his second, who's yours?'
"Ronald!"— Arthur said alarmed— "How dare he?"
"Well, shit"— Marlene said.—" Did we all jump so quickly to a wizard duel?"
"No."— Remus stated— "No one jumps to a Wizard duel immediately. They're like oaths and vows. How many Wizards duels do you think Lucius is doing around his son? That he quickly went to that idea."
"I wouldn't put it past him."
"Harry has no one to teach him this I'm very disappointed."
"Tragically."— AP said—"Family magic was somehow relocated to the back of what was needed to be learned, something that with my time jumps I have brought back into the original timeline. I have people in Hogwarts, so I have kind of pushed it into the curriculum."
"Family magic defines us"—Monty said angrily.
Albus shrugged. – "I don't know why it stopped being taught, but it's something Dad didn't know about until after the war when he did his research and he taught it to us."
"The original timeline sucks"
When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other. 'What is a wizard's duel?' said Harry. 'And what do you mean, you're my second?' 'Well, a second's there to take over if you die,' said Ron casually.
"Oh, Son."
"How much damage can they possibly do to each other?—Ted asked.
His wife answered—"Harry knows nothing about this and Lucius probably has Draco very well-known in spells. So, Draco won't kill Harry but he will hurt him"
Lily closed her eyes resignedly. —"This boy is going to make me go grey. Harry just eat your dinner in silence."
'And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?' 'Throw it away and punch him on the nose,' Ron suggested.
"Well, that's certainly good advice."— Monty said, laughing.
"The question is, does Harry know how to throw a punch?"— Kingsley added.
'Excuse me.' They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger. ''I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying –' 'Bet you could,' Ron muttered. '– and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you.' 'And it's really none of your business,' said Harry. 'Goodbye,' said Ron.
"This girl needs to mind her business."—Sirius said looking at Lily
"Why are you looking at me for? I never cared what you did"
The Marauders and her friends gave her an incredulous look. Lily looked offended. —"I only cared when it could jeopardize all of us"
Alice Laughed out loud and tried to imitate Lily's voice—" Mar, Dorcas, Ali. Look at them. What do you think they're doing? Oh, I know they're planning something. Be quiet. Pay attention. They're saying something."
Lily had the decency of blushing—" Oh, shut up."—She said, hiding her face and her husband's neck.
"I don't like how rude Ronald is being with that poor girl. She is doing that because she feels lonely."— Molly said.
(Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing). Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as 'If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them'.
"Why isn't my son back from the Infirmary? Poppy should have fixed him in a minute."
"It's poppy, frank. You sneeze and she wants you to stay the night."
"I always felt the Hogwarts curriculum should show the first years a little bit of what they're going to see in the following years. It might get them interested in learning for themselves."—Alastor said.—" It should help along with the trainees when they arrive with the horrible defense skills."
"The problem, Alastor."—Minerva said.— "Is that your magical core is not strong enough and we will have no control over what they're learning by themselves? They'll hurt themselves and they'll hurt the people around them."
It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink dressing-gown and a frown. 'You!' said Ron furiously. 'Go back to bed!' 'I almost told your brother,' Hermione snapped. 'Percy – he's a Prefect, he'd put a stop to this.' Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.
"OK, even I wasn't that bad."—Lily stated and then she spoke to the book.- "Hermione, sweetheart, do yourself a favor and go back to sleep."
"You know she can't hear you, right?"
"I will choke you, Black."
"Watch it, I may like it."
"Can you please behave?"— Andromeda reprimanded him.
Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose. 'Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the House Cup ...
"Does she realize she's given that speech while she's following him out the common room, right?"
"She's going to get stuck outside. The Fat lady disappeared between 11:30 And 12:30. And then again between 2:00 AM and 4:30."
Minerva gave James an unimpressed look.—"No wonder you're a great Auror with that type of intel collection"—She said sarcastically.
James beamed at her.
Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor Tower.
James made a gesture of I told you so.
'I'm coming with you,' she said. 'You are not.' 'D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you and you can back me up.'
'You've got some nerve –' said Ron loudly.
"She does, she isn't doing any favors to herself"—Remus stated.
It wasn't Mrs Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer. 'Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours. I couldn't remember the new password to get into bed.'
Alice looks Outraged.—" What about the prefects Or the head boy and head girl? My son was outside in the cold, and no one noticed?"
Frank messaged his temple. Neville was like him in a way but apparently, he had inherited Alice's Shyness and calm behavior something that wouldn't be able to help him in surviving his mother.
'How's your arm?' said Harry.
'Fine,' said Neville, showing them. 'Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute.' 'Good – well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later –' 'Don't leave me!' said Neville
Dumbledore frowned.—"If the bloody Baron is in towers, it means that it's his time to patrol and he should have helped Neville."
"We will have to talk to the ghosts."-
Snape was frowning, hogwarts sounded so cold like nobody cared anymore.
I'll never rest until I've learnt that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.
"I've never been able to do the bat boogie curse."— Alice said.—"It requires special wrist movement that I can't do."
"It's not that hard. Do you want a demonstration?"—Lily said pointing at Sirius.
"Hey."— Marlene said.—" Leave my Boo alone. Do it to yours."—Sirius hiding behind her.
"She has."—James said
"That's Mom's favorite curse."— AP. Said—"She learned that very young. She used it on my brother James ones. He went through a whole rebel phase between 16 and... that was it because Mom didn't let his rebel phase go that far, they were fighting and he dared to raise his wand to her. But she was faster."
Dorea frowned. —" But would he have used it?"
"No, it's just he was invited to a quidditch camp out of the country and he came back with a different attitude. Mom didn't like it and Dad was on a mission in Pittsburgh so James believed he would be able to get away with everything. Mom found him drinking. It didn't end well."
Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet.
'He's late, maybe he's chickened out,' Ron whispered.
"He was never going to be there".
"That little shit."
"I'm more concerned that Wizard honors don't matter anymore."
"Oh, no. Run."
"No, If they run, they'll make too much noise. They need to walk quickly but quietly."
"He needs the map."—Remus said.
"What map?"— Minerva asked.
once again, the Marauders ignored the question.
'This way!' Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armour. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run – he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armour.
"Oh, Neville." Frank lamented.
"He shouldn't even be out of bed. Perhaps this was why I was so adamant about him being careful. He's a nervous little thing."— Augusta Said.
"He's 11."— Alice defended her son.
'RUN!' Harry yelled
"Harry stop yelling"—Sirius hissed.
"Everyone gets nervous the first time they do something they're not supposed to, your first time out of the castle, was it perfect?"
"We got detention for many things, but being caught after curfew wasn't many of them"
Minerva kept narrowing her eyes at them, If only she could put them in detention again.
They ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.
"Whoa."— Ted said— "That was a long run, but I get it. At least they are going to another part of the castle, try sneaking into the castle after leaving…"
—Minerva, turns around to look at him. –"Leaving?"—She questioned.
Ted quickly cleared his throat.—"I mean, the first time I sneaked out of the common room. I was very nervous."— He ended lamely.
"Nice save love. Wonderful."
'I – told – you,' Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest. 'I – told – you.'
"Oh, Hermine, it's not the time for that."- Marlene smacked her knee.
'Malfoy tricked you,' Hermione said to Harry. 'You realise that, don't you? He was never going to meet you – Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off.' Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.
"Maybe you should."— They all turned to look at Remus.—"It's just that I feel he's keeping his thoughts quiet, all those people in Diagon Alley, he should have told them to fuck off. Now Hermione is here telling him I told you so, Harry could say I know Hermione I'm sorry, now shut up."
"Maybe because he's not rude like you."—Sirius said to his friend.
—"Oh please, telling you to fuck off at 3:00 in the morning because you want a cake from the kitchen isn't me being rude"
'Get out of the way,' snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves – this was a big mistake.
"Nope big mistake"—Frank shook his head.— "Now Peeves is going to wake up the entire school."
'STUDENTS OUT OF BED!' Peeves bellowed. 'STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!'
"They're going to be lucky if he doesn't follow them around screaming like a banshee."
'This is it!' Ron moaned as they pushed helplessly at the door. 'We're done for! This is the end!' They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts. 'Oh, move over,' Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, 'Alohomora!'
"Nice maybe this is the girl they need. Someone that can help them in moments of quick thinking."
"I hope so. She's going to become their friend. Otherwise, she wouldn't be around."
"They've been so rude to her. If I was her, I wouldn't talk to them."
"Marlene you're dating the rudest of them all."
"Did it hurt when you bit your tongue Evans"—She said back
"It's Potter"—James and Lily said at the same time.
'He thinks this door is locked,' Harry whispered. 'I think we'll be OK – get off, Neville!' For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's dressing-gown for the last minute. 'What?' (...) They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog which filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads.
Remus sits up straight. –"What the hell is a Cerberus doing in the school, especially in a room where anyone can go in? She used un Alohomora, shouldn't it be better warded?"
"What the hell? Headmaster."— James said accusingly. —"You broadcasted it into the entire school that there was something forbidden there, as I told you many people will go inspect, How many children Have seen him? How many children have encountered him?"
"How big is a Cerberus?"— Lily asked
"They can be very big"—Hagrid voiced—"It depends on how they were raised. If they are being well cared for and eat live prey then about 15ft tall or 17ft depending on the space but they are very gentle creatures"
Lily just owly blinked at him.
"You're forgetting the part Hagrid."—Remus stated—"That Cerberus is only loyal to the wizard who raised him. Also, they have a specific way of being calmed and unless you know how to, they will attack"
Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs. It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise,
"But what are they waiting for? They want to pet it. Run."
"This is unacceptable, Dumbledore if you were going to keep such a dangerous animal in school. You don't broadcast to the whole school"— Augusta said—"It feels intentional"
Dumbledore looked affronted—"I can guarantee you Augusta. I would never put the students' lives in danger. The door was in error."
"an error that would have cost the lives of four students."— Andromeda said.
Harry groped for the doorknob – between Filch and death, he'd take Filch.
"Wise choice."— Molly said nervously.
They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.
"Neville and Ron have more idea of what a Cerberus is, I'm sure they realize how close they were to dying"
Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again.'You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?' she snapped. 'Didn't you see what it was standing on?''The floor?' Harry suggested. 'I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads.' 'No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something.'
Alastor nodded— "The Cerberus is the first line of defense. Not many will be able to pass it."
"The first line of defense should have been the door."— Kingsley said.
She stood up, glaring at them. 'I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed – or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed.'
"I agree with Ron she needs to sort out her priorities."
It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.
"Fantastic just what we needed a Potter invested in school business. He's never going to let it go Is he?"—Minerva turned to A.P.
"Oh, Professor, I'm just going to do a synopsis of the whole other books. Everything is his business. There's trouble, Harry Potter is there. There's danger, Harry Potter is there. Justice must be done, Harry Potter is there."
"Great, just bloody fantastic."— Lily shook her head in exasperation.
— CHAPTER TEN — Hallowe'en
Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headeddog had been an excellent adventure and they were quite keen to have another one.
Molly and Lily shook their head in anger.
Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts.
Minerva pressed her lips. That's how problems started, now she had a Potter trying to get involved in school business
'It's either really valuable or really dangerous,' said Ron.
'Or both,' said Harry.
"Or none of your business."—Monty told the book.
Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus
"Harry, son that's too rude"
DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.
It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one.
"Then why give it to him during breakfast"
"That was intentional Minnie is sending a message to Snape"
"She came for blood."
Snape rolled his eyes at the two idiots in front of him. Though he took great pride that Slytherin was making the Gryffindors sweat.
"Did you buy it for him?"— Augusta questioned, Minerva.
"How would I know?"
"She did."—A.P. said—"Of course, you didn't tell Dad. He didn't question it until years later"
'A Nimbus Two Thousand!' Ron moaned enviously. 'I've never even touched one.' Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it. 'That's a broomstick,' he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his
"Wow, what do you think gave it away?"
"Perhaps the broom shape package"
"I'm not for bragging."— Arthur said—" But that boy certainly deserves to be put in his place."
'What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle,' Malfoy snapped back. 'I suppose you and your brothers have to save up, twig by twig.'
"Rude. I'm sure we could afford brooms."—Molly said indignantly.
'So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?' came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand. 'I thought you weren't speaking to us?' said Harry. 'Yes, don't stop now,' said Ron, 'it's doing us so much good.' Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.
"I'm trying to like her but she's making it very difficult"—
"Oh, hush, Siri. She clearly is trying to make friends."
'Wow,' Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled on to Harry's bedspread.
Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top.
"Now I want one."
"You have the newest comet in the house."— Lily stopped and frowned—" We don't have a house."
James pressed his lips together and bumped into her shoulder. —"No, But the comet is safe upstairs." —Lily flicked at his temple.
Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling – he swooped in and out of the goalposts and then sped up and down the pitch.
James smiled sadly at the book. He was going to make sure he survived or Lily made it to the end. They were going to see him grow, they would teach him how to fly a broom and be there for all of his quidditch games. Still, it didn't stop the pang of hurt, multiple Harrys had suffered this same fate and it broke his heart.
"We all know how to play Quidditch. Why are we being taught the rules?"
"As he said, we're technically seeing everything from Harry's perspective."
A.P. explained it better.—"Sometimes I don't have enough time to let you read through the whole 7 years. I need a specific book and some of the guests aren't wizards, I've had a few muggles as guests and they need to remember certain topics.
"Well, now we have more questions."—Ramos said.
'Three Chasers, one Keeper,' said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. 'And they play with the Quaffle. OK, got that. So what are they for?' He pointed at the three balls left inside the box. 'I'll show you now,' said Wood. 'Take this.' He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a rounders bat.
"What is he doing?"— James said, leaning forward.—"He's not about to unleash the bludgers on my son, is he?"
"Afraid he might be a better beater than Chaser dear Prongs?"
"You wish, more concerned with the fact that he might get a broken nose… Or a rib."
'Stand back,' Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it breaking his nose and sent it zig-zagging away into the air – it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood,
"Not bad, pup. If he's as small as you were in the first year, he will need a little bit more meat to become a beater."
"We don't need Harry to be chased by some maniac balls."-Lily told Sirius
Er – have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?' Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand. 'Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that.
The Marauders. And the girls turned to Sirius who flexed his jaw.—"I blame the rain."
Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers –' '– unless they crack my head open.' 'Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers – I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves.'
"I don't know if I like that description of my children."
That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages – I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.
"I don't know if I like that. He's going to be OK. Right?"— Lily turned to her husband.
"I can't promise you that, it's Quidditch. But if he's small he's going to be fast, and with that broom, they won't even get close to him."
'That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year,' said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. 'I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons.'
"We are having that Quidditch match, Arthur."
Arthur Beamed proudly at them.
"Charms was always one of my favorite classes Professor Filius has a way of making the whole class pay attention"
Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye).
"Oh."— Alice said sadly, looking at Lily who shrugged in an apology.
Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this.
"Oh, that's going to end badly."
'Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too – never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest.'
"That's a lie."—The Marauders and the girls said at the same time.
Andromeda shook her head. —"And how would you know?"
"Because we tried, Remus was the one that got the charm first so he was in charge of levitating the buffalo in case it did appear James and I volunteered to do the spell and the girls would run for help"
Dorea laughed turning to her husband, who was shaking his head in amusement.- "We didn't raise him right."
Minerva turned to Alastor— "This is why we don't teach them more advanced things, for people like them"
Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it – Harry had to put it out with his hat.
"Propensity to fire, if that's not contained he will set everything on fire".—Dumbledore looked at Minerva.
'You're saying it wrong,' Harry heard Hermione snap. 'It'sWing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the "gar" nice and long.'
'You do it, then, if you're so clever,' Ron snarled.
"Ron mate save yourself the embarrassment, she's going to get it right"
Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand and said, 'Wingardium Leviosa!' Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.'Oh, well done!' cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. 'Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!'Ron was in a very bad temper by the end of the class.
"See, I told you. You don't tell the smartest person in the room to show off.
'It's no wonder no one can stand her,' he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor. 'She's a nightmare, honestly.'
"RONALD WEASLEY! –Molly chastised as if Ron himself was in the room. A.P. shuddered at the reprimand, being at the end of a few from his grandmama. —"How embarrassing. I cannot believe that I haven't raised him better. If this is how I've raised him, then I'm embarrassed for myself."—she said, looking at Arthur.
Lily was impressed.—"Apparently my no Harry is not enough. Molly, I might need some classes. Dorea here doesn't have a mom's voice, that's why this one is spoiled"—she pointed at her husband.
"Rude, I do have voice Mom, but Monty was the one to reprimand"—Dorea said.—"I only get involved in drastic moments."
Arthur agreed, he pointed at himself.
Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face – and was startled to see that she was in tears. 'I think she heard you.' 'So?' said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. 'She must've noticed she's got no friends.' Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon.
"Oh, no. Poor little thing"— Alice said—" She's probably crying up in her dorm."
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be friends soon enough."
"I would make them beg."
Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender Titles. There's a new spreader. Ola. But. We. His. Delete this cell Remove. No. Like what?that Hermione was crying in the girls' toilets and wanted to be left alone.
"No one checked on her?"
"Poor thing, she just wanted friends"
Harry was just helping himself to a jacket potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the Hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table and gasped, 'Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know.' He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.
There was uproar.
Dumbledore blinked— "How…?"
"What the hell?"—Monty asked—"Someone had to let him in, it's not like they fit in the passages"
Alastor narrowed his eyes—"It's Quirrell, he's planning something."
'Prefects,' he rumbled, 'lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!'
"The Slytherins are in the dungeons"—Snape said to no one and sighed he knew he would have to make plans for his own house.
"So are the Puffs."—Ted said to Dumbledore.
Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.' I've just thought – Hermione.' 'What about her?' 'She doesn't know about the troll.' Ron bit his lip. 'Oh, all right,' he snapped. 'But Percy'd better not see us.'
"No, No, No"—James said—"You go back to get Percy"
"I didn't think I would see the day, James Potter asked for a prefect"
"It's a troll, not a dung bomb. This is different, do you know how many people faint at the sight of a troll"
"I second that"—Alastor said—"Damn trainees"
'Percy!' hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeare from view. 'What's he doing?' Harry whispered. 'Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?''Search me. 'Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps. 'He's heading for the third floor,' Harry said,
Everyone turned to Snape who glared at them.
"So are you in it with Quirrell or alone?"—Frank asked
"I'm probably making sure no one is trying to get in"
"I'm sure I asked him to"—Dumbledore said quickly.
"But why him?"—Sirius asked— "His students are in more danger; shouldn't he be in charge of making sure they don't go to the dungeons?"—
"So, what are we missing?"—Marlene asked.
And then they heard it – a low grunting and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed: at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving towards them. It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite grey, (...) It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.
"Holy shit"
"Run, go back to get the teachers"
"It's supposed to be in the dungeons"
"It's a setup"—Snape said frowning. But did he know it was a setup? he was sure Dumbledore had asked him to go to the third floor not that anyone in the room would believe it, but why ask him? What did Dumbledore know?
'The key's in the lock,' Harry muttered. 'We could lock it in.' 'Good idea,' said Ron nervously. (...) but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop – a high, petrified scream – and it was coming from the chamber they'd just locked up.
'Oh, no,' said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.
'It's the girls' toilets!' Harry gasped.
'Hermione!' they said together.
"Ok ok, they just need to remain calm. The more noise they make the more aggressive he will become"—Remus said
"That girl is dead, dead"—
"Frank!"
Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went. 'Confuse it!' Harry said desperately to Ron, and seizing a tap he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.
"No no, he's curious. Just, Hermione! Move."—Remus said
"Bad moment to freeze"
"She eleven and muggle-born I don't think she knew they existed"—Augusta said
'Oy, pea-brain!' yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. (...) giving Harry time to run around it. 'Come on, run, run!' Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her towards the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.
"Move!"—Many of them said
"oh they are going to get hurt"—Molly said flexing her hands. She didn't want to hear about her son's pain.
"Where the hell are the professors?"
The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started towards Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.
"OH no no"—Molly said closing her eyes.
Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: he took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind.
The marauders and Potters just stared at the book.—"What the hell is wrong with him?"
"If there was any doubt of him being a Gryffindor that clarifies it"—Dorea said—"Too much courage no brain"
"Mom! He's trying to save his friend"—Sirius said defending his godson.
"By dying"—Remus stated—"Where are the professors?"
"It was very stupid Harry, not…"—Lily took a deep breath—"I… don't know what to say"
"Yep, that trolls mad"
Ron pulled out his own wand – not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: 'Wingardium Leviosa!'
The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over – and dropped, with a sickening crack, on to its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.
"You have to be…"—Kingsley said perplexed—"They defeated it with a one-year spell"
"One that he couldn't do might I add"—Arthur said earning a reprimand from his wife—"This isn't time to celebrate. Ronald Is out of control"
A.P. laughed earning a glare from his grandmothers.
Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.
It was Hermione who spoke first.
'Is it – dead?'
'I don't think so,' said Harry. 'I think it's just been knocked out.'
"Leave, run away"
"Maybe they want a picture."
Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. 'What on earth were you thinking of?' said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. 'You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?' Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor.
Snape pressed his lips in a frown. The damn boy should be afraid, if he had been in his house he would've suffered the consequences severely.
"Of course, I'm angry, what in the hell do these boys think they are doing."—Minerva said perplexed.
"you certainly took your time"—Augusta said
"You might think Augusta, but I'm sure it wasn't even 5 minutes. That's enough to cause enough damage and problems."
"Or them dying"—Dorea added.
"But why is she lying?"—Sirius turned to look at his girlfriend.
—"To save their ass"— Marlene nodded
—"Aha, but was there a need for a lie, She was in the bathroom and the troll came in, no need to make herself look bad. There's nothing wrong with being in the bathroom during dinner."
"Yes but she was there because of them, maybe she thought they might get in trouble"
Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.
'Well – in that case …' said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them. 'Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?' Hermione hung her head. 'Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this,' said Professor McGonagall. 'I'm very disappointed in you.
"This is what I mean, no need for a lie but I guess she thought she might win brownie points with them"
"Five points is not enough"—Snape said—"All the school damage they must've done"
"You can't fix it with your wand?"—Lily asked him in disbelief.
"You used to…"
"Don't you dare…"
"Minnie they deserved more points"—James said ignoring his wife and nemesis.
"For what? They did something irresponsible."
"They did perfect execution of a new spell; they came to the rescue of a classmate and they literally battled a troll and survived. They deserved 15 each"
"No, it will go to their heads"—
Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said 'Thanks', and hurried off to get plates. But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.
"See I told you, friends"—Alice said pointing at the book.
A.P. – "Well, that's it. We can wait for dinner, we can discuss it, or we can keep reading?"
"I think it'd be best if we check on the kids and then we have dinner. It wouldn't be wise to overwhelm us with so much information all the time. We do need to take a little breath."—Monty said
"A few chapters after dinner perhaps, that way we don't take too long"—Alastor said as much as he liked his rest, he didn't want to spend a lifetime secluded. There were things to do.
"OK."
"Can I ask you a question?"— James asked A.P.
"Of course."—Even if they were already moving around, everyone was listening.
"You said your brother's name was Teddy, but then you said your brother's name is James. Harry didn't name his son Teddy James or James Teddy because that's awful."
Lily chuckled—"I'm sure Teddy is a nickname, I suppose Edward, Edwin, Theodore"
"Ah. Well, you see."— A.P.—"Teddy is my dad's God's son. We grew up with him, so he is technically my older brother, he's 8 years older than me. Then was my first brother, who is James and then it's me and my little sister Lily."
Lily looked incredibly choked up. —"Do you have middle names? Well, mine is Elizabeth and James is Fleamont"
"Hopefully that one died out."—Monty added, Dorea agreeing with him.
"Yes, we do have middle names, but they raise too many questions, so I'll not tell you just yet, further in the books"
"Who's your godfather?"—Sirius asked him.
"My godfather is Uncle Ron; Jamie's godmother is Hermione and I'll tell you Lily later."
"So you know us?"—Arthur asked
"Ah, yes. Yes sometimes dad goes to visit, Sunday brunch at the Burrow, very homie"—A.P. said nonchalantly.
Molly beamed at him— "Well thank you."
I hope you like it, please review and remember I do this for fun
and if you are also following my other Reading of the book story (Reading past present and future) the next chapter is coming in a few days.