April to June 1996, 5th year
For Luna Lovegood's bullies, Harry prepared a set of three spells that worked in tandem. First, he cast a variation of the curse he had used on the pink toad on every single one of her bullies – it would return any physical harm they did to Lovegood to them the moment they hurt her. This curse was just in case, as none of the bullies had actually hurt her physically until this point. Then he cast a nightmare curse on those bullies – it would make them live through the bullying in their dreams every night. For this, Harry used all he had observed over the years – from bullies at Hogwarts to bullies back in the Muggle world, his cousin most of all, including what Harry had experienced, himself, before his Gift had manifested. The reaction to the second curse varied from person to person – some silently stopped bullying Lovegood just as intended, some did not react outwardly at first, some got more violent (which triggered the first curse), most broke down sooner or later.
The third spell was not a curse. It was a binding spell – magic to bind one's power to prevent them from causing harm. This one Harry cast on Lovegood instead to give her protection against possible future bullies. It wasn't very strong magic. It wouldn't, for example, be of any help against a pink toad forcing her to use a Blood Quill or a Dark Lord aiming the Killing Curse at her. But it would be more than enough to protect against anyone who thought about starting what the current perpetrators were slowly beginning to cease.
It was interesting, then, that the girl noticed all three of the spells Harry had cast. It was surprising enough that she noticed the one he had cast specifically on her – most adults would not have noticed that one – but the other two? They did not directly affect her and Harry knew for a fact that none of the bullies had told her about their nightmares. She might have merely been very observant, but Lovegood outright told him that she knew about the magic he had performed. She did not, exactly, directly tell him, but that was because of the way the girl talked in general.
"The Nargles cannot come near me, anymore," she told Harry seriously. "They do not like the beautiful silver shimmer you put around me."
"You're welcome," Harry said. "Though I didn't do it for you."
Lovegood smiled at him. "That's why you shrouded them in darkness, even though you had already infected them with Wrackspurts, isn't it? Because you like the dark and the cold."
Harry tilted his head and considered her for a moment. She did not seem disapproving, but neither did she seem to appreciate what he had done, either. At least not the curses. "As long as they leave you alone, the darkness will vanish on its own – the Wrackspurts, too, I suppose." He paused. "The 'silver shimmer' you can maintain on your own, I believe."
"Oh, but then it wouldn't be so beautifully silver anymore," she said, beaming at him.
Harry didn't quite know what to say to that.
"Lovegood is a weird one," Theodore commented, later, in the library.
"There is a reason they chose her, specifically, as a target," Harry replied. "Although I think she is quite lovely."
Theodore narrowed his eyes.
"May I ask who you are talking about?" Susan asked.
"Luna Lovegood, Ravenclaw, one year younger than us," Harry said, watching Theodore press his lips together into a thin line.
Susan gaped at him in surprise. "You must like her quite a lot, if you cared enough to remember that much. How come?"
"Someone made me an offer."
"… and?"
Harry shrugged. "It made me notice the girl. She is very intriguing."
"She is peculiar and odd and an outsider," Theodore said, barely keeping his tone neutral.
"Theo, that girl is a person just like you and me," Susan admonished. "And there is no reason for you to be jealous, when I am quite sure that the only person Harry thinks of as more than a curiosity he needs to examine is you."
"Technically," Harry interjected, even though he really should have left it at that, "I do not find you all that curious, Susan. And I tend to find Theo very curious. And I value both of you as friends."
Susan rolled her eyes. "Let me rephrase, then – The only person you are interested in on a more emotional level is Theo. One could almost say 'on a romantic level', but I sometimes find myself unsure whether that could possibly even apply to someone like you. Only, then I see the way you two keep pining over each other because of some argument neither of you deigned to tell me about – and then I think it might be possible, after all."
So she had noticed. Harry had been wondering about that.
"Back to our initial topic," Susan continued. "Will Luna Lovegood be joining your inner circle or will you be satisfied observing her from afar?"
"I want to see whether she can use that special magic of hers up close," Harry said and Theodore choked.
"There, there," Harry said, patting Theodore's back placatingly. "Lovegood and I are not as compatible as Susan and I and certainly not as much as you and I, Theo. You needn't worry about unnecessary things like that."
Susan gave Theodore a – in Harry's opinion unnecessary – sympathetic look. "Oh, dear."
"Investigating her magic will have to wait, anyway," Harry said.
"And why is that?" Susan asked.
Harry raised his eyebrows. "It is our O.W.L. year."
It was almost funny how fast the blood drained from his friend's face. These days, they were in the library more often because of homework rather than one of Harry's projects, because of the sheer mountain of assignments the teachers kept forcing upon them. Their final exams were less than three months away and Susan got increasingly frantic as time went on, because there was barely any time left for studying and revising the material. Harry wasn't worried. The written exams might pose a bit of a challenge, but there was nothing they could ask of him in the practical exam that he couldn't possibly use his Gift for. And he was confident neither Susan nor Theodore would face any problems in either part. They were both intelligent and studious and they had Harry.
Who quickly got bored. Again.
Revising was just such a waste of time. There were so many other, more interesting things he could do instead – like spending time with Lovegood to observe her magic (which had the added benefit of getting amused with her rather different view of the world), trying to crack the secrets of the two Deathly Hallows he had in his possession, finding out how and why his curse scar connected him to the Dark Lord and how he could break that connection without killing himself in the process …
But, no, Harry had to sit there silently and revise. Boring.
o
"Mister Potter," Professor Snape said in his usual drawling voice, "this meeting has the intended purpose of finding viable options for your future career and whether you are … suited for the subjects necessary to take that path."
Harry always found it fascinating how Professor Snape could sound so disinterested and disapproving, almost outright irritated, at absolutely everything and everyone, yet the words he spoke were always perfectly polite on their own.
"I expect you have given this topic the required amount of thought?"
"No, sir," Harry answered honestly.
Professor Snape arched one eyebrow and said, slowly, "No?"
"None of the provided leaflets and advertisements seemed particularly interesting, so I didn't bother going through them."
Harry marvelled at the way Professor Snape restrained himself, although the twitch in his brows clearly gave away his irritation.
"Not interesting enough? Have I heard that right, Mister Potter?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do tell what you would, then, count as 'something of interest'."
"Perhaps Curse-Breaking, for a while. That might be challenging – at least until they run out of curses for me to break." Which would be rather sooner than later, even though Professor Snape would never believe Harry if he said that out loud. "Inventing stuff – like, hmm, improved Pensieves and Runic Sequences for all kinds of purposes – but I'm too erratic when it comes to new ideas to actually make a living out of that. Are there any research fields that are considered highly difficult and challenging? Something that isn't spell invention?" Because Harry found spells useless, but he couldn't tell Professor Snape that, either.
Snape's lips curled into a sneer. "So you have given it some thought."
Harry shrugged. "Sure, but not 'the required amount' as you worded it."
"Your grades are sufficient enough for Curse-Breaking, I suppose," Professor Snape said, now sounding bored for some reason.
Harry would really like to know what was going in the man's head, sometimes.
"You would need to continue at least Arithmancy, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms and Herbology at N.E.W.T. level. Study of Ancient Runes and Astronomy would also not be amiss. With those subjects you can easily change your career later on as well."
So. Many. Subjects. But, Harry supposed, he would at least be busy – not entertained, perhaps, but without too much free time to get ideas.
"Do you have any questions, Mister Potter?"
"No, sir."
"No questions at all?"
Harry barely supressed the twitch of his lips. "No, sir, no questions whatsoever."
"I see." Professor Snape eyed Harry with that inscrutable gaze of his for a moment. "Very well, then. You may go."
Harry smiled politely and nodded and left. That had almost been fun. He would have to remember to ask Theodore how Professor Snape had conducted his career advice. And Susan. It would probably give Harry an interesting perspective, too – to hear how Hufflepuff's Head of House handled such situations, because Professors Sprout and Snape couldn't be more different from each other, just like their respective Houses.
The career advice meetings preceded another month full of homework and revision until June finally arrived and the teachers abruptly stopped assigning homework to give the fifth-years more time for studying at which point Harry gave up completely and just abandoned Theodore (following his retreat with yearning hidden in his eyes) and Susan (following his retreat with strong disapproval and disappointment written all over her face) in the library.
The exams weren't that hard. They had to write theory papers in the morning and demonstrate their practical expertise in the afternoons. The hardest part for Harry was to remember the correct wand movements, so the examiners wouldn't notice that he wasn't actually using his wand to cast the spells. He didn't want to find out what kind of reaction that would incite – from the 'Boy-Who-Lived' at that. Stupid child-saviour title.
Everything went rather well, though, until the second last exam. Which was History of Magic. They only had a theoretical part and it was scheduled for a Thursday afternoon, because the practical Astronomy exam had been during the night before. Arithmancy would be the last exam for Harry on Friday and he was maybe actually looking forward to it. But, first, he had to suffer through History of Magic.
It was so – bloody – boring.
The room was warm, the scratching of quills almost hypnotizing, the exam neither a challenge nor the covered topics particularly interesting – it made him drowsy. He shouldn't close his eyes … Not in the middle of an exam … Not that he needed a good mark for History of Magic, anyway …
The corridor he was walking along was dark and pleasantly cool and very familiar. Behind the door at the end was a circular room with many doors and blue torches. He went through one of the doors, found himself in a room that was very interesting – full of golden things that reflected the light and an odd clicking sound. But, no, his dream-self did not stop to explore, it never did. Very annoying.
The bloody corridor-dream again.
Not now, Harry thought angrily. He was in the middle of a stupid History of Magic exam and it was hard enough to keep concentrating on that boring drivel that wasn't even important enough for him to get good grades in. He didn't need his mind to be invaded by – Oh. He was an idiot. Harry had taught himself Occlumency in his second year. He could bloody well use it.
He was a bit rusty, but it wasn't like the time he needed to put up the shields was time he needed for the exam, anyway. It also woke him up a bit, so that was a plus. He managed to get through the rest of the exam without falling asleep again. It was tedious.
And then, once free, he took Theodore and Susan to the nearest empty classroom and lowered his Occlumency shields. He was curious. The Dark Lord hadn't actively used their connection before. Harry had thought he hadn't known.
His vision went black the moment he lowered the shields. He was in a large, cathedral-sized room, now – full of shelves and dimly glowing glass spheres … he hurried along … reached number ninety-seven – very important number … he ran down the aisle … there was a man on the floor.
A voice issued from his own mouth, a high, cold voice empty of any human kindness, "Take it for me ... Lift it down, now ... I cannot touch it … but you can …"
The man on the floor shifted and Harry lifted his hand, holding his wand – why would he need to hold a wand? – and the high, cold voice said, "Crucio!"
"Huh," Harry said, nonplussed.
"Harry?" Susan asked, hovering above him, looking concerned. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I think …" Harry frowned. "The Dark Lord is torturing Sirius Black in a room connected to a corridor I kept dreaming about all year."
Silence.
Harry looked up at his friends, who were staring at him in disbelief.
"It's almost the same as the dreams I had all year. Only, it was more detailed this time," Harry said. "Actually, I'm pretty sure it's the same kind of dream – or rather, the same kind of vision. Somehow, the connection between the Dark Lord and I occasionally allows me to see what he can see."
Susan's expression morphed into one of horror. Theodore's remained unchanged.
"In my dreams," Harry added into the silence.
"You think – You-Know-Who is – torturing your godfather?" Susan whispered haltingly.
Harry shrugged. "The Dark Lord wanted me to see that. He wants something from me. I think, I'll just ignore it."
Theodore frowned. "Didn't someone die the last time you had that kind of vision?"
Susan's head whipped around. "What?!"
"Don't worry about it," Harry said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm close to breaking the connection, anyway. The only reason it took me so long is because we are connected through our souls. Huh." Harry cocked his head. "You know? It's almost like we're soulmates."
Susan chocked on air.
"You and the Dark Lord? Soulmates?" Theodore looked rather displeased at the very idea.
Harry laughed. "No need to be jealous, Theo."
Theodore's expression turned into a full scowl. "I am not jealous of the Dark Lord."
"Of course not," Harry said agreeable. "Why would you ever have reason to be jealous of my soulmate?"
The glare Theodore sent him in response could have set the Thames on fire.
o
Sirius Black did not turn up dead like Arthur Weasley had (to Susan's immense relief). There was, however, an article in the Daily Prophet about some kind of skirmish in the Ministry building. Minister Fudge publicly accused Albus Dumbledore and his people of causing trouble and several people had been arrested at the scene, including the escaped mass-murderer Sirius Black, who, coincidentally, claimed to be innocent and working under Dumbledore's orders. Harry knew Sirius was telling the truth, of course, but the public did not and was more inclined to trust in the Minister's statement and discredit of Albus Dumbledore.
Harry privately thought it served Sirius right for blindly trusting in the old man. Harry also thought the Ministry would probably not think to investigate how Sirius had escaped from Azkaban to take preventive measures – or give him any kind of trial that might bring the truth about the Potters' betrayal to light – not that anyone would believe Sirius Black, mass murderer and lunatic.
Dumbledore was not fired from Hogwarts, unfortunately, and remained in his position as headmaster. As he had already lost most of his other titles the previous summer, the Ministry couldn't strip him of anything else but his Order of Merlin, either. The public opinion, however, quickly turned from bad to worse. Harry was once again glad that he had never publicly sided with Dumbledore and kept himself out of the spotlight as much as possible.
The old man also called Harry into his office to tell him about the truth behind the skirmish. Not that Harry was interested or anything.
Something about a Prophecy – a Prophecy about Harry and the Dark Lord, supposedly. A Prophecy the Dark Lord had only known partially and which had prompted him to attack the Potters on that fateful Halloween night. The old man did not actually tell Harry the Prophecy, because he deemed Harry too young and reckless and immature – which Harry thought made him sound like the Gryffindor he very much wasn't and was most likely an excuse anyway, because Dumbledore would never openly admit that he distrusted Harry. Harry didn't really believe in Prophecies, anyway, so it didn't matter.
So much for that.
Harry put the entire thing out of his mind and started making plans for the summer instead. He would have to make a few backup plans in case Theodore's father or the Dark Lord decided that Harry living with the Notts and Mr Nott only relaying information about Harry to his master and leaving him otherwise alone wasn't acceptable anymore.