Chapter 10
The rest of the summer flew by quickly and Harry was honestly sad about it because despite how the summer had started, his life was now better than it had ever been, and he loved living with Dora, even if it was in their cramped little apartment. They got out often, and he even managed to see Ron a few more times. He did want to go back to Hogwarts and learn magic, but he was going to miss his home, and gods did he love knowing he actually had a home.
On September first, Harry woke up to find Dora toiling away in the kitchen making Harry one last breakfast before he returned to Hogwarts. After a pleasant morning that both of them wished would last longer, he and Dora caught the Knight Bus to King's Cross, and she helped him with his trunk, as they walked to Platform 9 & ¾.
"I'm really gonna miss you, Harry," Dora said as they walked, before brightening slightly. "At least you'll be able to come home for Christmas break though."
Harry grinned, also happy he'd actually have somewhere to go. "I doubt you'll miss me all that much," Harry said. "You'll be too busy annoying Mad-Eye with your obnoxious hair colors and inability to take a step without tripping on your face."
Dora glared at him, though he could see her lips twitching towards a grin. "You know what, you little twerp, I won't miss you at all."
"You'll miss my cooking though," Harry said with a grin, and Dora nodded in agreement.
"It was nice having my own personal chef and butler," Dora agreed mournfully, and Harry laughed as they made it to the platform entrance.
Harry took a running start with Dora right next to him, but instead of going through the barrier, the trolley he had his trunk on collided with the barrier and he and Dora were both flung back. Harry's trunk fell off with a loud thump, and both he and Dora were knocked off their feet. Hedwig's cage bounced on the shiny floor, and she rolled away, shrieking indignantly. All around them, people stared.
"What the hell happened?" Dora said in shock, as a guard came over to yell at them.
Harry quickly got the guard off their back, while Dora looked closely at the barrier and tried to make her way through it.
Dora glanced at him in shock and confusion.
"I've never heard of this happening before!" she exclaimed. "Give me a moment and I'll get this taken care of. Worst case scenario I take you to Hogwarts myself."
Harry nodded as Dora went and found a discreet place from which to apparate away from. Harry glanced at a clock and saw he still had about fifteen minutes, so there was still a bit of time, though he was getting worried that he'd miss the train. Dora would take him, but he still wanted to ride with his friends.
Harry leaned up against the barrier, hoping he'd suddenly be able to get through but still nothing. As he was getting down to his last five minutes, he saw the Weasleys approach.
"Harry!" Ron called in surprise. "What are you doing waiting out here?"
"Something's wrong with the barrier," Harry said, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked at him in shock. "Dora went to find someone to help because it's closed off."
"Ridiculous," Percy said and moved to push through the barrier only to be repulsed and he stared at it in shock. "I can't miss the train! I'm a Prefect!"
Just as the twins were startling to mock Percy for his priorities while Mrs. Weasley was trying to comfort Ginny who was clearly sad she'd miss her first train ride, Dora returned with two wizards.
"Don't worry," Dora said, and her words came true as only a minute later, the wizards signaled that things were fixed, and the Weasleys with Harry and Dora as well as a few other witches and wizards who'd tried and been repulsed before Harry could warn them rushed through.
Dora gave him a hug as he quickly got on the train with Ron, the twins, Ginny, and Percy.
"Good luck with the school year, dears!" Mrs. Weasley called as the train started to pull away.
"Well, that was fun!" George said, as the train finally left the station.
"But it's time for us to go find Lee and the girls," Fred finished, and they dragged their trunks away looking for their friends, following Percy who'd immediately left to drop his trunk off and go to the Prefect's carriage, which left him, Ron, and Ginny.
"Well, Ginny, hopefully you can find somewhere to sit," Ron said, and then turned to Harry, ignoring the defeated look on Ginny's face. "Let's go find Hermione mate."
Harry frowned slightly. "How about Ginny comes and sits with us?" Harry said, and Ginny shot him a grateful look that was only partially marred by a blush.
Ron frowned. "Well, I assumed she'd want to go meet some new people," he said dismissively.
"No guarantees of that anyway," Harry said. "Come on mate. She'll meet her yearmates tonight anyway."
Ron shrugged, completely unconcerned but nodded with a shrug, so as a trio they made their way through the train until they finally found Hermione in a compartment with Neville.
"There you are!" Hermione exclaimed. "I thought you didn't make it at first. Couldn't you guys have packed the night before."
"There was an issue with the barrier," Harry tried to explain.
"It worked just fine for me," Hermione replied matter of factly. "Did you do it correctly?"
"Yes, Hermione," Ron said, a bit annoyed. "Tonks had to go and get two Ministry workers to fix it. Something was wrong. Nobody could get through."
"Oh," Hermione said in confusion. "Did they say what happened? Surely they explained."
"No, they didn't," Harry said with a sigh. "There wasn't time. Now, can we have a proper hello rather than an interrogation and undeserved scolding."
Hermione blushed. "Sorry," she mumbled, and Harry grinned.
They settled in and over the course of the journey talked about Hogwarts, classes, what Lockhart would be like as a teacher, how their summers went. They gave Ginny some advice about what to do for first couple weeks (Hermione said study, Ron said relax, Harry said get a feel of the school and figure your way around, Neville said panic), and then they played chess or exploding snap, read some of their school books, and had a fairly decent time. The only notable moment was Malfoy coming to antagonize them, but after a couple incredibly witty insults traded back and forth, he left and they went back to their activities. Overall, Harry thought the year was starting off well.
Once they reached Hogwarts, they sent Ginny off with Hagrid for the lake while they used the carriages that took them up to the school. Once they reached the Great Hall, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville found some seats and then got caught up talking with their other housemates who were exchanging stories about their summers.
It wasn't long before the first years came trooping in, and Harry listened to the sorting hat sing a song similar to the one he heard his first year, but certainly not the same one, and then the sorting commenced. He cheered with the rest of his House whenever a new Gryffindor joined them, and then he cheered particularly loudly with the rest of the Weasleys when Ginny finally joined them in Gryffindor.
The feast was as good as any Harry had had at Hogwarts, and by the end of the announcements, Harry was with the rest of his Housemates and ready to fall asleep. A quick trip to Gryffindor Tower and Harry happily found himself asleep in his warm, cozy four-poster bed, enjoying being back at Hogwarts.
**HP**
The next morning, Harry went down to breakfast with Ron and Hermione as they got ready for the first day of classes. Harry was starting to load up his plate when he noticed out of the corner of his eye some of the older students dissolving a small portion of their food with their wands.
He'd almost forgotten Dora's quick lesson, but looking around, he realized that this had been happening his previous year and he'd just never really noticed. It wasn't exactly flashy, and students weren't drawing attention to their actions. It was just a quick little whispered spell and then wands were away as they dug into their food.
Rather eager to try for himself, he pulled out his wand, and thought, 'For the Gods and Goddesses,' and then whispered the spell, "Deus enim."
Fascinated, he watched as a portion of the food on his plate dissolved and its pleasant smell filled the air around him. He smiled, pleased, since Dora said the spell wouldn't work if the gods or goddesses rejected his sacrifice.
"Harry, what did you just do?" Hermione asked, looking at him in confusion.
"I just sacrificed some food to the gods and goddesses," Harry said, still pleased that he'd managed to do the spell, and also a little pleased that he knew something that Hermione didn't.
Hermione looked at him like he was mad. "What are you talking about? There aren't any gods or goddesses."
"Yes there are," Harry responded. "Dora taught me about them this summer. I'd read about them, but like you thought they weren't actually real, but turns out that's just another aspect of magic."
Hermione shot him a very skeptical glance. "I think Tonks was playing a prank on you, Harry."
"No, she wasn't," Harry said earnestly, disliking her disbelief in what he was saying, since she wasn't even hearing him out, but a bit smug knowing he'd be right this time. He glanced around and saw the perfect person to help him out. "Percy!" Harry called out to the sixth year prefect, who glanced over at him in surprise before making his way over to them. Harry was happy to see that Hermione's eyebrows had shot up in shock.
"How can I help you, Harry?" Percy asked in his normal slightly pompous manner.
"Can you tell Hermione that deities are real?" Harry said, and Hermione turned to the prefect expecting to see him snort in derision. Instead he looked slightly delighted.
"Of course they're real!" Percy said with a smile, obviously delighted that he was being asked to pass on knowledge. "I'm rather surprised you've learned about them Harry. They aren't usually covered until late OWL year or early NEWT year depending on the class."
"Wait, they're real?" Hermione demanded. "But, I don't understand. I thought they were just ways muggles explained natural phenomena before science?"
Percy smiled and then started patiently explaining everything that Dora had explained to Harry, and even had a bit more details on certain deities than Dora had shared with him. Hermione seemed absolutely fascinated by what Percy was saying, though she did seem a little grossed out, as Harry had been, at what some gifts or answered prayers cost. Giving blood seemed a bit barbaric to her, but Percy did point out that nobody had to pay the cost.
"Do you specifically appeal to any deities for guidance, Percy?" Harry asked as Percy winded down, though Harry was interested to see that many of his fellow classmates, including Ron, had been interested to hear what Percy was saying. He'd later hear from Ron that he'd grown up knowing about them, but he'd never had much of it explained, since there was always a bit of worry about kids making mistakes or getting into trouble by agreeing to rash contracts.
"I do," Percy said with a smile. "I regularly sacrifice and pray to Krios, Koios, and Mnemosyne, the gods and goddesses of wisdom, leadership, intelligence, and memory."
"Have any of them blessed you with any gifts?" Hermione asked, just as fascinated at this as Harry had been and still was.
"Koios improved my IQ by about thirty points," Percy admitted. "He spoke to me and in return for the gift, I had to achieve straight Os on all my OWL exams because he would not appreciate his gift being wasted. Not exactly something I would argue with, but that doesn't mean nerves aren't a bit high for some of the subjects that don't come quite as easily to me. Plus, if I broke the contract, he'd take back the boost to my IQ and then remove thirty points from my IQ."
Hermione gaped at him in surprise, and Percy nodded seriously.
"You must always remember that dealing with the deities often has consequences if one is foolish. Sometimes they'll offer small trivial help for small things like sacrificing food, but they'll generally form contracts for medium or significant gifts, and breaking the contract has consequences."
"What about the other deities?"
"I've felt Krios's presence help guide some of my decisions as a Prefect," Percy admitted, "and Mnemosyne certainly helped me remember things during my OWL exams. Stuff that I know I didn't study enough would suddenly pop into my head."
Discussion kept up through breakfast until finally McGonagall gave everyone their timetables and all the Gryffindor second years had to head out to Herbology which was a double period with the Hufflepuffs. They all got a little excited when Professor Sprout took them to greenhouse three, which had far more dangerous and interesting plants compared to greenhouse one, which they'd worked in all the previous year.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione ended up getting paired with a Hufflepuff named Justin Finch-Fletchley for a lesson on repotting Mandrakes, which could be used to make a powerful restorative that would return people who have been transfigured or cursed back to their original state. It was an interesting but nerve-racking class since the Mandrakes let out a cry that would knock them out if they heard it, though that was better than adult mandrakes whose cry was fatal. By the end of class, everyone was sweaty, aching, and covered in dirt.
After Herbology, the Gryffindors had to quickly make their way back to the castle for a quick wash before getting to Transfiguration.
Professor McGonagall worked them hard for their first day back, having them turn beetles into a buttons, and Harry struggled at first though having actually had access to his books for most of the summer break, and a pseudo older sister who had to study for her own exams and studies, Harry did eventually manage to complete the task and do so a few additional times before the bell for lunch rang, though he had nowhere near as many buttons as Hermione did.
Still he was pleased with himself. Dora certainly wasn't going to yell at him for his grades, but she had mentioned a time or two that she wished she'd taken her studies a bit more seriously earlier so that it wouldn't have been so bad once she made it to OWLs and NEWTs. He certainly wasn't going to take school to Hermione levels of seriousness, but stepping it up a bit wasn't a bad idea. He didn't have the Dursleys pounding it into him that he needed to be stupid in school. Besides, he had started reading the Sensing book over the summer and he planned to start working on it over the school year along with continuing his shadow magic . . . if he could. So, a little bit more magic wouldn't hurt.
"What've we got this afternoon?" Ron asked gruffly, not having done as well as Harry or Hermione in Transfiguration and more than happy to move on to anything else.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione answered at once.
"Why," demanded Ron, seizing her schedule, "have you outlined all Lockhart's lessons in little hearts?"
Hermione snatched the schedule back, blushing furiously, and Harry and Ron enjoyed teasing her the rest of the lunch period. After they finished lunch, they went outside into the overcast courtyard to waste time before class. Hermione almost immediately pulled out Voyages with Vampires again, sat on a stone step and buried her nose in the book.
Harry and Rn stood talking about Quidditch for a few minutes before Harry realized he was being closely watched. Looking up, he saw a very small, mouse-haired boy he'd seen getting sorted the previous night staring at Harry. He was clutching what looked like an ordinary Muggle camera, and the moment Harry looked at him, he went bright red.
"All right, Harry? I'm - I'm Colin Creevey," he said breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. D'you think - would it be all right if - can I have a picture?" he said, raising the camera hopefully.
"A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.
"So I can prove I've met you," said Colin Creevey eagerly, edging further forward. "I know all about you. Everyone's told me. About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead" (his eyes raked Harry's hairline) "and a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures'll move ." Colin drew a great shuddering breath of excitement and said, "It's amazing here, isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till I got the letter from Hogwarts. My dad's a milkman, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you" - he looked imploringly at Harry - "maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?"
"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos , Potter?"
Loud and scathing, Draco Malfoy's voice echoed around the courtyard. He had stopped right behind Colin, flanked, as he always was at Hogwarts, by his large and thuggish cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. Harry wanted to groan. Everything had been going smoothly. He should have known it wouldn't stay that way.
"Everyone line up!" Malfoy roared to the crowd. "Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"
"No, I'm not," said Harry angrily, his fists clenching. "Shut up, Malfoy."
"You're just jealous," piped up Colin, whose entire body was about as thick as Crabbe's neck.
"Jealous?" said Malfoy, who didn't need to shout anymore: half the courtyard was listening in. "Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself."
Crabbe and Goyle were sniggering stupidly.
"Eat slugs, Malfoy," said Ron angrily. Crabbe stopped laughing and started rubbing his knuckles in a menacing way.
"I bet you're just angry that he hasn't given you a signed photo, eh Weasley?" Malfoy responded, his eyes glinting. "It would be worth more than your whole family's house."
A knot of Slytherin fifth-years nearby laughed loudly at this.
Ron whipped out his wand, but Hermione shut Voyages with Vampires with a snap and whispered, "Look out!"
"What's all this, what's all this?" Gilderoy Lockhart was striding toward them, his turquoise robes swirling behind him. "Who's giving out signed photos?"
Harry wanted to die with embarrassment as Lockhart ignored all his stammers and attempts at explaining what was happening and instead pulled Harry close and had Creevey take a picture of them both while everyone else gawked. Afterwards, Lockhart advised him not to give out photographs since it would make him appear bigheaded because his career wasn't quite there yet.
Finally, Lockhart released Harry as they made it to his classroom, so Harry, filled with embarrassment, found a spot in the back of the class, well away from Lockhart, and Ron and Hermione filled in and either side of him as the rest of the class came clattering in.
"You could've fried an egg on your face," said Ron, with a grin. "You'd better hope Creevey doesn't meet Ginny, or they'll be starting a Harry Potter fan club."
"Shut up," snapped Harry. The last thing he needed was for Lockhart to hear the phrase "Harry Potter fan club."
When the whole class was seated, Lockhart cleared his throat loudly and silence fell. He reached forward, picked up Neville Longbottom's copy of Travels with Trolls , and held it up to show his own, winking portrait on the front.
"Me," he said, pointing at it and winking as well. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"
He waited for them to laugh; a few people smiled weakly. Harry, who now despised Lockhart for now humiliating him twice couldn't help but groan at how self-centered this man was.
"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books - well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about - just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in-"
When he had handed out the test papers he returned to the front of the class and said, "You have thirty minutes - start - now!"
Harry looked down at his paper and read:
1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart s favorite color?
2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?
3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?
On and on it went, over three sides of paper, right down to:
54. When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?
He stared at the paper in disbelief. What the hell did this have to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts? Why the hell would he have remembered these things out of Lockhart's books even if he'd read them? Harry suddenly had a bad feeling that he'd be mostly teaching himself Defense again with advice from Dora or maybe Mad-Eye, since Dora had hinted that Mad-Eye might appreciate some correspondence, even if the crotchety ex-auror would deny it.
Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the papers and rifled through them in front of the class.
"Tut, tut - hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac. I say so in Year with the Yeti . And a few of you need to read Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully - I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples - though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky!"
He gave them another roguish wink. Ron was now staring at Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on his face; Seamus Finnigan, Christopher Flack, and Dean Thomas, who were sitting in front, were shaking with silent laughter. Hermione, on the other hand, was listening to Lockhart with rapt attention and gave a start when he mentioned her name.
"... but Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions - good girl! In fact" - he flipped her paper over - "full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"
Hermione raised a trembling hand.
"Excellent!" beamed Lockhart. "Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And so - to business-"
He bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage onto it.
"Now - be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."
In spite of himself, Harry leaned around his pile of books for a better look at the cage. Lockhart placed a hand on the cover. Dean and Seamus had stopped laughing now. Neville was cowering in his front row seat.
"I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. "It might provoke them."
As the whole class held its breath, Lockhart whipped off the cover.
"Yes," he said dramatically. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies."
Seamus Finnigan couldn't control himself. He let out a snort of laughter that even Lockhart couldn't mistake for a scream of terror.
"Yes?" He smiled at Seamus.
"Well, they're not - they're not very - dangerous , are they?" Seamus choked.
"Don't be so sure!" said Lockhart, waggling a finger annoyingly at Seamus. "Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!"
The pixies were electric blue and about eight inches high, with pointed faces and voices so shrill it was like listening to a lot of budgies arguing. The moment the cover had been removed, they had started jabbering and rocketing around, rattling the bars and making bizarre faces at the people nearest them.
"Right, then," Lockhart said loudly. "Let's see what you make of them!" And he opened the cage.
It was pandemonium. The pixies shot in every direction like rockets. Two of them seized Neville by the ears and lifted him into the air. Several shot straight through the window, showering the back row with broken glass. The rest proceeded to wreck the classroom more effectively than a rampaging rhino. They grabbed ink bottles and sprayed the class with them, shredded books and papers, tore pictures from the walls, up-ended the waste basket, grabbed bags and books and threw them out of the smashed window; within minutes, half the class was sheltering under desks and Neville was swinging from the iron chandelier in the ceiling.
"Come on now - round them up, round them up, they're only pixies," Lockhart shouted.
He rolled up his sleeves, brandished his wand, and bellowed, " Peskipiksi Pesternomi! "
It had absolutely no effect; one of the pixies seized his wand and threw it out of the window, too. Lockhart gulped and dived under his own desk, narrowly avoiding being squashed by Neville, who fell a second later as the chandelier gave way.
The bell rang and there was a mad rush toward the exit. In the relative calm that followed, Lockhart straightened up, caught sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were almost at the door, and said, "Well, I'll ask you three to just nip the rest of them back into their cage." He swept past them and shut the door quickly behind him.
"Can you believe him?" roared Ron as one of the remaining pixies bit him painfully on the ear.
"He just wants to give us some hands-on experience," said Hermione, immobilizing two pixies at once with a clever Freezing Charm and stuffing them back into their cage.
"Hands on? "said Harry, who used his own Freezing Charm to immobilize a group of pixies. "Hermione, he didn't have a clue what he was doing-"
"Rubbish," said Hermione. "You've read his books - look at all those amazing things he's done-"
"He says he's done," Ron muttered, and Harry agreed heartily.
**HP**
Harry spent a lot of his first week doing his absolute best to dodge Gilderoy Lockhart and Colin Creevey whenever he saw either of them, though Colin proved quite difficult to avoid as he'd seemingly memorized Harry's schedule. Nothing seemed to give Colin a bigger thrill than to say, "All right, Harry?" six or seven times a day and hear, "Hello, Colin," back, however exasperated Harry sounded when he said it. Unfortunately, Ron, Katie, Angelina, Fred, George, and Alicia all thought it was hilarious, and Hermione thought he was overreacting. He hated them all.
Dora's response to his first letter of the school year was filled with sympathies on dealing with Lockhart, both as a terrible teacher and as a self-centered prat who seemed to think Harry loved fame as much he did. She also could sympathize because she herself only had a few okay Defense teachers herself, since the job was considered cursed. She was quite amused by his fan club in the form of Colin Creevey, and hoped that he'd be able to hang with the lowly peasants like her now that he knew what a big star he was.
By the time the weekend rolled around, Harry was thinking the coming school year wasn't going to be as smooth as he'd hoped. What with avoiding Colin and Lockhart, Harry hadn't even managed to find a time for him to work on Defense on his own, let alone Shadow Magic, though he at least was sacrificing a portion of each meal, and he had high hopes that Nyx, Hades, or Erebus might be willing to grant him some minor help with the elemental magic this coming year. He had at least found some time to start working on the meditative exercises for Sensing before bed, but he hadn't made any progress . . . not that he had really expected to do so, but it was still a bit disheartening.
Harry's plans to sleep in Saturday morning before he, Ron, and Hermione were set to visit Hagrid were thoroughly ruined when Harry was shaken awake in the early morning hours by Oliver Wood, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.
"Whassamatter?" said Harry groggily.
"Quidditch practice!" said Wood. "Come on!"
Harry squinted at the window. There was a thin mist hanging across the pink-and-gold sky. Now that he was awake, he couldn't understand how he could have slept through the racket the birds were making.
"Oliver," Harry croaked. "It's the crack of dawn."
"Exactly," said Wood. The tall and burly sixth year's eyes were gleaming with a crazed enthusiasm. "It's part of our new training program. Come on, grab your broom, and let's go," said Wood heartily. "None of the other teams have started training yet; we're going to be first off the mark this year-"
Yawning and shivering slightly, Harry climbed out of bed and tried to find his Quidditch robes.
"Good man," said Wood. "Meet you on the field in fifteen minutes."
When he'd found his scarlet team robes and pulled on his cloak for warmth, Harry scribbled a note to Ron explaining where he'd gone and went down the spiral staircase to the common room, his Nimbus Two Thousand on his shoulder. He had just reached the portrait hole when there was a clatter behind him and Colin Creevey came dashing down the spiral staircase, his camera swinging madly around his neck and something clutched in his hand.
"I heard someone saying your name on the stairs, Harry! Look what I've got here! I've had it developed, I wanted to show you-"
Harry looked bemusedly at the photograph Colin was brandishing under his nose.
A moving, black-and-white Lockhart was tugging hard on an arm Harry recognized as his own. He was pleased to see that his photographic self was putting up a good fight and refusing to be dragged into view. As Harry watched, Lockhart gave up and slumped, Panting, against the white edge of the picture.
"Will you sign it?" said Colin eagerly.
"No," said Harry flatly, glancing around to check that the room was really deserted. "Sorry, Colin, I'm in a hurry - Quidditch practice-"
He climbed through the portrait hole.
"Oh, wow! Wait for me! I've never watched a Quidditch game before!"
Colin scrambled through the hole after him. Harry resigned himself to explaining about Quidditch and answering a few questions about himself in regards to the Gryffindor team while Colin chattered about what he knew all the way down tot he Quiddtich field, and Harry only managed to shake him off when he reached the changing rooms, and that was only because Colin was going to grab a seat in the stands.
The rest of the team was already in the changing room, but Wood was clearly the only one who looked truly awake. Fred and George were sitting puffy-eyed next to Alicia, who seemed to be nodding off against the wall, while Katie and Angelina were yawning side by side opposite them.
As a team, they all attempted to listen to Wood drone on about their new training program and goals for the year, including a lesson on new tactics and plans, but by the end of it, Harry was pretty sure that none of them had really retained much of what he talked about, and Wood wasn't pleased when he realized it.
"Now, listen here, you lot," he said, glowering at them all. "We should have won the Quidditch cup last year. We're easily the best team. But unfortunately - owing to circumstances beyond our control-"
Harry shifted guiltily in his seat. He had been unconscious in the hospital wing for the final match of the previous year, meaning that Gryffindor had been a player short and had suffered their worst defeat in three hundred years.
"Leave Harry alone, Oliver," Angelina said firmly, and Alicia, Katie, and the Twins all nodded in agreement.
"He did the right thing," Alicia added.
Wood took a moment to regain control of himself. Their last defeat was clearly still torturing him, but he finally nodded at Angelina and Alicia.
"So this year, we train harder than ever before... Okay, let's go and put our new theories into practice!" Wood shouted, seizing his broomstick and leading the way out of the locker rooms. Stiff-legged and still yawning, his team followed.
They had been in the locker room so long that the sun was up completely now, although remnants of mist hung over the grass in the stadium. As Harry walked onto the field, he saw Ron and Hermione sitting in the stands.
"Aren't you finished yet?" called Ron incredulously.
"Haven't even started," said Harry, looking jealously at the toast and marmalade Ron and Hermione had brought out of the Great Hall. "Wood's been teaching us new moves."
He mounted his broomstick and kicked at the ground, soaring up into the air. The cool morning air whipped his face, waking him far more effectively than Wood's long talk. It felt wonderful to be back on the Quidditch field. He soared right around the stadium at full speed, racing Fred and George.
"What's that funny clicking noise?" called Fred as they hurtled around the corner.
Harry looked into the stands. Colin was sitting in one of the highest seats, his camera raised, taking picture after picture, the sound strangely magnified in the deserted stadium.
"Look this way, Harry! This way!" he cried shrilly.
"Harry's fan club is here!" Katie said with a grin, and Harry groaned as the Twins, Angelina, and Alicia laughed.
"What's going on?" said Wood, frowning, as he skimmed through the air toward them. "Why's that first year taking pictures? I don't like it. He could be a Slytherin spy, trying to find out about our new training program."
"He's in Gryffindor," said Harry quickly.
"And the Slytherins don't need a spy, Oliver," said George.
"What makes you say that?" said Wood testily.
"Because they're here in person," said George, pointing.
Several people in green robes were walking onto the field, broomsticks in their hands.
"I don't believe it!" Wood hissed in outrage. "I booked the field for today! We'll see about this!"
Wood shot toward the ground, landing rather harder than he meant to in his anger, staggering slightly as he dismounted. The rest of the team followed.
"Flint!" Wood bellowed at the Slytherin Captain. "This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!"
Marcus Flint was even larger than Wood. He had a look of trollish cunning on his face as he replied, "Plenty of room for all of us, Wood."
"But I booked the field!" said Wood, positively spitting with rage. "I booked it!"
"Ah," said Flint. "But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape. I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train their new Seeker'."
"You've got a new Seeker?" said Wood, distracted. "Where?"
And from behind the six large figures before them came a seventh, smaller boy, smirking all over his pale, pointed face. It was Draco Malfoy.
"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" said Fred, looking at Malfoy with dislike.
"Funny you should mention Draco's father," said Flint as the whole Slytherin team smiled still more broadly. "Let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team."
All seven of them held out their broomsticks. Seven highly polished, brand-new handles and seven sets of fine gold lettering spelling the words Nimbus Two Thousand and One gleamed under the Gryffindors'noses in the early morning sun.
"Very latest model. Only came out last month," said Flint carelessly, flicking a speck of dust from the end of his own. "I believe it outstrips the old Two Thousand series by a considerable amount. As for the old Cleansweeps" - he smiled nastily at Fred and George, who were both clutching Cleansweep Fives -" sweeps the board with them."
None of the Gryffindor team could think of anything to say for a moment. Malfoy was smirking so broadly his cold eyes were reduced to slits.
"Oh, look," said Flint. "A field invasion."
Ron and Hermione were crossing the grass to see what was going on.
"What's happening?" Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?"
He was looking at Malfoy, taking in his Slytherin Quidditch robes.
"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," said Malfoy, smugly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought for our team.
Ron gaped, open-mouthed, at the seven superb broomsticks in front of him.
"Good, aren't they?" said Malfoy smoothly. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."
The Slytherin team howled with laughter.
"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," said Hermione sharply. "They got in on pure talent."
The smug look on Malfoy's face flickered.
"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he spat.
Harry knew at once that Malfoy had said something really bad because there was an instant uproar at his words. Flint had to dive in front of Malfoy to stop Fred and George jumping on him, Alicia shrieked, "How dare you!" and Ron plunged his hand into his robes, pulled out his wand, yelling, "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" and pointed it furiously under Flint's arm at Malfoys face.
A loud bang echoed around the stadium and a jet of orange light shot out of Ron's wand, flying under Flint's arm and hitting Malfoy knocking him back onto the grass. The Slytherins all stared in surprise as Malfoy gave a belch and several slugs dribbled out of his mouth.
Harry pulled his wand as the rest of the Slytherin reached for theirs. "Tene umbra!" Harry yelled out and his shadow extended before it touched each of the remaining Slytherin's shadows and they all froze, and he saw surprise appear on all their faces.
"Harry, what did you do?" Hermione asked, looking at the Slytherins in shock, and Harry turned his head slightly to see the rest of his teammates, Ron, and Hermione all looking at him in shock or awe.
"Shadow pinning," Harry responded. "They can't move, but neither can I, other than my head. Now, they can't fight while the rest of you can, so perhaps instead of dealing with us, they'd rather get Malfoy there to the hospital wing, though if they want to just leave him, I don't blame them."
"Brilliant!" Fred and George both exclaimed, looking delighted.
"Release us, Potter!" Flint spat.
Harry almost wanted to smile as he heard several flashes of a camera, and he turned to see Colin getting photos of Malfoy belching slugs and of all the Slytherins frozen in their shadows. Guess this was the one upside to having him follow him around.
"He'll release you as long as you all turn around and leave," Wood said with a grin, obviously ecstatic that he could get his team back to practicing.
"Fine," Flint spat, and Harry released the spell, though by that time, his teammates had all drawn their wands and had them pointed at the Slytherins, just in case they tried something.
The Slytherins all shot nasty looks at the Gryffindors and Harry and Ron in particular before they helped Malfoy up, who was still belching out slugs and ran off back towards the castle.
"That was brilliant!" Fred, George, Ron, and Angelina exclaimed, all of them mobbing him.
"I didn't know you knew magic like that," Alicia said looking very impressed.
"Very impressive, Harry," Katie said with a smile.
"Yes, yes, that's all good," Wood said impatiently, "but it's time to get back to Quidditch! Team get back on your brooms."
In much higher spirits, the team all hopped on their brooms and started to rise back into the air, though Harry turned to the rest of his teammates while Wood flew towards the goals.
"What did Malfoy say? What does mudblood mean?" Harry asked, and he saw all his teammates' faces tighten in anger.
"It's about the most insulting thing someone can say to someone like Hermione or Katie," Fred said, his usual boisterous enthusiasm gone.
"Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who is Muggleborn," George continued. "It means dirty blood, or common blood."
"People like that disgusting prat," Angelina continued with a furious look, "believe they are better than everyone else because they're what people call pure-blood. It's complete and utter shit."
"It's ridiculous," Alicia agreed scornfully. "Most witches and wizards these days are half-blood anyway. We'd have died out if we hadn't married muggles. It's hard enough for pureblood families to arrange marriages to other purebloods without having people marry their first or second cousins."
Harry grimaced at that.
"It is disgusting," Katie agreed with a frown, seeing Harry's face.
"Oy! Let's get back to Quidditch!" Wood roared at them, and the team separated to get back to the practice.
After a good practice, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went and visited Hagrid, enjoying Hermione's disapproval when Hagrid bashed Lockhart and said he only had the job because he was the only partially qualified applicant.
With lunchtime nearing, and Harry desperately wanting some food, they bade their farewells to Hagrid and started making their way back to the school. They'd barely set foot in the entrance hall when McGonagall came up to them.
"I've been told that you two attacked the Slytherin Quidditch team while they were attempting to practice," McGonagall said, looking disapproving. "Mr. Malfoy's being treated for a slug vomiting curse and claimed that you did it, Mr. Weasley. Would you two care to explain? They said you fired off a spell too, Potter, but did not tell me what you attempted to hit them with."
"That rat lied!" Ron exclaimed, which did not make McGonagall look any happier.
"Watch your tone, Weasley!" she scolded. "What happened?"
"I was at the Gryffindor practice with the team," Harry explained. "As we were starting to practice, at the time that Wood booked, not the Slytherins, the Slytherins came out, and claimed that Professor Snape had overridden Wood's booking of the field."
Harry glanced at Ron.
"After some disagreements, Malfoy called Hermione a mudblood," Harry said, and McGonagall's face turned furious.
"I cursed Malfoy for using that slur against Hermione," Ron owned up.
"The only spell I used was to shadow pin the rest of the Slytherins when they went for their wands, which meant none of us could throw anymore spells," Harry said. "Oliver, Alicia, Fred, George, Katie, Angelina, Hermione, and Colin Creevey can all back up my story. You can also check my wand, if you know how."
McGonagall's eyes widened slightly before she returned to normal. "Mr. Malfoy did indeed leave several key details out of his story. While his language is repugnant, it does not excuse your actions, Weasley," she said, turning towards him. "You will serve detention this evening at eight o'clock sharp with Mr. Filch as punishment for your actions," she said and Ron gulped uneasily, "however I believe I also need to go have a conversation with Mr. Malfoy about acceptable language and misinformation." She looked back at Harry. "10 Points to Gryffindor for de-escalating a situation."
With those last words, she turned and made her way back towards her office.
"Filch'll have me there all night," said Ron heavily.
"That reminds me, Harry," Hermione said. "Where did you learn that spell?"
"That Shadow Magic tome from the restricted section," Harry said, internally sighing at the disapproving look she was giving him. "What? It's not bad magic. Dumbledore even said that people used to learn elemental magic first back before the wand was created. He knew I was learning it and even encouraged me."
"Professor Dumbledore knows?" Hermione asked, looking skeptical but a bit more unsure of herself before she changed tactics. "When have you even found time to practice that?" Hermione demanded, and Harry winced again, knowing this was where she and he would really have a problem.
"A couple nights a week I stay up late and practice after hours," Harry admitted.
"Harry!" Hermione scolded. "You could get into trouble. You could lose House points. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking it was interesting, and it helped save my life last year," Harry snapped back, a bit annoyed at her scolding. "Just because you don't like it doesn't mean I can't do it. Dora doesn't care and was even willing to help me find more books on it. Professor Dumbledore doesn't care, so why should I stop?"
Hermione looked a bit abashed at his tone.
"You get on me about studying, but I finally find something I do want to study and you get mad about that!" Harry exclaimed.
"Well, I just don't see why you've hidden this from us," Hermione said, changing strategies again. "Besides, if the only way to learn it is to break the rules, then you really shouldn't be learning it."
"I've never talked about it because you acted like this last time I brought it up," Harry shot back. "I don't need to be scolded by my friend for something that isn't even wrong. You don't get to decide what I get to learn or not."
With that, Harry walked off angrily into the Great Hall and went and sat next to the twins, Alicia, Angelina, and Katie who looked surprised to see him, but welcomed him easily, the eldest two girls wrapping him in a fond hug of greeting before returning to their conversation and meal. Ron and Hermione sat away from him, and he turned his focus away from them. Hermione was a great friend, but sometimes he couldn't stand her self-righteousness.
It wasn't until later that evening as Ron was leaving for his detention that Hermione came over to where he'd been studying in a corner of the Common Room.
"Harry?" she asked, and he looked up at her.
"Here to scold me more, Hermione?" Harry asked a bit bitterly.
"No," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry. You were right. There's nothing wrong with you learning more about a branch of magic. I'm sorry I was so critical of you."
Harry sighed. "I forgive you, Hermione. It's just, sometimes you don't act like my friend. Instead you act like you're better than me and like you don't trust me with how you scold. It's like you think I don't get to make decisions for myself."
"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione said, truly looking it. "I don't mean to come off that way . . . but I can see how I do. I'll try to tone it down."
"Thanks," Harry said after a pause, and then glanced at her as she stood there awkwardly. "I was just going to start on Snape's essay if you'd like to join me?"
"Sure," Hermione said with a smile, looking relieved. "I'm about halfway done, so finishing it will be good."
They had a quiet evening, studying and doing homework when Harry finally called it and made his way up to his dormitory. Just as he was getting to bed though, he heard something. It was a voice filled with ice-cold venom.
"Come... come to me... Let me rip you... Let me tear you... Let me kill you..."
Harry gave a huge jump and looked around the room for the source of the voice, but saw nothing.
"Who's there?" he questioned loudly, but there was no reply.
"What are you yelling for?," Dean and Seamus both said coming into the dormitory.
"Did you hear that voice?" Harry asked frantically, and they both looked at him weirdly.
"I haven't heard anything except you," Dean said, and Harry frowned.
"Poor bloke," Seamus said with a grin. "Hermione made him study so much he's already lost his mind."
Harry faked a grin, while Dean and Seamus laughed but inside he was wondering what was going on. Maybe it wouldn't be as quiet a year as he hoped.