Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or Jujutsu Kaisen. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.
Chapter Three - A New Year Begins
The ride to the train station went as smoothly as the year before, and just like then, Harry and Yuki shared a warm hug and then he was making his way onto the train. The exorcist was planning an excursion to China over the Christmas break so they were both very much looking forward to it. Hermione arrived first to join him, Draco second, Padma third, and finally Daphne. By unspoken agreement they held off on major conversations until they were underway and, much to their amusement, they saw the Weasley brood running in just as the wheels began turning and the whistle was blowing to announce their departure. Tales of that family's poor time management were legendary in the school.
Finally, they made it out of the station, and the girls made to start talking, but Harry and Draco waved them off. They had a feeling about something. Moments later they were proven right as the door opened and Ron stood with his trunk in hand, ready to invade… only to find that the compartment was completely full.
"Weasley, as you can see we are full, and none of us have any desire to trade places with you." Daphne spoke dispassionately. "Leave now before we get annoyed."
Already red at being spoken down to in such a way, Ron barely managed to keep a hold on the volume of his voice as he snarled, "I don't care. I'll move you myself if I have to. Dumbledore promised this year would be different. He told my mom-"
This time it was Hermione who acted. In a flash she flipped her wand from her sleeve, gave it a flick, and the compartment door slammed closed. The sudden shriek from the other side alerting them all to the fact that she'd definitely nailed the red haired menace's toes in the process.
Padma stared at her suddenly sheepish looking friend and commented, "Damn, Hermione, I didn't know you had that in you."
"I, well, he kind of just…." She groaned at the good natured chuckling of the others. "After last year I promised myself I'd get back at him somehow."
"Well his broken toes certainly attest to your vengeance." Draco agreed. "I'm actually quite impressed with that draw time. Have you been practicing?"
"Yeah. I can't do regular magic at home so I practiced the wrist movements and physical drawing. It seemed the thing to do." The bushy haired girl swelled with warmth as her friends praised her initiative and offered to let her visit their homes to practice magic itself over the coming summer if that was really an issue for her. She was rather put off to discover there was no issue with underage students using their wands in magical homes.
"Draco," Harry asked, "was everything alright last week at the bookstore? Your dad took you out of there in a hurry."
"Yeah, that was annoying." The platinum blonde groaned. "This entire summer has been one thing after another with him. First, he showed me around the different aspects of our family business, which was actually very interesting. I didn't even know we were in the magical wine business until he took me to see our vineyards in France. Then somehow our house elf disappeared and he became super paranoid. He's been in and out of the mansion on 'family business' that doesn't include me or my mother ever since. That thing at the bookstore, well, I don't know how but after you all left he literally got into a fist fight with Arthur Weasley of all people. The man taught me all my life that Malfoys must be refined in public and yet lo and behold he ended up rolling around on the ground like a common thug." The pureblood and Harry shared a knowing look for a moment before looking away. The blonde knew that Harry had Dobby now, as the scarred boy had written to him the moment he realized just who his new servant's former family had been. Neither knew what to make of the situation but they were of similar minds to keep their eyes out for anything odd at the school that year.
"Do you think it has to do with Arthur's muggle protection bill?" Padma wondered out loud.
"Maybe." Draco shrugged. "I know a lot of the old families are getting worried about being raided. My dad liquidated most of our stock of dark items three weeks ago for just that reason. Weasley is certainly ruffling a lot of feathers."
Something was bugging Harry a great deal about that situation so he asked, "How is it that a man like Arthur Weasley, the patriarch of a family that even I know is quite poor, is able to be so active in your government? Amelia Bones and Lockhart basically showed me how corrupt it is and I don't understand how a man of poor means could get anything passed in a governing body like this."
"It's Dumbledore." Draco explained. "As accomplished as the old coot is, he doesn't have a family seat to vote with. As the Chief Warlock he presides over wizengamot proceedings and has a vote tied to his office to break a tie if a vote requires it, but that is it. In contrast the Weasleys are an incredibly old pureblood family and though they are poor they maintain two seats by virtue of married lines two generations past. Dumbledore has been funding the Weasley attempts at government reform and policy change for over fifteen years now, though until recently they've had little to show for it."
"It doesn't help that Weasley has neither a verbal filter nor a head for politics." Daphne spoke in the tone of one that simply couldn't conceive of the level of stupidity of the one under her microscope. "My father has been teaching me the ins and outs of politics since I started walking, and to further my education I attended three meetings of the wizengamot over break. Arthur Weasley took the floor in each case to argue for his reforms and publicly insulted several prominent pureblood families every time, saying their 'backwards lifestyles and antiquated ideals' were prime examples of why things need to change."
"Were they death eater families?" Harry asked.
"No, that's what is making his situation so untenable." The blonde practically radiated contempt. "He insulted Grey families, like my own. Those you would call neutral. We did not support the dark lord or the side of the light in the last war; mainly because we did not agree with either of their stances. Yet Arthur called us all geriatric fence sitters who need to, in his words, 'adapt to the way things now need to be or die.' He's pushing for too much too soon, and alienating the votes he needs in the process."
"Dumbledore's support has made him too bold." Padma guessed.
"That seems likely." Daphne agreed. "At the very least he seems assured that he won't face repercussions. The fool."
"But his bill got passed right?" Hermione asked. "The raids for dark artifacts seem to be going well."
"They won't last." Her blonde friend stated simply, as if it was the most logical thing in the world. "The momentum for the bill is already waning, especially as the wizengamot families are starting to see how much it affects them specifically. The fine print that allowed those raids on their homes was buried deep in the subtext of the actual document and already a motion has been passed to cancel it. There is to be debate on the matter in the next two sessions and then on the third a final vote. One that I expect will pass. The muggle protection act upends the status quo too much to ever remain official for long."
Conversation from there moved on to much lighter topics. They talked about Harry's trip to Brazil, the other's fitness journeys, Draco's new love of muggle comic books, and so much more. By the end they had devolved to their usual idle mode of reading together in silence.
Hours passed in that way and when they finally arrived at the Hogsmeade station it was to the odd discovery that this time they were not being directed toward the boats. It seemed that specific approach was only for the first years and every other student took unmanned carriages to the castle. Well, supposedly unmanned.
"The fuck are these?" Harry stared with awe at the massive skeletal horse attached to the carriage harness. Its coloring was as black as night and it even had webbed wings like a bat folded on its back.
"What is what, Harry?" Hermione asked as she and Draco came up to him. The carriages only held three so the others had gone up already with another student.
"The creature on this harness."
Draco blinked with worry, clearly thinking his friend had lost his mind. "Harry, there is nothing on that harness. These carts are self propelled."
"Interesting." Harry took a hand from each of them and placed them on the horse's mane earning sharp gasps from each. "So this is clearly another magical creature. I wonder…" pushing their hands away he replaced the space with both of his own and began pulsing his cursed energy over its body. There was a startled whinnying sound and then its body began to compress in on itself until a fresh ball of crimson light lay in the center of his palm. Before his friends could ask any more questions he swallowed it whole, delighting in the feeling of yet another addition to his internal zoo. "Delicious."
"Well that's just great. I'm glad you enjoyed your meal and all, but now how are we gonna get to the school?" Draco gestured to the now keeling over cart and the fact that all the other options had already taken off.
"Oh ye of little faith." Harry chuckled before calling the strange new creature out once more and ordering it to walk back into its harness. With the cart once more street ready he bowed sarcastically and gestured to the open seats. "Your chariot awaits."
Together they climbed inside and set off toward the castle. "So, is this something you're just going to do every time you find a new creature in the world?" Draco asked.
"Probably." Harry answered. "Magical creatures taste pretty good."
Hermione quirked her head, "And cursed spirits don't?"
"It's different." Harry explained. "They don't taste appetizing, but eating them is like… like the most filling meal ever. Like it fills a craving I didn't even know I possessed. When I was young food was so rare. The people who had me starved me so bad every moment was a living agony; but then I met Mr. Smiley, and my world was never the same again. I was no longer hungry." Harry's smile at that confession was so small that both of his friends felt a compulsive need to hug him, so they did. Harry was rarely if ever vulnerable so these moments were really important for them.
It didn't take long to reach the castle and soon enough they were ensconced at the Slytherin table with the usual looks of fear and respect coming from the others gathered there. It seemed none of them had forgotten what had happened last year. That was good, it meant there wouldn't be a need for a repeat performance.
Though it was only after they were all settled that they took note of who the new addition to the staff was at the head table. The entire group had to hold Harry down by the shoulders to keep him from charging at the hair coiffed ponce that was sitting beside Hagrid. It seemed Gilderoy Lockhart had indeed avoided the charges laid against him, and what was more, he'd managed to somehow worm his way into a building full of children.
"S-Surely that doesn't mean what I think it does, does it?" Hermione worried.
"We'll just have to wait and see." Daphne growled from beside her. The bruises to her arm from where Lockhart had grabbed her and pushed her aside were still fresh in her mind.
The sorting went off without a hitch. Honestly, with no dogs in the show Harry's group didn't really pay attention to what happened except to note that the newest Weasley made it into Gryffindor. So it was that they were all rather surprised when a slight blonde girl skipped up to them and wedged herself onto the bench right next to Harry. "Hello there." She chirped easily. "I'm new to Slytherin and can I just say that the creature on your shoulder is adorable. Is it a Tameranian Humdinger?"
Harry blinked, and so did everyone else with him. "You can see Mr. Smiley?"
"Is that his name? It's adorable. My name is Luna Lovegood. I was planning on asking the hat to put me in Ravenclaw since I love to research the unknown, but then I saw you petting the creature on your shoulder and I just had to know more. The hat was only too happy to put me in Slytherin when I asked. It seemed rather smug about it to be honest."
"I'm Harry Potter." Harry said, more than a little surprised by this turn of events.
"Draco Malfoy."
"Hermione Granger."
"Daphne Greengrass."
The new blonde smiled at each in turn. "Let's be friends. It's so nice to meet people that can see the snorkacks and humdingers. I see them all the time but no one else ever does."
Working on a theory, Harry took her hand and channeled his cursed energy into it. He was only slightly surprised when he felt an answering pulse from the girl before her own eyes grew wide.
"You're… you're like me?" She breathed. "You feel like me."
"We feel like each other." He responded with a warm squeeze of the hand before releasing it to look back at the others. "Luna is one of us now."
"O-Okay." Draco acquiesced, deciding to keep to himself just how crazy most of Britain thought the Lovegood family really was. When his best friend made a decision like this it was usually best to just roll with it.
"Can I tame creatures like that too?" Luna wanted to know.
"Probably not." Harry responded. "I'm told what I do is very rare, but if you want we can try to figure out what you can do later." After everything Yuki did for him he was actually quite looking forward to teaching somebody himself. Helping his friends with magic was one thing but cursed energy was entirely his wheelhouse.
Meanwhile, across the floor of the great hall, none of them noticed the glare one small red haired girl was giving their new addition.
An hour and a half later the meal was at an end, but before they could leave Dumbledore left the table and took position at his podium to give his usual welcome speech. "I welcome you all to yet another year at Hogwarts. To those new students joining us for the first time, know that within these hallowed halls you will be educated in the fine arts of magic and how to become the very best versions of yourselves. To those returning, it does my old heart good to see how much you've grown, and how much you will continue to do so." As he spoke that last he focused his eyes on Young Harry and tried to meet his own, but for some reason the young man refused to meet his gaze. It was so frustrating as he really felt the need to know what was going on in his mind. Especially since all of his attempts to track him down over the summer had failed so spectacularly.
"Now for the yearly announcements. As usual our dear Mr. Filch has a list of all prohibited items in his office, though the usual items do still apply from last year. If there are any questions feel free to ask either Mr. Filch himself or your house seniors. The forbidden forest is of course still out of bounds but the issue with the third floor corridor has been resolved so feel free to peruse it to your little heart's content."
He chuckled as if he'd just imparted a masterful joke to the gathered youngsters and then continued. "You may have noted our new addition here at the staff table. It is with great pleasure that I announce our new defense against the dark arts teacher. A man whose achievements speak for themselves, and who has graciously agreed to take time away from his busy schedule to instruct all of you in the methods he used to combat so many dark forces across the world. So let's all give a big Hogwarts welcome to Gilderoy Lockhart!"
The applause was thunderous and this time Harry didn't even try to stop himself from scoffing with disdain. A look that Albus saw at once with worry. He'd known Gilderoy was a fraud, and he had brought him onto the staff so that he might expose himself, but to see such utter disregard for a professor from the boy… that was trouble. It was beyond necessary for the Chosen One to have a healthy respect for authority after all. He decided to bring it up at the start of the year 's teacher's meeting.
Waving the applause back down he finished, "We have an excellent year ahead of us but tonight it is getting late. So I bid you goodnight for now and sweet dreams. Your prefects will lead you now to your dormitories and tomorrow your grand adventure will begin." And with that, the headmaster clapped his hands above his head and disappeared in a plume of fire, leaving the newest students awed, the older students mildly impressed having seen the same before at least once in their school careers, and Harry rather unimpressed. As far as magical feats went that was a parlor trick that muggles could replicate with far more finesse and flash.
The next day at lunch Padma saw her friends stomping over to their table so she of course ran over to investigate. "What's wrong guys?" She asked as she sat down across from them all. Even the typically peppy Luna looked down in the dumps.
"Lockhart." Draco answered for the group. With how tight Harry's shoulders were he was afraid his friend would start ranting if he spoke. "The man's an absolute menace."
"Is he really that bad?" The Ravenclaw wanted to know, more than a bit worried. "I have him next period."
"Honestly, he's worse than we expected." The blonde replied.
Two Hours Before
"Alright, class, welcome to your new year of defense against the dark arts." Gilderoy beamed at the group of youngsters before him as he entered the classroom from his office with all the appropriate amount of dramatic flare. Finally he could impart his deep well of personal knowledge into their young minds and help them grow to understand his greatness. Oh, and they all had his books in front of them as he'd asked. His bank account had soared to previously unimagined heights with this job! Putting all of his printed works on the required reading list had been the same as printing money!
"Can all of you see me? Can all of you hear me? Good. As you all know I am Gilderoy Lockhart and I will be teaching you all about the various ways in which I defeated the many beasts in my books. By the end of this year you will be able to recite all of the relevant information flawlessly."
A hand went up, and though he hated being interrupted, Gilderoy couldn't help but look forward to answering questions about himself. "Yes, Ms?"
"Granger. Hermione Granger." The bushy haired Slytherin stood up to address him with the syllabus in her hand. Lockhart had placed copies on all of their desks in advance. "I had a question about that statement. You said we'd be learning how 'you' defeated all of those creatures, and this syllabus lists lectures and demonstrations every day… yet there is no practical portion listed anywhere that I can see. Surely we'll be practicing these 'methods' and 'spells' you allude to in class at some point, right?"
Suddenly starting to sweat at the very idea, Gilderoy plastered a fake grin on his face and answered, "T-There is no need to practice my methods. I guarantee that witnessing my recreations will be more than enough to learn them."
"Recreations?" Hermione tilted her head questioningly. "Not demonstrations? Are we not to see you perform these feats?"
"T-The lectures and p-performances are very thorough and will be more than enough to impart my knowledge." He assured with a clearly false sense of bravado before gesturing the girl rapidly back down and bustling from table to table setting down fresh sheets of parchment as he went. Upon returning to his position at the front of the room, ironically enough stopping right next to a life sized magical portrait of himself, he said. "I thought I'd start today's lesson with a little practice test to see how much you already know, and which of you really need to focus more on my printed works."
With a tap of his wand a nearby hourglass flipped over and sand began to fall. "You have the rest of the hour to complete it."
As the others got down to business, Harry and his group found themselves absolutely flabbergasted. This entire thing was all about Lockhart. But the test didn't even ask about any of his obviously fake monster hunts. No, the questions asked about his favorite colors, hopes and dreams, ideal vacation spots, and etc.
In the silence that followed four chairs scraped back as one as Harry, Hermione, Daphne, and Draco stood up and moved for the door.
"Um, excuse me but what are you all doing?" Lockhart questioned. "You cannot be done with all one hundred questions yet. I must insist you retake your seats."
The foursome stopped at the door and Harry held up their gathered sheets. "We're going to show these to our head of house."
Lockhart blinked, "Whyever would you do that?"
"Because we paid for a high quality education, not to work to memorize your self-aggrandizing fictional novels. As of now I refuse to take this class and my friends do as well."
"What? You can't do that!" Gilderoy growled. He'd only finalized his decision to take this job because Dumbledore had promised him that he'd get to personally mold the young Potter and sign him onto his next book tour. None of that would be possible if he was never around him to build a relationship as his mentor. "Retake your seats at once or face a week's detention!"
Instead of following the order, Harry gestured to Hermione. "If you would…"
The bookworm calmly explained, "Hogwarts bylaws, rule eighty three - subsection four: Students may drop classes if they feel the instructors are not meeting their educational needs, if they are, or could conceivably be, a threat to their health or their comrades, or if they have any open lawsuits or accusations levied against them."
"Exactly." Harry noted. "I am still openly suing you for libel, assault, plagiarism, and profiting illegally off of my name."
Lockhart grew very pale at those words. "I-I was told those charges were dropped."
"Only those with the DMLE in regards to assault and personal injury. I am still proceeding with my civil suit so expect to be hearing from my solicitors soon if you haven't already." Harry's glare was sharp enough to cut diamonds as he intoned, "I will never waste my time listening to your drivel again."
Present
"So what happened next?" Padma wanted to know.
Daphne shrugged. "Not a whole lot. We took the tests to Professor Snape, got a kick out of watching him rage over their content, and then spent an hour in the library going over lists of current defense masters in England and abroad. At least one of them should be open to coming to tutor us all if we pitch in together for their new salary."
"Count me in for that." Padma shivered at the thought of not being involved in this plan. "I don't wanna be in a room with Lockhart after what you just said. Plus the way he looks at us girls is just creepy."
"Well don't worry." Harry assured her. "You're of course invited to join us. I won't leave any of my friends behind."
Luna piped up with, "Does that include me too?"
"Of course." Harry agreed. "Speaking of, we still need to figure out what your particular cursed technique is. We should start training to try and suss it out."
"Training?" Luna didn't know what to make of the nearly bloodthirsty grins of her other female friends at the table. "Uh, why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Fresh meat." Hermione purred.
"We aren't the newbies anymore!" Padma and Draco crowed.
"You'll understand soon enough, dear." Daphne consoled the younger girl with a soft pat to her hand. "Training with Harry tends to be… exhausting."