Chapter 8: Huge Waves

Okay, so I got a review and the whole plot for the story shifted. I didn't let it dictate to me what to write, but my muse went wild. Thoughts flew in my head, making it hard to sleep, and plot after plot was thought about and discarded. The premise hasn't change, but the outcome has.

It also will make the story shorter, and finish with more finality. So, thanks, N. A. Wennerholm, for tickling my muse. It's not exactly what you wrote, but still…

A bit short, but a lot happens.

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Halloween evening had been a nightmare. It started out good, the feast was great, until the DADA professor came running into the Great Hall screaming about a troll. The Hufflepuffs and Slytherins were quite upset at being sent in the direction of the dungeons, where the troll was reported to be. The two Houses stuck together as they made their way down. First years in the middle and spreading out by year.

They ran into the troll right before Hufflepuff dorms.

It was huge and ugly, and the smell made a few lose their dinner. Quite a lot of girls screamed, and some boys yelled in fear. There were even a few that fainted but were revived by their older housemates.

Everyone backed away, leaving the upper years in front and the younger years running for their lives. They hotfooted back down the hall to the Great Hall. They didn't make it far. The upper years had taken care of the troll posthaste.

The sixth and seventh years in Slytherin all raised their wands at the same time and bombarded the creature with some iffy spells. While the older Hufflepuffs pulled the kids back and created a massive shield. It was like it was all preplanned.

Because twelve spells hit it in the head all at once, said head exploded, making more people throw up. The prefects were quick to herd the younger years to the dorms, leaving the older ones to report to the professors.

Whenever they showed, which was of course too late.

Skirting around the dead troll was gross, and Harry wrinkled his nose at the sight of the green blood and grey brain matter splattered all over the hall. He'd never seen anything like it and it reeked. They moved as fast as they could and were soon in their dorms. Harry was glad when they turned the corner and were at the Hufflepuff entrance. The Slytherins parted ways, and the older Hufflepuffs hustled them inside. They were quick to call house elves for stomach soothers.

When everyone's stomach settled, the rest of the feast, set along the wall, was ignored. Instead, the kids all laid down to sleep in the common room. No one wanted to be alone, and those like Sally-Anne would not be calmed.

Madam Pomfrey came a bit later and gave the girl a Calming Draught and took her to the Hospital Wing. They never saw her again. Dean had been upset at her disappearance and wrote to her. She never answered. His parents did, having been in contact with hers, and told him that she was fine, but no longer knew about magic. Her core was bound, her memory wiped, and she was happy to be home. According to them, she practically begged to have it done.

Dean only told his friends, but rumor had it that she just couldn't cut here, and the troll had been the final straw. He was upset, but happy, to report that she had retaken ballet and was quite content at being a muggle.

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After the event on Halloween, life went back to semi-normal. It had been a month since it happened when Justin pulled Harry into the boys' bathroom.

"What's up, Justin?" Harry asked, leaning against the back wall, his eyes exploring his friend's excited face. Justin rarely got excited about anything.

"I just got a letter from my dad. He and some of the other parents have taken our cause to the Prime Minister. He then took it to the Queen. According to Dad, they're looking to set up a completely different society. A new school and everything," the other boy whispered, showing Harry the letter. He was vibrating he was so enthusiastic.

Harry skimmed it and pondered. Did he want to give up Hogwarts? Though, all his friends might be going to this new school, so it might not be too different. That and he could finally get away from the hero worship. Not to mention that the headmaster might not look upon him with such… distress. It was as if Harry wasn't preforming the way he was suppose too be.

"Why doesn't the Queen, I don't know… just come in and change everything?" he asked, still skimming the letter.

"According to Dad, She said that there was a treaty a long time ago that gave wizards a right to self-govern. He said, She said, that it would just be easier, and less costly, if we started our own place. He said, She said, that when we're settled, She'd then have Her troops go in and give them a what for," Justin said still whispering, but with a great deal of enthusiasm. Harry could hear the royal She in his statements. Justin must have great respect for the crown.

"Oh," was all the messy-haired preteen could say, still unsure how he felt about it.

"And guess what, Harry?" his friend said, leaning forward even more. This time his eyes were glistening. "The goblins said they will secede too. My dad said that they are tired of all the stuff they have to put up with. And they would be more than happy to let the purebloods hang. Isn't that great?"

"What about the good purebloods? You know, like Neville and the Weasleys," Harry wanted to know. Neville was a cool kid, a bit shy, but nice enough. While he didn't know Ron very well, the twins were good friends of his. They like to take him aside, along with Neville, and tell him about the wizarding world, and what that world expected of him. He wasn't entirely happy with what they had to say, which gave him more than enough reason to be shot of this place. Still, he didn't want to see the Weasleys hurt for what was being planned.

"Don't know, maybe they can come with us. We don't want to discriminate like they do here," was the answer. Justin took back the letter and folded it to put in his pocket. "I'm going to give it to Hermione. Dad mentioned her parents, and I'm sure she would want to know. But keep quiet for now, okay?" he asked seeming earnest.

"Yeah, this is big. I won't tell anyone. When do you think it will all happen?" Harry wanted to know, needing to make plans. Even if they were all in his head.

"Probably not until next year or so," Justin said thoughtfully.

"Oh, okay," the messy-headed boy said, a bit let down at that. He thought it'd be sooner. That would get him away from Dumbledore and Snape.

"Come on," Justin said, pushing himself off the wall. "People are going to start looking for us."

The two left the room, one bouncing, the other thoughtful. Both had a great deal on their minds, albeit the same thing, they were thinking different things. They met up with their roommates and all headed to the Great Hall.

The area in front of the dorms had been scrubbed so hard, that the stone walls almost gleamed. Harry was glad to see that, even if it just reminded him of the troll brains. He couldn't scrub his brain of that sight.

They joined their friends at the Hufflepuff table and set about eating and chatting. Harry noted that Justin slipped his dad's letter into to Hermione's pocket.

She gave the boy a confused look and he winked at her, quirking an eyebrow. She nodded pensively and resumed eating.

The next few days there was an undercurrent of anticipation. None of the teachers could pinpoint it exactly. They all knew that it was coming from the students but couldn't quite put their finger on why.

Hermione seemed to be extra busy. She and a few older students stayed in the library every free moment they had. No one took much notice of this because the girl was always reading anyway.

The parchment Hermione had passed out, got used every night. Everyone was talking. Though, some of the girls were using it to gossip, that was minimal. Most were talking about the great exodus.

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A few days later, it was this time Hermione that pulled Harry into an empty room.

"What's up, Hermione?" the confused boy asked, seeing her frown.

"My mum wrote me," she said, slowly, like she was contemplating how to address what was bothering her. "Umm, Harry, about your relatives," she started, looking down and frowning.

"What about them?" the boy asked, a bit of trepidation in his voice. Nothing good could come talking about the Dursleys.

"I don't know how to say this gently, so I'll be blunt, they've been arrested," she said, looking at his face to see how he took that.

"Arrested? Why? I mean, they aren't nice people, but they don't break the law. My uncle is quite fanatic about being normal," he said, extremely confused.

"Harry…" she started, then laid a hand on his arm, causing him to flinch. "Harry, did they… I mean, were you…?" she stuttered, then taking a deep breath. "Child abuse, Harry. They were arrested for child abuse."

"What? They didn't abuse anyone," Harry said, more confused than ever.

"Harry, they found the cupboard. It had been cleaned, but there were markings on the wall, saying 'Harry's Room'," Hermione said, her hand still on his arm, which tensed as she spoke. "There was an investigation, and they were arrested." There were tears in her eyes now. She was just too young to have this type of conversation, but she was the only one who could. There were no adults here to have it with him. Not and keep it a secret.

"But…"

"Harry, I don't know what they told you, but keeping a small child in a boot cupboard is not normal," she said, raising her hand, and then putting an arm around his shoulder.

"I know, but it wasn't that bad. I mean, they gave me clothes, a place to sleep and food," he whispered softly, hanging his head, shame filling his face. He never wanted anyone to know about the cupboard under the stairs. It made him feel weak.

"You did nothing wrong, Harry. Nothing. Do you hear me? You are completely innocent," she said firmly, tightening her one-armed hug. The tears were streaming now, but her voice was strong and steady.

"How did they find out?" he wanted to know. That didn't make sense to him. The Dursleys would have never told anyone. They kept it quiet for so long.

"A bunch of our parents got together, like Justin said, and they wanted to talk to all the muggleborn parents. So, they wrote me and asked for names. I gave them who I knew. I know you're not muggleborn, per se, but you were muggle raised. When my mum got to your place… well, let's just say she wasn't impressed. She called the police after seeing the state of your room, compared to the rest of the house," Hermione explained, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"I wouldn't think Aunt Petunia would let anyone wander," Harry mussed, knowing his aunt was prissy like that.

"Well, she asked for the loo," was the reasoning. "Harry, what they did was bad. You understand that, right?" she asked, once more enforcing her feelings on the matter, hoping he did understand. The tears had dried by now, but they had left streaks on her face. She was trying to stay strong for her friend.

"Yeah, okay, can we not talk about this?" he pleaded. It was the last thing he wanted to do. Talking about it made it real, and he just wanted to hide from it.

"Just one more thing," Hermione said, peering at his eyes. "You've been made a ward of the Crown. You will have a new home when school lets out." She stared into his eyes, hoping to see some hopefulness there.

"Okay," was all he said. He patted her hand, removed her arm and quickly left the room. He had a lot of thinking to do. Everything had changed since he came to the wizarding world. Some good, some bad, and he wasn't sure how to handle it all.

Hermione didn't let anyone know what they talked about, and he was thankful for that. She still squeezed his arm in passing, but mostly just stayed friendly.

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Christmas was approaching and most of the conspirators had been told about the plans for a new community. Many of them were excited to go home and find out more.

Harry was to stay at Hogwarts, there was nowhere else for him to go. Hermione offered to bring him home, but her parents shot that down, not willing to house a boy in the same house as their little girl. They were very protective. They did feel sorry for him, but it was something they wouldn't bend on. She apologized before she left, but he understood, mostly.

Christmas time at Hogwarts was fascinating. The whole school was decked out in magical decorations, sparkling Christmas trees, and real fairy for lights. It was like a fairytale castle. Everywhere you looked you could see something magical. From the boughs of holly climbing up the staircase rails, jingle bells tinkling when you passed, to the fairies flittering around the ceiling. They flitted around the room and spread their glitter everywhere. It wasn't like real glitter and didn't stick. The whole place just took Harry's breath away.

And since Harry was one of the few Hufflepuffs that stayed, he had a lot of time to himself. He wandered the halls and searched out for more hidden passageways, thinking about what his future held. He noted the queer looks he was getting from the headmaster.

He remembered when the man had called him to his office, right after the train had left. He had entered the very busy looking office, with trinkets puffing away, portraits talking and other things that just make the place just looked busy. Nothing stayed still, from the flying paperwork, to the self-writing quills, to the little doodads churning away.

"You wanted to see me, Headmaster?" he had inquired, standing by the door. Not had been sure if he should enter or not.

"Come in, Harry, and have a seat. Do not worry, you are not in trouble," the old man said, waving a hand to the empty chair.

Harry had cautiously moved forward and perched on the edge of the chair. He kept his eyes on the desk in front of him, glancing every now and then at the headmaster's face, but never looked him in the eye.

"Now then, my boy, I would like to talk to you about your family. It has come to my attention that they have been arrested and that you have been made a ward of the Crown. How do you feel about this?" the old man had asked, a look in his eye that said Harry's answer was particularly important.

"I'm not sure how to feel, sir. I mean, they took me in, gave me clothes, and fed me. But they were not nice people," he had said, echoing what he had told Hermione.

"Do you feel that you can forgive them?" Dumbledore had asked, clasping his hands together on the desk and leaning forward a bit.

"I don't know," Harry had whispered. Now that he had time to think about his childhood, he really didn't know how to feel about the Dursleys. He was angry, sad, scared and a myriad of emotions.

"If you were given the opportunity, would you go back?" was the headmaster's inquiry.

"No," Harry had said slowly. "I would prefer to be where I'm liked." He still hadn't looked up.

"Being made a ward of the Crown, you have to go and live where they say. Would you prefer to live with a wizarding family? The Ministry can arrange that," the old man had offered with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I think…" Harry started, then remembered the conspiracy, then just as quickly started thinking about potions. "I think," he started again, "that I would prefer to live in the muggle world. I know what to expect there, and I'd be more comfortable." He then smiled a smile he didn't feel, but it seemed to relax the old man.

"Then that is what we will do," Dumbledore had said, grinning brightly, as if that was the answer he had wanted all along. "You may go, Harry. I will call you back when your new family is found," he had said importantly, shooing the boy away and going back to his parchmentwork.

"Thank you, sir," was all Harry had said as he quickly left the room. Being there had made him extremely uncomfortable. He did wonder how the headmaster knew. Did the man have a spy in the neighborhood, or was he in contact with the muggle government? It was something to watch out for.

Since then, he had wandered the school. The Weasley twins joined him now and then, but mostly he was alone. It was okay, he had a lot to think about.

When Harry woke Christmas day, he was surprised to see a pile of gifts waiting for him. He hadn't bought anyone anything. He took a moment to feel bad about that, then he opened them and was happy to see they were mostly candy, with a few books thrown in. Nothing expensive, or overly thought out. They were from children after all, most of whom had only pocket change. That made him feel a bit better.

There was a mysterious gift of a cloak that made him invisible. Which, he cherished because it had been his dad's, according to the note with it. He folded it up and put it at the bottom of his trunk.

He penned a few 'thank you' letters, making sure to apologize for not sending a gift, but promised he would not forget next year. After breakfast, he went to visit Hagrid to wish him a Merry Christmas.

Hagrid's hut was warm and cozy. The giant furniture, the hams and fowl hanging from the ceiling and the roaring fire made for a unique setting. Harry always felt like a baby in the oversized chair. But Hagrid always made him feel welcome. They chatted for a while, and once again, small slips of the tongue came from the half-giant about what was hidden on the third floor. Harry paid little attention to them though, so Hagrid just sighed in relief, and changed the subject.

In his walking the messy-haired preteen found a room with a mirror. He walked in and stood in front of it. Instead of seeing his reflection, he saw all his friends. They were all smiling and pointing to a village at the bottom of a hill. At the far end of the village was a huge manor, with the houses sweeping out in front of it.

He wondered what that meant and looked at the top of the mirror. Seeing the writing and working it out, he sighed. 'Oh,' he thought, then shrugged. 'Of course, my greatest desire is to have many friends and a happy safe home.'

He didn't return, once more disappointing the headmaster, unknowingly.

The students returned and that underlying current was magnified tenfold. Everywhere Harry looked there were smug faces. A secret that everyone was bursting to share, but no one dared. Harry, himself, was itching to ask, but waited until someone told him.

It was okay, to keep this secret he would wait.

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Rewrite 9/29/24: Not much added to this chapter; only some sentences and a few corrections.