Chapter 14: The Song Remains the Same
From there, the rest of the schoolyear passed quickly. Life returned to normal- or at least the Hogwarts equivalent of it. Recovered from the Hospital Wing, Harry was able to play in the final Quidditch match against Ravenclaw where Gryffindor flattened them 250-60. Were it not for Hufflepuff dominating their way through Slytherin 400-70, Gryffindor would have won the cup.
After their adventure with the stone, Hermione and Neville found themselves recognized along with Harry as celebrities among the school. What happened on the third floor corridor was a mystery but the school knew something had happened. Fluffy had been moved back to the forest, his barks no longer warning students away from the door. Meanwhile, defense class had been suspended after the "disappearance" of Professor Quirrell.
Nobody knew what happened but they knew it Harry, Hermione and Neville were involved. Soon, rumors started swirling about the "Golden Trio" as they were now being called.
"I heard they dueled Quirrell."
"I heard Quirrell resigned, is all. Apparently the vampire found out where he was."
"Granger must have tipped him off. She's smart like that."
"Arrogant Potter must have ousted him, thinking he could teach the subject all by himself."
"But what about Longbottom? I didn't think he was all that powerful. How could a squib like him outduel a professor?"
Harry laughed at the last one. Ollivander could not replace Neville's wand so Neville was forced to buy a new one and discovered just how powerful he could be.
In Charms, holding his new wand, Neville was looking at the quill in front of him. Flitwick was having them review for the final.
"Wingardium Leviosa," Neville swished and flicked. Instead of the quill lifting off the ground, the whole table did, floating three meters off the ground.
"Easy there, Mr. Longbottom," Flitwick twitched his wand and returned the desk to its original point. "That wand is definitely a better fit for you but remember the first lesson. Feel your magic and the connection with your wand. Exercise control at all times."
Meanwhile, Harry was having a different issue: keeping Hermione calm. That night, while they were sitting in the common room, Harry was trying to keep her from destroying the tower.
"Easy, Hermione," Harry said. "You're way too pent-up. You're going to give yourself an aneurysm."
"But this is our future, Harry," Hermione said. "We have to do well, both of us. They'll kick you off the team and me…"
She stopped short. Harry finally understood and slid closer to her.
"I know you want to prove yourself," Harry said softly. "That a First Generation Witch can be the best, that she can rise above all the rest, that she belongs here. Proving to all the pureblood bigots just how good she is."
Hermione hung her head.
"Know this," Harry said. "You're already as good as they are and no test will prove otherwise to me."
Leaning into him, Hermione closed here eyes and took three deep breaths.
"Thank you, Harry," she said, breathlessly. "I try really hard but sometimes it's hard being reminded how heavily things are stacked against me in this world."
"We will change that," Harry said. "It will take time and a lot of effort but we will. Stronger together, remember?"
"Stronger together."
"Do you see that, Gred?"
"I do Forge."
"Good thing McGonagall got her bet in. A few years and everyone is going to have their money on them. She got in when the odds were still good."
"Enough of that, we need to focus. We're really close to figuring this out."
Turning back to the parchment they were both working on, they bent low, speaking in whispers.
"Maybe if we added this…" George said.
"No we tried that, it gave us boils on our…"
"I remember! Maybe if change…"
If anyone in Gryffindor were paying attention, they would have been terrified.
A few weeks later, Harry and Hermione were walking through the courtyard after their final test.
"See?" Harry bumped her. "Nothing to it."
"It wasn't as bad as I thought," Hermione said. "Though I am still unsure about my answer to question 10. I wonder if I…"
"Look at the mudblood!" Draco called out. "Did your little pet perform up to expectations, Potter? Or will you have to get a new one next year. If you ask me, this one looks rather runty. You should throw it back."
As one, the rest of the Gryffindors stepped up to support their housemate.
"That's enough, Draco!" Malfoy turned to see an irate Daphne Greengrass, flanked by Tracey Davis and Millicent Bulstrode. "Don't you have anything better to do with your time? Go shampoo your hair again. It needs it.
"We have had it with you!" Tracey said. "You target Potter and Granger at every turn and every time you diminish our entire house. No cunning. No guile. You are a disgrace for a Slytherin."
"Greengrass? Davis? You dare speak to me this way? Crabbe! Goyle! I think it's time we showed these blood traitors what happens when you cross House Malfoy."
"No." Draco was shocked again. Standing there, their arms crossed were Crabbe and Goyle. "You belittle and demean us at every opportunity. Our fathers may be close but you do not own us."
They moved to stand beside Greengrass.
"See what your actions have wrought?" Harry said. "You think everyone below you but you do nothing to engender respect. You expect everyone to fear you based on what? Your name? Your father? Respect is earned and there is nothing that you have done to earn it, Malfoy.
"You insult and demean Hermione yet she will probably still be the top student. You call me Scarhead, as if that means anything to me. I used to think of this as a reminder that my parents are dead," Harry tapped his forehead.
"Thanks to Hermione, Neville and the rest of my friends in Gryffindor," he gestured to the other Gryffindor first years who had formed up after Malfoy insulted Hermione. "I have learned it is a mark of sacrifice, of protection, proving the love of my mother.
"Scarhead means nothing to me, just as you now mean nothing to your fellow Slytherins. Move along now and think about real hard about the road you are walking down, the wizard you want to be."
"Blood traitors, the lot of you," Draco said, stalking off. Only Pansy Parkinson and Theo Nott, followed in his wake.
"Thank you for standing up for Hermione," Harry addressed Daphne.
"I got tired of it, is all" Daphne said. "He makes all of us Slytherins look bad. No tact whatsoever."
"Potter," Crabbe stepped up. "We want to thank you. You're the first person to treat us as more than muscle-bound thugs. Given the improvement we've seen in Longbottom, we thought you might be able to help us achieve our true potential."
"So you're just using me to gain power," Harry chuckled at the pair. "How very Slytherin of you."
"Well, only a Gryffindor would be brave enough to do it," Goyle said. "Friends?"
Harry shook each of their hands. "Friends."
"I'm not sure if friends suits me," Daphne said. "But I'd like to be allies."
"That'll work for now."
"See you around, Potter," Tracey said as the new détente of power in Slytherin walked off.
"That was bigger than you know," Neville said. "The Greengrass family is quite influential. Forming an alliance is big deal for your future prospects. Gran's been trying to forge one for years."
"What was that!?" Ron said. "They're all snakes. You can't trust them."
"They're their own people and they deserve a chance, just the same as everyone," Harry said. "Malfoy is his own issue because of how he acts, who he is. Greengrass and the others have done nothing against any of us."
"Every wizard who went bad came from Slytherins!" Ron shouted. "You can't trust them. The second you do, they'll stab you in the back. You'll see. One day you will find out. Don't come crying to me when you do."
Ron walked away, taking Seamus and Dead with him.
"Don't listen to him," Parvati said. "It's been nice to break some of those boundaries. Slytherin's been easier to deal with since the beginning of the year."
"One year and you're breaking down house boundaries," Cedric walked up. "A Gryff making friends with snakes? You don't do anything normal, do you Potter?"
"Just wait until you see my next trick," Harry said.
"Oh lord, I don't want to think about it," Cedric laughed. "I'm used the mayhem of the Weasley twins but nobody could prepare me for this."
Cedric slapped Harry on the shoulder as the rest of Gryffindor laughed. They never noticed an owl flying overhead.
Lucius roared in anger at Draco's latest letter. He quickly set the parchment ablaze, letting it smolder on his desk as he grabbed his favorite decanter, pouring out a generous amount of caramel colored liquid.
This wasn't supposed to be this way! He fumed. Draco was supposed to "befriend" Potter, earning the brat's trust. Now he tells me he's lost all standing in Slytherin and that Potter has fractured the house.
Losing Goyle and Crabbe was NOT what had intended at ALL. That they formed up with Greengrass and Davis was worse. One day, they would inherit a Gamot seat. If the Neutral faction was to pick up two more votes, it spelled doom to the Dark faction. It all came back to Potter.
"Potter is the key."
That was the last thing the Dark Lord said before he went to attack Godric's Hollow. The key to what Lucius never knew but he knew that Potter was the key. Surely the Dark Lord could not be felled by a mere babe. Maybe they could use Potter to bring his lord back, to return the wizarding world to its former glory, with purebloods reigning supreme over all.
If nothing else, the light losing its favorite symbol would allow the dark faction to truly take over. Even now, it took a steady stream of gold to keep the minister from following the light faction. Even with that, the light was still making incremental gains.
For 10 years, Lucius had been trying to track down Potter to no avail. Black was rotting in Azkaban, meaning Harry couldn't be sent to live with him. Lucius knew he wasn't a Death Eater but it was advantageous to keep the last remaining Black in prison. It allowed Lucius access to the Black vaults through his wife Narcissa and in a few years, Draco would be the new Lord Black. It was such an irony that it was Black gold which kept the current Lord Black from accessing his titles.
He had dispatched Bellatrix and the Lestrange Brothers to the Longbottoms. Surely, that was where James and Lily would have sent him. Bellatrix tortured them into insanity. They would not give the location of Potter, if they even knew it. After the Longbottoms, Lucius, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle had tracked down the Bones. They would not talk and Lucius figured he would make their silence permanent.
If Potter wasn't with the families of the Great Alliance, where was he? Lucius raged at the time.
Then there was the break this year. Draco mentioned Harry living with his mother's sister, a muggle. Surely muggles would be no issue for a wizard like Lucius but there was no information ABOUT them. He had bribed a clerk in the records office at the Ministry of Magic but it was pointless. There was nothing about Potter.
Dumbledore might be a fool but he isn't an idiot, it would seem. He has hidden everything about the boy. To find out where he lives, I would need access the school records. To do that, I'd need to get Dumbledore out of the castle. As headmaster, he has final say over student records, past or present.
Lucius raged and let his mind wander. He was head of the board of governors but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't even contact Severus as Snape had no information of any student outside his house. He needed to get Dumbledore sacked. That is what he needed.
But how? He wondered. Dumbledore is beloved. Finding a way to get the board to approve his dismissal, I'd need… no…. It's too perfect.
Walking to a bookcase in the study, he placed his finger on a rune and the shelf popped forward, revealing an old black book, its leather worn, the pages yellowed with age.
"Lucius," the Dark Lord told him when handed him this book. "Hold onto this as if it were your very life. Within this is the key to reopen the Chamber of Secrets. You must keep it safe until I ask for it again. It is much too dangerous to reopen it now. Dumbledore suspects me still, I fear."
"Yes, my lord," Lucius bowed.
Lucius grabbed the book, feeling the weight of it in his hands. Thanks to the influence of Dumbledore, that law of Arthur Weasley's was sure to pass and before long this manor would be raided. Lucius knew it was unlikely they would find this concealed shelf but Lucius could not take the chance.
"If I do this right," Lucius actually grinned. He was so focused on his machinations that he failed to notice his desk burning. "I can discredit the blood traitor, keep this book out of the hands of Ministry AND get Dumbledore out. I'll be able to spin the Chamber fiasco to get the board members up in lather and then Harry Potter will be vulnerable…"
Lucius left his musing off, not noticing the little elf who was currently putting out the flames on his desk. Laughing, Lucius gripped the book and began to plan.
Back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was pacing in his office, pondering Harry Potter. He extracted the chart that Madam Pomfrey gave him back in November.
Improperly healed bones…
Severe malnutrition…
Stunted growth…
All consistent with childhood abuse…
The words were appalling. In the letter from Pomfrey, it revealed that Harry told them their distaste for magic. Steps had to be taken, he knew. If he could, he would make it so he couldn't send him back but the incident with Quirrell had confirmed it: Harry needed the protection from his mother.
Drawing a quill, he started writing a letter.