And here's the twenty third chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!
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Clavyus, DarkRavie, orion0905, mwinter1, jamnaz79, Marksbay, Yana5, skigirl51, smokeapound, Lazruth, mizzrazz72, The Shadows Mistress, Jostanos, NabikiB, akasanta, Shalifi, Apostrophe Catastrophe, richard333, Tsukikageshi, Guest, thank you for your reviews, folks!
Regale Rhythm, his direct political power at any rate. Remember, he was a Transfiguration Professor or the Headmaster for good two thirds of Wizengamot. Many people will still listen to what he has to say even if he is no longer the Chief Warlock.
Wyrtha, I'll probably take some flak for this, but I'm planning to have Lockhart as the DADA Professor for a short while. don't worry though, I'll have him removed before he can do too much damage. I promise. :P
magitech, mab70, yes, in the next year the Department of Magical Education will step in and try to finally deal with the DADA situation (and replace a certain blond fool with someone actually competent along the way).
BBryant, I'll think about it. There won't be anything for this chapter, though.
TheGreatBubbaJ, ^^
Vampireking40, with how things are going, there might not even be any toad-witch teaching DADA, in 1995-96 or otherwise.
et-reader97, the diary would still end up possessing Ginny, but that most certainly wouldn't be Lucius's intentions nor will he even be directly responsible for it this time around.
* AN: As always, great thanks to my friend Skelekitty for his help in polishing this chapter.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.
"speaking"
"parseltongue"
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A Year Too Soon
Chapter XXIII: The End of the Second Year
The days following Valentine's saw Harry grow even closer to Flora and Hestia with the girls now spending even more time in his company, often choosing to sit right by his side, sometimes even leaning against him comfortably. This, of course, wasn't missed by the school and while there was a small number of people who were just genuinely happy for them, quite a few of the boys were jealous of him for 'scoring' with the cute twins. Those were annoying, especially the arrogant rich heirs who got it into their heads that he had simply bought his friends' affection. The young Potter actually nearly sent one of nearly sent one of those bastard to the Hospital wing when had to fend him off with a wand in his hand…
Thankfully, it didn't take long for the people to get bored with speculating about his love life and move on to fresher gossip brought by Hogwarts' rumor mill. Thus, by the first week of March, Harry's life - as well as those of Flora and Hestia - were more or less back to the comfortable monotony of day-to-day school. Then, one fine April day, this monotony was broken by a bunch of booklets advertising Hogwarts' various elective courses appearing all over the Slytherin common room.
"Say, Harry, which courses you will be signing up for?" Flora asked her friend.
"Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and, probably, Care for Magical Creatures." The green-eyed wizard replied as he lazily flipped through the Runes' booklet. Having followed Lady Greengrass' advice, he had researched the available electives months ago.
"You are hoping to get into the Alchemy class once you pass your OWLs, don't you?" Flora asked half-seriously. Harry nodded in response.
"I would be lying if I said that I don't want to learn that art. But even if I fail to qualify for that class, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes are two of the most useful electives we have here." There was a short pause, before he continued, now with a question of his own: "And which electives are you leaning towards?" Hestia was the one to answer him:
"We are signing up for Ancient Runes and Care for Magical Creatures. We also thought about joining the Muggle Studies class." This made Harry raise an eyebrow.
"Why is that? And, also, you aren't going to try Arithmancy?" He asked the twins.
"I… We don't think we're smart enough to really do well there." Flora replied. "As for the Muggle Studies… Well… You aren't going to complete leave the non-Magical world, are you, Harry? We thought that it might be a good idea to be a little more aware of what it is like to live there."
"That is certainly wise." The Potter heir agreed. "And, you're right, I don't plan on leaving the non-Magical world completely, though, I'm not going to spend much of my time there in the foreseeable future. It would nice to have a safe place to stay in the Magical world first." Pausing for a moment, he continued: "And, I don't think I can actually recommend the class. From what I've heard, it mostly teaches information that is quite outdated and might not actually be useful anymore. I've even heard some people saying that this class is close to forty years behind reality and, given how rapidly the non-Magical world is changing nowadays, that is indeed long enough to make most things taught there horribly outdated."
"I see…" Hestia said with a pout. Then she let out a teasing smile. "Perhaps, Harry, you'd like to teach us about the non-Magical ways of life personally then?" It took the green-eyed wizard a few moment to fight down the blush that threatened to paint his face bright red.
"That might actually be not that bad of an idea." He said finally. "And, from what I hear, it is possible to sit the OWLs for the non-core subjects you sign up for." While rare, there indeed were cases of people, who passed OWLs despite having never officially studied the subject while at Hogwarts.
"You can actually do that?" Flora asked.
"Yeah." Harry confirmed. "Though you'll need to send a letter to the Department of Magical Education so that they add you to list of the examinees. In theory, you could probably even sit exams a year or even two earlier this way, but I haven't heard of anyone who ever did that."
"Interesting..." Hestia said thoughtfully.
"Back to the original question." The green-eyed wizard continued. "You are signing up for Ancient Runes and Care for Magical Creatures then?" The twins nodded.
"Yes." Hestia confirmed. "I'm a bit interested in Divination too, but I don't believe I have the Gift. Plus, I've heard that the Professor is a fraud who is drunk on sherry half of the time. I don't think I want to attend a class taught by someone like that."
"I haven't heard much positive about Professor Trelawney either." Harry said. "Why is someone like her even allowed to teach at Hogwarts?" He received only shrugs in response. "Anyway, are you really sure you don't want to sign up for Arithmancy?" He asked then, his voice making it clear that he didn't want to be separated from his friends for that class. The Carrow twins shook their heads.
"No, sorry, Harry. You'll be there on their own." Flora said. Then, seeing the expression on his face, she added playfully: "C'mon, Harry, you're a big boy. You can manage one class a day without our radiant presence."
"Professor?" The green-eyed wizard called as he knocked on the door of Professor Snape's office. And the reason for this visit was simple: in Slytherin the students submitted the list of the electives they wanted to sign up for to their Head of the House personally.
"Come in." The man hailed after a second or two. "Mr. Potter? You're here to submit the list of the electives you wish to attend from the next year onwards?" He asked, once Harry stepped into his office.
"Yes, Sir." The Potter heir replied with a nod as he handed a piece of parchment to his Head of the House, who studied it intently.
"Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care for the Magical Creatures. These are quite respectable choices to make." The Potions Master said after several long seconds of silence. "I hope you're ready for the amount of work these classes require of you, Mr. Potter. I will be greatly displeased if you can't keep your grades at Exceeding Expectations or higher."
"I will do my best not to disappoint you, Sir." Harry replied.
"See that you do." Professor Snape said. "Now, if there is nothing else, dismissed." Nodding, the green-eyed youth quickly vacated the man's office.
~/ *** \~
Early in May, just a few days before the end of the year exams began, Harry found himself summoned by the Headmaster. Given what time of the year if was, the young wizard was pretty sure that this meeting will be nothing but Dumbledore trying to convince him to spend his whole summer cooped at #4, Privet Drive. For his own good, of course.
"Come in, H-... Mr. Potter." The aged warlock greeted him as he entered the man's office. "Please have a sit. I need to discuss something very important with you." Once Harry seated himself, the Headmaster continued: "As you might remember, a year ago I insisted that you spend a couple of weeks of your summer at your Aunt's house."
"You said, it will help protect me from the followers of the Dark Lord who managed to avoid being imprisoned." The green-eyed wizard said, recalling his conversation with Dumbledore from a year ago.
"Indeed." The man confirmed. "And I must do that again this year. In fact, it'd be better if you limit your time outside of the wards around your Aunt's house as much as possible." Harry definitely wasn't happy to hear this and Dumbledore had to be completely blind not to see it. "I know that you'd rather spend your holidays elsewhere but, in the light of what has happened earlier this year, your safety is much more important." Receiving a flat look from the younger wizard, he let out a small sigh. "Please, don't go spreading around what I'm about to tell you, Mr. Potter." Receiving a tentative nod from Harry, he proceeded to explain his reasoning. "Earlier this year, I've thwarted Voldemort's attempt to regain a physical body. Unfortunately, my attempt to contain him afterwards failed and he managed to escape."
Having known that there was Dark Lord's horcrux in his forehead, the green-eyed wizard already suspected that Voldemort wasn't as dead as the public was led to believe. Still, he wasn't happy to hear that the bastard was active and seeking a way to give himself a new body.
"Until he's located, captured and dealt with, Voldemort is extremely dangerous even without a physical body of his own. It is imperative that you spend as much time as possible within the safety of the blood wards, Harry." Dumbledore said. His words were followed by a few long seconds of silence.
"I appreciate your telling me this, Sir. I will be sure to spend as much time under the protection of the wards as possible." Harry replied even if he had no desire to spend more time at Number Four, Privet Drive than was absolutely necessary to keep a certain old man off his back.
"Thank you, Harry. I'm glad that you can see reason." The old warlock said.
"What did the Headmaster want with you?" Flora asked Harry the moment he returned to the Slytherin common room.
"The same thing he wanted a year ago." The green-eyed wizard replied with a sigh as he collapsed into the nearest armchair. "He told me that I should spend the summer holidays cooped in the house of my non-Magical Aunt and Uncle."
"And he still claims that it is the safest place for you to be when away from here?" Flora asked next. Harry gave her a nod of confirmation. There was a bit of a pause, before the girl continued: "You've said that there supposedly are some really awesome wards around that house, but are they really needed? You've spend most of the previous summer staying at the Leaky Cauldron and were just fine."
"True." The young Potter replied. "I don't think there is any reason for me to spend much time there either." Even with Voldemort on the loose in a spirit-like form, Harry really doubted that he truly needed the protections the Blood Wards supposedly offered. "But, I guess, I should stay there for a few days: we might not be on the best terms with each other, but those people are my family. Plus, while the Headmaster might not be the Chief Warlock anymore, he still wields a lot of political power and he can make my life quite difficult if he wants to. Best not to give him a reason to do so with my 'teenage rebelliousness'"
"Poor, poor you." Flora teased as she playfully patted his shoulder.
~/ *** \~
The end of the academic year exams took place over the following week and, much to his surprise, Harry found them to be not all that hard. Sure, passing them with flying colors still required quite a bit of hard work on his part, but these exams felt like they actually were a bit easier than those from the previous year. Perhaps, he was simply getting used to the Magical world and how things in it were working?
Either way, he managed to score Os in all subjects but History of Magic, a result which earned him the top spot in academics among the second-year Slytherins and made it into the top five in his year. Professor Snape was very pleased with this and even awarded him with a few points for 'great academic achievements', though Harry suspected it was just an excuse the Potions Master used to give Slytherin an even higher lead in the competition for the House Cup award.
Harry wasn't the only one to do really well on those exams either. Flora and Hestia, in spite of their claims to not being all that smart, managed to get into the top third of the year-wide ranking. And as their friend, he couldn't be happier for them.
At long last, the final day of school arrived, bringing the end of the year feast along with it. And to celebrate Slytherin's winning of the House Cup - seventh in a row - the Great Hall was decked out in green and silver colors with a huge banner adorned by a mighty serpent covering the wall behind the Professors' table.
And while the feast hasn't started yet, the Slytherins were already celebrating their all-but-assured victory, much to the discontent of the people from the other three houses. But even those students couldn't deny the summer mood in the air and were chatting excitedly, discussing their plans for the holidays or just being happy that the classes were over.
This chatter died down, however, once the Headmaster rose out of his throne-like golden chair.
"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "It certainly was a challenging and trying year but, hopefully, your heads are all a little fuller than they were… And you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts so that they can be filled with knowledge anew." Here, he made a small pause, before continuing. "Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the House Points stand thus: on the fourth place we have Hufflepuff with three hundred and ninety two points."
The young Badgers exploded with cheering, making it clear to the world that they will be working extra hard to try and win the House Cup the next year. Many a student around the Great Hall, Harry included, clapped politely to cheer them up… Having waited for the students to quiet down a little, Dumbledore continued:
"Ravenclaw has four hundred and sixteen points and is in the third place." Once again, the Great Hall was drowned in the sounds of cheering, only centered around the table under the blue-and-bronze banner this time. "In the second place we have Gryffindor with four hundred and fifty two points." It was now the Lions' turn to chirrup. And, thanks to the Weasley twins, it was both very loud and accompanied by some colorful fireworks proclaiming Gryffindor to be the best house at Hogwarts... Once that spectacle came to an end, Dumbledore finally announced the winner of the House Cup: "And finally, in the first place with four hundred and seventy seven points we have Slytherin. Congratulations!" A moment later, a storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table as their Head of the House was given the Cup. The Headmaster waited for the cheering to quiet down, before continuing: "And now let us begin the feast to celebrate the end of this academic year!" He then clapped his hands once and the food magically appeared on the tables.
Later that evening, just before the curfew, Professor Snape called a House meeting for the students in second through sixth years.
"As you all already know, Hogwarts allows its students in the third year and above to visit the nearby village of Hogsmeade on a few special weekends throughout the year." The Potions Master began as he walked into the room with a small stack of parchments in his hands. He then distributed these parchments to the assembled students with a lazy wave of his wand. "Those who wish to visit Hogsmeade during the next academic year must return these forms, signed by their parents or other legal guardians, no later than September the second."
"Yes, Sir!" The students chorused.
"Also, I must remind you all that your right to visit Hogsmeade may be suspended or permanently revoked as a punishment for your misdeeds. Having your permission slip signed is no excuse to be anything less than exemplary wizards and witches." He added, receiving another chorus of 'Yes, Sir!' from the students in the room. Satisfied, he ended this brief meeting: "Dismissed."
~/ *** \~
The next morning was bright and sunny, completely dispelling any doubts that the summer holidays were about to begin. Shortly after the breakfast the students said their goodbyes to the castle and rode the "horseless" carriages to Hogsmeade where the Hogwarts Express was waiting to take them to London.
Upon boarding the train, Harry, Flora and Hestia quickly claimed an unoccupied compartment near the middle of the train. They were soon joined by Daphne and Tracey there. Blaise, meanwhile, merely asked to reserve a seat for him before disappearing into the next car to hang out with his other friends. As the five teens got comfortable, a conversation inevitably sparked among them. And, this conversation soon turned towards their plans for the holidays yet again.
"Say, Harry, do you still plan to stay at the 'Leaky Cauldron' for most of the summer?" Flora asked. "It'd be nice if we could shop for the next school year together, like we did the previous summer. Perhaps, we could meet on some other days as well." Hestia nodded in agreement. As did Daphne and Tracey, who were sitting across the compartment from them.
"Yeah." The green-eyed wizard said. "I'll be moving in there a couple of weeks into the holidays." After a brief pause he added: "I do have some business with Gringotts that I have to attend, but it should all be concluded long before our shopping lists for the upcoming academic year arrive."
"That's great!" Hestia said. "You should owl us when you're done with your business."
"Of course." Harry promised, while making a mental note that he really should look into buying a personal post owl. Not this year, though, as hiring Goblin curse-breakers to remove the horcrux stuck in his forehead left him with barely enough gold in his trust vault to buy textbooks and other stuff he might need for the next school year.
"Please don't let this business of yours that too much time." Tracey said. "It'd be so much more fun if we all go places together." Harry gave her a non-committal smile. "Also, where do you think we should go? I heard, there were some really interesting shops near the far end of the Diagon Alley." She paused. "Oh, I have an idea! Perhaps, we could visit the Greengrass estate and play in the fields surrounding it?"
"I can talk to my parents about this, but I won't make any promises, Tracey." Daphne told her.
"Of course, of course." The said girl replied, waving her hands defensively. "Anyway..." And with that the great brainstorming for nice and interesting places to hang out together began.
As the Hogwarts Express slowly pulled to the platform 9¾, Daphne and Tracey got off their seats and began pulling their trunks off the luggage rack. Harry, being the gentleman that he was, immediately jumped to help them. He then pulled his own trunk and those of Flora and Hestia as well. He then began preparing to disembark the train, but the twins quickly put a stop to that. And when he gave them a questioning look, they simply nodded for him to sit back between them. With a shrug he did just that. Once Daphne and Tracey left the compartment, Hestia, who was sitting by the door, pulled it close.
"Before we part our ways today, there was… something we wanted to do… Without anyone watching us…" Flora 'explained' in an unusually shy voice as her cheeks tinged pink. Her sister was mirroring her blush as well. And before Harry could ask what was going on, the girls exchanged a quick glance and pushed him against the backrest of his seat, laying gentle kisses on his cheeks.
After a few long moments they pulled away, leaving the green-eyed youth dazed a bit. It took him quite a bit of time to come back to reality.
"Shh!.." Flora shook her head, silencing him before he could say anything. The compartment fell into an awkward silence, which, thankfully, didn't last very long - the sound of crowd on the platform reminded the trio that they too needed to get off the train. "Let's get going before Grandmother starts wondering where we got lost." She then turned her attention to the Potter scion. "Come, Harry." She said, asking him to follow her with a nod.
That's all, folks!
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