And here's the twenty sixth chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!
* Review Response:
Dzerx, orion0905, this Harry kept his Parseltongue. That said, he did have to relearn how to speak it properly following the removal of the horcrux.
tripmight, yeah, there is way too many stories where Harry gets ridiculous amounts of money. I will try to avoid adding to those, but I'm not going to make Potters (Harry currently has to operate within the limits of his trust vault) bankrupt / close to bankruptcy.
TheGreatBubbaJ, was there ever a Harry that got along with Lockhart? Aside from that story where older!Harry possesses the man, I mean.
magitech, we have the diary - an it is definitely making its way in Dumbledore's hands intact this time around.
elvander72, DarkRavie, mwinter1, Lazruth, mizzrazz72, hellfire45, Tsukikageshi, RatherFabulous, Yami no fukushi no tenshi, kent-jensen, geekymom, Yana5, , Guest #1, Wyrtha, Ranmaleopard, Smutley Do-Wrong, Spiraling Fan 3128, phoenix-rob, Scarecrow94, Zicou, JPElles, thank you for your reviews, folks!
ZaneT69, Harry probably won't even have to face Voldemort directly. And my Dumbledore isn't a manipulative control-freak some people love to turn him into. Hopefully.
jh831, maybe?
Jostanos, mhm... Omakes...
a guy1013, no, Harry doesn't currently own an owl, but he plans to buy one next summer. About the cloak... Actually let me check what I have written... Apparently, the cloak is still with Dumbledore. Oh well, I'll have the old man return it this coming Christmas or something. Not as a gift, though. And, does being paired with twins count as a harem? This will be strictly Flora/Harry/Hestia story.
Guest #2, as said above, Harry kept his Parseltongue here. No, basilisk will survive past Halloween, though it will be long dead by the end of the academic year. Dumbledore, Amelia and Croaker will take task of destroying the remaining horcruxes upon themselves, as for their progress... wait and see? Harry will most likely NOT face Voldemort directly, even if he ends up as the fourth champion of the Triwizard Tournament... Speaking of which, the things going on behind the scenes will be rather different from canon in this story.
* 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"
'thinking'
written text
spells
A Year Too Soon
Chapter XXVI: A New Year Begins
Albus Dumbledore collapsed into his armchair with a tired sigh, feeling every bit as old as he actually was. He had just returned from his meeting with Amelia Bones and Saul Croaker, and felt quite unsettled by the information Director Bones had shared with them. Apparently, Voldemort had indeed used a horcrux to cheat death, just like the Unspeakable thought, only the madman didn't create just one soul anchor; he created several of those abominations - something that no one in the recorded history had done before.
On one hand, the aged warlock couldn't help but feel a little relieved that the method the Dark Lord had used to prevent himself from leaving this world was now known - it revealed Voldemort's weakness and even gave the Light a chance to put an end to him and his terror before he regained his power and threatened the Magical world again.
On the other hand… Only someone completely lost to the Darkness could do something as insane as splitting his very soul into multiple pieces. And Albus shuddered to think what other atrocities the Dark Lord was capable of. This complete loss of humanity made him an extremely dangerous enemy, even more so than his great Magical prowess and extensive knowledge of curses and other powerful spells. Him stealing a body from another wizard only confirmed that.
And whatever he had become, Tom Riddle wasn't entirely human anymore. His transformation into the utter monster that saw fear in the hearts of witches and wizards across the British isles likely started with the creation of his first horcrux. Yet, these soul anchors were a very obscure piece of Magic that barely anyone knew of. There weren't many places Tom could've learned about them, and Dumbledore suspected he knew just who told the boy about this particular piece of Magic… Perhaps, it was the time he paid Hogwarts' previous Potions Master a visit.
If his guess was correct - and he made Horace Slughorn answer his questions - he might get a better grasp of how Tom thought and learn more about what made him into the fearsome Dark Lord he eventually became. And knowing how his mind worked made him easier to predict, thus giving the Light a good chance to save many innocent lives, should he ever return.
However, he needed to find Horace and get the truth out of him. And that was easier said than done: while the man enjoyed hanging around his students that achieved success in their lives, he could be slippier than an eel if he didn't want you to find him. And Albus had no doubts that the man wouldn't be eager to confess to essentially giving the most fearsome Dark Lord of recent times a key to immortality. Still, he was sure that with some luck he would be able to extract the information he needed from the old Potions Master.
~/ *** \~
The morning of September the first began rather peacefully for Harry Potter. Having packed his things the previous evening, he allowed himself to lay in a little before dressing up and getting down to the pub area for some filling breakfast courtesy of Tom the bartender.
After his meal, Harry brought his trunk downstairs and checked out of the room he had been staying in for the past two months. Once finished, he ordered himself another cup of black tea as he waited for the clock to strike ten - the time at which the Hogwarts Express would arrive at Platform 9¾. And when the time came, he quickly finished what was left of his tea and, after paying Tom for the drink as well as for the floo powder, made his way to the fireplace sitting in the far corner of the pub.
"Platform nine and three quarters." He intoned before throwing the powder into the flames, instantly making them turn emerald-green. Picking his luggage, the young wizard stepped into the fire and let the Magic carry him to his destination.
Just like the previous years, there weren't many people on the Platform 9¾ at such an early time and Harry had no trouble claiming a compartment near the middle of the train. Having put his trunk on the overhead rack, he continued reading the introductory chapters from his Ancient Runes textbook. Runes were a fascinating subject, though also one that required quite a bit of patience and ingenuity from those trying to master it. But Harry was sure that he had what it takes to succeed there…
He actually managed to get some 'light' reading done before the first of his friends, Tracey and Blaise, joined him in the compartment. Daphne arrived a few minutes later, lightheartedly complaining about Astoria not wanting to let her big sister go till she was allowed to go to Hogwarts with her. Flora and Hestia were the last ones to show up. After the greetings were exchanged, the twins took seats next to Harry with Flora actually pressing herself against his side.
"So, what have you been up to this past week?" Tracey asked.
"Nothing much really." Hestia replied. "Just getting ready for Hogwarts. What about you?" Tracey gave her a small smile.
"So did I. And, I can't way for DADA classes this year. Those should be awesome! I don't think we've had a teacher who is as famous and has accomplished as much before." She said enthusiastically.
"What about Headmaster Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "He has to be one of the most famous wizards worldwide both for defeating Grindelwald and for his academic research in partnership of Nicolas Flamel."
"And if we look beyond Defense." Blaise added. "Professor Flitwick held the title of dueling champion for a few years and had fought in the war against Grindelwald. His academic research might not be as well-known, but our Charms Professor too had published a number of impactful papers over the year." Tracey let out an exasperated sigh.
"Fine, fine." She said.
"Anyway, Harry, Flora, Hestia, you three will be able to visit Hogsmeade this year, right?" Daphne asked, suddenly changing the topic of the conversation. The said trio nodded in response. "Would you be willing to get us a few things from there?" The Greengrass heiress asked then.
"Sure thing." Harry replied, remembering how he himself had to ask his upperclassmen to get him things from local shops during the past two years. "As long as you ask for reasonable things, of course."
"Thank you." Daphne said. The compartment fell into silence for a few moments, before Blaise pulled a deck of playing cards out of his trunk.
"Anyone wants to play some exploding snap?" The dark-skinned wizard made a suggestion, which was met with much agreement.
~/ *** \~
As they disembarked from the 'horseless' carriage, Harry and his friends saw a Ravenclaw prefect handing Ronald Weasley over to Professor McGonagall - and, judging by the witch's face, the redhead had somehow managed to land himself into a serious trouble even before reaching the castle.
Standing next to them was the Malfoy heir, who was nursing a black eye he definitely didn't have before boarding the Hogwarts Express. Crabbe and Goyle, his two 'bodyguards', were doing their best to scare the curious people away from him, while Pansy was doing her best to comfort the blond boy.
"What do you think happened?" Flora asked.
"It looks like those two had gotten into a fight." Her sister observed.
"Figures." Blaise said. "Malfoy loves taunting Weasley way too much for his own good. It was only a matter of time before a fight happened… Still, I'm surprised Weasley actually managed to land a good hit on our prince blondy - Crabbe and Goyle must be losing their touch."
As they got closer, Harry and co heard Ronald telling rather emotionally that Draco had insulted his father and the rest of the family - apparently, that was the reason why he got into a brawl with the Malfoy scion. The said boy almost mechanically tied to interject that he wasn't insulting but telling the truth, but a quick angry glare from the Deputy Headmistress quickly shut him up.
"Mr. Weasley, while I perfectly understand you desire to protect your family's honor, starting a fistfight with your classmates is not the way to go about it. I will not deduct any points from you since the academic year hasn't started yet, but you will be serving three nights of detentions with me starting tomorrow." The witch said sternly. "And you, Mr. Malfoy. Provoking your classmates into attacking you is not an acceptable behavior either." Draco tried to look insulted that the Transfiguration Professor thought he was the one who had started this whole mess, but his act fell flat. "You will be serving same three nights of detentions with Professor Snape. Perhaps, it will teach you that you should be civil to the people you share classes with."
"Well…" Harry breathed. "I guess, this explains what happened between those two."
"That it does." Blaise agreed. After a brief moment of silence, he continued in a lower voice. "Can't say Malfoy didn't have it coming. I'm just glad this whole mess didn't cost us any house points. Imaging starting the year in the negatives!"
"Yeah, that would be a great hit to Slytherin's reputation." Harry said. With a quiet agreement, the group continued on their way to the Great Hall.
Even though she had to deal with Malfoy and Weasley and whatever actually happened on the train, Professor McGonagall still managed to bring the Sorting Ceremony about without any noticeable delays. Harry, however, wasn't paying much attention to who got sorted into which house - there were no firsties he knew personally, so…
"Oh, come on!" The Malfoy scion moaned rather loudly as one Ginny Weasley was called to sit under the Sorting Hat. "Just how many of them are there?" His outburst earned him a few glares from people around the Slytherin table, though primarily because they'd rather not listen to his whining. The blonde, however, wasn't deterred. "I guess, it explains why they are so poor and have such terrible manners." He continued. "Their parents must be working all the time just to feed this blood-traitor horde..."
"Malfoy!" Someone down the table hissed. "Shut your mouth!"
"Do you want a second black eye, Malfoy?" Another senior student threatened. "Because you will have it if you don't shut up." Draco made an offended face but did stop ranting about the Weasleys - just in time for the Sorting Hat to announce that Ginny will be joining Gryffindor. And seeing how she was also the last student to be sorted, this indicated the end of this year's Sorting Ceremony.
While Professor McGonagall took the Hat and the stool away from the Great Hall, Headmaster Dumbledore made his welcoming speech:
"To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands - welcome back!" The old warlock said with a beaming smile on his lips and bright twinkles in his eyes. "I hope you all have had a wonderful summer and are ready to dive into the marvelous work of Magic." There was a quiet murmur of agreement, coming mostly from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. "And tonight we celebrate the beginning of yet another amazing academic year here, at Hogwarts. But before we begin the feast, let me introduce you our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Gilderoy Lockhart." He said, nodding towards a blonde man in forget-me-not lilac robes. The said man rose from his seat and gave a somewhat-exaggerated bow to the Great Hall.
"As our illustrious Headmaster just said, me, 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 was given a great honor of teaching you how to defend yourselves against the dark forces of this world and the foulest creatures known to wizardkind. I hope that by sharing my knowledge and experience with you all, I will be able to bring the Evil one step closer to its ultimate defeat! Thank you." He said with a roguish smile that made quite a few fickle girls swoon.
"Thank you, Professor Lockhart." Dumbledore said after the students finished applauding to their new DADA Professor. "Now, without further ado, let the feast begin!" He tapped his goblet with his wand and suddenly the previously-empty plates on the tables were now piled with every food imaginable.
"He's something, isn't he?" Tracey asked as she absentmindedly helped herself with some roasted beef, her eyes still locked on Lockhart.
"Maybe?" Blaise replied with an indifferent shrug. Like other boys around the Great Hall he failed to see what was so damn special about that man, though he did feel a little jealous of how he so casually stole girls' hearts. "I mean, he did quite a few heroics, but haven't we already had a Professor who devoted their life to fighting the Evil already?"
"C'mon, Tracey." Daphne nudged her friend. "You gotta eat something now; you have a whole year to make eyes at Professor Lockhart ahead." Tracey wasn't very interested in looking away from the Hogwarts' newest DADA Professor, though:
"B-But… Just look at him!.."
"When do you think we will have our first elective class? It'd be quite a shame if we don't have Ancient Runes until next week - I'm really looking forward to it." Harry said to the twins, trying to steer the conversation away from Tracey's apparent crush.
"Yeah, Runes does sound like an interesting class." Flora agreed. "Though, from what I've heard, Professor Babbling is quite strict and gives a lot of homework… I just hope it will not be too much for us."
"I'm sure you'll do just fine." Harry tried to reassure his friend. "What about Headmaster Dumbledore's lectures? Are you looking forward to them too?"
"Yeah." Hestia said. "We are also looking forward to our Muggle Studies with Professor Potter." She added then, catching the said 'Professor' flat-footed.
"Oh?" Was all that he could say in response.
"C'mon, Potter. You promised to teach us about the ways of the non-Magical world, remember?" Flora pushed. Pausing for a second, Harry recalled that, indeed, the three of them had entertained such an idea back when they were asked to pick their electives past spring. Still, at the time he didn't think that the twins would really hang on to this idea.
"Yeah, I did..." He admitted after a brief moment of silence. "I'm still not sure how to go about it. And… Perhaps we should wait a week or so before we begin? To see how our regular classes are this year." Flora hummed thoughtfully, before agreeing.
"Alright, Harry." She said just as the table around them exploded into laughter as Daphne, fed up with her friend's fixation on Lockhart, force-fed her a spoonful of mashed potatoes.
~/ *** \~
After Professor Snape finished the customary speech he gave to his students every year - one that boiled down to asking everyone not be a bunch of dunderheads - Harry went to say hello to Salazar's portrait:
"Good evening, Lord Slytherin." He greeted the painting.
"Welcome back, young speaker." The Hogwarts' Founder greeted him back. "It appears that you've been successful in getting rid of that abomination?" Harry nodded. "My congratulations, then."
"Thank you, my Lord." He said. "I'm also very glad that you were right and I remained able to speak Parseltongue even after the horcrux was removed. You're a wise teacher, Master Salazar, and your word has helped me more than once already. I wouldn't want our, admittedly rather rare, conversations to end." The portrait let out a small laugh.
"So am I, believe it or not, heir Potter." Lord Slytherin said. "Like I've told you before, you're a bright young man, one whom I'd have enjoyed having you as my student. It is my pleasure to share my knowledge and experience with you." There, he made a small pause, before adding: "And worthy young speakers are rare these days. It gets quite lonely with no one to talk to." Harry did his best not to show his amusement at the portrait's confession.
"Our Headmaster promised to hold open lectures about everything Magic throughout this year." He said, starting from afar. "It would be quite interesting to see, whether what he says matches your experiences, Lord Slytherin."
"Most certainly." The Founder agreed. "I'm looking forward to hearing how far the understanding of Magic and its many phenomena has advanced since Hogwarts was founded."
"Would you like me to discuss the things Professor Dumbledore tells during these lectures with you, my Lord?" Harry offered.
"That would be wonderful, heir Potter." Lord Slytherin said. "I will be looking forward to learning what your Headmaster tells you about the secrets of Magic." Harry nodded. "Do you know when the first lecture will be held?"
"Not yet." He said, shaking his head. "But I'm sure its date will be announced pretty soon."
"Of course." Salazar agreed. There was a long moment of silence, before he continued: "Today must have been a rather long day for you, heir Potter and, if I'm not mistaken, your classes start tomorrow morning. I encourage you to get some good night's rest." Here he paused again, before speaking again, his voice suddenly sounding almost teasing. "And, it looks like your friends would like some of your attention too. You shouldn't keep denying them." Turning his attention away from the portrait, Harry saw Flora and Hestia waiting rather impatiently for him to finish his conversation with Lord Slytherin.
"Right." He agreed. "Good night then, my Lord." Thurning to face the pretty witches, he asked 'eloquently': "Hmm?"
~/ *** \~
Dear Tom, I've finally come to Hogwarts… You really should've told me that it is an old talking hat that tells you which house you belong to. Anyway, I got sorted into Gryffindor, just like the rest of my family. I hope, I can make them proud. A certain young girl wrote on an empty page of an old leather-bound diary. After a few seconds, the ink began disappearing into the page. Once it was once again completely blank, different words appeared on the paper.
My congratulations. I'm sure that your parents are very proud of you right now. And sorry about keeping the Sorting Hat a secret from you. But, as I was explained back in the day, it is kind of a tradition that everyone discovers how the Sorting is done themselves.
Thank you, Tom. I hope you're right and I made mom and dad proud today. The girl wrote. After a few long moment, she continued writing on a once-again empty page. Were your parents proud of you when you got into Hogwarts, Tom? She asked then.
I want to believe they were, but I wouldn't know. I am an orphan.
Oh. The girl responded. I'm so sorry, Tom. I didn't want to upset you.
Don't worry, I'm not angry with you. The diary replied.
Thank Merlin. You're one of my closest friends, Tom. I don't want to lose you, especially not because of my own clumsy words. The girl wrote. She was about to add something, when a prefect announced that it was five minute to curfew. A prefect just came. She is telling us that it's getting really late and we should get ready for bed. I'll write to you more tomorrow. Good night, Tom.
Good night and have a nice dream. The diary replied. Smiling at her paper-bound friend's response, the girl closed the diary and slipped it into her bag. Letting out a small yawn, she then headed for the bathroom to brush her teeth.
That's all, folks!
Read and review.