And here's the sixty third chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!

* Review Response:
Fuck Names, Speedster1014, Urgazhi, DarkRavie, Brockster550, RedOuroboros, Yaw613, griffin blackwood, BMS, decoy73, thank you for your reviews, folks!
magitech, well, he's Fudge. Of course he is going to go for the 'pretend everything is fine right now' route, no matter how badly it can turn out for him in the future.
Luiz4200, no, I don't think it will happen then. But I'm sure Fudge will learn that hiding things like that from the public is not a very smart choice. Eventually.
Greatazuredragon, of course it will. The questions are 'when and how?'

* AN: This chapter has not been beta-read.

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

current timeframe: summer 1994, end of Harry's fourth year in this story (end of third year in the canon)

A Year Too Soon
Chapter LXIII: It's Summertime Again

The remaining few days of the semester passed without anything really notable happening. It was still a nice couple of days as Harry and his friends got a bit of time to relax and not worry about anything. Which was what they really needed after all those grueling and nerve-wrecking exams.

And before long, it was the time for the end-of-the-year feast. Once again, the Great Hall was decorated in green and silver as Slytherin won the House Cup once more. For the tenth time in a row, in fact, which was something no one had ever achieved before in the history of Hogwarts. The other Houses were understandably not very happy about this, but the Snakes won the Cup fair and square - this time - so they couldn't really complain about it.

Then, the morning after, it was the time for the students to leave Hogwarts and return to their homes for a well-earned summer vacation.

After splitting apart for a ride to Hogsmeade - all seven of them couldn't possibly fit into a single 'horseless' carriage - the Clique reconvened in a compartment within the Hogwarts Express. And once their baggage was secured on the racks, the young wizards and witches immersed themselves in a conversation. The topic of this conversation, of course, was their plans for the holidays. Which naturally included the Quidditch World Cup finals that would take place towards the end of the summer.

"So, who's coming to watch the game?" Blaise asked.

"I definitely am!" Tracey, a big Quidditch enthusiast herself, exclaimed.

"I'll probably pass." Harry said with a shrug. "While I enjoy flying, Quidditch just doesn't interest me all that much. I suppose, had England been in the finals, I'd have to come out of national pride, but as things are…" He fell silent for a moment, before adding: "Plus, my summer will be quite busy as is."

"Your loss, man." The other wizard told him. "What about you, ladies?" He then addressed the four witches who were yet to answer his question. Flora and Hestia shook their head:

"We will probably listen to it on the wireless." The twins said.

"Father is definitely coming." Daphne said. "So Mother and us will be there as well." Next to her, Astoria nodded eagerly: unlike her sister, she was growing up into quite a tomboy and enjoyed (watching) Quidditch almost as much as Tracey and Blaise did. And speaking of those two…

"So, it looks like it'll be just the four of us, eh?" Tracey asked with a fake-sad sigh.

"Seems so." Blaise replied with a small nod.

"C'mon, guys, don't be so melodramatic." Harry jibed at them. "I'm sure you're perfectly capable of having fun even without us around." Tracey responded by punching him on his shoulder. And while she didn't mean to hurt him, he still felt it. "Ow… I guess I deserved that." He said. There was a bit of pause, before he continued: "Anyway, do we have anything else planned for the summer?" He asked, obviously meaning something that involved all of them.

"Well, we could always have a party or two or several at the Greengrass manor." Daphne spoke up. "It's pretty much a tradition for us to get together there." Before the young Potter could say that this sounded like a plan, Tracey butted in:

"Or, perhaps, we should make a new tradition of meeting up at Harry's new home?" She suggested.

"It's too early for that." The young Potter protested. "Even if the actual construction is somehow finished before September, the manor will still be nothing but bare rooms." Which reminded him that he should start looking into acquiring all that furniture. Not everything at once, perhaps, but he certainly needed to furnish at least a bedroom, a kitchen, a dining room and a bathroom before he could move in. And even more than that before he was ready to receive guests.

That made him wonder, where he could actually buy furniture in the Magical world? He didn't remember seeing any such shops in the Diagon Alley or smaller streets branching off it during his stays at the Leaky Cauldron during the previous summers. Granted he could've just missed those because he was looking for other things at the time… Or, perhaps, he should shop for furniture on the non-Magical side instead? There definitely were a lot more options there - and with a bit of Gold, he could have those enchanted to be as good as whatever was produced by wizarding woodworkers. Plus he wasn't exactly a fan of all that gaudy stuff the old families kept in their homes. Something in Art Deco or even more modern style, perhaps? It looked good. And it was much easier to maintain than…

"Are you alright, Harry? You're kinda spacing out on us." He was brought out of his thoughts by Hestia.

"Sorry." Harry said. "I got caught thinking about all the things I still need to do before I can move into the new Potter manor." He paused for a moment, before asking: "What are we talking about now?"

"We're still on the subject of the summer party at the Greengrass manor." Flora answered him.

"Ah…" He began. "Well, I don't think I have any concrete plans for the summer yet, so I should be up for a meeting whenever. And if something changes, I'll send you all an owl."

"Good." Daphne said with a nod.

The Clique continued discussing their eventual meet-up at the Greengrass manor and their other plans for the summer for a while longer. Eventually, though, the conversation broke apart with Tracey, Blaise and Astoria going back to talking about the upcoming Quidditch World Cup finals, while Harry and his girlfriends were instead discussing their own plans for the summer, including his visit to the Carrow manor. Daphne, not being a part of either conversation, decided to do some light reading and picked a book - which most definitely wasn't one of her Hogwarts textbooks - from her trunk.

Then, after a lunch that included a number of sweets the teens had bought from the trolley, Harry, Flora and Hestia decided that they wanted a bit of together-time before they had to part their way at Kings Cross and, having politely excused themselves from their present company, left for a more private setting.

Despite what some students may claim, finding an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express was never an impossible task, and so it wasn't too long before the trio found one. A few locking and sound-blocking Charms later, they had a little bit of private space to whatever they wanted inside. And right now the three teens wanted to do each other.

Well… They weren't going to go all the way - not on the train - at least that was the plan. But that certainly didn't mean that the things between them would stay tame. Or that their clothes would stay on while they were having their private time together.

By the time the train started getting close to London, the lover trio had had their fun and rejoined the rest of the Clique back at their compartment. Their return was met with a bit of friendly teasing, mostly by Tracey. Somehow, this led to the teens having another round of conversation about their summer plans. That didn't last for very long and soon the compartment fell into comfortable silence.

Eventually, Hogwarts Express arrived at Platform 9¾ and, once those too impatient to get off the train, Harry and his friends disembarked as well. Blaise immediately took his leave and disappeared towards the public floo. Not a minute later Daphne spotted her father among the crowd and so she, Astoria and Tracey bid their farewell as well.

"Did your grandmother say she will be meeting you here?" Harry asked his girlfriends. The twins nodded. "Let's go find her then." The girls nodded again, and with that the three of them headed down the platform, looking for Regent Carrow. And a little bit of searching later, they found her towards the far end of the platform where the crowds weren't as overwhelming. Once the greetings were exchanged, the elderly witch addressed Harry:

"Let me once again extend you an invitation to visit the Carrow Manor, Heir Potter." She said.

"I'm very honored by your invitation and accept with my utmost gratitude." Harry replied with a small, polite nod. "Please let me have a day or two to settle in for the summer holidays and I will be ready to experience the hospitality of your ancestral home." Regent Carrow nodded.

"I shall send you an owl tomorrow night then." She said. "Please respond with the date you find most agreeable for your visit."

"I will." Harry replied.

They then made some small talk as they slowly made their way to the public floo terminal and then waited for their turn to use it. And just when it was their turn, the Carrows bid Harry farewell with Flora and Hestia giving him chaste kisses on his cheeks, much to their grandmother's amusement: the old witch definitely had at least some idea of what he and the twins were up to in private.

Once the Carrows flooed away to their manor, it was Harry's turn to use the network. And so did, throwing some of the powder into the fire, before announcing his destination once the flames turned emerald-green:

"The Leaky Cauldron." He called, before stepping into the floo. A brief but still uncomfortable flight through a Magical space connecting the fireplaces, Harry found himself at the back of the aforementioned pub. And while the place was as packed with patrons as it always was at this time of day, Tom the bartender noticed his arrival immediately.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter." The man greeted. And since it was not the first time Harry came here looking for a place to stay, Tom made an assumption that it was the case now as well: "Will you be needing a room?"

"Yes, please." The green-eyed teen replied. "I need a place to stay for the entire summer."

"I believe room number five should be available right now." Tom the bartender said. "Just be warned that the rates for renting a room have, unfortunately, gone up by fifteen Sickles a week." Harry nodded in acceptance: this wasn't entirely unexpected, and he did have enough gold in vaults for this to be a non-issue. Especially since this would likely be the last summer he spent this way. With any luck, he should be able to move into the rebuilt Potter manor this time next year.

"Alright." He said, reaching for his purse to prepay the first week's rent.

~/ *** \~

He was maybe two days away from Hogsmeade, when Sirius Black realized that the academic year was now over and Hogwarts students had returned home. Harry wasn't in the castle anymore and won't be returning there until September. And he needed to see his godson to be sure that everything was alright with him, before then.

Thus, Sirius turned around and headed back Southwards: for whatever reason, he was absolutely certain that his godson was spending his summer somewhere in England or, perhaps, in Wales and not in Scottish highlands. But where exactly was he? Was he staying with the Longbottoms? Or with the Bones? Or, perhaps, the Weasleys? He didn't know and he wasn't sure he could get the answer easily: old families had strong wards surrounding their ancestral homes. Getting close to one of those uninvited, even as a transformed animagus, would be very difficult even for a wizard at the height of their power. And that definitely wasn't him. All those years in Azkaban have not been kind to him.

But he needed to be sure that Harry was fine. And for that he - obviously - needed to find him first. After some thinking, Sirius decided to check the Burrow first. While it wasn't likely that Harry was actually spending his summer there, the Weasleys didn't have strong wards, so checking it out would be easy. He would then try his luck with the Bones and Longbottom manors. Hopefully, he'll get his answers without getting caught or being fried by overly-aggressive ward.

That was still a long way for him to travel, even if he was slowly recovering from his time in Azkaban and his very exhausting escape from that hellhole. His, thankfully mostly steady, diet of random woodland critters and leftover food from when he passed through towns has definitely helped Sirius put some meat back on his bones, though he would rather he could eat proper wizarding food instead.

~/ *** \~

While the students were already enjoying their summer break, for the Hogwarts Professors there still were things that needed to be done before they too could have their well-earned vacation. This included summing-up the results of the just-finished academic year and the first round of preparations for the next one. Which included, per the unfortunate tradition, the change of the DADA Professor.

"Is your decision final, Alastor?" Albus Dumbledore asked his old friend. "It would be really nice if you could keep on teaching. Not only would our students benefit greatly from your continued instruction, but with the Triwizard Tournament taking place here, at Hogwarts, the next year…" The scarred ex-Auror shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Albus." The man said. "I only agreed to teach for a single year while I'm helping you clean up the castle from Dark Magics and harmful artifacts. And I've done as I promised, now let me go back to my retirement." He paused for a moment, before adding: "And while I'm honored that you believe me to be a good teacher for the schoolchildren, that is something I hardly am. If you want Auror cadets trained, I'm your man, but for the kids who have never held a wand in their hands before… You better find someone else, Albus."

"I see…" The Headmaster replied with a sigh. This indeed was quite unfortunate for him, but there wasn't much he could do about Alastor's decision to return to his retirement. Which meant Hogwarts was, once again, in need of a new DADA Professor. And with how people believed the position to be cursed, even if no evidence of such Curse actually existing had been found, qualified candidates weren't exactly lining up to take over the post.

Then his eyes landed on one Severus Snape. The Potions Master had repeatedly expressed his desire to teach Defense instead. And thanks to the follies of his youth, he was well versed in the Dark Arts as well as the methods of counteracting them. Previously, he had always denied Severus whenever he brought up the topic, but with the Voldermort finally gone for good, he had no reasons to keep denying the man anymore. Plus, finding a new Potions Professor would be much easier. Hell, he might even be able to convince Horace to take up the teacher's mantle once again… With that in mind, Albus focused his attention on Hogwarts' current Potions Master.

"Severus, would you mind taking over the Defense class then?" He asked.

"I…" The man has definitely been caught by surprise with this question. Still, it took him only a moment to recover and recompose himself. "Certainly, Headmaster." Professor Snape replied. "Does it mean someone else will be taking over the Potions class?"

"I was hoping I could convince Horace to come back to teach once again." Dumbledore said. "But failing that, finding a respectable Potioneer to teach the class shouldn't be an impossible task." The Head of Slytherin nodded: while there weren't many active Potions Masters in Magical Britain, he certainly wasn't the only one - not that one even needed such a high qualification to teach the dunderheads.

"I see…" He said. "I shall prepare the notes on the classes I've taught to my successor." He then turned his attention to the current DADA Professor. "Can I expect the same courtesy from you, Moody?" The retired Auror let out an affirmative grunt in response.

"Thank you, Alastor." Dumbledore cut in before anyone else could say anything. "Moving on." He continued. "We have our usual business of selecting the fifth-year prefects for the next academic year, as well as the headboy and the headgirl. Please submit the names of your chosen candidates before the fifth of July." The four Heads of the Houses all nodded. It was a yearly piece of business that they all have done time and time again… Meanwhile, the Headmaster continued: "Next, I would like to hear your thoughts about the improvements the castle needs for the upcoming Triwizard Tournament."

And so the staff meeting carried on…

A couple of hours later, the meeting finally came to an end and, once that happened, Severus Snape quickly made his way back to his office / Potions lab: there were several brews that required his attention. Well, not really, but it was a good excuse for not hanging out with his colleagues when he wasn't in the mood for that.

Still, while he attended to his potions, he couldn't help but ponder on the topic of Slytherin prefects. The current ones have been doing the job acceptably, so Snape didn't see any need to replace them, but he needed to appoint a new pair and, well… Among the boys, Harry Potter was pretty much the only candidate for the badge: even though it had never been his goal, he had pretty much become an unofficial leader of Slytherin and enjoyed strong support from his housemates, especially those in the younger years as well as those from not traditionally-Dark families. Furthermore, he was genuinely respected by the students from the other Houses, which was rather rare for someone sorted into the Serpents' den.

And as much as Snape didn't want to admit it about the child of his schoolyard nemesis, Harry Potter wasn't someone who would abuse the privileges that came with the prefect's position. Too much, at any rate. He was still a teenaged boy with all the baggage that came with it. Still, there was no denying that Harry Potter was, by a very large margin, the best candidate for the 'job' among the Slytherin boys.

It wasn't such a clear cut case with the girls, though. And if Severus Snape was completely honest, none of the young witches were truly outstanding in the ways that mattered. Still, one of them had to be given the badge and it was his unfortunate job to decide which one would get it. Merlin help him!

Still, it wasn't a decision he had to make right now, the Potions Master reminded himself. He had until July to take his pick. So, perhaps, he should just set this issue aside for the moment and focus on other things? Like they say, tomorrow is a new day. And one of the potions he was working on reaching its boiling point made the decision for him: his work demanded his whole attention right now, so he will return to deciding on the newest Slytherin female prefect at a later time.

That's all, folks!
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