Harry awoke early on Saturday, sunlight filtering gently through the tall windows of the Ravenclaw Tower. He blinked against the golden light, stretching out with a yawn. Today was the first weekend at Hogwarts, and unlike many of his peers, he had no intention of using it to sleep in.
The past week had been a whirlwind of classes, conversations, and subtle observations. He'd already mapped out which professors were worth their salt, which students had the potential to be allies, or threats, and which secrets Hogwarts might still be hiding. But today was for action. Today, he'd visit the Room of Requirement.
He dressed quietly, sliding his wand into his wrist holster, and slipped down the winding stairs, through the still-silent common room, and out into the castle halls. The portraits barely stirred as he passed, and his footfalls echoed faintly on the stone floor.
Finding the Room was easy. He paced in front of the blank stretch of wall on the seventh floor three times, focusing intently on what he needed.
A place to train. A room where I can study, where I can get stronger. A room where I can prepare for what's to come.
The stone rippled as a door formed from nothing.
He paused, hand on the door handle. A part of him expected alarms, or for Dumbledore to swoop down from above with twinkling eyes and a probing question. But the hallway remained silent.
He stepped inside.
He was curious to find out what the Room had created based on his vague thoughts. The Room was enormous, larger than the Great Hall, with high ceilings and torch-lit walls. The far end featured a raised duelling platform. Training dummies stood at attention along one wall, varying in material and complexity, and on the opposite side were rows of bookshelves. One section held rare magical texts; another, ritual diagrams; a third, spell theory. He even spotted a basin of clear water nestled beside a rack of exercise equipment: part alchemy lab, part gym.
Harry exhaled slowly. "Brilliant," he murmured.
He spent an hour exploring the space. The books were genuine, not illusions, and he found multiple titles he knew were banned from the Hogwarts library. There were stacks on duelling techniques, a text on structured Occlumency meditation, and even a dusty tome about magical intent and the forging of custom spells.
He tested a few basic duelling spells on the dummies, and then opened a training manual on shielding charms.
He could lose days in this place.
But he wouldn't. Not yet.
There was still time before breakfast ended, and Harry wanted to keep the Room his secret for now. Dumbledore had eyes everywhere, and even if the man wasn't actively monitoring Harry, the castle was full of whispering portraits and curious ghosts. He couldn't afford to be careless.
If he was honest with himself, he wasn't entirely sure why he was keeping secrets from Dumbledore. Sure, his blind faith in the man had all but disappeared in the past few years, but he still respected him. He considered sharing his knowledge with the Headmaster, but came to the conclusion that he really should keep everything close to the chest for now. Perhaps in the future, he would bring Dumbledore into his confidence. But not yet. Not while he was still planning.
And he'd made a choice: the Chamber of Secrets was off-limits, at least for now. Tempting as it was to claim it as his own, meddling with events meant for second year, especially with the basilisk, was too risky. He'd need to secure the diary later, certainly. But, again; not yet.
After carefully exiting the Room, making sure no one had seen him, Harry made his way down to the Great Hall. He arrived just after eight and saw a few Ravenclaws already at their table. Hermione was one of them.
She was nibbling on toast, a book propped against the jug of pumpkin juice.
"Morning," Harry said as he slid into the seat beside her.
Hermione jumped a little, then smiled. "Oh, good morning, Harry. Were you up early too?"
He helped himself to scrambled eggs and fruit. "Yeah, habit, I guess. Figured I'd enjoy a quieter breakfast."
Hermione tilted her head, curious. "I'm used to being up early. I like having the castle to myself before it gets too noisy."
"Same." Harry smiled. "Hey I was wondering, do you want to visit Hagrid today?"
Her eyes lit up in a way that told Harry she'd been hoping someone would ask. "Really? He's the gamekeeper, right? He seemed nice when we met him at the lake."
"Yeah," Harry nodded. "Bit rough around the edges, but kind. I've heard he keeps all sorts of magical creatures."
Hermione hesitated for only a second before nodding eagerly. "I'd love to go."
By the time they finished breakfast, the sun had risen higher, bathing the castle in warm gold. They strolled down together through the front gates and toward Hagrid's hut, chatting about classes and books. Harry made a point of asking her opinion about Professor Flitwick's wandwork demonstrations and how she was managing the heavy reading load. Hermione, for her part, seemed quietly thrilled to have someone interested in her answers.
They continued onwards in companionable silence, strolling across the grass. Flanked by the lake on their left and the Forbidden Forest on their right, Harry mused on the upcoming events and what he was planning to do. If his memory served him correctly, the troll at Halloween was Quirrell's first play for the stone. Snape should still be able to head him off at the third-floor corridor, so he wasn't worried about that, but he was slightly concerned that as he and Hermione were becoming friends, he would have no excuse to go looking for the troll. He did not want the troll to encounter another student, mainly for the safety of this hypothetical student, but partially because it might change events in a way he could not foresee.
It was something to think about.
They reached Hagrid's hut a short while later, and Fang, his enormous boarhound, bounded out to greet them.
"Hullo there Harry!" Hagrid called, emerging from behind the hut with a wide smile. "Didn't expect visitors so early, but yer welcome all the same!"
He ushered them inside for a quick cup of tea, Hermione politely sipping hers despite the slightly lumpy texture, before leading them out back to his small paddock.
"I've got a few creatures I'm watchin' fer Professor Kettleburn," Hagrid explained, scratching Fang behind the ears. "Nothin' dangerous, don't worry."
They spent the morning observing a pair of mooncalves, a sleeping puffskein with a bad case of hiccups, and an elegant, feathered crup with a forked tail.
Hermione asked question after question, some Hagrid answered confidently, others he mumbled through with a bashful laugh. Harry mostly watched, content. It was good to see Hermione so engaged, her natural curiosity blooming when someone gave her room to speak.
As the afternoon sun began to dip, they thanked Hagrid and made their way back toward the castle.
"I had a great time," Hermione said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks for inviting me."
Harry smiled. "Any time."
"Why on earth can't we study Care of Magical Creatures until our third year?" she asked.
"I think it's assumed to be too dangerous" said Harry.
"How are mooncalves and puffskeins dangerous? It's ridiculous! I'd love to study magical creatures this year".
"Well I suppose you could always go and see Hagrid every now and again, he's very passionate about magical creatures and no one really seems to take him seriously. I think most people think he's a bit of a joke".
Hermione frowned. "Why do they think that?"
"He doesn't really do much, and he was expelled from Hogwarts when he was a student so he's not allowed to do any magic", explained Harry.
"Well I just had a fantastic day with him and learned so much more than I have from reading about those creatures. I think I'll try and visit him once a week or so."
Hermione seemed affronted that anyone could think an adult was 'a joke'. Harry had largely forgotten her extreme opinions about those in a position of authority; namely, that they could do no wrong. In this instance it worked in his favour, but he needed to work on breaking her habit of unyielding faith over the next few years.
The castle loomed ahead, glowing faintly in the dusk. They reached the Great Hall just as dinner was beginning, the clatter of cutlery and cheerful voices filling the air.
As Harry sat at the Ravenclaw table and began to serve himself some roast chicken, he allowed himself a moment of peace. For the first time in a long while, maybe ever, he felt like he had a plan. He had allies forming, a secret training ground, and a real chance at changing the future.
And it was only the first week.