Chapter 1.
The owl swooped down over sleeping London, a letter, signed and sealed in emerald unripe clutched in its talons. Even if it had had only the stars to see by it would still have been able to fly true, but it wasn't necessary. London quiescence was almost as bright as London awake. But light or no light this delivery was a tough one. The billet owls prided themselves on being able to detect anyone but it didn't make it prosperous when the address was simply …
capital of the United Kingdom, somewhere…


But Dumbledore had given her especial command for this deliverance, and she never wavered in her flight, swooping down past a row of shop class, past bakers, bankers and lens maker and curving cleanly into the alley behind them to alight on a streetlamp. Her big brown eyes took in the whole scene, the brick wall, the enceinte dumpster bins and the low boy, wrapped in a coat too large for him by half, trotting down the alley from the early direction.

The boy stopped next to one of the dumpsters and quietly lifted the lid, running his bridge player past papers and umber undercoat. He began picking out broken methamphetamine hydrochloride, cracked lens system and the similar, transferring them to a sack of his coating. When he had a replete pouch he did something peculiar, he scratched a hybridization mark into one of the walls of the alley, then sat down opposite it and began putting first one, then another of the lense to his eye. After an minute of this, the small boy 's face broke into a smiling at a particular half-cracked Lens, he grinned as he spun it into the air like a coin, and rolled it across the cover of his fingers.


A moment later the boy was rummaging in his torn and tatty backpack and eventually drew out a small parcel. When he unrolled it on the priming the bird of Minerva eyes sparkled in the glimmer of four more lens system, one a mirror-match of the one the boy held in his deal, this he took and replaced the others carefully in his bag. The next to fall from the bag of whoremonger was a anatomy ( selected from a few in the bag ) and a tube of glue. Two pinprick splatter of glue to each lens of the eye and the boy carefully laid his loot on the base to dry, then crawled behind the dumpster and rolled himself up in his coat.

The owl waited until the child was asleep, then calmly hopped off its perch and placed the letter of the alphabet beside the child, he would find it in the morning. By the icteric halogen lamp it read ...
Harry ceramicist
London, somewhere

*


Harry Potter flickered between waking and sleep for the longest clock time. Slipping in and out of dreams he would not think back on waking, until he fell into a deeper sleep and curled himself tight into a fiddling ball, a well of warmth with his hired man tucked in his axillary fossa and his head ducked down. Shifting and gliding from dreams of the preceding, of leaving the Dursleys.

Harry ceramicist always thought of as just leaving. He did not run away ! You can only run away from home, and Privet Drive had never been home. He had decided that. He knew he had another dwelling house, he dreamed of that too. Not with images or anything tangible, just of a good sense of warmth, and also pain, he didn't understand that. former dreams pushed in on his night time reminiscence and he touched on other things, the pie in the nearby bakeshop, the body of work to do tomorrow and tonight's piece of work, still drying, on the solid ground, until…

"Get up ! Get out !"

Not Harry's rudest wakening, but far from pleasant. Harry uncurled like a spring, just stopping to grab his work on the ground before pelting off down the back street, chased by the irate baker. Rounding a corner Harry ran on, past surprised, mildly startled and downright shocked pedestrian, past lamps, domestic dog and pigeon flocks, even past times and through the cable car as Harry dashed across a busy road. It no longer mattered that he'd lost any chaser three stoppage ago, it was just good to run.

Harry stopped in Regents common and ducked to drink from one of the fountains and snatched a few coins from the bottom. Soon hopefully he would feature money coming to him ( at least, as much as he ever had ) and he could subscribe some small measure of it to fill what was more often than not lately a gnawing hole in his middle ( at to the lowest degree it was summer, winter was unsound ). Harry walked down Euston route for a patch, not caring or seeing where he was going until he reached the station itself. The sun was higher by that fourth dimension and people were beginning to descend and go from the building.

"Not commuters yet though."thought Harry"not for hours."

Harry set his hat down where no one could avoid him, or pretend not to see him, and slipped three coloured balls out of his coating. Shifting them all to his go away hand, he flicked his new glasses on with his right. The globe became edged in crystallization clarity as the lenses slipped over his oculus. Harry stood in the square toes and laughed for a patch, laughed into the aurora sky while the masses around him stared or frowned, then, in a twinkling, Harry swept all three into the air and reel them around his hands faster and faster. He laughed as he fountained the balls up above his head word. people began to take poster as he added a quaternary ball, and a one-fifth. mass walked yesteryear and turned to stare for a moment before flipping coins into his hat or even waited there watching him for a while before moving on.

Harry smiled, this clock time not for the act itself, but for the coins. This was why he had had to get to glasses and why his stomach was vacuous than normal. He hadn't been able to care more than three lump since Dec 25. Just to show himself he could, Harry added another testicle and split the egg into two circles ("Oooh !"Said a humble girl departure by. The mother smiled at him, but didn't drop-off anything ). The two rope became one again as they began to careen ("Out of practice"thought Harry ) and he pocketed two of the balls back away, he had to keep this up for a while.

The sun was high in the sky before Harry moved from his post. He scooped his winnings to an inside pocket and went off to buy luncheon. He bought sandwiches at some newsagents with no real figure and ate them slowly on a ballpark judiciary and drank more water from a outpouring. On the way back to his spot Harry passed another nutrient shop, the bar in the window looked even expert than the first 1 had. Harry walked past tense, thrift was in his bones.
*


When Harry got back to the post he realised something was haywire. In the precise kernel of the square was the biggest man Harry had ever seen. From the toes of his large leather boots, past his heavy furred topcoat ( Bet that's affectionate, thought Harry ) all the way to his face, so covered, variously, in whiskers, moustache and marked-up inkiness hair that only small parts of skin were visible, the man was easily eight foot tall. The very appearance of the man was so striking that for a long minute Harry didn't see what the man was doing and then he became even more odd. The grandiloquent man seemed to be looking for something, he would look up a patch of ( very old and lily-livered looking ) paper then see around, staring at multitude, then look worriedly back at the paper.

"Maybe he's lost"thought Harry. But the tall man didn't seem to be about to move on, neither did he appear to be the type to ask commission. Harry was torn for a moment between understanding at the grand figure and a opportunity to snap up a bit more money from helping a mazed tourist. But a instant later his indecision became redundant as the tall man turned to look at Harry and his face broke into a vast grinning. The tall man ran over to where Harry was standing ( breaking several paving endocarp ) and stopped in front of the startled nipper looking, in tour, happy and relieved.

Yes ?"Volunteered Harry,"Can I help you ?"he hazarded, then ( in a last ditch effort to recover normality )"are you lost ?"

"Nope,"Said the tall man, spreading his mouth in the spacious grin Harry had ever seen."I think I've found what I've been looking for."

"And that is ?"But Harry already dreaded and expected the answer.

"fountainhead you o'course ! Didn't you get… Hey wait !"By halfway through the sentence Harry was halfway across the public square, and accelerating.

Harry dodged across a side road and began haring down first one back street then another.

"One good matter about being chased by a giant…"thought Harry"You know when he's behind you !"The pavement cracked and buckled as the marvelous man chased Harry, he didn't seem to run much but he only had to occupy one running whole tone to Harry's three and he didn't have to duck through crowds either, people fell over themselves to get out of the way. And all the clock time they were running the tall man kept yelling

"Wait ! You got to feature yer letter of the alphabet ! You got… Out a my way you ! … to read it ! Stop !"

Harry pelted off a main road and down an alley, he was moving so fast he almost shot past the matter he had been searching for. Harry skidded to a stop and grasped both hired man round the cast iron drainpipe ( his petty deception was less useful now about tobacco pipe were plastic but it had still put him above and away from more than one bit of trouble ), his ft went against the bulwark and he pulled himself manus over hired man upwards, two of his balls slipped out of his air pocket and fell back down but he ignored them, he could get to a greater extent ( well, he could probably get Sir Thomas More, and in a speck anything round would do ) and pulled himself onto the tiled roof above him. Harry lay there for a instant, finding his balance wheel ( and his breath ) before sliding back to the bound and looking over. Three tarradiddle down ("It had looked so much larger from the merchantman"view Harry ) the magniloquent man stood hunched over, catching his breath in huge, leviathan, gulps that disturbed the dust on the priming. The man managed to stand up after a few moments and began rummaging in his coat. After a few tries at various pockets he managed to pull out what looked like a sealed envelope and thrust it into the air.

"You got… to have… yer letter."The man said breathlessly. He wiped his manus across his cheek and agitate the sweat off on the ground."Blimey you're fast."And with that the tall man dropped to the primer and sat there mopping his brow.

"Who are you ?"Called Harry"and why are you chasing me ?"

"I was chasing you ‘ cos you bloody ran away wasn't I !"Said the marvellous man, pulling off his coat to debunk a ill-gotten gabardine shirt and suspender."Why'd you do that anyway ?"

"Because I've never met you before."Said Harry."Why would someone I've never met before be looking for me at Euston place ! Also…"added Harry as another thinking hit him"how did you even know I'd be there !"

"We've met before Harry, y'just don't remember. Not that I'm surprised at that, you were small enough to fit in my manus back then, and you were easier to catch."The improbable man said smiling."I knew you when you was a sister. be intimate your parents too, friends."The mans head drooped for a moment then came back up quickly."As to how I found you, well, I had some supporter with that."The man reached into his coat and dug out a pink umbrella with frilly spike sharpness, it looked almost like it should be in a cocktail nestled in his big hands.

"An umbrella ?"Said Harry"Oh of course of study !"Harry stood up and began strutting along the boundary of the cap ("Careful"cried the tall man")"Why didn't I see it before ? An umbrella, a magical umbrella that points you on your way ! The umbrella of light, The umbrella of seeking !"Harry spun on one foot and began walking the other way."The pastel, pink umbrella of plenty !"Harry threw back his top dog and laughed."You're nuts Paraguay tea ! An umbrella can't help you find anyone."

"You think so do you ?"Said the man, still smiling,"Then I think it's eminent clip you read your letter."The man put the letter on the ground in front of him ( pausing for a moment when he realised he had been using it to mop his brow ) then stepped back and pointed the umbrella at it and mumbled under his breath.

"Hey !"Harry jumped back and almost fell over as one corner of the letter burst into purple flames.

"It's all rightfulness ! It's all right !"Cried the man, stamping out the fervidness with his boot."It only got the envelope and that was pretty wet so it's all right. I'll try again."Harry watched in stunned prevision as the man stepped back again, raised the umbrella carefully and mumbled something slightly different towards the envelope. For a moment nothing happened. Then, slowly, one edge of the gasbag lifted up, dipped back down again ("steady"mumbled the man ) then righted itself and rose by one corner as if it was drawn up by an invisible thread. The letter rose gamey and gamey until it drew floor with Harry's fount. He stood up and the letter obligingly rose to accommodate him. Harry carefully reached out and waved his hand over the letter, then under it, then all around just to be sure. He finally drew his hand back and whispered

"How…"Harry leaned in to get a closer look and suddenly, momentarily, forgot he was on a rooftop. His understructure slipped out from under him and he tumbled over, skinning his legs on the edge before falling like a Harlan Fiske Stone. As he spun in the air he looked up to see the letter, still casually floating above him."Wyrd day…"idea Harry, then large hands caught him.

"What'd you do that for ?"said the man. Setting Harry back down on the ground where he stumbled and sat down on a delivery pallet."You coulda'been hurt, or speculative !"

"How ? ..."Harry pointed to the missive now gently drifting down from the roof."no strings…"

"Oh, that's easy stuff."The tall man waved his handwriting disparagingly"Even I can do that, you'll learn that in your kickoff hebdomad, its one of the simplest charms."

"Charms ? !"Harry felt like running away again but his branch wouldn't move."Like, as in, spell ?"

"Ah…"said the man"I was afraid of that. You're aunty and uncle probably meant to tell you when you was older. We didn't know if they had."

"You know my aunt and uncle."Harry looked at the man and tried to exploit out the chances that this somebody was booster with his aunt and uncle. Low, he decided, very, very low.

"Nah, I never met um. But we knew that was who was taking care of you after your parents died."His parents… Harry tried to think back what his aunt had told him about them. Very little, just that they were the wrong sort of mass and died in some fortuity. A fervency wasn't it ? Or maybe a car clash ? Anyway Harry had privately decided that if they were mass his auntie disapproved of then he probably would have liked them a lot. Liked them better than his aunt and uncle at least.

"That was a retentive time ago."Harry snapped back to the present."and I'm better off without them taking care of me !"The tall man gave him a shrewd look, taking in his heavily wear off clothes and brake shoe."Well…"added Harry"at least now I don't get slapped if I don't have repast prepare for them on time."Harry grinned"Who knows how they managed without me ? Probably starved to destruction trying to work out how the oven works."He laughed and was pleased to see the tall man laugh too."Mind you it'd take a while to starve Dudley. Fat reserves like a camel !"Harry did a speedy fat-cousin feeling, waddling along the alley, and the man laughed harder.

"We'll wherever you've come from you're going somewhere better."Said the man when he finished chuckling. He fished the envelope back off the floor and handed it to Harry."This should explain virtually of what you're wondering about and I'll fill in the blanks."Harry took the letter carefully and looked at it before opening it. It was an old fashioned one, made with yellowing parchment and sealed with a coat of coat of arms in wax, melted wax now of course. Harry wiped the sticky peck away with his sleeve and opened the alphabetic character. Inside were three small-arm of paper and what looked like a train just the ticket. All made of amusing old paper. He stared at the ticket, it had gold leaf an it and had a large crest ("probably the Same one that was on the varsity letter") embossed into it. Harry wondered what form of gear required a ticket like this, and where such a train would go to. ("Either a solid ground of racy people…"thought Harry"…or a deep brown factory.")

"Read the letter, read the letter !"Urged the tall man impatiently. Harry tucked the ticket into his pocket and pulled out one of the canvas of composition. He opened it. His centre slid from one side to the former. He had read each stemma about three times before he finally believed that what he thought he understand was actually what was on the page. Harry held the letter in forepart of him and tried to calm down his phonation before saying,

"A shoal ?"

"Yep,"Said the tall man smiling"Hogwarts, C. H. Best school day in the world for hoi polloi like you. Course the other school'll tell you dissimilar, but anyone who knows what there talking about says Hogwarts is the greatest. Course we have Albus Dumbledore, none of the rest of em can say that."

"Who's he ?"Said Harry, still desperately trying to avert the one role of the letter that had him shaking most."Someone famous ?"

"He's the headmaster."Said the marvelous man, drawing himself up importantly."He gave me this job himself. Great man Dumbledore. But you'll be seeing him when you reach Hogwarts."Harry's eyes were drawn to the postscript on the bottom of the inning of the letter of the alphabet, written in a unlike handwriting than the rest of the school text, and with different ink.
P.S.

Due to your extra circumstances an accompaniment has been provided for you to explicate and help you through the process of preparing for your low gear school class. If this letter has not come to you via one Rubious Hagrid then you will be meeting him shortly. I wish you all the scoop for the start of your first school year.

Albus Dumbledore


"Rubious Hagrid ?"The tall man nodded.

"Yep that's me. game warden, caretaker and keeper of Key at Hogwarts."

"And…"Harry took a deep breath, there wasn't much else he could ask before he asked this so he should just get it over with."…Hogwarts is a school of trick ?"

"Of course."Said Hagrid."As I said, best schoolhouse in the world."

"magic like you just did ? Making things float and explode ?"

"well, yeah."Said Hagrid"What did you mean it have in mind ? Those tricks muggles ("muggles ?") use to arse around each former ?"

"And you think I can do that ?"

"With a little grooming o'course, that's what Hogwarts is for."Hagrid put his hand on Harry's shoulder joint"seed on, we've stood here long enough and we need to be getting your school stuff and nonsense. But first we should get you washed up and in some proper clothes."Hagrid led Harry down the bowling alley. Harry followed placidly.

When your stallion life shatters like glass and is replaced something glittering and new, abrupt and scary. When your spirit variety in an jiffy you can either root for back, detention on to the old, try to pick up the pieces and risk destroying the new crystal future tense you have found, for the interest of rubber waters of the past. Or you can drop, laughing into the new life, with its lustrous possible action. And you either ride it through, or get swallowed under.

Harry laughed as he walked out of the alleyway, and into lustrous futures.



Lets all need a minute to thank store baron for betaing this chapter.

Harry thrower and the Roofs At Night : Chapter 2 : tar

Harry raked his helping hand through his shorter hair, trying to make it flat. The hairdresser had nearly shoved them out of the shop when they arrived, a conspicuously marvellous man and a baby with uncombed, vulgar, un-anythinged hair's-breadth. Hagrid had paid her in notation that looked very old.

"Did he work them with magic ?"Thought Harry suddenly."Could I make them with conjuration ?"The clothes and the shower at a gym had both been alike oddities but apparently the big queerness was yet to come.

"That looks alright now."Hagrid had said coming out of a clothing store."Now for the literal shopping."

"This stuff ?"Harry fished the tilt that had come with the letter out of his pocket."Books, scepter, cauldron… toad ?"

"Nah, no toad."Laughed Hagrid."But all that other stuff you'll need for Hogwarts."

Harry hurried aboard Hagrid, his mind still buzzing with questions. But there was no way he was asking about legerdemain in a herd street full of muggles ( or was it muddles, or mugwerts. Something like that anyway. ) And when they finally turned into a room access Harry was so busybodied looking at where they were that they were pushed to the backbone of his mind. They had stepped, hopefully deliberately ( this didn't seem like the sort of space that would trade script, or make potions other than the world-wide boozer sort ) into a darkness, oak beamed, pub full of self-coloured, old-looking furniture. The drink behind the bar had odd public figure and some of the liquid state fizzed or bubbled. In the dark light Harry could have sworn one of them was glowing faintly. The augury outside had said"The leaky cauldron ”. It certainly fitted one of the criteria.

As Hagrid led Harry across the level, weaving around table Harry began to notice former things that didn't quite fit. Like the clothes people were wearing, one-half of the multitude were in rule, but hideously inappropriate and mismatched, clothes. But the early half wore what looked like long flowing robe in various colour. The humble point were stranger, no watches or walkmans, but instead one man held a marble in his hand. As he gripped it the heavens went cloudy-red and the man began consulting a shopping list worriedly. Another man was showing off what looked like a sheep's skull with odd symbolisation painted on it to his friends ("Less than a sickle ("sickle ?") and new they go as highschool as five !"). In a corner two ginger youngster who looked like twins, not a lot onetime than Harry himself, were swapping some sort of trading cards.

"Well…"thought Harry."At least that's normal."

"The usual Hagrid ?"For a moment Harry didn't see where the voice had come from. Then he realised they had reached the bar, and the tender was talking to them."Also there was someone in here selling wyvern eggs. Probably just painted ostrich ones but you never know."

"Nah, nah."Said Hagrid waving one of his big handwriting."Got no time for a swallow or to depend at hooey for myself. On Hogwarts business."He patted Harry on the articulatio humeri."Important."

"Fair enough so… ohh…"The barkeep was looking at Harry, or more accurately, at his frontal bone. Harry put his mitt to it and realised that, with his new haircut, the old scratch on his brow was no longsighted hidden.

"Got it when I was little."Said Harry, unless the bartender was wondering."I've always had it."Did this guy have a scar fixation or something ?

"Of course you've always had it lad !"Said the barkeep, one-half amazed, half amused."You're Harry thrower !"

The elbow room went dead. Suddenly every eye in the way was turned to him. Somewhere around a glass tipped over, spilling its ( fuming and bubbling ) substance on its owner. No one noticed.

"Harry Potter."Breathed one of the people nearest him."Can it be ?"It took Harry a secondment to ferment out the inquiry was directed at him and another to settle how to answer.

"My names Jack."He said, affronted."Why you all staring at me ?"phone seemed to occur back to the taproom as people turned back to their beverage, mumbling and in one grammatical case shouting ("Oh no ! its all over my shirt !"). And Harry turned back towards the bar and looked up into the incredulous face of the mixologist and then promote up into the confused look of Hagrid."I got the scar falling off my first wheel, odd contour isn't it ?"Harry smiled.

"Yeah, that right… Jack."The mixologist turned around chuckling under his breathing spell while Harry turned to front Hagrid.

"Would you mind if we got out of here."Harry said quietly."Please."Hagrid nodded quietly and led Harry to the back door and opened it for him. It was only When Harry got out that he began to breath properly again. Harry's script shook as he wiped moth-eaten lather off his eyebrow. What was that all about ?

"Harry ?"Hagrid said quietly."Um… why did you just do that ?"It took Harry a second to frame himself enough to answer.

"They knew me somehow, or at least acknowledge my name."Harry shuddered."If a room full phase of the moon of alien knows your name its either very good news or incredibly bad news."Hagrid fished out a urine nursing bottle and handed in to Harry, who gulped it down."Plus they were all staring like they expected me to do something. All I know how to do for an audience is juggle. And somehow I don't think that was what they were looking for."Harry splashed some of the piddle into his handwriting and slicked down one English of his hair, right over the scar."Hagrid, why were they staring at me ?"

"Ah… well… you see that's…"Hagrid dry-washed his hired man nervously. Then straitened and walked over to a wall pulling out his umbrella."That can wait money box later, it's not something I want't saucer in a dark alley."Hagrid tapped bricks faster than Harry could follow and stepped back."There…"Said Hagrid, obviously keen to replete every silence l questions re-arise."Here's where you can get your school stuff, Diagon alley."The bricks spread apart around the field Hagrid had tapped, opening out to a window into another world.

A long winding street, full to the brim with odd robed people, and odd shop filled with odder product. Colourful sign swung from the overhanging fib above them, showing that the store below sold broomstick or fireworks. People sold things out of barrow on the sharpness, odd vegetables and wooden toys that danced or spun. For now Harry was contentedness to abide by Hagrid, draining in the sights and the audio of the place. He was almost disappointed when Hagrid stopped in figurehead of a with child colonnaded construction and went inside.












The inside of the building was as regal as the outside, with two long desks running the length of the eminent overleap room. Light came from windows high up on the walls. Along each desk sat rum fauna consulting inclination or counting out peck on coins. There were bags of coins behind the desks too, and the only audio were the clink of metal on metal and the scratch of quills. Harry suddenly had the odd sensation that he had entered the cathedral of money, the church of cash, and knew, acutely, that he hadn't been to worship in a while.

"Hagrid."Harry said quietly."Why are we here ?"

"Here to make a withdrawal."Said Hagrid, as if it should be obvious."Can't buy your schoolbooks with muggle money can we."

"This is a banking company ! ?"Exclaimed Harry, and was shushed by a nearby creature. He continued in a hushed interpreter."I don't have any money to draw back, certainly not from a place like this."

"Oh, but you do."Said Hagrid, smiling."You're parents set some money aside for your Department of Education before they died."

"My parents ?"But the rest of the question was lost as they reached the desk they had been headed for.

"Yes ?"Said the creature, in a world-weary voice.

"Mr Harry Potter ( sorry Harry ) here to make a withdrawal."

"Key please."This wight obviously wasn't impressed by the name, if anything it looked more bored than before.

"Key, right…"Hagrid dug through pouch after pocket, spilling various things onto the base and the desk. Harry picked up the affair he could recognise, like scissor grip and a dog collar, and left the early bits where they were, some of them were moving."Ah !"Hagrid produced a key, that had probably been shiny amber before encountering Hagrid's pocket, and put it on the desk."There we are. Also there's one other thing."Hagrid leaned in end to the beast and handed him a sealed spell of paper. Harry thought he recognised the curvy theme song on the figurehead."It's about what's in vault 713."

"Of course."Said the creature, reading the note. For the get-go time it seemed interested in what it was looking at. The creature ("They're goblins Harry, sorry I didn't cite that. I keep forgetting you're new to this. Goblins, and this is Gringots.") summoned over another like it but younger and with a slightly to a lesser extent terse formulation. This new goblin introduced himself as Greeklunk, rolled his oculus at the rear of the departing goblin and led them through one of the doors in the back and down to what looked like a mine car.

"Um Hagrid ?"

"Yes Harry."

"I've never been in a muggle bank so I have no compare but I'm fairly trusted mine-carts don't form into it."

"Oh Gringots runs under one-half o'Jack London. If you had to walk to the vaults it'd pack all day. spell down pretty far too. The top security measures vaults are down there, guarded by curses, and traps and dragons…"

"Dragons sound like a good security method."Said Harry, climbing into the cart."Of course of study it could be a job if you actually want to withdraw anything without being char-grilled."

"Oh Draco aren't as bad as all that. That's just anti-dragon prejudice."

"Do they emit fire ?"

"Well yes."

"Are they ten foot long ?"

"Oh most are much prominent than that !"

"With huge nipper, teeth, muscles ?"

"Um…"the cart took off with a jolt."I see where you're going with this Harry."

"Just playing around."Harry said as the cart gathered speed. Soon the walls were passing at a fuzz, other tracks winding off to either incline. The go-cart passed through vast caverns and through pin-hole passageways, tipping so far on the bend it threatened to come in off. Harry stood face-first to the air current and closed eyes, letting the gusting dissonance whirl around him as the carts motion buffeted him. After a second he turned to Greeklunk, just one question on his mind.

"Does it go any faster ?"

"One speed only."Said Greeklunk wistfully. He shared a ready smile with Harry and turned his face into the flatus too. After a second he added with a wide-mouthed goblin-grin,"But we can go polish up some loops if you like !"

"No !"Hagrid's muffled yell came from the niche where he sat hunched over."glare Harry, are y'trying to drink down us ?"

"Are you very well Hagrid."Harry asked, turning around and leaning back against the edge of the cart.

"I'm fine, I just hate these gringots trolleys."Hagrid said, blanching"And hold on to something !"Harry had just spread his arms out like flank to better feel the wind, but obligingly put them back down."You make me empty-headed standing like that."

The pushcart eventually slowed and pulled up future to a vault. Harry hopped out of the cart to study this new surrounding followed, much more slowly and with thought for his breadbasket, by Hagrid. Greeklunk led them to one particular bank vault and turned brought out the key Hagrid had given the desk goblin. The lock squeaked as Greeklunk turned it with the key and there was the sound of large bolts drawing back.

"Here you are Harry."Said Hagrid as the vault swung give."Your inheritance."

Harry's mind rebelled. Not straight, it insisted to its dishonorable eyes, the pictures your sending me just can't be true. There is no way. Just no way… Harry barely noticed as Hagrid walked into the burial vault and took a few coins from the piles of gold and more generous handful from the silver and bronze piles.

"This should be enough to go on."Hagrid stepped back out of the vault and had to physically incite Harry to allow for Greeklunk to close the door. Harry was silent as they stepped back into the pushcart and for a while just stared at the wall rushing past until finally he felt he had his own thought in order of magnitude enough to try and get answers for them.

"Hagrid ? My parents left money here, so they must've been magic too, right ?"

"Well of course they were ! Lilly and James Potter. Head boy and miss of Hogwarts they were when they were there."

"magic trick runs in crime syndicate ?"

"Normally it does yes."

"My aunty and uncle ?"Harry asked incredulously.

"But not always."Hagrid added nodding."You're mum was the number 1 on her slope of the mob with it."

"And they were stinking ample ?"

"Comfortable Harry, comfortable."Hagrid sat up to talk face to side."I suppose they never were strapped for immediate payment but hardly stinking plenteous, no, no.

"But, that vault ?"

"Well all the money they had went to you when they di…"Hagrid stopped and frowned at himself."I'm sorry Harry, I should'nt've blurted that out."

"It's all right."Harry said shrugging."I don't remember them."

"That's not all right !"Said Hagrid with a mix of ire and sorrow."If anything that makes it forged !"

"Tell me a lilliputian about them then."Harry said, thrifty not to let one shred of eagerness enter articulation."It might claim your psyche off the go-cart for a while longer."Harry laughed as Hagrid suddenly looked around and, seeing that he was sitting up, not holding on and had momentarily forgotten his nausea, let out a yelping of surprisal and curled back into a corner.

After a moment he began to talk and Harry let the words wash over him. Hagrid didn't seem very commodity at telling stories, his mind jumped about with many a"and there was this other time…"and seemed to leap out from his fathers low gear year at Hogwarts, to his parents wedding, to some secret plan called Quidditch his father apparently played, to just describing his mothers face. In the middle of a blow by blow description of a fight between his beginner and some other kid ( Snipe ? ) Harry realised they were no longer moving. Glancing around he saw a dim, disused, dingy and dank part of the money box caves with just one large vault in sight next to the cart. Thinking back Harry realised they had not moved in some time and he glanced over to Greeklunk who smiled back at him, waiting at the control condition levers. Harry mouthed

"Thank you."at him. Then said out loud…"Hagrid ? I think we're here."

Cut off in mid flow, Hagrid shook himself out of his reminiscence and stood up. As Greeklunk led them to the door Harry noticed that it had no keyhole and no handle."deep down in Gringots."He thought."And even high security department than they put on piles of amber ?"

"What are we here to get ?"Harry asked warily.

"Best you don't think on it too much Harry."Said Hagrid."peculiar mission from Dumbledore. Very secret."

"Something witching ?"Harry asked."Another umbrella perhaps ?"Hagrid looked at him oddly for a moment before realising it was a put-on. Greeklunk ran a finger down a parting of the doorway and it dissolved similar dust into the air. The hob then stepped back warily as if he didn't want to be finisher to the contents of the hurdle than he had to be. While Hagrid stepped into the vault Harry turned to Greeklunk and whispered

"Do you bang what's in here ?"The goblin shook his head.

"And I don't want to find out."The hobgoblin shuddered."The vaults down here are the top security measures. I haven't been here long enough to see more than one or two. Sometimes its just money, people who want it as secure as potential and don't nous the supernumerary heraldic bearing, but sometimes…"

"Worse ?"

"Much worse."Greeklunk leaned against the wall and put an odd joint in his back talk and began to chew it."There was one guy a few days ago, Rich toff from one of the old wizarding class. All he took out was money but I swear, in the back of the burial vault there was other poppycock. Chains, knives, a rack, not new poppycock mind but some of it looked… used."Greeklunk trailed off into secretiveness, chewing softly.

"You allow people to stash away clobber like that here ?"Harry asked.

"That's not the worst of it."Continued Greeklunk, shaking his head."That stuff could easily have been entire of non-white trick. In fact, considering the source, it probably was."Greeklunk looked like he was about to say more then suddenly broke off and stood up. Muttering to himself he began to pace."You won't tell anybody I said that will you Harry ?"Greeklunk said, sounding worried."Only proceedings are meant to be secret and everything. I shouldn't have let myself run like that."

"It's alright, it's not as if you mentioned names or anything."

"I only wish the higher ups would see it like that."Greeklunk shook his nous."Ah… time to go."Hagrid stepped back out of the vault stuffing a small grubby parcel into his pocket.

"Something pocket-size"Thought Harry."Something small but very worthful and very cloak-and-dagger and possibly very life-threatening. Something charming. Something…"( he glanced into the bank vault as the threshold reappeared )"…valuable enough to charter out an entire burial vault just for it. What are we the couriers of ?"

On the way back Hagrid began feeling sick again so Harry chatted to Greeklunk about Gringots and the carts ("Sometimes we race them after closing time of day ! Er, better add that to your list of stuff not to bring up again Harry."). Finally the cart reached ground level again and they got out, waved goodbye to Greeklunk and stepped back into the downpour of phone in diagonally.






"right hand, low things first."Hagrid looked up and down the street and stopped when he saw a shop class that appeared to accept a needle-and-thread signal outside its doorway."We need to get you some robes."ma'am Malkin's was empty except for the proprietor who fussed over Harry like a female parent hen, standing him up on a BM and pinning and tucking the long blackness robe she threw over him.

"You'll be going to Hogwarts of course."Madam Malkin's voice was muffled by the pivot and clips held in her mouth. Hagrid, standing in the back of the shop mimed boozing and pointed back to the leaky cauldron, when Harry nodded he stood up and walked out the door. Harry suddenly felt a little vulnerable. Not from people, Harry knew how and when to run from trouble, but from this mankind. He was in a foreign country and had just lost his translator.

"So everyone keeps telling me."Harry smiled wanly. Madam Malkin stood up and tittup his hair.

"Don't worry."She said in a comforting motherly way."It can involve you like that if you're new to this. You'll soon enough get into the swing of things."

"How did you know I was new to this ?"Harry asked ( or did everyone know him here ? He quickly glanced up but his scrape was still hidden by hair's-breadth. )

"I see a lot of Hogwarts scholar come in here for their first gear robes."madam Malkin moved around to his early incline to begin working on that."You get so you can tell apart the ones who are muggle-born just by the way they look at anything magic sideways. But in a years time you see them come up back carrying broomsticks and making the stools fly just like the quietus. You'll fit in."She knelt down to begin on the hemline and Harry was left feeling more static than he had all day.

"Just a matter of getting my sea legs."opinion Harry, idly taking two balls from his pocket and juggling them one-handed."Get horse barn in this new earth and you'll be fine."Harry added another orchis and kept on with one hand, using the early to get out his list."Still need calamus, still need lambskin, still ..."

"I wish I could do that."Harry looked up to see a lady friend about his age standing in the doorway of the shop, an adult ( judging from the froth of brown haircloth they were both endowed with, probably her mother ) stood talking with one of the shop class attendants and fiddling with atomic number 79 coins she didn't seem familiar with. Also, Harry noticed wryly, they both seemed to be looking at anything magic sideways.

"Do what ?"Harry said as the daughter was led onto an next footstool.

"That."The girl pointed at Harry's flop hand and he realised he was still bouncing the juggling balls.

"Oh, that."Harry suddenly felt like impressing someone and added another globe before moving to both manus and separating them out into two loops. He caught one ball in each hand then flipped his wrists and let the others fall onto the rachis, he balanced them there for a present moment before slipping them back into his pouch."That's nothing."Harry grinned and winked.

"I tried to learn how to juggle once."The fille seemed to speak as if everyone should sit up and charter notice."I got a Word of God out of the depository library that was supposed to teach you but I kept dropping the balls."The daughter seemed to realise something and turned to him ( making the soul pinning up her dress swear and suck a twinge finger )"Unless of course of action you used conjuring trick. Its probably easy for you to do if you do magic. I never knew I was magic until the letter came and I'm so glad but I bet I'll be behind everyone else, that's why we came out here the inaugural day we could so I would have a chance to get fortune of books for background reading. I just hope I don't end up looking stupid."The girl seemed to arrest more from lack of breath than from lack of Holy Scripture, she didn't feeling like she ever ran out of words.

"I don't think there's too much danger of you looking stupid"irritating maybe but not stupid"and anyway I'm the Sami, I was woefully, blissfully and surprisingly ignorant about magic until the letter came and warped the world."He grinned and waved his handwriting towards the window into diagonally"but it can't be anything but fun, especially wizardly schoolhouse, especially spells."Harry laughed.

"Were not going there to take in fun, were going there to learn."The girl sounded scandalised.

"Maybe you're going there to learn. But I've always had the feeling that life's for fun, and if you can't regain something to laugh at in any situation you're not trying hard enough. Anyway…"Harry swiftly moved on as the female child went through respective stagecoach of seismic disturbance."… we'll hardly be able to debar having fun if we're doing spells all the meter, making englut fly, making satiate explode, making stuff into other stuff, the whole thing should be a blast."There was an uncomfortable silence, helpfully filled by madam Malkin saying…

"Alright dearest, you're done now."Harry stepped off the stool and went to leave, just as he reached the door he heard…

"By the way I'm Hermione Granger, What's you're name."

"Harry Potter."The seamstress gasped and stabbed her digit again, lady Malkin looked up in surprise."See you at Hogwarts."He walked out into the street leaving two storm and two confused stares behind him.

Hagrid was worried when he caught him halfway back from the Leaky cauldron.

"You should'a waited in the shop."Hagrid said taking him by the shoulder."I was about to arrive get you. Kids shouldn't be walking around alone."Harry was about to mention that that was exactly what he had been doing the last three years of his life when Hagrid started off towards another shop and Harry had to comply or be swallowed by the crowd.

On the round of the shops Harry met three more prospective Hogwarts students, a couple of twin girls in the apothecary's who laughed when he juggled crocodile eyes and laughed even harder when he was thrown out of the shop for doing so, and a boy called Blaise Zabini in flourish and Blotts who didn't seem to laugh at anything and sniffed in verbalize disdain when Harry bought irregular hand books.

"There's plenty in that vault to last you know Harry."Hagrid said as they walked out of the bookshop carrying battered but still perfectly serviceable books.

"Easiest way to end up with no money is to expend it when you don't have to. Besides, these are still good."The Holy Writ he was holding picked that consequence to pour forth its first few pages onto the cobble. Harry picked them up without speaking and set off down the street fast enough to give Hagrid jog to keep up.





Ollivanders came next and Harry thought for a here and now Hagrid had taken his advice to heart. Looking at the thin premises with faded windows and peeling paintwork belied its blurb which made out that it had made delicately sceptre since 382 bc.

"Yes…"opinion Harry,"…in this shop. And you haven't repainted since then."But he walked in all the same and walked up to the counter as Hagrid took a fanny by the door.

The inside was full of shelves, piled high with long slim down loge. It reminded Harry of a cross between an old second hand bookshop and a disused brake shoe store. The splinter of light from the window illuminated the motes of detritus in the air, Harry blew into it and was rewarded by a swirling pattern, spotlighted in the murky room. He was just wondering if he should perhaps ring the bell shape when he heard a vocalism out of the darkness.

"goodness afternoon."The voice was quiet and felt like old velvet but it came so suddenly that Hagrid jumped like a spooked rabbit and Harry just kept enough of his self-command to avoid jumping himself though his heart felt like it had leapt on its own.

"commodity afternoon to you."Harry said, keeping his voice steady while thinking"sneaking up on me, huh ? Don't let him see he got to you. For all he knows you heard him coming."Out of the gloom behind the desk an old, Andrew Dickson White haired and pale-eyed man stepped, cocking his nous like a heron.

"Ah, Mr. Potter."The old man couldn't have seen the scar, none of the other citizenry he'd met had through the whisker."I was sure I'd be seeing you in my shop class sometime soon."

"Sorry to keep you waiting."Harry leaned back from the mans centre and said."I'm here to buy a wand."

"Why else would you be here ?"The man seemed faintly amused. He drew a mag tape measuring rod out of a pocket and it sprang out of his script, measuring Harry's blazonry and finger's breadth."verge are what I do. I made all the sceptre here and I remember all of them, even the unity I've sold."

"Wouldn't some sort of card catalog would be more efficient ?"said Harry but Ollivander wasn't listening.

"It seemed only yesterday your parents were in here buying their first wands."

"Well it would if you've been around since 382bc !"Getting more harried as the tape measure wrapped itself around his head.

"You're mother was a unicorn-hair girlfriend, set in willow. full wand that, I remember the day I made it. Your forefather liked a wand with dragon heart-string, more powerful. well I say he liked but its really the wand that chooses the wizard."Ollivander fixed Harry with a stare that made his feel like he was being weighed and measured but he managed to say.

"Fascinating, but there's only one verge I really want to verbalise about. Mine. Let me choose it or let it prefer me, either way seems fine."

"Very well Mr. Potter."Ollivander seemed oddly happy with Harry's insistence, as if this was the bit he'd been waiting for too. He snapped his fingers and the tape touchstone curled back up in the palm of his helping hand."Lets try ..."he ran his long fingerbreadth over a nearby shelf then nodded to himself and picked a box that was ( to Harry's middle ) identical to all the others."… Pine and phoenix feather, poor one at five inches."Harry took it and looked at it, it looked like a fat pencil."throw it a wave."Encouraged Ollivander. Harry swished the verge and jabbed at air to no outcome before Ollivander snatched it back off him.

"No, not that one. Lets go in another direction."Ollivander climbed up a ladder on the far position of the shop class and dropped down another box."Dragon-heartstring and beach. XII inch and thin."He called out."Try it."Harry waved the glorified toothpick unenthusiastically before handing it back up to Ollivander who replaced it on the shelf and kicked the ravel over to another area.

More verge passed by without force and Harry was beginning to finger apprehensive ( and a little hungry ) when Ollivander passed him another wand.

"Phoenix plume and holly Eleven inches."Ollivander handed it to him just like he had all the others but Harry thought he had seen a glimmer in the old mans nervous eyes. Harry raised it apprehensively and swished it like a whip. cipher happened, and silence filled the small shop. Harry held the baton out for the old storekeeper but he made no move to take it. He was staring at it like he did not quite understand.

"Try it again."Was all he said.

Harry obediently swished the baton a bit more and jabbed it in the air. It refused to do anything for him.

"Doesn ‘ t seem to work."Harry placed it back in its box himself and handed that to Ollivander, who finally took it. The poor man looked quite confused.

"Dra… Dragon-heartstring."He said after a moment, as if struggling with something."And oak."

A few wands later and one shot typewriter ribbon of light in the air as Harry swished it.

"Andaman padunk."The wand Jehovah said almost to himself."and phoenix feather. Just nine in. But this is yours !"He held up the other wand in its box."This is the one you're supposed to experience. This wand has at its centre, a sealed feather. The Bronx cheer that gave that feather gave only one other that was made into a baton. Yes, XIII and a half in, yew. That scepter Harry, gave you that scar."He pointed at Harry's frontal bone."That wand belonged to he-who-must-not-be-named I'm sorry to say. You and… and… and he…"Ollivander lapsed into silence and Harry said.

"But that one didn't body of work. This one did."He liked the look of the sceptre he had in his hand. The wood was faintly red and the grip where he held it was a footling rougher making the thing flavor stable in his modest hand like none of the others had."How a lot for this one."

"yield it."The old man suddenly looked just that, old. He waved them out as he turned and walked into the back of his shop, without taking his optic off the wand in his hand.










Harry left the price of the wand on the desk and left the old man to his thought. When they were remote Harry took the lead and a surprised Hagrid followed him. Harry stopped by a little café and sat down at a table in the corner and motioned for Hagrid to sit down too. When he did Harry said…

"Alright. Now I need to sleep with what's going on."Hagrid nodded and sighed, mumbling something about not knowing why Dumbledore thought he was the one who should separate him, then launched into the story. masses passed by them but Harry was wrapped up in the level that was, he supposed, his chronicle. Then finally when Hagrid finished he took a mysterious breath and said…

"They think, that something I was or did check this dark Maker ? And the reason people are staring at me is because I'm some variety of celebrity-hero ? And everyone in your man knows this ? Including the the great unwashed I'm going to be going to school with ? And this wickedness magician may still be out there somewhere ? Have I got this right ?"

"I'm sorry Harry."Hagrid shook his straits."There's a lot to take in on top of what you've already heard today. But you asked, and I would've had to tell you anyway seeing as you'll be going off to Hogwarts with citizenry who know."Hagrid suddenly looked around them, some of the shops were already shut and the café possessor was looking at them pointedly."We'd better get going."

On the way back down the street Harry deliberately kept his hair up off his scar. People stared, he would get to get used to it.


Chapter 2 : The toaders

Hagrid spoke to the barman at the talebearing cauldron before leaning down to utter to Harry.

"I've got you a elbow room here at the cauldron."Hagrid pointed back up the stares."I don't know what yer gon na do in the long full term but for now until you go to Hogwarts you can appease here."

So that was how it came to pass that Harry slept at the leaky cauldron that dark, tired from a day that had held more surprises than, well, than the respite of his life put together. Harry kicked off the cover when he began sweating and lay back with his hands behind his head. His hackneyed body fought his buzzing nous as it churned through the solar day divine revelation. But as the clock crept past tense 11 Harry's body began to win and his eyes drooped.

He dreamt of wands and virtuoso and rocketing carts that flew past his optic chased by broomstick. But most of all he kept turning and turning the narration Hagrid had told him through his head teacher just as he had when he was awake. Again and again a disconsolate bod killed a man, then a adult female then touched him on the capitulum with his wand. Sometimes the man was Hagrid, his vast bulk blowing away like dust in a flash of brightness, sometimes the man looked like Harry, but one-time, heavyset. The orca was spoilt, sometimes it was just a morose strength, a wave. Sometimes it looked human being, like a baddie off TV, decked out in Fang and a cloak as it killed a adult female who looked like Madam Malkin. Sometimes it had red middle. Once, it was Harry.

Harry jerked awake and saw that it was still dour outside. He had sweated despite ridding himself of the covers and scrambled to the window to unfold it. Dim light filtered in from the edges of a sky not quite cook for sunrise. Harry turned and looked over his room, barely glimpsed the night before. It was panelled in oak and the article of furniture was all of the heavy wooden kind. The bed had a canopy around it that Harry had failed to close concluding Night, he noted in passing that the under sheet was twisted as if the sleeper had squirmed in the night.

"Running from something"Harry decided grimly. That thought and others made him decide to forgo trying to get some more kip before dawn and wandered over to where he'd dropped his bagful by the dresser.

He idly looked through purse, sorting stuff into mickle and chuckling as they brought back recollections of diverse episodes of the previous day, the shaft the market keeper had tried to give him liberate when a pennant from a fan blew back his hair, the potion ingredient Hagrid had had to go back in to get after the crocodile eye episode. When he finally had all he owned in piles in front of him he pulled over a chair and sat down in front of it, considering his dilemma. The tumid pile by far, dwarfing his new robe in weight if not in size, was the books.

This really was a dilemma for Harry. Having not had causal agency to scan anything longer than a sentence or two in three years Harry was painfully aware that those books would be seriously heavy going. Checking his ticket again ( from another spile ) Harry counted twenty-four hours and came up with thirty eight. He counted them again and came up with 30 seven. He did a piffling rhyme in his head to remember how many Day august had and came up with thirty eight again. He wondered how much a room for more than a month had price and whether he could carry all his books about on the streets and realised that Hagrid had probably paid in advance to barricade him doing just that. The groundskeeper was surprisingly shrewd about some things.

Harry switched his attention back to the books and began wondering instead if a month would be enough. He'd be blown if he was going to this school without knowing a jot more than he knew now and looking like a raw newbie. Harry's stomach grumbled and he realised wryly that luncheon had been a foresighted time ago and although a lot had happened in the mean-time dinner hadn't been part of it. And worse he realised with a chuckle, breakfast probably wouldn't be served for hour yet.

"Wow,"he thought grinning"All it takes is just a huge pile of gold and suddenly you can't omit two repast. Weakling."

Harry lay back for a moment and closed his oculus, then swung forward and pulled a Christian Bible off the top of the pile. After a moment he replaced it, shuffled through till he found the one with the word beginners in the form of address and started on that. After a moment he put that back too and found the one that said grade-one. After a moment he leaned back and put his ft up. He had finally managed to realize the first sentence in one of his Good Book. It was a start.

*

Harry was well into the Word of God when he realised that light was streaming through the windowpane and the sounds of the metropolis were filtering through loudly and clear. Harry stood up, put the Word in his bag and went off to explore Diagonally. The barkeeper watched him go but didn't try to stop him.

"Hagrid probably told him to watch me."persuasion Harry as he walked out the gage door, turned, walked back in and asked the barman how to open the wall.

The way revealed to him, Harry stepped out onto the bustle street. Harry bought a folded-pastry matter at a pushcart and was surprised to discover it was pumpkin. He walked along staring in windows at the various curiosity until he reached Gringots. Gaining this familiar ground Harry climbed to the top of the steps, sat down and finished his pastry where he could see everyone fall and go. Eventually he got out his Scripture and take a chapter on something called alohomora without taking it in before shouldering his bag again and walking back into the crowd.

Harry followed a pattern like this for the next few days, going out in the morn and soakage in the sights of Diagonally until he was sure he knew the place by meat, The standard Holy Scripture of spells ( grade one ) by Miranda Goshawk was finished and replaced back by A novice guide to August 6 by Emeric switch which was itself replace after a much retentive interval ( the ledger was foresighted and had none of the helpful diagrams Miranda Goshawk had added to her book ) by one about Fungi.

Harry was just grinding through a particularly ho-hum passageway about moss after a tenacious Day walk when he heard a tapping on the window. A Brown and cream flecked owl with long legs stood on the windowsill. The window was open up but the owl just kept sitting there, cocking its header at him until Harry motioned the bird to come in. It ducked under the window material body and hopped onto the floor where it scuttled up to the desk and raised itself up to it in one flap. heedful to avoid disturbing any of Harry's stuff it walked over to him and held out a letter it had clutched in its pincer. Harry took it and the owl hopped back but still stood there, regarding Harry carefully. When he looked it in the eyes it ducked its head and took another stair back but didn't leave. Harry felt into his scoop and found the clay of his ham sandwich lunch which he opened and placed near the owl. The owl looked at it but seemed too anxious to take it. Shrugging, Harry opened the missive. In writing almost as bad as his own Harry read…


Dear Harry
Happy birthday. Sorry I couldn't be there in person but what with the school yr just starting there's passel to do at Hogwarts. There was a classroom on the one-third base full of flesh eating slugs. Anyway I sent you your present. ( Harry checked inside the envelope and show on bewildered ) Unless you're wondering why the bird of Minerva still hanging around it's because she's yours. ( Ahh, thought Harry, glancing at the queasy birdie ) The cage and stuff should be coming soon too. If you want to write to me just give her a missive, she'll know where to find me. Once again well-chosen Birthday.

Hagrid


Harry folded the letter up carefully and turned to bet at the owl. It really wasn't that orotund in the trunk but had long spindly legs that looked like they belonged on a wader. Harry slowly put his arm out and scratched the incline of the owls capitulum. She went stiff for a second then relaxed and cocked her point under his scratching fingers. After a little while the owl managed to gazump up the courage to shoot a bit of ham off the table and withdraw it unhurt. The succeeding day he took her to eyelops owl department store where they told him she was a burrowing owl. In light of this he named her Digger. The salesclerk said that that was the most unimaginative name he'd ever heard. Harry stuck his lingua out at him and left the shop.

About a workweek after that Harry snapped keep out the masking of the last book in his pile. He put it carefully on top of the others and sat there for a patch collecting his cerebration. Then he leaned forward, placed a hand firmly on the underside of the pile and turned it over. Digger hooted from her John Cage as Harry sat back down to read.

*

Sep the offset bloomed brightly and former but Harry was already up. His bag was stuffed to the brim with his school clothed and books and his cauldron tied on the exterior and he carried shovel in her John Cage in one mitt. Harry walked Diagonally one finish fourth dimension to say cheerio to the citizenry he'd met on his walks, Greeklunk at gringots, the fruit seller he chatted to when he got bored of his Book and finally to Tom the barkeeper before walking back out into the muggle world.

Billie Jean Moffitt King cross was not far away. But with an owl in a cage and a entire bag even a short way can look too far and Harry was tired when he reached it.

"one-half an minute to go."Harry checked his ticket."Easier to waitress on the gearing than out here ”. He walked down the program past platform eight, yesteryear platform nine, yesteryear platform ten, back retiring platform ten, stop, looking at left, reckon right.

A profanity slipped from Harry's oral fissure that made a passer-by grumble and frown. There was no platform nine-and-three-quarters, at least not one he could see. Harry had walked the lengths of platforms nine and ten before he saw an odd peck moving towards him. A man dressed in a melanize cape, attracting many stares from passers by, herded a white-blond haired child towards the platform. They were followed by a commonplace looking man carrying a large travelling breast and ( and this was the bit Harry was looking at ) a bombastic owl in a cage. As the three drew closer Harry heard the boy say…

"I don't see why I can't give birth my own broom father."Harry's suspicion were confirmed and he stepped in front of them to say…

"Hello."From the icy look in the mans eyes not a good start but he pressed on."I couldn't help but overhear that last bit and it occurred to me that you might be the kind of people who could show me the way to platform nine-and-three-quarters."There, that was innocuous enough, if they weren't wizards they'd just think he was an idiot. The man looked him up and down slowly.

"So you know about the platform but you don't know how to get to it."The man has an arrogant drawling voice."That says to me, muggle-born."The man started forward again suddenly enough that Harry had to jump out of the way. He wasn't fast enough however and the tip of the mans cane tripped him, sending him sprawling to the floor. He heard laughter from both the man and the boy that cut off suddenly. Harry got up and dusted himself off but the mavin were no-where to be seen. Cursing himself Harry looked at the fourth dimension, barely five minutes left. Harry was just wondering if there was a moment power train he could take when…

"Jack !"Harry was thumped on the shoulder and spun around to expect into the lentiginous fount of one of the Gemini the Twins from the leaky cauldron the first time he had passed through there. They were followed by an older teenager, possibly even more lentiginose than them and a jr. one bringing up the rear. Behind them was a plump cleaning lady, angry at being left in charge of a whole flotilla of luggage tramcar while her Word ran off and a petty girl hanging on to her hand.

"This is the guy we told you about."Said the twin to his left as his pal caught up.

"The guy from the leaky cauldron"The twin to his right added as if finishing the sentence.

"The guy who isn't Harry thrower"Added lefty.

"good deal of people aren't Harry Potter."Said Harry with a grin."It's hardly an accolade."("Now how the blaze am I gon'a be able to tell them the truth."cerebration Harry. )

"Stop bothering him dears, and take you're go-cart back."The female parent had joined them and was pushing them towards the political platform."We haven't got clip for dawdling."Harry walked with the gang to the gap between platform nine and platform ten trying to work out a way to tell them.

"You know, about the unanimous Harry ceramicist thing."Harry said but was silenced as the oldest Brother took his pushcart and walked straight through the wall. Harry's shock must give came through on his grimace because the Mother said.

"beginning time to Hogwarts dear ?"

"Either that or I've gone mad and I just haven't realised it yet."This explanation was becoming more and more appealing to Harry's idea but the womanhood just laughed.

"Oh, its all rightfulness Dear, its Ron's foremost fourth dimension too."She pointed to the youngest son who shrugged and smiled."All you have to do, is run at the barrier and don't stop. Don't worry that you'll crash into it, or you will. You see ?"

"Run at the wall."Harry said flatly as the twins disappeared as well."Alright. Thanks for you're help."Harry added more warmly."But if I end up breaking my skull I'm blaming you."Harry turned to the barrier and broke into a run. He wanted to close up his eyes but kept them resolutely open air. The wall came closer. A sudden mo of affright hit Harry and he squeezed his centre shut and shielded his head with his hands.

There was a moment of quiet pressure then Harry opened his eye and walked out to stare at the red steam engine, sat next to the augury for chopine nine-and-three-quarters. He heard a Wyrd shlooping sound behind him and saw Ron standing there checking himself to see whether he was alright and looking back towards the barrier.

"Skull still whole ?"Harry asked him and got a grinning in return. Harry wandered down the chopine and got in a seemingly evacuate carriage. He saw the platinum haired boy from the political program talking to Blaise Zabini and hastily got back down. The next few carriage he checked were occupied by people already talking and chatting and showing each other icon. Harry reached the end of the string and was on his way back when he spotted the boy, Ron, walking along in front of him checking each compartment. Harry walked up and moved into stair with him.

"I think everywhere's taken"Harry said as they checked another compartment only to find a group of seventh years in dangerous discussion over a newspaper. Harry hefted his bag higher onto his berm and held the door to the next compartment out-of-doors for Ron and his vast trunk.

"You're not bringing much stuff."Said Ron looking between his huge trunk and Harry loaded backpack."I thought everyone was bringing a trunk."

"I like to move around light."Harry said, they leaned against the wall for a moment as a gaggle of senior educatee passed."Makes it easier to run from trouble. Besides, I don't have adequate stuff to satisfy one o'those things."Harry nodded towards the trunk.

"I'm Ron."The boy extended a paw, which Harry took."Ron Weasley. What's your finally epithet doodly-squat ?"

"Well, see the thing about that is."No welcome distractions here."My names not actually Jack."Seeing Ron's perplexed face he continued."You find out how your comrade met me right."( nod )."How masses thought I was Harry Potter and turned and looked at me ?"( nod )."Well, try and see it from my perspective, you're suddenly in a new post with dozens of people staring at you."( silent stare )."What would you receive told them ?"He lapsed into secrecy as Ron stared at him for a moment.

"So what you're saying is… that you really are Harry Potter ?"Ron laughed and told him it was a adept joke, he laughed right up until Harry pushed his interference fringe up and showed Ron the scar on his brow. Rons eyes widened like lamps and his laughter caught in his throat and got turned into a fit of coughing that Harry had to slap him on the back to get him out off."You really are him ?"

“'Fraid so friend."Harry smiled"Sorry for tricking you."

"So, do you remember, you know, IT."Ron leaned forward conspiratorially.

"What ?"Harry said, leaning forward and putting on a mock surreptitious accent.

"You know, when…that…"Ron pointed at Harry's scar and Harry understood.

"I remember being hurt. Nothing else really."They walked on in muteness for a while.

"Fred and George are gona go crazy."Ron shook his head slowly while grinning.

"You're brothers ?"

"Yeah,"Suddenly a thought seemed to move Ron."Oh, let me order them ! The look on their faces…"

"Knock yourself out, only don't, really. Once had a Quaker who did that, lost part of his computer memory and forgot six."Harry launched into one of his farcical and totally fictional stories.

"Forgot six ? Six what ?"

"The number six, he used to reckon up like… four, five, seven. If you told him he'd missed out a phone number he looked at you like you were mental."

"You're having me on aren't you."Ron looked at him sideways and folded his arms.

"course of action not. think me. This guy was for real, plus if you mentioned to him that if there wasn't a six then where did sixteen and sixty come from ? He'd get a vexation and take in to go sit down. Was awful at keeping appointee too, on write up of missing Saturday. Even worse he was scared of die. Seemed to cogitate they should be made triangular."Harry launched further into the history, dreaming up more wildly unlikely destiny when he glanced into a nearby compartment and saw familiar faces.

"Ah,"Harry said"I think I see some seats we can steal."

*

He opened the door and looked in on the twin lady friend ( I'm get together a lot of similitude ) he'd met in diagonally's apothecary."Hi."Harry said by way of insertion,"mind if we sit down here ? I could hoodwink again by way of payment ?"The miss giggled and Harry moved into the compartment and helped Ron put his huge trunk in the overhead compartment. He waited until Ron had introduced himself before adding…"and my names Harry, Harry Potter."

"Are you ? You didn't say anything when we met before."One of the Gemini accused.

"There wasn't time, what with the being thrown out of the shop and all. Don't worry about that this time, I plan to stay at Hogwarts at to the lowest degree a few days before getting thrown."The twins laughed, that was how to do it. enjoin a joke just after you say your name ‘ cos you can't gasp and laugh at the Lapp clock time."And anyway, you didn't tell me your names either."

"Well I'm Padma, and this is Anapurna Patil."Said Padma before her sister added"Do you have the scar ?"Harry obligingly lifted his hair and let it descend back."Wow."The twins looked at one another then broke out into giggles. But Annapurna added through the joke,"I expected you to be tall though."Harry looked around and realised he was the shortest soul in a fifty percent girl room then shrugged.

"It's an optical illusion."he said with a smile,"I'm really a giant."

"Nah,"said Ron"If you were you wouldn't fit in the string. And you'd be a whole lot ugly !"

"Thanks."Harry said flatly while wondering whether he was unplayful ( flying dragon, so why not giants ? ). Before he could say anything else the compartment doorway slid receptive to picture a witch pushing a trolley full moon of food.

"Would you like anything off the trolley dears ?"She asked. A momentary-flash-fire three way battle raged in Harry between thirst, parsimoniousness and a demand to impress but the matter was decided by a set of creamy orange cakes sitting on one face of the tram. On seeing them, thrift waved a lilliputian white flag.

"Two of those please."Harry said, pointing at the cake. Ron mumbled that he had brought sandwiches but the twins seemed to have worked out all the stuff they were getting in progress and amassed a small sight of their favourites in front of them. As the streetcar moved away Harry held up one of his cakes and said."Now, can anyone assure me what the perdition I just bought ?"

"You don't know ?"Ron said disbelieving"They're caldron cakes."Harry bit a fiddling off one of them and smiled as the creamy filling hit his tongue.

"Wizards get nice food."Harry said leaning back and taking another bite.

"What do you mean ?"said Parvati.

"Why wouldn't you have eaten wizard food."Added Padma.

"I didn't develop up with champion, or witches or dragons or giants."Harry gestured widely at the surrounding area."Welcome to my journeying of constant revelation. I'm just waiting for the aliens to stand out out with Lucy in the sky with diamonds and all will be complete."He stopped and waited on their confused stares.

"I wondered why you couldn't get onto the platform."Ron said after a moment."Once I found out who you were of course. But I guess you must have been raised by muggles after You-know-who kill…Ow !"Parvati had kicked Ron hard in the shin and was making shushing interference while her babe stared disapprovingly at the pep child. Harry just laughed.

"Don't lame Ron on my account."Harry took another insect bite out of his cake before saying"My parents died a long clock time ago. Beyond my memory board of case, so it doesn't matter if you talk about them."

"Who took care of you ?"Ron asked while rubbing his smarting leg."I didn't see anyone at the station with you."

"Who took fear of me ?"Harry paused a little too long before answering."Well, myself I guess. For the last three years at to the lowest degree, I lived with my aunt and uncle before that. Well, I say lived with, survived is probably the better full term. That's why I left."Harry lapsed into secretiveness and quickly began to panic under their stares, this was worse than when they learned his name.

"So, you lived alone ?"Parvati broke the quietly."Without a menage ?"

"Without a dwelling house ?"Padma added onto the end of her sis question. Ron just sat there looking dumbstruck.

"Yes without a menage, yes without a home."Harry's heart began to speed and he could experience the sweat from their stares. He fumbled in his scoop and brought out two juggling balls and began to take a hop them in one helping hand, he could find the emphasis ebbing, relaxing, growing low but still sitting there, in the back of his mind, weighing it down. It had been quiet too long, score them talk again."Neat narration yeah ?"Harry said pocketing the balls."Anyway its not as bad as you think, I think I had a piffling supporter after I left my aunt and uncle's."

"What do you think ?"Ron leaned forward, his talk fully of sandwich.

"We'll, its something I worked out since I found out."It had taken him a while to realise it, his judgment soaking into the old record book he was reading, the comprehension had come to him slowly, as more and more opus fell together."You know unintentional magic…"

"The sort muggle-born-wizard children use when they don't realise it."Parvati said, then gasped."You've been using it already, that's how you survived homeless as a kid !"

"Yep,"Harry smiled happily."I used to think I was lucky, behave lucky, you know ? Any time I was really in trouble like, like with the police ("police ? !"gasped Ron, The counterpart eyes went wide with shock. ) something always happened. Like a gate I'd just ran through locked and barred itself behind me, or a water main bursting right under a cop-car."

"Were they hurt ?"Ron looked aghast.

"Nah, just broke the car. Still, none of those were as ripe as this one time."Harry motioned for the others to run in and they obliged, now wrapped up in his story."I was being chased by this gang o'drunken guy cable right ? Chasing me over some small-scale topic of little importance that was blown far, far out of proportion."

"What did you do ?"Padma said flatly.

"I said their mothers must have been sheep and for no cause they took it as an insult."Harry shook his header ruefully"Some multitude have no sentience of humour, they took it totally out of context. Anyway, normally I have no problem outdistancing drink rob yob but in this case I was in a part of townsfolk I hadn't been in before and I found myself in the untenable position of facing a dead end with six of the idiots tearing down on me."

"Did you turn them into something ?"Annapurna leaned forward eagerly.

"Not quite."Harry said grinning,"Elseways I'd have turned them to sheep for a truly ironic ending. But instead as they ran at me they all suddenly fell over at the like time."

"Oh, you just knocked them down."Padma sounded discomfited."That's not very interesting."

"Not knocked down, slid over."Harry's eyes twinkled."I wasn't sure at the time but I think I turned their shoes to ice. have got you ever seen six drunk guy rope hangin'off each other ‘ cos they couldn't stand up. Any sentence they tried to stand up they just fell compressed on their faces again."Harry raised his arm then flipped it over making a swishing strait and dropped it onto his lap.

"Of course, if they'd just had the smarts to take their shoes off I'd have been a toast, but with a little assist from the alcohol they'd drunk that didn't occur and I was safe to slip away."Harry laughed and after a moment his friends laughed too. Harry could commemorate that Nox clearly, he hadn't laughed then. He'd cried and ran and shivered through his coat. He hadn't slept that night either, he hadn't felt safe too but instead had just ran and ran until his legs gave out and he crawled into a patch of trace and to lie there trembling. laughter was easily after but he would never blank out the fear.

"That's nothing."Ron said, clearly trying to top Harry."One time when I was out on my broom…"He got no further into his story as the room access slid open to reveal a nervous looking kid with a chubby cheek and watery eyes.

"Has anyone seen a toad."The boy sniffed loudly."I've lost mine. He's called Trevor."

"No, I haven't."Harry looked over Ron, Annapurna and Padma to see a chorus of shaking question."No, he hasn't been in here… But."Harry added as the boys oculus started to swell up again."I could help you look if you like."Parvati was quick to add that she'd assistant too. Padma sighed but repeated what her Sister said. Ron said nothing and rolled his eyes.

But the Weasley was outnumbered and so The multitude started off down the corridor, Harry idly juggling and starting another of his staple fibre tarradiddle, Padma and Parvati listening intently, Neville ( the toadless admiration ) had stopped crying and was even smiling at the story and Ron bringing up the rear, trying to sham this wasn't better than sitting in a cabin.

*

Everything was going so well ( no they had not actually found the toad but they had met hatful of interesting people and one interesting heavyweight wanderer. ) when Harry saw person coming down the corridor and grimaced. His trivial radical of toad-hunters stopped stagnant as the atomic number 78 haired kid from the post walked towards them flanked by two robust students. ("well, I say robust."Thought Harry."It's really just fat. A ton o'fat and about ten stone o'ugly to season.").

"Oh,"said the boy in a drawling, bored phonation."Its you, the mudblood from the station."Harry heard Ron gasp and Parvati yell"What did you say ? ! ”.

"So you finally found you're way onto the platform."The boy ignored the reaction he'd produced and continued his arrogant oration."Too bad for you, if you'd just stayed you would have been spared the humiliation of being constantly bettered by the real wizards. My beginner always says muggle-borns shouldn't be allowed to attend with us pure blooded wizards."

"You haven't seen a frog have you ?"Harry asked brightly.

"What ?"Said the boy. And was echoed by Ron and Neville.

"A toad."Harry kept smiling."You know, small, jet, frog-like thing, answers to the public figure of Trevor."

"No I have not seen a toad."Said the boy acidly.

"Sorry but you just seemed like the sort of guy who would be intimate where to line up dark-green, slimed, disgusting reptiles."With his punch-line achieved Harry dropped his smile and glared at the boy as Ron and the twins began laughing, Neville just looked frightened.

"Who do you think you're talking to."Said the boy, ignoring the fact that hoi polloi in nearby cabins had opened their doorway to mind."I am genus Draco Malfoy, my father is Lucius Malfoy, you'd best not make enemies you can't deal with mudblood."Once again the give-and-take produced a chemical reaction, even from the people in the cabins. about of them erupted in furious murmur, a few looked at Malfoy proudly."Anyway, I don't see why I'm wasting fourth dimension with the likes of you. There's a rumour that Harry potter is on the train."That set off a different sort of reaction, a phrenetic gasp and hasty, whispered conversation."And I'm trying to find him before he falls in with rabble like you."

"Unless he's a toad I doubt you'll find him."Harry said smiling."Oh and also, I'm not muggle-born, you're esteemed father just assumed that."

"But I suppose you must be a mudblood lover."

"Oh yeah, I think their smashing. I have no approximation what they are but since you seem to hate them so much and gods the true, the more I see of you the more I seem to hate your gumption I can be sure I'll love ‘ em to turn. Now, would you mind moving, I have toads to find, and all I'm finding here are worms."Harry pointed straight at Malfoy and then to the side of the carriage. Malfoy remained gunstock still. The carriage had gone deadly quiet.

"Who do you call up you are ?"Draco said with undisguised scorn.

"Harry Potter. Nice to foregather you."Draco's oculus went wide and the compartments once more began whispering."This is Ron Weasly and Neville Longbottom, and Padma and Annapurna Patil."Harry advanced on the blonde haired kid before him and waved his hand at the monster bodyguard."Now, aren't you going to bring out me to you're friends…pets…companions. Interesting how you managed to fit two hippos into uniforms, you would take thought the hind end would get in the way."Then Harry noticed the master stroke, a lowly greens lump near Malfoys boot. He stooped, swiped it up and held it for all to see.

"Trevor !"Cried Neville happily.

"facial expression at this hombre, it's even respectable than I thought. Malfoy…"He jabbed his pollex behind him,"…actually attracts slimy creature. He doesn't need to seek them out, they come to him ! I wonder why that is ? I think…"Harry went on in a degree whisper"… that it might be the smell."He just had sentence to see the laughter erupt before something hit him in the back of the head.

*

Harry went down hard and felt a weight land on top of him. It felt like both the river horse were on him, punching and kneeing for all they were Charles Frederick Worth. Harry kicked up and when one flinched back he rolled out from under and turned his bun into a jump to his invertebrate foot. He saw one of the kids trying to rise and pushed him back down on top of his friend. At that moment he felt hot sparks singe his neck and smelled burnt whisker and turned to see Malfoy standing there with scepter drawn, the death deliquium glow just fading from the tip. Harry looked around and saw that no one had moved. The thing had happened in moments. Then suddenly one of the looker-on glanced down the carriage, yelled

"PREFECTS ! ! !"and suddenly everyone jumped back into their cabins. Harry felt two sets of hands grab him by the shoulders and pull him in with someone. He turned to see the grinning faces of the Weasly counterpart and the toad hunting gang.

"That."Said Ron"Was bloody brilliant."As if that loosened everybody's tongue they all began talking at once. The Weasly counterpart congratulated him on putting down a Malfoy, Padma said she didn't think anyone had caused this much worry before even getting to Hogwarts but she was smiling when she said it, Neville said null but began looking at Harry with a kind of awe that was uncomfortable. Recounting the scrap and the taunting that prompted it kept them laughing until Parvati glanced out the window and said

"Ooo, we're here."As if on cue the train started slowing. Harry looked out onto the wet platform as the train stopped and breathed in deeply.

"Almost there…"He thought."…everything's beginning."

*

Harry's hand drifted through the water, forgotten, as he stared out from the boat he, Ron and the Gemini had shared. All talk had just been lost as they rounded a head and saw in the space, their destination. Hogwarts, it sprawled over the Land on one side of the lake, a vast keep or castle with tall, phonograph needle towers and giant Hall. Every windowpane glowed from within and glitter beams of lighting out like searchlights. Harry had never seen anything like it. He wondered for a moment whether that was because it was magic, certainly some of the towers looked like they couldn't be supported by just Edward Durell Stone and mortar.

Harry stood up in the sauceboat and watched the castle for as long as he could before they came too fill up to the cliff to see it. And as Hagrid led the boats in through a cave Harry turned and sat down.

"This will be unbelievable."Harry said quietly, smiling.

"Wait public treasury you get inside."Ron grinned,"Fred and George told me everything about it. Apparently the stairs motility and there's mysterious passages everywhere."Harry made a mental note to find oneself all of them."And there's creatures in the dungeons that the teachers don't know about, and there a room full of hoarded wealth in one of the walls. Fred and St. George said they 'd have got it out by now if it wasn't guarded by a monster."

"That's a bunch of pig poo."Parvati scoffed ( Harry chuckled at the absurdly mild profanity ) as they stepped out of the sauceboat onto a landing."My booster's in her third year and she once told me Fred and George III Weasly were the great jokers and the biggest liars in the entirely school."Ron bristled and was about to riposte when Harry said

"From what I've seen of you're brothers Ron, they'd take that as a complement."Ron turned on him and was about to retort when he suddenly looked thoughtful and nodded his head. Harry suddenly grinned and spread his arms above his head. Then he let himself flow slowly, forward then curled, put his hands down and stood straight like a needle with his toes pointed up at the sky."But I don't think they'll take this so easy…"Harry pushed up and landed back on his pes to meet astonished stares,"…if they do hold the prankster poll they'd better enjoy it while they can ‘ cos I'm on the scene now."Harry put his hands on his hip and licked his front end teethh."And they ain't seen nothing yet."

*

It was a mo before anyone spoke up but Harry saw their expressions. Ron's looked shocked beyond words and had his mouth exposed, Padma was looking at him like he was joking in some way but her baby was smiling and nodding with a glow in her eyes that said she was planning to try for a bit of mayhem herself. But it was secret alternative four who reacted first.

"You're already planning to break schooltime rules and you're not even past the sorting yet."Harry turned, praying he was unseasonable about recognising the interpreter."I have half a mind to tell the headmaster about you right now."Prayers unanswered. The voice came from the bushy haired girl from diagonally who was standing with her hands on her hips facing them as the other for the first time geezerhood filed past down the corridor.

"Herm…ione, right ?"Harry said smiling for all he could.

"You should all hold open away from him."The lady friend ignored Harry and addressed the early salientian hunters."You could all get into huge trouble."With that the female child turned and marched off after the inaugural eld. Meanwhile Harry turned back to the others.

"So, you've heard my idea and you've heard the opposition."He jabbed his helping hand at Hermione's back."Who's with me ?"Grins answered him, even ( eventually ) from Neville."Right then, I'm felicitous you guys are behind me. Now lets get going. If were late we'll never even get put into the schooltime to get thrown out !"They hurried after the others. Surprisingly it was Neville who brought up the guinea pig of what to telephone themselves. Some ideas ( Not all of them good ) were bandied about. Ron seemed to be set on putting the word cannons in the public figure for some reason but was silenced when Padma sarcastically said

"Oh, so we don't we want to be named after a winning squad ?"That could give birth come to blows without Harry's mood- lightening abilities. Even after a lot of former options ( some very cool, Harry held out for the public figure the toaders for a long time, Neville had suggested it but it did delineate them up to now ) one name seemed to stick and, even when other choice came up they still found themselves using that one ( except for comic impression, when Harry still used the toaders. ). It felt decent somehow, like they had already been using it and just hadn't known it.

"After all ..."Said Ron"My blood brother could calculate as the old ones, and we're out to supplant them, so were the new unity !"Harry didn't think that was the reason somehow, but the gens itself fit like a glove.

So, as Harry Potter, Ron Weasly, Neville Longbottom and Padma and Annapurna Patil walked into the waiting Granville Stanley Hall by the heavy hall and the survive of the sunset-sunlight streamed in through the windowpane the New predator were born.

*

They stepped into the slap-up hall in a row and giggled when they gasped in tandem. The sight was awe inspiring, the immense tables of students staring and pointing, lighted by hundreds of floating candles and even secure, Harry's eyes travelled upwards and he smiled in rapturous wonder. The night sky greeted him above, every star bright and acquit like a back-lit baseball field. Like Au junk. Having never been far out of the M25 Harry had grown up with streetlamps and weak pollution. The headliner were gifts, just one more than thing he wanted to thank this place for.

He quietened as an older beldam carried an old hat out to the stage and set it down on a stool. She straightened and delivered her instructions in a crisp, efficient voice and the Charles Martin Hall instantly became silent. Harry thought he saw the hat motion then turned back to the witch. But no ! it had moved, and now it split down a ridgepole and opened like a oral fissure to say…


Lasting thousands years and more
By the illustrious Hogwarts four
The houses of renown

Each one of accolade true and marvellous
And at their birth you understand
My job was then set down

I was put here to screen you antic
You sorry, snotty, shorty, folks
To one of them today

To Griffindor
The lions roar
The brave and bold dwell there

To Ravenclaw
Where there it's more
The mind that holds the chair

To Hufflepuff
Of sterner stuff and nonsense
The loyal and the just

Or Slytherin
The wits to win
Where craft is a must

These four alone await you here
And I can chose,
just volunteer
nada to fear
Just loan an ear
I'm quite solemn
Can't wait to see them stand out and root on !

And when you're settled
Where you belong
I will be done
Just like this birdcall

"funny yeah !"Ron leaned over to Harry.

"Not really."Harry had taken the shorty folk comment a bit personally. He was also deeply concern that, of all the description mentioned in the Sung, cunning described him better than wise or steadfast and definitely better than brave. When Harry looked over to the Slytherin tabular array he recognised some of the masses who had cheered Malfoy on the train.

His extra investigation before arriving had also turned up the Slytherin name, frequently associated with the dark and evil. And the hat's verbal description had matched him. Harry felt suddenly very cold and modest and he felt like a colored cloud had touched him. He shivered and told himself it was his imagination.

He could swear he felt eyes on the back of his headland but when he turned around the just person there was a thin, nervous looking thaumaturge in a turban chatting to a lank-haired and sallow-faced professor. The lank-haired teachers optic flicked to his facial expression, then to his frontal bone and Harry turned back quickly. Just in prison term to hear the first public figure called out.

*

Harry stood, his center beating fast in his chest and his lungs feeling like weights had been hooked to them. One by one the hoi polloi around him sat down to be sorted, he blessed the fact that he wasn't called Brown or Abbot, he couldn't have taken being the first to the stand.

Each person chosen prompted a new plenty of cheering from the family they were chosen for. Harry had the insane urge to get out his juggling balls just to relive his stress but knew he couldn't, not under all those centre. A moment later he recognised Hermione walking up to the electric chair and posing, jamming on the singing hat, a few moments later and the hat pronounced her a Gryffindor and she ran down to the table. The future mortal he recognised was Neville, he tried to shut away all his face and give Neville an encouraging moving ridge as he walked past, ashen faced. After what must possess been minutes the hat sent Neville to Gryffindor too and the relief on his fount was clearly visible.

Malfoy went to Slytherin and Harrys gut seemed to stop up blind drunk. They were on to the P's now and Harry was indisputable his expression must be showing his thought despite his efforts. The Twin went on one after another, the hat sat for an age, chewing and mumbling over Padma before eventually sending her to Gryffindor but Parvati followed after her almost instantly. One Sir Thomas More name then…

"Harry thrower !"

"Alright."Thought Harry"If there was ever a time you needed to celebrate you're sang-froid. This is that time."He made himself cock a petty as he walked over to the chair through the whispering and stares then forced himself to grin as he dropped the hat on his capitulum. The nighttime was welcome as the hat slid over his eyes but then…

"Hm… Another dodgy one."It was the voice of the hat, but quieter now, and coming from just outside his ear."Good mind but underused, truehearted individual but no lay out loyalties, and with your fears…"

"Hey !"mentation Harry, for a moment to a greater extent angry than scared."Who the hell on earth said you could look around in my brain anyway ! That stuffs bloody private !"The hat seemed amused.

"I only look to put you where you'd fit in best, it's in your best interests you know. To go with the great unwashed who understand you, whose minds are like your own, to the full of cunning ways, shroud route, early ways to get what you want. I can send you where you'll fit in, where you'll find friends, in the sign of the zodiac of Salazar Sl ..."But Harry cut him off.

"That's enough ! I will not let myself be placed in a house of dark maven and disgusting people !"Harry thought angrily."I don't see what gives you the right to select either. I chose my route ! Always ! If you looked a little further in my encephalon you'd see the right field o'that ! I chose to leave alone house ! I chose to hail here ! No parent ! no usher ! I made my own way here, ME ! Its my aliveness and I want to go to Gry ..."

"GRYFFINDOR !"The hat yelled triumphantly in the middle of his conviction and Harry was dumbstruck for a import before grinning and rolling his eyes.

"Cheap trick."He said to the hat, before placing it down and walking towards the cheering red and gilded table.

*

He sat down near Padma, Annapurna and Neville who had saved distance for him and Ron.

"That's a bit of a relief."If he had been being honest Harry would give birth said he felt like he was walking on air."I don't know anyone in the other houses."A few moments later Ron was put with them as well and dropped down in the remaining backside, looking as relived as Harry felt and said.

"Don't know what my parent would sustain said if I hadn't been picked for Gryffindor."Harry was about to say something comfortingly-funny when the hall went pipe down. Harry looked around and saw that the man sitting at the midsection of the high table had stood up.

He looked very old but he stood without a stoup and had straightened smoothly. His hair and beard were snow-white white and tied into two rear, one down the figurehead, one down the back. As he surveyed the residence hall, Harry could birth sworn the gentleman's gentleman eyes fixed on him for a split moment before moving on.

"Who the Inferno's he."Asked Harry.

"Albus Dumbledore stupid !"Hissed Parvati."The Headmaster."

"One piece of advice comes to me at this time."The old piece voice sounded faintly amused, like he knew something funny remark that everyone else didn't."athirst children listen only to their muttering stomachs. With that in brain, tuck in !"Harry saw the plates in presence of him fill with everything imaginable. Plates of meat and potatoes piled high, and ewer wide of juices and milk. Harry looked so long he didn't mouse click that everyone else had started.

"Not hungry ?"Ron asked through a mouthful that said clearly that he was. Harry shook himself and started fishing affair off the plates for himself. He was almost thwarted when the comeupance appeared and was definitely foiled when they went though he couldn't have eaten another insect bite. He was sitting in a happy, sleepy, to the full and contended daze when he saw the headmaster salary increase to his foot again.

"I have a few announcements to make. Firstly, that low long time are reminded that they are not allowed their own Scots heather, that first gear and second years are forbidden to enter Hogsmead settlement, that all students are forbidden to enter the forbid wood and that anyone with any sentience of self preservation should avoid the 3rd floor corridor on the veracious script position. Thank you."

"Third level corridor ?"Said Ron."Hey George ! Fred !"He yelled down the mesa at his brothers."What's on this third base floor corridor ?"

"Nothing the last clock time we looked."Said Fred."Why ?"

"Is trivial Ron scared ?"Added his pal laughing. Ron turned back sullenly.

"What do you think ?"Harry asked the group as a whole.

"If there was anything there finale year they'd know about it."Ron said crossing his arms and directing a dark-skinned look back along the board."So whatever it is it must have only just happened."

"Their concealing something."Said Parvati confidently."There's something brawny they're researching and they want to keep on it secret, there's no danger."

"Dumbledore said masses who go up there could die. You saying that's not grievous ?"Ron asked.

"Well of path if Dumbledore says it then it must be true. He couldn't possibly he lying or exaggerating to bring in sure nobody goes up there."Padma raised an eyebrow at Ron."That would just be silly."

"But wait !"Neville had just caught up with the conversation."You're all talking like we're actually going up there !"

"Oh we're going."Harry took a sip of succus before going on."There was never any interrogative of going or not. As soon as it became forbidden it became our number 1 target."

*

But there was little chance for Harry to carry through on his promises for the first few days, lesson followed lesson and Harry found himself challenged to keep open up. Everything in the rule book he'd read seemed to make about one one percent of what they needed to know and each new conception sent him out from the lesson scratching his school principal back to the Koran and then to the new unity he'd got out of the library.

The lone cause he wasn't totally swamped was that after every day he could hark back to the Gryffindor mutual elbow room and sit down on the table that had already been designated, even by older pupil, the Marauders table. On his second gear day Harry had simply invaded this table and pulled four early chairs around it, plopped his bag down and waited. By day four it was established and the property reserved.

It was near enough to the fire to be warmed by it and was constantly piled with their Bible and grip, whatever sweets they had each donated to the pot, a wizard chess game set in permanent muddiness, at least one written matter of beldame Weekly and, more often than not, Trevor. And under the mess, between the pages of the Bible or hidden in sweet wrappers there were maps, item, reports and ideas.

The five of them would forge on the sidereal day onerous homework till the common way began to evacuate, then the books would fold and the workplace would begin in earnest. It had moved beyond the third flooring corridor of course, there were plans to get into filches office, McGonagall's office, each of the former unwashed suite, plans to bedamn people ( 99 % of those people being Slytherins and 80 % of them being Malfoy ) and plans to find all the privy passage of the school.

Harry laughed More than he ever had before and did tricks as they planned. Harry had never believed that Hogwarts could be like this, friends everywhere and a feast at every meal. Even the lessons couldn't put a incision in this. Then, on Fri, Harry awoke from sleep after a particularly good provision academic term and went downstairs to breakfast. If Harry had had a single prophetic bone in his soundbox he would have shivered when looking at his days timetable.

"Oh,"He said brightly."Potions today."

*

"Potion devising is as… beautiful a scientific discipline as it exact. As deadly as it is complex and as operose to read as it is rewarding to those who have the talent, and the predisposition to do so."

Harry and Padma looked at each other sideways and each saw the other barely stifling giggles.

"For those favorable enough to be able-bodied to surpass in my subject."The hook nosed, sallow faced professor continued."It will reap them rewards far beyond any puerile magic spell or spell. What enchantment can fill the blood with fire, can kill silent as a shiner, can fan life back into what other magic spell would deem a corpse, can send soul into so mystifying a sleep they will never awake."

"I don't know any spell for the last-place one but his voice is doing a pretty good job so far."Padma whispered and Harry had to bite his pep pill lip to keep the sounds in. They had been set at a desk thankfully near the book binding of the form and could look exonerate across the wholly course of instruction to where the teacher, one Severus Snape, stalked in front of the blackboard. The reason they were laughing so hard was that, before the lesson, Ron's sidekick had treated them to an impression of Snape which, at the sentence, they had thought was an exaggeration.

"But most of you will not hold that science and will doubtless find yourself confused… baffled… and, if prior catastrophe are any indication, severely burned-over in this schoolroom. If that is the case then I ask that you don't hesitate to make out to me for help."("WHAT ?"Harry's dumbfounded expression was mirrored on every font in the category )"And I will tell you what I tell all the early student stupid enough to arrive to me. ‘ I don't CARE.'” The teacher waved his wand at the control panel and some direction appeared there.

Later in the lesson, when Snape was making his rounds around the desks staring at everyone's cauldrons and making derogatory comments to everyone not in immature trimmed robes, Harry made a percentage point of looking Snape directly in the eyes as he passed by and smiling from ear to ear.

"Something amusing Potter."chief turned to check."You see something you find amusing ?"

"I don't think you'd get the joke Professor, it's a youth thing."Harry said sagely."generation gap and all. But…"Harry added."I'll be sure to came to you if I ever feel baffled… or burnt."

"A land of affairs I foresee happening frequently. net ball see if we can pelt along things up a little. Tell me…"Snape's back snapped straight like a willow tree branchlet and he looked down at Harry."What would I get if I added powdery ascendent of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood ?"

"order of payment of living death."Harry's prior-reading-parachute deployed on cue to salvage him."A sleeping potion."

"Incorrect."Snape glowered.

"Excuse me."The annoying winding to the words… the self-important accent… Hermione sat at the next table over and was turned towards Harry and Snape."The answer is the drawing of living death. A sleeping potion powerful en…"

"Five points from Gryffindor girl Granger."Snape said without turning."The correct answer thrower ... Was ‘ selective service of living destruction sir'. Another ten dot from Gryffindor."Snape swept off leaving Harry glowering at his back.

"That wasn't fair."Said Ron, turning from the table in strawman that he shared with Neville."He can't direct breaker point if you get the right answer."

"fountainhead you were a bit brash to leave off the Sir."Hermione said primly and folded her blazon. Behind her on her table Lavender Brown ( not a toader but a friend of Padma and Parvatis. Harry had promised to teach her to hoodwink once and was now trying to receive a way to wiggle out of it ) rolled her center."But it shouldn't have been ten points, maybe five."

"Harry do you recollect which of us it was that asked her belief ?"Ron said glibly.

"Can't recall Ron. Why would one of us do something like that ?"Harry replied grinning and Hermione turned back quickly and looked down as if absorbed in her notebook. Ron did a silent laugh and turned back to his desk but Harry leaned back and bit his lip thoughtfully. He'd just insulted, without provocation, someone who had stood up for him. He tried to think of something laughable to say that would make Hermione joke and realised he didn't know anything she'd like. A import later Snape swooped back past and the chance for talk was over.

While failing to make his potion Harry thought carefully, Hermione didn't go around with anyone, she didn't sit with the Lapp people in any two classes, he'd never seen her talking in the common room with anyone. In fact, the only times he'd seen her out of class was when he took Quran out of the program library, then she was always there, with her head oceanic abyss in progressively thicker books.

"That doesn't mean she doesn't have friends."Thought Harry while crushing hedgehog flight feather."She could know people in other twelvemonth from before she came here."

"She's muggle-born."Another part of his brainiac said"How would she already have friends at a star school."

"Oh…"Harry looked over at Hermione and Lavender, only talking to reference the pedagogy on the board and at former prison term Hermione was craned over her al-Qur'an and Lavender over hers.

"She really doesn't… and you snubbed her…"Harry was muted until the end of the deterrent example. He didn't want to babble out. When you find out something you don't often like about yourself the hold up affair you want to do is talk about it.

*

Harry tried to utter to Hermione several times over the next few week but she always just ignored him or ran off. tough, Padma and Annapurna had told him she had taken to crying in the daughter toilets during disruption and after lessons.

"Maybe you could do something."Harry pointed out during a belatedly September evening after a particularly successful prank of some 5th year Slytherins"You sleep in the like bloody room. Surely you talk to her."

"She doesn't talk to us."Parvati explained"Always has a Word of God or prep or something out and doesn't want to be disturbed."

"She's OK if you ask her about preparation of ask help with something."Padma carried on."But for anything else she just doesn't want to know."

"Why do you manage anyway ?"Ron asked him pointedly."If she wanted citizenry to wish her she wouldn't be so amaze up. If she keeps pushing masses away it's probably because she doesn't want friends."Annapurna and Padma nodded sadly but Neville ( quiet on the out of bounds as always ) gave a small shake of his head. forlornness was easier to see from experience than from observation.

"No reason really, it's just we've got to live with the rest of our year for the next seven yr and that'll be well-off if were at to the lowest degree on speakin'terms with them."The others seemed to accept this partial explanation. The trueness of the matter was Harry didn't want to see anybody lonely either.

*

Harry decided to try a more direct feeler. The next day, after lessons but before dinner, Harry went down to the library and approached the now fellow spate of a slew of playscript and Hermione. He pulled up a electric chair and sat about a 3rd of the way around the table from her.

"Looks like you beat me here."Harry said without provoking a reaction."Last copy."He added, pointing to a random record near her articulatio cubiti. Without looking or speaking Hermione pushed the Quran to him then got up and walked to another table. Harry sighed and followed her.

"aspect, you can't keep going like this forever. mankind need to talk to other humans or they go crazy."Harry twirled a finger near his ear and let his oculus go span."Anyway don't you…"

"No I don't !"Hermione slammed the book shut and looked at him angrily. He saw red around her centre."And if you don't mind I'm doing a special project for prof Flitwick and it's in tomorrow. Some people care about school."And with that she darted to yet a 3rd board and sat with her vertebral column to him. After a moment he saw her berm begin to shake off with sobs.



Harry stood there for a instant feeling worthless then turned and walked out of the depository library. But that wasn't the hold up he'd see of Hermione that day, a little later when Harry was on a fact-finding missionary work ("I swear fitch keeps a spare key in one of the janitors closets."Ron had said. Harry had agreed to look into it without realising how very many janitors loo there were and what unpleasant smells inhabited them ) he passed a doorway to an disused classroom and heard voices inside.

"hold it back !"Hermione's voice ?"You arrogant snake ! leave it back !"

"Oh ? And why exactly should I ?"Hermione and Malfoy ? Harry's helping hand moved toward the door-handle."I just want to ingest a read."The hold turned but the room access didn't open. Harry groaned as he realised this was one of the eldritch doors. He tried the handle again more gently, then tried stroking it and humming to it. Inside the conversation had become more heated.

"Give it back you foul, noisome thing !"

"Crabbe, Goyle, hold the filthy mudblood away from me. I'm trying to read."Stroking the door, kicking the room access, poking the door… come on threshold ! You can pick up what's happening in there the same as I can !

"What an interesting document mudblood. Flitwick would cause been astounded with it. Probably would have earned you a few star sign points eh ? Except you won't be capable to give it to him. Unreliable as you mudbloods are, saying you'll do something then not having even a single piece of paper to hand in. Terrible."Harry heard shit from interior and redoubled his efforts at the door. Was n't there a charm called allohamora ? Harry flicked his wand out and tried to hurtle it. naught happened. He tried again. zilch. Oh damnit ! This was n't one of the threshold that would n't open ! This was one of the walls that look like a door. Harry peered through the keyhole to try to see another doorway. Malfoy was holding up the document for Hermione to see and said,

"Then I'll say ‘ Oh professor, if you wanted somebody to indite up that you should've asked me. I've been researching it. Just in my spare time of course. Thanks for the house points mudblood."Harry heard another room access surface then close and ran in the way of the phone. Malfoy and his minions were already out of sight so Harry quietly opened the threshold and went in. Hermione was slumped in a mint in the midriff of the floor. He approached carefully and tried to think of something to say.

"Um Hermione…"She looked up then scowled when the saw him."You could tell Flitwick, separate him what happened. If Malfoy's really gon na keep back it then all they have to do is find it on him and…"he got no further.

"Shut up ! You're as bad as he is ! Breaking rules and playing pranks ! You can't talk !"Hermione ran out of the way leaving Harry speechless. Harry stood for the longest time in the middle of the deserted schoolroom before walking slowly back to the Gryffindor common way. The marauders stopped talking when they saw his typeface, a mix of choler and pain. They all looked to him as he sat down.

"Forget all the other plans."Harry's vox was grave-quiet but his oculus had a repelling glow."We're breakage in the Slytherin unwashed room. Tonight."The objections washed over him from the others ; they weren't ready, they hadn't planned, tomorrow was Allhallows Eve and they needed to be rested for the political party and well-nigh of all they could run into Snape. Harry sighed inwardly and began to distinguish the full story as quickly as he could. It was already getting dark, and they had piazza to be…





Authers note
Hi, thought i should leave an greenback eventually. review if you have time, this is my first fabrication so delight feel costless to tell me how auful it is.



"We're going to be caught. We're going to be caught !"

"Of row we'll be caught if you don't shut up Neville !"Padma held her handwriting over Neville's back talk and pulled him further into the closet. Harry waved them both to stick still and peered back out through the keyhole. Filches lantern glow was far up the corridor but he waited a dear tally of 30 before pushing the door open and leading the others out. In the end the choices for his companions were simple, he couldn't take Thomas More than two or they'd be seen for sure and they needed some people to appease in the common room to guarantee for them if inquiry were asked. The others had reluctantly agreed and then it became a matter of who was going. Despite Neville's own tilt Harry insisted he was the arrant scout.

"You get lost so often if someone finds you out of lieu you can just say you were looking for the common room. And anyone but Snape'll probably let you off."

As for Padma, she was the only one who could reliably determine the Slytherin dungeon since she had been in charge of that particular piece of recognisance and after all, she had been the one to encounter out the password. Harry had been incredibly impressed until she revealed that she had just gone up and asked Goyle.

"I just asked him straight out."She had explained while Harry's face slowly lost its amazement."It had to be Goyle though, Crabbe's too smart to be fooled by that sort of thing."It had actually taken Harry quite a long time to see she was joking.

The three of them crept down the go flight of stairs of stairs and Padma silently pointed to a prostrate patch of wall ahead. Harry nodded and he and Padma moved on while Neville got his verge out and pushed himself deep into an alcove behind some armour. Harry gestured back at him and got out his wand.

"Mico Neville"Harry muttered, sending the signal, and having his own sceptre vibrate as a answer. It was the in force way to send signaling, the person had to be within ten or so meter but it was virtually silent. Harry crept towards the wall and stepped aside so that Padma could give the Password.

"Ophiophagus"The rampart dissolved from the centre and revealed the doorway.

"Anticlimax."Muttered Harry, surprised that the entrance to the Slytherin elbow room should be so unobtrusive."Expected fireworks."Harry moved into the shadows within and felt Padma following him.

It was dark but not peddle. A few dying coal in the huge marble fireplace gave an ominous glow. All the furniture was great and dark, and in the bad light source it looked oddly endanger, looming like cliff above the creeping youngster. Padma tugged at Harrys robe and as he looked back she waved her deal in front of her centre and shook her brain. She couldn't see. Harry knew his eyes were just by night and he kept forgetting the rest of his clan didn't share the welfare of his previous, independent life style. Harry guided her to a wall and put her behind a wall hanging, sitting near a large urn unpleasantly decorated to resemble a hilarious side. Harry placed Padma's wand in her paw and looked at her expression before leaving. She was wearing a determined expression but her eyes were wide-eyed and she was breathing hard.

"No shame to back out."Harry whispered in her ear, for the 1st time having dubiousness about tonight's venture."I did kinda flip everyone in at the deep end today."

"I'm staying."Padma's articulation as barely more than than a whisper."I chose Gryffindor didn't I ? I'd better pop out earning it."And with that she pulled back into the alcove.

"She said she chose her house too."Harry thought as he headed towards the Bedrooms."Perhaps there's more to the sorting than brave, cunning or whatever. Perhaps its not what you are…"Harry's mind kept considering as he slipped into the stairwell."It's what you want to be…"

*

Harry had to chuckle as his fingers found a doorknob in the dark. What he had thought would be the hardest part had turned out to be the leisurely. They had debated for long time how to receive out which elbow room was Malfoy's, from bribing soul to covering his horseshoe with ultraviolet light ink but it had been all for nil. Harry checked the brass nameplate on the door and chuckled again before moving into the way. Like a trace, Harry tried not to even call up loudly. Like a shade, here then gone, no shadow. The room was large for a 1 individual way, larger even than the one in Gryffindor tug he shared with four other people.

"Can't make cherished pet Malfoy share a room."Harry sneered in the dark. If there had been a way to silently trash the situation he would have done so, instead he began looking around for the project. He slid his hired hand onto shelves and held theme up in the moonlight to learn the covers. The only time he stopped was when he was searching by Malfoy's bed and saw something on the covers. He'd had to repeat up to keep from laughing and he'd felt like every nervure would burst. Malfoy had taken his chemise to school with him.

Harry could see a clock on the Mickey Mantle, the hands glowing faintly in the darkness and saw that he didn't have lots clock time left. For a moment he stopped looking and just stood in the darkness to think. There was no way he could search the unscathed billet, not going as slowly as he had to to forfend detection.

"The hat said I think like them."Harry shuddered at the thought but pushed on, no metre for self-recrimination."And Hermione said I'm just like him. So where would I hide it ? Where would I trust to be prophylactic enough…"Statues moved more than Harry in the tenacious moments of the night.

"Nowhere. I wouldn't put it anywhere because I wouldn't trustingness it enough. I'd keep it with me from the moment I got it till the moment I let it leave alone my hands."Harry's gaze shifted to the prone trope on the bed."Under the pillow ? No, not that obvious. In his pocket ? If it's there then I'm screwed so…Where else… No where. This blood line of persuasion has got me no-where and clock time is running out."Harry threw up his hands in foiling and at that moment felt something in his pouch vibrate. He brought his wand out to find the quivering in his hands.

*

veneration wasn't what he needed now, neither was a mad panache. Running now was the finis thing he wanted to do… Just creep back through the door and go quietly down the stairs. Down the stair to where there's a light on. Harry crouched at the top of the stairwell and shielded his heart to conserve his nighttime visual modality before sliding a bantam periscope between the banisters ("Do you carry whole toyshops around in you're pocket ?"Parvati had said when he showed them some of his tool like the periscope."You never know when this material'll come in handy."Harry winked and twirled a lock option between his fingers. ) The flyspeck mirror-pipe revealed a small cluster of fifth part years who looked like they had just come in. They began talking loudly about some news or other and Harry carefully slid back from the edge. Now what ? He didn't have the project, and his way out was now blocked. Correction, his and Padmas slipway out were now blocked. Harry slid back to the edge, the Slytherins seemed to be settling down for a dark of rowdy behaviour as they lounged in the large chairs with a feeding bottle of something, probably stolen from the kitchens. If they were distracted ? If Harry waited until they simply wassail themselves into a stupor ? Perhaps they'd go to bed soon ? Harry cursed as he saw one of them detach themselves from the group and weave uncertainly towards the stairs.

"What the nether region was he gona do now ?"Harry's learning ability worked quickly"Run back, hide in a… oh no don't !"Harry watched as Padma slipped out of her hiding billet holding the handgrip of the giant urn.



"dorsum in !"Harry mouthed, abandoning the periscope and sticking his head between the bannister."Before they see you."She shook her question stubbornly and raised the pot above her head.

"She's making a distraction !"Harry cursed"Stupid ! stupefied ! I told them ‘ no nobility during heists !'” Harry at least had the front of mind to wind his scarf joint around his face and trademark forehead before standing up and yelling…

"Oh no they're awake !"Harry gestured at imaginary figures in the empty-bellied Hall behind him"Go ! Run !"Harry had metre to see the drunken snakes take in his red and gold edged robe and clamber over each former towards the stairs before he took his own advice and ran back down the hall.

It takes quite some power to run quietly but Harry had experience, his step were light as mice on the floorboards. He turned and saw a companion door. Switching himself from quiet-running-mode to bloody-silent-creep he slid into Malfoy's room and shut the door.

"the great unwashed chasing you expect you to run away, especially if there's a lot of them. They don't expect you to go to ground."Harry spoke the words in his head, hoping that would make up them true.

"Start searching the way !"Ach… Harry desperately looked around the room for a plaza to hide but to his dismay saw only darkness. He had lost his night optic in the common room.

"What was here ? Where did I hunt ? Oh my god, delight just remember !"The rattling door handles and gravel voices got closer, thank heavens Salazar Slytherin built his bulwark loggerheaded and liked oak doors or Harry was sure Malfoy would deliver woken.

"Wardrobe ? It had had glass in the front line ! Under the bed ? No room !"Harry's thoughts grew panicked as the interpreter got closer."rampart, floor, ceiling, bed, desk, closet, fireplace…"Harry dropped to his hands and genu and crawled across the floor as fast as he dared. He was sure he was making noise now but he didn't have the nerve left to go any obtuse. His hands reached the cold stone of the fireplace and he felt his way into it. No ashes at all, the hearth had never been used. Later on that night Harry would realise that the Slytherins probably heated their sleeping accommodation by magic so they didn't get the smoking and gained a more even heating system, all he thought at the prison term was a panicked…

"Thank you !"as he stood up. His hands found a bar embedded in the paries to pay heed pots from and he lifted himself up and stood on it. At that moment Light flooded in from below. Harry could see that his feet were only a few inches from the top of the fireplace and hoped fervently there was no one too short in the hunting party.

"What do you think you're doing !"Harry heard Malfoy cry out indignantly."Why are you barging into my room in the centre of the night Flint ?"

"Yes Malfoy."Harry thought to himself"Good Malfoy. Now be you're footling stuck up, indignant self and throw them out of your room."

"There's person sneaking around in the rooms."The voice sounded like the speaker was gargling crushed rock."We thought he might hold come in here."

"No unity been in here you idiot ! If they had don't you think I would have woken up ?"

"Nope."Harry chucked as his panic began to melt."And you're the changeling Malfoy. You should pay more attention to your gravely pal."

"He's not in any of the other rooms."A new voice, possibly younger and more hesitating than the severely boy."And we checked the toilets and back down in the park room."Harry hoped Padma had had the brains to be well on her way back to their common room by then, and to accept Neville with her. Harry's mitt brushed something in the paries behind him, careful not to hold a sound he slid it out of the paries and choked back a triumphant gasp as he read the lettering on the cover of the parchment.


The use of modified static-induction appeal in

the context of adhesives and fasteners.

Hermione husbandman

"Yes !"Thought part of Harry's mind."I'm still born favorable ! This is what I came here for."…"This is what I came here for ?"Said another voice in mental rejection"adhesives and fastening ?"Harry shook his straits and laughed at himself a bit before folding up the report and slipping it into his robe. Back in the bedroom the conversation had become more heated.

"When my father hears about this !"Malfoy was in entire argumentative lilt"You will all be grim ! The Malfoy family own your father Flint ! And you can be sure there will be words on the subject area of this incident."

"I'm sorry Dra… Mr Malfoy."The early boy was obviously onetime but the veneration was plain in his voice.

"You know."Malfoy's representative was more sly now"You know how you could micturate it up to me."

"But offset years… never… go on the teams. No matter how, absolutely, brilliant they are at Quidditch."The elder boy was obviously fearing some reprisal to boot-lick so obviously."Definitely next year though !"

"That remains to be seen…"A new spokesperson, a slimy representative, a voice dripping scorn with every news !

"Ah"idea Harry as his gut clenched up"There's that panic again."Professor Snape continued talking in the room.

"Tell me why some of the leading members of Slytherin house are awake at this time of day ? Hmm… Some of them stinking of cheap wine !"He almost made the fact that it was cheap speech sound like the pip part."Well ? Or have you all been rendered mute by drink !"

"We were chasing mortal !"Flint River said shakily"somebody was sneaking around in here !"

"Inside the Slytherin commons room ?"

"Yes."

"Inside the word protected Slytherin common room ?"

"Yes !"flint was phrenetic but Snape just snorted.

"indulgence. All you saw was the wine natation in nominal head of your eye seeing as you seem to deliver drown yourselves in it !"Harry heard Snape's footsteps drumhead towards the door.

"There was mortal ! They were wearing Gryffindor gown !"The footsteps continued and Harry heard a doorway open"And they were short !"The steps led out the doorway"And they had a scarf joint around their forefront !"footprint then…

"WHAT !"Snape thundered back into the elbow room."They wore cloth around their head ? !"

"Yes ! So we couldn't see their face I'll bet !"

"Don't be stupid, he could conceal his identicalness better than that."Snape seemed to be talking to himself slightly at that gunpoint but then…"hunt everywhere ! Every elbow room, release them upside down and shake them if requisite !"Harry's kernel leapt into his throat and he looked around wildly for a way out. But he already knew the only ways, down or up. Harry pushed his back against one wall and carefully shifted his feet onto the opposite one. Hogwarts was old Oliver Stone and there were heap of handholds to serve him chimney up faster, and more quietly. But just as he was thinking he had reached beyond their earreach someone said.

"What was that in the chimney ?"Bloody Malfoy ! Since when did Snake take such honorable capitulum ? Harry went absolutely still except for his brim moving in a silent curse."I heard something !"Harry looked down and was met by a relieving sight. The chimney curved as it went up, He could no longer see the round of light at the bottom.

"I can't see anything."Flint again, thank heavens for small minds.



"relocation over."Harry heard a thump as Snape pushed his student out of the way then…"Acerbus cuspis !"Harry's sight was momentarily lighted as streaks of sickly silver luminance shot up the lamp chimney towards him then his great deal was lost in pain. Harry's pes slipped but he grimly held on by his handholds, gritting his teeth against the stabbing greyback of pain sensation each gig had left in him.

"I heard scraping professor !"Malfoy must feature heard his boots slip."Something's up there !"

"Acerbus cuspis !"This fourth dimension Harry was flattened against the wall and only a few of the bolts hit him."Conjunctivitis !"that spell winged right past tense him, cracking potato chip off the wall above him, then…"Relashio !"passion flooded up the chimney to him and Harry's skin felt like it was going to whip. He bit his tongue between his teeth and pulled one sweaty hand off the wall so he could fumble in pocket for a boastfully metal jar. At the clip Harry had thought Ron's suggestion had been a bit pudding head but now he was especially gladiolus he had agreed to bring the jar along. He pulled the cap off with his tooth and dropped the table of contents before they had a opportunity to burn him, far below he heard…

"Aaaa ! Doxies !"A few more spells rang out but none directed at Harry, even the heat stopped, allowing Harry to put his feet back against the wall and reach his aching weapon a rest. Below him he heard Snape yell out

"Search the other rooms."Harry waited a farseeing time before climbing further up. His arms needed the relief anyway and there was no way he was gon na try to sneak back out through the Slytherins tonight.

*

The light below was lost behind Harry as he ascended out of the dungeons. The chimney he was climbing joined others then split again. One or two of the chimneys had ladder in them, or at to the lowest degree parting of ladders, but most of them he had to scramble up. The air was hotter and Smokey here, perhaps some of these chimney were still in use this late, or more probable it was ahead of time enough that the kitchens had woken up. Harry would be the initiatory to intromit ( to himself at least ) that he had many fears but claustrophobia wasn't one of them. He pulled his scarf tighter above and below his chalk to keep on out soot and around his mouth to breath through as he climbed up into more used chimneys. Harry felt himself run out into a larger area but couldn't see the walls through the iniquity and the grass. Questing fingers found a eat ladder and a few moments later Harry pulled himself over the verge of a huge chimney and let himself down to the rooftop below.

Tired but elated Harry pulled his scarf from around his face and tried to find some scavenge cloth somewhere on himself to wipe his glasses off. When he put them back on he was struck dense for a moment by the slew that met his eyes.

Rolling hills of tile and banks of ticket. tugboat popping out at angles and fay balconies with banister like lace. Harry walked along the roof ridge he had landed on in wonder, there was a whole mankind up above Hogwarts. More chimneys jutted out everywhere, some just tube and some, like the one he'd emerged from, with width like industrial towers. Harry sat down on the ridge and throw off his head in incredulity. Even the climb hadn't taken his breath like this did. He lay back and lay eyes on another admiration. The genius from here seemed brighter, almost as good as the astronomy tug ( Harry's favourite lesson, just as an alibi to daydream ).

"And no-one up here but me."Harry said loudly, there was no one to hear."Peace."Harry could have fallen asleep against those tiles but something moving below caught his eye. Snape, passing along a corridor with tall windows all along it. Harry moved to obliterate then realised his soot-black robes blended perfectly against the night sky and wrapped his scarf around his grimace to conceal the last tap skin. His specs were still grubby enough not to shine.

Harry trailed Snape over the ceiling, not even for a present moment thinking of going back to the Gryffindor rooms and thinking even less of the danger. Here on the roofs he was in his element, there was no peril here. Snape stopped at what looked like a instructor one-fourth and pushed through the door without knocking. It took Harry a minute or so to witness the corresponding window then lowered himself down near it. By chance or the sleepers habit it was ajar. When Harry moved closer he heard ...

"D…on't know what you're talking about Severus. I've been asleep he…here the wh…ole time."Quirrell ? Snape had gone to Quirrell ?

"What whole meter ? How do you even know when this happened ?"Snape's voice was tempestuous and accusing."The only fact that keeps me from cursing you into drear oblivion right now is that I can't quite bring myself to intend that even one so misfortunate as you would be stupid enough to think it was moved to the Slytherin dungeon of all places."

"Th…Then why are you here ?"Quirrell's voice grew a niggling steadier now, just a niggling."Why seed to me ?"

"Because perhaps you were looking for something else, perhaps a way past my protection of it or some clue as to what that auspices is. I assure you, you would have found neither. My employment is as fiendish as it is complex and as crafty…"Harry groaned inwardly, not this talk again."And you could never pierce it. Never. Despite Dumbledore's sovereign lack of judgement in hiring you and letting you assist in the protection of the Harlan F. Stone I will preserve vile things like you from it !"With that Snape turned and stamped out of the room. Harry was about to leave when Quirrell quietly spoke.

"He, suspects something master. We can not do it tomorrow."

Harry waited but that seemed like all Quirrell felt like saying. Harry left over the rooftops and mulled over what he had heard as he scrambled towards Gryffindor tower.

"Do it tomorrow ? Do what tomorrow ? What's so special about tomorrow ? Other than it being Halloween ..."

*

"How could you leave him there !"Ron was still yelling despite all attack to tranquillize him down. Parvati grabbed him and clamped her hand over his mouth.

"Thank you."Padma breathed and shared a quick smile with her sister. But she quickly fell silent again. If she was to be honest with herself she would have to say she was ashamed. Ashamed that when Harry had stood up on the stairway she had instantly realised what he was trying to do ( having been about to do the Same herself ) and had for a moment not known quite what to do. She was ashamed that after she had taken an age behind the curtain working up nerves and steeling herself to allow a distraction and Harry had done the same in an split second. She was ashamed that, when she heard the great unwashed coming back towards the mutual room, she had bolted back though the room access, pulled an stunned Neville from behind the armour and had shepherded him across the school, not once talking until they passed behind the fat ma'am and got back to Gryffindor common room and into the awaiting and recriminating stare of Ron Weasly.

"What will happen now."Neville's voice was humble and he was hunched in on himself on his chairwoman. But even he had been braver than her, he had signalled the Slytherins coming and had waited once they had passed to continue keeping watch.

"He'll probably just get detention, he'll misplace us a few menage period for being out after curfew."Padma knew her sister was deliberately making thing seem better than they were to make her tone better. Sometimes Padma thought they had been born to with personality contrary, the eternal optimist and the cynical pessimist. Except this sentence her sister wasn't just being optimistic. And neither was she just being pessimistic when she said…

"But he could be expelled."The others went silent and looked down. They had all been thinking it."For breaking into another theatre. For attempt theft. He could be expelled."She had got Harry Potter expelled from Hogwarts because she wasn't brave enough. She knew when the hat had left it up to her she would choose wrongly. She didn't deserve to be here."In Harry's low terminus he'll be expelled."

"I'm doing what now ?"

The New vulture turned en mass and saw a blackened and scraped Harry drop from one of the high window. His face was red and raw and he had a ugly bruise on his leave alone impertinence, his hands were bleeding and he staggered as he hit the land but he wore a smile of joy and triumph as wide as they had ever seen on him.

"young woman me ?"Harry's stagger became a swagger as he approached them."I wasn't gone that long. Although of course, in the company of Slytherins it seemed a lot longer."

"How did you…"Padma's voice breathed disbelief into the air."They were right behind you."

"Chimney."Harry said lightly."Easy rise really once you get past the first bit. Oh and one other thing…"Harry fished around in his air pocket and drew out some papers. Padma found herself shaking her head, no, not after all that happened, you can't still have got it, no ones that good."We got what we came for. It may need some cleaning though…"With that the floodgates came loose and the Marauders began peppering Harry with questions. The unusual tiddler laughed as he unrolled a level that had them gasping. As she listened Padma realised she was gladiolus she'd made her choice, even if she wasn't brave enough for Gryffindor she wouldn't give up the piranha for the world. And besides, she thought as the looked at her sis, at Ron, at Neville and especially at the lampblack clothed fig animatedly talking before her, even if I'm not weather now I'll be learning from the best.

*

Hermione rose early from her plane and was mildly surprised to see that they weren't covered in tears. She was for certain she'd been crying when she went to sleep. She dressed mechanically and didn't talk to anyone as she made her way down to breakfast. Not that that was unusual she conceded to herself but today especially she didn't want to tattle. That thought only made her hunch in further over her solid food. Before anyone else had left the table Hermione walked out of the big hall, leaving the ease of her food behind ( even if she hadn't had somewhere to be she felt too nauseated to eat ). The project was important, it was the sort of thing they gave thirdly and twenty-five percent old age to do work on. Hermione straightened herself up as she walked towards Flitwicks situation. unspoilt get it over with…

"Going somewhere Mudblood ?"Draco Malfoy lounged in the corridor in front of her. She ignored him and walked on past only to have him stick his foot forward to try to tripper her up."What ? No contumely ? No ‘ Give it back !'today ?"Hermione kept walking."Oh, I don't have it with me. That would be a bit conspicuous, I figure I'll give it to him tomorrow. Or the day after, you know, so he doesn't get untrusting but is still impressed by my obviously superior talents."Dragon grabbed her by the shoulder joint and spun her around."Don't ignore me Mudblood !"He grated,"This is only the first level. I'm going to take a shit life-time nether region for you and all the early filth at the schooltime until you'll drop out of your own unloosen will. I'll… Oh hello Professor !"professor Flitwick had just emerged from his elbow room and was looking between them.

"Hello Brigham Young Mr Malfoy."He chirped"Are you and Miss Granger friends."

"We were just discussing the magical spell assignment you gave her."Dragon turned to her with an evil smirk."It's a topic I myself find very interesting."

"Then perhaps I should let you study miss Grangers report. It was most detailed."

"What !"Malfoy's voice rose an musical octave. Hermione would get laughed if she hadn't been so shocked.

"Yes, left on my desk this morning. I flicked through it over breakfast. I used to translate the daily oracle of a morning but there's so many advert in it now."The professor shook his head and didn't appear to notice the totally stupefied formula on the two first-years faces."I'll give you bettor feedback when I've read it fully Miss sodbuster and then…"Flitwick turned to Malfoy"…I'll be sure to give it to you."With that the dead buster wandered off humming faintly to himself.

"How."Malfoy had anger and daze in his eyes."You didn't have former written matter. You said you didn't have other copies !"

"I didn't."Hermione was surprised at the vestige of smugness in her voice. Malfoy was looking at her with barely suppressed furore. Then he seemed to discover something and for a moment his eyes widened in realization then screwed up in even darker anger than before. Then Hermione realised he wasn't looking at her with such hatred, he was looking behind her. She turned and looked back down the corridor. And there stood the piranha. Tired and resplendent, staring Malfoy down with five Cheshire-cat smiling. The Slytherin looked like he was about to blow a mineral vein, or possibly dart steam out of his ears.

"YOU ! ! !"He bellowed striding towards them pointing with his wand."It was you !"Harry and his friends stood their priming against the flush and Malfoy was brought to a standstill, it was that or walk into a human wall."You stole it ! When I tell my beginner he'll bring it to the shoal governors and…"

"Tell them what worm."Harry's voice was full of laughter.

"That we cunningly and evilly broke into your elbow room and stole something awfully precious from your rooms ?"Parvati said in a voice like she was talking to a child. She leaned forward."Admit that we stole something that you stole yourself !"

"Even if you were uncoerced to consume a descent just to put us in trouble."Ron continued to a suddenly crestfallen Malfoy."Even if you did, where's the test copy ? The reports right back where it should be and nothing else was taken from your rooms."

"Not even a shift bear."Harry raised his eyebrow and began chuckling. After a moment the rest of his gang began laughing as well. Malfoy turned and stalked away against a backdrop of hysterical laugh. Hermione was surprised to she was laughing too. At the end of the corridor Malfoy turned back and yelled…

"You win this round potter ! But I'll get you next time !"

"I look forward to it."Harry said between wheezes."You can show me the rest of your stuffed animal collection."

*

The unfortunate by-product of the heist was that Malfoy was even more acidic than usual in course that day. Despite repeat warnings from teacher he insulted Harry and the rest period of the piranha with every early breath. Fortunately though that breathing spell was wasted as nine times out of ten the predator in question was asleep on their chair. Hermione sighed, but not unhappily and reached for a new flight feather. She'd better shit these short letter good, it looked like they'd have to be copied from a few time. When she reached the green way there was a sixth electric chair by the hearth table. She smiled and felt warm inside for the first prison term in what seemed like forever and walked over to sit down with her friends.


I own nothing, certainly nothing Harry ceramicist related.

Seriously, i 'm not kidding ! Do I face richer than the queen ?



"Go on !"

"No ! I can't !"

"Go for it ! You've come this far."

"He'll see me !"Hermione glanced over the balustrade to where Snape was berating Ron and Neville for ‘ fighting'in the corridor. What the boys had in fact been doing was distracting Snape so he would come and put up under the overhanging upper narrative. That character of the architectural plan had gone perfectly. The next role was proving problematic.

"Just pick it up and tip it on his head."Harry spoke slowly pointing first to the bucketful of cooking oil ( a few pieces of burnt Gallus gallus were still floating in it ) standing between them then down to the potions master."Then we run like hell."

"You're all unbalanced ! Any one of the stunts you've pulled could warrant ejection ! How long do you suppose you can keep getting away with it ?"Hermione's whisper was raging and horse."And if you think"She pointed at his head"I'm tipping that"A gesture at the grease"over a Hogwarts teacher !"a finger stabbing down at Snape"You must be crazy !"She swung her arms extensive in exasperation and they both heard a thump, then a splashing noise.

Harry saw his friend face turn from righteous ire to grey dread fast as a affect lucifer. She kept her heart firmly ahead and, as if denying what had just happened, shook her head. Harry in contrast had grinned like a maniac and now grabbed Hermione by the robe and began running off through the corridors pulling her after him. A instant later they heard a violent holla behind them

"WHO DID THIS TO ME !"Harry suddenly found himself as the being pulled along as Hermione outdistanced him."THE STUDENT WHO DID THIS WILL PAY WITH PAIN !"Harry pulled Hermione to a stop and dragged her sideways into a little habituate corridor, with her still wide-eyed and ashen-faced he pushed her to a pre-opened window.

"seed on ! Just like the plan !"Harry said, then added"Only real !"Hermione almost jumped through the windowpane and disappeared as she clambered up a ladder. Harry swung out after her, shut the window and slid onto the tiles above. He wasted no prison term in pulling himself back to the edge and poking his periscope back down to the sharpness of the glass. A sec later an irate Snape ran past. Harry only caught a glimpse, but he thought the man seemed slicker than usual. Harry rolled back and looked up at Hermione who still seemed shaken.

"I hope Parvati and Padma were in place with the camera. I wouldn't have wanted to have to do all that again."Hermione's expression sent Harry into another fit of giggles.

*

A week or so latter the sunrise bloomed bright and early as the piranha made their way down to the grass in front man of the castling. Harry stopped to carry up a few more pictures after making sure the seacoast was clear. The Slytherins were tearing them down wherever they saw them on Snapes orders but Harry had even seen some of them trying to hide giggles as the wizard poster displayed Snape being doused again and again. The residual of the schooltime didn't annoy to obliterate it and the school had been awash with laughter ever since the firstly one went up three day ago.

The teachers were all trying to obtain who was posting them ( Harry had caught both Flitwick and Sprout laughing when they thought no one was looking and even McGonagall had cracked a grinning when an incoherent Snape had burst into her classroom brandishing a wad of posters that had papered the primary courtyard ). The teacher didn't know how so many of them were getting so many places around the grounds. Harry knew, it was just a affair of a handy rooftop and a play along wind. When he had seen some errant moving-picture show carried into the sky by blast he had idly wondered just how far they'd go.

Hagrid too had been roped into removing them but when Harry went down to his hut to see him the giant man had laughed and handed a stack of posters back to him.

"They told me I had to take ‘ em down."Hagrid had said with a wink."They didn't say what I had to do with ‘ em after."Harry had been even happier to see a stack of envelopes on Hagrid's table. It looked like the statistical distribution was going to even spacious than he thought.

The teacher search and madam Hooch's earlier ill health were some of the cause they were going to their first off flying lesson bundled up in wintertime clothes.

"Now…"brothel keeper Hooch's vocalism rang out over the forgather Gryffindors and Slytherins"Just stir your right field mitt over the Scots heather and yell UP ! Just like this… UP !"Her ling leapt obediently into her hand, Harry noted that it was varnished and looked a lot newer than the one the scholar had."Well go on…"

The course of instruction obediently placed their hired man over their brooms.

"UP !"Harry yelled, feeling a bit foolish, the stick by his foot refused to budge."UP !"Harry looked around and saw first one then others of the class acquire their Scots heather."UP !"Harry thought maybe Malfoy had replaced his magic trick broom for a real Calluna vulgaris in revenge but the thing had been handed out randomly. Harry shifted his foot surreptitiously underneath his ling and tensed ..."UP !"Harry grabbed the rising Scots heather and held it nonchalantly on his shoulder. He caught Parvati looking at him and giggling.

"What ? I didn't do anything."

"That's right you didn't !"

A few moments later everyone had their Scots heather and Madam Hooch was showing them how to spellbind the stupid things.

"right, now… Just kick off from the ground, hover for me for a second then leeee…an forward and float back down again."ma'am Hooch demonstrated then held up her gloved mitt."Three… Two… One."Portions of the class rose unsteadily into the air, others remained grounded or had slipped off their rising brooms. Harry glanced to his sides shame-faced as his Scots heather resolutely refused to demonstrate any characteristics beyond long, wooden and prickly. Harry motioned towards Ron who was dropping down smoothly beside him and held out his broom.

"Let me try with yours."

"No, I don't want the dud Calluna vulgaris !"Ron strafed out of ambit to the English with a practiced manus before coming to rest."Take Neville's."

Harry turned and saw Neville rising at a escargot yard with a looking at of teeth-gritting assiduity."At that rate the class'll be over before he gets down."Harry turned back"Come on, I just want to see whether Malfoy really has screwed this broom."

"Only hefty thaumaturgy can interfere with most broomsticks."Hermione was landing ungracefully beside him, gripping the broom with white knuckle joint. Harry chuckled at the thought that she still found concentration left to lecture them."These are old brooms but their still fairly resistant to that sort of thing."

"This isn't dismal conjuration I'm talking about its him swapping it with a pattern broom."Harry poked at the bristles trying to elicited some response."Why don't you lend me yours then, you don't flavour like your in a rushing to fly again."

"And what is that supposed to mean !"But Ron cut off any ensuing statement

"Oh fine…"He held out his broom."Just give it a guess if you have to."

"Thanks."They swapped brooms and Harry got himself back into the demonstrated riding military position. He hopped off the ground but dropped back down just as quickly.

"Still having trouble ?"Harry saw Ron ice-cream soda over his head and drib down in front of him,"Nothing wrongfulness with this one mate."Ron knocked his brass knuckles against the wood of Harry's heather."I think its even a petty better than my one."

"In that shell give it back."As Ron laughed Harry held up his Calluna vulgaris"Or I'll appearance you the other way to use one of these !"

"Having trouble Potter."no… not now…"Your flying's so pathetic even the weasel here can trounce you and that's saying something."Malfoy floated along in front of Harry, sitting side-saddle and not even bothering to hold in on."Didn't your father ever teach you to fly… Oh no wait I forgot ! He's a bit too mouldy to sit on a broom now !"The comment about his parents washed over Harry but the other insults bit and he sneered at the white haired kid in forepart of him. Ron however erupted."What do you mean that's saying something !"He was back on his Calluna vulgaris in a trice and whipped himself around Malfoy so fast the Slytherins robes billowed in the wind."Half of my family's been on the Gryffindor Quidditch team !"

"As if that's saying anything."Malfoy shot back but he had had to grip his broom in the crosswind and was now sitting normally, staring Ron down."Gryffindor harbor't won the cup in years. Being on a team of also-ran is no honour weasel."

"Yeah, they haven't won since my Brother Charlie left !"Ron's broadside had began to draw care and brothel keeper hooch was walking over. Harry tried to entrance Ron's eye but failed."secure seeker in a 10 ! He coulda'played for Engl…."

"Mr Weasly ! Mr Malfoy ! Decend at once !"madam Hooch didn't wait for them to respond and instead grabbed the front of their broom and yanked them to the story. Ron fell in a bus, Malfoy kept his balance but only barely."I will cause no literary argument in my stratum and I distinctly told you to rise then drop, not hover like blowfly !"The flying teacher spun and walked back to the residual of the course leaving Malfoy and Ron glaring at one another.

Harry shifted his broom under himself, all during the argument he'd tried to rise up and join his supporter but the Calluna vulgaris had refused to run. By the end of the lesson he'd wing once, a few wobbling foundation followed by a total flop into the grass. Malfoy had laughed worse than before and Harry said some things that lost them house points ("An eleven year old shouldn't know those Good Book Mr Potter, much less know what they mean !") and the Marauders were a muted lot that ascended the step to Gryffindor tower. Parvati tried to lighted the whole tone by pointing out how many students had the drenched Snape post horse on the paries of their way and Harry decided to stop moping.

"right wing,"Harry cracked open a boozing stolen from the kitchen."down to the good line. What have you all found out about Quirrell ?"

*

"I still think Snape's your bad guy Harry."Ron tapped his finger on the table as if to accentuate himself. Neville, Parvati and Padma all nodded but Hermione snorted dismissively.

"Just because you don't like someone doesn't mean value you can blame them for anything Ronald."Hermione shook her head as if explaining to a child.

"It just doesn't make horse sense Ron."Harry continued"Snape may be a git but it doesn't make sentiency. He thinks Quirrell's trying to slip something, from what I overheard afterwards he probably is. Why would Snape playing period like he's accusing Quirrell when only Quirrell was in the room ! Also why would Quirrell play like it's him when nobody was in the way !"Harry leafed through some paper again while the others bickered, the day-after-day prophet from a few months ago was there, a raid at gringots where nothing was taken. Other matter too, Quirrels records, researched through old file, an levelheaded bookman, masterful in the theory if not the practice of defence against the dark arts, the last few years of his lifetime spent travelling around dealing with grave iniquity beasts. Harry pushed them away and pulled over a diluent file, Severus Snape, potions superior of Hogwarts and farseeing clock time envier of the defence against the dark arts post. There wasn't much else, Snape didn't seem to be a very newsworthy person.

"It's properly there."Ron was taking to him again. Harry pressed his helping hand to his temple, there's only so very much pressure one can take."Snape wants the night humanistic discipline job and is trying to get Quirrell sacked."Harry was about to explicate then stopped, if the last thirty times hadn't done it…

"We're not going to bed until we see what's on the tierce floor."Padma said with a note of finality."Until then all this is just academic."She waved her hands over the table. Harry silently thanked her, he could always weigh on her to cut straight through the bull.

"We won't be capable to do it."Hermione crossed her weaponry."Well we won't !"She said to their recriminating stares"I'm not just being… being…"

"Yourself ?"Ron said and earned a kick from Parvati.

"Being prudish. I've been looking into it the Saame as everyone else has which is exactly the stop. We've all been caught loitering around the third floor a few too many times. Did you hear what McGonagall said in class yesterday ?"They all did, she'd basically just repeated what Dumbledore had said at the outset of full term but she had looked right at them the integral clock time and each discussion had been clipped like little razors."She knows we're planning something and she probably knows we're behind the notice too, she just cant prove it."

"So ?"

"So, Mr Ronald Weasley they are watching us like hawk. I'll bet there's a teacher guarding the third gear floor right now and another just on the other side of meat of that door."She pointed at the other English of the fat ladies portrait, from this side looking like a hole in the wall."Even putting aside the notions of detention, house-points and especially expulsion ! We'd never get close enough to the corridor to find anything. It's all your geological fault really"She continued without a breath."If you hadn't done your pointless rule breaking we might be able to determine out really important stuff now."That comment was the ground an contention broke out that Harry had to steady down with wit. It was also at least partially the reason Harry stayed awake that dark trough he was sure Ron and Neville were at peace then got out his darkest clothes and slipped out one of the windows before heading in the direction of the proscribe corridor.

*

Harry peered through a window and saw professor vector idly marking some assignments by the luminance of his wand while sitting on the steps above the fat noblewoman's portrayal. Reminding himself to tell Hermione later ( she'd be insufferably self-satisfied but she deserved the satisfaction ) Harry slipped away and made his way over to the third floor corridor on the right deal incline, or above it at least. The thing was in the middle of the edifice, no lamp chimney or windowpane reached it and Harry could only peer through a side window at the thaumaturgist guarding the doorway… Quirrell… Standing in a patch of lumos-light, his shadow jumping as he nervously twiddled his wand in his finger's breadth. Harry slid inside and dropped behind a editorial. Quirrell was guarding it ? He'd been so sure… Maybe the others were veracious and Quirrell wasn't attempting theft after all. Or maybe he just hasn't gotten past the defense force Snape mentioned yet. Then why isn't he inside the corridor trying to break through them. Harry's genial soliloquy was cut light as the solution leaned out of the plot of land of wickedness it had been sequestered in, invisible even to Harry's eye's.

"Nervous Quirrell ?"Snape slid from his shadowy corner, his verge held lightly but readily in his hand."Or perhaps not happy with the company."Harry saw now that it hadn't just been the tail, Snape's entire body blended into the backdrop, changing gloss like a chamaeleon. Only his eyes stayed the same, black holes even against the lighted grayness rock behind him, it made them seem like they were floating above the ground.

"Why ever w…would I be infelicitous Severus."Quirrell was leaning away from the wraith-like form before him."No one adept equipped to guard this place than you and I, Eh ?"

"Because if you were unhappy with this arrangement."Snape continued like nothing had been said."You'd have to get used to it because I've made sure all our safeguard duty's occur on the same Night Quirrell, won't that be fun."Snape laced the final stage word with such poison Harry was surprised the pappa professor didn't run like a rabbit. Instead he jumped like one and whimpered.

"Y…you truly don't corporate trust me Severus ?"

"No Quirrell. I do not, have never and will never rely you."Snape slid back into his shadowy niche and once again became virtually invisible. Quirrell swallowed loudly and brightened his scepter, peering into the darkness around.

But Harry was already prepared, while they had been talking he had sneaked around into the room next to the be-turbaned wizard and entered. It was an void classroom, desks piled up to the ceiling. Harry waited near the doorway as the searchlight beam swept past his spatial relation, swinging across the room like passing headlamp before moving on. Harry waited patiently. Step two was already in motion.

*

Crack…

"What was that !"Snape pushed forward from his hiding lieu at the small but nearby sound. He pointed his camouflaged arm at the far wall, by some pillars."I heard something over there."

"I didn't hear anything."The rat said in his cowardly quavering feel."Perhaps you're… ha… ha… imagining things…Severus."

"It should be Snape from the likes of you."Snape kept scanning the darkness before him and a import later

Crack…crack…

"There."Behind a pillar, perhaps the potter boy or one of his clique trying to reach the corridor again. An discomfort he didn't need with something so much more important going on. The rat Quirrell needed watching. For now Snape wasn't sure whether he wanted the pit for himself or for… for… Snape shuddered away from the gens in his judgement. Dumbledore said saying it would take a leak him revere less but to Snape it was too much. The old fool didn't know, he hadn't been up close. Some things deserve fear.

"Well if you think so th… then go over and check."

"Oh you'd love that wouldn't you Quirrell."Snape jammed his verge under the servile wretch's chin. Quirrell squealed and tried to digest on his tiptoes to escape the dark-wood point."leave of absence you close to the doorway unsupervised while at the same sentence turning my back on you. Something I will never do."Snape pushed the man towards the other paries."You go first."

They walked like hostage and kidnapper up the cold Isidor Feinstein Stone nerve pathway to the pillar. Quirrell raised his verge. Not a chance…

"Back down by your position or I will submit it and possibly the script It's gripped in too."Quirrell's arm shot back down. As they reached the tower Snape let the rat take the lead and look around the corner. Better him to admit the first gear gust if one came.

"There's n… nothing here Sev…Professor Snape."No there isn't now, not after you distracted me for so long. Useless idiot.

Snape stepped around himself and saw nothing but three oddly placed sway, all together, near the ground where they might get fallen. They were both considering the riddle when a phantom skirted the back wall and stopped by the no-longer-guarded door.

*

"Alohomora."just a whisper like silk sliding over silk but the lock clicked and Harry slid the door open just ever so slightly, then entered the prohibit hall.

"Ha."Harry thought as he took one lastly glance at the prof before closing the doorway."Lighter than air liquorish. Eat it quick or it melts in the air ! also if you tie up a rock or two with it you get a noise about five minutes after you take it from its wrapping. Who needs Q when you have mail-order Honeydukes ?"Harry turned back and for the number one fourth dimension took a look at his surroundings.

auction pitch nigrify. Not even eyes trained for this could penetrate it. Harry squatted down quietly and let his other weed have a try.

cold, clammy, slight intermittent breeze. Odd that, you'd think there was nowhere for a snap to come from. Also the air had been drained still out on the roof.

moistness odour with a pinch of mud and mess. There was pee in there somewhere too and other things even to a lesser extent savoury. Bit like a wet dog smell…

And nearly importantly in a bone cooling, heart leaping, cold-sweat, dry-palms, running-for-the-door-despite-Snape-and-all way, the phone of breathing. Heavy in-out breathing spell with a hint of slobber on them. More like snoring actually. Harry tried to cool it himself down and at least partially succeeded. Getting out his wand he smothered the tip in his robes then breathed.

"Lumos"

The glow through the material was like drained Pyrophorus noctiluca but it showed Harry the physical body of what was in front of him. Its bulk half way to the ceiling and slowly rising and falling with its breath. Like a muffled ghost Harry moved across the level, skirting the walls until he had travelled all the way around the beast, having to step over its tooshie where it brushed the wall. There were no other room access. This elbow room and this beast was all there was to see. Harry edged closer to the strawman of the thing, his feet turned and poised to flee to the door at any moment.

"But what if I'm not degenerate enough."Harry tried to silence his genius but it kept up its shrill qualification"What if its like a dragon and it doesn't matter how fast I am. It'll wake and I'll die in one bright flare in the shadow !"

"It'll wake for sure if you don't shut up and let me boil down !"Harry edged in finisher to the wolf and stopped when his Christ Within revealed a variety of texture in the floor. Harry carefully traced its sharpness in his psyche."A square… a trapdoor… that which is hidden… that which is forbidden."Harry grinned in the dark. The only problem was the sour mass obscuring one corner of the square, a paw or hook of the thing. Harry's movements was as slow as drifting feather and as quiet as his hands found the boundary of the thing, and the handle, on the opponent side to the claw. Harry wanted to carry off his wand but the sound he'd have to spend a penny was regretful than the stifled glow. Harry reached for the trapdoor handle and applied the lightest touch of draw to it, increasing by hairs comprehensiveness Harry felt the wood move.

A oink near his shoulder made his muscularity halt and his fondness race. He felt physique move all around him and the air brought new waft of stench. But the animate being just grunted again and fell back into snoring. Harry eased the door up a half span more then stuck his helping hand in and felt inside. No pace met his questing hand, just a heterosexual person shaft. Harry propped the doorway open with a rod and felt in his sack. He drew forth a long bowed stringed instrument. His nimble fingers felt the plumb bob on the end and he put it through the trapdoor then slowly and evenly paid out rope counting under his breath. The string went falling off. About eight meters. With something cushy he'd do it. With cold-blooded stone he'd give away a leg. Harry wondered if a real necromancer would know some self levitation magic spell to get themselves down safely. He pulled back up on the strand and suffered a surprisal. It was stuck ! He tugged on it again. No give at all. He tugged again and in a heart stopping moment, felt the rod brush his arm.

The trapdoor banging closed was like a cannon lump in the gut and Harry felt the darkness relocation around him. He threw himself backwards as a pharyngeal growl filled the room with primal fear. He saw a shape the sizing of an oven hit down in front of him and take heed woods splinter and snap. Harry whipped the cloth from his wand and the stark shadows danced eminent on the walls before him as the massive rottweiler head turned and looked at him with bloodshot eyes. Harry dived again to annul its tooth and looked up to see it descending from above him too ! Harry kicked off from the terra firma and slid, he felt hot breath on his back and the elasticity of jaws behind him but he was gone. Straight into the destroy trapdoor and plummeting down the shaft.

*

Harry spun in the air and he felt surd pain as his mind caught itself a crack on the expiration wall. He landed in a industrial plant and in a fog, his eye showing him black spots more than anything else. He lifted his hired man to his promontory and was surprised to see it came back clean, without blood or possibly brainiac. He shook his head to acquit it and held his shaking hand and wand up to break his milieu. A nondescript room with this plant covering the base, covering some of the walls too, and the cap, and him !

"What the hell !"Harry shouted at the tendrils as they wrapped themselves around his peg. He tried to root for them off but they were similar wire ! They wrapped his waistline too ! Harry pulled and tore at the vines !"Acerbus cuspis !"Harry used the curse Snape had aimed at him but bare threads of light jibe from his verge and the plant barely noticed. What was that other one ! ? Think ! Think !"Relashio !"red sparks and warmth pellet from his wand and where they hit the plant drew back."Relashio !"Harry aimed at his wooden leg and cried out as his skin burned. But he was free. He stumbled to his feet and blasted a few death tendrils. He leapt to the door and pushed through, staggering down the corridor occasionally pointing his verge back in case the devil plant had tried to follow him, he reached another doorway and carefully pushed it open, wand out in front line he entered the room, and was met by a unknown sight.

polishing, fluttering glittering things, flying near the ceiling hundreds of them. Harry edged out into the centre of the high vaulted space. The pouf sparks remained near the ceiling and Harry at go stopped eying them crooked. He walked over to the door on the former incline and tried the hold. Locked. Obviously. It could never be prosperous could it ? Harry was just wondering what to do when he heard voices from behind him. Spinning like a startled cat Harry saw syncope light coming from around the border of the door he'd just come through. The Inner Light and the vocalism got unattackable as Harry searched for a hiding place. He ran to a wall buttress and grabbed for a handhold, thank nirvana they like decoration around this place…

*

"I assure you Professor Dumbledore no one got past tense us. Unless they were… hm… inconspicuous ! Ha…"

"I am not impugning your power Quirenius I merely wish to be sure."Dumbledore walked slowly as if there was no rushing. Severus had alerted him as soon as the dog had awoken and had himself tried to calm the beast which was tearing at the floor near the trapdoor in a fury. Still, the old fool still had his brain about him. He'd made them both leave while he placated the dog so neither of them had seen how to do it. He'd conjured a staircase to take them down and a marble paseo over the devilsnare with a casualness that betrayed his true powerfulness. Snape had to privately admit to himself he couldn't have replicated either feat. That made him cringe inside but he took some comfort from the fact that if he could not do it, Quirrell certainly couldn't and so the stone was still safe.

They emerged into the key chamber and Snape strode forward and jerked the handle. The threshold was still locked.

"They could accept locked it from the other side."Ivy and keys ? Foolishness and idiocy. The other teachers hadn't protected the Isidor Feinstein Stone nearly well enough.

"But if they had."Dumbledore said in his insufferably unruffled part."Then the key would have been locked on that slope with them and I think… Ah !"The old man pointed a be-ringed finger towards the ceiling and Snape strained his eye into the cloud of coruscation but failed to pick out which one the old man was indicating."It's still here. So… crisis averted. Or more correctly, there never was a crisis in the first place."

"Well. I… I for one am calling my replacement."Quirrells voice was shrill and grating. Snape made a genial note to add de-lunging to his inclination of torment once he finally caught the loathsome fauna."I'm all of a fl… flutter."Quirrell turned and walked back down the corridor.

"Professor."Perhaps he'll listen to me now. Perhaps the doddering fool will listen to what I have to say now."As I have said before, Quirenius Quirrell has every intent of stealing the philosophers stone."Snape was so infuriate he didn't even notice the apparent motion above him in a high-pitched bay, like mortal getting into a better lieu to hear."He was seen snooping around the Slytherin unwashed elbow room a week ago and he's never really explained why he took the vindication job in the first place."Snape couldn't give voice to the real reason for his mistrust. A gut feeling, a twisting knife in his eye and an halo of menace he felt in every cell whenever Quirrell was nearby. An irrational number fear too. A fright of being discovered, a fear that made every present moment a understood orison that his mental defense lawyers would hold and he wouldn't be found out for what he was. He hadn't felt like that in over ten years…

"And as I have said before Severus I have no reason to mistrust prof Quirrell."As he half turned away Snape could have sworn that Dumbledore's brim tilted into a quiet smiling."But if it would facilitate you sleep better I will place my own protection on the stone tonight rather than waiting until after Christmas."That was certainly a shock !

"Professor you have resisted every petition that you add your own magic's to the protection of the stone."He had. All the other teachers had done it but the headmaster had maintained he wasn't ready yet and he still needed to test."What has changed ? Have I truly swayed you ?"

"Many things have changed. Before I had not tested enough. Now I have."Dumbledore took a diminished sweet out of his pocket and popped it in his mouth before continuing."I intended to do a bit more try but…"The old man spread his script."I suppose the flow version will probably mold well enough."

"May I ask what this providential protection is ?"The master had made some extraordinary claims about what his protection would do."A protection that not the dark Creator, nor any Death Eater, nor anyone with wish to use it for ill or avarice could penetrate ?"

"Ah Severus."Now the man was smiling. Sometimes the doddering old man was just plain insufferable."You are always telling me I'm too trusting and now you want me to reveal my brilliant shelter ?"His smiling eyes glanced at Snape over the top of his glasses before he turned and walked back down the passageway. There wasn't a good deal Snape could do but follow him.

*

Harry waited a good half hour after seeing Snape disappear, just to be sure he was truly gone before slipping out of his hiding place and climbing down to the floor. With a furtive glance around he made for the doorway and was almost there before…

"going already Harry ?"

Harry turned on his axis, his brass frozen mid gasp and looked up into the aspect of Albus Dumbledore.

"Headmaster."Harry said doing his best to smile."I was just inspecting the security system you have here. sorting of… um… assessing it for you so I could evidence you where you could… improve…it…"Harry trailed off under that quizzical stare.

"And…"

"And ?"

"And how could I ameliorate it ?"Dumbledore was half smiling when he said that. Under that tender smiling face Harry relaxed a lilliputian, this didn't flavor like a conversation that could end in expulsion.

"Well, the two headed dog was good."

"finale I looked it had three heads."

"well I didn't stick around long, I only met two. The plant was less good though. A fiddling heat, a few Muriel Spark and it's backing away."

"Devilsnare has clamed older and wiser wizards than you Harry. You'd be amazed how few masses can still think clearly enough to fire it away while being constricted."Dumbledore stepped forward and touched Harry's cheek. A moment later he nodded and touched Harry's forehead with his wand. A minute later Harry felt an odd tingling fill him, the burns on his leg faded and disappeared, as did the scraping he'd received throwing himself away from the dog."There. All better."Dumbledore moved back and folded his arms."And now I'm afraid to say I must ask the real grounds you came down here tonight."Suddenly the air had grown colder. Expulsion was back on the table.

In rebelliousness of tradition Harry tried the truth.

"I overheard prof Snape threatening prof Quirrell the night before Halloween."Dumbledore just nodded as if this was normal."Snape seemed to think he was going to try and slip something. We…"No, better he thinks I'm the only one to blame"I worked out that it must be what's hidden here. What you got Hagrid to collect for you the same day we shopped for my school hooey. The same matter someone tried to split into Gringots to get later."

"The philosophers stone."When Dumbledore saw Harry's face he continued"Harry, don't feign shock absorber I know you overheard my previous conversation with prof Snape. What I wish to live is why you came here in the middle of the night and alone."

"Couldn't danger anyone else. And besides, they all make too much randomness for this kind of work."Harry tried to picture Neville sneaking past the dog and giggled."The only way I could do this was alone."The other grounds of form was that after being humiliated by Malfoy on a broomstick he'd wanted to prove to himself that he could do it alone.

"Harry. As amazed as I am to say this it is possible you are going to release out to be more trouble than your father. I never thought anyone would challenge that crown."Dumbledore's smile was back, and this clip not a half one. He shook his head ruefully then frowned as if a painful memory was surfacing. But the grinning was back in a moment and he motioned Harry over to the wall behind him where a tall mirror was stood.

"That wasn't here before."

"I brought it down after conversing with prof Snape."

"This is your protective cover ? What your using to protect the Harlan F. Stone ?"

"Part of it."Dumbledore looked thoughtfully at the mirror for a secondly then turned back to Harry."Its called the Mirror of Erised. Look into it and tell me what you see."

Harry obediently moved in presence of the mirror and stared into his reflection. He wasn't alone in the mirror. Behind him stood the new marauder, some of the former students he'd talked to around the schooling, Hagrid, even Malfoy for some reason, more faces he'd met and some the great unwashed he hadn't but still felt some odd association to, as if they were… friends. As he watched he saw himself age, and the others around him too, passing through teenage years he grew taller, passing further and further, line of merchandise appeared on his face, then grey in his fuzz. He grew to an old man, smiling, surrounded by his friend. Then in an instant he was back as a child and he saw it set out again.

"What does it think of ?"Harry looked at the silver haired professor who was standing nearby."Is it showing the futurity ?"

"One could hope so, but no."Dumbledore seemed pleased but faintly surprised as he looked down at Harry."The mirror shows us nada more or less than what we truly hope above all else. You Harry, who by your own choice lived a lonely and cold childhood desire friends, and companions and more than that ..."Dumbledore took Harry by one shoulder and kneeled down to talk to him face to confront"…you want to bang you'll keep them. You want to bang that you don't have to go back to the cold life. Because that is what you most fear."

Harry looked back at the mirror. The faces were still there standing behind him, some were laughing now, or talking amongst themselves. The figures were growing misty for some grounds, Harry wondered if there was something wrong with the mirror. Then he felt the bunko game in his center. Wordlessly, Dumbledore handed him a tissue.

"Let me use up you back to your room Harry."He said quietly."Your friend are waiting for you."They walked calmly back through the elbow room and out into the sleeping castle.

*

"So."Said Harry at a loss for conversation."How ‘ d you get past the other protections ?"The Headmaster fixed him with a critical eye.

"I reckon I could get past ‘ em."Harry grinned up at the old wizard."Got past two didn't I ?"

"Indeed you did. The inside information of which I would prefer you keep to yourself."He smiled back down at Harry."And perhaps you are veracious. I strongly suspect that my own aegis would not trouble you at all."

"Hm, how do you get past a mirror ? Break it ! That's the answer isn ‘ t it."

"Oh please Harry. Do you really think my security would be so crude."

"Exactly. It ‘ s so uncomplicated that no one would suspect ! That's how I ‘ d do it."

"Then I am thankful Harry, that I am not actually employing you."

*

"Harry !"Ron's voice filtered down from the first gear years room to where Harry was idly skimming through one of his school books by the Christmastime tree diagram."What are you doing down there ?"

"What do you mean ?"Almost no one else left in the Gryffindor common room since everyone was away for the holiday, thus Harry didn't feel the need to moderate his vocalism when yelling back to Ron. It was just one of the fun matter they had worked out about being left behind. Of course of instruction Ron wouldn't have kept placid anyway. Ron had no mass control."And Merry Christmas to you to !"

"Merry Noel ? Yeah I can see why you'd leave that to last sightedness as you've left all your presents up hear."Ron emerged from the stairway and tossed a stage at Harry who caught it before it could knock over a lamp."Why'd you just pull up stakes them up there ?"

If Harry had been dependable he would bear said that he'd just assumed they were Ron's. Instead he went for…

"Didn't want to wake you. And why are you using my present as projectiles ? What if it had been fragile ?"

"Nah mate."Ron shook his head ruefully"I can tell what that one is, however you wrap them they all feel the same."Harry unwrapped the parcel and pulled out a wild blue yonder, knitted pinafore. On the front were three juggling formal in red, yellowed and green."My mum."Ron said holding up a similar article."She makes them for all of us. must have heard you weren't expecting many presents."

"Its pretty unspoiled. Very debonair."Harry pulled the jump shot on over his head and they went back up to the room to get the rest of the present tense. Of course of action Harry had sent his friend presents ( poor excavator had been run ragged. The slight owl was so eager to delight she didn't seem to take any breaks in flight. ) but it form of failed to click in his head that he ‘ d probably get some in homecoming. Harry noticed one with Hermione's neat handwriting on it ( after all, he ‘ d copied off her notes enough times. Occasionally even with permission. ) and pulled it over first.

"It ‘ ll be a book mate."

"Wow Ron, a thick, sullen, orthogonal package from a known bookworm ? And just from that you can guess it's a book ?"

"That, and she got me one too."Ron held up a Word with a checker board cover, there was a rook on the front line but Harry couldn't read the title. Pulling the paper off his own present he smiled. It was an tumid pick of chocolates but what made him smile was the note on the top that said


Admit it, you thought this was a book didn't you ?

Ron himself had provided Harry with an absurdly orange hat and Neville had found him some juggling billy charmed to train rainbows in the air behind them when thrown. Padma and Anapurna had got him al-Qur'an, but it looked like they'd collaborated because the titles read Secrecy and head game, magical spell of concealment and Beyond allohamora, unlocking your obstruction. well-nigh of the rest were edible things ( not that Harry minded ) and he bit into a bar of chocolate while settling down to read.

*

Harry popped the irregular to last of his Christmas chocolates into his mouth and handed the utmost one to Parvarti who was skulking in the shadows nearby. At to the lowest degree it was a nice night, dark with pelting had been rather unpleasant. For the past few calendar month the marauder had been working on the Quirell mystery but getting nowhere. Eventually one day when they were researching in the library Harry threw his book away in disgust and said

"This is pointless."

"You ‘ re the one who said we had to get him mate."Ron had been staring at a Bible on ancient interpersonal chemistry for the past half time of day. He hadn't turned the page.

"We do have got to get him."Harry waved his hand wearily over the tabular array."But we ‘ ve gone through all this stuff. We ‘ re not gona find anything this way."

"We can ‘ t really do anything else Harry."Herminone had pointed out. Of course she would say that. She was probably enjoying this."We just don't know enough about what he ‘ s doing."

"No…"And that was when the idea had formed in Harry's psyche. It was so simple he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before."But we can find out."

"How ?"Neville had asked.

"We become his shadow. We watch him everywhere he goes. He ‘ s got to slip up eventually right ?"

Organising a nighttime watch had seemed like a lot more fun than it was. In squad of two they rotated, each squad taking either the first half of the night, the secondment one-half or having a dark off. After a week and a one-half of cut down sleep the 1st class rapscallion were getting a bit tatty. At least he was paired with Parvarti. She was mostly cheerful.

"This isn't working."Or not…

"We know he's going somewhere. Some nights."Ron had woke them all after one of his troll with the news that Quirrell had slipped out furtively. Him and Hermione had moved swiftly to the thirdly floor corridor to head him off, but he had never showed."We just need to go for a little longer."

"But I'm tired."The usually debonair twin hadn't taken well to the hour."And he's never going to come out."

"funny remark you should say that…"Harry ducked low and pulled the girl down with him as he saw the room access to Quirrells quarters open and close, permitting the teacher to scurry off down the hall.

"Yes ! We've got him. Lets go !"The tiredness had drained from her font and she had regained a grin. She moved off without a word but Harry had started in the opposite word direction."Hey ! The one-third trading floor corridor is that way !"

"Yeah but we don't know he's going there."Harry held her hand as they walked a roof ridgeline on the side of a courtyard."I'm not making the same mistake as the others, I'm not letting him out of my sight."They slid silently down a drainpipe onto a mat ceiling above the kitchens and Harry saw the turbaned wizard slip out a slope door, cross the courtyard, then accede a doorway leading to the entranceway hall.

"wellspring we can't…"But Harry held up one fingerbreadth to silence her and a bit later they, heard a door opening and closing then could clearly see the saturnine bod of the thaumaturgist robes as he crossed the grounds towards the forbidden forest."What do we do now ?"

"We watch him."Harry said it without the conviction it usually held and with a good acid of fright in there as well."You go back and tell the others."But he was surprised when she shook her head.

"No, I'm going with you. You can't go in there alone."She started moving before he had a chance to object."Besides, I've heard there are centaurs in there. I wouldn't mind seeing a centaur."

*

"Do you sleep with where your going ?"Parvarti hadn't seen any centaurs, but there had seen early things skulking between the tree. Harry looked back and wished he would give offered some reassurance. He knew he could find the way back, wellspring probably. He had made indisputable to mark it at regular separation with cutting on the shoetree short pants. But tracking a man through forest was nothing he had even thought of doing before. They had entered the forest at about the same patch as Quirrell and Harry had had his Hope boosted by finding a step impression in mud nearby but after that nothing.

He was vaguely aware that they should await out for part twigs or birdsong but the branchlet seemed to hold no discernable features and the forest was eerily quiet. Except for the things.

"look at this !"Parvarti was pointing at a leaf nearby. When Harry moved closer he saw what she was pointing at. A silver liquid covered the leaf, it felt slick and greasy under his fingers. Also slightly warm."And there's more."Again she was right, there was a track leading across the way of life they'd been taking more swimming tinged the solid ground in both directions."It must consume been bleeding !"

"It ? What it ?"

"The unicorn silly !"Parvarti pointed her burglars lantern back at the folio."Oh I cant think what could do such a thing ! This is unicorn blood Harry, and it looks refreshed !"

"It is."Confirmed Harry with a draft."Its even still warm."Why are we here ? Why did I do this ? Why didn't we get the others or evidence McGonagall or… Harry tried to keep his face impassive but it was hard.

It was one matter knowing nasty things were out in the timberland butchery nice matter, quite another to receive trial impression and another still to get them be so close that the blood wouldn't have had meter to cool in the Nox air. He looked at his friend and was suppressed to see no fear in her face, only anger that something would hurt a unicorn.

"But which way did it do ?"She shone her light first one way then the other.

"This way."Said Harry in idle tones and pointed at the basis ahead. In the mud there, cleared for all to see, was the blackguard of a boot print. Harry didn't want to admit even to himself that his number 1 instinct on seeing the print was to channelise the other way. That or run for the hills."Alright. close down the shutter on the luminance right down, we can see the blood line well enough. And go slow."Parvarti did as she was told and they set off again into the woodland. Harry couldn't have told anyone afterwards how long they had walked, it seemed like an infinity. The splash of lineage grew larger and more frequent, the further they went until.

"!"Harry stopped dead and put his hand out prostrate in front of the other vulture. There was a clearing up ahead, bathed in the humped Moon and the dark air carried sounds to them. It sounded like an obscene slurping and gurgling and along with it there were the sounds of light movement. Harry pointed left, around the edge of the clearing then once again put up a unity digit. Silence.

They moved around until they were behind a fallen Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree then slowly looked over the top of the log. Through the offset that his them they saw an awful sight. The unicorn was splayed on the floor like it had been run to basis and a cloaked form hunched over it, drinking its blood out through its wounds.

A tug on Harry's sleeve brought him back to the consequence and he crouched back down with Parvarti. Her face was a characterisation of choler and she mimed jumping over the log while brandishing her lantern. Harry shook his head firmly. What the hell was she thinking ? She gestured more firmly then touched her tenderness and made a pumping apparent movement. What was that supposed to stand for ? She opened her mouth and mouthed something to him but he couldn't recite what. She did it again more exaggerated and the meaning hit him with sickening certainty.

"It's still alive !"
Harry looked over the log again and saw what he had missed the number one time. The Unicorns breast was indeed still moving up and down and its hint disturbed the dust near its headspring. He sat back down and made the fondness pumping motion while nodding, he'd seen it too. Obviously Parvarti wanted to save the creature if possible. Harry stuck his finger's breadth in the crap between them and wrote one word.

HAGRID

Then pointed to her. She nodded, then pointed to him. He smiled and wrote one Sir Thomas More word.

beguilement

*

Without further ado he moved further around the clearing so that when he ran he would take the matter away from the direction Parvarti would have got to go to get help. He was sword lily to see her moving off too, rather than arguing with his decision. Harry wrapped the scarf round his head again and tucked it in so it wouldn't unravel. This would do, he thought. No sense waiting around. He got out his baton, took careful aim and yelled

"Acerbus cuspis !"

The cloaked build was caught off safety device and some of Harry's faint gig had hit it. It flinched back, more surprised than hurt then an new randomness came from its punk, a drawn out athirst sound. Like a snake having a rat dangled in its typeface. Wonderful, thought Harry as the affair rose up, Uncle Vernon always said I was vermin.

It was as if that thought snapped him out of his fear palsy and he ran, away from the clearing and the affair. He moved without thinking, feet slamming on solid terra firma where potential and pushing off roots and mud when not. Harry never looked behind him but he knew the thing was still on him. He moved into new sections of the forest where the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree were different cast, older, newer, taller, more clash they all shot by him in an instant, too fast for him to see properly. He did notice that they weren ‘ t group meeting any fauna and thought that they were probably scared of the thing behind him.

He reached a thick stand of trees and brush and slipped in sideways. Here he risked a look back. zip. Sides ? strawman ? Nothing. Harry allowed himself a controlled breath. It looked like he had lost it. Harry sat for a second on a log and let his leg rest. The tiredness of the past times calendar week and the stress of the night caught up to him at once and he sagged against the tree behind him. He didn't get it on how recollective he sat there, he may even have fallen asleep but he did know what caused him to come to attention suddenly. A branchlet breaking nearby. Harry moved slowly and backed away from the source of the sound when a deal grabbed him from behind and swung him around roughly. Harry's fear of attempt turned into rest period, then quickly back into fear.

"Out for a midnight perambulation Potter ?"

"professor Snape."Harry said trying his dear to put on a skilful brass."Thank god you found me."

*

The boy walked in silence in strawman of him as Snape led him back towards the castle. The charms he'd laced the sharpness of the wood with had tripped, waking him and warning him that Quirrell had gone on another of his nightly jaunts. But once again the little dirt ball had eluded him and he'd been on his way back when he'd seen ceramicist in a stand of tree. His mouth felt like twitching into a smile, at least some secure could come of tonight's work.

"What are you going to do when we get back to the castle."The son voice was steadier than he expected. Planning something… Ha ! Just like the other Potter this one thought he was smart.

"We are going to your head of house. Then to Dumbledore. Then you can excuse what you were doing in the veto forest after hours."Snape allowed himself a second of joy then said."Then you can go back to your way and pack for the string journey back. From which you will never return."

"But what if I've got a unspoilt cause for being here ?"

"What possible rationality could that be ?"

"Saame rationality you are. Following Quirrell."Had that been a blastoff in the dark ? He tried to catch the insufferable nestling's eyes but he looked heterosexual ahead."And unlike you I succeeded."

"Quirrell is a fellow instructor. With every right wing to visit the forest if he so chooses."

"Oh."The scion of his opposition said brightly."So you wouldn't be interested in what he's doing in there then ?"

Insufferable, Worthless, Sneaking, COWARDLY, MANIPULATING !, WORM ! ! Snape took a moment to assemble his persuasion before turning Potter and looking directly into his oculus. There was a flash, a mesa, some faces… a scowl crossed the boy face for a moment then he shook his principal worriedly. Even Snape could not conceal his shock as a dummy wall appeared before him, slowly fading over the store. The boy was an Occlumens ! But he couldn't know what he was doing, it must be subconscious ! With a flicker of veneration his optic were drawn to the scar on the boy forehead. Or was it entirely subconscious mind ? Power would be transferred in such an result, great power…

"What are you suggesting ?"Inside himself he was seething. He so wanted to see the son of Saint James Potter expelled. It would wee-wee up for so practically but… Quirrell was more important, if there was even the tenuous chance the stone could be use to play back… Potter could wait for another time.

"You forget this ever happened and in one week I ‘ ll severalise you what I saw tonight."Smug and insufferable. And in this case right.

"Why one week ?"

"Because it would look odd if in one week you go to Dumbledore and say ‘ I caught Harry ceramist in the forest a week ago, I just didn't tell you till now.'” They had entered the castle now and were on their way to the green elbow room. They stopped outside the portrait door."fountainhead ?"

"Agreed."

*

Harry breathed again and slipped in through the door. A second later he was attacked ! Visiously and unexpectedly, it took him a present moment to substantiate it was Hermione. She had thrown her branch around his neck and was sobbing against his chest.

"We thought…"She sniffed giving Harry a chance to take care around. Everyone was there, including Parvarti. They all looked relived."That it had… got… you."

"Take it easy alright. I'm alright."Harry levered her off him and took a breath only to be re-bowled over as Parvarti hugged him."What the ?"

"We shouldn't have left you. And it was me who wanted to economise it in the world-class position, I…"

"I. Am. Fine."He pulled her of as well and was about the speak before looking up expectantly at Padma.

"Oh fine if everyone else is doing it."She stood up and hugged him too. Then let out a bullshit sob and said"And I broke a nail this break of day !"Harry grinned and she returned to her place at the table.

"So, now we know what he ‘ s doing the next pace ‘ s to observe out why. And what we ‘ re gona to do about it."



*

The next few workweek were replete of disappointment. Except for the Slytherins who got a temporary worker suspension from pranking. Hagrid had saved the unicorn and in thanks for their assist he told them all about the properties of unicorn parentage and what it could be used for. Snape hadn't been any help, when Harry told him the story a workweek later he merely nodded and told him to get out. From what they knew they could act upon out that Quirrell was after immortality but for what reason ?

"Maybe he ‘ s not after it for himself."Neville had said one day. Harry tried to always treat Neville's suggestions as smart in the hope it would sway the boy to babble more."You said he called person original when he thought he was alone."

"But he was alone Neville."Ron apparently hadn't heard about that plan."Wait… that's our explanation. He ‘ s crazy ! Nuts ! He ‘ s prob'ly talking to his turban !"

"Or he had some sort of magical communicator in his room."Padma said scathingly."Something he was talking to somebody through."

"Oh, yeah."Ron looked down a slight sheepishly. Then brightened."Hey ! Maybe if we got our hands on the communicator we could, I don't know, trace it back to this master ?"

"That would depend on how sophisticated it is."Hermione's voice came from behind a pile of books, shed already begun revising for the end of year test and at to the lowest degree some of the other marauders seemed to want to join her."But Dumbledore could probably do it."

"Alright then."A plan began to form in Harry's judgement."Dumbledore said he had no cause to suspect Quirrell and Snape's got no trial impression to show him otherwise. If we get this communicator then they've got the proof they need and they can move to discontinue Quirrell."

"But Harry. We don't know where the communicator is."

"I know. That's why we ‘ re going to burglarize Quirrell."

"Is ‘ burglarize ‘ even a word."Padma asked.

"The spellchecker seems to intend it is."

"What's a spellchecker ?"

"it's a magic spell that detect misspelled discussion, underlines them in red."

"I really need to revise."

*

But the opportunity didn't come for a long while. Quirrell had begun sleeping with his window closed and the ringlet on his door resisted all the tricks in beyond allohamora. ("I can't believe you gave him that."Hermione had said"Its like giving a monkey the key to the plantation."Ron had shot back"Yeah, or you the key to the library !") and there was null to be done but postponement and picket for Quirrell to slip up. There was a plus side though. Guard duty gave them plenty of time to revise. Then the test came, terrible and inevitable with the fear and uncertainty that came with them.

The sole I Harry was at any way well-situated about were magic spell and uranology, the latter because unlike other classes he actually paid attention and the former because ( perhaps due to his Yuletide nowadays ) he was genuinely soundly at the turn. Potions was a nightmare and denial against the moody arts worse. Quirrell had taken to watching him out of the niche of his eye when he thought Harry wasn't looking. Harry hadn't told the others, Quirrell wasn't watching them and he didn't want to care them.

Even with the exams and their continued failing in their task it was intemperately to find bad. The conditions had turned to wonderful and students could always be found out sunning themselves on the Gunter Wilhelm Grass. Harry was just on his way to spend an afternoon in just such a manner ( the sleep of the predator already waiting ) when he looked up and saw what he had been waiting for for weeks. Quirrells window, open.

Harry glanced around, did he presume go up on the rooftops in the centre of the day ? When the whole school day would be able-bodied to see him. Harry turned to where he knew he could climb up and stopped. Should he get the others ? No. Quirrell might return and their only hazard would be lost. He quickly scurried up the bulwark and slipped in through the window.

The room smelled strongly of garlic and indeed there were clove hanging in respective places around the elbow room. He quickly began searching using what they knew of communication charms, mirrors were often used, sometimes gems or crystals. He checked the mirror in the lav but it appeared to be the pattern kind ( no reply when tapped with a sceptre ). He was about to watch the bedroom when he heard a voice behind him.

"semen into my parlour said the wanderer to the fly."




Note, if your wondering why some of the chapters are twice the duration of the others it 's because they used to be two chapters. I put some of them together because its taking so long to get the stuff posted. Also because they seemed pointlessly short before.


"wellspring, well, well."Professor Quirrell had lost his stutter and stood in front of the lock away threshold with his baton pointed at Harry's breast."You do get yourself into a great softwood of viscid situations."

"it's a gift."Harry tried not to peek at the window. It was still unfold, and there were some trees in the courtyard below. He might induce it.

"No !"Quirrell flicked his sceptre and the windowpane banged shut. Another flick and it glowed for a minute, accompanied by a squelching phone."No, you're not leaving that way Potter."He grabbed Harry's arm, jerked his wand out of his scoop then pulled him to the door. The 1st year could feel the tip of Quirrells verge against the modest of his dorsum."Now walk, calmly and unhurried. To the tertiary floor."

The corridors that were always so full phase of the moon of smiling students were virtually empty now. All of them outside enjoying the sun. The few he saw in the distance too far away to bespeak to.

"Face forward."Quirrell hissed."If you attempt to warn anyone then that person dysprosium then you die is that clear ?"

"Why are you taking me up there ?"Harry tried to convince his learning ability to work but he seemed to be missing brainiac cells.

"Oh that's quite mere. Your going to aid me, I knew what you and your piffling protagonist were up to so I laid a cakehole. Now you are going to assist me with something, with two thing actually. The first of all is simple, all you have to do is play along. Lie. You're good at that yes ? The s is a bit more complex. You see…"They grew close to the corridor and Quirrell pulled him to a catch and into a disused classroom."I've spent the twelvemonth devising foolproof ways to get past tense each defence except one that still eludes me."

"Snape."Good old sneaky bastard Snape.

"Yes Snape."Quirrell drew an odd potion from his gown, it was pitch black and looked oddly oily."His protection I don't know how to overtake but… that is for later. For now ? Drink this."He held out the potion."Just a sip, we only need the burden for a few minutes."Harry hesitated."Do it ! Do it or you die !"

Harry took a tiny sip of the potion and instantly felt the effect. His hands seemed to grow and he pulled off his shoes as the pressure sensation in them increased. Joseph Black pilus grew down in front of his middle and he flicked it out of the way. After a few moments the upshot ceased and he stood up again, taller by far than when he had begun.

"Ah, wonderful."Quirrell said smiling."Now put these on."He handed Harry some long obscure robes and gestured to the mirror nearby. Harry took them and walked over, stopping for a here and now in cushion. He looked like Snape !"Get on with it boy !"Harry struggled into the robes then did them up and allowed Quirrell to result him towards the dreaded corridor. Harry saw professors Flitwick and Sinestra outside the door. Sinestra was sitting cross legged and appeared to be meditating in some way. Quirrell prodded him in the back. Of course, Snape would make the foremost move. He tried to create his voice as sneering as possible then said.

"We're here to live over you."Apparently that was all that's needed as the two teacher nodded and left the corridor murmuring goodbyes. Quirrell pulled him towards the door."What if they meet the substantial Snape ? They'll know he's not here."

"Professor Snape was called away unexpectedly."Quirrell smirked confirming to Harry that his absence was no coincidence."He thinks he arranged a replacement on guard duty but unfortunately the owl never got through. Oh and in case you were wondering your precious Dumbledore is gone too, called away to the ministry. No one can help oneself you."

"I can help me."Harry thought desperately as they entered the room with the giant dog. Its three heads instantly rose to watch them but Quirrell pointed his wand at the story nearby and a harp appeared. Another complex movement and it began plucking out a round-eyed melody. The smashing animate being eyelids drooped and it fell quickly asleep.

"Come on boy ! I haven't got all day."Quirrell pulled him forwards to the trap threshold then pulled it give. He whispered a little appeal and a rophy began curling its way out of his scepter. Quirrell seemed to have to pore a not bad wad to pull this off and Harry backed away slowly. He felt some thing behind him and put a hired man back to sense. It was the harp. Acting on inherent aptitude, Harry grabbed the harp and smashed it as hard as he could against one of the hot dog hulk manus. The dog awoke with a roar and bit through the harps remains in a single bite. Then it turned to the other trespasser in its room.

"Boy ! What do you call back you're…"But then Quirrell was forced to defend himself as the great drumhead reared up above him. He screeched a single word and powerhouse smacked one on the nose. Harry took the chance and bolted for the door."I'm not done with you yet muck around !"Quirrell screamed. Harry glanced back in prison term to see red light, then shadow.

*

"Where the perdition is Harry ?"Ron glanced back at the castling get to."He said he was only gon na be a few minutes."

"Why are you worrying Ron, when you could be sunbathing !"Parvarti stretched out on the land and sighed happily.

"He's probably just got distracted by something Ron."Hermione was doing her type of sunbathing. With a book."Honestly, sometimes I think he has a unretentive care straddle than… than… well than you !"

"I can't consider your reading out here."Ron caught the quaffel thrown to him by Neville then threw it back."The exams are over Hermione."

"For this year."

"You're actually revising for following years exams ?"Ron shook his head then yelled"Hey !"as a quaffel smacked into the side of his headway.

"Oh sorry Ron."Padma commented with monolithic insincerity."Were you not ready ?"

"Oh look the mudblood regular army seem to be missing a general."The vulture turned en mass to see Malfoy strolling towards them with his hands in his pocket."Better get used to it though."

"What did you say !"Ron yelled at the Lapp sentence as Hermione said"What do you entail get used to it ?"

"I mean scum,"Ron's fist clenched."That your minuscule hero seems to have finally gotten into more problem than he can handle. Oh yes, I saw a teacher carting him off. Looked angry too."

"Which teacher ?"Padma's doubtfulness seemed ominously quiet in the open air.

"prof Quirrell, but don't think that… Hey !"But Ron had grabbed him by the front of his coat, knocking his wand away. The red-header was vaguely aware of his ally surrounding him with wands drawn. Keeping Crabbe and Goyle at bay.

"Where did you see them ?"Ron punctuated each word by shaking the Slytherin up and down."WHERE !"

"Th… Th… third floor. That corridor with the maypole painting."Ron let him go. That was ripe next to the dog's room.

"Mr Weasley !"McGonagall was striding across the cause in ira."I never expected such trigger-happy behaviour from…"

"Professor McGonagall !"Ron interrupted her ( something never done ), bringing gasp from the onlooker."Harry ceramicist's in danger. And so's the Philosophers Stone."

*

"Wake up Mr ceramist. Rise and shine for the brand new day."The conviction slid around the black cocoon of Harry's unconscious."Now now, that won ‘ t do. Up !"Pain blossomed in Harry's tum and the sting of it pulled him back to reality. He drew himself up on the cold stone flooring shaking terribly. The recollective sleeves of his robe fell down over his arms and he realised he was back in his own torso. Quirrell aimed another savage kicking at Harry ‘ s dresser and he sprawled on the storey again.

"You think that's pain potter ?"Yep, sure seemed like it, at the very least he had a cracked rib."I can introduce you to the torture curse if you want. If you choose not to co-operate with me."Harry raised his brain wearily and realised that he was in a new room. blast blocked both threshold and on a table in the nub a row of bottles stood, twinkling in the torchlight.

"Wh… where ?"

"The two-timer trial."That hadn't sounded like Quirrell. Harry looked up and saw concern in Quirrells heart.

"So."persuasion Harry."He has the communicator on him. That must bear been his passkey voice and whoever the master is he's scared of him."

Quirrell bent over the tabular array and read with a smile…

"Danger lies before you, while guard lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you proceed ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our numeral hold only devil wine,
terzetto of us are killer whale, waiting hidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to persist here forevermore,
To facilitate you in your choice, we give you these clues four :
number one, however slyly the poison effort to obliterate
You will always see some on nettle wine 's left hand side ;
second base, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would go onward, neither is your friend ;
third gear, as you see clearly, all are unlike size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds end in their insides ;
Fourth, the second left and the secondment on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though unlike at world-class sight."

The superstar shook his head angrily.

"What kind of a task is that ? You don't even need magic. And besides, I've never taken the logical path to get resolution. I so prefer the… experimental approach."He picked up one of the nursing bottle at random and held it out to Harry with a ailing smiling."Drink up !"

*

"He's there !"Ron was shouting now. Heedless of the steady stream of crimson that must have been leaving the hourglass in the bang-up Granville Stanley Hall."He's there right now having god knows wha…"

"Mr Weasley ! If you can not contain yourself I will have you dragged to my government agency where I will flue your female parent ! And we will hash out your continued presence at this school !"The disceptation had moved from the outside to the corridors as the deputy sheriff headmistress had failed to take heed."As it is you are all already in enough difficulty for just knowing about the stone ! Let alone disrespect to a Hogwarts professor. Two professors in fact as I think Professor Quirrell will want to find out about the base accusations you have made."

"But you don't…"Ron was brought to a halt by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Neville holding him back with a terrified look on his face. He shook his read/write head quickly.

"You should mind to your booster Mr Weasley."The professor said while turning and walking down the G. Stanley Hall."Now you will all come me to my bureau where we can decide…"

"Petrificus Totalus !"

The vulture crowd watched in consummate secrecy as their chief of house went loaded then slowly but inexorably fell backwards. Ron caught her and lowered her to the story, ashen faced. He looked stave to see Neville standing with his wand out and a horrified look on his face.

"I… I … I had to…"Neville stuttered without moving."God, that was like cursing Gran."

Ron looked down at McGonagall fount. A mortal shouldn't be able-bodied to evoke fear while only moving their middle but somehow the set of them said there would be hell to pay.

"Ok then."Padma broke the quiet."Since it seems we're going to get expelled anyway lets go get our boy."

*

"Nil for two Mr Potter !"Harry fell choking on the flooring as Quirrell took a sip of the potion he'd just proved was safe."Still born lucky I see."Harry fell into a fit of coughing that wracked his body with pain. He pulled his head back and idly noticed the blood all over his arm. So, more than a cracked rib then.

When he had refused to drink the first bottle Quirrell had used some sort of bludgeoning curse that squashed him back to the trading floor. As he had lain there vainly trying to get his hint back Quirrell had pulled his head back and tipped the potion down his throat. The second time he had tried to baulk more and been formally introduced to the cruciatus curse. He was ashamed to say he willingly took the bottle in shaking men and fuddle a sip himself. All the meter feeling wretched and a Noel Coward.

"Now."Quirrell looked down on him almost proudly."Since you seem to consume learned your place in this little drama."The sadist looked down for a chemical reaction but Harry didn't rise to the come-on. He wasn't sure he had the vitality too even if he had wanted."I'll let you chose the following one."He waved his hand over the remaining feeding bottle and stood waiting.

Harry pulled himself up on the edge of the table and tried to bring a mental capacity cell to bear."Hermione where are you when I need you ?"He must have said it out brassy because Quirrell laughed and said

"I could get her if you want. I'm certainly she'd like to see the cruciatus curse. As a purely academic study. Of form to fully value it I would have to do it on her as well."Harry looked from one feeding bottle to another and a kidnapping of song came back to him.

Neither dwarf nor giant holds decease in their inside.
Harry's middle slid to the minor nursing bottle in the row. His deal shook almost too a lot for him to learn the phellem out and he spilled some as he took a sip. An instantaneous common cold sensation trickled down his throat and into his arms. But was this the forrard potion or the back one ? It didn ‘ t really matter since Quirrell was between him and the way back, so only one way remained. Harry put his script to his throat and pretended to clog, falling towards the attack he took a heavy gasping hint.

"Trickery ! Get Him !"DAMN IT ! Harry reacted on instinct and kicked the penny-pinching put over leg. One of the remaining potions fell between him and Quirrell, cracking on the level and bursting into blue-black flame. That was all the distraction Harry needed as he clawed himself off the level and jumped headfirst into the fire.

The floor on the other side knocked the malarky from him but he wasn't burnt. It had been the right potion.

"You will pay for that !"A chain with a draw shoot through the curtain of flaming, trailing sparks.

"A blind shot."Harry thought muzzily."But I can't stay here."

He pulled himself up and staggered along the corridor clinging to the wall. Quirrell continued to blackguard behind him but he ignored it, there was a room up ahead. He walked in and barely saw the place. All he took in was the tall mirror in the nerve centre, fellow. Without really realising what he was doing he moved towards it and fell to the primer in front of it. Oh, god everything hurt. He looked up into the mirror and saw his ally familiar faces surrounding him, filling the mirror-Harry with warmth and happiness.

"Where are you."Harry spoke to the empty room. He felt himself falling backwards, lonely and broken."Where are you now ?"

He floated in the darkness for a instant then was brought back around. instinct again waking him when he was no recollective alone. He turned to see a coal physical body, robes in tatter and his turban unwound and trailing behind him.

"There's always more than one way round a challenge."The representative was cracked and hungry but full of venom and ire"You just have to think outside the box."

*

"No."Harry pulled himself away from the raise physique. Forgetting for a moment that there was nowhere to go.

"Yes Potter. What Severus seems to suffer forgotten…"The misfortunate physique said as it stalked towards Harry on ruined branch."Is that I would much rather walk through fire than take loser to my master. a good deal, a great deal rather."He came to a plosive speech sound in front man of the Mirror and pointed his blackened wand at Harry.

"No wait, this won't work."He threw the baton away like garbage."But luckily I have another."He drew out Harry's scepter, unblemished and pristine. He laughed at Harry's shocked brass and said"Rubbed in what little of the potion you let send packing on the storey. It was bound to outlive expert than mine. After all, phoenix feathers are meant to pass through fire."He flicked the baton negligently and ropes bound Harry's legs under him.

"Yes, you left just enough for the wand and for…"His hand rose involuntarily to the back of his read/write head and a quiver of pain ran across his look."But enough !"He stood in front of the mirror, his expectation clear on his grimace."I see myself presenting the stone to my sea captain. He is restoring my consistency, making me well again… But how do I get it ?"

"Use the boy."Quirrell grabbed his arm and jerked him back in battlefront of the mirror. The mental image swam in nuisance in front of him. His friends faces still stared back at him, mocking him with their happiness.

"fountainhead boy ? What do you see ?"

"Well…"Harry though."…since I seem to be dieing anyway…"

"I see myself you charred bastard. It's a mirror."

"Crucio !"bother obliterated the reality again but soon enough he was stimulate awake and slammed in nominal head of the glass.

"What do you really SEE !"

"I ‘ ve just found every chocolate frog circuit card. My collecting is complete."

"Do you enjoy pain ?"Quirrell's face was twisted beyond credit."Do you think even for a moment that your petty defiance will actually reach anything !"

"Alright fine."Harry brought a rictus grin to his face"I see Hagrid with a giant spiked baseball bat. He's sticking it right up your…"the world once again dissolved into pain.

*

"A Bromus secalinus set, what the…"

"Oh god look here on the floor… Blood."

"Do you think he.. ?"

"No time for this ! We need to move !"

*

Harry floated again on the sea of agony. But this fourth dimension he wasn't alone.

Brave, or maybe simply foolish.
That vox again. The passkey.

Your parents were gay Harry Potter. It didn't do them any dependable either.
"Oh so you know my parents too. Got any in effect anecdotes ?"He wasn't sure if he said that out cheap but the voice laughed.

Oh yes. Joking in the face of pain. That is something I think your Father would do.
"Yeah."Harry said as the existence began to swim back into focussing."But I've got my mothers eyes."He looked up but Quirrell was standing a path away, curiously with his backbone to him. Harry groped around for his glassful.

"There by your elbow."The spokesperson almost had a teasing quality to it now but Harry was struck by a bingle head. How did he do it ? He pulled his glasses back on and was met by his horrific solution.

"Yes Harry."The typeface spoke with malice now, and barely controlled wrath."This is what you reduced me to. Ten old age ago."

"Oh my god."Harry gulped as he realised the truth."Voldemort."

"Yes Harry Potter. Lord Voldemort. Now do what you are severalize and tell me what you see in the mirror."

Harry turned without wanting to and stared again into the shining surface. The faces stared back, laughing and happy.

"Their probably still out on the grass."sentiment Harry. The Ron in the mirror patted him on the vertebral column."They don't know about this evil. This darkness. They haven't seen it. They don't have to grapple with it. And they shouldn't need to."

"I see…"

"Yes… yes !"

"I see… stars."Harry smiled and flung himself at the mirror.

The crashing sound echoed through the dorm and Harry felt Methedrine sherd cut into his tegument. He tried to roll but a sharp pain in his arm caught him and he stopped, quivering.

"You FOOL."He felt himself picked up and shook like a doll."You destroyed it !"He fell to the ground again and saw Quirrell rifling through the sherd, heedless of the cuts and blood."Where is it ! Where is it ! … Gone… You knew !"The twofold foreland came up and looked him straight in the eye."You knew that wouldn't release the gemstone !"

"Dumbledore told me."Suddenly Harry actually did feel like laughing."But on the minus face, that should be seven long time bad luck."

"You.. YOU ! !"The double creature stood quivering with furor."Well I hope you relish your victory."The thing drew Harry's wand"Because, it is the final mentation you will ever have ! Avada Ked…"

"Tarantella !"

The curse spun over the creatures head and broke against the far bulwark. Harry turned to the doorway and saw the Marauders standing there. Five wands pointed ramrod-straight at the affair, that had swung around to confront them.

"Children."Quirrell's spokesperson again. They probably hadn't even seen the other look."What are you doing here ? This area is forbidden."

"Put the scepter down."Ron's spokesperson quaked a little as he said it. But he kept his baton trained."Wand down now !"

"You wouldn ‘ t hex a instructor would you."Quirrell was playing with them. His representative was just like it had been when he'd forced the drink on Harry."You'd get in so much trouble."

"I ‘ ve already petrified my head of house."Neville seemed to have left his stutter in the world of veneration and could speak calmly now he'd moved on to terror."It can ‘ t get often worse."

"You think not ? Then perhaps I should be talking out of the other side of my face."Quirrell turned on his Axis and Parvarti shrieked.

"Children !"Quirrells arms twisted back, cracking rung at the elbows to give Voldemort control condition of the wand"I will not be stopped again by children !"

"Petrificus Totalus !"Hermione's voice rang out but Voldemort raised a buckler disdainfully. The rebounding curse took the Young hag in the pectus and she fell like a Lucy Stone.

"Crucio !"Neville dropped to the ground. His case a mask of botheration.

"Crucio !"Padma fell, her blazonry wrapped around her chest. Screaming. He was still playing with them. He could cause death as easily as pain.

"Crucio !"Ron fell in his tracks. He had tried to appoint the creature.

"Im… im… impedimenta !"

"Crucio !"Annapurna's tour died on her wand and she fell beside her sister. He had to do something. He had no scepter. He had no weapon… He had glass. Harry pulled his too long sleeves up around his hand and picked up a long sherd.

"Pathetic creatures."The look spat the words."Unworthy of life !"Harry stepped closer measured not to disturb the glass on the floor."You will all die ! For defying Lord Voldemort. You will…"

"master wait out !"But Quirrell's monition was too tardily as the long shard plunged into his tum. Him and his attacker fell together and Harry jerked the chalk out only to plunge it again into the wizards flesh. His hired man bled, the fabric of the gown hadn't been nearly enough to protect them. Quirrell rolled over under him and the serpentine face looked up at him in hatred.

"You can not destroy me Harry Potter. I can not die ! Whatever you do I will return !"

"fine then snake-face."Harry raised the shard above his head."See you in another ten old age. Do try to get back pretty next time."And plunged the shard through Voldemort's eye.

The scream rung out through the sleeping accommodation. Rising higher and eminent, louder and louder till the shard still on the floor shattered into sand. Then the physical structure slumped like a rag doll and finally lay still.

Harry fell back drained. It felt like he had naught left in his veins, felt vacuous. He slumped on the trading floor and looked up to see five refer faces crowding around him. They were saying something but his creative thinker couldn't quite make good sense of it. The epitome suddenly reminded him of something and he pointed at them with a rickety hand.

"Stupid mirror."He laughed."I thought I broke you ?"Then the darkness rolled over again and he didn't see a matter.

*

"I could just take the one…"

"Ron hoi polloi left those for Harry !"

Voices ? …

"But I just want the card."

Familiar…

"It'll try to hop away when you open it !"

"Oh please that's what he's planning. Then he'll ‘ have'to eat it."

Ah…

"Maybe I'll just take a cauldron cake…"

"You so much as try it…"Harry pulled his oculus open with an effort."…and I'll hex ya finger's breadth off."

"Harry !"The marauders crowded around the hospital bed."You awake ?"

"Well yeah."Harry shook his head teacher to clear it before answering Hermione's question."Why would I not be ? How long was I asleep ?"

"mean solar day I ‘ m afraid mate."Ron shook his chief ruefully."They had to give you sleeping potion while everything healed. Did you know you broke your arm ?"

It had hurt when he rolled over, but surely he would make noticed ?

"How ‘ d you follow me ?"Harry groggily shook his head again."I swear all the potion got drunk."

"Dumbledore said they regenerate."Hermione answered smiling."We had to go through the cheat piece too."

"Ron was amazing."Anapurna said beaming. Ron blushed and said

"Oh that, that was zip. Anyway it was Neville got us past the Devil snare !"

"Devil snares promiscuous. Anyway you got the key."

"That was a team attempt. The twins were up there too. Plus Padma worked out the dog."

"There was a wear harp on the floor. What else could it have been but music ?"

"I don't know, its allergic to harps ?"

"Children."The 1st geezerhood turned as Albus Dumbledore stepped into the infirmary annexe."I can not ideate how pleased you must be that your friend is awake however,"He continued with a twinkle in his eye as he peered over his glasses"…it will mean that you will deliver to come up a new source of chocolate frogs."Ron at least had the decency to look hangdog."Now, if you would give us some privacy I would like to speak to your friend."The marauders filed out and Harry was left alone with the master.

"The mirror."Harry began,"Was it… valuable ?"

"Irreplaceable."Harry's tummy seemed to come down out his body."It ‘ s a thoroughly thing it is being repaired."

"You could receive told me that bit !"Harry shook his question as he regained his stomach.

"Although they may leave one sherd out. It may need to be kept for posterity."

"So is he… gone then ?"Harry's vocalisation was bright but something in him already knew the resolution.

"Nothing about this death was any dissimilar from his previous one. If he survived that I believe we can take for granted he can hold up this."

"Will he add up after the stone ? I mean, when you fix the mirror you can get the Harlan Fiske Stone ?"

"Yes, and it will be destroyed."Harry breathed a sigh of sculptural relief."But it appears I was wrong about one thing Harry."

"Hireling a man who was literally double-faced ?"

"No Harry."Dumbledore fixed him with a patient stare and Harry bit back a smiling."I mean that you were unable to get preceding my last protection. You did not get the stone."

"Yeah. What was I supposed to do ?"

"When you saw yourself in the mirror there. What did you see ?"

"The Same thing as before."Harry shifted uncomfortably"You know, friends."

"So faced with the scene of unending living and unending wealth, your dream remained the Saami ?"

"I have a peachy deal of wealth now, and if eternal life means being someone's scalp I think I ‘ ll pass on that too."

"Very well Harry. I will not pry any boost. But there is something else that we need to hash out before I let your friend back in to bicker further."

"Hm ?"

"I want you to return to your aunt and uncles house."

"No."

"Harry, I can assure…"

"No. The result is no Professor."Harry looked directly into the Headmasters glittering gaze."I will not."

"You are 11 Harry."Professor Dumbledore put his manus on Harry's shoulder and his spokesperson went soft."It would be negligent of me to let you leave my tutelage without assuring myself that you would be looked after."

"You did it once before. Left me on a doorstep."a sliver of blade entered Harry's voice.

"I thought that you would be well-chosen with house, even distant ones."

"You were wrong. Would you like to see some cicatrix by way of substantiation ?"

"No Harry, I see I can not rock you on this grade. I will arrange for you to stay put at Hogwarts over the summer, it has been done before in certain circumstances."

"Thank you."Harry smiled and he saw a certain tenseness lift from the air. Harry looked down at the gifts arrayed in front of him and picked up one."chocolate frog ? Go on, otherwise Ron ‘ ll just take all of them."

"Thank you Harry."Dumbledore took the squirming confection and stood up."Now I shall just travel to this flank early occupier then leave you to yourself."

"Who ?"Harry looked around and spotted a pair of slippers poking out from behind a curtain."Who'zat ? They Ok ?"

"Oh they ‘ ll recover quite soon."Dumbledore seemed to encounter something in this slightly curious."She's just sleeping off an improperly formed Petrificus curse."

"Oh."Said Harry uninterested."How soon will she get better ?"

"Hopefully after your acquaintance leave."

*

"Last luck for legal illusion !"Fred ( or George VI ) yelled as he walked down the Hogwarts express. His buddy walked beside him ringing a hand-bell up and down."I repeat ! utmost chance for all summertime !"

"You heard that Harry ?"Ron said as his Brother walked past the marauders carriage.

"Yep."And indeed he could see the British capital horizon around the train as they pulled towards baron cross. He had asked Dumbledore if he could accompany his friends on the gear and the master had agreed.

"You gon na be alright over the summer on your own Harry ?"Parvarti leaned over considered him quietly."You ‘ ll write everyone right hand ?"

"And you have to visit home."Ron said through a mouthful of sweetness"florists' chrysanthemum been bugging me about it ever since she found out."

"May just take you up on that Ron."Harry stretched as the gearing drew into the station."Oh, and before magic becomes illegal…"Harry took a pocket-sized packet out of his pouch, tapped it and pulled back as his bag expanded to full phase of the moon size.

"You brought your bag ? Why did you impart your bag…"Hermione's voice became pipe up and a minuscule pock. But the question was moot, everyone in the coach had guessed the answer.

"Oh, come on guys."Harry shot them a grin and slid out of the carriage."Don ‘ t tell me you didn ‘ t see this coming ?"

"Harry ! The hoagie of the wizarding world can not just go AWOL !"Padma shook her read/write head in mental rejection."Dumbledore will find you, or the ministry."

"The ministry can only tail me if I use magic."Harry said jumping down onto the political platform."And aloofness tally too, I ‘ m thinking Hellenic Republic or possibly Kingdom of Spain. Mediterranean certainly."

"You ‘ ll never get away with this Harry."Hermione spoke but all for some reason didn't quite believe it. The marauders stood in a semicircle around Harry with various variation of disbelief on their faces. But after a twelvemonth they had realised that Harry mostly made his own prescript.

"What they gon na do ? catch their shining hero ?"Harry winked and smiled his evil superstar smile."And I ‘ ve realised something. Being a homeless vagabond sounds a whole lot more fun if you ‘ ve got a giant big bucks of gold subway to strike back on. It ‘ ll just be like going somewhere fun, to have fun."

"I think that's called a vacation Harry."

"Right, that."Harry pointed and nodded."I think I ‘ m due one of those."He turned and began walking down the weapons platform."Write every day ! But no traceable address !"

"HARRY ceramicist YOU GET backbone here ! ! !"

"Got ta go."Harry broke into a run as the teachers appeared at the other end of the platform. He dodged between grouping of students as the yell got closer and nip between carts. He saw his chance, launched himself like a catapult off the tree trunk of an astonished student and dived through the barrier. He kept running through Kings hybrid, by groups of astonished muggles. Running for freedom.

*

"Think he'll lose ‘ em ?"

"Oh, Neville you know the reply to that."Padma smiled at the Chaos Harry had left in his Wake Island on the platform."It's the marauders maiden formula. ‘ You can do anything you set your mind to if you've got the brass to see it through.'”

"I thought that was ‘ Never get caught'?"

"That one too."




Phew ... one record down ! Six to go.


Harry Potter stepped back onto British ground with a outpouring in his step and a tan fit to blind gull. Officially there was not manoeuvre magical path across the channel save by heather or other peter of flight. However Harry had known before he had ever held a sceptre that the most utilitarian things were always hidden from those in guardianship.

It had been by this antediluvian fireplace, disconnected from the rest of the flue pipe network but with a direct tie-in to a standardised jam and portals around Common Market, through which Harry had left the res publica week ago. An eleven class old can not book a sheet ticket alone much less hitch a elevation on a broomstick and even if he could do so those ways had probably been watched.

After he was gone he'd sent a letter to Dumbledore, with a borrowed owl and an untraceable address. He'd received a unrelenting one in reply. The Headmaster understood his decision and his need for freedom, even sympathised with it. But Harry needed to be kept safety, protected.

But to Harry protected meant trapped and the reason he needed to be kept secure was the very matter he needed some freedom from. So Harry Potter had spent the majority of the summer as jackass mate, juggler and tumbler on various Grecian beaches. He had explored the wizarding side of the ancient country too, he had watched a school of hippocampus breaching and jumping like dolphins off the seashore of Aeaea and seen the behemoth of Rhodes. He had walked to the synagogue of Alcmeonidae at Delphi and climbed hand-over-hand up the retentive trailing vines of ivy to where it floated in the sky. Levitated above the ‘ ruins'below and concealed from muggle oculus. But the seers that gathered there had seen through his camouflage and greeted him as Harry Potter. They had treated him with an eerie respect and he had been taken to have tea with the flow prophet. It was a merging he would never forget…

"Sit dear one."She led him to a cushion on the base and sat down herself nearby him. She looked like she was barely a year or two older than him but he knew that if he believed that he was a fool. Only her eye betrayed any trace that this was possibly the most powerful seer in the creation. Harry had been shocked when he first saw them, he had heard stories that the smashing seers had milky white eyes showing that they were blind to the mundane. The prophet oculus were normal except that the sword lily of one was cryptic purple and the other lighting Green. Oh and the student ( and Harry had had to bet hard to score this out ) were shaped like stars.

"Thank you Pythea."Pythea wasn't her name, the oracles held it as a statute title in honor of the beginning."But you really don't have to do any of this."

"It is not very often we receive visitors."She smiled at him with those thick eyes. Something in them betrayed a last sorrowfulness, a trace of the retentiveness concealed behind. store that spanned one C.

"If you wish to promote more visitor your free grace. Perhaps you should install stairs."He instantly felt that perhaps he was being too associate. Harry generally ignored authority but the quiet mogul of the belittled girl before him ( even sitting as she was, barefoot in a simple white clothes ) was hard to deny. Anyway he didn't he didn't want there to be stair. Too many multitude, especially too many holidaymaker, would ruin this peaceful berth.

"Yes, that is why we do not have them. And no, I prefer that you speak freely before me."Harry looked up confused and she laughed. It sounded like falling water."Your occlumency is quite upright for one doing it unconsciously. But access code to thoughts is one of the natural endowment that comes with being… this."The sadness was back in her eyes for a present moment then she reached forward and poured him a glass of water out of a tall fluted jug.

"Thank you."Harry took it and sipped it. It smelled the like mountain air. He grinned and looked down at it speculatively."Is this going to arrive at me see imaginativeness or go along out ?"

"Those things are more likely to happen if you do not toast it seeing as you climbed for half an hour in the summer sun."

"Mad dogs and so on…"Harry took another draught of the scented drink and asked."But, why did you call for me up here ? Why am I sitting, joking, with the bully prophet in the world."

"I wanted to run across you myself. I ‘ ve heard about you of course, the boy who lived. You are not what I expected."

"Oh."Harry looked down guiltily. He knew he was a bit of a disappointing hoagie but coming from her it seemed bad.

"You are anything but a disappointment Harry. I think you are peer to the task ahead of you, more than equate. I look into your somebody and what I see gives me great hope. You are more than you think you are Harry, you are far more than you, or anyone else, realises. You must trust that you know the course you need to walk, not anyone else, and above all you must believe yourself."

"Really."Harry's throat was suddenly very dry. He took another gulping of weewee."Anything else ?"

"I like your eyes."

Harry coughed and spluttered and the little oracle laughed. He realised she was teasing him.

"You're a terror !"He sniped at her.

"Am I ?"She seemed to look far away for a bit then come back down to earth."Why do you say that ?"

"Because you ‘ re teasing me ! You're a prophesier, aren ‘ t you supposed to be telling me my hereafter or something ?"

"Do you really want to cognise ?"She seemed amused."Really ?"Harry thought about it for a moment.

"No. No, if I knew what was gon na hap it wouldn ‘ t be any fun."

"Good."She smiled."unspoilt choice. But I think I will give you something anyway. In telephone exchange for a future not told."She dipped her mitt into a pocket of her dress and drew out a pendant on a braided leather cord. Harry leaned closer and saw that it was made of sea racing shell, glittering like it had just been plucked from the water supply. She held it out towards him.

"hairsbreadth please."She commanded and he obediently lifted his shaggy head of hair up so that she could tie the electric cord behind his sunburned neck.

"What is it ?"Harry lifted the shell to look at it penny-pinching but it didn't have any scoring at all. It looked like it was made of two pointed helix shells, hanging erect from its clasp. Harry looked closer and saw that the very rump point was tinged green and the very top tinged purpleness."Is it legerdemain ?"

"Yes."

"Are you gon na recite me what it does ?"

"No."

"Meany."Harry tucked the pendent into his t-shirt and felt it put down down near his kernel.

"You ‘ ll find out what it does eventually. But you will hold to learn a few thing for yourself before you do. Call it a footling part of your future."She took his hand and raised him to his feet."Now I am afraid I must say goodbye. The duties of my office call."She seemed genuinely sad to see him go and Harry suddenly wondered if she was lonely up here.

Not trusting himself to speak Harry bowed for the number 1 prison term in his life and walked towards the door.

"Oh and when you go back to Hogwarts."The piddling girl said as he reached for the hold."Could you tell Sybill Trelawney to stop owling me. please ?"

Harry climbed back down and walked a little ways away before turning around and gazing back at the peacefully drifting building, floating over the horizon. Digger flapped down on a rock next to him and handed him a letter. He took it without reading it and slipped it in his pouch, still thinking. Then he walked over to a clump of flowers sprouting out of the gemstone nearby and picked some of the larger I.

"Up there please."Harry nodded towards the synagogue while holding the peak out to his owl."Pythea. And be careful."The owl obediently took off and Harry walked off down the road with his head still full of thoughts.

It had not been long after that when he found his way to the krybo-lakkos market place in Athens and to the odd pottery lamp chimney that connected to the under-flue and that could get him house.

*

"basketball team Galleon ‘ s. Here."The tradesman pointed to a pot next to his Johnny Cash register. Harry nodded to him while dusting himself off and dropped five of the atomic number 79 coins in the jar. This vacation had cost him surprisingly small, tourists had liked his juggling on the beaches and liked his witty input even more. The galleons to get there and the galleons back was probably more than he'd spent the whole fourth dimension in between.

Harry stepped out into a drab bowling alley and set off away from the shop. Walking quickly he made for the lighter end of the street where he could try more people moving. citizenry turned to stare at his bright summery clothing in the dark and shadowed street and he heard grumbling and muttering. A bony hand fell on his shoulder joint and he broke into a run. Shadowy figures leapt out at him and to a greater extent hands tried to take in leverage, Harry broke off as his way ahead was blocked and he sprinted down a side street. He could see the bright phone of diagonally ahead of him and sprinted as intemperately as he could.

Suddenly he hit what felt like a rubber wall, picking him up and bouncing him back into the shadow.

"What the… ?"But there was no clock time to think. Figures were closing in and Harry dove in the diametrical direction. He slipped down another road.

More masked torso seemed to pop out of every fantasm. The small boy dodged down another street and found himself at a dead end. The entrance to the alleyway was blocked by a small gang, five or so champion and witches in sorry bedevil gown blocked his way back.

Harry slipped his sceptre out of his air pocket into his right hired man. His eyes scanned the rampart around him but they were straight up and down. No handholds. The crowd advanced on him with hands out. Harry crouched down, if he was gona die he was prepared to die like a rat in a corner. Biting and scratching till the last.

"What have we here ?"A scabby and dishevelled witch said with a cackle."Kid shouldn't be in knockturn alley. Something bad could happen."She reached out towards him and Harry's hand tightened on his scepter.

"standstill aside hag !"A news bulletin of red light shot from the other end of the alley and the hag hair burst into flaming.

She shrieked and jumped away while the others tried to put out the fire. This left Harry with a clear view down the alleyway to the man standing there, his prospicient sceptre out.

"Never fear young rascal !"The man said in a prosperous vocalization."Markus Michelson is here !"

*

"Who in the… Hey !"Harry tried to object but the man had reached him in three retentive strides and picked him up with one hand."Put me down ! Put me down !"

"quiet down pipsqueak."The man set off out of the back street with Harry held almost nonchalantly in the bend of his heavily muscled arm."You're in safe deal now."

Harry tried to pry the finger off of him but the mans grip was like a vice. Harry continued to skin until they got out into the safer seaport of diagonally and he was dumped unceremoniously on the storey.

"For someone being rescued by the peachy warrior, adventurer, devotee and Explorer that the universe has ever known."The man put his fists on his hips and deform down to put his expression near Harry's."You sure don't seem to have it off how show you're grateful."

Harry sat up and checked himself over before replying. For a moment his hand rested on the leather cord around his cervix then he looked up and responded.

"Yeah, sorry. Thank you. Thanks."The man reached out a hand and pulled Harry to his human foot.

"Not to interest. I'd imagine getting stuck down a dead end in knockturn alley is a niggling frightening for someone not as… imposing… as me."He tucked his wand in his belt and Harry looked him up and down. Even without taking his hat into account the man was easily seven feet marvelous and had shoulders like a ox. He wore thick leather bang and leather trousers above them, fitting tightly over muscled ramification. The smash was Hydra skin and he had what looked like animate being teeth tied hanging off it so they clattered as he moved. Above that he wore a manakin accommodation red undershirt that left his arms bare. Harry could see the edge of a tattoo peeking up amongst his chest pilus and another on his bicep. Further down his arms he wore two spike bands. To top it all off the man wore a cowboy hat over his thick blond hair with a foresighted red feather tucked into the lot on one English and three rifle bullets on the early.

"Who are you ?"

"Thought I introduced myself before. Never mind, probably slipped your mind in all the excitement."The man struck a airs."I am Markus Maximus Michelson. Happy to cook your acquaintance pipsqueak."

"My figure is Harry."Odd to hear that after a summer of Jack.

"Good to meet you little Harry. Now…"the man looked around at the bunch"…where are you meeting your parents. Can't leave you alone out here since you seem to attract trouble. You lilliputian tyke."He ruffled Harry's hair as if he was a little kid, earning himself Harry's eternal hatred.

"…um. The ice pick place."Harry lied with a straight human face."Their probably waiting."

"Good, good."The man grabbed his arm again and set a brisk pace through the crowd. There were a lot of people this meter of day but they parted to let Markus through. Harry had hoped that when they reached Fortescue's ice cream parlour the odd hotshot would allow for him alone. He did nothing of the sort however and sat down at a board, leaning far back on his professorship and tucking his thumb in his bang loop. Harry was just wondering why he was waiting around when the ground walked up to the tabular array.

"Can I get you anything Mr Michelson."The waitress was a Edward Young witch, probably not far out of Hogwarts, and she blushed as she spoke to Harry's rescuer.

"My little admirer here needs a deep brown Sunday to settle down him down. He's just been in a bit of a sticky situation down knockturn alley. For myself just seeing you smile is all the Henry Sweet I need, and please…"he plucked a yellow daisy out of air and set it behind the girls ear"…call me Maximus."

"You helped him ?"

"Oh no."mentation Harry."She was here hold out summertime. She knows who I am."

"You saved Harry Potter ! Oh, you ‘ re so brave and like, secure !"

"Harry Potter.. ?"The man looked at him for a moment with a Inner Light smile then turned back"Yes I did. And yes, I am rather strong. Mighty is my heart name."The young lady swooned and rushed off to get Harry's ice cream. When she was gone the man turned back and fixed him with the smile again. Harry crossed his arms.

"sentiment your middle name was Maximus."

"Nope, Mighty."The man flexed his bicep and Harry was able to read the tattoo there. It was five Ms written one after another. The man pointed at the it with his early hand."Markus Maximus Mighty Majesto Michelson"he tapped the monogram with his finger."But the first of my centre names is my personal favourite. So these parents that we're waiting for…"

"My friends parents."Harry fabricated."I ‘ m living with them this summer. I didn ‘ t explain because I prefer to go under the radio detection and ranging a bit, you know."

"Can ‘ t honestly say I do little man."Harry's Billy Sunday appeared and he began eating it quickly."How can you not take the air down the street and palpate the basking adoration of the people Harry. I owe it to my fable to be seen, in the hope that I inspire Thomas Young whelp like you to suit just like me. Its my duty Harry, as a man."

"Oooo."The waitress had stuck around to listen to Marcus speak and was now holding her work force clasped together over her chest."You're so impertinent as well as so hansom cab. You're like a poet or a receiving set wiz or something."

Harry rolled his eyes and finished his ice cream quickly as the vain wizard chatted to ( or more accurately chatted up ) the fille. Harry dropped the price of the meal on the tabular array.

"Ah, there they are."Harry pointed off in a random focus and got up."See you."

"Sure I will Harry."The man said cryptically before turning back to the former object of his attention.

*

Harry moved quickly once he was out of the mans sight and slipped into Gringots. He got money out more quickly than he should have by simply ignoring the waiting line and asking for Greeklunk. His old goblin friend quickly helped him refill his pouch for another year. While he was down in the burial vault Harry stuck his t-shirt in his bag and instead took out a foresighted robe with a cowling. At Greeklunk's confused expression he said…

"person back up on the street that I ‘ d rather didn ‘ t recognise me."

"Oh right wing. Bloody paparazzi."

Harry stepped back out into the street and did his school shopping quickly. When he walked back retiring Fortescue's the adept was still there, showing the waitress a retentive scar on his arm.

*

Harry stood in the country lane and rechecked the letter of the alphabet he held in his hand. He was sure he was at to the lowest degree in the right village and probably on the mighty route. It was just that the road went a retentive way in both directions and Ron's advice on getting to his theater had been rather obscure. Like he'd only really seen the surrounding countryside from the air. Harry folded the letter away and shrugged, there was always another way. He walked over to a where a sodbuster was sitting near his tractor, fiddling with something in the engine.

"Hi. I'm looking for the kinsfolk of ginger hoi polloi who keep owl as pets."

"Down the lane, go left at the co-op."The man said without looking up."And severalize the man I need my wrench back."

*

Harry had to hold out the urge to split into a run as he caught mint of the Weasley house. Outside it in the overgrown garden he could see three boy working, flinging something he couldn't make out over the garden wall. Harry smiled, they were expecting him today but he hadn't exactly been able to fall in them an demand time. As he walked closer the door to the sign opened and Molly Weasley ( Ron had told him all about his family ) emerged, carrying a tray with drinking on it. Behind her a Pres Young girl ( must be Ginny ) stepped outside and leaned against the doorpost looking bored. None of them seemed to birth noticed him yet, or maybe the tan had changed his appearing a bit. As he stepped up to the front gate he spread his arms wide.

"Aloha !"

"Harry !"Ron jumped in surprisal"You ‘ re here."The twins jumped up too and ran to meet him, but the most extreme point reaction came from the immature Weasley. Ginny went dead white under her tomentum and her mouth seemed to move as if she was trying to say something then she bolted through the still open threshold.

"She has some sort of objection to aloha ?"Harry asked the pep crowd.

"Nah, mate."Ron shook his heading."She ‘ s been jumping and squeaking every metre we so much as mentioned your name. Guess you in the chassis was just too a lot for her."

"Ron, be overnice to your sister."Mrs Weasley's interpreter was rear end for a instant then turned soft again as she turned back to Harry."She ‘ s just shy Harry. I ‘ m sure she ‘ ll get over it the more she sees of you."

"Probably."Agreed Harry"The hero thing doesn ‘ t last. I ‘ ve been told on repeated occasions that I ‘ m a massive disappointment."

"Who told you that ?"Molly Weasley looked aghast.

"Snape."

"Yeah but he said you had floberworms for brains too."Said Ron."And we're fairly certain that's not true."

"Right."Chimed in one of the Twin Falls."We ‘ re pretty sealed they ‘ re doxy droppings."

"At least that's up the evolutionary scale."

*

But Ginny's odd demeanor didn't stop. Harry found that she was unequal to of staying in a room that he was in and that any attempt to address directly to her was adequate to get off her scurrying away. One morning when he came down and found her curled up on the sofa with a magazine he decided to put a stop to it.

"Ginny."She stiffened and looked like she was about to flee."Don't run away please."He walked around and sat next to her on the couch. She looked like a pocket-sized rodent confronted by a snake, eyes astray exposed and too frighten off to run."Can you tell me why you run every time I try to babble to you or accede the way ?"Silence, except for the twitching she could have been petrified."tone Ginny I don't know what it is but could you delight talk to me. We ‘ re going to be going to schooling together for the next six old age. Could you talk to me. Please."

"Y… you…"Harry had to strain to listen her swoon whisper."you destroyed you-know-who."

"Oh you ‘ re still thinking about that ?"Harry waved his paw dismissively."That happened ages and ages ago. No one cares about that. Apparently Markus Mandy A. A. Michelson is everyone's hero now."

"You ‘ ve got the scar."

"I ‘ ve got a lot of scrape. Which one in specific ?"Ginny reached out to orient at his frontal bone and Harry brushed away the fuzz to reveal the mark. But apparently this was too often for Ginny and she bolted up the stairs almost knocking over Ron.

"What ‘ s that about ?"He asked sleepily.

"She ‘ s still shy around me. That sucks."

"Why are you so messed up about it."Ron asked. Then looked up as if he remembered something."You were acting like this about Hermione too, close year. Back before she liked us."

"And that turned out OK."

"You ‘ re not gon na mount up a chimney again are you Harry ?"

"No Ron but I think I do reckon I need to take drastic action to correct this situation."Harry thought for a consequence then latched onto a brilliant design. An amazing program. Possibly the keen programme he had ever devised."You have a few brooms here right ?"

"Five utmost clock time I looked. My old one, the twin, Hotspur's and one Charlie left here."

"Excellent. I would like to act some Quidditch."

"But Harry you can ‘ t play Quidditch. The last fourth dimension you got on a broom you made a double-dyed fool of yourself."

"Exactly !"

*

This was the tough program he had ever come up with.

"You have to follow through."Ron made a jabbing move with the flatbed of his hired hand. That meant come after through Harry knew, the hand signals were about all he ‘ d picked up during the plot."Just concentrate on following through. That was the problem that time."

"No Ron, the problem was that I flew into a tree."Harry tumbled to the footing and ptyalise out a folio."What's the signal for ‘ You're about to fly into a tree diagram ‘ ?"

"There isn ‘ t one, we'd have to cook up it just for you."Ron helped him back on his Calluna vulgaris and they flew back up to join the counterpart. Ginny was sitting a piffling agency away watching them, when Harry had fallen out of the tree she had jumped up in shock. But as Ron and the Twin Falls had begun laughing at him he had seen a shadower of a smile cross her face as well. That shadow was all that was keeping him from giving up the entire endeavour and getting his feet back on solid state ground.

"Right."Ron said as they hovered at their end of the pitch."You make for the decent paw side. I ‘ ll pull them off to the left then pass it to you. Then you can mark. Got it ?"

"Aye aye maitre d'hotel !"Harry saluted and almost overbalanced.

"Oh and by the way, from now on this…"Ron grinned and put both fist out straight ahead."… from now on that means tree."

"I would perforate you Ron, but I ‘ d crepuscle off if I tried."Harry began moving off to the right and saw his friend shoot away with the Quaffle. After a consequence Ron turned and chucked it ahead of him. He rushed forward to arrest it, fumbled it, then snagged it in one deal.

"I got it ! I got…"clump !

Harry struck the ground hard and rolled to a stop in the farsighted supergrass.

"Ow."Harry put his hand to the book binding of his head and sat up. Looking right into the face of Ginny Weasley. She had run over to see if he was alright and now stood, across-the-board eyed before him.

"There didn ‘ t used to be four of you."Harry pointed at her with a shaking deal."stay being four of you, person… girl… Where am I ?"Harry blinked and looked around blurrily. A small disturbance brought him back to the present and he looked forward. Ginny had her mitt over her sassing and was trying hard not to laugh. lilliputian vocalise kept escaping like steam out of a timpani.

"You ‘ ve got steam in your mouth !"Harry tried to get up and fell back on his behind."Like water but… broken. Where are my glasses ? The four of you should be able to line up them."And with that Ginny burst out laughing.

The four Weasley's carried him off the pitch and Fred and George ( who seemed to accept experience with head injuries for some reasonableness ) pronounced him ticket.

"Maybe we should take a break."Ron said worriedly."You know, give him time to recover."

"Better idea."Harry tossed his ling to Ginny."You take my spotlight. I am never ever ever ever ever ever getting on one of those again. From now on I walk where I need to go."

"Hey ! I don't want her on my team."Ron said angrily."That ‘ s not fair when we're already behind !"

"Ron…"Harry pitched his articulation to match Mrs Weasley's"Be courteous to your sister ! And besides, your option are me or her."

"Welcome to the team Ginny."

*

"See ! No one can beat my team !"Harry grinned and slapped his pectus as the biz drew to an official closing.

"What do you mean your team."Ginny glided past him smiling and laughing."When you went off you were eight goal down. How can you say you won ?"

"The squad won."Harry explained with swing out deal gesture."And we all played a part in that."

"And your part is ?"

"Cheerleader. I really should get some pompoms."



banknote : Right, thats the second year started.

Interesting intelligence about Dumbledore, but it makes common sense when you look back on it. Energy kind of brand it more tragic however. The adept of accepting citizenry for who they were died without ever himself being accepted. He probably never even told anyone. The bit about how he did n't move against Grindlewald was interesting too and puts the whole thing in a new igniter. What if Grindlewald was well cognizant of Dumbledores feelings and used him to gain power in rubber ? Knowing to the full well that Dumbledore was the only one who could give birth posibly stopped him. Ah well ...

This is why we need JK Rowling to spell some prequels.


# include `` standard legal disclamer.h ''

Ok, thats a very nerdy joke but thats fine 'cos anyone who laughed is just as nerdy.






Kings cross was crowded beyond feeling as the Weasley kin group crossed the station towards platform nine and three one-quarter.

"hastiness up."Mrs Weasley herded her respective thrill towards the barrier."right wing. ejaculate everyone, while the muggles aren't looking."One by one the redheader snap through the roadblock. Harry waited until last, as the summer had drawn to a close he had wondered if perhaps he might not be let back into the school day. He had got the book list but perhaps that had been automatic.

"You go first. I ‘ m fine."Harry motioned Mrs Weasley ahead of him."I want to delight my in conclusion mo of freedom."She disappeared through the barrier and Harry took a late breathing place. There wasn't much more he could do to put this off. He started running forwards, lowered his head and closed his eyes as he reached the barrier.

Crack ! Harry bounced back and fell to the dry land gasping. The roadblock hadn't opened ! He put his hand to his forehead and it came back bloody. His mind reeled.

"They don't want me back."Harry blinked and looked up at the clock. Less than a hour till the wagon train was supposed to will."They expelled me."

Harry stayed on the floor despite the odd looks he was getting. There didn't seem to be much point in getting up. The clock ticked over the hour. The caravan was leaving.

Harry looked down platform ten and thought he saw a wisp of skunk upgrade from beyond the tracks. Where was the wizards platform anyway ? A mad approximation struck Harry and he was stood back up in a flash. His foot seemed to actuate of their own accord and he took first one then another halting footprint along the platform. Another wisp of fastball. He broke into a run and willed his legs to bear him faster and faster.

"it's a steam train."Harry dodged past a start conductor at the end of the platform and jumped down onto the tracks."It takes a piece to speed up."He pumped his legs for additional pep pill.

"shovel !"Harry reached onto his backpack and flicked his owl's batting cage open."Catch me up at Hogwarts !"Harry shot to the edge of the geartrain rail and looked down. The pattern, muggle train tracks coming out of kings hybridisation were raised up on a kind of long bridge, raising them several storey above the city streets. Harry glanced down in time to see the end of the Hogwarts expressage squeeze itself out from between the bricks of the bridge and point off down a caterpillar tread that looked disused. Up ahead the course rose up and joined with the others, if Harry was going to do it, he ‘ d have to do it now.

"Please ! Oh god please let me still be born favorable !"Harry prayed silently, then launched himself off the side.

He crashed into the top of the finish carriage and hung onto it for dear life. The train was beginning to cull up speeding and Harry crawled to the edge. Thankfully the carriages windowpane was open. Harry swung his bag in through it then slid down into it himself.

"Harry ceramist. Nice to meet you."He said to the aghast commencement days who's carriage he'd dropped into."See you at Hogwarts !"Harry walked shakily out the room access. Once he was safely in the corridor he leaned against the paries and slid down till he was on the base. He wanted to get up and find his friend but for some ground none of his limbs seemed to work. He caught a glimpse of himself in the glass in front of him and blinked in shock. He looked a wreck ! Blood ran down the leftfield side of his face and was matted into the hairsbreadth above.

"M… Mr Potter."Harry looked around and saw the beldam with the trolley standing looking at him. Harry gulped for air.

"Two cauldron cakes please."He said, trying to cerebrate of something that would lull his nerves.

She wordlessly handed him the cakes and took the cost of them without once taking her eye off him. When he was about to leave she finally said.

"Did you… just… jump onto the train."

"No."Harry shook his head"No. Definitely not. You ‘ d have to be crazy to skip over on a moving train."

*

Harry moved down the power train as quietly as he could. Trying to find his acquaintance without drawing too much care. Unfortunately talk travelled fast on the Hogwarts limited and he couldn't go five steps without encountering another stare or go past a grouping of bookman without them breaking out in a fit of whispering.

"So piteous attention seeking Potter strikes again."The vocalisation was behind him. Harry turned around and sagged when he saw Malfoy and his strong-armer staring at him.

"Malfoy I really don't have the get-up-and-go for this now."It was admittedly. Harry would stimulate liked doing cipher Sir Thomas More than simply collapsing on the storey there for the balance of the journey."Could you please, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, bugger off and die like the diseased objet d'art of dilate rectum flesh you are."

"Big public lecture for a kid who can barely stand."Malfoy took a step forward and Harry retreated."And I don't see your footling friends here to aid you today. This may just be my lucky day."The three Slytherins advanced on him and Harry drew his wand when…

"ceramist !"Harry turned and saw professor McGonagall standing in the carriage. Malfoy and his escort disappeared through a threshold."How in Falco columbarius ‘ s name did you get here ?"She grabbed him and pulled out her wand, touching it calmly to the cut on his headway then whisking away the bloodline on his grimace."I just spent an unpleasant few proceedings arguing with Molly Weasley who was franticly trying to get us to hold on the geartrain. She seemed to be under the effect that the barrier had sealed with you on the other side."

"It did."Harry nodded."That's how I hurt my head."

"But then. How did you get here ?"

"You honestly, really and truly don't want to know."

"Harry…"

"I jumped onto the train."

"YOU JUMPED ONTO THE TRAIN !"

"The barrier had sealed up ! There wasn ‘ t any other way ! And besides, I had a chief harm. I ‘ m not sure enough I was in an wholly rational frame of mind."

"That is beside the stage Mr ceramist, but after the stunt you pulled at the end of death class I suppose I should not be entirely surprised."She straightened up"We will have to talk about this further in my office at Hogwarts. At the very least you will receive several years detention."

"But if I have detention…"Harry grasped at this chaff"… then I ‘ m not expelled ? Right ?"

"No Mr Potter. Not this time."She began walking away down the power train."Go to my federal agency when we reach Hogwarts."

"After the sorting ?"

"As soon as you reach the castle."

"professor please…"Alright this is McGonagall, you know how to put one across McGonagall. She acts bully but she's all bathetic inside."… my champion's sister's getting sorted today and she ‘ s worried about it. All her crony are in Gryffindor, unhurt family really. I should be there for her. Please ?"

"Alright Mr Potter. After the sorting."McGonagall's eyes had gotten softer as Harry had spoken."But before the feast."

"Of course of study prof. I ‘ ll be there."

"And I will owl Mrs Weasley to inform her you are safe."She turned away and Harry was left alone once again in the corridor.

*

Harry eventually found the Marauders compartment and slid the door open.

"Hello freindlies !"

"Harry !"Hermione's sass dropped open."Ron said you couldn ‘ t get onto the platform !"

"Couldn't."Harry noticed Ginny sitting quietly in the corner of the compartment. Ron had probably been told to keep back an eye on her."Had to acquire entry to the geartrain by… other means."

"Apparation ?"Padma had apparently also caught some sun over the summer, though it was less noticeable on her."You do know that's illegal."

"Couldn ‘ t precaution less. But no."

"Portkey ?"Neville seemed to think for a present moment."Or a broom ?"

"No."Ron and Ginny spoke at the Sami meter but Ginny backed down and Ron continued."Harry swore blind he ‘ d never touch another broom."

"Oh god I know what it is."Parvarti put her hand to her mouth and began shaking her head."I was talking to Lavender down the other end of the train. I thought she was joking."

"What is it ?"Hermione asked and the piranha seemed to hang waiting for the answers.

"You jumped onto the top of the train."The marauders turned as one to look at him.

"Maybe."None of his booster seemed to want to speak.

"Harry ..."Neville broke the silence."…you ‘ re crazy."

"I know."Harry sat as the former snapped out of their seismic disturbance and started speaking all at once."It ‘ s beginning to worry me."

*

The power train meandered its farsighted journey through the James Jerome Hill and Harry ducked out of the conversations around him. His head still hurt and he didn't have the energy to toy with people. He leaned against the cold window as rain started to streak down, leaving piffling trails on the window pane. He closed his eyes and lay there for a long while. lilliputian track of water, swirling, drowning.

"Harry."He shook himself awake and looked over at the youthful Weasley, leaning over to him."Are you alright ?"Harry looked around the compartment, the rest period of his friends were still talking amongst themselves."You ‘ re face was all scrunched up like you were dreaming."

"Oh, are we there yet."Harry form of wanted to get back to quietus. Even if it was to bad dreams.

"Not for a while."Ginny bit her lip worriedly. Harry noticed that her fingernails too looked like they had been chewed.

"Worried ?"Harry grinned as she jerked in surprise. Harry waved his hand dismissively."Don't worry. You ‘ ll love it there. moral are easy, specially charms. Friends everywhere. Plus if any of the Slytherins bother you we can show some swift retribution. We're feared by that house."

"That ‘ s kind of what I ‘ m worried about."Ginny glanced at the red sharpness on Harry's robe.

"Ah."sentiment Harry."My guess was right, and I just made that up to relent up McGonagall."

"You ‘ re worried about the sorting."Harry said out loudly."Want to be Gryffindor ?"

"Yes. If I don't my brothers ‘ ll never forgive me."

"Then severalize it so."Harry looked at the untested young lady startled expression."You know what the sorting hat is decent ?"nod."Then assure it you want to be a Gryffindor. Don't take no for an answer. It's your spirit, don't let a hat make decisions for you."Harry leaned back down and closed his heart again.

*

"What the hellhole ?"Ron voiced what they were all thinking as the predator moved away from the train at Hogsmead. Ginny had left to rent her piffling gravy boat ride and the six friends now stood in nominal head of a line of stroller, each drawn by a thin scaly sawhorse with folded leathery annex."Charlie told me the bearing pulled themselves ?"

"Maybe they've changed since your brothers day."Said Harry climbing into one of them."And besides…"He looked around"No one else seems to think anything's amiss."

"Still think this is weird."

*

Ginny Weasley stood fidgeting in forepart of the Radclyffe Hall as the sorting hat finished its Sung dynasty. She was so nervous she wanted to bite her nails despite the face they were already worn to the pith. Well, at least she was a Weasley. Her name would be called near to lastly. She saw Harry on the Gryffindor board spinning three forks in the air in front of him. She tried to overhear his eye but failed, he was talking to his real friends. Everyone began to pay attention as Dumbledore stood up.

"Before we begin the sorting I ‘ d like to herald two matter. One is that, despite what this empty electric chair seems to signal, we have found a new Defence Against the Dark prowess teacher."Ginny looked along the instructor table and saw a lank-haired professor grimace. She giggled, that must be professor Snape."Sadly he could not be here tonight as he has been managing the transport of his belongings from overseas. Rest assured that he has my entire authority and he will introduce himself, probably at length…"did the lank-haired professor just grimace even more ?"…in your first lesson with him tomorrow. Now the second thing is that we will be doing this years sorting backwards."

"What ?"That prompted a mussitation about the hall.

"Yes, call it an old mans project. Now let us uphold so that we can relish a glorious feast after we are all done."Dumbledore sat back down but the murmuring hadn't ceased. McGonagall then took her home, the verbal expression on her aspect clearly showing that the master had not discussed this with her. She looked down at her composition and read…

"Weasley, Ginevra."

"What ! Oh…"Ginny thought as she walked out in front of the shoal."Backwards…"The last thing she saw before she pulled the hat down over her centre were the Marauders turning to catch her.

"Another Weasley, seems I see those on almost a each year basis. But a Weasley girl ? Why I haven't seen one like you in…"

"I chose Gryffindor."It seemed to her that the hat gasped loudly all around her.

"That's not quite how it works Weasley girl."

"No. That is how it works. Harry told me I could choose my house. I want to be in Gryffindor."

"Quite brave of you to just shout it out it like that. Almost forces me to pick Gryffindor."Shout it out ? …Oh god !

"Ah… You didn ‘ t realise you were speaking out loud ?"
Ginny lifted the brim of the hat just enough to see around the manse. There was whispering everywhere, and every fount had an very visage of shocked amazement. Her centre searched out her crony at the Gryffindor table. Percy had buried his fount in his hired man and seemed to be trying to pretend it all wasn't happening, Fred and George were watching her with huge evilness grins and Ron, Ron just looked mix up. Her oculus flickered past Ron to Harry and their gazes locked, then the boy did the peculiar thing, he pulled up his sleeve, put his hand palm out and jabbed forward.

Follow through

Ginny glanced back at the teachers tabular array, where every typeface mirrored the amazement of the students. She glanced back to Harry and he jabbed again. Well, if she was gon na follow through then there was only one affair for it ...

"Yep."She said, trying to not hold her interpreter interruption out in whimpers."Definitely Gryffindor."And with that she pulled the hat off her point, set it down on the chair and walked steadily towards Harry. She blanked out everything else in the hall, the susurration rising, the teachers, everything. There was a seat next to Harry and she was sitting in it. She reached the bench and hopped onto it, everyone was looking at her.

"Stay perfectly calm."Harry's interpreter but she swore his lips barely moved."Look straight ahead and don't give them any sign they're getting to you."Easy for him to say ! She stayed exactly where she was as the silence crawled on. Then something touched her paw by her position. A candy of some kind. Without a countersign, and before the silent stares of the totally hall, she brought out, give away and calmly ate a liquorice wand.

Every eye in the hall turned as they heard McGonagall solve her throat then…

"Kingston, Victor."

It was as if the Charles Martin Hall had been holding its intimation the total sentence and now let it out in a moving ridge of chatter. Ginny felt someone clap her on the back and looked sideways into Harry's case.

"Thank you."Ginny breathed through the dissonance."I didn ‘ t know what to do. I didn't even realise I was talking out loud."

"Figured as much."Harry said glibly and offered her another Glycyrrhiza glabra wand."skilful thing I was paying tending, who the hell is Ginevra Weasley ?"

The small boy with exquisitely waxed hair and sunglasses apparently named Victor Kingston had reached the hat and was looking down at it worriedly. He looked like he was about to piece it up then looked at the tables in the hall.

"Ravenclaw. I think I like Ravenclaw."

"On the asset side you may have started a revolution."Harry had leaned in to talk to her again."On the minus McGonagall's gon na kill you…"

A vague looking girl was now looking at the hat thoughtfully before declaring that she was going to"The red haired missy's house."

"Are you our new business firm mascot Ginny ?"Fred leaned over and grinned at his Sister.

"We could ready up some new banners if you like."His Twin Falls leaned in from the former side of the board.

"farewell her twins."Harry was holding her by both articulatio humeri away from her older brothers."She tricked the hat, swindled McGonagall, caused a hybrid mansion revolution and all in front of the entire school !"Harry grabbed her and hugged her from behind."You can ‘ t have her ! She ‘ s ours !"

"What's he talking about."Ginny didn't think she could grin more than she was as she shot the doubtfulness at her comrade across the table. But it was Parvarti Patil who answered her.

"He means that you ‘ re the type of person who goes for what they want and has the face to see it through and doesn ‘ t forethought what the rules say or who thinks what !"She stuck out her paw"Welcome to the Marauders."

By the end of the day Ginervrador House ( as it was briefly called ) had an unusually large category of outset long time. Filch had to move some of the beds.

*

As Harry trudged back from his world-class detention with McGonagall that night ( polishing hundreds and one C of governance clitoris that were just going to be transfigured into beetles anyway ) he leaned on the wall near the portrayal kettle of fish and closed his eyes for a present moment.

"Harry ceramicist sir !"

Harry opened his oculus and immediately realised his head wound must give birth been high-risk than he thought. The Hallucination had retentive pointy spike and was wearing some sort of get at fabric like a toga.

"Wha… ?"

"Harry ceramicist should never possess got on the gear !"

"Who ?"Harry shook his principal but the small trope remained"What and/or who are you ?"

"Dobby sir. Dobby the theatre elf."The odd little creature bowed to him, its nose almost touching the floor."Dobby is truly sorry to receive caused trouble for such a corking whiz as Harry ceramicist. But Harry Potter must leave Hogwarts !"

"Caused trouble ? What trouble ?"Harry slid off the bulwark and stood heterosexual person. His wand was inconveniently tucked in an interior scoop, hard to reach. Was this creature a menace ?"What are you talking about ?"

"Dobby thought that perhaps if Harry Potter was hurt he wouldn ‘ t be capable to go to Hogwarts."

"What precisely…"Harry heavily enunciated the word"… are you talking about."

"Dobby thought that if the platform closed…"

"That was you !"Harry snapped forward like a shot and caught the trivial creature by the arms. The thing whined and tried to split up away but he held on."I could have missed the bloody geartrain !"The creature nodded and whimpered a little more."I could possess been killed ! Wait… knockturn alley…"Harry remembered the rubber wall. The elf stiffened again and he seemed to be avoiding Harry's middle."That was you as well ! Why WHY !"He picked the thing up and shook it roughly."Are you trying to kill me ? Are you ?"The elf was truly crying now and Harry let him go. The pitiful matter crawled away from Harry and sat on the trading floor, looking up at him with its huge, shoot filled eyes. It looked like a kicked pup.

"Look, I ‘ m sorry."Harry reached out towards the elf but it shied away."I didn ‘ t mean to hurt you. The hospital wing isn ‘ t far, can I…"

"No !"Dobby's human face became a masquerade of fear."Dobby can not be seen. Dobby ‘ s victor can never know. Dobby isn ‘ t hurt, Dobby gets far regretful than this at home. Dobby's Edgar Lee Masters are…"the elf seemed to stiffen for a moment then he rushed over to the bulwark and began hitting his head on it hard.

"Bad Dobby ! Bad Dobby !"

"postponement ! Hey, stop consonant !"Harry was torn between the need to stop it hurting itself and trying to avoid grabbing it again since he'd obviously hurt him. He pulled his robe off, quickly balled it up and ( between top dog bounces ) slid it between Dobby and the wall. The pitiful elf continued on for a twosome of hits, apparently not realising he was now cushioned, then dropped to the level.

"Thank you sir."The elf's voice was a short quaky."Dobby almost spoke ill of his masters."

"Dobby…"Harry saw a want to tread carefully here."If, IF remember ! Hypothetically I asked who your masters were. Would you give to punish yourself ?"The elf quickly nodded.

"If I asked you to write it ?"nod.

"If I asked you to act it out like charades ?"The elf appeared to remember about this, cocking its pass to the side. Then he nodded.

"If I asked you to tell me why you want me to leave Hogwarts ?"the elf's question stayed very still."How a great deal can you tell me without having to punish yourself ?"

"Danger. Dobby knows that danger has come to Hogwarts. Death…"

"If I asked you whether your masters were involved ?"Dobby tensed like a rod."Just IF remember, if I asked you that would you give to penalise yourself ?"

Dobby nodded. Harry smiled, that meant his headmaster were involved. Otherwise why would he be forbidden to tell anyone ?

"And is I asked what form the risk would ask ?"

But at this Dobby shook his head furiously and put his script over his auricle. The pathetic elf began rocking backwards and forwards and keening.

"It ‘ s OK Dobby. You don't have to recite me."The rocking stopped and the elf uncurled.

"Harry Potter will leave Hogwarts ?"

"No. But I will be careful, very careful."

"Harry Potter must leave, Harry Potter is in danger."

"I usually am Dobby."Harry leaned forward conspiratorially."That just makes it more fun."





Please review, especially if you think it 's bad. Really, it 'll help me improve.


"Wonder if he ‘ s cute ?"Parvarti wondered quizzically as the second years wandered to the defence against the dark arts classroom. They had the class maiden period Monday, so would be the kickoff to run into the new instructor."Dumbledore said he ‘ s foreign, so I bet he ‘ s cute."

"I just wonder if he ‘ ll be a honest teacher."Hermione hung her forefront a little."After a year of… of bad teaching we need to catch up. We ‘ ll be lucky if we can make it up in time for the OWLs."Harry could differentiate she had been about to say Quirrell, but had stopped herself. As far as he could tell none of his supporter wanted to call back about the events at the end of finally year.

"Well, so long as he only has one face, I ‘ ll be happy."Harry stuck his hands behind his head and laughed."Right ?"The others stopped for a bit, then grinned with him."thinking so. Anyway…"Harry was the first to the door and pushed it subject."… after Quirrell we can ‘ t do very much regretful can we ?"

"Pipsqueak ! Told you I ‘ d see you again !"

"No…"Harry looked across the elbow room at Markus Maximus Albert Michelson"…please no…"

"Take a seat up front my good lad ! I can already tell this is going to be one of your darling classes !"The marauders filed in the front man row and the early student moved in behind them. All of them looking a minuscule apprehensively at the booming muscled figure in front of them.

"The name's prof Markus Triple-M Michelson. I ‘ ll be your defense force against the dark arts teacher this year. Thought I ‘ d take up a intermission from the globe-trotting to pass on some of my knowledge to the next generation !"He swept his hat off and spun it across the room, it landed neatly on top of a suit of armour."Oh and by the way the Ms point of view for Maximus, Mighty and Magesto but they might as well stand for Muscular, Magical and most of all Masculine !"He laughed and put his clenched fist on his hip."So, on to the matriculation !"He grabbed the register off the table and began yelling out figure, variously chuckling at the odd names and winking at any girl who answered him quickly. When he got to Potter he said

"Know you ‘ re here Pipsqueak ! Don't motive to even ask !"then went on. Harry dreaded looking backwards but did so anyway. Near the back genus Draco Malfoy looked at him and mouthed the Logos pipsqueek then sneered. Harry groaned, he ‘ d never hear the end of this.

When the register was finished the professor strode up to the presence of the class. To the stupor of all watching he slammed one fist back into the blackboard. Words jumped off the aerofoil as if they had been jolted into being.

"Duelling !"The professor said and indeed this was the title on the plank."Who here has cast something harsher than jelly-legs at another thaumaturge ?"

A few hands went up around the course, including Harry's. Neville gulped and tried to hold his hand as low as possible, but Padma took it and jerked it up.

"You there !"Markus pointed to Neville. Padma giggled."What have you used ?"

"full moon body Bind sir."Neville appeared to be wishing he had a hole to crawl into.

"commodity ! Good self-coloured spell ! Incantation, for those who don't know is Petrificus Totalus. And who did you use it on ?"

"McGonagall."

"Mc…McGonagall ?"A nervous titter of laughter ran around the schoolroom."Right, OK. Um… Anyone else ?"He pointed at Harry,"How bout you pipsqueak ?"

"Acerbus cuspis."

"The pain-spear spell."The teacher stopped moving and turned back towards Harry."A execration originating in the time of the Inquisition, considered by many to be dark Magic ?"

"Er…"

"And who did you use it on ?"

"Quirrell."

"right OK."Michelson shook his head."Before we dredge up any more assaults against Hogwarts teachers lets start on something else. Who here knows what a shield charm is ?"Many of the script went down ( though not of line, Hermione's )"Right ! we'll first there."

*

The course of study let out an hour later. Many of the students had the after-effects of minor jinxes and hexes on them from when their carapace hadn't been good enough or when their opposer had been too secure. prof Michelson seemed to think all of it extremely funny and laughed outrageously at every furiously-dancing, uncontrollably-coughing or unnaturally-warty student before cancelling their affliction and sending them on their way. Half way through the class he had picked Harry to demonstrate some more serious jinx to the course of instruction. Harry ‘ s screen appeal wasn ‘ t nearly sound enough and he ended up suffering for every patch that winged his way.

"I hate him ! I hate that muscle-head love child !"Harry ranted as they walked to chronicle of magic."He knows my name and he keeps calling me pipsqueak ! He singles me out ! He will pay for this ! Right ?"

The other marauders kept a safe aloofness, giggling behind their hired hand.

"You know Harry, he seems to be a pretty good teacher."Hermione said. Harry rounded on her."I mean, some grownup wizards can't do harbor magic spell and he managed to get half the division doing them in just one lesson."

"He keeps calling me abruptly !"Harry didn't understand why the others didn't get this"And didn ‘ t you hear him ? Mighty, Majestic, Mouldering… He loves himself !"

"Well…"Parvarti chipped in"He is cute."Harry's font became granitelike and drear."And he… winked at me."

"You ‘ ll see."Harry turned and began back towards the history of wizard classroom"You ‘ ll all see ! After you meet him a few times you ‘ ll agree with me about Markus Virgin Mary Michelson !"

*

But they didn't.

defence mechanism Against the dark art quickly became the most expect forward to object lesson by the full school. Every few deterrent example Markus Michelson would precede a new combat trance and work with them, pulling them with laughs, belittlement and boost, to perfect the spell. From disarming and stunning through to shields and self-defence he taught everything with an very laugh and superposable chesty attitude. Harry remained sullen and silent in these deterrent example especially when the inevitable happened and he was called up to help attest a new piece. He had tried to get the marauders riled up to take on a joke on professor A. A. Michelson but they had flatly refused. Harry had to content himself with dropping potion on a group off Slytherins that gave them oozing boils. It had been tranquilize complex, whoever the pus hit when the boiling point exploded developed them as well.

It was on his way back from impenetrable detention that he heard someone yell. Harry saw a for the first time year rush past him upstairs and followed him, towards the noise. A group of scholar were gathered on the third trading floor. Harry pushed through them without a intellection and stopped at the front to see a horrific sight. Painted on the wall in what looked like stock were the words…

Arise those of ancient blood ! Cast out the impure from this house of our fathers ! Be true to your blood ! Destroy the opposition of the heir ! This is the birdcall to arms !

Harry glanced to his side of meat, lined up next to one another stood a group of Slytherins. Malfoy, Goyle and Flint stood incline by English, each wearing superposable formulation of glee.

On the level in front end of the varsity letter crouched piteous master capital of Jamaica, the kid who'd liked the aspect of Ravenclaw, curled up in awe behind his sunglass.

Harry moved closer on instinct and put his fingers to the boys neck.

"What are you doing ?"A voice behind him hissed but he ignored them.

"He doesn ‘ t have a pulse."Harry murmured, trying to move his finger around for a better tactile property."No heartbeat. Get gentlewoman Pomfrey ! Get Dumbledore !"

"Both are here Harry."Harry looked up to see the Headmaster pass to the boundary of the crowd. He stood back gratefully as the schoolhouse harbor went to work.

"Is he… abruptly ?"An Old Ravenclaw at the edge of the roundabout asked and a whisper of breathless electrical shock swept the crowd.

"No."Professor Dumbledore said calmly"He appears to have been petrified."

"Will he recoup ?"Harry noticed that the Ravenclaw was a prefect, she had probably known master.

"Yes Miss Clearwater. I think so, in time."tenseness seemed to go out of the group but the prefect pressed on.

"Professor…"She glanced up at the writing on the wall."Victor was a muggleborn, do you opine that there ‘ s any peril ?"

"I am sure I can trust every student here to act in a way that does not dishonour the sound name of this school."

"Yeah right."Harry thought and glanced back at Malfoy and the other Slytherins."Seems a war's been called. the great unwashed are already choosing sides."

*

The first flak happened just the next cockcrow. Hannah abbot was found with a broken arm at the bottom of the stair leading down to the Hufflepuff common room. Her bag and books strewn haphazardly at the top. She'd been coming up from the cellar early to get breakfast and been pushed back down.

prof sprout took her to the hospital wing. But no one had seen what happened, not even Hannah, and no subject how much they asked the Professors couldn't find who had done it.

The side by side day a radical of Slytherins cornered a first year in one of the upper corridors and began hexing him over and over. Only Flitwick happening past times had stopped worse happening.

In a topic of calendar week it was no farseeing rubber for a muggleborn or half-blood student to be out on their own. Madam Pomfrey was being worked of her substructure by the stream of injuries coming into her care.

Then, one first light, Oliver Wood the Gryffindor Quidditch maitre d'hotel was petrified in the prefects privy. The teachers had tried to stay fresh a lid on it but the Holy Writ that had been scrawled on the wall somehow got out.

Mudbloods and blood-traitors cower in concern ! The heir of Slytherin issue and the bedroom has been opened. come up up around his standard ! Spill the ball up blood on the ground !

"It ‘ s getting worse."Harry said as they walked towards their next socio-economic class."I mean just face !"He gestured out the window.

There was a huddle of students scurrying along the wall and slipping in a doorway. A moment later a group of Slytherins hurried into the courtyard with their with wands out.

"Harry no !"Harry was aiming his sceptre out the window but Hermione jerked his arm back."If we start fighting back things will step up ! We have to let the teacher handle it."

"They can ‘ t."Padma said dully as they passed the Defence Against the nighttime Arts classroom"Not on this scale."Her sister nodded silently. Her normally cheerful temper dulled.

"Padma ‘ s decently Hermione."Ron shook his head."matter are just getting worse and besides, we can ‘ t afford to lose any more Quidditch players."

"Is that all you care about !"

"I just meant…"

"Shut up."Harry snapped back at them irritably."Quidditch is about as much use as you two bickering when things are going to hell all around us. We ‘ ve got to do something."

"But what ?"Padma said, shaking her head."This isn ‘ t like Quirrell Harry. There ‘ s no evil genius behind it. Its half the school, trying the kill the early half and we don't know till too tardy which is which."

"With some we got a pretty beneficial idea."Harry murmured darkly as they passed a group of Slytherins. The Marauders curled around Hermione like a human carapace as they passed and only fan out back out after they had gone. A instant later Harry's wand vibrated in his pocket."darn it !"Harry motioned the others to quiet and the sound of hexing could be heard above them. They broke into a run towards the nearest stair.

*

"leave of absence him alone !"Ginny's own vocalization sounded shrill in her ears. She stepped in front her injured booster and tried to unsay her fright.

"What ? Protecting your mudblood boyfriend traitor ?"Marcus flint stepped out of the ring of Slytherins surrounding her and Colin."stride aside for me. I ‘ d rather not spill wizard blood, even your crime syndicate, unless I have to."

"Mico Harry."Ginny whispered, holding her wand out in front man of her. Hoping he was in chain."Mico Harry."

"Your boyfriend doesn ‘ t look up to much."Flint said stepping finisher and eyeing the quivering Gryffindor."Maybe you want a real man ?"

"Mico Ron. Mico Hermione."

"What's that ?"Flint leant forward to hear."That supposed to be a hex ? Ha ! What ‘ s it do ?"Flint laughed and his cohort around him started laughing too.

"It summons daemon !"

As Marcus'promontory jerked up a bludgeoning hex struck him in the chest. He was thrown back and his friends drew their wands as the marauders rushed them from the stairwell.

*

Harry was the outset to take on that he probably wasn't destined to be a duellist. His 1st strike against the seventh year had been lucky and he now found himself shielding for his life in the middle of a war-zone. Other bookman from other houses had been drawn in or joined in or been pushed in by the crew and now the corridor was filled with flashing lights and cry of pain.

"You ‘ re suddenly Potter. Oh you ‘ re dead."Flint advanced on him and Harry ducked behind a statue as the big Slytherins damn smashed into the primer coat near his feet. A back one smacked into the stone thaumaturge and it began to tumble over. Harry scrambled out as it crashed to the level and jabbed his baton at his assailant.

"Expelliarmus !"The trance struck Flint River but his thick, sausage-like fingers were curled tightly around his wand.

"Confringo !"Harry leapt out of the way of the blasting curse and fell badly on his shoulder. He threw his own back in answer and the Snake River stumbled backwards. Harry jumped to his groundwork and guesswork a bludgeoning hex only to have it rally off a shield and smack him in the dresser. Tumbling backwards he landed on his vertebral column among the detritus. His verge skittered off along the flooring. A shadow fell over him and a vast reboot human foot slammed onto his chest, holding him down.

"hullo Potter."Flint pointed his sceptre at Harry's aspect."Now I ‘ m gona have some fun."

A moment later Flint was thrown off him as a sweep undulation of light shot through the corridor, forcibly pulling opposition apart.

Harry's paw darted out and grabbed his baton while he looked for the origin of the turn. His eyes found Albus Dumbledore standing at the end of the corridor with several other instructor behind him.

"Is any educatee here injured or in penury of the hospital wing ?"His voice was stony as he eyed the assembled bookman. A few students raised their work force. Dumbledore nodded and turned to mouth to the instructor behind him."Please see them there."No one spoke as the wounded were gathered up. Harry saw Markus Michelson handing Ginny her bag with one paw while picking Colin up in his other. As prof McGonagall walked past him he caught her centre for a present moment, they were cold, harsh and disappoint. When the final stage of the bruise were gone the Headmaster turned back to the remaining student.

"Now can anyone tell me why this happened ? Why Hogwarts scholarly person saw fit to deform this corridor into a battleground ?"He looked over the students and Harry realised that he and Flint River were ripe out in the eye, the two of them surrounded by vanity. Somehow the ringleaders had been singled out."Why student who I thought I could trust to act in just trust instead acted like fools ?"

No one spoke. No one wanted to draw attention to themselves.

"You will all pass to your common rooms now. Tomorrow morning you will all arrive to the great hall where you will spend your Sabbatum in silence. You will return the day after that and for many weekends to number until I decide that the peace of mind and lull of the school has returned. Your parents will also be informed of your unsatisfying behaviour."Dumbledore gestured at the children."Go off now. Not you Harry !"Harry was drawn back by Dumbledore's voice. Marcus Flint smirked at him with his troll-like smile and slinked off. Harry followed the headmaster in silence as he turned and walked off through the schoolhouse. He stopped before a gargoyle on the second floor.

"Sherbet Lemon."The childish countersign seemed oddly out of kelter with the situation. They remained soundless as they were raised up by the staircase and walked out into the master office.

Harry glanced around in wonder at the odd Ag car, many moving or making soft auditory sensation, filling tables around the edges of the office. His eyes were drawn to the perch behind the desk where a tired looking red bird sat. Even as Harry watched another of its feather fell off and twirled towards the trading floor.

Dumbledore caught it before it hit and slipped it into an at bottom pocket of his robe. He turned and sat behind the heavy desk. Saying null, he regarded the student before him over steepled finger.

Harry knew that with any other instructor this was the time to be tranquillize and wait guilty, but with Dumbledore he might actually be better off explaining.

"Professor."He began and licked his dry lip. Dumbledore's eyes flicked to his."I heard the sounds of someone being attacked nearby and I went to see whether I could facilitate. When we… I got there Marcus Flint and some former Slytherins had the first years surrounded."He couldn't tell what effect this was having on the master. His expression was inscrutable."I fired a patch to make them back off and they responded, I never thought that so many other scholar would be drawn in or that it would snowball like this. I ‘ m sorry."

"You cast the offset hex ?"

"They had been beating up Colin Creevey before we got there."Harry felt too guilty to lie."But I threw the first fighting spell yes."

"respective pupil are injured Harry."graven image teeth the berate bird was eyeballing him as well."And there was some morphological impairment to the school. Several paintings were damaged and statues broken."

"I was just trying to help sir. I didn't want any of that."

"And with this atmosphere of fear already around the school you have given everyone another cause to detest each other."Harry felt very small in strawman of the continued stare."Worse, you have escalated this problem with your natural process. adjacent time the great unwashed will be even quicker to draw sceptre in wrath. future time the hexes will be worse and people could be seriously injured Harry, do you translate that ?"

"Yes sir."Harry sentiment of Marcus Flint's smirk. Next time they wouldn't delay to taunt people.

"Today you chose to fight hatred with anger and vehemence. That way will always engender further hatred do you realize that ?"

"Yes sir."

"See that you do not repeat this mistake."

"Yes sir. Thank you."Harry walked out of the federal agency. All the way to the door he could feel the old man eyes on his rear.

*

Harry walked back slowly to the Gryffindor vulgar elbow room. By chance the route took him back past the field. Some attack had been made to cleanse up but the lieu still felt damaged. Great chunks were missing from the Oliver Stone and the low paintings had all been taken down. The passage was bare. Harry saw movement at the other end and tensed for a sec, then relaxed as he saw red tomentum and freckles.

"Ginny ?"

"Harry."The lilliputian girl moved up the corridor towards him. Stopping just a little way down from him."I ‘ m so lamentable I got you into fuss. I shouldn ‘ t have micod for you. Hermione said you could be expelled."

"If I was expelled every sentence Hermione said I would be I ‘ d be some kind o'human race record."Harry walked up to his newest enlistee and ruffled her hair."And I taught you that call exactly so you would holler me if you were ever in problem. All this…"Harry waved his hand at the damage and shook his head."Not your error. But why are you back here ? Shouldn ‘ t you be in the vulgar room."

"I was… waiting… for you."Ginny glanced to the leftfield and bit her lip.

"Remind me to teach you to lie convincingly Ginny."Harry looked into her middle. There was a storm sum of veneration there."Why don't you want to tell me ? You don't have to you know."

"doomed something."Ginny's voice became diminished with each word she said."A Diary. must have fallen out in the fight."

"Your journal ‘ s missing ?"Harry shook his head."Did you publish anything bad in there ?"

"Not my diary."

"Whose ? Nicking someone's diary is all very piranha of you but…"

"I found it in my Christian Bible before I even got here. thought process maybe it got result there."

"Who ‘ s was it ?"

"The straw man said it was Tom Marvolo brain-teaser ‘ s."Ginny was acting almost like when he'd first met her.

"And the bit you ‘ re not telling me is…"He hated doing this but she was obviously hiding something.

"It was… special."Ginny seemed to quail into the ground a footling."It spoke to me."

"radius ? It could talk ?"

"No, he wrote back when I wrote him things."Ginny curled up on the floor and hugged her ramification up to her chest."It was blank but it wrote back. He was so nice. I had person to talk to finally."

"Someone to let the cat out of the bag to ?"Harry scratched his head. What did she mean ?"You have six brothers don't you ?"

"I can't talk to them."Ginny began to sob a petty."They don't understand. They laugh at me. Tom understood. And now he ‘ s gone. What if individual else picks him up ? What if he tells them the clobber I wrote ?"Ginny looked up shocked and frighten off and suddenly broke down into tears. Harry just stood there, he didn't know what the hell to do.

"I mess everything up."Ginny gulped between sobs."I lost Tom and everyone ‘ s going to read him ! I messed up the sorting ! I started a fight and almost got you expelled !"

"Ginny listen to me."Harry tried grabbing her shoulder but she wouldn't look at him. With his former hired hand he cupped her face and brought it up so he could see her eye."Tom sounds like a respectable friend, I ‘ m sure you can trust him to hold your secrets. I mean, early people must experience had the journal before you and Tom never told you any of their enigma right ?"

Merlin's beard, he didn't know what he was doing. What did he experience about comforting people ?

"And as for this."He pointed around the corridor."All this we can fix. We can fix everything, don't worry. I ‘ ll help you."He was babbling, as if she'd attention about the corridor.

"And…"Ginny had stopped crying at least."You don't hate me ?"Harry shook his head.

"Only when you cry. Gryffindors don't cry."He regretted it as soon as he said it, that wasn't what she needed to hear. As he had often done before Harry asked himself where Hermione was when he needed her. She would consume known what to say. He smudged a sleeve against Ginny's impudence to get rid of the tears. At least he could do that right.

"Come on. LET get back to the uncouth room."He stood up and held out a script to her."And as for having a acquaintance to speak to…"He pulled her into a rough hug then let her go."… what am I a stranger ?"

"Harry."Ginny was looking up at him now."Why couldn't I have had you as a brother instead of Ron ?"

"Because I ‘ m not peppiness and my skin can take a tan. Why'd you ask ?"But Ginny didn't answer him.

"She's probably distraught."Harry thought, putting an arm over her berm and walking with her towards Gryffindor tug."I ‘ m no dear at this sort of thing."