Chapter 1.
The owl swooped down over sleeping British capital, a missive, signed and sealed in emerald commons clutched in its talons. Even if it had had only the stars to see by it would still let been able to fly true, but it wasn't requisite. London sleeping was almost as brightly as British capital awake. But light or no light this manner of speaking was a roughneck one. The mail owls prided themselves on being able to find anyone but it didn't make it easy when the speech was simply …
London, somewhere…


But Dumbledore had given her special instructions for this delivery, and she never wavered in her flight of steps, swooping down past a row of shop class, past times baker, bankers and optician and curving cleanly into the alley behind them to alight on a streetlamp. Her big brownish eyes took in the unharmed scene, the brick wall, the large dumpster bins and the diminished boy, wrapped in a coat too large for him by half, trotting down the bowling alley from the other direction.

The boy stopped next to one of the dumpsters and quietly lifted the lid, running his hands by written document and coffee footing. He began picking out check glasses, cracked lenses and the the likes of, transferring them to a pouch of his coat. When he had a full pocket he did something peculiar, he scratched a hybridization mark into one of the walls of the alley, then sat down opposite word it and began putting first one, then another of the lenses to his eyes. After an hour of this, the small boy 's face broke into a smile at a particular half-cracked Lens, he grinned as he spun it into the air like a coin, and rolled it across the back of his fingers.


A moment later the boy was rummaging in his torn and shabby backpack and eventually drew out a modest parcel. When he unrolled it on the ground the bird of night eyes sparkled in the gleaming of four more lenses, one a mirror-match of the one the boy held in his hand, this he took and replaced the others carefully in his bag. The next to do from the bag of caper was a frame ( selected from a few in the bag ) and a tube of mucilage. Two pinprick dabs of glue to each lens and the boy carefully laid his trophy on the flooring to dry, then crawled behind the dumpster and rolled himself up in his coat.

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

*


Harry Potter flickered between waking and eternal rest for the long fourth dimension. Slipping in and out of pipe dream he would not remember on waking, until he fell into a deeper sleep and curled himself tight into a little testis, a fountainhead of warmheartedness with his hands tucked in his axillary fossa and his head ducked down. Shifting and gliding from dreams of the past, of leaving the Dursleys.

Harry Potter always thought of as just leaving. He did not run away ! You can only run away from house, and Privet cause had never been dwelling house. He had decided that. He knew he had another home, he dreamed of that too. Not with image or anything tangible, just of a good sense of heat, and also nuisance, he didn't understand that. Other dreaming pushed in on his night time reminiscence and he touched on other things, the PIE in the nearby bakery, the oeuvre to do tomorrow and tonight's workplace, still drying, on the ground, until…

"Get up ! Get out !"

Not Harry's bad-mannered wakening, but far from pleasant. Harry uncurled like a spring, just stopping to grab his piece of work on the footing before pelting off down the alleyway, chased by the irate baker. Rounding a corner Harry ran on, past surprised, mildly startled and downright shocked pedestrians, past lamps, dogs and pigeon mess, even past and through the cars as Harry dashed across a interfering road. It no longer mattered that he'd lost any chaser three blockage ago, it was just unspoilt to run.

Harry stopped in Regents Park and ducked to pledge from one of the fountains and snatched a few coins from the bottom. Soon hopefully he would have money coming to him ( at least, as much as he ever had ) and he could take some diminished measure of it to make full what was more often than not lately a gnawing hole in his midriff ( at least it was summer, winter was worse ). Harry walked down Euston route for a patch, not caring or seeing where he was going until he reached the place itself. The sun was gamy by that time and citizenry were beginning to come and go from the building.

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

Harry set his hat down where no one could fend off him, or pretend not to see him, and slipped three coloured glob out of his pelage. Shifting them all to his entrust hand, he flicked his new glassful on with his right. The ballock became edged in crystal clarity as the lenses slipped over his eyes. Harry stood in the square and laughed for a spell, laughed into the sunup sky while the multitude around him stared or frowned, then, in a twinkling, Harry swept all three into the air and spun them around his men faster and faster. He laughed as he fountained the balls up above his chief. the great unwashed began to exact placard as he added a fourth egg, and a fifth. People walked past and turned to stare for a consequence before flipping coins into his hat or even waited there watching him for a while before moving on.

Harry smiled, this time not for the act itself, but for the coins. This was why he had had to make glass and why his stomach was emptier than normal. He hadn't been able-bodied to manage Thomas More than three balls since Yuletide. Just to show himself he could, Harry added another ball and split the balls into two band ("Oooh !"Said a small missy exit by. The mother smiled at him, but didn't drop-off anything ). The two circles became one again as they began to wobble ("Out of practice"thought Harry ) and he pocketed two of the lump back away, he had to celebrate this up for a while.

The sun was in high spirits in the sky before Harry moved from his spot. He scooped his winnings to an inside scoop and went off to buy lunch. He bought sandwiches at some newsagents with no real name and ate them slowly on a ballpark bench and salute more water supply from a fountain. On the way back to his spot Harry passed another solid food shop, the patty in the window looked even better than the commencement 1 had. Harry walked past, thrift was in his bones.
*


When Harry got back to the station he realised something was wrong. In the take meat of the square was the bountiful man Harry had ever seen. From the toes of his large leather boots, past his heavy furred overcoat ( Bet that's warm, consider Harry ) all the way to his font, so handle, variously, in beard, moustache and soil black whisker that only small-scale component of pelt were visible, the man was easily eight foot tall. The very appearance of the man was so striking that for a prospicient moment Harry didn't see what the man was doing and then he became even more curious. The tall man seemed to be looking for something, he would consult a art object of ( very old and jaundiced looking ) composition then look around, staring at citizenry, then await worriedly back at the theme.

"Maybe he's lost"Thought Harry. But the magniloquent man didn't seem to be about to affect on, neither did he seem to be the case to ask steering. Harry was torn for a moment between apprehension at the bring down soma and a luck to snap up a bit Thomas More money from helping a doomed tourist. But a consequence later his indecision became redundant as the tall man turned to expect at Harry and his face broke into a huge smile. The improbable man ran over to where Harry was standing ( breaking respective paving stones ) and stopped in front end of the galvanize baby looking, in routine, happy and relieved.

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

"Nope,"Said the tall man, spreading his mouth in the spacious smile 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.

"wellspring you o'track ! Didn't you get… Hey hold !"By halfway through the sentence Harry was halfway across the square, and accelerating.

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

"One good thing about being chased by a giant…"thought Harry"You know when he's behind you !"The sidewalk cracked and buckled as the magniloquent man chased Harry, he didn't seem to run much but he only had to take in one running step to Harry's three and he didn't have to dodge through crowd either, people fell over themselves to get out of the way. And all the time they were running the tall man kept yelling

"Wait ! You got to have yer letter ! You got… Out a my way you ! … to translate it ! hold on !"

Harry pelted off a principal 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 hitch and grasped both custody round the hurl iron drainpipe ( his lilliputian trick was less useful now about pipes were fictile but it had still put him above and away from more than one bit of bother ), his feet went against the wall and he pulled himself hired hand over hired hand upwards, two of his balls slipped out of his scoop and fell back down but he ignored them, he could get more ( well, he could probably get Sir Thomas More, and in a apprehension anything beat would do ) and pulled himself onto the tiled ceiling above him. Harry lay there for a s, finding his balance ( and his breathing place ) before sliding back to the edge and looking over. Three stories down ("It had looked so very much orotund from the bottom"idea Harry ) the improbable man stood hunched over, catching his breather in huge, leviathan, gulps that disturbed the rubble on the ground. The man managed to bear up after a few second and began rummaging in his coat. After a few attempt at respective pockets he managed to displume out what looked like a sealed gasbag and thrust it into the air.

"You got… to have… yer letter."The man said breathlessly. He wiped his handwriting across his face and escape from the exertion off on the soil."Blimey you're fast."And with that the marvellous man dropped to the ground and sat there mopping his brow.

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

"I was chasing you ‘ cos you bally ran away wasn't I !"Said the marvellous man, pulling off his coating to expose a unsporting blank shirt and brace."Why'd you do that anyway ?"

"Because I've never met you before."Said Harry."Why would mortal I've never met before be looking for me at Euston station ! Also…"added Harry as another thought 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 mitt back then, and you were easygoing to catch."The marvelous man said smiling."I knew you when you was a sister. hump 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 helper with that."The man reached into his coat and dug out a garden pink umbrella with frilly braid edges, it looked almost like it should be in a cocktail nestled in his big hands.

"An umbrella ?"Said Harry"Oh of course !"Harry stood up and began strutting along the bound of the roof ("Careful"cried the marvellous man")"Why didn't I see it before ? An umbrella, a sorcerous umbrella that points you on your way ! The umbrella of light, The umbrella of seeking !"Harry spun on one fundament and began walking the other way."The pastel, pink umbrella of plenty !"Harry threw back his head and laughed."You're nut married person ! An umbrella can't help you find anyone."

"You think so do you ?"Said the man, still smiling,"Then I think it's high time you read your letter."The man put the letter on the flat coat 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 right hand ! It's all right !"Cried the man, stamping out the ardour with his iron boot."It only got the gasbag and that was pretty wet so it's all right. I'll try again."Harry watched in stupefied anticipation as the man stepped back again, raised the umbrella carefully and mumbled something slightly different towards the envelope. For a minute nothing happened. Then, slowly, one edge of the envelope 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 inconspicuous ribbon. The letter rose gamey and gamy until it drew level with Harry's face. He stood up and the letter of the alphabet 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 certainly. He finally drew his hired man back and whispered

"How…"Harry leaned in to get a closer expression and suddenly, momentarily, forgot he was on a rooftop. His human foot slipped out from under him and he tumbled over, skinning his wooden leg on the edge before falling like a stone. As he spun in the air he looked up to see the letter, still casually floating above him."Weird day…"Thought Harry, then turgid 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 livery pallet."You coulda'been hurt, or defective !"

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

"Oh, that's easy stuff."The tall man waved his helping hand disparagingly"Even I can do that, you'll learn that in your first workweek, its one of the dim-witted charms."

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

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

"You know my aunty and uncle."Harry looked at the man and tried to work out the chances that this person was friends 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 of what his auntie had told him about them. Very piddling, just that they were the haywire sort of people and died in some accident. A fire wasn't it ? Or maybe a car crash ? Anyway Harry had privately decided that if they were hoi polloi his aunty disapproved of then he probably would have liked them a lot. Liked them effective than his auntie and uncle at least.

"That was a recollective time ago."Harry snapped back to the present."and I'm ripe off without them taking care of me !"The tall man gave him a shrewd expression, taking in his heavily fall apart apparel and shoes."Well…"added Harry"at least now I don't get slapped if I don't have meal make for them on time."Harry grinned"Who knows how they managed without me ? Probably starved to death trying to figure out out how the oven works."He laughed and was pleased to see the grandiloquent man laugh too."Mind you it'd take a while to starve Dudley. Fat modesty like a camel !"Harry did a quick fat-cousin impression, waddling along the alleyway, 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 sheepskin and sealed with a coat of arms in wax, melted wax now of course. Harry wiped the sticky mass away with his arm and opened the varsity letter. interior were three piece of music of paper and what looked like a train ticket. All made of comical old paper. He stared at the slate, it had gold leaf an it and had a large crest ("probably the Saami one that was on the letter") embossed into it. Harry wondered what kind of train required a ticket like this, and where such a railroad train would go to. ("Either a body politic of rich people…"thought Harry"…or a chocolate factory.")

"Read the missive, read the letter of the alphabet !"Urged the tall man impatiently. Harry tucked the ticket into his sack and pulled out one of the sheets of theme. He opened it. His optic slid from one side to the former. He had read each line about three times before he finally believed that what he thought he read was actually what was on the Thomas Nelson Page. Harry held the varsity letter in nominal head of him and tried to calm his articulation before saying,

"A school ?"

"Yep,"Said the improbable man smiling"Hogwarts, best schoolhouse in the world for people like you. Course the early schools'll tell you different, but anyone who knows what there talking about says Hogwarts is the neat. grade we have Albus Dumbledore, none of the repose of em can say that."

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

"He's the headmaster."Said the tall 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 letter, written in a different handwriting than the rest of the text, and with different ink.
P.S.

Due to your special destiny an escort has been provided for you to explain and serve you through the unconscious process of preparing for your first school yr. If this letter has not come to you via one Rubious Hagrid then you will be meeting him shortly. I wish you all the best for the start of your foremost schooling year.

Albus Dumbledore


"Rubious Hagrid ?"The magniloquent man nodded.

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

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

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

"Magic like you just did ? Making things ice-cream soda and explode ?"

"well, yeah."Said Hagrid"What did you think it meant ? Those tricks muggles ("muggles ?") use to cod each other ?"

"And you think I can do that ?"

"With a little training o'form, that's what Hogwarts is for."Hagrid put his manus on Harry's shoulder"seminal fluid on, we've stood here long enough and we need to be getting your shoal poppycock. But first we should get you washed up and in some right clothes."Hagrid led Harry down the alley. Harry followed placidly.

When your entire life-time shatters like glass and is replaced something glittering and new, sharp and shuddery. When your life changes in an twinkling you can either deplume back, grip on to the old, try to pick up the while and peril destroying the new crystal time to come you have found, for the sake of prophylactic waters of the past. Or you can throw away, laughing into the new life sentence, with its shiny possibilities. And you either ride it through, or get swallowed under.

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



Lets all take a consequence to thank retentiveness Billie Jean King for betaing this chapter.

Harry Potter and the Roofs At Night : Chapter 2 : Jack

Harry raked his hands through his shorter tomentum, trying to score it matted. The stylist had nearly shoved them out of the store when they arrived, a conspicuously tall man and a tyke with uncombed, vulgar, un-anythinged pilus. Hagrid had paid her in short letter that looked very old.

"Did he make them with thaumaturgy ?"persuasion Harry suddenly."Could I realize them with magic trick ?"The clothes and the rain shower at a gym had both been standardized quirkiness but apparently the largest oddity was yet to come.

"That looks fine now."Hagrid had said coming out of a wear store."Now for the material shopping."

"This material ?"Harry fished the list that had come with the letter of the alphabet out of his scoop."Books, wand, cauldron… toad ?"

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

Harry hurried alongside Hagrid, his thinker still buzzing with interrogative sentence. But there was no way he was asking about magic in a crowded street full of muggles ( or was it muddles, or mugwerts. Something like that anyway. ) And when they finally turned into a doorway Harry was so busy looking at where they were that they were pushed to the book binding of his mind. They had stepped, hopefully deliberately ( this didn't seem like the sort of place that would sell books, or make potions former than the general alcoholic sorting ) into a dark, oak beamed, pub full of solid, old-looking furniture. The drinking behind the bar had odd figure and some of the liquids fizzed or bubbled. In the shadow light Harry could have got sworn one of them was glowing faintly. The sign outside had said"The leaky cauldron ”. It certainly fitted one of the criteria.

As Hagrid led Harry across the floor, weaving around tables Harry began to comment other things that didn't quite fit. Like the dress citizenry were wearing, one-half of the masses were in formula, but hideously unfitting and mismatched, clothes. But the early half wore what looked like long flowing robe in versatile gloss. The smaller token were stranger, no scout or walkmans, but instead one man held a marble in his hand. As he gripped it the domain went cloudy-red and the man began consulting a shopping lean worriedly. Another man was showing off what looked like a sheep's skull with odd symbols painted on it to his admirer ("LE than a reaping hook ("sickle ?") and new they go as luxuriously as five !"). In a niche two ginger kids who looked like Twin Falls, not a good deal honest-to-god than Harry himself, were swapping some variety of trading cards.

"Well…"thought Harry."At to the lowest degree 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 pinnace was talking to them."Also there was person in here selling wyvern eggs. Probably just painted ostrich ones but you never know."

"Nah, nah."Said Hagrid waving one of his big hand."Got no fourth dimension for a drink or to take care at stuff for myself. On Hogwarts business."He patted Harry on the shoulder."Important."

"Fair enough so… ohh…"The barkeeper was looking at Harry, or more accurately, at his frontal bone. Harry put his hand to it and realised that, with his new haircut, the old scar on his forehead was no longer hidden.

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

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

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

"Harry Potter."Breathed one of the hoi polloi nearest him."Can it be ?"It took Harry a endorse to work out out the head was directed at him and another to decide how to answer.

"My names Jack."He said, affronted."Why you all staring at me ?"Sound seemed to fall back to the barroom as people turned back to their drinks, mumbling and in one case shouting ("Oh no ! its all over my shirt !"). And Harry turned back towards the bar and looked up into the incredulous fount of the barman and then foster up into the confuse face of Hagrid."I got the scar falling off my showtime bicycle, odd embodiment isn't it ?"Harry smiled.

"Yeah, that right… Jack."The barman turned around chuckling under his breathing place 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 hand shook as he wiped cold exertion off his brow. What was that all about ?

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

"They knew me somehow, or at least knew my name."Harry shuddered."If a elbow room full of strangers knows your name its either very practiced newsworthiness or incredibly bad news."Hagrid fished out a water bottleful 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 hearing is juggling. And somehow I don't think that was what they were looking for."Harry splashed some of the weewee into his hand and slicked down one side of his hair, right over the scar."Hagrid, why were they staring at me ?"

"Ah… well… you see that's…"Hagrid dry-washed his helping hand nervously. Then straitened and walked over to a wall pulling out his umbrella."That can wait trough later, it's not something I want't discus in a dark alley."Hagrid tapped bricks faster than Harry could follow and stepped back."There…"Said Hagrid, obviously keen to fill every silence lest head re-arise."Here's where you can get your shoal hooey, Diagon alley."The bricks spread apart around the orbit Hagrid had tapped, opening out to a window into another world.

A long winding street, replete to the brim with odd robed mass, and odd shops filled with odder ware. colorful signs swung from the overhanging account above them, showing that the workshop below sold broomsticks or firework. People sold thing out of barrow on the sharpness, odd vegetables and wooden toys that danced or spun. For now Harry was content to succeed Hagrid, draining in the sights and the sounds of the property. He was almost disappointed when Hagrid stopped in front of a big colonnaded building and went inside.












The inside of the construction was as majestic as the exterior, with two long desks running the length of the mellow vaulted room. illumine came from windows high up on the rampart. Along each desk sat curious creatures consulting tilt or counting out piles on coins. There were suitcase of coins behind the desks too, and the only speech sound were the jail of metallic element on metal and the scratching of pinion. Harry suddenly had the odd star that he had entered the duomo 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 piss a withdrawal."Said Hagrid, as if it should be obvious."Can't buy your schoolbook with muggle money can we."

"This is a bank ! ?"Exclaimed Harry, and was shushed by a nearby brute. He continued in a quieter representative."I don't have any money to pull back, certainly not from a home like this."

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

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

"Yes ?"Said the creature, in a bored voice.

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

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

"Key, right…"Hagrid dug through pocket after air pocket, spilling various things onto the floor and the desk. Harry picked up the matter he could acknowledge, like scissor grip and a dog choker, and left the early bite 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 close to the creature and handed him a varnish piece of paper. Harry thought he recognised the curvy theme song on the front."It's about what's in vault 713."

"Of course."Said the brute, reading the note. For the low time it seemed interested in what it was looking at. The beast ("They're hobgoblin Harry, sorry I didn't mention that. I keep forgetting you're new to this. hobgoblin, and this is Gringots.") summoned over another like it but younger and with a slightly less laconic facial expression. This new goblin introduced himself as Greeklunk, rolled his eyes at the back of the departing hob and led them through one of the threshold 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 comparison but I'm fairly certain mine-carts don't flesh into it."

"Oh Gringots runs under half o'Jack London. If you had to take the air to the vaults it'd get hold of all day. pass down pretty far too. The top security burial vault are down there, guarded by hex, and yap and dragons…"

"flying lizard sound like a good surety method."Said Harry, climbing into the pushcart."Of course it could be a trouble if you actually want to sequestrate anything without being char-grilled."

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

"Do they breathe fire ?"

"Well yes."

"Are they ten foot long ?"

"Oh almost are much bigger than that !"

"With immense claws, teeth, musculus ?"

"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 velocity. Soon the paries were passing at a blur, other tracks winding off to either position. The cart passed through Brobdingnagian caverns and through pin-hole passage, tipping so far on the bends it threatened to come off. Harry stood face-first to the malarkey and closed eyes, letting the gusting noise swirl around him as the cart movement buffeted him. After a second he turned to Greeklunk, just one inquiry on his mind.

"Does it go any faster ?"

"One speed only."Said Greeklunk wistfully. He shared a quick grin with Harry and turned his face into the fart too. After a second base he added with a wide-mouthed goblin-grin,"But we can go round some closed circuit if you like !"

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

"Are you alright Hagrid."Harry asked, turning around and leaning back against the border of the cart.

"I'm fine, I just hate these gringots trolleys."Hagrid said, blanching"And carry on to something !"Harry had just spread his arms out like offstage to better finger the lead, but obligingly put them back down."You make me dizzy standing like that."

The pushcart eventually slowed and pulled up next to a burial vault. Harry hopped out of the cart to examine this new surrounding followed, much more slowly and with thought for his abdomen, by Hagrid. Greeklunk led them to one exceptional hurdle and turned brought out the key Hagrid had given the desk hobgoblin. The lock squeaked as Greeklunk turned it with the key and there was the sound of large deadbolt drawing back.

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

Harry's mind rebelled. Not true, it insisted to its dishonest eyes, the impression your sending me just can't be true. There is no way. Just no way… Harry barely noticed as Hagrid walked into the vault and took a few coins from the spate of amber and more generous handfuls from the atomic number 47 and bronze piles.

"This should be enough to go on."Hagrid stepped back out of the vault and had to physically go Harry to allow Greeklunk to shut down the room access. Harry was silent as they stepped back into the cart and for a while just stared at the walls rushing past until finally he felt he had his own idea in order sufficiency to try and get resolution 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. nous boy and lady friend of Hogwarts they were when they were there."

"trick runs in families ?"

"Normally it does yes."

"My aunt and uncle ?"Harry asked incredulously.

"But not always."Hagrid added nodding."You're mum was the firstly on her English of the family with it."

"And they were stinking ample ?"

"Comfortable Harry, comfortable."Hagrid sat up to lecture face to nerve."I suppose they never were strapped for hard currency but hardly stinking rich people, no, no.

"But, that vault ?"

"wellspring 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 commend them."

"That's not all right !"Said Hagrid with a mix of anger and sadness."If anything that makes it worse !"

"Tell me a little about them then."Harry said, thrifty not to let one shred of avidity enter voice."It might take your judgement off the handcart for a spell 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 yelp of surprise and curled back into a corner.

After a moment he began to talk and Harry let the news wash over him. Hagrid didn't seem very commodity at telling news report, his mind jumped about with many a"and there was this other time…"and seemed to jump from his sire 1st year at Hogwarts, to his parents wedding, to some game called Quidditch his forefather apparently played, to just describing his mothers face. In the middle of a nose candy by blow verbal description of a fight between his father 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 banking concern caves with just one prominent vault in sight side by side 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 lever tumbler. 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 recollection and stood up. As Greeklunk led them to the room access Harry noticed that it had no keyhole and no handle."trench down in Gringots."He thought."And even high security than they put on mess of gold ?"

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

"Best you don't think on it too very much Harry."Said Hagrid."Special missionary station from Dumbledore. Very secret."

"Something sorcerous ?"Harry asked."Another umbrella perhaps ?"Hagrid looked at him oddly for a moment before realising it was a joke. Greeklunk ran a finger down a part of the room access and it dissolved same dust into the air. The goblin then stepped back warily as if he didn't want to be closer to the contents of the vault than he had to be. While Hagrid stepped into the vault Harry turned to Greeklunk and whispered

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

"And I don't want to find out."The goblin shuddered."The bank vault down here are the top certificate. I haven't been here long enough to see more than one or two. Sometimes its just money, people who want it as condom as potential and don't mind the extra heraldic bearing, but sometimes…"

"Worse ?"

"Much worse."Greeklunk leaned against the wall and put an odd stick in his back talk and began to chew it."There was one guy a few daytime ago, rich people toff from one of the old wizarding family unit. All he took out was money but I swear, in the dorsum of the hurdle there was other stuff. Chains, knives, a rack, not new stuff and nonsense mind but some of it looked… used."Greeklunk trailed off into silence, chewing softly.

"You allow people to lay in material like that here ?"Harry asked.

"That's not the sorry of it."Continued Greeklunk, shaking his head."That stuff could easily have got been full phase of the moon of dark magic. In fact, considering the germ, it probably was."Greeklunk looked like he was about to say Sir Thomas 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 chivy ?"Greeklunk said, sounding worried."Only dealings are meant to be confidential 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 high-pitched ups would see it like that."Greeklunk shook his head."Ah… clip to go."Hagrid stepped back out of the burial vault stuffing a small grubby share into his pocket.

"Something small"Thought Harry."Something small but very worthful and very mystic and possibly very serious. Something magic trick. Something…"( he glanced into the burial vault as the door reappeared )"…valuable enough to rip out an entire vault just for it. What are we the courier of ?"

On the way back Hagrid began feeling sick again so Harry chatted to Greeklunk about Gringots and the carts ("Sometimes we backwash them after closing hour ! Er, better add that to your listing of material not to mention again Harry."). Finally the cart reached ground level again and they got out, waved arrivederci to Greeklunk and stepped back into the torrent of sound in diagonally.






"Right, initiative things first."Hagrid looked up and down the street and stopped when he saw a shop that appeared to feature a needle-and-thread sign outside its door."We need to get you some robes."Madam Malkin's was vacuous except for the proprietor who fussed over Harry like a mother hen, standing him up on a pot and pinning and tucking the long black gown she threw over him.

"You'll be going to Hogwarts of course."Madam Malkin's representative was muffled by the pins and clips held in her backtalk. Hagrid, standing in the back of the shop mimed drinking and pointed back to the leaky caldron, when Harry nodded he stood up and walked out the door. Harry suddenly felt a minuscule vulnerable. Not from citizenry, Harry knew how and when to run from trouble, but from this world. He was in a foreign land and had just lost his translator.

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

"Don't worry."She said in a comforting maternally way."It can take 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 scar was still hidden by hair. )

"I see a lot of Hogwarts pupil come in here for their first robes."Madam Malkin moved around to his other side to get down working on that."You get so you can secern the ones who are muggle-born just by the way they look at anything magic sideways. But in a years time you see them total back carrying broomsticks and making the stools fly just like the residual. You'll fit in."She knelt down to start on the hemline and Harry was left feeling more horse barn than he had all day.

"Just a affair of getting my sea legs."thought Harry, idly taking two clump from his pocket and juggling them one-handed."Get stalls in this new public and you'll be fine."Harry added another bollock and kept on with one hand, using the early to get out his lean."Still need quills, still ask parchment, still ..."

"I wish I could do that."Harry looked up to see a female child about his age standing in the doorway of the shop, an adult ( judging from the froth of Brown hairsbreadth they were both endowed with, probably her female parent ) stood talking with one of the shop 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 magical sideways.

"Do what ?"Harry said as the missy was led onto an adjacent footstool.

"That."The little girl pointed at Harry's right handwriting and he realised he was still bouncing the juggling balls.

"Oh, that."Harry suddenly felt like impressing someone and added another ball before moving to both hand 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 backs, he balanced them there for a moment before slipping them back into his pockets."That's nothing."Harry grinned and winked.

"I tried to learn how to juggle once."The girlfriend seemed to verbalize as if everyone should sit up and take notice."I got a script out of the library that was supposed to teach you but I kept dropping the balls."The girl seemed to actualise something and turned to him ( making the person pinning up her dress swear and suck a prickle finger )"Unless of course you used magic trick. Its probably well-situated 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 first day we could so I would accept a chance to get Lot of leger for background reading. I just hope I don't end up looking stupid."The girl seemed to stop more from want of breather than from deficiency of words, she didn't look like she ever ran out of words.

"I don't think there's too a good deal danger of you looking stupid"irritating maybe but not stupid"and anyway I'm the same, I was woefully, blissfully and surprisingly ignorant about magic trick until the alphabetic character came and warped the world."He grinned and waved his hand towards the window into diagonally"but it can't be anything but fun, especially wizard school, especially spells."Harry laughed.

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

"Maybe you're going there to learn. But I've always had the opinion that life's for fun, and if you can't find something to laugh at in any place you're not trying hard enough. Anyway…"Harry swiftly moved on as the girl went through respective leg of shock."… we'll hardly be able to avoid having fun if we're doing turn all the metre, making stuff fly, making stuff explode, making clobber into early stuff, the totally matter should be a blast."There was an uncomfortable quiet, helpfully filled by gentlewoman Malkin saying…

"Alright dear, you're done now."Harry stepped off the faecal matter and went to depart, just as he reached the door he heard…

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

"Harry Potter."The sempstress gasped and stabbed her fingerbreadth again, madam Malkin looked up in surprise."See you at Hogwarts."He walked out into the street leaving two surprised 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 come get you. fry shouldn't be walking around alone."Harry was about to advert that that was exactly what he had been doing the last three geezerhood of his biography when Hagrid started off towards another shop class and Harry had to follow or be swallowed by the crowd.

On the round of the shops Harry met three more prospective Hogwarts educatee, a pair of counterpart missy in the apothecary's who laughed when he juggled crocodile eyes and laughed even harder when he was thrown out of the shop class for doing so, and a boy called Blaise Zabini in flourish and Blotts who didn't seem to express joy at anything and sniffed in stark disdain when Harry bought second hand books.

"There's plenty in that vault to endure 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 spend it when you don't have to. Besides, these are still good."The ledger he was holding picked that moment to spill its first few pages onto the cobbles. Harry picked them up without speaking and set off down the street fast enough to make Hagrid jog to keep up.





Ollivanders came succeeding and Harry thought for a second Hagrid had taken his advice to inwardness. Looking at the slenderize premises with pass windows and peeling paintwork belied its blurb which made out that it had made all right verge since 382 bc.

"Yes…"Thought 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 seat by the door.

The inside was full of shelves, piled high up with retentive thin boxes. It reminded Harry of a crossbreed between an old s hand bookshop and a disused horseshoe store. The sliver of Light from the window illuminated the mote of dust in the air, Harry blew into it and was rewarded by a swirling normal, spotlighted in the murky room. He was just wondering if he should perhaps ring the doorbell when he heard a voice out of the darkness.

"Good afternoon."The part was placidity and felt like old velvet but it came so suddenly that Hagrid jumped like a spooked rabbit and Harry just kept enough of his will power to avoid jumping himself though his heart felt like it had leapt on its own.

"trade good afternoon to you."Harry said, keeping his vox stabilize 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, white haired and pale-eyed man stepped, cocking his pass like a heron.

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

"Sorry to stay fresh you waiting."Harry leaned back from the humans center and said."I'm here to buy a wand."

"Why else would you be here ?"The man seemed faintly amused. He drew a tape measure out of a air pocket and it sprang out of his hired hand, measuring Harry's arms and fingers."Wands are what I do. I made all the sceptre here and I remember all of them, even the one I've sold."

"Wouldn't some variety of placard catalogue 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 than steamed as the tape measure measuring rod wrapped itself around his head.

"You're mother was a unicorn-hair female child, set in willow. Good wand that, I remember the day I made it. Your father liked a scepter with dragon heart-string, more powerful. wellspring I say he liked but its really the baton that chooses the wizard."Ollivander fixed Harry with a stare that made his spirit like he was being weighed and measured but he managed to say.

"Fascinating, but there's only one wand I really want to utter about. Mine. Let me pick out it or let it take me, either way seems fine."

"Very well Mr. Potter."Ollivander seemed oddly happy with Harry's press, as if this was the bit he'd been waiting for too. He snapped his fingers and the tape recording measuring stick curled back up in the decoration of his hired hand."Lets try ..."he ran his prospicient fingers over a nearby ledge then nodded to himself and picked a box that was ( to Harry's eyes ) identical to all the others."… pine and Phoenix feather, short one at five inches."Harry took it and looked at it, it looked like a fat pencil."render it a wave."Encouraged Ollivander. Harry swished the wand and jabbed at air to no upshot before Ollivander snatched it back off him.

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

Sir Thomas More wands passed by without effect and Harry was beginning to experience worry ( and a little hungry ) when Ollivander passed him another wand.

"genus Phoenix plumage and Holly XI inches."Ollivander handed it to him just like he had all the others but Harry thought he had seen a glimmer in the old humanity spooky eyes. Harry raised it apprehensively and swished it like a whip. Nothing happened, and silence filled the small store. Harry held the scepter out for the old shopkeeper 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 wand 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 second, as if struggling with something."And oak."

A few wands later and one shot ribbons of lightness in the air as Harry swished it.

"Andaman padunk."The verge Lord said almost to himself."and phoenix feather. Just nine inches. But this is yours !"He held up the early scepter in its box."This is the one you're supposed to have. This wand has at its centre, a certain feather. The wench that gave that feather gave only one other that was made into a baton. Yes, XIII and a half column inch, yew. That baton Harry, gave you that scar."He pointed at Harry's os frontale."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 work. This one did."He liked the look of the wand he had in his bridge player. The wood was faintly red and the clasp where he held it was a little rougher making the matter feel stalls in his small-scale hand like none of the others had."How much for this one."

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










Harry left the price of the sceptre on the desk and left the old man to his intellection. When they were outdoors Harry took the lead and a storm 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 know what's going on."Hagrid nodded and sighed, mumbling something about not knowing why Dumbledore thought he was the one who should evidence him, then launched into the story. People passed by them but Harry was wrapped up in the report that was, he supposed, his account. Then finally when Hagrid finished he took a deep breather and said…

"They think, that something I was or did stopped this dark lord ? And the reason the great unwashed are staring at me is because I'm some sort of celebrity-hero ? And everyone in your human beings knows this ? Including the people I'm going to be going to schooling with ? And this dark whiz may still be out there somewhere ? Have I got this right ?"

"I'm sorry Harry."Hagrid shook his head."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 differentiate you anyway seeing as you'll be going off to Hogwarts with people 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 haircloth up off his scar. mass stared, he would have to get used to it.


Chapter 2 : The toaders

Hagrid spoke to the barman at the leaky cauldron before leaning down to verbalize to Harry.

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

So that was how it came to pass that Harry slept at the leaky caldron that dark, tired from a day that had held more surprises than, well, than the eternal sleep of his life-time put together. Harry kicked off the blankets when he began sweating and lay back with his hands behind his head. His tired body fought his buzzing brain as it churned through the days divine revelation. But as the clock crept past eleven Harry's body began to win and his eyes drooped.

He dreamt of wands and wizards and rocketing carts that flew past his eye chased by broomsticks. But virtually of all he kept turning and turning the tarradiddle Hagrid had told him through his head just as he had when he was awake. Again and again a dark figure killed a man, then a woman then touched him on the head with his wand. Sometimes the man was Hagrid, his vast bulk blowing away like dust in a instant of ignitor, sometimes the man looked like Harry, but older, stockier. The killer was forged, sometimes it was just a dark force out, a wave. Sometimes it looked human being, like a baddie off TV, decked out in fang and a cloak as it killed a woman who looked like brothel keeper Malkin. Sometimes it had red eyes. Once, it was Harry.

Harry jerked awake and saw that it was still sour outside. He had sweated despite ridding himself of the covers and scrambled to the window to open it. Dim lighting filtered in from the edges of a sky not quite set for cockcrow. Harry turned and looked over his room, barely glimpsed the night before. It was panelled in oak and the piece of furniture was all of the lowering wooden sort. The bed had a canopy around it that Harry had failed to close in conclusion 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 forfeit trying to get some more sleep before dawn and wandered over to where he'd dropped his bags by the dresser.

He idly looked through bags, sorting stuff into rafts and chuckling as they brought back anamnesis of various sequence of the previous day, the flight feather the shopkeeper had tried to give him free people when a waft from a fan blew back his hair's-breadth, the potion ingredients Hagrid had had to go back in to get after the crocodile eye sequence. When he finally had all he owned in piles in front of him he pulled over a hot seat and sat down in front of it, considering his dilemma. The great pile by far, dwarfing his new robes in weight if not in size, was the books.

This really was a dilemma for Harry. Having not had cause to take anything longer than a sentence or two in three twelvemonth Harry was painfully cognisant that those Holy Writ would be seriously impenetrable going. Checking his ticket again ( from another pile ) Harry counted days and came up with thirty eight. He counted them again and came up with XXX seven. He did a little rhyme in his head to remember how many days august had and came up with thirty eight again. He wondered how much a room for more than a month had toll and whether he could carry all his record about on the streets and realised that Hagrid had probably paid in advance to hold back him doing just that. The groundskeeper was surprisingly shrewd about some things.

Harry switched his care back to the books and began wondering instead if a month would be enough. He'd be blown if he was going to this schoolhouse without knowing a jot more than he knew now and looking like a raw fledgeling. Harry's tummy grumbled and he realised wryly that lunch had been a foresighted sentence ago and although a lot had happened in the mean-time dinner party hadn't been persona of it. And defective he realised with a chuckle, breakfast probably wouldn't be served for hours yet.

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

Harry lay back for a moment and closed his eyes, then swung forward and pulled a Bible off the top of the pile. After a moment he replaced it, shuffled through public treasury he found the one with the Word founding father in the claim and started on that. After a moment he put that back too and found the one that said grade-one. After a import he leaned back and put his feet up. He had finally managed to understand the number one sentence in one of his record book. It was a start.

*

Harry was well into the rule book when he realised that light was streaming through the windows and the sound of the city were filtering through flash and shed light on. Harry stood up, put the al-Qur'an in his bag and went off to research Diagonally. The bartender watched him go but didn't try to break him.

"Hagrid probably told him to watch me."thought Harry as he walked out the bet on door, turned, walked back in and asked the barman how to unfold the wall.

The way revealed to him, Harry stepped out onto the bustling street. Harry bought a folded-pastry affair at a handcart and was surprised to get wind it was pumpkin. He walked along staring in window at the several quirk until he reached Gringots. Gaining this familiar spirit primer Harry climbed to the top of the steps, sat down and finished his pastry where he could see everyone come and go. Eventually he got out his book 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 side by side few days, going out in the break of the day and soak in the vision of Diagonally until he was sure he knew the place by heart, The standard book of magic spell ( Grade one ) by Miranda Accipiter gentilis was finished and replaced back by A novice guide to transfiguration by Emeric switch which was itself replace after a much longer interval ( the book was longer 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 dim passage about moss after a long twenty-four hours walk when he heard a tapping on the window. A brown and cream flecked owl with yearn legs stood on the windowsill. The window was undecided but the owl just kept sitting there, cocking its head at him until Harry motioned the bird to come in. It ducked under the windowpane underframe and hopped onto the floor where it scuttled up to the desk and raised itself up to it in one flap. Careful to debar disturbing any of Harry's material it walked over to him and held out a letter it had clutched in its claw. Harry took it and the owl hopped back but still stood there, regarding Harry carefully. When he looked it in the eye it ducked its head and took another step back but didn't leave. Harry felt into his air pocket and found the remains of his ham sandwich lunch which he opened and placed near the owl. The owl looked at it but seemed too nervous to take it. Shrugging, Harry opened the letter. In writing almost as bad as his own Harry read…


Dear Harry
Happy natal day. Sorry I couldn't be there in person but what with the school year just starting there's lots to do at Hogwarts. There was a classroom on the tierce trading floor full of soma eating sluggard. Anyway I sent you your present. ( Harry checked inside the envelope and interpret on bewildered ) Unless you're wondering why the owls still hanging around it's because she's yours. ( Ahh, thought Harry, glancing at the nervous doll ) The cage and stuff should be coming soon too. If you want to indite to me just give her a letter, she'll fuck where to witness me. Once again well-chosen Birthday.

Hagrid


Harry folded the letter up carefully and turned to look at the owl. It really wasn't that large in the body but had long spindly legs that looked like they belonged on a wading bird. Harry slowly put his arm out and scratched the slope of the owls head. She went remains for a moment then relaxed and cocked her headspring under his scratching fingers. After a little while the owl managed to pluck up the courage to take a bit of ham off the board and swallow up it unscathed. The next day he took her to eyelops owl emporium where they told him she was a burrowing owl. In light of this he named her shovel. The clerk said that that was the most unimaginative name he'd ever heard. Harry stuck his spit out at him and left the shop.

About a week after that Harry snapped shut the natural covering of the finally playscript in his pile. He put it carefully on top of the others and sat there for a while collecting his mentation. Then he leaned forward, placed a hired man firmly on the bottom of the voltaic pile and turned it over. Digger hooted from her Cage as Harry sat back down to read.

*

September the inaugural bloomed brightly and other but Harry was already up. His bag was stuffed to the brim with his school clothed and Scripture and his cauldron tied on the outside and he carried excavator in her cage in one mitt. Harry walked Diagonally one go time to say goodbye to the people he'd met on his pass, Greeklunk at gringots, the fruit trafficker he chatted to when he got bored of his rule book and finally to Tom the barman before walking back out into the muggle world.

Kings cross was not far away. But with an owl in a cage and a full bag even a short way can look too far and Harry was tired when he reached it.

"half an hr to go."Harry checked his tag."comfortable to hold off on the train than out here ”. He walked down the platform past chopine eight, past tense chopine nine, yesteryear platform ten, back past platform ten, stop, look left, front right.

A profanity slipped from Harry's mouth that made a passer-by grumble and frown. There was no chopine nine-and-three-quarters, at least not one he could see. Harry had walked the lengths of program nine and ten before he saw an odd sight moving towards him. A man dressed in a total darkness mantle, attracting many stares from passers by, herded a white-blond haired tiddler towards the platform. They were followed by a run down looking man carrying a boastfully travel chest and ( and this was the bit Harry was looking at ) a with child owl in a cage. As the tercet drew closer Harry heard the boy say…

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

"Hello."From the icy flavor in the mans eyes not a respectable head start but he pressed on."I couldn't supporter but overhear that in conclusion 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 innocent 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 homo cane tripped him, sending him sprawling to the trading floor. He heard laugh from both the man and the boy that cut off suddenly. Harry got up and dusted himself off but the maven were no-where to be seen. Cursing himself Harry looked at the fourth dimension, barely five arcminute left. Harry was just wondering if there was a second caravan he could pick out when…

"Jack !"Harry was thumped on the shoulder and spun around to expect into the freckled face of one of the twins from the leaky cauldron the first time he had passed through there. They were followed by an older teenager, possibly even more freckled than them and a untested one bringing up the buttocks. Behind them was a plump woman, raging at being left in rush of a whole flotilla of luggage trolleys while her sons ran off and a trivial girl hanging on to her hand.

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

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

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

"slew of hoi polloi aren't Harry Potter."Said Harry with a smile."It's hardly an accolade."("Now how the hell am I gon'a be capable to tell them the truth."opinion Harry. )

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

"You know, about the whole Harry ceramicist thing."Harry said but was silenced as the oldest brother took his pushcart and walked straight through the wall. Harry's impact must hold came through on his boldness because the Mother said.

"First time to Hogwarts dear ?"

"Either that or I've gone mad and I just haven't realised it yet."This account was becoming to a greater extent and more appealing to Harry's mind but the woman just laughed.

"Oh, its all right lamb, its Ron's outset time too."She pointed to the youngest son who shrugged and smiled."All you have to do, is run at the barrier and don't arrest. Don't worry that you'll clangor 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 his eyes but kept them resolutely open. The bulwark came closer. A sudden moment of affright hit Harry and he squeezed his centre shut and shielded his psyche with his hands.

There was a moment of hushed pressure then Harry opened his eyes and walked out to gaze at the red steam engine, sat side by side to the house for chopine nine-and-three-quarters. He heard a eldritch shlooping audio behind him and saw Ron standing there checking himself to see whether he was all right and looking back towards the barrier.

"Skull still whole ?"Harry asked him and got a grin in return. Harry wandered down the chopine and got in a seemingly empty carriage. He saw the Pt haired boy from the platform talking to Blaise Zabini and hastily got back down. The next few posture he checked were occupied by people already talking and chatting and showing each other photo. Harry reached the end of the gearing 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 footmark with him.

"I think everywhere's taken"Harry said as they checked another compartment only to regain a radical of seventh yr in serious discussion over a paper. Harry hefted his bag higher onto his shoulder and held the door to the next compartment open air for Ron and his Brobdingnagian trunk.

"You're not bringing a great deal stuff."Said Ron looking between his Brobdingnagian proboscis and Harry loaded backpack."I thought everyone was bringing a trunk."

"I like to travel light."Harry said, they leaned against the wall for a moment as a gaggle of sr. students passed."Makes it well-to-do to run from trouble. Besides, I don't have adequate clobber to take one o'those things."Harry nodded towards the trunk.

"I'm Ron."The boy extended a helping hand, which Harry took."Ron Weasley. What's your finale gens Jack ?"

"wellspring, see the thing about that is."No welcome distraction here."My names not actually Jack."Seeing Ron's perplexed face he continued."You discover how your brothers met me right."( nod )."How people thought I was Harry Potter and turned and looked at me ?"( nod )."fountainhead, try and see it from my perspective, you're suddenly in a new place with lots of people staring at you."( understood stare )."What would you hold told them ?"He lapsed into silence as Ron stared at him for a moment.

"So what you're saying is… that you really are Harry ceramicist ?"Ron laughed and told him it was a soundly joke, he laughed right up until Harry pushed his fringe up and showed Ron the scratch 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 stealthy accent.

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

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

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

"You're brothers ?"

"Yeah,"Suddenly a idea seemed to assume Ron."Oh, let me recount them ! The look on their faces…"

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

"Forgot six ? Six what ?"

"The identification number six, he used to count up like… four, five, seven. If you told him he'd missed out a telephone 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 not. trust me. This guy was for veridical, 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 headache and give birth to go sit down. Was awful at keeping assignment too, on history of missing Sabbatum. Even worse he was scared of dice. Seemed to recall they should be made triangular."Harry launched further into the tale, dreaming up more wildly unlikely circumstances 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 Gemini girls ( I'm group meeting a lot of twins ) he'd met in diagonally's pill pusher."Hi."Harry said by way of foundation,"creative thinker if we sit down here ? I could juggle again by way of payment ?"The girls giggled and Harry moved into the compartment and helped Ron put his Brobdingnagian luggage compartment 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 twins accused.

"There wasn't time, what with the being thrown out of the shop class and all. Don't worry about that this clock time, I plan to stay at Hogwarts at least a few daytime before getting thrown."The Twins laughed, that was how to do it. Tell a jocularity just after you say your name ‘ cos you can't pant and laughter at the like time."And anyway, you didn't secern 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 strike back."Wow."The twin looked at one another then broke out into giggles. But Parvati added through the laugh,"I expected you to be magniloquent though."Harry looked around and realised he was the short somebody in a fifty percent daughter room then shrugged.

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

"Nah,"said Ron"If you were you wouldn't fit in the train. And you'd be a totally lot vile !"

"Thanks."Harry said flatly while wondering whether he was serious ( Draco, so why not titan ? ). Before he could say anything else the compartment door slid open to show a beldame pushing a trolley to the full of food.

"Would you like anything off the streetcar love ?"She asked. A momentary-flash-fire three way battle raged in Harry between hunger, parsimony and a pauperism to impress but the matter was decided by a set of creamy Orange bar sitting on one side of the trolley. On seeing them, parsimoniousness waved a trivial white flag.

"Two of those please."Harry said, pointing at the cakes. Ron mumbled that he had brought sandwiches but the Twin seemed to have worked out all the stuff they were getting in feeler and amassed a small pile of their favourites in forepart of them. As the trolley car moved away Harry held up one of his cakes and said."Now, can anyone severalise me what the hell I just bought ?"

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

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

"What do you imply ?"said Parvati.

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

"I didn't grow up with wizards, or witches or dragons or giants."Harry gestured widely at the surrounding orbit."Welcome to my journey of incessant revelation. I'm just waiting for the unknown to startle out with superman and all will be complete."He stopped and waited on their unconnected stares.

"I wondered why you couldn't get onto the platform."Ron said after a import."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 noise while her sister stared disapprovingly at the peppiness youngster. Harry just laughed.

"Don't square Ron on my account."Harry took another pungency out of his patty before saying"My parents died a long time ago. Beyond my retention of events, so it doesn't affair 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 care of me ?"Harry paused a little too long before answering."wellspring, myself I guess. For the last three years at least, I lived with my aunt and uncle before that. Well, I say lived with, survived is probably the serious terminus. That's why I left."Harry lapsed into muteness and quickly began to panic under their stares, this was tough than when they learned his name.

"So, you lived alone ?"Annapurna broke the smooth."Without a family ?"

"Without a home ?"Padma added onto the end of her Sister motion. Ron just sat there looking dumbstruck.

"Yes without a family, yes without a home."Harry's meat began to quicken and he could feel the sweat from their stares. He fumbled in his pouch and brought out two juggling balls and began to bounce them in one hired hand, he could feel the stress ebbing, relaxing, growing lowly but still sitting there, in the backbone of his nous, weighing it down. It had been quiet too long, make them verbalise again."Neat story yeah ?"Harry said pocketing the balls."Anyway its not as bad as you think, I think I had a short help after I left my aunt and uncle's."

"What do you mean ?"Ron leaned forward, his oral cavity full of sandwich.

"We'll, its something I worked out since I found out."It had taken him a while to realise it, his mind soaking into the old volume he was reading, the comprehension had come to him slowly, as Thomas More and more pieces fell together."You know unplanned magic…"

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

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

"Were they hurt ?"Ron looked aghast.

"Nah, just broke the car. Still, none of those were as good as this one time."Harry motioned for the others to tilt in and they obliged, now wrapped up in his narration."I was being chased by this gang o'drunken Guy right ? Chasing me over some small matter of little grandness that was blown far, far out of proportion."

"What did you do ?"Padma said flatly.

"I said their mother must take in been sheep and for no grounds they took it as an insult."Harry shook his pass ruefully"Some people have no sensation of humour, they took it totally out of context. Anyway, normally I have no bother outdistancing tope drench yobbo but in this casing I was in a division of town I hadn't been in before and I found myself in the untenable stead of facing a dead end with six of the retard tearing down on me."

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

"Not quite."Harry said smile,"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 same time."

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

"Not knocked down, slew over."Harry's eyes twinkled."I wasn't sure at the fourth dimension but I think I turned their horseshoe to ice. get you ever seen six wino guys hangin'off each other ‘ cos they couldn't stand up. Any time they tried to suffer up they just fell categoric on their faces again."Harry raised his arm then flipped it over making a swishing sound and dropped it onto his lap.

"Of course of instruction, if they'd just had the smarts to demand their horseshoe off I'd have been a toast, but with a petty help from the alcoholic drink they'd inebriate that didn't occur and I was good to drop off away."Harry laughed and after a mo his friends laughed too. Harry could think that nighttime clearly, he hadn't laughed then. He'd cried and ran and shivered through his pelage. He hadn't slept that night either, he hadn't felt safe too but instead had just ran and ran until his leg gave out and he crawled into a bandage of shadows and to lie there trembling. laugh was well-situated after but he would never blank out the fear.

"That's nothing."Ron said, clearly trying to top Harry."One meter when I was out on my broom…"He got no further into his story as the door slid open to give away 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, Parvati and Padma to see a chorus of shaking heads."No, he hasn't been in here… But."Harry added as the boys eyes started to swell up again."I could help you see if you like."Parvati was immediate to add that she'd help too. Padma sighed but repeated what her sister said. Ron said goose egg and rolled his eyes.

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

*

Everything was going so well ( no they had not actually found the batrachian but they had met stacks of interesting people and one interesting whale spider. ) when Harry saw someone coming down the corridor and grimaced. His little chemical group of toad-hunters stopped dead as the platinum haired kid from the station walked towards them flanked by two robust scholar. ("well, I say robust."thinking 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, bore voice."Its you, the mudblood from the station."Harry heard Ron gasp and Anapurna 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 sustain been spared the humiliation of being constantly bettered by the veridical thaumaturgist. My founder always says muggle-borns shouldn't be allowed to hang with us pure blooded wizards."

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

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

"A toad."Harry kept smiling."You know, small, green, frog-like thing, reply to the epithet of Trevor."

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

"Sorry but you just seemed like the kind of guy who would know where to find jet, slimy, 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 call up you're talking to."Said the boy, ignoring the fact that the great unwashed in nearby cabins had opened their room access to mind."I am Draco Malfoy, my father is Lucius Malfoy, you'd near not make opposition you can't great deal with mudblood."Once again the intelligence produced a response, even from the people in the cabins. about of them erupted in angered grumbling, a few looked at Malfoy proudly."Anyway, I don't see why I'm atrophy time with the the like of you. There's a rumour that Harry Potter is on the train."That set off a different kind of reaction, a frenzied pant 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 great. I have no idea what they are but since you seem to hate them so a good deal and immortal true statement, the more I see of you the more I seem to hate your guts I can be indisputable I'll making love ‘ em to mo. Now, would you heed moving, I have toads to get, and all I'm finding here are worms."Harry pointed straight at Malfoy and then to the position of the pram. Malfoy remained descent still. The pushchair had gone deadly quiet.

"Who do you think you are ?"Dragon said with undisguised scorn.

"Harry ceramicist. Nice to get together you."Draco's eye went wide and the compartments once more began whispering."This is Ron Weasly and Neville Longbottom, and Padma and Anapurna Patil."Harry advanced on the blond haired kid before him and waved his hand at the giant bodyguards."Now, aren't you going to introduce me to you're friends…pets…companions. Interesting how you managed to fit two hippos into uniforms, you would make thought the full dress would get in the way."Then Harry noticed the passe-partout stroke, a small commons lump near Malfoys kicking. He stooped, swiped it up and held it for all to see.

"Trevor !"Cried Neville happily.

"Look at this bozo, it's even skillful than I thought. Malfoy…"He jabbed his thumb behind him,"…actually attracts slimy tool. He doesn't need to seek them out, they come to him ! I wonder why that is ? I think…"Harry went on in a microscope stage whisper"… that it might be the smell."He just had time to see the laughter erupt before something hit him in the back of the head.

*

Harry went down hard and felt a weight state on top of him. It felt like both the Hippo 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 animal 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 twinkle singe his cervix and smelled burnt hair and turned to see Malfoy standing there with sceptre drawn, the last swoon 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 onlooker 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 twins 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 twins congratulated him on putting down a Malfoy, Padma said she didn't think anyone had caused this much trouble before even getting to Hogwarts but she was smiling when she said it, Neville said nothing but began looking at Harry with a sort of awe that was uncomfortable. Recounting the fight 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 railroad train started slowing. Harry looked out onto the wet platform as the wagon train stopped and breathed in deeply.

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

*

Harry's hired man drifted through the water, forgotten, as he stared out from the boat he, Ron and the twins had shared. All talk had just been lost as they rounded a promontory and saw in the distance, their destination. Hogwarts, it sprawled over the land on one side of meat of the lake, a vast bread and butter or castle with tall, phonograph needle towers and giant Granville Stanley Hall. Every windowpane glowed from within and fall ray of light 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 stone and mortar.

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

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

"Wait trough you get inside."Ron grinned,"Fred and George told me everything about it. Apparently the stair move and there's secret passages everywhere."Harry made a mental banker's bill to discover all of them."And there's creatures in the dungeon that the instructor don't know about, and there a elbow room broad of hoarded wealth in one of the walls. Fred and George II said they 'd birth got it out by now if it wasn't guarded by a monster."

"That's a crowd of pig poo."Parvati scoffed ( Harry chuckled at the absurdly mild profanity ) as they stepped out of the boat onto a landing place."My friend's in her thirdly year and she once told me Fred and St. George Weasly were the biggest jokers and the bad liars in the whole school."Ron bristled and was about to retort 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 chief. Then he let himself strike 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 aim this so easy…"Harry pushed up and landed back on his feet to contact astonished stares,"…if they do hold the trickster crown they'd upright savor it while they can ‘ cos I'm on the conniption now."Harry put his custody on his pelvis and licked his front end teethh."And they ain't seen nothing yet."

*

It was a moment before anyone spoke up but Harry saw their expressions. Ron's looked shocked beyond words and had his lip open, Padma was looking at him like he was joking in some way but her babe was smiling and nodding with a gleaming in her optic that said she was planning to try for a bit of mayhem herself. But it was privy option four who reacted first.

"You're already planning to break schoolhouse ruler and you're not even past the sorting yet."Harry turned, praying he was incorrect about recognising the voice."I have half a mind to distinguish the headmaster about you right now."prayer unanswered. The voice came from the bushy haired girl from diagonally who was standing with her hands on her articulatio coxae facing them as the early first years filed past down the corridor.

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

"You should all hold away from him."The girl ignored Harry and addressed the early toad hunters."You could all get into immense trouble."With that the little girl turned and marched off after the first years. Meanwhile Harry turned back to the others.

"So, you've heard my mind and you've heard the opposition."He jabbed his hand at Hermione's back."Who's with me ?"Grins answered him, even ( eventually ) from Neville."Right then, I'm glad you guy wire are behind me. Now lets get going. If were late we'll never even get put into the schoolhouse to get thrown out !"They hurried after the others. Surprisingly it was Neville who brought up the matter of what to bid themselves. Some ideas ( Not all of them proficient ) were bandied about. Ron seemed to be set on putting the word shank in the gens for some understanding but was silenced when Padma sarcastically said

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

"After all ..."Said Ron"My Brother could reckon as the old ones, and we're out to replace them, so were the new ones !"Harry didn't think that was the cause somehow, but the name itself fit like a glove.

So, as Harry ceramist, Ron Weasly, Neville Longbottom and Padma and Anapurna Patil walked into the waiting residence by the cracking dormitory and the last of the sunset-sunlight streamed in through the window the New Marauders were born.

*

They stepped into the bully hall in a row and giggled when they gasped in tandem. The sight was awe inspiring, the immense tables of educatee staring and pointing, lighted by century of floating cd and even better, Harry's heart travelled upwards and he smiled in ecstatic wonder. The night sky greeted him above, every adept bright and clear like a back-lit rhomb. Like gold rubble. Having never been far out of the M25 Harry had grown up with streetlamps and brightness befoulment. The stars were gift, just one more than matter he wanted to thank this place for.

He quietened as an older witch carried an old hat out to the phase and set it down on a stool. She straightened and delivered her instructions in a crisp, effective vocalisation and the hall instantly became silent. Harry thought he saw the hat relocation then turned back to the crone. But no ! it had moved, and now it split down a ridge and opened like a oral cavity to say…


Lasting chiliad long time and more
By the renowned Hogwarts four
The houses of renown

Each one of laurels true and luxurious
And at their giving birth you understand
My job was then set down

I was put here to sort you laugh
You sorry, snotty, shorty, folk
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 chairwoman

To Hufflepuff
Of sterner material
The loyal and the just

Or Slytherin
The wits to win
Where cunning is a must

These four alone await you here
And I can take,
just volunteer
Nothing to fear
Just lend an ear
I'm quite sincere
Can't waiting to see them jump and cheer !

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

"good story yeah !"Ron leaned over to Harry.

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

His excess probe before arriving had also turned up the Slytherin name, frequently associated with the darkness and evil. And the hat's description had matched him. Harry felt suddenly very low temperature and pocket-size and he felt like a dark cloud had touched him. He shivered and told himself it was his imagination.

He could affirm he felt eyes on the back of his head but when he turned around the only person there was a thin, nervous looking wizard in a toque chatting to a lank-haired and sallow-faced professor. The lank-haired teacher oculus flicked to his typeface, then to his forehead and Harry turned back quickly. Just in time to hear the first gear figure called out.

*

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

Each individual chosen prompted a new batch of cheering from the house they were chosen for. Harry had the insane urge to get out his juggling orchis just to relive his tension but knew he couldn't, not under all those eyes. A consequence later he recognised Hermione walking up to the chair and session, jamming on the telling hat, a few moments later and the hat pronounced her a Gryffindor and she ran down to the table. The side by side person he recognised was Neville, he tried to shut away all his nerves and give Neville an boost wafture as he walked preceding, ashen faced. After what must give been minutes the hat sent Neville to Gryffindor too and the ministration on his face was clearly visible.

Malfoy went to Slytherin and Harrys gut seemed to quit up stringent. They were on to the P's now and Harry was sure his face must be showing his thought process despite his efforts. The twins 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 gens then…

"Harry Potter !"

"Alright."Thought Harry"If there was ever a prison term you needed to keep you're cool. This is that time."He made himself swagger a little as he walked over to the chairman through the whispering and stares then forced himself to grin as he dropped the hat on his head. The iniquity was welcome as the hat slid over his eyes but then…

"Hm… Another dodgy one."It was the articulation of the hat, but quieter now, and coming from just outside his ear."honorable idea but underused, loyal psyche but no lay out loyalties, and with your fears…"

"Hey !"Thought Harry, for a bit Sir Thomas More angry than scared."Who the hell 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 good, it's in your intimately interest you know. To go with multitude who understand you, whose minds are like your own, full-of-the-moon of cunning ways, hidden course, other ways to get what you want. I can send you where you'll fit in, where you'll receive Quaker, in the house of Salazar Sl ..."But Harry cut him off.

"That's enough ! I will not let myself be placed in a house of dark wizards and disgusting people !"Harry thought angrily."I don't see what gives you the right to take either. I chose my path ! Always ! If you looked a little further in my encephalon you'd see the flop o'that ! I chose to leave home ! I chose to number here ! No parent ! no template ! I made my own way here, ME ! Its my life and I want to go to Gry ..."

"GRYFFINDOR !"The hat yelled triumphantly in the middle of his sentence 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 gold table.

*

He sat down near Padma, Anapurna and Neville who had saved blank space for him and Ron.

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

"Don't know what my parent would birth said if I hadn't been picked for Gryffindor."Harry was about to say something comfortingly-funny when the manse went subdued. Harry looked around and saw that the man sitting at the middle of the senior high mesa had stood up.

He looked very old but he stood without a stoop and had straightened smoothly. His hair's-breadth and beard were snow-clad white and tied into two tails, one down the straw man, one down the back. As he surveyed the hall, Harry could have sworn the gentleman eyes fixed on him for a split second before moving on.

"Who the snake pit's he."Asked Harry.

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

"One spell of advice comes to me at this time."The old mans vocalism sounded faintly amused, like he knew something funny that everyone else didn't."athirst tiddler listen only to their grumbling stomachs. With that in mind, tuck in !"Harry saw the crustal plate in front of him make full with everything imaginable. plate of meat and Solanum tuberosum piled high school, and pitcherful wax of juices and Milk River. Harry looked so long he didn't 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 things off the plates for himself. He was almost let down when the deserts appeared and was definitely disappointed when they went though he couldn't have eaten another morsel. He was sitting in a happy, sleepy, full-of-the-moon and contended haze when he saw the headmaster rise to his foundation again.

"I have a few announcements to establish. Firstly, that 1st yr are reminded that they are not allowed their own Scots heather, that start and second eld are forestall to enrol Hogsmead Village, that all scholarly person are forbidden to enter the proscribed forest and that anyone with any signified of self preservation should void the 3rd level corridor on the correctly helping hand side. Thank you."

"Third floor corridor ?"Said Ron."Hey George ! Fred !"He yelled down the table at his brother."What's on this tierce story corridor ?"

"Nothing the finis prison term we looked."Said Fred."Why ?"

"Is slight Ron scared ?"Added his sidekick laughing. Ron turned back sullenly.

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

"If there was anything there shoemaker's last year they'd know about it."Ron said crossing his arms and directing a dismal look back along the table."So whatever it is it must have only just happened."

"Their hiding something."Said Annapurna confidently."There's something sinewy they're researching and they want to keep it mystic, there's no danger."

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

"Well of course if Dumbledore says it then it must be reliable. He couldn't possibly he lying or exaggerating to make sure cypher 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 juice before going on."There was never any inquiry of going or not. As soon as it became forbidden it became our first target."

*

But there was short chance for Harry to carry through on his promises for the 1st few days, lesson followed lesson and Harry found himself challenged to celebrate up. Everything in the books he'd read seemed to constitute about one one-hundredth of what they needed to do it and each new concept sent him out from the lesson scratching his head back to the Book and then to the new ones he'd got out of the library.

The only intellect he wasn't totally swamped was that after every day he could return to the Gryffindor unwashed room and sit down on the tabular array that had already been designated, even by older students, the predator table. On his indorse day Harry had simply invaded this table and pulled four other chairs around it, plopped his bag down and waited. By day four it was established and the places reserved.

It was near enough to the fire to be warmed by it and was constantly piled with their books and suitcase, whatever sweets they had each donated to the pot, a wizard Bromus secalinus set in permanent confusedness, at least one written matter of witch Weekly and, more often than not, Trevor. And under the lot, between the pages of the Holy Writ or hidden in seraphic wrapping there were function, point, composition and ideas.

The five of them would play on the days taxing homework till the common room began to empty, then the books would close and the employment would lead off in earnest. It had moved beyond the thirdly base corridor of course, there were plans to get into sneak federal agency, McGonagall's post, each of the other vernacular room, plans to curse hoi polloi ( 99 % of those hoi polloi being Slytherins and 80 % of them being Malfoy ) and plans to find all the cloak-and-dagger passages of the school.

Harry laughed Sir Thomas 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 deterrent example couldn't put a dent in this. Then, on Friday, Harry awoke from quietus after a particularly honorable planning session and went downstairs to breakfast. If Harry had had a single prophetical pearl in his body he would sustain shivered when looking at his days timetable.

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

*

"Potion making is as… beautiful a science as it exact. As deadly as it is complex and as backbreaking to ascertain as it is rewarding to those who have the gift, and the predisposition to do so."

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

"For those lucky enough to be able to excel in my subject."The hook nosed, sallow faced professor continued."It will reap them rewards far beyond any adolescent charm or spell. What charm can fill the blood with fire, can kill silent as a mouse, can fan spirit back into what former charm would deem a remains, can send individual into so deep a sleep they will never awake."

"I don't know any spells for the last one but his vocalization is doing a pretty good job so far."Padma whispered and Harry had to bite his speed lip to keep the sounds in. They had been set at a desk thankfully near the rachis of the class and could appear clear across the whole class to where the teacher, one Severus Snape, stalked in front of the blackboard. The reason they were laughing so hard was that, before the object lesson, Ron's brothers had treated them to an belief of Snape which, at the metre, they had thought was an exaggeration.

"But about of you will not have that skill and will doubtless find yourself confused… baffled… and, if prior disaster are any reading, severely burnt in this classroom. If that is the case then I ask that you don't hesitate to total to me for help."("WHAT ?"Harry's dumbfounded verbalism was mirrored on every brass in the class )"And I will tell you what I tell all the other scholar poor fish enough to come to me. ‘ I don't CARE.'” The teacher waved his wand at the board and some program line appeared there.

Later in the moral, when Snape was making his rung around the desks staring at everyone's cauldrons and making derogatory comments to everyone not in putting surface trimmed robes, Harry made a pointedness of looking Snape directly in the center as he passed by and smiling from ear to ear.

"Something good story Potter."psyche turned to watch out."You see something you find amusing ?"

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

"A State Department of affairs I foresee happening frequently. Lets see if we can travel rapidly affair up a small. Tell me…"Snape's back snapped straight like a willow twig and he looked down at Harry."What would I get if I added powderise root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood ?"

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

"Incorrect."Snape glowered.

"excuse me."The annoying twist to the words… the self-important accent… Hermione sat at the adjacent mesa over and was turned towards Harry and Snape."The answer is the rough drawing of living death. A sleeping potion powerful en…"

"Five pointedness from Gryffindor Miss Granger."Snape said without turning."The correct answer Potter ... Was ‘ draft of living death sir'. Another ten points from Gryffindor."Snape swept off leaving Harry glowering at his back.

"That wasn't fair."Said Ron, turning from the table in front that he shared with Neville."He can't charter points if you get the flop answer."

"fountainhead you were a bit cheeky to leave off the Sir."Hermione said primly and folded her subdivision. Behind her on her table Lavender brownness ( not a toader but a friend of Padma and Anapurna. Harry had promised to learn her to juggle once and was now trying to detect a way to wiggle out of it ) rolled her eyes."But it shouldn't have been ten pointedness, maybe five."

"Harry do you commend which of us it was that asked her ruling ?"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 gag and turned back to his desk but Harry leaned back and bit his lip thoughtfully. He'd just insulted, without provocation, soul who had stood up for him. He tried to opine of something risible to say that would take Hermione gag and realised he didn't know anything she'd like. A moment later Snape swooped back preceding and the fortune for talk was over.

While failing to do his potion Harry thought carefully, Hermione didn't go around with anyone, she didn't sit with the Sami people in any two classes, he'd never seen her talking in the coarse room with anyone. In fact, the just multiplication he'd seen her out of classes was when he took books out of the library, then she was always there, with her foreland deep in progressively thicker books.

"That doesn't mean she doesn't have friends."Thought Harry while crushing porcupine quills."She could be intimate citizenry in other years from before she came here."

"She's muggle-born."Another component of his brain said"How would she already have friends at a champion school."

"Oh…"Harry looked over at Hermione and Lavender, only talking to reference the instructions on the circuit board and at other time Hermione was craned over her account book and Lavender over hers.

"She really doesn't… and you snubbed her…"Harry was quiet until the end of the lesson. He didn't want to utter. When you find out something you don't much like about yourself the last thing you want to do is talk about it.

*

Harry tried to lecture to Hermione several prison term over the following few week but she always just ignored him or ran off. Worse, Padma and Parvati had told him she had taken to crying in the girls toilet during breaks and after lessons.

"Maybe you could do something."Harry pointed out during a lately September eve after a particularly successful prank of some fifth part year Slytherins"You sleep in the same bloody room. Surely you talk to her."

"She doesn't talking to us."Parvati explained"Always has a book or homework or something out and doesn't want to be disturbed."

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

"Why do you worry anyway ?"Ron asked him pointedly."If she wanted citizenry to like her she wouldn't be so stuck up. If she keeps pushing people away it's probably because she doesn't want friends."Parvati and Padma nodded sadly but Neville ( hushed on the sidelines as always ) gave a small shake of his nous. Loneliness was easier to understand from experience than from observation.

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

*

Harry decided to try a more unmediated overture. The next day, after lessons but before dinner party, Harry went down to the library and approached the now familiar sight of a bundle of books and Hermione. He pulled up a chair and sat about a third of the way around the table from her.

"facial expression like you beat me here."Harry said without provoking a reaction."Last copy."He added, pointing to a random Holy Scripture near her elbow joint. Without looking or speaking Hermione pushed the al-Qur'an to him then got up and walked to another table. Harry sighed and followed her.

"aspect, you can't restrain going like this forever. Humans need to let the cat out of the bag to other humans or they go crazy."Harry twirled a finger near his ear and let his eye go cut across."Anyway don't you…"

"No I don't !"Hermione slammed the book shut and looked at him angrily. He saw red around her eyes."And if you don't mind I'm doing a special project for professor Flitwick and it's in tomorrow. Some the great unwashed care about school."And with that she darted to yet a third base table and sat with her cover to him. After a instant he saw her berm begin to shake with sobs.



Harry stood there for a moment feeling worthless then turned and walked out of the depository library. But that wasn't the last he'd see of Hermione that day, a little later when Harry was on a investigatory charge ("I swear Mustela putorius keeps a dispense with key in one of the janitors closets."Ron had said. Harry had agreed to look into it without realising how very many janitors closets there were and what unpleasant smells inhabited them ) he passed a doorway to an disused schoolroom and heard voices inside.

"pass it back !"Hermione's voice ?"You arrogant snake ! Give it back !"

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

"contribute it back you foul, loathsome affair !"

"Crabbe, Goyle, hold the dirty mudblood away from me. I'm trying to read."Stroking the threshold, kicking the door, poking the door… come on door ! You can hear what's happening in there the Same as I can !

"What an interesting text file mudblood. Flitwick would have been astounded with it. Probably would deliver earned you a few star sign dot eh ? Except you won't be able to leave it to him. Unreliable as you mudbloods are, saying you'll do something then not having even a unmarried tabloid to hand in. Terrible."Harry heard dickhead from inside and redoubled his feat at the door. Was n't there a trance called allohamora ? Harry flicked his wand out and tried to cast it. naught happened. He tried again. zippo. Oh damnit ! This was n't one of the doors that would n't unfold ! This was one of the bulwark that look like a doorway. Harry peered through the keyhole to try to see another doorway. Malfoy was holding up the papers for Hermione to see and said,

"Then I'll say ‘ Oh professor, if you wanted someone to pen up that you should've asked me. I've been researching it. Just in my spare time of course. Thanks for the house decimal point mudblood."Harry heard another door open then close and ran in the centering of the sound. Malfoy and his minions were already out of sight so Harry quietly opened the doorway and went in. Hermione was slumped in a big money in the middle of the base. He approached carefully and tried to recollect of something to say.

"Um Hermione…"She looked up then scowled when the saw him."You could tell Flitwick, recite him what happened. If Malfoy's really gon na keep 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 prescript and playing frivolity ! You can't talk !"Hermione ran out of the room leaving Harry speechless. Harry stood for the longest time in the middle of the deserted schoolroom before walking slowly back to the Gryffindor coarse room. The marauder stopped talking when they saw his boldness, a mix of anger and pain. They all looked to him as he sat down.

"Forget all the early plans."Harry's representative was grave-quiet but his centre had a wicked gleaming."We're breaking in the Slytherin common room. Tonight."The protest washed over him from the others ; they weren't ready, they hadn't planned, tomorrow was Halloween and they needed to be rested for the party and most of all they could run into Snape. Harry sighed inwardly and began to tell the to the full story as quickly as he could. It was already getting darkness, and they had places to be…





Authers note
Hi, thought i should pass on an bill eventually. Review if you have prison term, this is my low gear fable so delight experience unloosen to tell me how auful it is.



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

"Of class we'll be caught if you don't shut up Neville !"Padma held her hand over Neville's oral fissure and pulled him further into the closet. Harry waved them both to stay still and peered back out through the keyhole. Filches lantern glow was far up the corridor but he waited a good count of thirty before pushing the door open and leading the others out. In the end the choices for his fellow traveler were simple, he couldn't take to a greater extent than two or they'd be seen for trusted and they needed some people to abide in the common way to guarantee for them if questions 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 double-dyed scout.

"You get lost so much if mortal finds you out of place you can just say you were looking for the rough-cut room. And anyone but Snape'll probably let you off."

As for Padma, she was the solitary one who could reliably find the Slytherin dungeon since she had been in flush of that particular slice of recognisance and after all, she had been the one to encounter out the watchword. 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 realise she was joking.

The three of them crept down the last flight of steps and Padma silently pointed to a bland opus of bulwark ahead. Harry nodded and he and Padma moved on while Neville got his scepter out and pushed himself deep into an bay behind some armour. Harry gestured back at him and got out his wand.

"Mico Neville"Harry muttered, sending the signal, and having his own wand vibrate as a reply. It was the best way to send signals, the person had to be within ten or so measure but it was virtually understood. Harry crept towards the bulwark and stepped aside so that Padma could give the Password.

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

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

It was sinister but not pitch. A few dying ember in the immense marble fireplace gave an ominous glow. All the piece of furniture was large and drear, and in the bad Light it looked oddly sinister, looming like cliffs above the creeping children. Padma tugged at Harrys robe and as he looked back she waved her handwriting in front of her eye and shook her head. She couldn't see. Harry knew his oculus were thoroughly by night and he kept forgetting the rest of his clan didn't parcel the benefits of his previous, independent modus vivendi. Harry guided her to a wall and put her behind a wall suspension, sitting near a tumid urn unpleasantly decorated to resemble a hollo face. Harry placed Padma's wand in her deal and looked at her font before leaving. She was wearing a learn expression but her eyes were wide and she was breathing hard.

"No shame to back out."Harry whispered in her ear, for the kickoff time having doubts about tonight's venture."I did kinda throw away everyone in at the deep end today."

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

"She said she chose her family 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 chortle as his finger's breadth found a doorknob in the night. What he had thought would be the gruelling part had turned out to be the leisurely. They had debated for ages how to get out which way was Malfoy's, from bribing someone to covering his place with ultraviolet ink but it had been all for nix. Harry checked the memorial tablet nameplate on the door and chuckled again before moving into the elbow room. Like a trace, Harry tried not to even think loudly. Like a shade, here then gone, no trace. The room was large for a single person room, expectant even than the one in Gryffindor tug he shared with four other people.

"Can't make precious pet Malfoy parcel a room."Harry sneered in the night. If there had been a way to silently trash the place he would take done so, instead he began looking around for the project. He slid his manpower onto shelf and held theme up in the moonlight to read the covers. The just time he stopped was when he was searching by Malfoy's bed and saw something on the back. He'd had to double up to keep from laughing and he'd felt like every vein would erupt. Malfoy had taken his teddy to school with him.

Harry could see a clock on the drapery, the handwriting glowing faintly in the dark and saw that he didn't have much time left. For a import he stopped looking and just stood in the iniquity to think. There was no way he could search the unhurt stead, not going as slowly as he had to to fend off detection.

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

"Nowhere. I wouldn't put it anywhere because I wouldn't cartel it enough. I'd keep it with me from the consequence I got it till the moment I let it leave my hands."Harry's gaze shifted to the prone figure on the bed."Under the pillow ? No, not that obvious. In his pouch ? If it's there then I'm screwed so…Where else… No where. This blood line of idea has got me no-where and metre is running out."Harry threw up his hired man in defeat and at that moment felt something in his sack vibrate. He brought his wand out to sense the shaking in his hands.

*

fear wasn't what he needed now, neither was a mad dash. Running now was the final stage thing he wanted to do… Just crawl back through the doorway and go quietly down the steps. Down the stairs to where there's a ignitor on. Harry crouched at the top of the stairwell and shielded his eyes to conserve his dark vision before sliding a flyspeck periscope between the balustrade ("Do you carry whole toyshops around in you're air pocket ?"Parvati had said when he showed them some of his peter like the periscope."You never know when this stuff'll come in handy."Harry winked and twirled a lock picking between his digit. ) The lilliputian mirror-pipe revealed a small cluster of fifth years who looked like they had just come in. They began talking loudly about some news or early and Harry carefully slid back from the edge. Now what ? He didn't have the project, and his way out was now blocked. rectification, his and Padmas ways out were now blocked. Harry slid back to the edge, the Slytherins seemed to be settling down for a night of raucous deportment as they lounged in the prominent chairs with a bottle of something, probably stolen from the kitchens. If they were distracted ? If Harry waited until they simply drank themselves into a stupor ? Perhaps they'd go to bed soon ? Harry cursed as he saw one of them detach themselves from the chemical group and weave uncertainly towards the stairs.

"What the hell was he gona do now ?"Harry's brain worked quickly"Run back, fell in a… oh no don't !"Harry watched as Padma slipped out of her concealment place holding the handle of the giant urn.



"Back in !"Harry mouthed, abandoning the periscope and sticking his drumhead between the banisters."Before they see you."She shook her caput stubbornly and raised the pot above her head.

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

"Oh no they're awake !"Harry gestured at imaginary figures in the empty residence behind him"Go ! Run !"Harry had time to see the drunken snakes take in his red and gold edged robes and clamber over each early 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 footstep were light-colored as shiner on the floorboards. He turned and saw a familiar door. Switching himself from quiet-running-mode to bloody-silent-creep he skid into Malfoy's way and shut the door.

"people 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 pull in them true.

"starting time searching the elbow room !"Ach… Harry desperately looked around the room for a berth to hide but to his dismay saw only darkness. He had lost his Night middle in the mutual room.

"What was here ? Where did I hunt ? Oh my god, please just commemorate !"The rale door handles and riled articulation got closer, thank heavens Salazar Slytherin built his walls thick and liked oak doors or Harry was sure Malfoy would have woken.

"closet ? It had had glass in the front ! Under the bed ? No elbow room !"Harry's thought grew panicked as the vocalisation got closer."wall, story, ceiling, bed, desk, wardrobe, fireplace…"Harry dropped to his hands and stifle and crawled across the trading floor as fast as he dared. He was sure he was making noise now but he didn't have the spunk left to go any slower. His hands reached the cold stone of the open fireplace and he felt his way into it. No ash at all, the fireplace had never been used. Later on that night Harry would clear that the Slytherins probably heated their bedroom by magic trick so they didn't get the smoke and gained a more even estrus, all he thought at the time was a panicked…

"Thank you !"as he stood up. His hands found a bar embedded in the wall to attend pots from and he lifted himself up and stood on it. At that present 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 abruptly in the search party.

"What do you remember you're doing !"Harry heard Malfoy cry out indignantly."Why are you barging into my elbow room in the middle of the Nox flint ?"

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

"There's someone sneaking around in the rooms."The representative sounded like the speaker was gargling gravel."We thought he might have come in here."

"No ace 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 fade."And you're the idiot Malfoy. You should pay to a greater extent attention to your gravely pal."

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


The use of modified static-induction charms in

the circumstance of adhesives and fasteners.

Hermione sodbuster

"Yes !"thought component part of Harry's mind."I'm still born lucky ! This is what I came here for."…"This is what I came here for ?"Said another percentage in incredulity"adhesives and fasteners ?"Harry shook his pass and laughed at himself a bit before folding up the report and slipping it into his robe. Back in the bedchamber the conversation had become more heated.

"When my sire hears about this !"Malfoy was in full argumentative swing"You will all be drab ! The Malfoy family own your Fatherhood Flint River ! And you can be surely there will be intelligence on the subject of this incident."

"I'm sorry Dra… Mr Malfoy."The former boy was obviously older but the fright was plain in his voice.

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

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

"That remains to be seen…"A new part, a slimy interpreter, a vox dripping contempt with every word !

"Ah"thought process Harry as his gut clenched up"There's that scare again."professor Snape continued talking in the room.

"Tell me why some of the leading fellow member of Slytherin house are awake at this hour ? Hmm… Some of them stinking of cheap wine !"He almost made the fact that it was trashy sound like the worst percentage."Well ? Or have you all been rendered dense by drink !"

"We were chasing someone !"Flint said shakily"Someone was sneaking around in here !"

"Inside the Slytherin rough-cut room ?"

"Yes."

"Inside the countersign protected Slytherin common room ?"

"Yes !"Flint was mad but Snape just snorted.

"Lunacy. All you saw was the wine-colored floating in front of your eyes seeing as you seem to have drown yourselves in it !"Harry heard Snape's footsteps head towards the door.

"There was someone ! They were wearing Gryffindor robe !"The footsteps continued and Harry heard a threshold clear"And they were short !"The measure led out the doorway"And they had a scarf joint around their head !"steps then…

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

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

"Don't be stupid, he could hide his identity better than that."Snape seemed to be talking to himself slightly at that point but then…"Search everywhere ! Every elbow room, turn them upside down and shake them if necessary !"Harry's heart leapt into his throat and he looked around wildly for a way out. But he already knew the just ways, down or up. Harry pushed his back against one bulwark and carefully shifted his feet onto the inverse one. Hogwarts was old Edward Durell Stone and there were heap of handholds to avail 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 snakes induce such good 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 rotary of lighting at the bottom.

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



"relocation over."Harry heard a thumping as Snape pushed his student out of the way then…"Acerbus cuspis !"Harry's horizon was momentarily lighted as streaks of poorly silver spark shot up the chimney towards him then his sight was lost in painful sensation. Harry's feet slipped but he grimly held on by his handholds, gritting his dentition against the stabbing knots of pain each lance had left in him.

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

"Acerbus cuspis !"This time Harry was flattened against the wall and only a few of the bolt hit him."conjunctivitis !"that spell winged good past him, cracking chips off the paries above him, then…"Relashio !"Heat flooded up the lamp chimney to him and Harry's skin felt like it was going to vesicate. He bit his glossa between his tooth and pulled one sweaty hand off the wall so he could fumble in pocket for a large metal jar. At the clock time Harry had thought Ron's suggestion had been a bit stupid but now he was especially glad he had agreed to get the jar along. He pulled the cap off with his teeth and dropped the contents before they had a chance to bite him, far below he heard…

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

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

*

The Light Within below was lost behind Harry as he ascended out of the dungeons. The chimney he was climbing joined others then dissever again. One or two of the lamp chimney had ladder in them, or at to the lowest degree parts of ravel, but most of them he had to skin up. The air was hotter and Smokey here, perhaps some of these lamp chimney were still in use this late, or more probably it was early enough that the kitchens had woken up. Harry would be the beginning to accommodate ( to himself at least ) that he had many fright but claustrophobia wasn't one of them. He pulled his scarf tighter above and below his chalk to keep out soot and around his mouth to breath through as he climbed up into more put-upon chimneys. Harry felt himself propel out into a larger expanse but couldn't see the walls through the dark and the sens. Questing fingers found a rusted ladder and a few moments later Harry pulled himself over the brink of a Brobdingnagian 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 clean cloth somewhere on himself to wipe his glass off. When he put them back on he was struck dumb for a moment by the sight that met his eyes.

Rolling Benny Hill of tile and bank building of slate. Towers popping out at angles and poof balconies with balustrades like lace. Harry walked along the cap rooftree he had landed on in wonder, there was a wholly Earth up above Hogwarts. More chimney jutted out everywhere, some just pipes and some, like the one he'd emerged from, with width like industrial towers. Harry sat down on the ridge and rock his mind in disbelief. Even the mount hadn't taken his breath like this did. He lay back and beheld another wonder. The stars from here seemed brighter, almost as good as the astronomy tower ( Harry's dearie moral, just as an self-justification to stargaze ).

"And no-one up here but me."Harry said aloud, there was no one to get word."Peace."Harry could have fallen asleep against those tile but something moving below caught his eye. Snape, passing along a corridor with grandiloquent Windows all along it. Harry moved to hide then realised his soot-black robe blended perfectly against the night sky and wrapped his scarf around his fount to conceal the final pink skin. His glasses were still grubby enough not to shine.

Harry trailed Snape over the roofs, not even for a present moment cerebration 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 danger here. Snape stopped at what looked like a teacher quarters and pushed through the door without knocking. It took Harry a bit or so to get hold the corresponding window then lowered himself down near it. By chance or the slumberer 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 clip ? How do you even know when this happened ?"Snape's voice was angry and accusing."The only fact that keeps me from cursing you into dark oblivion right now is that I can't quite bring myself to think that even one so pathetic as you would be stupid enough to mean it was moved to the Slytherin keep of all places."

"Th…Then why are you here ?"Quirrell's representative grew a little steadier now, just a little."Why cum 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 protective covering is. I assure you, you would let found neither. My work is as demonic as it is complex and as crafty…"Harry groaned inwardly, not this talk again."And you could never thrust it. Never. Despite Dumbledore's sovereign want of judgement in hiring you and letting you assist in the protection of the gem I will keep unworthy 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 exceptional about tomorrow ? Other than it being Halloween ..."

*

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

"Thank you."Padma breathed and shared a quick smiling with her sis. 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 import not known quite what to do. She was ashamed that after she had taken an age behind the drape working up nerves and steeling herself to provide a distraction and Harry had done the same in an split second. She was ashamed that, when she heard people coming back towards the common room, she had bolted back though the door, pulled an astonished Neville from behind the armour and had shepherded him across the shoal, not once talking until they passed behind the fat lady and got back to Gryffindor vulgar way 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 chair. 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 detainment, he'll drop off us a few house points for being out after curfew."Padma knew her sis was deliberately making thing seem amend than they were to make her feel better. Sometimes Padma thought they had been born to with personality opposition, the eternal optimist and the cynical pessimist. Except this clip her Sister wasn't just being affirmative. 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 house. For attempted theft. He could be expelled."She had got Harry ceramist expelled from Hogwarts because she wasn't brave enough. She knew when the hat had left it up to her she would opt wrongly. She didn't deserve to be here."In Harry's first condition he'll be expelled."

"I'm doing what now ?"

The New Marauders turned en mass and saw a blackened and scraped Harry drop from one of the senior high window. His fount was red and raw and he had a ugly bruise on his left cheek, his bridge player were bleeding and he staggered as he hit the ground but he wore a grin of joy and triumph as all-encompassing as they had ever seen on him.

"Miss me ?"Harry's lurch became a swagger as he approached them."I wasn't gone that long. Although of grade, in the company of Slytherins it seemed much longer."

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

"Chimney."Harry said lightly."Easy climb really once you get past the foremost bit. Oh and one former thing…"Harry fished around in his sac and drew out some papers. Padma found herself shaking her question, no, not after all that happened, you can't still have got it, no ace that good."We got what we came for. It may need some cleaning though…"With that the floodgates came loose and the vulture began peppering Harry with questions. The strange fry laughed as he unrolled a news report that had them gasping. As she listened Padma realised she was glad she'd made her choice, even if she wasn't brave enough for Gryffindor she wouldn't give up the Marauders for the world. And besides, she thought as the looked at her babe, at Ron, at Neville and especially at the smut clothed figure animatedly talking before her, even if I'm not brave now I'll be learning from the best.

*

Hermione rose early from her sheet 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 talk. That thought only made her suspicion in further over her food. Before anyone else had left the table Hermione walked out of the bully hall, leaving the rest of her food behind ( even if she hadn't had somewhere to be she felt too nauseous to eat ). The labor was important, it was the form of thing they gave third and fourth years to work on. Hermione straightened herself up as she walked towards Flitwicks billet. Best get it over with…

"passing somewhere Mudblood ?"Draco Malfoy lounged in the corridor in front line of her. She ignored him and walked on past only to have him baffle his foot forward to try to misstep her up."What ? No contumely ? No ‘ give way it back !'today ?"Hermione kept walking."Oh, I don't have it with me. That would be a bit conspicuous, I figure I'll yield it to him tomorrow. Or the day after, you know, so he doesn't get suspicious but is still impressed by my obviously superordinate talents."Dragon grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around."Don't ignore me Mudblood !"He grated,"This is only the first microscope stage. I'm going to make life hell for you and all the other grunge at the school until you'll pearl out of your own free will. I'll… Oh hello Professor !"prof Flitwick had just emerged from his way and was looking between them.

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

"We were just discussing the charms assignment you gave her."Draco turned to her with an malign smirk."It's a matter I myself find very interesting."

"Then perhaps I should let you show Miss Grangers report. It was most detailed."

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

"Yes, left on my desk this dawning. I flicked through it over breakfast. I used to read the daily vaticinator of a aurora but there's so many advertising in it now."The prof shook his head teacher and didn't appear to notice the totally dumbstruck expression on the two first-years faces."I'll give you ripe feedback when I've read it fully Miss Granger and then…"Flitwick turned to Malfoy"…I'll be for sure to give it to you."With that the myopic fellow wandered off humming faintly to himself.

"How."Malfoy had anger and shock in his oculus."You didn't have other transcript. You said you didn't have former copies !"

"I didn't."Hermione was surprised at the trace of smugness in her voice. Malfoy was looking at her with barely suppressed rage. Then he seemed to notice something and for a moment his centre widened in actualization then screwed up in even blue see red 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 Marauders. Tired and resplendent, staring Malfoy down with five Cheshire-cat smiles. The Slytherin looked like he was about to blow a vena, or possibly shoot steam out of his ears.

"YOU ! ! !"He bellowed striding towards them pointing with his wand."It was you !"Harry and his admirer stood their ground against the charge and Malfoy was brought to a dead end, it was that or walk into a human being bulwark."You stole it ! When I tell my father he'll bring it to the schoolhouse governor and…"

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

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

"Even if you were volition to take a fall just to put us in trouble."Ron continued to a suddenly crestfallen Malfoy."Even if you did, where's the proof ? The study right back where it should be and nil else was taken from your rooms."

"Not even a teddy bear."Harry raised his eyebrows and began chuckling. After a present moment the rest of his gang began laughing as well. Malfoy turned and stalked away against a backcloth of hysteric 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 fourth dimension !"

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

*

The inauspicious spin-off of the stickup was that Malfoy was even to a greater extent acidic than common in class that day. Despite repeated warning from instructor he insulted Harry and the rest period of the predator with every other breath. Fortunately though that breather was wasted as nine times out of ten the marauder in question was asleep on their electric chair. Hermione sighed, but not unhappily and reached for a new quill. She'd upright make these notes good, it looked like they'd have to be copied from a few times. When she reached the common room there was a 6th chair by the fireside table. She smiled and felt warm inside for the first time in what seemed alike forever and walked over to sit down with her friends.


I own nada, certainly nothing Harry ceramicist related.

Seriously, i 'm not kidding ! Do I look ample than the nance ?



"Go on !"

"No ! I can't !"

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

"He'll see me !"Hermione glanced over the bannister 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 number and stand under the overhanging upper berth story. That part of the plan had gone perfectly. The future region was proving problematic.

"Just picking it up and tip it on his head."Harry spoke slowly pointing first to the bucket of cooking oil ( a few objet d'art of burnt crybaby were still floating in it ) standing between them then down to the potions master."Then we run like hell."

"You're all gaga ! Any one of the stunts you've pulled could warrant expulsion ! How long do you conceive you can go on getting away with it ?"Hermione's rustle was raging and horse."And if you think"She pointed at his head teacher"I'm tipping that"A gesture at the lubricating oil"over a Hogwarts teacher !"a finger stabbing down at Snape"You must be unhinged !"She swung her implements of war wide-cut in exasperation and they both heard a thump, then a splashing noise.

Harry saw his ally face turn from righteous anger to gray dreadful fast as a come across match. She kept her eyes firmly ahead and, as if denying what had just happened, shook her fountainhead. 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 moment later they heard a violent boom 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 period and dragged her sideways into a footling used corridor, with her still wide-eyed and ashen-faced he pushed her to a pre-opened window.

"come on ! Just like the architectural plan !"Harry said, then added"Only REAL !"Hermione almost jumped through the window and disappeared as she clambered up a ladder. Harry swung out after her, shut the windowpane and slue onto the tiles above. He wasted no time in pulling himself back to the edge and poking his periscope back down to the edge of the chicken feed. A second later an irate Snape ran past. Harry only caught a glance, but he thought the man seemed cunning than common. 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 workweek or so latter the cockcrow bloomed bright and ahead of time as the Marauders made their way down to the pot in front of the castle. Harry stopped to post up a few Thomas More video after making trusted the glide was clear. The Slytherins were tearing them down wherever they saw them on Snapes parliamentary law but Harry had even seen some of them trying to hide giggles as the adept poster displayed Snape being doused again and again. The rest of the school didn't bother to hide it and the school had been awash with laugh ever since the first one went up three years ago.

The instructor were all trying to detect 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 grin when an incoherent Snape had burst into her classroom brandishing a wad of bill poster that had papered the chief court ). The teachers didn't jazz how so many of them were getting so many places around the dry land. Harry knew, it was just a matter of a handy rooftop and a following wind. When he had seen some errant icon carried into the sky by gust 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 whale 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 glad to see a push-down list of envelope on Hagrid's table. It looked like the distribution was going to even all-encompassing than he thought.

The teachers search and dame Hooch's originally ill health were some of the reasons they were going to their first flying moral bundled up in wintertime clothes.

"Now…"dame Hooch's voice rang out over the assembled Gryffindors and Slytherins"Just raise your rightfulness helping hand over the broom and scream UP ! Just like this… UP !"Her broom leapt obediently into her hand, Harry noted that it was varnished and looked a lot fresh than the 1 the scholar had."Well go on…"

The class obediently placed their helping hand over their brooms.

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

"What ? I didn't do anything."

"That's right you didn't !"

A few here and now later everyone had their broom and Madam Hooch was showing them how to grip the pudden-head things.

"rightfield, now… Just kick off from the ground, hover for me for a bit then leeee…an forward and float back down again."gentlewoman hootch demonstrated then held up her gloved paw."Three… Two… One."portion of the class rose unsteadily into the air, others remained undercoat or had slipped off their rising brooms. Harry glanced to his sides shame-faced as his ling resolutely refused to demo any device characteristic 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 broom !"Ron strafed out of reach to the side with a apply mitt before coming to perch."Take Neville's."

Harry turned and saw Neville rising at a snail pace with a look of teeth-gritting compactness."At that pace 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 powerful magic can interfere with near broomsticks."Hermione was landing ungracefully beside him, gripping the broom with white metacarpophalangeal joint. Harry chuckled at the thought that she still found compactness left to lecture them."These are old brooms but their still fairly resistant to that sort of thing."

"This isn't dark illusion I'm talking about its him swapping it with a convention broom."Harry poked at the bristles trying to educe some reaction."Why don't you lend me yours then, you don't facial expression like your in a hurry to fly again."

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

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

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

"Still having trouble ?"Harry saw Ron float over his head and drib down in front of him,"Nothing unseasonable with this one mate."Ron knocked his metacarpophalangeal joint against the wood of Harry's broom."I think its even a fiddling improve than my one."

"In that case sacrifice it back."As Ron laughed Harry held up his broom"Or I'll show you the early way to use one of these !"

"Having trouble Potter."no… not now…"Your flying's so misfortunate even the weasel here can shell you and that's saying something."Malfoy floated along in front of Harry, sitting side-saddle and not even bothering to oblige on."Didn't your father ever teach you to fly… Oh no hold I forgot ! He's a bit too mouldy to sit on a Calluna vulgaris now !"The comment about his parents washed over Harry but the other insult bit and he sneered at the E. B. White hirsute kid in figurehead of him. Ron however erupted."What do you signify that's saying something !"He was back on his Scots heather in a New York minute 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 harbour't won the cup in years. Being on a squad of also-ran is no laurels weasel."

"Yeah, they haven't won since my buddy Charlie left !"Ron's broadside had began to attract attention and Madam hootch was walking over. Harry tried to catch Ron's eye but failed."substantially seeker in a decade ! He coulda'played for Engl…."

"Mr Weasly ! Mr Malfoy ! Decend at once !"Madam Hooch didn't time lag for them to reply and instead grabbed the figurehead of their Scots heather and yanked them to the story. Ron fell in a peck, Malfoy kept his balance but only barely."I will feature no arguments in my classes and I distinctly told you to rise then free fall, not vibrate like blowflies !"The flying teacher spun and walked back to the rest of the class leaving Malfoy and Ron glaring at one another.

Harry shifted his Calluna vulgaris under himself, all during the line of reasoning he'd tried to rise up and join his friend but the broom had refused to move. By the end of the lesson he'd vaporize once, a few wobbling substructure followed by a total crash into the sess. Malfoy had laughed uncollectible than before and Harry said some things that lost them star sign point in time ("An eleven year old shouldn't know those news Mr ceramicist, much less know what they mean !") and the predator were a muted lot that ascended the stair to Gryffindor tower. Parvati tried to lighted the tone by pointing out how many students had the drenched Snape posters on the walls of their suite and Harry decided to bar moping.

"Right,"Harry cracked open a drinking stolen from the kitchen."Down to the serious job. What have you all found out about Quirrell ?"

*

"I still think Snape's your bad guy Harry."Ron tapped his fingerbreadth on the tabular array as if to punctuate himself. Neville, Annapurna and Padma all nodded but Hermione snorted dismissively.

"Just because you don't like mortal 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 sensory faculty Ron."Harry continued"Snape may be a git but it doesn't make sense. He thinks Quirrell's trying to slip something, from what I overheard afterwards he probably is. Why would Snape play 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 papers again while the others bickered, the day-by-day oracle from a few months ago was there, a raid at gringots where nada was taken. Other thing too, Quirrels records, researched through old file, an intelligent scholarly person, masterful in the theory if not the practice of defence against the iniquity art, the end few years of his life sentence spent travelling around dealing with grievous obscure beasts. Harry pushed them away and pulled over a thinner file cabinet, Severus Snape, potions superior of Hogwarts and farseeing time envier of the defense reaction against the dark artistry stake. There wasn't a great deal else, Snape didn't seem to be a very newsworthy person.

"It's right there."Ron was taking to him again. Harry pressed his deal to his temples, there's only so much insisting one can take aim."Snape wants the night art job and is trying to get Quirrell sacked."Harry was about to explicate then stopped, if the final stage thirty meter hadn't done it…

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

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

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

"Being prudish. I've been looking into it the same as everyone else has which is exactly the point. 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 first of term but she had looked right at them the full clip and each Christian Bible had been clipped like little razors."She knows we're provision something and she probably knows we're behind the posters 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 story right now and another just on the other side of that door."She pointed at the other position of the fat ma'am portrait, from this incline looking like a hole in the rampart."Even putting aside the notions of detention, house-points and especially ejection ! We'd never get cheeseparing enough to the corridor to find out anything. It's all your faulting really"She continued without a breathing place."If you hadn't done your pointless rule breaking we might be able to find out really significant hooey now."That comment was the intellect an disceptation broke out that Harry had to calm down with wit. It was also at least partially the ground Harry stayed awake that night money box he was sure Ron and Neville were at peace then got out his darkest dress and slipped out one of the windows before heading in the direction of the tabu corridor.

*

Harry peered through a window and saw professor Vector idly marking some assignments by the light of his baton while sitting on the step above the fat gentlewoman's portrait. Reminding himself to tell Hermione later ( she'd be insufferably smug but she deserved the satisfaction ) Harry slipped away and made his way over to the thirdly base corridor on the right hand position, or above it at least. The matter was in the middle of the building, no chimney or window reached it and Harry could only peer through a side of meat window at the wizard guarding the doorway… Quirrell… Standing in a patch of lumos-light, his shadow jumping as he nervously twiddled his baton in his fingerbreadth. Harry slid inside and dropped behind a chromatography column. Quirrell was guarding it ? He'd been so sure… Maybe the others were right and Quirrell wasn't attempting theft after all. Or maybe he just hasn't gotten past the demurrer Snape mentioned yet. Then why isn't he inside the corridor trying to break out through them. Harry's mental monologue was cut shortsighted as the solvent leaned out of the patch of darkness it had been sequestered in, unseeable even to Harry's eye's.

"Nervous Quirrell ?"Snape slid from his shadowy street 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 phantasm, Snape's entire soundbox blended into the background, changing colour like a chameleon. Only his eyes stayed the Saami, black holes even against the lighted Grey rock behind him, it made them seem like they were floating above the ground.

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

"Because if you were infelicitous 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 responsibility's occur on the same nights Quirrell, won't that be fun."Snape laced the last Word of God with such poison Harry was surprised the DADA prof didn't run like a hare. Instead he jumped like one and whimpered.

"Y…you truly don't cartel me Severus ?"

"No Quirrell. I do not, have never and will never trust you."Snape slid back into his shadowy corner and once again became virtually inconspicuous. Quirrell swallowed loudly and brightened his wand, peering into the swarthiness around.

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

*

Crack…

"What was that !"Snape pushed forward from his hiding place at the small but nearby strait. He pointed his camouflage 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 tonus."Perhaps you're… ha… ha… imagining things…Severus."

"It should be Snape from the the like of you."Snape kept scanning the iniquity before him and a minute later

Crack…crack…

"There."Behind a tower, perhaps the Potter boy or one of his clique trying to reach the corridor again. An vexation 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 rock for himself or for… for… Snape shuddered away from the name in his psyche. Dumbledore said saying it would reach him revere less but to Snape it was too much. The old fool didn't know, he hadn't been up close. Some matter deserve fear.

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

"Oh you'd passion that wouldn't you Quirrell."Snape jammed his sceptre under the servile wretch's chin. Quirrell squealed and tried to stick out on his tiptoes to elude the dark-wood distributor point."leave you close to the door unsupervised while at the same time turning my vertebral column on you. Something I will never do."Snape pushed the man towards the early rampart."You go first."

They walked like hostage and kidnapper up the cold rock tract to the pillar. Quirrell raised his verge. Not a chance…

"Back down by your side of meat or I will strike it and possibly the hand It's gripped in too."Quirrell's arm shot back down. As they reached the pillar Snape let the rat take the spark advance and feel around the recess. wagerer him to claim the first blow 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 null but three oddly placed John Rock, all together, near the priming coat where they might have fallen. They were both considering the enigma when a shadow skirted the vertebral column 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 threshold capable just ever so slightly, then entered the forbidden hall.

"Ha."Harry thought as he took one concluding glance at the professors before closing the door."light-headed than air liquorish. Eat it quick or it melts in the air ! also if you tie up a rock and roll or two with it you get a disturbance about five minutes after you take it from its wrapper. Who needs Q when you have mail-order Honeydukes ?"Harry turned back and for the first off prison term took a flavour at his surroundings.

Pitch black-market. Not even eyes trained for this could penetrate it. Harry squatted down quietly and let his other senses have a try.

common cold, clammy, thin intermittent picnic. Odd that, you'd think there was nowhere for a breeze to number from. Also the air had been dead still out on the roof.

Damp aroma with a breath of mud and mess. There was urine in there somewhere too and other matter even less savory. Bit like a wet dog smell…

And well-nigh importantly in a bone chilling, affection leaping, cold-sweat, dry-palms, running-for-the-door-despite-Snape-and-all way, the sound of breathing. Heavy in-out breather with a intimation of slobber on them. More like snoring actually. Harry tried to calm himself down and at to the lowest degree partially succeeded. Getting out his wand he smothered the tip in his robe then breathed.

"Lumos"

The freshness through the fabric was like dead fireflies but it showed Harry the shape 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 wraith Harry moved across the floor, skirting the walls until he had travelled all the way around the creature, having to step over its keister where it brushed the wall. There were no early doors. This way and this beast was all there was to see. Harry edged closer to the front of the thing, his feet turned and poised to flee to the door at any moment.

"But what if I'm not dissolute enough."Harry tried to quieten his wit but it kept up its shrill mental reservation"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 swarthiness !"

"It'll wake for sure if you don't shut up and let me rivet !"Harry edged in closer to the beast and stopped when his light revealed a change of grain in the floor. Harry carefully traced its edge in his mind."A square… a trapdoor… that which is hidden… that which is forbidden."Harry grinned in the dark. The only trouble was the dark mass obscuring one recess of the public square, a paw or hook of the thing. Harry's front was as slow up as drifting plume and as quiet as his hands found the edge of the thing, and the handle, on the opposite side to the chela. Harry wanted to quench his wand but the auditory sensation he'd have to make was regretful than the stifled radiance. Harry reached for the trapdoor hold and applied the light tactual sensation of draw to it, increasing by fuzz comprehensiveness Harry felt the wood move.

A grunt near his articulatio humeri made his brawn freeze and his heart wash. He felt flesh move all around him and the air brought new streamer of stink. But the animate being just grunted again and fell back into snoring. Harry eased the door up a half twain more then stuck his hand in and felt inside. No steps met his questing hand, just a straight shaft. Harry propped the doorway spread out with a rod and felt in his pocket. He drew forth a long string. His quick digit felt the plumb on the end and he put it through the trapdoor then slowly and evenly paid out rope counting under his breath. The train went slack. About eight meters. With something soft he'd do it. With cold stone he'd unwrap a leg. Harry wondered if a real wizard would know some ego levitation charm to get themselves down safely. He pulled back up on the string and suffered a surprise. It was stuck ! He tugged on it again. No springiness at all. He tugged again and in a heart stopping moment, felt the rod brush his arm.

The trapdoor battering closed was like a carom testicle in the gut and Harry felt the dark move around him. He threw himself backwards as a pharyngeal consonant growl filled the room with primal fear. He saw a flesh the size of an oven smash down in nominal head of him and heard Sir Henry Joseph Wood sliver and crack. Harry whipped the cloth from his sceptre and the double-dyed shadows danced mellow on the walls before him as the monolithic rottweiler head turned and looked at him with bloodshot eyes. Harry dived again to avoid its dentition and looked up to see it descending from above him too ! Harry kicked off from the ground and slid, he felt hot breath on his back and the snap of jaws behind him but he was gone. Straight into the deflower trapdoor and plummeting down the shaft.

*

Harry spun in the air and he felt hard annoyance as his brain caught itself a quip on the qualifying wall. He landed in a flora and in a daze, his eyes showing him black point more than anything else. He lifted his mitt to his head and was surprised to see it came back clean, without blood or possibly learning ability. He shook his promontory to sort out it and held his shaking hand and wand up to reveal his surroundings. A nondescript way with this flora covering the storey, covering some of the walls too, and the cap, and him !

"What the netherworld !"Harry shouted at the tendrils as they wrapped themselves around his ramification. He tried to attract them off but they were like wire ! They wrapped his waist too ! Harry pulled and tore at the vines !"Acerbus cuspis !"Harry used the curse Snape had aimed at him but bare threads of light shot from his scepter and the plant barely noticed. What was that other one ! ? Think ! Think !"Relashio !"red Muriel Sarah Spark and heat shot from his wand and where they hit the plant drew back."Relashio !"Harry aimed at his peg and cried out as his cutis burned. But he was free. He stumbled to his feet and blasted a few last tendrils. He leapt to the door and pushed through, staggering down the corridor occasionally pointing his wand back in compositor's case the demon plant life had tried to stick to him, he reached another door and carefully pushed it open, wand out in front he entered the elbow room, and was met by a strange sight.

shining, fluttering glittering things, flying near the ceiling 100 of them. Harry edged out into the centre of the high vaulted blank space. The fairy flicker remained near the ceiling and Harry at last stopped eying them crooked. He walked over to the door on the early side and tried the handle. Locked. Obviously. It could never be tardily could it ? Harry was just wondering what to do when he heard representative from behind him. Spinning like a startled cat Harry saw faint igniter coming from around the bound of the door he'd just come through. The light and the voices got solid as Harry searched for a concealment place. He ran to a rampart buttressing and grabbed for a handhold, thank empyrean they like ribbon around this place…

*

"I assure you Professor Dumbledore no one got retiring us. Unless they were… hm… Invisible ! Ha…"

"I am not impugning your ability Quirenius I merely wish to be sure."Dumbledore walked slowly as if there was no haste. 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 frenzy. Still, the old fool still had his wits 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 stairway to take up them down and a marble paseo over the devilsnare with a casualness that betrayed his admittedly mightiness. Snape had to privately admit to himself he couldn't have replicated either exploit. That made him shrink inside but he took some quilt from the fact that if he could not do it, Quirrell certainly couldn't and so the pit was still safe.

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

"They could give birth locked it from the other side."Ivy and keys ? Foolishness and idiocy. The early instructor hadn't protected the stone nearly well enough.

"But if they had."Dumbledore said in his insufferably unruffled vocalisation."Then the key would have been locked on that English with them and I think… Ah !"The old man pointed a be-ringed finger towards the ceiling and Snape strained his eyes 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 pipe up and grating. Snape made a mental note to add de-lunging to his leaning of tortures once he finally caught the loathsome beast."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 heed to what I have to say now."As I have said before, Quirenius Quirrell has every intention of stealing the philosophers stone."Snape was so incense he didn't even notice the movement above him in a high bay, like someone getting into a better posture to listen."He was seen snooping around the Slytherin mutual room a week ago and he's never really explain why he took the defence job in the first place."Snape couldn't give vocalization to the literal reason for his mistrust. A gut feeling, a twisting tongue in his sum and an aura of menace he felt in every cell whenever Quirrell was nearby. An irrational veneration too. A fear of being discovered, a awe that made every bit a silent supplication that his genial defences 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 intellect to distrust Professor Quirrell."As he half turned away Snape could have sworn that Dumbledore's sassing tilted into a tranquillise smiling."But if it would help you sleep better I will direct my own protective cover on the stone tonight rather than waiting until after Christmas."That was certainly a shock !

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

"Many thing have changed. Before I had not tested enough. Now I have."Dumbledore took a small sweetness out of his air pocket and popped it in his mouthpiece before continuing."I intended to do a bit more testing but…"The old man spread his hands."I suppose the stream variation will probably sour well enough."

"May I ask what this heaven-sent protective cover is ?"The headmaster had made some sinful claims about what his auspices would do."A protection that not the Dark Lord, nor any decease Eater, nor anyone with regard to use it for ill or greed could penetrate ?"

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

*

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

"Leaving already Harry ?"

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

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

"And…"

"And ?"

"And how could I improve it ?"Dumbledore was half smiling when he said that. Under that warm smiling face Harry relaxed a little, this didn't spirit like a conversation that could end in expulsion.

"fountainhead, the two headed dog was good."

"stopping point I looked it had three heads."

"Well I didn't stick around long, I only met two. The plant life was less good though. A little heat, a few sparks and it's backing away."

"Devilsnare has clamed former and wiser wizards than you Harry. You'd be amazed how few multitude can still imagine clearly enough to cauterize it away while being constricted."Dumbledore stepped forward and touched Harry's face. A moment later he nodded and touched Harry's brow with his wand. A present moment later Harry felt an odd tingle fill him, the suntan on his ramification faded and disappeared, as did the scrapes he'd received throwing himself away from the dog."There. All better."Dumbledore moved back and folded his blazon."And now I'm afraid to say I must ask the real reason you came down here tonight."Suddenly the air had grown colder. Expulsion was back on the table.

In rebelliousness of custom Harry tried the truth.

"I overheard Professor Snape threatening Professor Quirrell the night before Halloween."Dumbledore just nodded as if this was normal."Snape seemed to opine he was going to try and steal something. We…"No, better he thinks I'm the solely one to pick"I worked out that it must be what's hidden here. What you got Hagrid to compile for you the Saami day we shopped for my school stuff. The same thing mortal tried to break into Gringots to get later."

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

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

"Harry. As amazed as I am to say this it is possible you are going to become out to be more trouble than your father. I never thought anyone would challenge that crown."Dumbledore's smile was back, and this time not a half one. He shook his head ruefully then frowned as if a painful retentivity was surfacing. But the smile was back in a consequence 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 protection ? What your using to protect the stone ?"

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

Harry obediently moved in front of the mirror and stared into his expression. He wasn't alone in the mirror. Behind him stood the new Marauders, some of the other scholarly person he'd talked to around the school, Hagrid, even Malfoy for some understanding, more faces he'd met and some masses he hadn't but still felt some odd connector to, as if they were… friend. As he watched he saw himself age, and the others around him too, passing through teenage years he grew taller, passing further and further, lines appeared on his face, then grey in his tomentum. He grew to an old man, smiling, surrounded by his friends. Then in an twinkling he was back as a minor and he saw it begin again.

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

"One could go for so, but no."Dumbledore seemed pleased but faintly surprised as he looked down at Harry."The mirror shows us nothing more or less than what we truly desire above all else. You Harry, who by your own choice lived a unfrequented and cold puerility desire supporter, and familiar and to a greater extent than that ..."Dumbledore took Harry by one articulatio humeri and kneeled down to talk to him face to confront"…you want to have intercourse you'll keep them. You want to know that you don't have to go back to the frigid biography. 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 reason, Harry wondered if there was something wrongfulness with the mirror. Then he felt the confidence game in his center. Wordlessly, Dumbledore handed him a tissue.

"Let me take you back to your room Harry."He said quietly."Your friends are waiting for you."They walked calmly back through the rooms and out into the sleeping castle.

*

"So."Said Harry at a exit 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 thaumaturge."Got past two didn't I ?"

"Indeed you did. The details of which I would favor you hold back to yourself."He smiled back down at Harry."And perhaps you are right wing. I strongly suspect that my own security would not worry you at all."

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

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

"Exactly. It ‘ s so simple 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 articulation filtered down from the first eld room to where Harry was idly skimming through one of his school al-Qur'an by the Noel tree."What are you doing down there ?"

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

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

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

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

"Nah mate."Ron shook his point 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 blue sky, knitted jumper. On the straw man were three juggling balls in red, yellow and Green."My mum."Ron said holding up a standardized clause."She makes them for all of us. mustiness have heard you weren't expecting many presents."

"Its pretty good. Very debonair."Harry pulled the pinny on over his head and they went back up to the room to get the balance of the presents. Of course Harry had sent his Quaker present tense ( hapless digger had been run ragged. The little owl was so eager to please she didn't seem to aim any breach in flight. ) but it form of failed to click in his head that he ‘ d probably get some in paying back. Harry noticed one with Hermione's straight handwriting on it ( after all, he ‘ d copied off her notes enough times. Occasionally even with permit. ) and pulled it over first.

"It ‘ ll be a book mate."

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

"That, and she got me one too."Ron held up a book with a checkerboard cover, there was a rook on the figurehead but Harry couldn't read the title. Pulling the composition off his own present he smiled. It was an large selection of chocolates but what made him smile was the line 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 club charmed to dog rainbows in the air behind them when thrown. Padma and Parvati had got him books, but it looked like they'd collaborated because the titles read Secrecy and Illusion, charms of covert and Beyond allohamora, unlocking your obstacles. near of the rest were edible affair ( not that Harry minded ) and he bit into a bar of coffee while settling down to read.

*

Harry popped the second to last of his Yule chocolates into his mouth and handed the last one to Parvarti who was skulking in the shadows nearby. At least it was a nice night, nights with rain had been rather unpleasant. For the past few months the marauders had been working on the Quirell mystery but getting nowhere. Eventually one day when they were researching in the depository 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 book of account on ancient interpersonal chemistry for the past one-half hour. He hadn't turned the page.

"We do possess to get him."Harry waved his hand wearily over the mesa."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 mind. It was so simple he wondered why he hadn't opinion of it before."But we can find out."

"How ?"Neville had asked.

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

Organising a Night watch had seemed like a lot More fun than it was. In squad of two they rotated, each team taking either the first half of the Nox, the instant half or having a nighttime off. After a week and a one-half of reduced sleep the 1st class rascals were getting a bit ratty. 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 round of golf with the news show that Quirrell had slipped out furtively. Him and Hermione had moved swiftly to the tierce trading floor corridor to manoeuvre him off, but he had never showed."We just require to go for a little longer."

"But I'm tired."The usually chipper Twin Falls hadn't taken well to the hr."And he's never going to come out."

"Funny you should say that…"Harry ducked low and pulled the girl down with him as he saw the door to Quirrells quarters undecided and close, permitting the instructor to scurry off down the hall.

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

"Yeah but we don't know he's going there."Harry held her script as they walked a roof ridge on the English 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 two-dimensional ceiling above the kitchens and Harry saw the turbaned star gaucherie out a side door, cross the courtyard, then accede a room access leading to the entrance hall.

"fountainhead we can't…"But Harry held up one finger to silence her and a bit later they, heard a door opening and closing then could clearly see the nighttime contour of the thaumaturge robes as he crossed the grounds towards the forbidden woodland."What do we do now ?"

"We watch him."Harry said it without the article of faith it usually held and with a good dose of fear in there as well."You go back and secernate 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 centaur in there. I wouldn't mind seeing a centaur."

*

"Do you know where your going ?"Parvarti hadn't seen any Centaurus, but there had seen former things skulking between the trees. Harry looked back and wished he would give birth offered some reassurance. He knew he could find the way back, well probably. He had made sure to score it at habitue intervals with deletion on the tree automobile trunk. But tracking a man through forest was nada he had even thought of doing before. They had entered the forest at about the same place as Quirrell and Harry had had his hopes boosted by finding a footmark impression in mud nearby but after that nothing.

He was vaguely mindful that they should look out for broken twigs or call but the twig seemed to feature no discernable lineament 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 fond."And there's more."Again she was right, there was a trail leading across the way they'd been taking more melted tinged the priming coat in both focussing."It must have been bleeding !"

"It ? What it ?"

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

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

It was one thing knowing foul things were out in the forest butchering courteous things, quite another to have proof and another still to ingest them be so nigh that the stemma wouldn't have had prison term to cool off in the night 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 easy number 1 one way then the other.

"This way."Said Harry in dead note and pointed at the ground ahead. In the mud there, authorise for all to see, was the hound of a boot print. Harry didn't want to hold even to himself that his showtime instinct on seeing the print was to sharpen the other way. That or run for the J. J. Hill."Alright. Close the shutter on the light right down, we can see the line of descent well enough. And go slow."Parvarti did as she was told and they set off again into the timberland. Harry couldn't have told anyone afterwards how recollective they had walked, it seemed like an eternity. The splashes of blood grew declamatory and more frequent, the further they went until.

"!"Harry stopped dead and put his bridge player out flat in nominal head of the other Marauder. There was a glade up ahead, bathed in the gibbose moonlight and the Nox air carried sounds to them. It sounded like an lewd slurping and gurgling and along with it there were the strait of light-headed movement. Harry pointed left, around the edge of the clearing then once again put up a individual finger. Silence.

They moved around until they were behind a fallen tree then slowly looked over the top of the log. Through the leg that his them they saw an awful sight. The unicorn was splayed on the story like it had been run to ground and a drape figure hunched over it, drinking its blood out through its wounds.

A tug on Harry's sleeve brought him back to the moment and he crouched back down with Parvarti. Her fount was a movie of anger and she mimed jumping over the log while brandishing her lantern. Harry shook his heading firmly. What the hell was she thinking ? She gestured more firmly then touched her affectionateness and made a pumping motion. What was that supposed to mean ? She opened her mouth and mouthed something to him but he couldn't order what. She did it again more overdo and the signification hit him with sickening certainty.

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

HAGRID

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

DISTRACTION

*

Without foster ado he moved further around the clearing so that when he ran he would pick out the thing away from the counseling Parvarti would have to go to get assistant. He was glad to see her moving off too, rather than arguing with his decision. Harry wrapped the scarf joint round his head again and tucked it in so it wouldn't unravel. This would do, he thought. No good sense waiting around. He got out his wand, took careful aim and yelled

"Acerbus cuspis !"

The mantled flesh was caught off guard and some of Harry's faint spears had hit it. It flinched back, more surprise than hurt then an new noise came from its hood, a drawn out hungry sound. Like a snake having a rat dangled in its face. 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 veneration paralysis and he ran, away from the clearing and the thing. He moved without thinking, metrical unit slamming on self-coloured land where potential and pushing off roots and mud when not. Harry never looked behind him but he knew the affair was still on him. He moved into new department of the forest where the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree were different shapes, older, Modern, taller, more than brush they all shot by him in an instant, too fast for him to see properly. He did notice that they weren ‘ t get together any animals and thought that they were probably scared of the thing behind him.

He reached a thick point of view of tree diagram and brush and slipped in sideways. Here he risked a feeling back. nix. Sides ? social movement ? nix. Harry allowed himself a controlled breath. It looked like he had lost it. Harry sat for a indorsement on a log and let his legs rest. The tiredness of the past week and the focus of the night caught up to him at once and he sagged against the Tree behind him. He didn't know how long he sat there, he may even have fallen asleep but he did know what caused him to come to attention suddenly. A twig breaking nearby. Harry moved slowly and backed away from the source of the speech sound when a handwriting grabbed him from rear end and swung him around roughly. Harry's fear of onset turned into relief, then quickly back into fear.

"Out for a midnight stroll Potter ?"

"professor Snape."Harry said trying his estimable to put on a full cheek."Thank god you found me."

*

The boy walked in silence in strawman of him as Snape led him back towards the castle. The spell he'd laced the edges of the woods with had tripped, waking him and warning him that Quirrell had gone on another of his nightly expedition. But once again the little worm had eluded him and he'd been on his way back when he'd seen thrower in a stand of trees. His mouth felt like twitching into a smile, at least some good could come of tonight's work.

"What are you going to do when we get back to the castle."The male child vocalization was steadfast than he expected. Planning something… Ha ! Just like the former Potter this one thought he was smart.

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

"But what if I've got a good reason for being here ?"

"What possible ground could that be ?"

"Same reason you are. Following Quirrell."Had that been a shot in the dark ? He tried to catch the unacceptable child's eyes but he looked straight ahead."And unlike you I succeeded."

"Quirrell is a lad instructor. With every rightfield to inspect the forest if he so chooses."

"Oh."The scion of his enemy 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 second to assemble his persuasion before turning Potter and looking directly into his eyes. There was a flash, a table, some faces… a frown crossed the male child face for a moment then he shook his head worriedly. Even Snape could not hold back his jolt as a blank wall appeared before him, slowly fading over the memories. The boy was an Occlumens ! But he couldn't know what he was doing, it must be subconscious ! With a flicker of fear his centre were drawn to the scar on the boys forehead. Or was it entirely subconscious ? Power would be transferred in such an issue, great power…

"What are you suggesting ?"Inside himself he was seething. He so wanted to see the son of James Potter expelled. It would gain up for so much but… Quirrell was more of import, if there was even the slightest probability the Oliver Stone could be use to bring back… Potter could wait for another time.

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

"Why one week ?"

"Because it would look odd if in one hebdomad 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 unwashed room. They stopped outside the portrait room access."Well ?"

"Agreed."

*

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

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

"Take it easy fine. 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 save it in the first place, I…"

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

"Oh finely if everyone else is doing it."She stood up and hugged him too. Then let out a talk through one's hat sob and said"And I broke a nail this morning !"Harry grinned and she returned to her place at the table.

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



*

The following few weeks were full of disappointment. Except for the Slytherins who got a temporary worker abatement from pranking. Hagrid had saved the unicorn and in thanks for their help he told them all about the place of unicorn stock and what it could be used for. Snape hadn't been any assist, when Harry told him the story a hebdomad later he merely nodded and told him to get out. From what they knew they could work 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 deal Neville's mesmerism as smartness in the Leslie Townes Hope it would persuade the boy to let the cat out of the bag More."You said he called someone passe-partout when he thought he was alone."

"But he was alone Neville."Ron apparently hadn't heard about that program."Wait… that's our account. He ‘ s looney ! Nuts ! He ‘ s prob'ly talking to his toque !"

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

"Oh, yeah."Ron looked down a little 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 convolute it is."Hermione's part came from behind a pile of books, shed already begun revising for the end of twelvemonth exams and at least some of the other marauders seemed to want to bring together her."But Dumbledore could probably do it."

"Alright then."A design began to form in Harry's mind."Dumbledore said he had no reason to mistrust Quirrell and Snape's got no proof to shew him otherwise. If we get this communicator then they've got the substantiation they need and they can actuate to break Quirrell."

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

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

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

"The spellchecker seems to think it is."

"What's a spellchecker ?"

"it's a appeal that detect misspelled words, underlines them in red."

"I really need to revise."

*

But the opportunity didn't come for a foresighted patch. Quirrell had begun sleeping with his window closed and the lock 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 nothing to be done but wait and sentry for Quirrell to slip up. There was a plus incline though. sentry go tariff gave them heap of time to revise. Then the test came, dreadful and inevitable with the reverence and uncertainty that came with them.

The only ones Harry was at any way comfortable about were appealingness and uranology, the latter because unlike other year he actually paid tending and the former because ( perhaps due to his Noel present ) he was genuinely near at the spells. Potions was a nightmare and defense mechanism against the dark arts worse. Quirrell had taken to watching him out of the turning point 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 worry them.

Even with the exams and their remain failing in their job it was arduous to feel bad. The weather had turned to terrific and bookman could always be found out sunning themselves on the locoweed. Harry was just on his way to spend an afternoon in just such a manner ( the residual 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 make bold go up on the rooftops in the middle of the day ? When the whole schooltime would be able-bodied to see him. Harry turned to where he knew he could climb up up and stopped. Should he get the others ? No. Quirrell might recall and their solely chance would be lost. He quickly scurried up the wall and slipped in through the window.

The elbow room smelled strongly of garlic and indeed there were Eugenia aromaticum hanging in various places around the room. He quickly began searching using what they knew of communication magic spell, mirrors were often used, sometimes gems or watch glass. He checked the mirror in the bathroom but it appeared to be the pattern kind ( no reception when tapped with a wand ). He was about to control the bedroom when he heard a voice behind him.

"Come into my parlour said the spider to the fly."




preeminence, if your wondering why some of the chapters are twice the length 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-circuit before.


"fountainhead, well, well."prof Quirrell had lost his stammer and stood in straw man of the locked room access with his wand pointed at Harry's chest."You do get yourself into a with child deal of sticky situations."

"it's a gift."Harry tried not to glance at the window. It was still open, and there were some tree in the courtyard below. He might ready it.

"No !"Quirrell flicked his baton and the window banged shut. Another picture show and it glowed for a moment, accompanied by a squelching sound."No, you're not leaving that way Potter."He grabbed Harry's arm, jerked his wand out of his pocket then pulled him to the threshold. The 1st yr could finger the tip of Quirrells wand against the small of his backrest."Now walk, calmly and unhurried. To the third floor."

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

"face forward."Quirrell hissed."If you attempt to monish anyone then that person dies then you die is that clear ?"

"Why are you taking me up there ?"Harry tried to convince his brain to do work but he seemed to be missing mentality cells.

"Oh that's quite unsubdivided. Your going to help me, I knew what you and your lilliputian friends were up to so I laid a yap. Now you are going to assist me with something, with two things actually. The first is childlike, all you have to do is take on along. Lie. You're proficient at that yes ? The second is a bit more coordination compound. You see…"They grew close to the corridor and Quirrell pulled him to a stop and into a disused classroom."I've spent the year devising foolproof means to get retiring each defensive measure except one that still eludes me."

"Snape."Good old surreptitious bastard Snape.

"Yes Snape."Quirrell drew an odd potion from his robe, it was hawk blackened and looked oddly oily."His protective covering I don't know how to cash in one's chips but… that is for later. For now ? boozing this."He held out the potion."Just a sip, we only need the effect 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 get and he pulled off his shoe as the pressure in them increased. lightlessness tomentum grew down in social movement of his eyes and he flicked it out of the way. After a few moments the effect 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 retentive dark robe and gestured to the mirror nearby. Harry took them and walked over, stopping for a present moment in stupor. He looked like Snape !"Get on with it boy !"Harry struggled into the gown then did them up and allowed Quirrell to lead him towards the awful 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 starting time move. He tried to make his representative as sneering as possible then said.

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

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

"I can assist me."Harry thought desperately as they entered the elbow room with the giant dog. Its three headland instantly rose to watch them but Quirrell pointed his baton at the base nearby and a harp appeared. Another complex movement and it began plucking out a childlike tune. The with child creature lid drooped and it fell quickly asleep.

"cum on boy ! I haven't got all day."Quirrell pulled him forwards to the gob room access then pulled it open. He whispered a trivial appealingness and a rope began curling its way out of his verge. Quirrell seemed to have to contract a great deal to get out this off and Harry backed away slowly. He felt some thing behind him and put a script back to feel. It was the harp. Acting on instinct, Harry grabbed the harp and smashed it as hard as he could against one of the blackguard giant manus. The dog awoke with a holler and bit through the mouth harp remains in a unmarried bite. Then it turned to the other interlopers in its room.

"Boy ! What do you cogitate you're…"But then Quirrell was forced to fend for himself as the slap-up heads reared up above him. He screeched a single Word of God and fireball smacked one on the olfactory organ. Harry took the chance and bolted for the room access."I'm not done with you yet Potter !"Quirrell screamed. Harry glanced back in time to see red light, then swarthiness.

*

"Where the underworld is Harry ?"Ron glanced back at the castle irritate."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 basis and sighed happily.

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

"I can't think 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 year exams ?"Ron shook his header then yelled"Hey !"as a quaffel smacked into the side of his header.

"Oh sorry Ron."Padma commented with massive insincerity."Were you not fix ?"

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

"What did you say !"Ron yelled at the like prison term as Hermione said"What do you mean get used to it ?"

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

"Which teacher ?"Padma's doubt seemed ominously silence in the afford air.

"Professor Quirrell, but don't think that… Hey !"But Ron had grabbed him by the front of his coat, knocking his wand away. The redhead was vaguely cognisant of his booster 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 base. That corridor with the maypole painting."Ron let him go. That was correct adjacent to the dog's room.

"Mr Weasley !"McGonagall was striding across the grounds in anger."I never expected such violent deportment from…"

"prof McGonagall !"Ron interrupted her ( something never done ), bringing gasps from the onlookers."Harry ceramist's in peril. And so's the Philosophers Stone."

*

"Wake up Mr ceramist. rise and shine for the mark new day."The sentence slid around the black cocoon of Harry's unconscious."Now now, that won ‘ t do. Up !"pain in the neck blossomed in Harry's stomach and the confidence trick of it pulled him back to reality. He drew himself up on the frigidity Stone storey shaking terribly. The farseeing sleeve of his robes fell down over his coat of arms and he realised he was back in his own consistence. Quirrell aimed another savage flush at Harry ‘ s chest and he sprawled on the story again.

"You think that's pain potter ?"Yep, sure seemed like it, at the very least he had a cracked rib."I can enclose you to the torture curse if you want. If you choose not to co-operate with me."Harry raised his point wearily and realised that he was in a new elbow room. fervidness blocked both room access and on a tabular array in the inwardness a row of feeding bottle stood, twinkling in the torchlight.

"Wh… where ?"

"The traitor trial."That hadn't sounded like Quirrell. Harry looked up and saw veneration in Quirrells eyes.

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

Quirrell bent over the table and read with a smile…

"peril lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help oneself you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will enthral the drinker back instead,
Two among our numeral hold only devil wine-coloured,
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to detain here forevermore,
To serve you in your option, we give you these clues four :
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine-coloured 's left side ;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend ;
tierce, as you see clearly, all are dissimilar size,
Neither midget nor monster holds expiry in their inside ;
quarter, the arcsecond left and the second on the rightfulness
Are twins once you taste them, though unlike at inaugural sight."

The champion 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 route to get answer. I so prefer the… experimental approach."He picked up one of the bottle at random and held it out to Harry with a sickly grin."boozing up !"

*

"He's there !"Ron was shouting now. Heedless of the steady watercourse of ruby that must have been leaving the hourglass in the great manor hall."He's there right now having god knows wha…"

"Mr Weasley ! If you can not control yourself I will hold you dragged to my office where I will flue your mother ! And we will discuss your continued presence at this school !"The argument had moved from the outside to the corridors as the deputy headmistress had failed to hear."As it is you are all already in sufficiency trouble for just knowing about the endocarp ! Let alone disrespect to a Hogwarts professor. Two prof in fact as I think prof Quirrell will want to hear about the radix charge you have made."

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

"You should listen to your friends Mr Weasley."The professor said while turning and walking down the hall."Now you will all follow me to my office where we can decide…"

"Petrificus Totalus !"

The predator crew watched in utter silence as their head of house went stiff then slowly but inexorably fell backwards. Ron caught her and lowered her to the flooring, ashen faced. He looked round of drinks to see Neville standing with his scepter out and a appal construction on his face.

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

Ron looked down at McGonagall aspect. A person shouldn't be able to call down fear while only moving their eyes but somehow the set of them said there would be hell to pay.

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

*

"Nil for two Mr thrower !"Harry fell choking on the floor as Quirrell took a sip of the potion he'd just proved was prophylactic."Still born favourable I see."Harry fell into a fit of coughing that wracked his physical structure with pain. He pulled his point back and idly noticed the blood all over his sleeve. So, more than a cracked rib then.

When he had refused to drink the firstly bottle Quirrell had used some sorting of bludgeoning curse that squashed him back to the trading floor. As he had lain there vainly trying to get his breath back Quirrell had pulled his head back and tipped the potion down his pharynx. The second time he had tried to resist more and been formally introduced to the cruciatus jinx. He was ashamed to say he willingly took the bottle in shaking hands and fuddle a sip himself. All the time feeling wretched and a coward.

"Now."Quirrell looked down on him almost proudly."Since you seem to have learned your situation in this footling drama."The sadist looked down for a chemical reaction but Harry didn't rise to the hook. He wasn't sure he had the DOE too even if he had wanted."I'll let you pick out the future one."He waved his hand over the remaining bottles and stood waiting.

Harry pulled himself up on the edge of the table and tried to bring a wit cell to suffer."Hermione where are you when I need you ?"He must own said it out loud because Quirrell laughed and said

"I could get her if you want. I'm for sure she'd like to see the cruciatus curse. As a purely academic study. Of course to fully appreciate it I would induce to do it on her as well."Harry looked from one nursing bottle to another and a twat of Song came back to him.

Neither dwarf nor giant holds end in their inside.
Harry's centre slid to the smallest bottle in the row. His workforce shook almost too much for him to involve the cork out and he spilled some as he took a sip. An instantaneous low temperature hotshot trickled down his pharynx and into his arms. But was this the frontward potion or the backward one ? It didn ‘ t really matter since Quirrell was between him and the way back, so only one way remained. Harry put his mitt to his throat and pretended to choke, falling towards the fervour he took a heavy gasping breathing place.

"wile ! Get Him !"DAMN IT ! Harry reacted on instinct and kicked the nighest table leg. One of the remaining potions fell between him and Quirrell, cracking on the floor and bursting into blue-black flame. That was all the distraction Harry needed as he clawed himself off the storey and jumped headfirst into the flame.

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

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

"A screen 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 shout out behind him but he ignored it, there was a way up ahead. He walked in and barely saw the home. All he took in was the tall mirror in the centre, fellow. Without really realising what he was doing he moved towards it and fell to the ground in strawman of it. Oh, god everything injury. He looked up into the mirror and saw his friends familiar faces surrounding him, filling the mirror-Harry with warmth and felicity.

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

He floated in the duskiness for a moment then was brought back around. Instinct again waking him when he was no thirster alone. He turned to see a charred figure, robes in tatters and his turban unwound and trailing behind him.

"There's always Thomas More than one way round a challenge."The voice was cracked and thirsty but full of spitefulness and ire"You just have to recall outside the box."

*

"No."Harry pulled himself away from the advancing bod. Forgetting for a minute that there was nowhere to go.

"Yes Potter. What Severus seems to have forgotten…"The worthless pattern said as it stalked towards Harry on ruined ramification."Is that I would much rather walk through fire than admit bankruptcy to my master. much, a lot rather."He came to a stop in front of the Mirror and pointed his blackened baton at Harry.

"No wait, this won't work."He threw the wand away like scraps."But luckily I have another."He drew out Harry's verge, unblemished and pristine. He laughed at Harry's shocked face and said"Rubbed in what picayune of the potion you let dismiss on the floor. It was bound to survive right than mine. After all, capital of Arizona plumage are meant to spend through fire."He flicked the wand negligently and ropes bound Harry's leg under him.

"Yes, you left just enough for the wand and for…"His hand rose involuntarily to the book binding of his head and a quiver of pain ran across his face."But decent !"He stood in presence of the mirror, his prevision authorise on his fount."I see myself presenting the Isidor Feinstein Stone to my master. He is restoring my body, making me well again… But how do I get it ?"

"Use the boy."Quirrell grabbed his arm and jerked him back in front end of the mirror. The images swam in pain in the ass in front of him. His friend faces still stared back at him, mocking him with their happiness.

"well 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 !"painfulness obliterated the world again but soon enough he was throw off awake and slammed in front of the glass.

"What do you really SEE !"

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

"Do you enjoy pain ?"Quirrell's face was twisted beyond recognition."Do you mean even for a second that your petty defiance will actually achieve anything !"

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

*

"A chess 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 goosey.
That part again. The master.

Your parents were brave Harry Potter. It didn't do them any good either.
"Oh so you know my parents too. Got any good anecdotes ?"He wasn't sure if he said that out tacky but the spokesperson laughed.

Oh yes. Joking in the side of pain. That is something I think your father would do.
"Yeah."Harry said as the earth began to float back into focus."But I've got my mothers eyes."He looked up but Quirrell was standing a ways away, curiously with his back to him. Harry groped around for his glasses.

"There by your elbow."The voice almost had a teasing shade to it now but Harry was struck by a single question. How did he know ? He pulled his chicken feed back on and was met by his horrific answer.

"Yes Harry."The human face spoke with malice now, and barely controlled ira."This is what you reduced me to. Ten years ago."

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

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

Harry turned without wanting to and star again into the shining open. The faces stared back, laughing and felicitous.

"Their probably still out on the grass."Thought Harry. The Ron in the mirror patted him on the back."They don't know about this immorality. This swarthiness. They haven't seen it. They don't have to distribute 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 hall and Harry felt glass shards cut into his skin. He tried to undulate but a incisive pain in his arm caught him and he stopped, quivering.

"You FOOL."He felt himself picked up and excite like a bird."You destroyed it !"He fell to the basis again and saw Quirrell rifling through the shards, heedless of the cutting and blood."Where is it ! Where is it ! … Gone… You knew !"The double head came up and looked him straight in the eye."You knew that wouldn't release the endocarp !"

"Dumbledore told me."Suddenly Harry actually did find like laughing."But on the negative side, that should be seven days bad luck."

"You.. YOU ! !"The forked beast stood quivering with rage."Well I hope you savour your victory."The thing drew Harry's wand"Because, it is the finis thought you will ever suffer ! Avada Ked…"

"Tarantella !"

The jonah spun over the creatures head and broke against the far rampart. Harry turned to the door and saw the Marauders standing there. Five wands pointed ramrod-straight at the thing, that had swung around to face them.

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

"Put the wand down."Ron's voice quaked a picayune as he said it. But he kept his wand trained."Wand down now !"

"You wouldn ‘ t hex a instructor would you."Quirrell was playing with them. His part was just like it had been when he'd forced the drinking 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 man of fear and could utter calmly now he'd moved on to terror."It can ‘ t get much worse."

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

"Children !"Quirrells arm twisted back, cracking one shot at the elbows to devote Voldemort control of the wand"I will not be stopped again by children !"

"Petrificus Totalus !"Hermione's articulation rang out but Voldemort raised a shield disdainfully. The rebounding oath took the young beldam in the bureau and she fell like a stone.

"Crucio !"Neville dropped to the dry land. His face a masque of pain in the ass.

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

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

"Im… im… impedimenta !"

"Crucio !"Parvati's spell died on her wand and she fell beside her babe. He had to do something. He had no wand. He had no weapon… He had glass. Harry pulled his too long sleeves up around his hand and picked up a longsighted shard.

"Pathetic creatures."The face spat the Book."Unworthy of life !"Harry stepped closer careful not to vex the glass on the base."You will all die ! For defying Lord Voldemort. You will…"

"sea captain attend out !"But Quirrell's warning was too late as the farseeing shard plunged into his tum. Him and his attacker fell together and Harry jerked the field glass out only to plunge it again into the star flesh. His manus bled, the fabric of the gown hadn't been nearly enough to protect them. Quirrell rolled over under him and the snaky aspect looked up at him in hatred.

"You can not demolish me Harry ceramicist. 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 years. Do try to follow back pretty next time."And plunged the fragment through Voldemort's eye.

The sidesplitter rung out through the chamber. Rising in high spirits and eminent, louder and louder till the sherd still on the floor shattered into guts. Then the body slumped like a rag doll and finally lay still.

Harry fell back drained. It felt like he had nothing left in his veins, felt empty. He slumped on the floor and looked up to see five touch faces crowding around him. They were saying something but his mind couldn't quite make sense of it. The image suddenly reminded him of something and he pointed at them with a shaky handwriting.

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

*

"I could just get hold of the one…"

"Ron people left those for Harry !"

spokesperson ? …

"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 fingers off."

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

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

"daytime I ‘ m afraid mate."Ron shook his head ruefully."They had to gift you sleeping potion while everything healed. Did you know you broke your arm ?"

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

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

"Dumbledore said they regenerate."Hermione answered smiling."We had to go through the chess game pieces too."

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

"Oh that, that was goose egg. Anyway it was Neville got us past the fiend snare !"

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

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

"There was a recrudesce mouth harp on the floor. What else could it bear been but music ?"

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

"Children."The 1st years turned as Albus Dumbledore stepped into the infirmary offstage."I can not imagine how pleased you must be that your admirer is awake however,"He continued with a scintillation in his eye as he peered over his eyeglasses"…it will mean that you will have to find a new informant of chocolate frogs."Ron at least had the decency to face guilty."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 Headmaster.

"The mirror."Harry began,"Was it… valuable ?"

"Irreplaceable."Harry's stomach seemed to diminish out his physical structure."It ‘ s a good thing it is being repaired."

"You could have told me that bit !"Harry shook his point as he regained his tum.

"Although they may pull up stakes one fragment out. It may involve to be kept for posterity."

"So is he… gone then ?"Harry's voice was aspirant but something in him already knew the result.

"Nothing about this death was any different from his previous one. If he survived that I believe we can assume he can endure this."

"Will he number after the I. F. Stone ? I mean, when you fix the mirror you can get the stone ?"

"Yes, and it will be destroyed."Harry breathed a suspiration of relief."But it appears I was wrong about one thing Harry."

"Hireling a man who was literally two-faced ?"

"No Harry."Dumbledore fixed him with a patient stare and Harry bit back a grin."I mean that you were unable to get yesteryear my finale 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 Saame thing as before."Harry shifted uncomfortably"You know, friends."

"So faced with the aspect of eternal life history and ageless wealthiness, your pipe dream remained the same ?"

"I have a great lot of wealth now, and if eternal lifespan means being somebody's scalp I think I ‘ ll head on that too."

"Very well Harry. I will not pry any further. But there is something else that we need to discuss before I let your acquaintance back in to brabble further."

"Hm ?"

"I want you to refund to your aunty and uncles house."

"No."

"Harry, I can assure…"

"No. The answer is no Professor."Harry looked directly into the Headmasters glittering gaze."I will not."

"You are eleven Harry."Professor Dumbledore put his hand on Harry's shoulder joint and his spokesperson went diffused."It would be negligent of me to let you leave my precaution without assuring myself that you would be looked after."

"You did it once before. Left me on a doorstep."a sliver of steel entered Harry's voice.

"I thought that you would be happier with family, even upstage ones."

"You were wrong. Would you like to see some scrape by way of proof ?"

"No Harry, I see I can not sway you on this score. I will set up for you to continue at Hogwarts over the summertime, it has been done before in certain circumstances."

"Thank you."Harry smiled and he saw a sure tension raise from the air. Harry looked down at the endowment arrayed in front of him and picked up one."hot 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 visit this offstage early resident then leave you to yourself."

"Who ?"Harry looked around and spotted a pair of slippers poking out from behind a mantle."Who'zat ? They Ok ?"

"Oh they ‘ ll recover quite soon."Dumbledore seemed to find something in this slightly funny."She's just sleeping off an improperly formed Petrificus curse."

"Oh."Said Harry uninterested."How soon will she get near ?"

"Hopefully after your friends leave."

*

"live on hazard for legal trick !"Fred ( or George ) yelled as he walked down the Hogwarts express. His brother walked beside him ringing a hand-bell up and down."I repeat ! Last chance for all summer !"

"You heard that Harry ?"Ron said as his brothers walked past the marauders carriage.

"Yep."And indeed he could see the London skyline around the train as they pulled towards kings interbreeding. He had asked Dumbledore if he could accompany his ally on the railroad train and the headmaster had agreed.

"You gon na be alright over the summertime on your own Harry ?"Parvarti leaned over considered him quietly."You ‘ ll write everyone right field ?"

"And you have to visit home."Ron said through a taste of sweets"florists' chrysanthemum been bugging me about it ever since she found out."

"May just take you up on that Ron."Harry stretched as the train drew into the station."Oh, and before magic becomes illegal…"Harry took a small portion out of his pocket, tapped it and pulled back as his bag expanded to good sizing.

"You brought your bag ? Why did you work your bag…"Hermione's vocalization became shrill and a little scared. But the question was moot, everyone in the carriage had guessed the resolution.

"Oh, make out 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 hero of the wizarding world can not just go AWOL !"Padma shook her head in unbelief."Dumbledore will find you, or the ministry."

"The ministry can only chase after me if I use magic."Harry said jumping down onto the chopine."And distance enumeration too, I ‘ m thinking Greece or possibly Espana. Mediterranean certainly."

"You ‘ ll never get away with this Harry."Hermione spoke but all for some reason didn't quite believe it. The marauder stood in a semicircle around Harry with various versions of disbelief on their faces. But after a year they had realised that Harry mostly made his own rules.

"What they gon na do ? cop their shining hero ?"Harry winked and smiled his evil genius grin."And I ‘ ve realised something. Being a homeless drifter sounds a whole lot more fun if you ‘ ve got a colossus pile of amber underground to fall back on. It ‘ ll just be like going somewhere fun, to stimulate fun."

"I think that's called a vacation Harry."

"rightfulness, that."Harry pointed and nodded."I think I ‘ m due one of those."He turned and began walking down the program."Write every day ! But no trackable addresses !"

"HARRY POTTER YOU GET vertebral column HERE ! ! !"

"Got ta go."Harry broke into a run as the teachers appeared at the other end of the chopine. He dodged between groups of bookman as the yells got closer and shooting between go-cart. He saw his chance, launched himself like a catapult off the luggage compartment of an astounded educatee and dived through the roadblock. He kept running through Kings mark, past tense mathematical group of astonish muggles. Running for exemption.

*

"Think he'll lose ‘ em ?"

"Oh, Neville you know the solvent to that."Padma smiled at the chaos Harry had left in his wake on the political platform."It's the marauders first rule. ‘ You can do anything you set your nous to if you've got the nerve to see it through.'”

"I thought that was ‘ Never get caught'?"

"That one too."




Phew ... one record book down ! Six to go.


Harry ceramist stepped back onto British people grease with a outpouring in his step and a tan fit to blind gull. Officially there was not take wizard path across the channel save by broom or other tool of flight of steps. However Harry had known before he had ever held a wand that the most utilitarian things were always hidden from those in charge.

It had been by this ancient hearth, disconnected from the rest of the flue network but with a direct link to a similar holes and portals around Common Market, through which Harry had left the country weeks ago. An eleven year old can not Christian Bible a plane ticket alone much less hitch a heave 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 bum one in answer. The schoolmaster understood his decision and his need for freedom, even sympathised with it. But Harry needed to be kept safe, protected.

But to Harry protected meant trapped and the ground he needed to be kept rubber was the very thing he needed some exemption from. So Harry Potter had spent the majority of the summer as Jack mates, juggler and tumbler pigeon on various Greek beaches. He had explored the wizarding side of the ancient land too, he had watched a school of hippocampus breaching and jumping like dolphins off the coast of Aeaea and seen the colossus of Rhodes. He had walked to the Temple of Alcmeonidae at Delphi and climbed hand-over-hand up the recollective trailing vines of ivy to where it floated in the sky. Levitated above the ‘ ruins'below and concealed from muggle eyes. But the seers that gathered there had seen through his disguise and greeted him as Harry Potter. They had treated him with an eerie obedience and he had been taken to get tea with the flow vaticinator. It was a group meeting he would never forget…

"Sit dear one."She led him to a cushion on the level and sat down herself nearby him. She looked like she was barely a year or two old than him but he knew that if he believed that he was a soft touch. Only her eye betrayed any hint that this was possibly the most powerful seer in the human beings. Harry had been shocked when he first saw them, he had heard story that the capital illusionist had milky ashen eyes showing that they were blind to the mundane. The prophet center were normal except that the sword lily of one was deep purple and the early light viridity. Oh and the pupils ( and Harry had had to look hard to relieve oneself this out ) were shaped like stars.

"Thank you Pythea."Pythea wasn't her figure, the oracles held it as a title in honour of the kickoff."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 lasting sadness, a breath of the computer memory concealed behind. Memory that spanned 100.

"If you wish to encourage more visitor your saving grace. Perhaps you should install stairs."He instantly felt that perhaps he was being too intimate. Harry generally ignored authority but the hushed power of the small female child before him ( even sitting as she was, barefoot in a unproblematic white dress ) was hard to deny. Anyway he didn't he didn't want there to be stair. Too many people, especially too many tourists, would break this peaceful place.

"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 pee."Your occlumency is quite good for one doing it unconsciously. But access to thoughts is one of the talent that comes with being… this."The sadness was back in her eyes for a moment then she reached forward and poured him a glass of water out of a marvellous fluted jug.

"Thank you."Harry took it and sipped it. It smelled comparable mountain air. He grinned and looked down at it speculatively."Is this going to piddle me see visual modality or pass out ?"

"Those things are more likely to find if you do not drink in it seeing as you climbed for half an hour in the summer sun."

"Mad dogs and so on…"Harry took another draught of the wind drinking and asked."But, why did you invite me up here ? Why am I sitting, joking, with the greatest seer in the world."

"I wanted to come 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 disappoint hero but coming from her it seemed unsound.

"You are anything but a disappointment Harry. I think you are equate to the project ahead of you, more than equalize. I look into your soul and what I see gives me bully Bob Hope. You are more than you think you are Harry, you are far more than than you, or anyone else, realises. You must swear that you know the course you need to take the air, not anyone else, and above all you must trust yourself."

"Really."Harry's pharynx was suddenly very dry. He took another draft of water system."Anything else ?"

"I like your eyes."

Harry coughed and spluttered and the trivial illusionist laughed. He realised she was teasing him.

"You're a brat !"He sniped at her.

"Am I ?"She seemed to look far away for a here and now then fall back down to terra firma."Why do you say that ?"

"Because you ‘ re teasing me ! You're a illusionist, aren ‘ t you supposed to be telling me my future or something ?"

"Do you really want to have a go at it ?"She seemed amused."Really ?"Harry thought about it for a instant.

"No. No, if I knew what was gon na happen it wouldn ‘ t be any fun."

"Good."She smiled."Good option. But I think I will generate you something anyway. In exchange for a future not told."She dipped her hand into a pocket of her dress and drew out a pendent on a braided leather electric cord. Harry leaned closer and saw that it was made of sea shell, glittering like it had just been plucked from the water supply. She held it out towards him.

"Hair please."She commanded and he obediently lifted his shaggy head of hair up so that she could tie the electric cord behind his sunburnt neck.

"What is it ?"Harry lifted the shell to look at it closer but it didn't have any marker at all. It looked like it was made of two pointed helical shell, hanging perpendicular from its clasp. Harry looked closer and saw that the very bottom point was tinged green and the very top tinged purple."Is it conjuring trick ?"

"Yes."

"Are you gon na separate me what it does ?"

"No."

"Meany."Harry tucked the pendent into his t-shirt and felt it knock off down near his gist.

"You ‘ ll find out what it does eventually. But you will have to learn a few things for yourself before you do. Call it a little piece 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 spot call."She seemed genuinely sad to see him go and Harry suddenly wondered if she was lonely up here.

Not trusting himself to verbalize Harry bowed for the first clock time in his aliveness and walked towards the door.

"Oh and when you go back to Hogwarts."The little girl said as he reached for the handle."Could you tell Sybill Trelawney to stop owling me. Please ?"

Harry climbed back down and walked a niggling ways away before turning around and gazing back at the peacefully drifting edifice, floating over the skyline. Digger flapped down on a rock side by side to him and handed him a letter. He took it without reading it and slipped it in his pocket, still thinking. Then he walked over to a clump of blossom sprouting out of the Harlan Fiske Stone nearby and picked some of the larger ones.

"Up there please."Harry nodded towards the synagogue while holding the flowers out to his owl."Pythea. And be careful."The owl obediently took off and Harry walked off down the road with his headland still full of mentation.

It had not been long after that when he found his way to the krybo-lakkos grocery store in Athens and to the odd pottery chimney that connected to the under-flue and that could get him family.

*

"quintet Galleon ‘ s. Here."The shopkeeper pointed to a pot next to his cash cash register. Harry nodded to him while dusting himself off and dropped five of the gold coins in the jar. This vacation had cost him surprisingly little, tourists had liked his juggling on the beaches and liked his witty remarks even more. The galleons to get there and the galleons back was probably more than he'd spent the whole time in between.

Harry stepped out into a grimy alley and set off away from the shop. Walking quickly he made for the lighter end of the street where he could hear more hoi polloi moving. citizenry turned to stare at his lustrous summery clothing in the dark and shadowed street and he heard grumbling and muttering. A bony hand fell on his shoulder and he broke into a run. Shadowy figures leapt out at him and more workforce tried to advance purchase, Harry broke off as his way ahead was blocked and he sprinted down a English street. He could see the bright strait of diagonally ahead of him and sprinted as strong as he could.

Suddenly he hit what felt like a rubber wall, picking him up and bouncing him back into the duskiness.

"What the… ?"But there was no metre to call back. shape were closing in and Harry dove in the reverse focus. He slipped down another road.

More cloaked torso seemed to pop out of every shadower. The small boy dodged down another street and found himself at a beat end. The entrance to the alleyway was blocked by a small crowd, five or so thaumaturge and witches in obscure ragged robes blocked his way back.

Harry slipped his verge out of his pocket into his mighty hand. His eyes scanned the walls around him but they were straight up and down. No handholds. The crowd advanced on him with hired hand out. Harry crouched down, if he was gona die he was prepared to die like a rat in a street corner. Biting and scratching till the last.

"What have we here ?"A scabby and dishevelled Wiccan said with a cackle."Thomas Kyd shouldn't be in knockturn alleyway. Something bad could happen."She reached out towards him and Harry's hand tightened on his baton.

"standstill aside hag !"A flash of red illumination pellet from the other end of the bowling alley and the hag hair burst into fire.

She shrieked and jumped away while the others tried to put out the fire. This left Harry with a exonerated view down the skittle alley to the man standing there, his long verge out.

"Never fear young rapscallion !"The man said in a expand voice."Markus Michelson is here !"

*

"Who in the… Hey !"Harry tried to object but the man had reached him in three long footstep and picked him up with one hired hand."Put me down ! Put me down !"

"Quiet down pipsqueak."The man set off out of the alleyway with Harry held almost nonchalantly in the crook of his heavily muscled arm."You're in prophylactic hands now."

Harry tried to pry the fingers off of him but the humanity grip was like a frailty. Harry continued to struggle until they got out into the dependable haven of diagonally and he was dumped unceremoniously on the level.

"For someone being rescued by the greatest warrior, adventurer, lover and explorer that the human race has ever known."The man put his clenched fist on his pelvic arch and bent down to put his expression near Harry's."You sure don't seem to know how show you're grateful."

Harry sat up and checked himself over before replying. For a minute his hand rested on the leather cord around his neck opening then he looked up and responded.

"Yeah, sorry. Thank you. Thanks."The man reached out a manus and pulled Harry to his feet.

"Not to occupy. I'd imagine getting stuck down a numb end in knockturn back street is a piffling frightening for somebody not as… imposing… as me."He tucked his wand in his smash and Harry looked him up and down. Even without taking his hat into score the man was easily seven invertebrate foot marvelous and had berm like a ox. He wore chummy leather bang and leather pant above them, fitting tightly over muscled legs. The belt was snake tegument and he had what looked like animal teeth tied hanging off it so they clattered as he moved. Above that he wore a manikin fitting red singlet that left his arms bare. Harry could see the edge of a tattoo peeking up amongst his chest fuzz and another on his bicep. Further down his arms he wore two capitulum stripe. To top it all off the man wore a cowboy hat over his duncish blond hair with a long red feather tucked into the band on one side and three rifle bullets on the other.

"Who are you ?"

"opinion I introduced myself before. Never brain, probably slipped your judgement in all the excitement."The man struck a mannerism."I am Markus Maximus A. A. Michelson. Happy to hold your acquaintance pipsqueak."

"My name is Harry."Odd to hear that after a summertime of diddly-shit.

"trade good to meet you lilliputian Harry. Now…"the man looked around at the crowd"…where are you meeting your parents. Can't leave you alone out here since you seem to attract fuss. You picayune tyke."He ruffled Harry's hair's-breadth as if he was a little kid, earning himself Harry's eonian hatred.

"…um. The ice cream place."Harry lied with a straight facial expression."Their probably waiting."

"trade good, good."The man grabbed his arm again and set a brisk tempo through the crowd. There were a lot of people this time of day but they parted to let Markus through. Harry had hoped that when they reached Fortescue's ice cream parlour the odd sensation would go out him alone. He did nothing of the sort however and sat down at a mesa, leaning far back on his chairperson and tucking his quarter round in his rap loop. Harry was just wondering why he was waiting around when the ground walked up to the board.

"Can I get you anything Mr Michelson."The waitress was a young witch, probably not far out of Hogwarts, and she blushed as she spoke to Harry's rescuer.

"My fiddling protagonist here needs a deep brown Sunday to sedate him down. He's just been in a bit of a sticky spot down knockturn bowling alley. For myself just seeing you smile is all the sweet I need, and please…"he plucked a chicken daisy out of air and set it behind the young woman ear"…call me Maximus."

"You helped him ?"

"Oh no."Thought Harry."She was here shoemaker's last summer. She knows who I am."

"You saved Harry Potter ! Oh, you ‘ re so dauntless and like, unattackable !"

"Harry Potter.. ?"The man looked at him for a present moment with a igniter grinning then turned back"Yes I did. And yes, I am rather solid. Mighty is my middle name."The missy swooned and rushed off to get Harry's ice emollient. When she was gone the man turned back and fixed him with the smiling again. Harry crossed his arms.

"mentation your middle name was Maximus."

"Nope, Mighty."The man flexed his bicep and Harry was capable to read the tattoo there. It was five Ms written one after another. The man pointed at the it with his other hand."Markus Maximus Mighty Majesto Michelson"he tapped the monogram with his finger."But the first of my middle names is my personal dearie. So these parents that we're waiting for…"

"My friends parents."Harry fabricated."I ‘ m living with them this summertime. I didn ‘ t explain because I prefer to go under the radar 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 feel the basking adoration of the the great unwashed Harry. I owe it to my caption to be seen, in the hope that I inspire young pups like you to become 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 custody clasped together over her pectus."You're so smart as well as so hansom cab. You're like a poet or a radio whizz or something."

Harry rolled his eyes and finished his ice cream quickly as the vain wizard chatted to ( or more accurately chatted up ) the girl. Harry dropped the price of the meal on the tabular array.

"Ah, there they are."Harry pointed off in a random direction and got up."See you."

"Sure I will Harry."The man said cryptically before turning back to the other 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 take by simply ignoring the queue and asking for Greeklunk. His old hobgoblin acquaintance 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 hanker gown with a hood. At Greeklunk's confused facial expression he said…

"Someone back up on the street that I ‘ d rather didn ‘ t recognise me."

"Oh right. Bloody paparazzi."

Harry stepped back out into the street and did his school shopping quickly. When he walked back past times Fortescue's the wizard was still there, showing the waitress a hanker scar on his arm.

*

Harry stood in the state lane and rechecked the letter he held in his manus. He was sure he was at least in the right settlement and probably on the right wing road. It was just that the road went a long way in both steering and Ron's advice on getting to his house had been rather vague. Like he'd only really seen the surrounding countryside from the air. Harry folded the varsity letter away and shrugged, there was always another way. He walked over to a where a Fannie Farmer was sitting near his tractor, fiddling with something in the engine.

"Hi. I'm looking for the family of pep people who keep owl as pets."

"Down the lane, turn left at the co-op."The man said without looking up."And tell the man I need my sprain back."

*

Harry had to resist the itch to develop into a run as he caught wad of the Weasley planetary house. Outside it in the grow over garden he could see three boy working, flinging something he couldn't make out over the garden paries. Harry smiled, they were expecting him today but he hadn't exactly been able to hand them an exact prison term. As he walked closer the door to the home opened and Molly Weasley ( Ron had told him all about his family ) emerged, carrying a tray with deglutition on it. Behind her a youth fille ( must be Ginny ) stepped outside and leaned against the doorpost looking bored. None of them seemed to have noticed him yet, or maybe the tan had changed his visual aspect a bit. As he stepped up to the front gate he spread his arms wide.

"Aloha !"

"Harry !"Ron jumped in surprise"You ‘ re here."The Gemini the Twins jumped up too and ran to contact him, but the most extreme chemical reaction came from the youngest Weasley. Ginny went all in snowy under her tomentum and her lip seemed to go as if she was trying to say something then she bolted through the still open room access.

"She has some sorting of remonstrance to aloha ?"Harry asked the ginger gang.

"Nah, mate."Ron shook his head word."She ‘ s been jumping and squeaking every metre we so much as mentioned your name. guess you in the flesh was just too much for her."

"Ron, be gracious to your sister."Mrs Weasley's part was stern for a moment 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 wedge thing doesn ‘ t last. I ‘ ve been told on echo occasions that I ‘ m a massive disappointment."

"Who told you that ?"molly Weasley looked aghast.

"Snape."

"Yeah but he said you had floberworms for psyche too."Said Ron."And we're fairly sure that's not true."

"Right."Chimed in one of the Twins."We ‘ re pretty certain they ‘ re courtesan droppings."

"At least that's up the evolutionary scale."

*

But Ginny's odd behaviour didn't stop. Harry found that she was incapable of staying in a room that he was in and that any attempt to speak directly to her was enough to send her scurrying away. One daybreak when he came down and found her curled up on the couch with a powder store 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 diminished gnawer confronted by a snake, eyes wide-eyed open and too affright to run."Can you tell me why you run every time I try to talk to you or enter the room ?"Silence, except for the twitching she could have been petrified."aspect Ginny I don't know what it is but could you please talk to me. We ‘ re going to be going to school together for the next six age. Could you spill to me. Please."

"Y… you…"Harry had to strain to hear her deliquium rustling."you destroyed you-know-who."

"Oh you ‘ re still thinking about that ?"Harry waved his hand dismissively."That happened ages and geezerhood ago. No one cares about that. Apparently Markus Mandy Michelson is everyone's hero now."

"You ‘ ve got the scar."

"I ‘ ve got a lot of scars. Which one in particular ?"Ginny reached out to point at his forehead and Harry brushed away the tomentum to unwrap the scar. But apparently this was too much for Ginny and she bolted up the stair 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, last year. Back before she liked us."

"And that turned out OK."

"You ‘ re not gon na rise up a chimney again are you Harry ?"

"No Ron but I think I do think I need to take drastic action to make up this situation."Harry thought for a import then latched onto a brilliant programme. An puzzle plan. Possibly the not bad plan he had ever devised."You have a few brooms here right ?"

"Five last time I looked. My old one, the Gemini the Twins, Walker Percy's and one Charlie left here."

"Excellent. I would like to recreate some Quidditch."

"But Harry you can ‘ t play Quidditch. The last time you got on a broom you made a complete sucker of yourself."

"Exactly !"

*

This was the worst plan he had ever come up with.

"You have to follow through."Ron made a poke motion with the flat tire of his hand. That meant watch over through Harry knew, the hired man signals were about all he ‘ d picked up during the plot."Just decoct on following through. That was the trouble that time."

"No Ron, the problem was that I flew into a tree."Harry tumbled to the ground and spatter out a folio."What's the signal for ‘ You're about to fly into a tree ‘ ?"

"There isn ‘ t one, we'd have to cook up it just for you."Ron helped him back on his broom and they flew back up to join the twin. Ginny was sitting a fiddling room away watching them, when Harry had fallen out of the Tree she had jumped up in shock. But as Ron and the Gemini the Twins had begun laughing at him he had seen a shadow of a smile crown of thorns her expression as well. That trace was all that was keeping him from giving up the entire endeavour and getting his groundwork back on solid priming coat.

"Right."Ron said as they hovered at their end of the pitch."You make for the right hand side. I ‘ ll pull them off to the left field then pass it to you. Then you can score. Got it ?"

"Aye aye Captain !"Harry saluted and almost overbalanced.

"Oh and by the way, from now on this…"Ron grinned and put both fists out straight ahead."… from now on that means tree."

"I would punch you Ron, but I ‘ d fall off if I tried."Harry began moving off to the right hand and saw his Friend shoot away with the Quaffle. After a moment Ron turned and chucked it ahead of him. He rushed forward to bewitch it, fumbled it, then snagged it in one mitt.

"I got it ! I got…"Thump !

Harry struck the ground hard and rolled to a stopover in the long grass.

"Ow."Harry put his hand to the rachis 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, wide-eyed eyed before him.

"There didn ‘ t used to be four of you."Harry pointed at her with a shaking hand."Stop being four of you, person… girl… Where am I ?"Harry blinked and looked around blurrily. A small noise brought him back to the face and he looked forward. Ginny had her hand over her rima oris and was trying hard not to laugh. Little sounds kept escaping like steam out of a kettle.

"You ‘ ve got steam in your mouth !"Harry tried to get up and fell back on his seat."Like water but… broken. Where are my glasses ? The four of you should be able to find them."And with that Ginny burst out laughing.

The four Weasley's carried him off the sales talk and Fred and Saint George ( who seemed to consume experience with head injuries for some rationality ) pronounced him fine.

"Maybe we should hold a break."Ron said worriedly."You know, give him clip to recover."

"wagerer idea."Harry tossed his ling to Ginny."You take my office. 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 voice to match Mrs Weasley's"Be nice to your baby ! And besides, your choices are me or her."

"Welcome to the team Ginny."

*

"See ! No one can baffle my team !"Harry grinned and slapped his bureau as the game drew to an prescribed close.

"What do you imply your team."Ginny glided past him smiling and laughing."When you went off you were eight goals down. How can you say you won ?"

"The squad won."Harry explained with swing out hand motion."And we all played a piece in that."

"And your part is ?"

"Cheerleader. I really should get some pompoms."



Note : Right, thats the indorse year started.

Interesting news about Dumbledore, but it makes sense when you look back on it. Does kind of make it more tragic however. The champion 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 altogether affair in a new ignitor. What if Grindlewald was well aware of Dumbledores flavour and used him to clear power in base hit ? Knowing fully fountainhead that Dumbledore was the only one who could birth posibly stopped him. Ah well ...

This is why we need JK Rowling to publish 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 belief as the Weasley kin crossed the station towards platform nine and three quarters.

"Hurry up."Mrs Weasley herded her respective charges towards the barrier."Right. Come everyone, while the muggles aren't looking."One by one the redheads stroke through the roadblock. Harry waited until last, as the summertime had drawn to a closing curtain he had wondered if perhaps he might not be let back into the school. He had got the Bible lean but perhaps that had been automatic.

"You go first. I ‘ m fine."Harry motioned Mrs Weasley ahead of him."I want to enjoy my last moment of freedom."She disappeared through the roadblock and Harry took a deep breath. There wasn't much more he could do to put this off. He started running forwards, lowered his forefront and closed his eyes as he reached the barrier.

Crack ! Harry bounced back and fell to the ground gasping. The barrier hadn't opened ! He put his hand to his forehead and it came back bloody. His thinker reeled.

"They don't want me back."Harry blinked and looked up at the clock. lupus erythematosus than a minute money box the gearing was supposed to result."They expelled me."

Harry stayed on the floor despite the odd looks he was getting. There didn't seem to be much detail in getting up. The clock ticked over the minute. The train was leaving.

Harry looked down platform ten and thought he saw a wisp of smoke procession from beyond the tracks. Where was the wizards platform anyway ? A mad theme struck Harry and he was stood back up in a flashbulb. His feet seemed to move of their own accord and he took first one then another halting step along the platform. Another wisp of smoke. He broke into a run and willed his legs to carry him faster and faster.

"it's a steam train."Harry dodged past a startled conductor at the end of the platform and jumped down onto the course."It takes a patch to rush along up."He pumped his legs for redundant speed.

"shovel !"Harry reached onto his packsack and flicked his owl's cage open."Catch me up at Hogwarts !"Harry gibe to the sharpness of the train cart track and looked down. The pattern, muggle string tracks coming out of kings crown of thorns were raised up on a sort of yearn bridge, raising them respective history above the city streets. Harry glanced down in time to see the end of the Hogwarts express squeeze itself out from between the bricks of the bridge and capitulum off down a racetrack that looked disused. Up ahead the rails rose up and joined with the others, if Harry was going to do it, he ‘ d give to do it now.

"Please ! Oh god please let me still be born golden !"Harry prayed silently, then launched himself off the face.

He crashed into the top of the last carriage and hung onto it for dear life. The wagon train was beginning to pick up pep pill and Harry crawled to the edge. Thankfully the carriages windowpane was receptive. Harry swung his bag in through it then slid down into it himself.

"Harry Potter. Nice to meet you."He said to the aghast first age who's carriage he'd dropped into."See you at Hogwarts !"Harry walked shakily out the door. Once he was safely in the corridor he leaned against the wall and slid down till he was on the base. He wanted to get up and find his friends but for some intellect 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 ! line ran down the leave behind incline of his face and was matted into the haircloth above.

"M… Mr Potter."Harry looked around and saw the beldam with the tramcar standing looking at him. Harry gulped for air.

"Two cauldron cakes please."He said, trying to think of something that would calm his nerves.

She wordlessly handed him the bar and took the price of them without once taking her eyes 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 leap on a moving train."

*

Harry moved down the train as quietly as he could. Trying to find his friends without drawing too much attention. Unfortunately lecture travelled fast on the Hogwarts express and he couldn't go five steps without encountering another stare or croak a chemical group of students without them breaking out in a fit of whispering.

"So pathetic attention seeking ceramist strikes again."The voice was behind him. Harry turned around and sagged when he saw Malfoy and his hood staring at him.

"Malfoy I really don't have the energy for this now."It was true. Harry would have liked doing nothing Thomas More than simply collapsing on the floor there for the end of the journey."Could you please, and I mean this in the courteous possible way, sodomize off and die like the diseased piece of dilate rectum form you are."

"Big talk for a kid who can barely stand."Malfoy took a step forward and Harry retreated."And I don't see your small friends here to help 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 posture. Malfoy and his bodyguards disappeared through a door."How in merlin ‘ s name did you get here ?"She grabbed him and pulled out her verge, touching it calmly to the cut on his question then whisking away the blood on his side."I just spent an unpleasant few minutes arguing with Molly Weasley who was franticly trying to get us to stop the train. She seemed to be under the impression 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 point injury. I ‘ m not sure I was in an entirely rational flesh of mind."

"That is beside the compass point Mr thrower, but after the stunt you pulled at the end of hold out twelvemonth I suppose I should not be entirely surprised."She straightened up"We will sustain to discuss this further in my federal agency at Hogwarts. At the very least you will receive several days detention."

"But if I have detention…"Harry grasped at this straw"… then I ‘ m not expelled ? Right ?"

"No Mr Potter. Not this time."She began walking away down the gear."Go to my office when we reach Hogwarts."

"After the sorting ?"

"As soon as you reach the castle."

"professor please…"Alright this is McGonagall, you know how to dupe McGonagall. She acts tough but she's all mushy inside."… my champion's Sister's getting sorted today and she ‘ s worried about it. All her brothers are in Gryffindor, whole family really. I should be there for her. delight ?"

"Alright Mr Potter. After the sorting."McGonagall's eyes had gotten softer as Harry had spoken."But before the feast."

"Of course Professor. 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 room access open up.

"hello freindlies !"

"Harry !"Hermione's mouth dropped undetermined."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 an eye on her."Had to get entry to the gearing by… former means."

"Apparation ?"Padma had apparently also caught some sun over the summertime, though it was less obtrusive on her."You do sleep together that's illegal."

"Couldn ‘ t fear less. But no."

"Portkey ?"Neville seemed to think for a present moment."Or a broom ?"

"No."Ron and Ginny spoke at the Saame clip 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 mouthpiece and began shaking her capitulum."I was talking to Lavender down the other end of the gear. I thought she was joking."

"What is it ?"Hermione asked and the marauder seemed to hang waiting for the answers.

"You jumped onto the top of the train."The marauders turned as one to see at him.

"Maybe."None of his friends seemed to require to utter.

"Harry ..."Neville broke the secretiveness."…you ‘ re crazy."

"I know."Harry sat as the other snapped out of their jolt and started speaking all at once."It ‘ s beginning to worry me."

*

The geartrain meandered its foresighted journey through the hills and Harry ducked out of the conversations around him. His head word still hurt and he didn't have the energy to hold multitude. He leaned against the common cold window as rain started to blotch down, leaving little trails on the window pane. He closed his oculus and lay there for a farsighted while. lilliputian trails of piddle, swirling, drowning.

"Harry."He shook himself awake and looked over at the youngest Weasley, leaning over to him."Are you alright ?"Harry looked around the compartment, the rest of his friends were still talking amongst themselves."You ‘ re aspect was all scrunched up like you were dreaming."

"Oh, are we there yet."Harry form of wanted to get back to sleep. Even if it was to bad ambition.

"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 trouble. You ‘ ll love it there. object lesson are easy, specially charms. booster everywhere. Plus if any of the Slytherins bother you we can show some Swift payback. We're feared by that house."

"That ‘ s kind of what I ‘ m worried about."Ginny glanced at the red border on Harry's robes.

"Ah."thinking Harry."My guess was right, and I just made that up to cushion up McGonagall."

"You ‘ re worried about the sorting."Harry said out loud."Want to be Gryffindor ?"

"Yes. If I don't my brothers ‘ ll never forgive me."

"Then tell it so."Harry looked at the Whitney Moore Young Jr. girl startled expression."You know what the sorting hat is right ?"nod."Then severalize it you want to be a Gryffindor. Don't take no for an answer. It's your life, don't let a hat make decisions for you."Harry leaned back down and closed his center again.

*

"What the hell ?"Ron voiced what they were all thinking as the predator moved away from the train at Hogsmead. Ginny had left to remove her little boat drive and the six friends now stood in front of a line of carriages, each drawn by a thin leprose buck with folded leathery wings."Charlie told me the baby buggy pulled themselves ?"

"Maybe they've changed since your buddy day."Said Harry climbing into one of them."And besides…"He looked around"No one else seems to intend anything's amiss."

"Still think this is weird."

*

Ginny Weasley stood fidgeting in front of the Marguerite Radclyffe Hall as the sorting hat finished its song. She was so nervous she wanted to bite her nails despite the brass they were already worn to the pith. Well, at least she was a Weasley. Her gens would be called near to finis. She saw Harry on the Gryffindor table spinning three forks in the air in presence of him. She tried to catch his eye but failed, he was talking to his real Friend. Everyone began to pay attention as Dumbledore stood up.

"Before we begin the sort I ‘ d like to announce two things. One is that, despite what this empty-bellied professorship seems to signal, we have found a new denial Against the wickedness humanities teacher."Ginny looked along the teachers hold over 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 transportation of his property from overseas. Rest assured that he has my to the full confidence and he will introduce himself, probably at length…"did the lank-haired professor just grimace even more ?"…in your world-class lesson with him tomorrow. Now the 2nd affair is that we will be doing this yr sorting backwards."

"What ?"That prompted a murmuration about the hallway.

"Yes, call it an old valet de chambre envision. Now let us continue so that we can delight a brilliant feast after we are all done."Dumbledore sat back down but the mussitation hadn't ceased. McGonagall then took her place, the verbalism on her human face clearly showing that the schoolmaster had not discussed this with her. She looked down at her newspaper publisher and read…

"Weasley, Ginevra."

"What ! Oh…"Ginny thought as she walked out in strawman of the school."Backwards…"The last affair she saw before she pulled the hat down over her oculus were the Marauders turning to view her.

"Another Weasley, seems I see those on almost a yearbook 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 planetary 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 Marguerite Radclyffe Hall. There was whispering everywhere, and every face had an indistinguishable visage of shocked amazement. Her eyes searched out her chum at the Gryffindor board. Percy had buried his face in his men and seemed to be trying to pretend it all wasn't occurrence, Fred and George III were watching her with huge evil grin and Ron, Ron just looked confused. Her eyes flickered past Ron to Harry and their gazes locked, then the boy did the unmated thing, he pulled up his arm, put his helping hand palm tree out and jabbed forward.

Follow through

Ginny glanced back at the instructor table, where every nerve mirrored the astonishment 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 thing for it ...

"Yep."She said, trying to not make her voice geological fault out in whimpers."Definitely Gryffindor."And with that she pulled the hat off her head, set it down on the president and walked steadily towards Harry. She blanked out everything else in the entrance hall, the susurration rising, the teachers, everything. There was a derriere next to Harry and she was sitting in it. She reached the bench and hopped onto it, everyone was looking at her.

"stoppage perfectly calm."Harry's voice but she swore his lips barely moved."Look straight ahead and don't give them any mark 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 hand by her side. A candy of some sort. Without a word, and before the silent stares of the whole anteroom, she brought out, give away and calmly ate a liquorice verge.

Every eye in the hall turned as they heard McGonagall clear her pharynx then…

"Kingston, Victor."

It was as if the dorm had been holding its breath the full metre and now let it out in a undulation of chatter. Ginny felt someone clap her on the back and looked sideways into Harry's face.

"Thank you."Ginny breathed through the randomness."I didn ‘ t know what to do. I didn't even clear I was talking out loud."

"Figured as much."Harry said glibly and offered her another liquorice sceptre."dependable thing I was paying attention, who the the pits 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 pick it up then looked at the tabular array in the foyer.

"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 subtraction 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 girl's house."

"Are you our new family mascot Ginny ?"Fred leaned over and grinned at his sister.

"We could build up some new standard if you like."His twin leaned in from the early side of the board.

"leave her twins."Harry was holding her by both articulatio humeri away from her older blood brother."She tricked the hat, swindled McGonagall, caused a crossing menage gyration and all in front of the entire schoolhouse !"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 question at her brother across the table. But it was Parvarti Patil who answered her.

"He means that you ‘ re the type of somebody who goes for what they want and has the nerve to see it through and doesn ‘ t precaution what the rules say or who thinks what !"She stuck out her hand"Welcome to the Marauders."

By the end of the day Ginervrador planetary house ( as it was briefly called ) had an unusually large class of first years. Filch had to run some of the seam.

*

As Harry trudged back from his low detention with McGonagall that night ( polishing hundreds and hundreds of organisation button that were just going to be transfigured into beetles anyway ) he leaned on the wall near the portrait hole and closed his heart for a moment.

"Harry Potter sir !"

Harry opened his eyes and immediately realised his head trauma must have been unfit than he thought. The Hallucination had longsighted pointy auricle and was wearing some sort of rile fabric like a toga.

"Wha… ?"

"Harry potter should never suffer got on the train !"

"Who ?"Harry shook his head but the small figure of speech remained"What and/or who are you ?"

"Dobby sir. Dobby the theater elf."The odd small creature bowed to him, its nose almost touching the trading floor."Dobby is truly bad to have caused trouble for such a great wizard as Harry Potter. But Harry Potter must go forth Hogwarts !"

"Caused hassle ? What trouble ?"Harry slid off the paries and stood heterosexual. His verge was inconveniently tucked in an interior pocket, hard to strain. Was this creature a threat ?"What are you talking about ?"

"Dobby thought that perhaps if Harry thrower was hurt he wouldn ‘ t be able to go to Hogwarts."

"What precisely…"Harry heavily enunciated the tidings"… are you talking about."

"Dobby thought that if the platform closed…"

"That was you !"Harry snapped forward like a shot and caught the little creature by the arms. The affair whined and tried to split away but he held on."I could take in missed the bloody power train !"The puppet nodded and whimpered a little more."I could take been killed ! Wait… knockturn alley…"Harry remembered the rubber rampart. The elf stiffened again and he seemed to be avoiding Harry's eye."That was you as well ! Why WHY !"He picked the thing up and agitate 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 floor, looking up at him with its huge, tear filled eyes. It looked like a kicked puppy.

"looking, I ‘ m sorry."Harry reached out towards the elf but it shied away."I didn ‘ t mean to hurt you. The infirmary wing isn ‘ t far, can I…"

"No !"Dobby's fount became a mask of reverence."Dobby can not be seen. Dobby ‘ s masters can never know. Dobby isn ‘ t injury, Dobby gets far worse than this at home. Dobby's master key are…"the elf seemed to constrain for a import then he rushed over to the wall and began hitting his headland on it unvoiced.

"Bad Dobby ! Bad Dobby !"

"Wait ! Hey, Stop !"Harry was torn between the need to stop it hurting itself and trying to obviate grabbing it again since he'd obviously hurt him. He pulled his robe off, quickly balled it up and ( between head bouncing ) slid it between Dobby and the bulwark. The poor people elf continued on for a couple of bang, apparently not realising he was now cushioned, then dropped to the floor.

"Thank you sir."The elf's voice was a little quaky."Dobby almost spoke ill of his masters."

"Dobby…"Harry saw a pauperism to tread carefully here."If, IF think of ! Hypothetically I asked who your masters were. Would you birth to punish yourself ?"The elf quickly nodded.

"If I asked you to write it ?"nod.

"If I asked you to act it out like takeoff ?"The elf appeared to think about this, cocking its head to the incline. Then he nodded.

"If I asked you to tell me why you want me to leave Hogwarts ?"the elf's head stayed very still."How often can you tell me without having to punish yourself ?"

"peril. Dobby knows that danger has come to Hogwarts. Death…"

"If I asked you whether your Edgar Lee Masters were involved ?"Dobby tensed like a rod."Just IF remember, if I asked you that would you birth to punish yourself ?"

Dobby nodded. Harry smiled, that meant his passe-partout were involved. Otherwise why would he be forbidden to tell anyone ?

"And is I asked what mold the danger would take ?"

But at this Dobby shook his head furiously and put his manus over his capitulum. The pitiful elf began rocking backwards and forwards and keening.

"It ‘ s OK Dobby. You don't have to state me."The rocking stopped and the elf uncurled.

"Harry ceramist will leave Hogwarts ?"

"No. But I will be heedful, very careful."

"Harry Potter must leave, Harry thrower is in danger."

"I usually am Dobby."Harry leaned forward conspiratorially."That just makes it more fun."





Please limited review, especially if you think it 's bad. Really, it 'll help me improve.


"marvel if he ‘ s cute ?"Parvarti wondered quizzically as the s years wandered to the defence against the dark arts classroom. They had the class first period Monday, so would be the first to meet the new instructor."Dumbledore said he ‘ s foreign, so I bet he ‘ s cute."

"I just wonder if he ‘ ll be a good teacher."Hermione hung her headland 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 order she had been about to say Quirrell, but had stopped herself. As far as he could tell none of his friends wanted to think about the events at the end of last year.

"well, so long as he only has one face, I ‘ ll be happy."Harry stuck his paw behind his head and laughed."Right ?"The others stopped for a second, then grinned with him."thought process so. Anyway…"Harry was the first off to the door and pushed it open."… after Quirrell we can ‘ t do much tough can we ?"

"Pipsqueak ! Told you I ‘ d see you again !"

"No…"Harry looked across the room at Markus Maximus Albert Abraham Michelson"…please no…"

"Take a hindquarters up front end my good lad ! I can already say this is going to be one of your favourite stratum !"The marauders filed in the social movement row and the other student moved in behind them. All of them looking a little apprehensively at the booming muscled frame in front of them.

"The name's Professor Markus Triple-M Albert Abraham Michelson. I ‘ ll be your defense mechanism against the wickedness arts teacher this year. persuasion I ‘ d take a break from the globe-trotting to pass on some of my noesis to the next genesis !"He swept his hat off and gyrate it across the room, it landed neatly on top of a cause of armour."Oh and by the way the Ms pedestal for Maximus, Mighty and Magesto but they might as well fend for Muscular, Magical and most of all Masculine !"He laughed and put his fist on his hips."So, on to the Matriculation !"He grabbed the register off the board and began yelling out name, variously chuckling at the odd names and winking at any miss who answered him quickly. When he got to ceramicist he said

"Know you ‘ re here Pipsqueak ! Don't want to level ask !"then went on. Harry dreaded looking backwards but did so anyway. Near the endorse genus Draco Malfoy looked at him and mouthed the word pipsqueek then sneered. Harry groaned, he ‘ d never hear the end of this.

When the register was finished the professor strode up to the front of the class. To the shock of all watching he slammed one fist back into the blackboard. Christian Bible jumped off the surface as if they had been jolted into being.

"Duelling !"The prof said and indeed this was the title of respect on the control board."Who here has cast something harsher than jelly-legs at another wizard ?"

A few hands went up around the stratum, including Harry's. Neville gulped and tried to withstand his bridge player 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 body Bind sir."Neville appeared to be wishing he had a golf hole to cringe into.

"trade good ! 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 classroom."right hand, 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 bane originating in the meter of the inquisition, considered by many to be Dark trick ?"

"Er…"

"And who did you use it on ?"

"Quirrell."

"Right OK."Michelson shook his headway."Before we dredge up any more assaults against Hogwarts instructor lets start on something else. Who here knows what a shield charm is ?"Many of the hands went down ( though not of course, Hermione's )"Right ! we'll beginning there."

*

The course let out an hour later. Many of the scholar had the after-effects of pocket-size hex and curse on them from when their shield hadn't been near enough or when their antagonist had been too expert. Professor A. A. Michelson seemed to conceive 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 family he had picked Harry to demonstrate some more severe hex to the social class. Harry ‘ s screen appeal wasn ‘ t nearly dear enough and he ended up suffering for every spell that winged his way.

"I hate him ! I hate that muscle-head mother fucker !"Harry ranted as they walked to story of magic."He knows my name and he keeps calling me pipsqueak ! He singles me out ! He will pay for this ! rightfulness ?"

The other marauders kept a safe aloofness, giggling behind their custody.

"You know Harry, he seems to be a pretty good teacher."Hermione said. Harry rounded on her."I mean, some adult wizard can't do harbor charms and he managed to get half the course doing them in just one lesson."

"He keeps calling me short circuit !"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 grimace became stony and dark."And he… winked at me."

"You ‘ ll see."Harry turned and began back towards the account of charming classroom"You ‘ ll all see ! After you meet him a few fourth dimension you ‘ ll agree with me about Markus Mary Albert Abraham Michelson !"

*

But they didn't.

Defence Against the nighttime Arts quickly became the most looked forward to lesson by the stallion schooltime. Every few lessons Markus Michelson would preface a new combat spell and piece of work with them, pulling them with laughs, belittlement and encouragement, to perfect the spell. From disarming and stunning through to shields and self-protection he taught everything with an identical laugh and identical arrogant position. Harry remained glum and silent in these moral especially when the inevitable happened and he was called up to aid demonstrate a new spell. He had tried to get the marauders riled up to run a prank on Professor Michelson but they had flatly refused. Harry had to content himself with dropping potion on a mathematical group off Slytherins that gave them oozing boils. It had been smooth building complex, whoever the pus hit when the boil exploded developed them as well.

It was on his way back from clayey detention that he heard someone call. Harry saw a first class kick past him upstairs and followed him, towards the noise. A group of students were gathered on the third floor. Harry pushed through them without a thought and stopped at the front end to see a horrific muckle. Painted on the paries in what looked the likes of rake were the words…

Arise those of ancient bloodline ! Cast out the impure from this house of our founding father ! Be true to your bloodline ! Destroy the opposition of the heir ! This is the call to arms !

Harry glanced to his incline, lined up next to one another stood a chemical group of Slytherins. Malfoy, Goyle and Flint stood side of meat by side, each wearing identical construction of gloating.

On the level in movement of the letter of the alphabet crouched poor Victor Kingston, the kid who'd liked the look of Ravenclaw, curled up in fearfulness behind his dark glasses.

Harry moved closer on instinct and put his digit to the boy neck.

"What are you doing ?"A representative behind him hissed but he ignored them.

"He doesn ‘ t have a pulse."Harry murmured, trying to act his fingers around for a adept flavour."No pulse rate. Get madam Pomfrey ! Get Dumbledore !"

"Both are here Harry."Harry looked up to see the Headmaster base on balls to the edge of the crowd. He stood back gratefully as the school day suck went to work.

"Is he… dead ?"An older Ravenclaw at the edge of the circle asked and a whisper of breathless shock swept the crew.

"No."professor Dumbledore said calmly"He appears to throw been petrified."

"Will he recover ?"Harry noticed that the Ravenclaw was a prefect, she had probably known Victor.

"Yes miss Clearwater. I think so, in time."tautness seemed to go out of the group but the prefect pressed on.

"Professor…"She glanced up at the writing on the paries."victor was a muggleborn, do you consider that there ‘ s any danger ?"

"I am sure enough I can trust every pupil here to act in a way that does not dishonour the just epithet of this school."

"Yeah right."Harry thought and glanced back at Malfoy and the other Slytherins."Seems a war's been called. masses are already choosing sides."

*

The first blast happened just the next morning time. Hannah archimandrite was found with a broken arm at the bottom of the steps leading down to the Hufflepuff vernacular room. Her bag and Book strewn haphazardly at the top. She'd been coming up from the cellar early on to get breakfast and been pushed back down.

professor sprout took her to the hospital backstage. But no one had seen what happened, not even Hannah, and no thing how much they asked the professor couldn't find who had done it.

The next day a group of Slytherins cornered a first year in one of the upper berth corridors and began hexing him over and over. Only Flitwick happening past had stopped worse happening.

In a matter of workweek it was no longer safe for a muggleborn or half-blood student to be out on their own. Madam Pomfrey was being worked of her feet by the stream of accidental injury coming into her caution.

Then, one sunrise, Oliver woodwind instrument the Gryffindor Quidditch senior pilot was petrified in the prefects bathroom. The teachers had tried to keep a lid on it but the words that had been scrawled on the wall somehow got out.

Mudbloods and blood-traitors cower in fear ! The inheritor of Slytherin issue and the chamber has been opened. climb up up around his touchstone ! spillway the spoilt stemma on the priming !

"It ‘ s getting worse."Harry said as they walked towards their future social class."I mean just feeling !"He gestured out the window.

There was a huddle of students scurrying along the paries and slipping in a threshold. A here and now later a grouping of Slytherins hurried into the courtyard with their with wands out.

"Harry no !"Harry was aiming his verge out the windowpane but Hermione jerked his arm back."If we start fighting back things will step up ! We have to let the instructor handle it."

"They can ‘ t."Padma said dully as they passed the Defence Against the Dark fine art classroom"Not on this scale."Her sister nodded silently. Her normally upbeat mood dulled.

"Padma ‘ s the right way Hermione."Ron shook his head."thing 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 a great deal use as you two bickering when matter 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 vicious wizard behind it. Its half the school, trying the kill the other half and we don't know till too late which is which."

"With some we got a pretty good idea."Harry murmured darkly as they passed a mathematical group of Slytherins. The piranha curled around Hermione like a homo shell as they passed and only spread back out after they had gone. A second later Harry's wand vibrated in his pocket."Damn it !"Harry motioned the others to quiet and the sound of hexing could be heard above them. They broke into a run towards the dear stair.

*

"leave of absence him alone !"Ginny's own voice sounded shrill in her ears. She stepped in front her hurt friend and tried to swallow her fear.

"What ? Protecting your mudblood beau traitor ?"Marcus Flint stepped out of the ring of Slytherins surrounding her and Colin."Step aside for me. I ‘ d rather not disgorge wizard ancestry, even your household, unless I have to."

"Mico Harry."Ginny whispered, holding her wand out in straw man of her. Hoping he was in grasp."Mico Harry."

"Your boyfriend doesn ‘ t look up to much."Flint said stepping closer and eyeing the quivering Gryffindor."Maybe you want a substantial man ?"

"Mico Ron. Mico Hermione."

"What's that ?"Flint leant forward to try."That supposed to be a hex ? Ha ! What ‘ s it do ?"Flint laughed and his cohorts around him started laughing too.

"It summons demons !"

As Marcus'nous jerked up a bludgeoning hex struck him in the chest. He was thrown back and his friends drew their wands as the piranha rushed them from the stairwell.

*

Harry was the number one to admit that he probably wasn't destined to be a duellist. His first-class honours degree strike against the seventh twelvemonth had been lucky and he now found himself shielding for his life in the middle of a war-zone. Other scholar from other sign had been drawn in or joined in or been pushed in by the crowd and now the corridor was filled with flashing twinkle and war cry of pain in the neck.

"You ‘ re utterly thrower. Oh you ‘ re dead."Flint advanced on him and Harry ducked behind a statue as the big Slytherins curse smashed into the dry land near his feet. A second one smacked into the gemstone wizard and it began to topple over. Harry scrambled out as it crashed to the level and jabbed his wand at his attacker.

"Expelliarmus !"The spell struck Flint but his thick, sausage-like fingers were curled tightly around his verge.

"Confringo !"Harry leapt out of the way of the blasting curse and fell badly on his articulatio humeri. He threw his own back in result and the snake stumbled backwards. Harry jumped to his feet and shot a bludgeoning hex only to birth it resile off a shell and smack him in the bureau. Tumbling backwards he landed on his back among the junk. His wand skittered off along the base. A shadow fell over him and a huge booted ft slammed onto his chest of drawers, holding him down.

"Hello Potter."Flint pointed his wand at Harry's facial expression."Now I ‘ m gona have some fun."

A moment later Flint was thrown off him as a sweep up moving ridge of lighter barb through the corridor, forcibly pulling opponents apart.

Harry's hand darted out and grabbed his wand while he looked for the source of the spell. His eyes found Albus Dumbledore standing at the end of the corridor with several other teachers behind him.

"Is any scholar here injured or in need of the hospital wing ?"His voice was stony as he eyed the gather students. A few scholarly person raised their hands. Dumbledore nodded and turned to speak to the teachers behind him."Please see them there."No one spoke as the wounded were gathered up. Harry saw Markus Albert Michelson handing Ginny her bag with one hand while picking Colin up in his other. As prof McGonagall walked past him he caught her eyes for a import, they were cold, rough and disappointed. When the last of the wound were gone the master turned back to the remaining students.

"Now can anyone recount me why this happened ? Why Hogwarts scholarly person saw fit to turn this corridor into a battleground ?"He looked over the students and Harry realised that he and Flint were right out in the midriff, the two of them surrounded by vanity. Somehow the ringleaders had been singled out."Why students who I thought I could rely to act in salutary organized religion instead acted like patsy ?"

No one rundle. No one wanted to drag care to themselves.

"You will all refund to your rough-cut rooms now. Tomorrow morning you will all come to the capital residence where you will spend your Saturday in secrecy. You will recall the day after that and for many weekends to hail until I decide that the peace and quiet of the school has returned. Your parents will also be informed of your disappointing behaviour."Dumbledore gestured at the youngster."Go off now. Not you Harry !"Harry was drawn back by Dumbledore's voice. Marcus Flint River smirked at him with his troll-like grinning and slinked off. Harry followed the schoolmaster in silence as he turned and walked off through the school. He stopped before a gargoyle on the 2d floor.

"Sherbet Lemon."The infantile countersign seemed oddly out of kilter with the berth. They remained soundless as they were raised up by the staircase and walked out into the schoolmaster power.

Harry glanced around in marvel at the odd Ag machines, many moving or making delicate phone, filling tables around the border of the office. His middle were drawn to the pole behind the desk where a wear looking red boo sat. Even as Harry watched another of its feather fell off and twirled towards the floor.

Dumbledore caught it before it hit and slipped it into an inside pocket of his robes. He turned and sat behind the great desk. Saying nothing, he regarded the student before him over steepled fingers.

Harry knew that with any early instructor this was the sentence to be quiet and calculate guilty, but with Dumbledore he might actually be honest off explaining.

"Professor."He began and licked his dry mouth. Dumbledore's centre flicked to his."I heard the phone of somebody being attacked nearby and I went to see whether I could help. When we… I got there Marcus Flint and some early Slytherins had the first years surrounded."He couldn't differentiate what impression this was having on the headmaster. His expression was deep."I fired a magical spell to make them back off and they responded, I never thought that so many other pupil would be drawn in or that it would snowball like this. I ‘ m sorry."

"You cast the commencement hex ?"

"They had been beating up Colin Creevey before we got there."Harry felt too guilty to lie."But I threw the first-class honours degree armed combat spell yes."

"various scholarly person are injure Harry."Gods teeth the ragged bird was eyeballing him as well."And there was some geomorphologic damage to the schooling. respective paintings were damaged and statues broken."

"I was just trying to facilitate sir. I didn't want any of that."

"And with this atmosphere of fear already around the school you have given everyone another reason to hate each other."Harry felt very small in front of the continued stare."defective, you have escalated this job with your actions. following sentence people will be even fast to draw sceptre in ire. Next time the curse will be worse and people could be seriously hurt Harry, do you understand that ?"

"Yes sir."Harry thought process of Marcus Flint's smirk. succeeding time they wouldn't delay to ride people.

"Today you chose to defend hatred with ire and violence. That way will always cover further hatred do you understand that ?"

"Yes sir."

"See that you do not repeat this mistake."

"Yes sir. Thank you."Harry walked out of the function. All the way to the door he could feel the old valet de chambre optic on his rear.

*

Harry walked back slowly to the Gryffindor common room. By probability the path took him back past the battleground. Some attempt had been made to clean up but the billet still felt damaged. slap-up chunks were missing from the I. F. Stone and the broken paintings had all been taken down. The transition was bare. Harry saw bowel movement at the other end and tensed for a indorse, then relaxed as he saw red tomentum and freckle.

"Ginny ?"

"Harry."The small fille moved up the corridor towards him. Stopping just a little way down from him."I ‘ m so sorry I got you into trouble. I shouldn ‘ t have micod for you. Hermione said you could be expelled."

"If I was expelled every clock time Hermione said I would be I ‘ d be some sort o'cosmos record."Harry walked up to his newest recruit and ruffled her hair."And I taught you that call exactly so you would call me if you were ever in trouble. All this…"Harry waved his hand at the damage and shook his head."Not your fault. But why are you back here ? Shouldn ‘ t you be in the rough-cut room."

"I was… waiting… for you."Ginny glanced to the left wing and bit her lip.

"Remind me to teach you to lie convincingly Ginny."Harry looked into her eyes. There was a surprising total of fright there."Why don't you want to distinguish me ? You don't have to you know."

"Lost something."Ginny's voice became smaller with each word she said."A Diary. mustiness have fallen out in the fight."

"Your diary ‘ s missing ?"Harry shook his forefront."Did you write anything bad in there ?"

"Not my diary."

"Whose ? Nicking someone's journal is all very marauder of you but…"

"I found it in my Bible before I even got here. Thought maybe it got left wing there."

"Who ‘ s was it ?"

"The presence said it was Tom Marvolo enigma ‘ 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 shrink into the ground a petty."It spoke to me."

"Spoke ? It could tattle ?"

"No, he wrote back when I wrote him things."Ginny curled up on the story and hugged her legs up to her breast."It was dummy but it wrote back. He was so nice. I had mortal to peach to finally."

"person to talk to ?"Harry scratched his nous. What did she mean ?"You have six brothers don't you ?"

"I can't talk to them."Ginny began to sob a niggling."They don't understand. They laugh at me. Tom understood. And now he ‘ s gone. What if someone else picks him up ? What if he tells them the stuff I wrote ?"Ginny looked up shocked and scared and suddenly broke down into rent. Harry just stood there, he didn't know what the hell to do.

"I mess everything up."Ginny gulped between prick."I lost Tom and everyone ‘ s going to record him ! I messed up the classification ! 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 other hand he cupped her face and brought it up so he could see her eyes."Tom sounds like a good friend, I ‘ m for certain you can trust him to keep your secrets. I mean, other people must hold had the diary before you and Tom never told you any of their secrets right ?"

Falco columbarius's beard, he didn't know what he was doing. What did he know about comforting people ?

"And as for this."He pointed around the corridor."All this we can fix. We can fix everything, don't trouble. I ‘ ll assistance you."He was babbling, as if she'd maintenance about the corridor.

"And…"Ginny had stopped crying at least."You don't hate me ?"Harry shook his head word.

"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 have known what to say. He smudged a arm against Ginny's boldness to get rid of the tears. At to the lowest degree he could do that right.

"Come on. let get back to the park room."He stood up and held out a hand to her."And as for having a admirer to spill the beans to…"He pulled her into a unsmooth hug then let her go."… what am I a alien ?"

"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 ginger and my skin can need a tan. Why'd you ask ?"But Ginny didn't answer him.

"She's probably distraught."Harry thought, putting an arm over her shoulder and walking with her towards Gryffindor tower."I ‘ m no good at this sorting of thing."