Pre-Chapter A/N: Please do check out the first chapter of the novel I'm working on up on Patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga)- it's completely free to access. What can I say except you're welcome? Here we go. Lovely to have you all here, and I hope you enjoy this one. If you do, feel free to head over to Patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) and read the next two chapters- I update there on a daily basis so there's always something for you to read.
The Hogwarts Express was different this time. Scratch that, the express itself was much the same except for the new coating of paint and the aurors who floated next to it on broomsticks, but the train station had changed a fair bit. Say what you would about the Ministry, but they were responding to the attack very well. They had installed a thief's downfall that sounded an alarm and washed away all enchantments. Several witches and even a few wizards had been subject of false alarms because of natural glamours to touch up their appearances. The entrance that came in from the train station had been closed and the only way to come in had been floo. Thankfully, Sirius was yet to complete the sale of Grimmuald place so I could portkey over from the continent with Hermione in tow, and then apparate over to the Black Home and portkey from there.
Now, we sat in the train, watching the chaos of the platform be subsumed by the order being imposed by the ministry staff, as well as the better thinking of the parents. The long tearful goodbyes of a week ago had given way to quick hurried things as parents hustled to get their children on the train and away from the perceived dangers of the platform. It could have caused a new form of chaos if the ministry staff were not non hand quelling any stirrings in that direction. It was actually impressive just how, much they could achieve when they put their minds to it.
A horn rang out to symbolize that the train was only five minutes away from departing and that was when the Weasleys arrived. There was a hush, but not a very noticeable one that spread through. News of Peter Pettigrew spreading had meant news of where he had been for a decade spreading as well. Arthur Weasley's reputation meant no one was accusing him of knowingly harboring a death eater, but pity could be as invasive as scorn. People had written in op-eds wondering what a grown man like Pettigrew could have done with unfettered access to the young boys, and girl, of the Weasley family.
Someone had even managed to find out that Ron had slept on the same bed with Scabbers for years and Charlie before him had done the same. The theories had gained even momentum after that. Molly, the ever energetic matriarch, bore the scrutiny well, sending her boys and girl about with more efficiency and discipline than the best drill sergeants could manage.
"Want to talk to him?" Hermione asked as she followed my eyes to see where I'd been looking. I scoffed, instead of replying. Ronald Weasley was barely more than useless on his best day.
"You've changed, Harry" She said, giving me a sad look.
"We both have" I replied.
"No. No one has changed the way you have. You used to need my help telling the difference between Monkshood and Asphodel, and now you're getting the highest possible grades on your OWLS after taking them a whole year early. Even I couldn't do something like that."
"I guess just pressure from the tournament" I said, trying to deflect what was threatening to become a very sensitive conversation. Instead, she just scowled as my words registered, looking angry and was that hurt?
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't lie to me, Harry" she said, looking me in the eyes. I met her gaze evenly.
"I wondered if it were you for a time, you know? Then I checked with the Marauder's Map during one of our practice sessions, and I was sure you remained you. Then I wondered if it was a possession. But I've used locks of your hair to cast tree different exorcism rituals, and not a single one of them has managed to do a thing. So that means you're Harry Potter. Or at least, you are until I can find a way to prove you aren't. But my instincts don't lie."
"Hermione, don't be ridiculous…" I began, but she just spoke over me.
"You might be Harry James Potter, but you're not my Harry. My Harry had a heart bigger than his rage. My Harry would have forgiven Ron the second he asked because he loved him— loved all his friends. You haven't even spared Ginny a second glance all year, the Quidditch team say you don't even shoot a word their way, and Neville died, but you didn't seem to care one whit. Professor Dumbledore was right" She said the last phrase, and she got up and left the compartment without saying a word. I was too shocked to reply.
What had that been about Dumbledore? What had he been right about? And Hermione? How had she had suspicions for so long, and I hadn't even noticed anything about it? No signs, nothing, nada. Was she a spy for Dumbledore? How long had she been a spy for— if she was? What did she know? I'd invited her into my home. Fuck. She knew about the Villa now. The place wasn't even warded so she could just go around talking about it, even point it out on a map. Fuck. Fuckity, fuck, fuck.
Anger coursing through my body, I didn't even think it through when I slammed my hands against the chair I was seated on. It wasn't until I began to feel heat on my arse that I'd noticed I'd set the seat on fire. Fuck me.
XXXXX
A time turner was one hell of a tool. And this as one I could use to its full extent since the owner had given it to me sans the regular Ministry limits. I'd had to read a two-hundred page primer to make sure I didn't accidentally wipe myself out of reality, but beyond that, I had carte blanche. That had initially struck me as careless, but it turned out that there was little damage other than that of the self-inflicted variety that one could inflict with one of these. Nothing about creating singularities or paradoxes or anything else. It had been tested quite thoroughly, and while there were a few ways in which I could cause myself to cease existing, there were none for causing that to others.
It mattered little, though, because I was careful. With the time turner, I could make very day count for one and a half with no problems, and that meant I could get a solid six hours of sleep each day— while still getting thirty waking hours instead of twenty-four like everyone else did. I had time to work on charms, transfiguration, dark arts, review Flitwick's memories, and attend training sessions with him, while still making sure I got all the rest I needed. That was exemplified by the fact that I knew that the past version of me was training in the Room of Requirements right now, while this version of me stood patiently in front of the Transfiguration mistress' office.
"Come in" She finally said after I knocked for the second time. I swung the door open and stepped into the brightly lit space. Windows surrounded the space, giving it a sense of scale that most of the castle lacked. Benefits of being the deputy headmistress, most likely.
"You said you wanted to see me, Professor" I said, getting into things as she waved me towards the chair in front of her desk.
"As you well know, since you are an enrolled student of Hogwarts, the International Confederation has a duty to keep us appraised of your exam applications as well as results from said exams," She began. I hadn't actually known that, but there was no need to tell her that.
"So you must know that we received your application to take the International Ordinary Wizarding Levels almost as soon as the Confederation accepted it. We have also received your results, and while I congratulate you on the achievement, I find myself worried by the application you sent in as soon as you received those results. Mr. Potter, have we failed you in some way?" She asked, looking drained.
"Whatever do you mean, Professor?" I asked.
"Taking your Ordinary Levels made sense because of how far ahead you have found yourself than your classmates. It would have meant that you would have resumed next session as a Sixth year and moved on thus, but taking your Advanced Levels so quickly means that you have no desire to resume next Session. Your parents spent Seven years each here, I just want to know what makes you want to spend only half that" She said, looking genuinely curious.
"Does it matter, though? I feel ready for the exams and I want to take them. Is there any need to make it more than that?" I asked.
"It must be. You know the position you occupy in our society. Every action you take is run through a microscope and examined. When it gets out that you chose to spend only four years here, the first thought would be that something is wrong with the school itself, and you understand why I would want to avoid that" She said. I shrugged.
"It's not an indictment on you. I just feel that there is more I could achieve outside here than within these institution's walls" I said.
"You still intend to duel, don't you? I doubt you have been able to find a tutor with greater pedigree and skill than dear Filius." She began.
"I'll be done with Professor Flitwick's tutelage at the end of the Session and if there's anything left for me to learn, I will learn it on the circuit" I said with a shrug. I watched her lips purse.
"Harry, the Headmaster wants me to impress on you that this is the safest place in the world for you, especially considering what is going on outside now." She said, finally getting to the crux of the matter with a deep sigh as she reached up to massage the bridge of her nose.
"Then why is he not here talking to me himself"
"Professor Dumbledore is a busy man. With developments both at home and abroad, is it a surprise that he hasn't the time to worry about issues like this one? He has his reasons for wanting you to remain here, and I think we just have to trust that he knows best and means well" She concluded like that was that.
"You"
"Pardon me?"
"You said we have to trust, but you meant you have to trust. I don't have to do anything for a man that won't even come see me himself or spare me a second look".
"You must be kidding, Mr. Potter. Professor Dumbledore has only your best interests at heart. Everything he does is to keep you safe and well protected." She looked flabbergasted. It was almost like no one had ever questioned Dumbledore like that in front of her. In fact, that was probably the case, considering the cult of personality the man had built around himself. Disagreeing with him might be tantamount to ripping up a bible back in my original world.
"Is that why he sent me to the Dursleys, where I spent every day as a slave, and every night tucked away in a cupboard under the stairs to sleep?" I dropped the bomb I'd been holding in reserves.
"What are you talking about?"
"You knew, didn't you? That's why my Hogwarts letter was addressed to the Cupboard Under the Stairs".
"That's not possible." Of course, she'd go with denial first and foremost.
"If you don't believe me, you can go check. I'm sure you've got a copy of the letter lying around somewhere, but in the meantime, I'll be heading off to get some training done. The Second Task won't prepare for itself." I said, rising and beginning to leave the office, not waiting to be dismissed.
XXXXX
"You did not tell me you were a scholar, Monsieur Potter" She said with a smirk as she tossed the issue of the Daily Prophet that covered my results in my face. I chuckled at her overblown nature.
"There are many things about me that you are yet to learn, Mademoiselle" I leaned down to whisper in her ear. She pushed me back in a friendly manner and I made a show of falling back to the grass. I was taking a break from study and work— read my past self was busy in the ROR right about now so I could spend time with the delightful Fluer Delacour and get some sun in my face. Flitwick was being very stubborn and limiting my learning in exchange for me spending time outdoors and with other people. I had a theory that it was some attempt from McGonagall or Dumbledore to stall my training, but it could also easily have been the man himself.
He'd complained about my social situation before I'd reconciled with Hermione the first time, and now that we were on the outs again, he seemed to have taken things into his own hands.
"Like what?" She asked, drawing herself closer to me. So close that my view of the sun was blocked by her silvery blonde locks as she leaned down over me.
"Like how good a kisser I am" I felt bold. Very bold.
"Then I will be finding that out later, then" She said, leaning away sharply.
"You minx of a woman" I said as she laughed. I pulled myself back up to look at the handsome spread of snacks that Dobby had presented to me the second I'd poked my head into the kitchen to ask for something for a picnic. The fact that a good portion of the snacks were French told me that Dobby had been keeping a closer eye on me than the little bugger let on. I found it more endearing than creepy, though.
"Thank you, by the way," She said as she picked up a chouquette and shoved it all in her mouth in one go.
"What do you mean?"
"You're the only one who hasn't been treating me any different since, you know? My friends walk on eggshells around me. Even when they try to talk to me like usual, you see these pitying glances they toss my way when they think I'm not looking or, even worse, the meaningful looks they throw each other when they think my actions are grief-driven or whatever. I love them to bits, but they've been getting on my nerves. It's little better at home either. Gabrielle cries over not having enough chocolate in her pain au chocolat. Is it our fault that the elves cannot make it the way Papa used to? And then Maman cuddles her every tantrum while treating me like glass about to break. All of it is frustrating. Thank you for just being you, no more no less" She said with a frustrated sigh, thinking back to the memories.
—
I stared at the target in front of me and moved my wand through a specific set of motions. In the end, water rose from the thin air around it and encased it in a ball before freezing into a single block. I smiled before shattering it into a million pieces with a silent blasting curse. Elemental magic had been coming easier and easier since my practice sessions in the room had become longer, and the ritual's effects had settled into my magic as a whole. Fire came easiest— hellhound being an ingredient within the ritual doing that much. But even water and ice had seen a marginal boost thanks to the basilisk.
Lightning didn't get any improvements, I thought, as I executed the fulgur curse with just as much effort, and creating just as much power as I used to. It wasn't any better, but it wasn't any worse, so that was fine by me. I flicked my wand at the mess, vanishing most of it in one go and growling while I did it again with even more power shoved into the wand to achieve my goal. I turned to the note I had received earlier today that had been the cause of my focus on Elemental Magic. It was some sot of riddle, but not really because it as pretty clear what was going to happen.
I turned it over, revealing what it read in latin—
"Stand firm at destiny's gate this day:
Prepare yourself, Champion,
For you shall dance with the elements
To save and protect that which one holds most dear.
Swim in the water,
Fly through the air,
Dig beneath the earth
And brave the hottest flames
While the sky weeps thunder
To prove your mettle on the biggest stage.
Let the winds herald your courage,
Let the waves salute your will,
Let the embers burn with your resolve,
Let the stones remember your tread—
For in the crucible of trial
You rise, a true Champion."
A/N: We get a transition where we see some bits about Harry's relationships before we proceed to the Second Task and shit hitting the fan. As always, the next two chapters are up on Patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga). If you just want to read complete chapters and not my work in real-time, then feel free to purchase this story as a collection on my patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) page so you get to read each chapter after I finish it and not necessarily the daily updates available with a regular patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) membership- nice way to support this story and me while you're at it. Enjoy!