Words: 1258k+
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12772385/1/FILFY-teacher
( A Harry Potter who has tried to take control of his destiny from second year on finds himself in need of a fresh start. Armed with some abilities beyond the norm, a Mastery of Defense and a muggle-style teacher's license, Harry takes his daughter Lily Luna and takes a job offer at Kuoh Academy, not knowing how big the world beyond the Wizarding World is. )
FILFY01
Merry Christmas Dess!
So, as a lot of my long time fans might have noticed, I routinely put out story chapters as presents to my fans in December. This is one of this year's. It is based on an idea I shared with my Patty Ron fans months ago, so they will have already seen it, though this version isn't quite so raw, but has not been beta-read by anyone.
If I ever picked this story up (tough, since I already have a story working in the DxD verse) I would probably come back and enlarge this chapter somewhat to give more of a background for Harry. But this should give you at least an idea of how different this Harry is from canon and how he will be interacting with the ladies of DxD, IE in a way that I have never seen before: that of an adult who knows what he likes and while is not a pervert has a libido along with a certain small… complication LOL. You'll have to read to see what I mean when I say that so without further ado...
This has been edited by Cybergades now. Everyone thank him for going through this old chapter for me!
Chapter 1: Days in the Life of Harry Potter
OOO Year 2: From tiny Pebbles an avalanche begins OOO
Harry Potter was a normally a self-effacing, indeed rather shy, young boy. This had become his normal operating procedure given his life with his so-called relatives, the Dursleys. The more silent and unseen he could be, the less abuse they heaped on him. Oh, the Dursleys never hit him, or very rarely did at any rate. So long as he was out of sight out of mind and did his chores they let him alone. But whenever anything 'freakish' happened the abuse escalated from their normal uncaring disdain and contempt to outright hate. When that happened, Harry would normally try to become as invisible as he possibly could without the use of magic in order to wait out the storm.
Right now however besides being sore, aching and bleeding, Harry was rather angry. That anger was not just directed at his so-called relatives, but at himself as he groaned in pain on his bed, listening to his uncle install a cat flap on the door after having placed bars on the windows. Thank goodness Hedwig was out hunting last night and I warned her not to come home. At least one of us can be free this way.
Having come home from his first year at Hogwarts, Harry had been told that they weren't allowed to use spells at home for some reason. Admittedly he understood the Statute of Secrecy, but shouldn't there be some way of practicing what you learned at home? Hermione had pointed out how much she would have liked to be able to show her parents what she was learning, and Harry couldn't imagine she was the only one. But they had all been told in no uncertain terms that they couldn't use magic at home.
Harry had fully expected the Dursleys to be worse than when he left and in a way they were. Outside of ordering him around they utterly ignored him, which included food. Even if they had given him one of Dudley's rooms, the one devoted to smashed toys and other broken things, it barely made up for the rest of their neglect. They also knew he couldn't use magic. Apparently Petunia had remembered that from his mother's time at Hogwarts.
So there Harry was, just trying to get by, hidden in his room as per his uncle's orders while he had a client and his family over. Then a magical creature called a house-elf had shown up. It had spouted something about not letting Harry go back to Hogwarts, and about not letting his friends contact him because of some threat there. Harry had tried to convince Dobby to stop his attempts at keeping Harry away from Hogwarts but instead the little creature had tried to get him in trouble with his relatives, something he had succeeded at magnificently.
First Vernon had taken his belt to Harry's back. Then he'd put bars on the windows while Harry lay in his bed on his stomach, his back bleeding and badly bruised from the beating.
"What the bloody hell is a house-elf anyway?" Harry groaned now, wincing as his back pained him even while he was lying on his stomach like this. He had done his best to clean the wounds, knowing they might go bad, but there was scant little he could do except let them heal on their own. He knew he'd heal eventually, he'd always done so before when the Dursleys hit him after all.
Not knowing about magical species was just one thing going through Harry's head at the moment. The other was a message that had arrived via a strange owl telling him he was being given a citation for underage magic from the ministry. A ministry Harry had only heard about occasionally from fellow students and from Hagrid, without any real idea what it was supposed to be. One that seemed to be on a hair trigger and was willing to see him expelled if he used magic out of school again, a fate worse than death in his opinion. There's so much I don't know, and that damn ghost Binns is no help! And the less said about my classwork the better.
I'm tired of this, I'm tired of just trying to get along. I'm tired of being pushed. I'm tired of being ignorant! Trying to blend in and stay out of the way isn't working here any longer, and it's impossible to do at school thanks to my bloody damn Title! I need to really start applying myself, especially if my relatives are going to treat me like this.
With that Harry got up, and pulled out the books he had stashed under the bed. Everything else he owned was in his trunk downstairs, in his former bedroom. He had taken out his books early on in the summer to help him do his homework then decided to hide them after he realized Petunia knew he couldn't use magic.
Despite being in pain, Harry felt his lips curl into a grim smile. Hedwig after all was still out and about, and he could reach through the bars at least. There has to be some way of getting books here? And the house-elf is no longer blocking my mail, or else the ministry message couldn't have gotten through. Still I wonder what Hermione and Ron are up to? Hope they'll believe me when I tell them about Dobby the thieving elf.
OOOOOOO
Rumors were once again flying around about him, and Harry decided he'd had enough. If no one else is going to say anything to fight the rumors, maybe I can. "I don't get it Hermione, you would think that having a best friend who is a first born would show people that I can't be this 'Heir of Slytherin'. But I suppose that inbreeding is supposed to effect the brain," he said in a loud voice as he stood up from the table, pulling Hermione to her feet too. "Come on, let's leave before we catch their stupidity."
"That could just be cover!" shouted a voice from the Ravenclaw table. "You could be using Granger to…"
The Ravenclaw girl's voice slid to a halt as Hermione turned to glare at her, a glare that Hedwig would have been proud of. "You must not know me very well if you think I'd go along with that, or not notice anything unusual. You're right Harry," she went on in a loud voice. "If the fact your friends with me and a pureblood from a family known for their non-magical sympathies like the Weasleys can't convince these people they're wrong, then nothing will. Such a pity."
With that they both laughed, ignoring the glares thrown their way since there were also a few thoughtful looks mixed in with them. At least there were from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Slytherin was united against them, though Harry felt that few of them believed him to be the Heir. If only because they refused to believe a half-blood like him could be.
Hermione honestly doubted Harry's demonstration would do much in the long term but at least it would do something to deflect the Hogwarts rumor mill. Honestly, that thing seems to have a life of its own sometimes. As they left however, her mind was on something else entirely. "Harry you called me your best friend?"
"Well yeah," Harry said with one of his small, shy smiles she so liked to see. "Haven't you noticed how often Ron and I have argued this year? He just wants to skive through but after last year, I don't know if that's a smart decision for me in the long term."
Hermione frowned, slowly nodding. She had noticed a change in her friend this year, and arguing with Ron was just part of it. She had been pleased to see he wasn't trying to play dumb any longer in class for one thing. Of course Hermione had noticed that Harry was smart: he was always one of the first to cast the spell correctly in the practical portions of their classes, though his writing style and handwriting itself had left much to be desired. Both had improved measurably this year. That hadn't helped in Potions of course, but if she were honest Hermione doubted anything would.
He also seemed to be reading all the time, not for their classes but about the magical world as well as books from the non-magical world too. When she had asked him about it, Harry had told Hermione about the house elf who had tried to get him into trouble, that it lead to him thinking he was too ignorant about too many things, and the best way to combat that was to read and learn. That was a sentiment Hermione could get behind and they had both started to study more about the magical world together.
The only thing that had marred their friendship this year was their argument about the professors, in particular Lockhart. Hermione maintained that because they were professors they should be respected, but Harry had actually not shown up to Lockhart's class the day before, and Hermione knew he was going to get in trouble for it.
Now she broached that subject delicately, or as delicately as she knew how. "I know Harry, and I'm really happy to see you apply yourself more, but that doesn't mean you can just stop coming to classes like you did the other day with Defense." She looked at the glint in Harry's eyes behind his glasses and felt her own eyes narrow. "Does it?"
Before Harry could reply they were interrupted by a voice behind them. "Mr. Potter, I need to speak to you for a moment."
The two students turned to see Professor McGonagall had come out of the main hall after them. She caught up to them quickly, looking down at them for a moment before allowing a faint smile on her face. "Well done in there Mr. Potter, you might not have stayed around long enough to see it but the Weasleys and several others are now backing up your claim. In particular the Quidditch team is now willing to hex anyone who says anything bad about you in their presence. I do not know if your speech will change many of the student's minds given your ability with Parseltongue but at least half of those who were willing to believe it no longer are."
"I had to do something Professor or else those rumors would've just continued to grow just like the one's last year about how I had lost Gryffindor house so many points, let alone about what happened to Professor Quirell. Especially since you and the other professors seem content to let the rumors continue to fly. I wonder if you would've stepped in if they had started to send spells my way instead of insults," Harry said. His tone was mild, almost contemplative, but his green eyes, the eyes everyone said he got from his mom, had narrowed into hard, dangerous looking emeralds as he stared up at the Scotswoman.
McGonagall drew herself up glaring down at the boy. "I'll thank you not to take that tone with me Mr. Potter. Of course we would've stepped in!"
"Oh, even if it was just my word against theirs? You didn't seem so quick to take our word for it last year when we warned you someone was going after the Stone," Harry retorted, now looking up at her with a weary expression. McGonagall flinched slightly at that and Harry went on. "And whose bright idea was it to send three first-year students into the Forbidden Forest? Yours, Hagrid's, or someone else's, especially when there was something out there killing unicorns? If you were willing to send me into danger like that, why should I trust you'd protect me from more?"
Professor McGonagall clamped down on her Highland temper for a moment, because the boy did have a point, and when she spoke her voice had a note of contrition to it. "…I was not told you were assigned to the forbidden Forest until after the fact Mr. Potter. I suppose I should have come to you and apologized for that at the time, and for that I will say I'm sorry. And I will also say concerning the incident with the Stone, I should have listened, and I did not."
"What exactly did you want with us Professor?" Harry asked after acknowledging her apologies with the barest nod.
The lack of response to her words and the lingering look in Harry's eyes made Minerva to want to shake her head, though she refrained. James and Lily's little boy should not look so, so old, so cynical. What have those Dursleys done to you? What did the confrontation with Quirell last year do to you?
Shaking those thoughts off she went on brusquely deciding to, as she always did, concentrate on her job. "Professor Lockhart stated that you were not in class today or yesterday? If you are injured I would understand, but as it is I'm afraid he has asked that I pass on that you will be spending detention with him this evening."
"No professor, I will not," Harry said evenly while Hermione's eyes widened.
"This is not up for debate Mr. Potter!" McGonagall said, now becoming quite angry with the boy. Standing up for himself was one thing, even calling her out on her mistakes from last year she could forgive. But outright disobedience she could not accept.
"I will not serve a single detention for skipping that class Professor," Harry went on even as Hermione frantically squeezed his hand trying to get him to stop. "Because it is in fact not a defense course. It is a course on Prof. Lockhart's books, nothing more nothing less. I doubt there's a student in that class who's learned a single spell since it began. I certainly haven't! And with the threat of being attacked from behind, and whatever is causing these petrifications I refuse to go to a class that can't teach me anything useful."
Minerva sighed. She knew hiring Gilderoy was a mistake, but Albus had said no one else had applied for the job. "Mr. Potter I can understand your concerns, but that does not mean you can simply flaunt the rules of the school."
"Classes are supposed to teach, not just waste our time. According to the student handbook I found a copy of in the library, If a student and I quote 'finds that a class is not teaching to his or her standards, he can elect to self-study so long as he submits both his current grades and agrees to a monthly exam by the Wizarding Examinations Authority'. I submitted my grades and got the okay to self-study yesterday."
Harry would be lying if he said that being the Boy Who Lived hadn't helped grease the wheels, but for this he was more than willing to use his name. Without his so-called fame, it was entirely possible that the whole school year might've gone by before he got a reply.
McGonagall's lips thinned. "That request should've gone through me as your head of house, Mr. Potter" she said coldly.
"After last year can you blame me for not trusting you to see my point of view?" Harry asked tartly, not backing down. I've had enough of being walked over!
The two of them stared at one another then McGonagall sighed nodding her head slightly. She had after all apologized for last year just now, nearly halfway through the school year. And it had also fallen on Harry to try to fight the rumors about him too. "Very well, I will veto Lockhart's demand that you sit a detention with him for now. However, I will also sit in on your testing, and if you cannot perform to the standard demanded Mr. Potter, I will see you in detention for a week with Professor Snape!"
"That's fine by us Professor," Harry said with a smile, tugging Hermione along. "In that case though, we have some studying to do."
"Wow Harry, I would've figured she'd throw the book at you!" Hermione whispered. Harry's logical denouncement of McGonagall's actions from last year had somewhat rattled Hermione's faith in the woman which caused her to remain silent. But she was still an authority figure and Harry had practically challenged her outright, something that Hermione was still very of two minds about.
"She couldn't say anything Hermione, not really. She knew I was right," Harry said with a shrug. "So, you want to self-study with me, or go back to Lockhart?"
"I'm insulted that you even have to ask," Hermione said loftily, her nose in the air before giggling. As they walked off however, she asked hesitantly, "But um, what about Ron?"
"He actually doesn't care about schooling. Ron says he's going to be a professional Quidditch player, so I figure he's got his life planned out anyway. Me, I don't know what I want." Except a family of my own, maybe. Oh and to never go back to the Dursleys, that's important too. "That's why I'm taking my studies more seriously this year." That, and knowledge is power too. I'm done with being pushed around!
"Good for you," Hermione said briskly, her mind excitedly turning to the amount of studying they could do now with a class free. "Now, how far have you gotten and what books have you been using? I'll have to come up with a study plan for us of course. Then maybe we'll have to find an abandoned classroom for the practical side of things and ooh how about some targets or…"
Laughing Harry followed his best friend, always amused at how she had this urge to coordinate things and happy she was willing to work with him on this.
OOO Year 3: the Avalanche continues to Roll OOO
Harry gasped as he pushed Hermione out of the way of Remus' attack, fighting back with a wave of his wand while also keeping a hold of the unconscious rat in his other hand. Thank god that I demanded he go back to rat form before stunning him! "Stupefy!" The spell was supposed to knock the target back, but with Remus in his werewolf form it only served to push him a few feet away.
On the ground Hermione rolled to one side, lifting her wand and attacking Remus with a spell of her own. But her Stupefy did nothing but irritate the werewolf, not even knocking him off balance.
A second later Remus was smashed to one side by the giant black dog that was Sirius Black, Harry's newfound godfather. The two large beasts rolled around on the ground ripping and snarling at one another. But as weak as Sirius was from having been on the run for so long he was hurled aside swiftly. The triumphant werewolf howled, charging towards the two teens, its mouth gaping.
Seeing this Harry flung up a Protego between them, watching the angry werewolf bounce off for a moment before leaping to one side in an attempt to get around the shield. "Hermione, run! We can't try and fight Remus with the Dementors still somewhere aroundddd…" As if his words had conjured them the dementors appeared in the distance, a black tide moving towards them. "Shiiittt…."
"Run!" Hermione shouted, not even taking the time to tell him off for cursing. The two turned and raced away, with Ron lobbing spells behind them from his position in the air above Hermione, held there by her Leviosa spell and pulled along by the point of her wand. Ron had reclaimed his wand from Sirius when Sirius went into dog form and was trying his best to help his friends, but not really having much luck.
Concentrating so much on his prey, Remus hadn't spotted the dementors yet. He lunged forward at Harry underneath Ron's spells, and even though Harry dodged most of the werewolf's charge, the tip of Remus' fangs still cut along Harry's arm, leaving a deep gash there.
A second later the werewolf finally caught sight of the dementors and for the first time since arriving at the school the Dementors actually helped the students there. The werewolf ran off whimpering like a kicked puppy with his tail between his legs as the eldritch horrors floated closer.
Seeing this Harry thought it was a sign of the man in in the wolf coming out. He knew my parents and didn't come forward! He was one of my father's best friends, and this year is the first bloody time I see him? And even then I was the one who had to search him out!? Harry wasn't certain what to think about that or a lot of what else he had learned today. Frankly his thoughts of this entire evening were still in a jumble combined with the fact that a werewolf had just ripped into his arm, and Harry knew what that meant.
Thanks to Sirius having already touched the special knot that made the Whumping Willow go still for a few minutes and the dementor's lack of speed, they reached the entrance to the tunnel underneath the willow within minutes. A tunnel's as good as any place to confine myself I suppose, Harry thought morbidly, watching as Hermione, with Ron still hovering in the air right in front of her now, slipped into the tunnel.
"Sorry I've not been much help tonight mates," Ron said, shaking his head as he bumped across the ceiling of the tunnel.
"Oh hush! It's not your fault that despite being innocent Sirius Black is a little insane in how much he focuses on the dratted rat!" Hermione groused, shuddering as she pushed Ron along with her wand's motions, trying desperately to ignore the creeping cold of the Dementors coming closer.
Harry however had stopped by the entrance. Now as his friends put more distance between them he raised his wand to the ceiling, waiting until his friends covered another 20 feet or so before he whispered, "Reducto." He let only a trickle of power out into the spell, which promptly hit and shattered the ceiling. There was a rumble and a crash and Harry had a brief moment to see Hermione turn back with a shriek, her brown eyes widening as she saw Harry was on the other side of the cave in.
"Harry!" She shouted as the rubble began to settle, and Harry could hear her rushing back, then scrambling at the rubble. "Harry, are you alright!?"
"I'm fine for now Hermione, but I won't be for long. Ron, cast a Protego spell over the rubble, and keep her on that side of it, whatever happens." Harry said grimly.
Even as Ron answered in a confused affirmative Hermione gasped in sudden realization. "Harry, why… you… were you bitten, Harry?" she asked, her voice trailing off and becoming smaller and frailer as she went on.
"Remus got me in the arm Hermione," Harry said, sitting down against the wall of the tunnel and turning to stare out of the tunnel's entrance. "I don't know how long I have, do you?"
Using the side of the tunnel Ron pushed himself to his feet before reaching for his wand which had fallen to the floor of the tunnel. His face was lined with worry, and fear at what had happened to his friend.
At the same time, Hermione began to think about anything she knew about the process of someone being turned into a werewolf. "There isn't much writing about the subject," she said, trying to keep her voice unemotional, but the trembling in it came through. "You should, should normally be seeing a change within three to four hours under normal circumstances. However it's a full moon tonight, so you might be changing far faster than that. Noticeable changes occur first in the area around where you are bitten, flowing outwards from there to your entire body. Once, once it has, has reached your head it will be, will start to… Oh, Harry!"
"You still there Ron?" Harry asked.
"Yeah Harry, I'm here," Ron said, having situated himself to face the rubble, and having just cast another Stupefy at the rat just in case. No way in hell was that thing getting out of here.
"You know what to do. No matter what you hear, no matter what Hermione tries, don't let her move the rubble and keep yourselves safe."
"You got it Harry," Ron said grimly, raising his wand to face the rubble, motioning Hermione out of the way. What is it with me being bloody cut off from Harry when he faces trouble, huh? Though I suppose in this case it's a good thing…
Hermione did so very reluctantly and Ron threw up a Protego spell, then some spells at the rubble trying to make it impervious. Those kinds of spells could be broken through by brute force if the brute force was stronger than the caster's spell, but they would hold for a bit and he could always renew them.
Turning away Hermione raced down the tunnel hoping to get some help. About ten feet beyond her line of sight however, she found that Harry's attempt to separate himself from them had damaged the tunnel severely. There was at least one more pile of rubble in the way back to Hogwarts. Rushing back she whispered this to Ron, who nodded grimly. "We're going to stick this out together then, good."
On the other side of the rubble Harry looked down in growing fear as the area around where he had been bitten began to change, visible even in the dark of the cavern thanks to the moon outside streaming slightly into the entrance. His arm hairs quickly grew and his arm also seemed to bulk up for a moment, and then the changes continued. But Hermione had been wrong about one thing: the changes didn't start hitting the mind when the physical changes reached the head, that aspect started right away.
Harry could feel anger and fury and an animalistic hunger building up inside of him and he gasped, moving away quickly from the rubble towards the entrance as he tried to concentrate on his meditation practices. He had taken to studying meditation and Occlumency in his second year from a book he'd found in Borgin and Burkes during his accidental trip through the floo network. He'd picked it up on a whim remembering the pain in his scar whenever Quirellmort was around and his promise to do whatever he could to become less ignorant about the world around him. It had led to his further falling out with Professor Snape when he realized the man had been occasionally sifting through his mind, but he hadn't been able to prove it yet.
It might come in handy now to keep control though, he thought. Slumping against the wall of the tunnel Harry tried to enter a meditation state even as the anger and hunger assaulted his mind. Soon, Harry found his psyche pulled into his mental realm. He'd modeled his mental realm after the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch, though it's current state left much to be desired. He had yet to build any defenses or real organization into it, and that came back to haunt him now as he felt a shivering through his mental plane.
The sky above him became stormy and black with lightning bolts of red and yellow, and suddenly there was a large black wolf-like creature across from him, snarling at him. Between one second and the next it charged towards Harry's mental representation of himself. It's charge bore Harry to the grass of the pitch and it continued to attack, its teeth seeking his throat.
Harry fought back, grabbing the wolf-thing's maw with his hands, holding it back as he remembered all of the things that he'd read about Occlumency. This is my mind, this is my mind! I am as strong as I can imagine myself to be here. With his imagined strength Harry was able to hold the werewolf's fangs away from his throat as he glared into its mad red eyes. "I'm not giving in! I'm not going to let you win!"
But, is that the way forward? thought a small part of Harry's mind. While thinking that Harry heaved the wolf off him to the side. When the wolf tried to scramble back on top of him again, Harry dodged slightly to one side, then lashed out. somehow getting the large wolf-creature in a headlock. Using that, Harry rolled them both around on the ground for a moment until he was behind the wolf-creature and then clung on for dear life, locking the headlock in around the wolf's throat while his legs latched around its middle.
The wolf howled bucking up and racing off through his mental plane but Harry clung grimly on, unwilling to be hurled off. He knew the moment he did the wolf would savage him. While his body, or at least his mental representation of it was busy, Harry decided to follow up that last thought for a moment.
Okay, so the change is irreversible, right? And Remus obviously fights his werewolf's side all the time, he's always tired and exhausted after the full moon. It's obvious he doesn't give in like Fenrir Grayback probably does. But is there a difference between not giving in to the instincts and just… accepting the change?
Are you serious you want to give in to the wolf? Thought another part of Harry's mind, which he thought was probably his snarky side, since the first side sounded like his analytical mind.
No, I want to absorb it. We need to admit that the wolf is now part of us, to take the wolf into ourselves and make it part of the whole. Think about it: Humans have instincts; we have emotions of anger, fear, and hunger of course. While we control them they are part of us, we don't turn around and say they're not and shove them into a corner. The wolf has instincts, the wolf has strengths. If the wolf won't go away, we have to make it part of ourselves.
That must be what happens to Remus! Harry suddenly realized. He fought the wolf and lost, and ever since he has to fight it again and again. He's always afraid of the curse then. And Fenrir, he uses the wolf but he was a monster before the wolf took him, wasn't he?
After Snape had assigned the subject to their class Hermione and Harry had looked up famous werewolves of the last few centuries. Both had quickly found out what Remus was though neither cared so long as he didn't attack Harry and actually taught Defense. Grayback was the worst of the bunch, but he had already been a murderer before being turned into a werewolf. He might have eventually absorbed the wolf aspect of himself, but on his own terms.
"What if I do it my way? What if I absorbed the Wolf, but don't become the monster?" Harry asked himself aloud, the words reverberating around him while the wolf-creature continued to try and throw him off.
Harry gathered himself, then looked down at the wolf-creature, twisting its head around so he could glare into its eyes. "I'm not doing this every month! I'm not going to give in to my instincts like you want me to. But I refuse to fight you day in and day out for the rest of my damned life. You're part of me now!" he shouted and with that he began to concentrate, imagining his self-image absorbing the wolf-creature underneath. "This is my mind, my world, and what I say goes!".
The spirit of the werewolf curse fought him for a moment howling out its rage. Then it seemed to realize what was going on, and the madness of rage and even the fear, which Harry had only just noticed, left its eyes. The wolf spirit slowly disappeared into Harry's mental representation, and as it did, Harry found himself back in his physical body.
While Harry had been fighting the wolf on his mental plane, the werewolf's instincts had been running his body. He had smashed through much of the rubble, trying hard to get away from the cold creatures that were attempting to enter the tunnel and also get at the two humans his nose could scent on the other side of the rocks.
The Dementors had been drawn by Harry's struggle against the werewolf curse, but most of them couldn't get close thanks to the Whumping Willow. Whatever Dementors looked like underneath their robes, they had enough corporeal substance for them to feel the willow's attacks and the tree had gone crazy, lashing out at them as soon as it had come out of its torpor.
One of them however had gotten past its flailing branches, and had entered the tunnel with difficulty. After all it was not made for anyone taller than four feet. It now loomed as Harry came back to himself, reaching for him.
But having been stuck in his mental plane, Harry hadn't been subjected to the cold depressing touch of the Dementor's presence. Now, as his mother's voice echoed in his mind shouting, "No, not Harry, not Harry," Harry grabbed up his wand from the tunnel's floor and turned to face the Dementor.
I didn't give in to one monster I am not going to have my soul eaten by another! I am not going back to the bloody Dursleys, Sirius and I will live together and I will finally have a real family! Those thoughts, the idea of a family that loved him, merged in Harry's mind with the happy moments he'd had since coming to Hogwarts: his first time flying, his Quidditch matches and spending time with Hermione and Ron.
It wasn't any one thought, it was all merged into a jumble, but it was enough for Harry to power his spell. He tried to shout out the words to the spell, but they came out in a jumble, his jaw and tongue strangely unable to form the words. "Exrepgo Pashronum!"
Despite his maw mangling the words the spell rocketed out of his wand filling the tunnel with blazing silver light. The form was that of a giant stag which filled the tunnel celling to floor and then some. It lunged at the suddenly retreating dementor, skewering the monster on its tines. The Dementor let out a wail like a steam engine being tortured as the stag barreled on, the Dementor still stuck on it's tines, smashing it into the top of the tunnel. A second later the wail trailed off into a gurgle as the stag's tine's dug deeper into the thing and the robe suddenly went slack as the thing inside it began to disintegrate into dust which Harry could just make out by the light of the Patronus falling like water to the ground.
"WROw…" Harry muttered as he watched the dementor die. A minute later his Patronus dissipated, a lot of its energy consumed by the deed.
As it did, Harry took stock of himself. His body had changed of course, he had expected that. Judging by how he had to duck his head somewhat Harry though his were-form was about a foot taller than his normal body, and he was also somewhat less skinny if Harry was any judge. Looking down at his body, he found he was of course covered in hair and had a wolfish appearance from what he could tell by looking at his hands and feet. He had also burst out of his robes and the jeans he wore underneath, though his undershirt was somewhat in place. His new body was definitely designed to run on four legs just as well as two, his forearms longer than they had been.
"H, Harry?" a hesitant female voice asked, and he looked up quickly, his ears pricking forward, a sensation he could feel somehow. Turning he saw that the werewolf had made a large hole in the rubble wall somehow in its attempt to get away from the Dementor and it was from this hole that the voice was coming from. "Harry Are you there?" said the voice again sounding rather shrill and as if it was sore from shouting.
Harry's lips twisted, and he tried to form words but all he got was out was "gres, gres Herrrriorre."
Ron pushed Hermione to one side to look through the whole Harry had made in the door. He saw his friend in full werewolf mode lying against the far wall looking back and jerked back slightly before he looked again. "Um, mate, are you in full control in there?"
Harry looked him in the eye before slowly nodding his head. Then, feeling somewhat mischievous after his recent brush with death and the curse, he leaped forward. Before Ron could back away Harry's long tongue licked out, slobbering all over his face.
"OH, yuck Harry, gahhhh!" Ron bawled, falling back and wiping irritably at his face. But even so, he smiled, shaking his head. "Yeah, that's Harry in there, unless werewolves kill their victims with slobber. Licking better not be enough to give me the curse mate, or else I'm gonna sic me mum on you!"
"That's impossible! Er, both the slobber doing that Ronald and you being in control Harry!" Hermione said shaking her head, moving back into the hole so that Harry could see her face. "That, that just doesn't happen!" She then paused, looking at Ron and then Harry, who hadn't moved very far away from the hole and was now panting in doggy amusement. "And if you try to slobber me Harry Potter I will cut off your boy bits understood? I am a cat person!"
After whimpering at that image Harry again tried to form words, but they came out mangled once more. A wolf's muzzle couldn't quite form them though Harry didn't think he looked as much of a warped amalgam of human and werewolf as Remus had seemed to be. "Ahhs crn't cralk crand rexolan rkke rhis!"
"Oh," Hermione said nodding faintly, her adrenaline slowly fading and leaving her rather weak in the knees at everything that had happened. "He says he can't explain like this."
"I understood him!" Ron said indignantly, shaking his head and staring at Harry for a moment. "But blimey Harry, you don't do anything by halves do you?"
Harry simply shrugged his shoulders, his tongue rolling out as he laughed at them both. "Rince Ren rash rryr lirre rren rormal."
After they translated those words to 'since when has my life been normal' the two friends could only nod their heads in agreement. "When you're right, you're right Harry," Ron muttered.
Suddenly there was a clamor from outside the tunnel and Hermione shimmied through the whole in the rubble. She smiled as Harry made way for her, moving against one side of the tunnel as she glanced out from underneath the whomping willow's roots. "It's a group of Aurors, they are banishing the dementors using that Patronus spell Professor Lupin's been trying to teach you Harry. Strange though, the dementors seem to have already started running before they arrived on the scene…" she frowned, then, looking down at a mound of black robes she hadn't noticed before she gasped turning back to Harry, a lock of shock on her face.
Before she could ask, the far end of the tunnel from where Ron still was began to move. Each piece rose into the air, moving to either side and then up into the tunnel's roof like so many pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, filling in the tunnel and making it look like it was brand new.
A second later Albus Dumbledore stepped through smiling slightly. "That would be because I told them to come here, Ms. Granger. A large black dog told me they would be needed. I understand however that you have a rat about your person?"
Harry growled a little, moving forward towards the headmaster who quickly turned in his direction, his body no longer showing any sign of his age as his wand came up, his jovial mood dissipating slowly. "Mr. Potter?" He said cautiously, "Are you in there?"
"RRill rere rand rin ronrrol ressor (Still here and in control professor)," Harry growled, one long finger pointing to the rat still in Ron's hand. "Strrruprry rit regrrain, rit's a rrricky rrittler rastard (Stupefy the rat again it's a tricky little bastard)."
"Language Harry," Hermione said automatically, then had the good grace to flush as Ron and Harry both looked at her askance.
Unlike his friends it took Dumbledore a few moments to realize what Harry was trying to say. He then nodded slowly and his wand flicked to one side, a silent and narrow-beamed Stupefy lashing out with pinpoint accuracy straight into the rat's head, knocking it backwards in Ron's grip.
The youngest Weasley boy whistled appreciatively. "Wow Professor!"
Dumbledore winked at him then looked back to Harry thoughtfully before glancing over the changed boy's shoulder towards what looked like a crumpled up black robe and some kind of crystal skull. "I see that you three have a interesting tale to tell here," he said mildly. "However, I doubt that anyone would be served in the knowledge of Harry's new status becoming common knowledge."
With that he walked past Harry and blocked up the entrance again, despite the fact that there were dozens of auror's outside working to corral the Dementors. "Come with me children, we will hide Harry in a spare room for now. That is, so long as you don't know if you can change back Harry?"
"Professor, all the books said that a werewolf couldn't change back during the full moon!"
"Yes, but books about such subjects are often tainted by the opinions of those who write them Ms. Granger."
With that Albus looked back at Harry who shrugged. "RII Rouldn't reen row rere ro rart ressor."
"Yes," Dumbledore said after a moment translating that to 'I wouldn't even know where to start professor'. "I suppose that would be a problem. You haven't had any lectures about Animagus forms yet have you? Pity, still we can get Sirius to help you I think." With that he led the way through the tunnel into the school, and then up to an empty classroom quickly, all of them covered by a mass disillusionment charm just in case.
Once ensconced there, Dumbledore left them for a moment before returning with Sirius in his dog form. The instant the door closed behind them he changed back into his human body and rushed Harry, hugging the werewolf Harry tightly. "Oh Harry," he said, shaking slightly, "I'm so sorry!"
Harry looked a little uncomfortable at being hugged, but also quite happy. The werewolf was part wolf after all, and wolves were much more social in a touchy-feely way than Harry was used to. A low rumble of pleasure actually reverberated through Harry's chest, and Hermione looked at him for a moment shaking her head.
Werewolf Harry was actually quite decent looking for the breed she supposed, reminding her more of the American comic book version werewolves, who were noble beasts at times, rather than the ravening terrors they were in most magical books. He actually reminded Hermione of a teenage version of a werewolf in a comic book her father had called Gold something or other.
"So," Sirius said somewhat briskly, clapping Harry on the shoulders once before stepping back. "Dumbledore says you want to see if you can change right? Do you know any Occlumency?"
Harry nodded. "Res, rit's rone of re rearonr rhy ri rink ri'm rin cronrol, RI rort rof abrorbed rhe rolf." Hearing his disjoined words he scowled, pouting as much as his snout would allow him to and falling silent.
After spending a few seconds to translate this Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "Absorb is new, but the other part isn't. Other Occlumency users have been attacked by werewolves of course, though none have ever shared their experiences during that time. So what you need to do is picture your human body on one side, and your present image of yourself on the other, and then sort of fill up the image of your human body like it's a cup with the image of your present self."
"Whatever you do, don't stop halfway through, you need to force your entire present image into the cup of your normal body, if you stop halfway you won't change cleanly," Sirius warned. Given practice it's a lot easier and in time you won't even need to picture that most of the time, but you will need it for your first attempt."
Harry nodded, and closed his eyes but after several minutes of silent meditations he shook his head. "CRan't picrrrurrre ryrelf," he muttered, shaking his head.
"Cock," Sirius muttered under his breath, drawing a hissed gasp from Hermione which the older man ignored. "That probably means there's some kind of carryover, you'll be stuck in that form until the full moon ends then Harry, I'm sorry."
Harry shrugged, looking at Hermione dolefully, "Rooks (books)?"
Hermione laughed, reaching forward to fling her arms around her friend as Ron began to chuckle too, shaking his head. "Bloody nutters, the pair of you!"
Just then Harry's stomach rumbled like the animal he looked and Hermione squeaked slightly looking up at Harry's now sheepish expression. Ron on the other hand pointed at Harry's stomach. "See mate, at least part of ya knows what's really important!"
"I shall assign a house-elf to bring you food as you ask for it Harry, no doubt you will be hungry tonight." Albus said, smiling slightly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lot I need to make certain occurs tonight. Sirius, you may stay with Harry until I call for you. Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, I should no doubt be urging you two to head to your dorms, but you may stay up and have a late meal with your friend as well. After that however, I must ask you to take yourselves off to bed."
So Harry was stuck in that room for the rest of the night. He spent some of it reading, but most of the time he spent sleeping or eating. He ate a lot, even more than Ron would each time he called for food and a lot of it was heavier than he usually ate, steaks and fried chicken being the heaviest.
When Harry woke up, it was to a completely changed world, and though he failed to notice it at first, a changed Harry. "Mr. Potter," said a familiar voice near his bed, one he'd heard before in a somewhat similar situation. "Back with us I see."
Harry looked up from his bed, which Dumbledore had transfigured into a giant doggie bed, to see the headmaster standing there. "Professor," he said, then gasped as the word came out clear for the first time since he'd changed. He quickly reached up, and found that his face was no longer hairy, human once more rather than the werewolf's lupine snout.
"Yes you've changed forms. It also seems that Sirius was correct: your human body has developed some carryover from the curse of the werewolf. We might have to use an illusion charm on you for a time, at least until this summer. I remember that young children do go through growth spurts, though yours is rather more pronounced than most." There was a laugh in the old man's voice, despite his obviously exhausted appearance.
Harry quickly stood up moving to the old man's side before helping the headmaster sit down on the bed looking at him with his head cocked to on side. "You look exhausted Sir, what's been going on?"
The two of them had had a bit of a rocky relationship honestly, especially after Harry had started to go out of his way to solve his own ignorance of the magical world. That had changed when Dumbledore had given him a present to make up for his failings in first year upon hearing of what Harry had gone through with his relatives from Ms. Weasley. Of course Harry had decided not to share anything with Ms. Weasley after that, but this one time her inability to not keep a secret had seemingly paid off. The book on combat transfiguration had been an amazing find, one well above his current level of course, though what little he understood was still helpful. It had also served to somewhat bridge the gap between Dumbledore and Harry.
"Quite a lot has been going on Mr. Potter. First, I and Ms. Amelia Bones… do you know who that is?" Harry nodded impatiently and Dumbledore went on. "We were able to ram through an emergency trial for Sirius Black. He is now innocent of all charges and free to live his life as he pleases."
He looked at Harry thoughtfully, his eyes not twinkling for once. "I have made many mistakes in my life Mr. Potter, and I know that my… call it my grip on current reality is sometimes skewed thanks to my old age. It never occurred to me that a family would abuse a relative as the Dursleys did you, and I fear I also trusted the wrong watchwoman to make certain you were treated well. For that and putting you with your relatives I apologize, but you no longer need to live there if you do not wish to. You will be moving in with Sirius this summer, I trust?"
"That was the plan if we could get him free Professor, thank you!" Harry said, sitting down on the floor abruptly, a grin, the widest grin he'd ever had appearing on his face. He would've had to be in his werewolf form to make it any wider.
"I thought as much," Albus said with a smile. "The Black mansion has numerous defensive wards around it, and we can also put it under the Fidelius, making myself the secret keeper. That will be simple enough to accomplish and I think you'll learn quite a bit from Sirius and Remus, who apparently is going to be moving in with the two of you."
Harry winced a little. He was not looking forward to meeting with Remus again.
Catching that Albus sighed, reaching up to push his spectacles back up his nose. "I ask that you forgive him Harry. Remus Lupin has fought his curse every day of his life since Fenrir Greyback turned him. A lesser man would have given in to it at some point."
"I can forgive him for that professor and I would never judge him for being a werewolf in the first place. But I will smack him upside the head for forgetting his bloody potion last night!" Harry quipped. He did however resent Remus having never contacted him, even though he was supposedly one of his father's best friends.
Having no idea what Harry was actually thinking Albus merely laughed, going on to tell Harry about the trial. Thanks to Amelia Bones they had gotten the word out about it quickly. They did so despite the minister's attempt to block them from doing so fearing the backlash if it became known that he had ordered a kill on sight order for an innocent man and had in fact been involved with keeping him in the prison despite that innocence.
"The fact that Sirius is heir to the House of Black, a noble and important, that is to say ancient and rich, house is also a massive problem for Minister Fudge. A mere hint that he was trying to block his innocence because it is Black money which has made the Malfoys so important and he is too busy covering his rear end to get in our way." Albus said, smiling complacently and leaning back as Harry laughed.
That discussion went on for some time until they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Harry moved to open it before Dumbledore could say anything, as he heard Hermione asking in a small voice, "Harry, are you awake?"
He opened the door to find Hermione and Ron both outside. Hermione took one look and blinked in shock, a light dusting of pink coming to her cheeks before she looked away quickly. "Harry!"
Ron shook his head, turning his head to one side and holding up a hand to his eyes. "My eyes I'm blind, why, just why mate!?"
Harry looked down at himself, and found that he was only wearing a rather torn pair of boxers and a ripped undershirt. Squeaking slightly he hurried behind the door, as Albus moved towards him conjuring up a set of clothing for him despite his own chuckles.
Once their friend was dressed the two came in, and Hermione could only stare at the changes that had come over their friend. Before, Harry had been one of the shortest in their grade, and rather…underfed looking. She had attempted at one point to talk to Harry about his home life, but had been shut down so quickly she never tried to bring it up again directly. She knew enough however to be certain the Dursleys had, if not abused him physically had at least not fed or clothed Harry as they should have.
Now he stood as tall as Ron, and was a little wider in the shoulders. His emaciated form had filled out with wiry muscle, all of the food he had eaten during the night being transformed directly into muscles thanks to his new werewolf curse. Harry was quite fanciable now, Hermione thought, if in a slightly clinical manner, before she shook her head. Stop that, he's a friend, a handsome friend but still a friend.
"Yes," Dumbledore mused, "We'll definitely need some illusion spells. For now however, I think we should figure out what to do in the future Mr. Potter. With your other form, your training with it, and what to do on full moons…"
OOOOOOO
Coming home to Grimauld Place was an experience despite Sirius having done as much cleaning as he could over the last few months. First, it was Harry's first experience with side-along apparition, and he found he hated it. The instant the motion stopped Harry fell to his knees, grabbing at his stomach and groaning as a bout of queasiness hit him. Hearing laughter from next to him Harry glared up at Sirius despite his dry heaves. "What was that?!"
Sirius merely continued to laugh along with two other people, ruffling Harry's head. "Sorry about that pup, I didn't expect you to react like that to apparition. Most of the time it's the easiest form of magical transportation."
"I suppose it could be worse, the few times I've used the floo I've come out going arse over tea kettle," Harry grunted, pushing himself to his feet and looking around at the others who had laughed at his entrance.
One was a young woman, Harry guessed her age to be early 20s at the oldest. She looked somewhat familiar, as if Harry had seen her in passing a time or two, though her pink hair was definitely something he had never seen before. She was dressed in tight jeans with a few holes in them, and a Weird Sisters T-shirt, along with a small black choker around her neck. She was quite pretty Harry had to admit, in a sort of in your face kind of way, and older to boot.
Beside her stood Remus, and Harry had to fight back a growl at seeing the man. The full moon had just past, and Harry had spent his last full moon at Hogwarts running through the woods getting to know his other form. Remus however had not shown up. The man obviously felt shame for what he had done, and wasn't willing to face Harry just yet. Looking at him now as Harry tried to catch his eyes Remus looked away again, and Harry fought back another growl. "Remus, stop it!" he ordered
Remus looked up at him, and Harry shook his head. "I won't say I'm happy that you bit me, but it happened, it's a thing, get over it! You didn't mean to do it, it was the wolf who attacked us not Remus Lupin. Understood?"
Remus nodded, but still looked shamefaced, looking away as if he didn't really believe Harry. Harry sighed turning away from him to look at the woman, who had looked on this diatribe with amusement. "That's what I've been saying all along wolfie," she said pushing Remus playfully in the shoulder before moving towards Harry holding out her hand.
Before she could introduce herself however Sirius spoke up. "The hyphen club is all here!" he said, grinning at them both.
Harry looked at him quizzically, and Sirius went on. "We have Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, and this is Tonks, She-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named."
Harry looked at the girl who shrugged. "I hate my first name. I'm not even going to tell you what is it. Just call me Tonks okay? Fair warning, if I ever hear you say my first name, we're going to have problems. I'm this madman's cousin. One of only two relatives he actually admits ta knowing for my sins, which even if I don't remember 'em must've been whoppers to stick me with this old dog and his sense of humor."
"One of only two relatives I still have after disinheriting both of my other cousins you mean," Sirius said seriously. "It's a work in progress to bring the Black family name back to something like reputable status, or" he smiled, his eyebrows waggling "as reputable as I want it to be."
"Two people doesn't make a club Sirius," Harry said dryly, ignoring Sirius's attempt at a joke. "Unless you're talking about Remus over there, or He-Who-Is-Mopey?"
Remus chuckled wanly at that, and Sirius shook his head. "Nope. You're looking at Sirius black, The-king-Of-FAMMMK!"
"All right that's enough!" Tonks said slapping her hand over her cousin's mouth. "Keep it PG in front of the kid would you?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "I haven't been a kid since the first time my aunt took a frying pan to the back of my head for messing up dinner." As Tonks gaped at him Harry ignored her turning to Sirius. "So, where do you want me to put my stuff, and when do we start training?"
"Training." Tonks asked, noticeably changing what she was about to say, her hair turning bright blue for a moment. "What's that about?"
"That would be why I wanted you to take an oath of secrecy cuz," Sirius said, putting his arms around both of them and moving them towards the door, twitching his head towards Remus to follow them. "Let's get Harry situated, and then I'll show you the training room, and we can discuss why Harry needs it. It turns out," he went on as they walked out the door, "that the Dark Wanker isn't quite dead enough, and we need to prepare just in case."
OOO Year 4: The Avalanche becomes ever stronger OOO
"I wonder if I should just attack this Moody character now given our past record with Defense teachers..." Harry mused, and it said a lot for their past few years that neither Ron nor Hermione objected to this idea.
"Hmm… a preemptive strike? You might be onta something there Harry," Ron mumbled between his brutal assault on the food in front of them, which had not ended when the headmaster began his announcements. In Ron's view, there was no quarter ever given in the war to sate his hunger. "But, 'e's Moody rig'? Me da's always over at his house on account of some charms he's go' on the property, but he's righ' famous."
By this point Hermione had had enough and cut in sharply, smacking Ron on the shoulder. "Don't talk with your mouth full Ronald!" As Ron quieted, she turned to Harry. "As for your idea, I would say if it was anyone but a famous Dark Wizard hunter, your idea might have merit, but as it is, I think we should wait and see." Since Hermione was smiling slightly when she said this, one would be hard pressed to figure out if she was serious or not and Hermione wasn't telling.
"It was just a thought. I wouldn't want to attack him here anyway, too many witnesses." Harry said winking at his friends who both laughed.
OOOOOOO
"Harry Potter…" Dumbledore said, to the sound of sudden silence in the hall.
Groaning, Harry began to bang his head against the wood of the table in front of him. At the same time Hermione began to actually curse beside him. Across from them Ron looked dyspeptic for a moment.
"Harry, you'll have to fight this quickly unless you want another round of Harry Potter rumor mongering," Hermione whispered.
Harry nodded getting up quickly and looking around at the faces of those all around him. The Hufflepuff table looked murderous, as if Harry had stolen their champion's chance at glory on purpose. The Slytherins looked amused, angry and contemptuous in turns, the Ravenclaws looked angry (though that might have been from events earlier in the year dealing with a young blonde girl who was sitting next to Ginny at present), and his own house looked torn between shock and adulation.
Odd reaction from my own house, but I suppose they think I somehow managed to cheat my way in. Shows a piss poor understanding of my personality, that does. Swiftly Harry held out his hand, and shouted "Ergo fides: I Harry Potter did not enter myself in this tournament, nor did I ever want to enter! Ergo Fides!"
That caused the side comments to stop and Dumbledore to halt from where he had been getting up out of his chair. All of them looked at Harry in shock as magic flared from his wand acknowledging his oath. A second later, Harry held his wand up once more and color flared out from the end of it. "Wow," he said in a bland tone, "it looks as if I was telling the truth. Now, if that's all Professor, can I sit back down? I'd like to have one ruddy year without something deadly trying to happen to me."
"I'm afraid it isn't that simple Harry," Dumbledore said softly, staring at the piece of paper in his hand. "Please, come with me."
It turned out that Harry would have to compete, something he was not at all happy about. Somehow, someone had been able to enter him into this tournament, most likely by using a bit of parchment from a past test which had his magical signature on it. If he did not compete that would be enough for the goblet, an old and very finicky magical artifact, to drain him of his magic. Harry and Dumbledore had had an argument about it, and decided that while Harry might willingly be able to live among Muggles, what the effect of losing his magic would do to his being a werewolf was utterly unknown, and not something they wanted to play with.
So, once again Harry was forced to face a life or death struggle, rather than getting to know girls as he had wanted to. He had noticed the looks he was getting once his 'growth spurt' ended, and had been interested in seeing where some of those looks led.
Despite that however, months later when it came time to look for a date for the Yule Ball he decided to go with someone he could actually have a conversation with rather than try to date someone based on looks alone like so many other boys seemed to be doing. Not mind you, that Hermione isn't a looker, whatever she might think Harry thought as he sat across from her in the library.
His friend had grown up, and though she still worried about her teeth and her hair was still frizzy, she was becoming a very good-looking young woman. Her style of beauty was somewhat understated in comparison to say Lavender Brown or Susan Bones, the two girls who were the most 'shagable' in his grade as the boys put it, but it was definitely there.
Hermione looked up smiling in welcome and Harry smiled back before deciding to just blurt it out. Gryffindors charge! "So, would you like to go to that will Yule Ball with me?"
At that Hermione blinked in shock before looking down, poking at her book with a finger for a moment. "I um, wow, are you sure you want to go with me? I mean, I know other girls have thought about asking you, and that is a major breach of etiquette, and I thought, I mean, wouldn't it be best if you went with someone prettier?"
Harry shrugged. "I'll admit that there are some good-looking girls out there, but you're good-looking to, and I know you, you're someone I can have an actual conversation with. Besides, how many of those girls think of me as simply a good-looking guy, or the Boy-Who-Lived rather than just, Harry Potter, the whole package?"
He reached over touching her hand with one of his gently. "Besides, who knows where it could lead?" He said hesitantly, looking into her eyes.
Hermione blushed a little, understanding what he was really saying there, and nodded hesitantly.
The night of the dance the idea that his 'friend-who-is-a-girl' Hermione was simply pretty went out of Harry's mind the instant she walked down the stairs in that periwinkle blue dress. Okay, she is not beautiful, she's bloody gorgeous! Why haven't I noticed this before!?
With Hermione on his arm, Harry had quite a lot of fun, the two of them talking laughing and dancing. They were both leaning towards this being an actual date rather than simply some kind of practice date sort of thing. Thanks to Harry's help, and Sirius paying for a suit for him in recompense for his leg, Ron had fun too, dancing the night away with Parvati. The two of them hadn't returned by the time Harry and Hermione made their way back up to the Gryffindor common room.
"Well this has been an amazing night Harry," Hermione said, hugging Harry tightly around the chest.
"It was only amazing because of the company," Harry said with a grin, looking down at her. Having spent the summer with Tonks and Sirius had done wonders for his ability to flirt. One as a target who never, ever blushed but had no problem making Harry do so, and the other for giving perfect examples of lines that should never ever work.
"I see Sirius' lessons are doing you a world of good," Hermione chuckled, seemed to make a decision. Blushing slightly she leaned her head to the side as she tilted her neck upwards, her eyes closed as she closed the distance.
Harry hesitated a moment, then did the same, and the two exchanged a kiss. It was… nice. Just… nice. Hermione wrinkled her nose, leaning back slightly and looked up as Harry blinked in confusion, before they both leaned in and kissed again. Again it was just… nice. There was no spark there, no desire to take it further.
"That is odd…" Hermione muttered.
The two of them looked at one another frowning a little. "I don't… hmmm…" Harry muttered then looked away frowning as he scratched the back of his head.
Hermione nodded. "I thought there would be I mean…"
They both looked at one another than laughed shaking their heads. "Okay, so maybe this whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing wouldn't work out for us?"
"I suppose not," Hermione thought shaking your head. "I guess, I mean yeah. I'm sorry Harry, I find you attractive, but it's just I don't feel that attraction on an emotional level I guess? I didn't really understand that until right now."
"Me too," Harry said. "I mean you're gorgeous, and if anyone says differently I will bloody smack them for you, but that was like… I mean it felt like I was trying to kiss a sister. Or well you know what I mean."
"Like Tonks?" Hermione teased.
Harry blushed a little, shaking his head. Tonks had actually kissed him once over the summer after Sirius introduced Harry to the pleasures of alcohol and the two of them had gotten drunk. It had been slobbery and not very good frankly, and both of them had been embarrassed by it. He thought she was attractive, but she felt he was a little too young for her, and preferred older guys anyway. The two of them had a lot of fun, but there was no spark of attraction between them.
"So better as friends?" Harry said holding out his hand.
Hermione shook it gratefully. "Better as friends," she said. Then she cocked her head thoughtfully to one side. "What girl do you think you're interested in? I mean you don't really talk to many people outside Ron, your teammates and I. Maybe Katie then?"
"No, she, Alicia and Angelina are pretty much just teammates and friends, you know I don't like them that way," Harry sighed but not backing away. "As to what kind of girl I like… fiery I guess, I mean I've always admired how you stand up for yourself, so that's part of it, and then there's what all I've been told about my mom standing up for herself and for other people. She also apparently had a temper on her that was slow to boil but once someone set it off they had better watch out."
"Hmm, so fiery, okay, but what about physically? Hair color? Tall, leggy, chesty, what?" Hermione asked, getting into the teasing.
"Red I guess, I mean I'm always looking at Susan and that redheaded Seventh year Slytherin." Harry said with a smirk.
"McDougal I think," Hermione said trying to bring the girl to mind. She was a quiet one, but evidently a power to be reckoned with in her own house at least, considering that she hadn't been pressured to join any of the Slytherin's cliques. "So fiery with red hair, can stand up for herself and intelligent?"
"Oh yes," Harry said with a wink deciding to turn the teasing on her now. "Brainy girls are definitely a turn on. Hopefully there will be other people who realize the same thing."
It worked and Hermione blushed, swatting at his shoulder even as she looked pleased.
Neither of them noticed that Ginny had returned from her own date with Neville Longbottom, having left Neville behind to help drag Seamus and Dean to bed, both of whom had somehow gotten drunk on spiked punch, no doubt brought in by the twins. She was standing near the entrance way with it cracked open, listening to their conversation with a smile on her face.
OOOOOOO
The entire stadium had gone into a tizzy the moment Harry had disappeared, even the judges and Sirius and a few others running around trying to find out how. Dumbledore's face was practically a storm cloud of fury and Sirius and Tonks both looked angry, the metamorph's hair writhing around like a pit of black snakes. Hermione watched anxiously, not knowing enough to help, something that galled her really, while Ron was a simmering pile of redheaded rage beside her, his fingers twitching where they held his wand. "Where the bloody hell is Harry, and who the bloody fucking hell took him!?"
So worried was she about their friend, Hermione didn't even try to correct Ron's language. "I don't know, but both he and Cedric touched the cup. It must have been a portkey, and only the professors and judges should have had access to it…"
"Moody, Snape, Karkaroff," Ron muttered, nodding his head and looking around. "Harry really should have launched that preemptive strike he mentioned. Then we'd only have to worry about two possible death eaters…"
Just as Ron began to look around for the possible culprit Harry returned with the dead body of Cedric next to him. One of Harry's arms had been slashed open from the hand up to the shoulder while another cut crossed his chest, and half his head looked as if it had been singed in a fire, blinding him temporarily in one eye. "He's back," Harry muttered as Sirius and the others rushed toward him, "Voldemort is back," he said, before collapsing forward.
OOO After Hogwarts: things fall apart OOO
The war had begun that day but through many trials and travails Harry and his friends had made it through with their bodies and minds as intact as could be expected. Through incompetent ministers, and their own side's unwillingness to get their hands dirty or let the kids actually do their own fighting, they had survived and moved on to start making real lives of their own. Harry and Ginny dated for a time, breaking up, then getting back together until they had bitten the bullet and married one day in a small ceremony despite Ginny's desire to have the largest wedding in the history of Britain.
At times Harry thought that Ginny had fallen in love more with the idea of Harry's title as the Boy-Who-Lived, but at other times married life was almost blissful. But despite his married life not being as pleasant as he could have hoped, one thing had come along that made it worth it: his daughter Lily Luna Potter. Seven years old and a bundle of red-haired energy, she was Harry's pride and joy, and he let his thoughts turn to her now, taking him away from the small if tastefully designed room.
Hmm… I finished these tests early, I could pick Lily up early and head out for some ice cream before heading home in time for dinner… no, I should at least wait to make certain she behaved for Luna and Rolf.
"Congratulations Mister Potter. I have seen countless wizards take their NEWTS and even Mastery tests, but you are the first to break the records for both your Defense NEWT and Mastery test."
Harry looked up as the head of the Wizarding Examining Authority spoke from where he had been sipping calmly from a pot of tea as he thought not of the test he'd just had but of his daughter and seeing her after having had to spend two days away from her and her mother. Thought admittedly it wasn't a test as most thought it, and Harry was probably the first examinee who had taken to it somewhat calmly before or after.
Even the test's name The Defense Against the Dark Arts Mastery Examination, was not an appropriate label for the test in Harry's opinion. Rather, in his mind it would be better to term it as Combat and Magical Tactics Mastery. There was a reason why defense masteries were so very rare, far rarer than any other mastery, or even dueling champions.
As part of his test Harry had of course both a practical and theoretical. The theoretical test made the examinee walk his way through various tactical problems, and examined his knowledge of spells and their use in various environments. The practical put the examinee against a series of professional duelists, Aurors, Hit-wizards, and monsters on an ever increasing scale of danger.
"Well, fighting the Chimera one on one was tough, but other than that it was rather like old home week to me Miss." Harry said, shrugging his shoulders. Heh, and hadn't the chimera been surprised when its poison didn't work on me. Had the devil of a time convincing the examiners I didn't cheat though. You'd think cheating like that would have earned me more points not suspicion, but no, it's a bloody test to see how you do in combat, of course you can't cheat. Ugh.
"Hmmf, it says a lot for your life that I have no doubt of the veracity of that statement Mister Potter." Griselda Marchbanks muttered, before looking down and stamping the scroll in front of her before tying it up with a piece of velum, and holding it out to Harry. "Congratulations on now having the paperwork to tell the world what it already knew Mister Potter: that you are a Defense phenomenon," She finished dryly.
Harry chuckled at that, taking the parchment from her and tucking it into his mokeskin pouch, a gift from Hagrid he took everywhere he went unless his wife had asked to use it on a shopping trip. He shook hands with Griselda, then turned and walked out of the examination center, which was a part of the ICW's headquarters in Paris, France. It wasn't always there of course, the ICW headquarters shifted countries every five years among its members.
Walking through the magical district, Paris' equivalent of Diagon Alley and it's offshoots, Harry frowned as he saw the looks sent his way. Some were admiring, some were filled with awe, others fear.
Man-Who-Conquered bah, you can keep it. Fame is a bloody curse as bad as the one on the Defense position at Hogwarts. It's as if just because I fought my enemies the way they fought me that I am a step away from going Dark to some people. Whatever the bloody fuck that's supposed to mean. Then there's the people who think I'm some kind of infallible superhero, those who see my stance on 'muggleborn' rights and werewolf rights as a sign that I'm a threat to their way of life, and those who just want to use me or my name for their own reasons! Is it any bloody wonder I spend so much time in the non-magical world?
That was actually a major bone of contention between Ginny and Harry, right up there with Harry wanting to live simply rather than live the highlife. Harry was very careful with his money and with the few things his family had left him, and almost never used his name to get anything. He'd tried occasionally to use his fame in the political arena to help Neville ram some new laws down the Wizengamot's collective throat right after finishing school. But those attempts had withered and died on the vine in the face of the opposition, and Harry had given up the political and social arenas in disgust.
In contrast, Ginny wasn't a huge spender on her own, but she wasn't careful either. She wanted to live the high life, go to the same parties that people like the Malfoys threw, hob nob with the famous and rich in that order. She followed Quidditch, and spent a lot of money going to the games she could.
She always seemed personally insulted when Harry would rather go flying on his own with Lily or spend time at home rather than go to a game or a ball or out in public. She often accused him of not wanting to spend time with her, but when the things she wanted to spend time doing were things he hated, could anyone blame him?
As for Harry enjoying the muggle world, Ginny was rather conservative in her views of the non-magical world, much like most magicals, even those like her father who were fascinated by them. They thought that muggles were fascinating, but always in a condescending manner, and never really believed they could do or achieve much without magic.
She disliked the fact that Harry and Hermione had both gone back to school and actually finished college, seeing the idea as a waste of time despite the number of things the non-magicals had come up with that were simply better than anything the magicals had.
Harry had actually gotten a mastery in Education from Cambridge, as Hermione had in science. Harry wanted to be a teacher, possibly at Hogwarts, to teach the new generation how to defend themselves and about the non-magical world. Ginny just didn't understand that, since he could have made a lot more as an Auror, or just skive by on his family's money.
Ginny had nixed the idea of having muggle things like 'ekilticity' in their house. Not wanting to have another argument with her that would no doubt have involved her shouting at him, Harry had given in on that. Instead he routinely brought Lily with him into the non-magical world, and had, with Hermione and Tonk's connivance, started to teach her about the non-magical world.
Maybe that's part of the issue. Harry paused as he stepped toward the international portkey point, stepping to one side to avoid being run into by the man behind him with a speed that took the man by surprise though he still hurried forward to take his place in queue. Is Ginny jealous of the time I spend around Tonks and Hermione? Bloody hell, I never accuse her of anything when she hangs around Seamus, Neville or Dean do I? Sheesh, I see them both as sisters, there's never been anything between Tonks and me besides a prank war, and after that kiss we tried during our date at the Yule Ball Hermione and I have never looked at one another like that.
That actually brought to Harry's mind another problem lying between him and Ginny. Harry wanted a large family, but Ginny had made her opinion on that very plain, her mother might have been a big family woman, she however wasn't. She had done her duty and supplied an heir, that was it for her.
Harry was more than willing to accede the point, after all even the best pain diluting potions couldn't do anything to make the birth process easier, not without damaging the baby. Harry was totally on board that that was Ginny's decision.
But Ginny also wasn't very… adventuresome in the bedroom. She wasn't a missionary style only kind of girl by any means, but after they had married Ginny had become increasingly less responsive to his attempts to try new things. She didn't really seem to want much foreplay these days, and the few times he had tried to initiate 'a romantic moment' out of the bedroom she had shot him down and even called him a deviant for doing so. I made certain Lily Luna wasn't home, wasn't that enough?
Still, Harry had to admit that aspect of their relationship was his fault, or rather his condition's fault. As a werewolf Harry had stamina to spare: he could go on for an entire night without really resting. Those bodice rippers Tonks hid in Grimauld at least had that part of it right. Ginny, while quite lusty herself, also finished very quickly, and became increasingly irritable the more Harry tried to continue after she was finished.
We married too early, that's the problem. We didn't date long enough, didn't really get to know one another. We should have lived together for a few years, got to know one another. Now after a little bit under seven years the glow's gone, and all we're both seeing are the warts.
Shaking his head to banish his marital woes from his mind, Harry took the portkey, a small steel bracelet this time, and was suddenly back in Britain's Ministerial building, nearly falling as he always did. Why am I still bloody bothered by every kind of magical transportation there is, seriously!? Quickly recovering Harry made his way out of the building as fast as possible, unwilling to be roped into any more publicity stunts or talks with any of the high muckities who thought they were so important here.
Moments later Harry had barely opened the gates to the Rookery's front yard when he was hit by a small red-haired missile which thumped into his legs. "Daddy, you're back!"
Laughing happily Harry leaned down picking up his daughter in his hands and hugging her tightly as he nuzzled into her cheek. "Hey Red Moon," he said, his voice gentle and full of love. "How are you doing today? Have you been a good girl for Luna?"
"Of course daddy!" Lily leaned back, trying to look down her pert little nose at him. "As if I'm ever anything else."
Lily Luna Potter was a fit, athletic little seven year old, with a face that was a mix of her mother's and her father's. She had the same emerald eyes Harry had gotten from his mother, which sat above her mother's dimples and a smattering of freckles along with Harry's jaw. Her hair was darker than her mother's by quite a ways, showing her paternal grandmother's genes mixing with the Weasley ginger.
At seven years of age Lily was a precocious little girl, quite a bit more intelligent than her age would lead most people to expect which Harry supposed was another thing she got from his mother. She also had an ever-increasing vocabulary thanks to Hermione gleefully helping the girl along. Luna helped too, as did Harry of course. He actually spoiled Lily rotten according to Ginny, but Harry couldn't find it in himself to care. If Lily was going to be his only child she would damn well be spoiled rotten thank you!
Behind his daughter Harry could see Luna coming down the walkway with Rolf, both of them smiling in welcome. Rolf Scamander was a large well-muscled young man whose view of the world fit Luna's like a glove. The two of them spent most of their time traveling the world looking for the mythical creatures Scamander put in his books, hence why Lily had wanted to spend the days Harry was gone with the two of them. Harry couldn't say he was close to Rolf, despite having spent several years at Hogwarts with him since Rolf had been a Hufflepuff and Harry's interactions with that house were a little stormy to say the least.
But he was good for Luna, and that made him alright in Harry's book. He clasped the other young man's arm firmly then looked at Luna. "Has she been good?" he asked, now nuzzling into his daughter's hair and making no move to let her down, which she seemed quite happy about.
"Quite good. She only changed all of the colors in her room to green and blue once this trip.. Oh, and she scared my father when she had a bit of accidental magic outside his office. His hair might never be the same again." Luna supplied, giggling even as she spoke.
"I think we have a different definition of good Luna," Harry replied.
At that Lily looked away pouting. "He shouldn't have been ignoring me," she muttered.
"Red Moon what've I told you about accidental magic like that.…" Harry said warningly, leaning away from their hug to look her in the eyes.
"That it isn't accidental, and that I should know to control myself," Lily over parroted, before scowling. "So, no ice cream?"
"Tell you what," Harry said leaning forward to rub noses with her. "How about we go over and pick up your mother first and then we'll go out for ice cream as a family. I did after all just receive my defense mastery so we do have a reason to celebrate, even if you haven't earned a reward…"
"Okay!" Lily said with a grin. After all, ice cream was ice cream, regardless of the reason.
Both Potters missed the small frown coming over Luna's face, her eyes going a little silver for a moment before she shook her head. "That sounds like an excellent idea. I wish we could go with you, but Rolf and I still need to pack for our trip later today."