Harry's POV
Harry ran down the tunnel and stopped at the exit. He prodded the knot and then ran before the tree unfroze. Since it was a weekday, everyone was in class and no one saw him. He skirted Hagrid's hut and went to the castle. In the Entrance Hall, he stopped and looked around for the first time. He did have to say he was captivated over the fact that they have kept this building standing for over a thousand years, or so Hermione told him. It must be magic.
He did wonder about the wards, and how they operated. He could feel them and could probably replicate them, but were they tied to a stone or to the magic of the students and staff? He was going to have to do a bit of research, because if he could figure out how they were anchored, then he wouldn't have to tie them to himself, which would be a mite draining.
He didn't know much about magic but when his dome flared he did feel the pull. He made a mental note to have the flare become brief and heard a very tiny voice say, 'Make it so,' which made his eye twitch.
A large bell toned, letting the children know that class was over. Suddenly the empty hall was filled with noise. Harry moved off to the side and waited for someone he knew to come along. He watched the students file into the Great Hall and wondered if he had known any of them.
Most of them stayed away from him, some with fearful looks, and others with looks of contempt. There were only a few that had thoughtful or pitied expressions on their faces. Every now and then, a person would call his name and wave.
Harry nodded his head to the friendly ones, tried to give a reassuring smile to the frightened ones, and flipped off the others, who either gasped at him and then scuttled away, or sneered and returned the favor. He had to wonder if this was the type of treatment he always got.
He was supposed to be famous, did all celebrity types get this kind of scorn? Sure, he got entered into that stupid tournament, but from what Hermione had told him he had saved the lives of many of these people. He remembered that they thought he was a liar and a cheat, but damn it certainly made him feel less inclined to save anyone again. 'Tabloids. Right, famous people are always being torn down. Well, I'll just have to keep out of the limelight. I have enough to worry about without this shite,' he thought as he looked for the girls.
As he stood there waiting, he was approached by three adults. He groaned, not wanting to face this trio right now. Didn't they have paperwork to do or something? He was going to have to add a proximity alert to his map to warn him when the adults come in to range.
As if he ordered it, there was a warning bell clanging in his head, and the three dots on his map turned red and had a red circle around them. He canceled the noise but made note of it for future reference.
"Mr. Potter, why were you not in class?" McGonagall asked primly as she peered over her reading glasses.
"I am ill, remember? Until I get my memory back, your classes are a waste of my time," he stated just a primly and pulled his glasses down to mimic her, causing her to narrow her eyes and open her mouth to reprimand him.
"Excuse me?" she started to rant. Never had she been so disrespected. Students were to listen and do as they were told. How would they learn if they rebelled? It was her job to make sure they were prepared for the world out there. She would put the poor boy in his place, if only to get him ready for what was to come. "You will…"
"Harry, my boy," Dumbledore said, interrupting whatever his Transfiguration Teacher was going to say, "I will ask that you respect the adults in this castle," he chastised with that damn twinkle in his eyes.
"Stay out of my mind, old man," Harry warned as sirens in his head went off and the words 'Yellow Alert, Shields up' resounded throughout. It was weird, and he wondered if he was going a bit insane, hearing voices in there.
"I assure you I do not intend to enter your mind again. I found there was little I could do to help. Back to the matter at hand, you must attend classes," Dumbledore said in his teacher's voice. "You will not be able to obtain work if you do not receive your OWLs and NEWTS."
"No," was the succinct answer.
"However will you find employment when you leave these hallowed halls?"
"I'm sure I can figure it out, or I believe that I can catch up and take the tests on my own time," Harry said with a negligent wave.
"Then what will you be doing with your time, pray tell?" Snape drawled as he looked over the child to see if there was any indication that he was retaining his memory. He was already in a sour mood from having to coddle the dunderheads in his class. Now he had to pretend that he… cared about the savior.
The teen shrugged and said, "I thought I'd study in the library. I mean, it should have the younger year books, right? So, I'll just look up stuff and see how much I can remember or retain."
"You did not sleep in your bed last night. Why were you on the couch when I did my bed count?" his Head of House asked. She had thought to wake the boy and make him go to his bed but decided to find out the reason he was there in the first place. She had heard that he and the youngest Weasley boy were on the outs, and she speculated on just how far they had separated.
"Right, thanks for reminding me, Headmaster I need you to get the police and a lawyer here soon. I still have to tell them about my amnesia and now I have to report an attempted theft of my belongings, including a family heirloom," Harry said, ignoring the initial question.
"I am sure that Mr. Weasley was simply protecting your items from true pilfering. There is no need to involve the DMLE," Albus stated grandfatherly as he reached to pat Harry on the back.
"Don't fucking touch me, arsehole," the boy snarled as he golden doom flew up, which fell as soon as the man dropped his hand. He was so pissed that the man had the nerve to try and be friendly with him that he didn't even ask how the Headmaster knew who he was talking about. He would soon find out that Hogwarts' rumor mill was very fast, and very little was left private.
"Yes, I can see that you are still quite peeved with me," the old man said a bit sadly, but already going over ways to get the boy to see that he, Albus Dumbledore, was a great man who did not need to be despised so. "Nevertheless, I will let you be excused from classes until you have caught up with self-study. However, you must rest in your assigned bed," he added firmly. Those two must regain their friendship, it was imperative that Harry be surrounded by Light people. He was slipping far into the Grey right before everyone's eyes, and there was little he, Albus, could do about it.
"It will be over his mutilated body that that happens," Harry warned with a sneer and narrow eyes, making everyone who heard gasp at the threat.
This also caused the Supreme Mugwump to cringe internally that his thoughts were seen true. "Nonsense, my boy, where else would you sleep?" he asked, not showing his inner turmoil.
"I'll have one of the house elves make up one of the empty guest rooms for me," the boy hero shrugged as if it were obvious.
"This is not a hotel, Mr. Potter," Snape snapped at the gall of the teen.
"Great, I'll just be leaving then," Harry said jovially and then turned to do just that.
"You are still entered in the Tri-wizard Tournament, and you still have Voldemort to contend with," the old man said quickly, hoping to dissuade the boy from going.