On the third of January, Harry returned to King's Cross station accompanied by Remus. His parents had once again been unable to accompany him, as Brian had become "sick" that morning, not that Harry cared. Since Christmas morning, his brother had put on the same act two or three times. Since he was unable to take away the gifts he had received for Christmas, he planned to take away his parents... something that would have worked if it weren't for the fact that it was nothing new.
His heart was lighter than when he had last been there, and it showed on his face. As he walked along the platform he greeted his different classmates who all seemed happy for the time spent at home, and at the same time happy to return to school. Much more cheerful than was usual for him, he boarded the train after saying goodbye to Remus, to go find one of his friends, if any had already arrived.
"Harry!"
The little boy turned around at the same time and smiled when he saw Athenea and Jonathan coming towards him, also with happy expressions.
"Athenea, Jonathan… How was your vacation?"
"Very good." The girl responded as she took him by the hand. "It was very nice to be able to see my parents and my little brothers, although I missed you. By the way, thank you for the bracelet… it is very pretty and a great detail."
"It's nothing..." The blushing boy murmured.
"Of course it is." Jonathan stated. "I loved the magical paintings that you gave me."
Both Hufflepuffs began to drag the boy down the train aisle to one of the last compartments, where they already had their respective trunks and luggage. Harry was so embarrassed that he allowed himself to be done without any comment. Once inside the compartment, the other two Hufflepuffs began to ask him questions about his holiday, as well as if he had liked his gifts and what the others' gifts had been.
"Here you are, I've been looking for you all over the train." The familiar voice of Draco Malfoy snuck in through the compartment entrance and there, leaning against the door was the first-year Slytherin. "I hope you had a good holiday."
"I say the same thing," the others answered while the blonde made himself comfortable.
"Thanks for the potions set, Harry, I'm looking forward to using it."
"I'm glad you liked it."
"Like it? I loved it!" He exclaimed. "Did you like my gift? By the way, where is it?"
"Yes, Draco, I liked my gift... And it's here."
Harry stood up for a moment and reached for a wicker basket, from where after opening the door, a black kitten emerged and after stretching, began to demand his master's attention.
"A kitten!" Athenea exclaimed. "How cute! What's it called?"
"I have named it 'night.' " Answered the owner of the animal.
"Nice name." Terry's voice answered from the door.
There, at the entrance, were Terry, Neville, and Hermione, apparently they had met when they were going to take the train and had decided to look for it together, arriving in time for the debut of the dark-haired boy's newly acquired pet. Without saying anything else they entered the compartment and began to explain how their Christmas had gone, each one different and yet, all similar.
That night, already at Hogwarts, Harry was called to his head of house's office to talk about how the remainder of the school year was going to happen, or in other words, what his classes were going to be like from now on. It wasn't that it was very different from how he had already imagined, he would have the same type of schedule as during the previous term except that now instead of going with the First-years and taking the first-year syllabus, it would be with the second year.
"I know it will be difficult to catch up with the rest of your course, but I have faith in what you will achieve." Professor Sprout told him, just before saying goodbye.
The second-year classes were not much more complicated than the first-year classes either. It was found that he learned very easily both what the rest of the course did during the regular classes and also what he was taught in the intensive classes where he learned what the rest of the group was supposed to have already learned.
"It's amazing, Headmaster. I think that the second year is not adapted to his abilities either..." McGonagall explained during the meeting of the second week of the term.
"Do you want to tell me, Minerva, that second-year material does not represent a challenge for him either?" Asked the skeptical Headmaster.
"Exactly, headmaster," Snape said. "Currently, Mr. Potter has already caught up with the rest of his classmates in my class and is without a doubt the best student. The subject taught does not pose any challenge for him."
"So, I think I'm not wrong when I assume that you want to prepare him to move on to the third year. Is that right?"
"No, you're not wrong, Headmaster. A talent like that boy only appears once in a lifetime... if his level of learning continues like this... can you imagine how far he could go?" Professor Flitwick entered the conversation. "Honestly, I don't understand why he didn't end up in Ravenclaw."
"Who knows what criteria the sorting hat uses to decide how to classify students," Dumbledore said with a sigh.
" So what do you say?"
"Very well... if he accepts, go ahead."
Honestly speaking, the headmaster expected the boy to refuse to follow such a pace of learning, and surely if it were any other student he would be right, but he had no knowledge of Harry. Despite everything he could say, he didn't like that the boy was turning out to be this skilled and powerful. He didn't like it at all that he had those abilities, because he had no control over him. For years, he had made sure he had Brian and his parents in the palm of his hand, but he had never bothered with Harry, as his parents claimed he was just a simple squib.
Of course, and to the Headmaster's displeasure, Harry was delighted at the idea of being able to learn more in less time and did not hesitate to accept the offer offered to him again. He had faith that he would do well because although he knew it was much more complicated, he had managed to complete the first year in just three months. If he tried hard, perhaps it would be possible for him to repeat the feat.
[T/N, Oh god a greater good Albus...]
He was so happy that he wrote a letter to Remus, so good a point came to his room, where he was spending all his time lately and where Night had practically made her home, since it was where she spent practically all her time.
Night had turned out to be an adorable little thing, almost everyone seemed attracted to the little kitten, who seemed to have an atypical character for a feline. He hated the attention of everyone except that of his master and with very few exceptions (who turned out to be Harry and Remus's friends), as soon as he saw Mrs. Norris, he used to run away as if the devil was chasing him and seemed to get away with it. Yes, his kitten was really atypical.
Perhaps what he liked most about Night was the obvious contempt he felt for his brother. It had been very funny when Brian had tried to snatch it away using an affectionate tactic and he had reacted by clawing at it with all his might. After that, the little feline had had quite a few "accidents" from which he had been unharmed thanks to the protective spell that the boy had placed on him as soon as he received him from Draco.
[T/N, what kind of d*ck tries to maim a cat?!?!!?]
The response to Remus's letter came at breakfast the next day, while Harry was quietly enjoying his toast, pumpkin juice, and bacon. Wolfy, the werewolf's owl (and named by his godfather as some kind of joke) handed him a rather long-looking letter.
"Who is it from?" Jonathan asked, looking up from his own email. "From Remus?"
"Yeah."
"And what did he say to you?" Athenea then asked.
"Well..." Harry said, looking up. "He congratulates me because the Professors are going to try to advance me another year."
There was a brief moment of silence from their two Hufflepuff friends before they could finish processing the information that had just reached them, and then they both exclaimed at the same time.
"THAT? When were you thinking of telling us?"
"Mmm... now?" Harry answered timidly.
"You're a lost cause, Harry" Athenea said with a resigned sigh. "Well, in any case, congratulations... The truth is that I shouldn't be surprised."
"Nor to me." Jonathan stated. "You have an ease and understanding of magic, much greater than that of most Ravenclaws and even though they are brainiacs. By the way, let's see if you stop disappearing so often, I still want to make that portrait of you with the paintings you gave me for Christmas, and for that, you have to be in the Common Room for some time."
"I'm embarrassed that you want to take a portrait of me!"
"Well, bad luck, because it's not open to discussion! Also, I have done one for Athenea and she hasn't died, or anything like that."
Harry sighed before thoughtfully returning to his breakfast, Remus knew that they were going to try to advance him another grade because he had told him so, but his family would surely also know from school... it was to be hoped that his parents hadn't gotten in touch. He contacted him to congratulate him, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. It was best not to think about it, and therefore focus on other things, such as studying the Wolfbane.
A couple of days ago, and more than anything by chance, He had found a book in which it told him about said potion and also described the recipe. It had been quite a discovery, honestly, because being such a new potion (it had only been discovered for four years) the books in his library, inside his room, never mentioned it. Thus, the possibility had just been opened to him, not only to prepare it, but also to study it and try to improve it.
For the moment, he had started by looking for the different ingredients, some of which were quite specific and obviously not belonging to the usual ones in common use. Some, like Opalaye flake powder, were not only difficult to find but also expensive. He was lucky to have such a good and equipped laboratory, because if not, he wouldn't know how he could carry out all his experiments.
If someone had told him, he wouldn't have hesitated to believe them when they told him it was a complicated potion, but now that he could see it for himself, he still marveled not only at how complex it was, but also at how magnificently structured and studied it was. Obviously, the person who had created it had been someone who had been very close to a werewolf himself, since he knew things and details that logically can only be learned by living with one.
"Harry…Harry! Can you tell me what you're thinking about?" It was Athenea who brought him out of his reflections.
"Ohhh… in potions."
"Well look here, that's the class you'll be late for if you don't stop daydreaming and start going there."
"Oh, thank you, Athenea."
After that, and still thinking about the potion, Harry bolted towards the potions classroom, where the rest of the second-year Hufflepuffs would have two hours of studies with Professor Snape. Of course, for the moment and surely throughout the course, he would not do the same as his classmates, whether because he was behind or more advanced.
He sighed happily as he entered the classroom and sat down at what he now considered his own work table, where Professor Snape could keep a better eye on him. At that moment he was enthusiastic, potions was one of the subjects he liked the most. It was a truly fascinating idea to be able to do so many things with a single potion, combining the ingredients in a certain order and shape, to achieve, for example, cure different burns or other body ailments. It's a shame that the professor was always watching him so closely because of his illness, one that usually left him quite alone.
"Mr. Potter, today you will make me a potion to cure colds, the pepperup potion."
"Yes sir."
Another thing he liked about the course was the Professor. He knew that for the vast majority, it caused panic (Neville turned pale just hearing his name ) but for him the only thing it provoked in itself was admiration. He knew that Snape was one of the great potions masters in Europe, and being taught by him was an honor. Of course, he also had to admit that he used to behave very differently with him than with the rest of the students (except Slytherin, of course) since he, to Remus's bewilderment, used to treat him with respect.
Brewing potions had always relaxed and calmed him, and his actions could be said to be almost automatic. For that reason, it could be said that it was practically a new meditation.
Meditation. An activity that he had been doing for months in order to better understand his own power and that had really helped him a lot. He had already been thinking about it for months. If meditation was so good for knowing and expanding your own power... why wasn't it taught or enhanced at Hogwarts? It would be great if it were explained to them or turned into a class for first years, that way they would have a better idea of their power and potential, avoiding the many accidents due to lack of control.
Thanks to meditation, he had learned many of his abilities, many of which would have taken many years to discover. Although the truth was told, he had been restless for several days during his meditations. There was a strange feeling of uneasiness and nervousness within him, as if something magnificent and extraordinary was about to happen... Although what? It represented quite a mystery, but one that would have no resolution until it passed, and for it to really not happen, he would have to stop meditating, something he was not willing to sacrifice, there were too many benefits to lose.
"Mr. Potter, I think you would have to add the chopped lumina root now, if I'm not mistaken," Snape said, breaking him out of his reflections.
"Of course, sir." He responded by adding the corresponding ingredient.
The rest of the class remained attentive to their potion, if it hadn't been for Snape, the potion would have been ruined and would have been useless, the lumina root, if it was not introduced at the exact moment, meant that you could not repair the potion no matter what you did.
"You were quite distracted, Mr. Potter. Has something happened to you?" Snape said worriedly when he handed over his potion.
"No sir, I was just thinking."
"Can I know what?"
"I was wondering why it wasn't a course, albeit a brief one, on meditation techniques. There are many branches of magic that are easier and more accessible if practiced assiduously."
"Ahhh... I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, but that's something I don't know." Snape responded. "I've asked myself that question several times. About thirty years ago, meditation was one of the subjects taught to first-year students, but about twenty-five or twenty-six years ago, it was removed from the program. Even now the motivation of Headmaster Dippet, who was the one who did it, is not known."
"Ohh... Thank you for the answer, sir." The boy said after a while of assimilating the information, after which he picked up and left the classroom.
[T/N, That wasn't so bad though the cat's name sucked, super cringe. If you like this chapter then leave a comment and drop me some stones, if you don't then perform a hate act against me. Also please review and join the P@treon, were at Chapter 25 over there.]
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