The next day, Harry woke up earlier than the rest of his dormmates. This did not surprise him anymore, after one week you could learn many things about the people you share the room with. And he had to be honest, what he learned was not really encouraging.
Ron had some issues with his self-esteem, being in the mindset that he had to do more than his already great brothers, the oldest was the head boy and the second oldest was a star Quidditch player here in school. And that was before he began to work in a dragon preserve. Because of this, Ron was an attention seeker, but did not see how his lazy work ethic were counterproductive to his goal to, at least, be as good as his oldest brothers. If he would at least do his homework in time, that would not be an issue with Harry. But until now, Ron had not even begun, and he was certain that he or Hermione would be asked to help him.
Seamus and Dean were both alright, but they were influenced by Ron. At least they had done their homework for the most part. Harry could see the potential they had if they got their act together and studied for real.
Neville, on the other hand, had as good as no self-esteem, thinking he was a poor wizard as he could not even do the simplest spells they learned until now. That made Neville a target for bullying, especially from Malfoy, who Harry now lost no faith in him changing his behavior around his classmates any time soon. Even after Malfoy's sound defeat on the obstacle course, he still bragged about how he was the better wizard. Back to Neville, Harry could not explain it but somehow he felt an odd sensation when Neville began to cast a spell. Like his magic was somehow dammed. He needed to ask Professor McGonagall about this, as it may be because his wand had a defect. But until then, he needed to support him so Neville will be more confident.
But now Harry decided to shower and then take his schoolbooks and homework together with the projector matrix for Callie to the library for some self-studying. On a Sunday the breakfast was not obligatory, so he decided not to go to the Great Hall for it. He was sure that he would be the only one in the library by this time of day, so he was surprised when he saw some older students as well as some of his year mates also there, reading books and studying. So, he was not the only one with this idea. A bit disappointed that he could not place the matrix on the table and talk with Callie, he looked for a place to sit down and begin to learn.
He soon found a small corner out of sight with some comfortable seats and a small table in front of it, Harry surmised that some students almost lived here. As no one was already sitting here, he pulled out one the chairs and took his books out of his bag. As he finished his assignment for potions, he heard someone coming closer to his table.
"Excuse me, are those seats taken?"
He looked up and the first thing he noticed was her blonde hair and blue eyes, a small nose in the middle of her pale face and small lips. The second thing he noticed was that she wore the colors of Slytherin. "I don't mind you sitting here. But I would have thought that all Slytherin hated us Gryffindors; glad that this assumption was incorrect. My name is Harry Potter, nice to meet you."
"Daphne Greengrass, nice to meet you too Harry. Oh, can I call you that?"
"Of course you can, after all we are in the same year. The only ones who call me Potter are Malfoy and Snape. Then again I never gave Malfoy leave to address me so personally." Harry answered and just shrugged.
Daphne relaxed and sat in the opposite seat from Harry. "Thank you, Harry. And just so you know, not every Slytherin hates the other Houses just because they should. Word is that some seventh-year students dating others from different Houses. Oh, I see you are on the essay from Professor Snape. If you need help, I have mine already finished."
"Thank you for the offer, but I was just finishing it myself. But I promised my foster parents that I would do as much as I could on my own. So, I want at least to try to hold up that promise. But I have the slight suspicion that I will come back sooner than later for to the offer."
Harry was fighting the urge to laugh as he heard Callie solemnly agreed. "I know! I was told specifically not to help you with your homework, even if I want to write my own essays. Do you think Doctor Halsey would mind if I wrote essays just so she can read what is going on in your classes? I'm sure I'll get an A!"
Soon after Harry and Daphne began their respective studies, but eventually Hermione found their table and asked to join them. "Of course you can join us Hermione. I hope you don't mind that Daphne will be studying with us?"
Hermione shook her head and smiled to Daphne, getting a small smile from her too. Hermione then proceeded with taking out her books and a list with which books she could read for the subject she would be studying. Hermione decided explained to Daphne why she was not outright prejudice because Daphne was a Slytherin. "I have nothing against any Houses in this school, after all every Human being is different and just to judge one only based on where he or she came sorted is just wrong. A little rivalry can be accepted however, so I still try to be the one with the best grades in our year. But I am curious, why aren't you with your Housemates Daphne? Did something happened?" Hermione asked the blond girl, seeing that she shook her head.
"Nothing this extreme what you may think, they are just still asleep. And I was bored, so I thought I might as well study a bit before they all woke up. Erm Harry, I am sure that this herb is not an ingredient for this potion." Daphne pointed down on Harry's essay, letting Hermione also see the perceived mistake. Harry chuckled at that.
"Ah, yes you are right Daphne, this is indeed not the standard ingredient for the potion, but this herb has the same properties as the one used in the potion, with none of the drawbacks,it can even accelerate the process of brewing the potion itself, as you don't have to counteract said drawbacks. And for you information, this is after the obligatory length of the essay, mentioned as an afterthought for Professor Snape. I even wrote further down that it he should not see this as an insult to his teachings, as they had to be regulated from the governors of the school, but to see if I would be correct as I read about this ingredient in another book, that had the same effects as the one we should have used. It is this book, to be honest." He took out the book from herbology class. He opened it then by the bookmark to show them the text about this herb he wrote as an alternative to the standard recipe.
Hermione almost snatched the book to herself, but remembering just in time she also had it in her bag and opened it on the same page, so she could make notes while the other two were talking. She had to be honest with herself, Harry was right in some respect. Maybe he learned a bit more than he led on while he grew up. She would ask Harry later how much he learned in this Kear Mohen he mentioned before.
They were sitting in the library for a while until they felt hungry, noticing that it was time for lunch. They agreed that the Great Hall was the place they would be going now. On the way they talked about how the first week of school was for them. To Harry's surprise the girls both liked the physical education class yesterday, but they would not go as often as he wanted to go, maybe once a month if they felt like it. Harry made an offhand comment that if they really wanted to challenge themselves, they should run the course during winter. Both girls glanced at each other with a grimace at the idea of working out in the cold of Scottish winter.
Hermione frowned at the idea of running the obstacle course in winter, "Isn't that a bit dangerous, icing on the bars? Even the snow would have you tripping."
Harry smirked at Hermione having a simple counter to her argument, "Ah but you forget Hermione, we have magic, don't we?"
When they arrived in the Great Hall, they said goodbye to each other and walked over to their respective House tables for lunch. They found Neville sitting there already, covered in dirt, and smiling. On Harry's questioning he told Harry that he was the whole morning in the greenhouses helping Professor Sprout, much to her pleasure. As they ate and told each other what they did that morning, Ron was coming into the Great Hall still looking asleep. He sat down next to them, getting his pet rat out.
Hermione made a disgusted face when she saw Ron's rat on the table. "Must you bring that rat to lunch? Have you no common decency?"
Ron shrugged. "Scappers woke me up, normally I would sleep a bit more on a Sundays. Scabbers must be hungry." He told them as he also was taking some food on his plate. What confused Harry was that his medallion from Geralt was again vibrating when he was close to this rat. Something had to be special about this seemingly ordinary garden rat. Maybe he could investigate it on a later date.
"Ron, I think we told you that a rat on the table is gross. Can you not just give him something on the floor?" Hermione was still a bit miffed about a Rat eating with them.
"And I told you that he always has eaten with us on the table since Percy found him. So, he is just used to it." Ron answered her, a bit angry that she was still going on about it. "How about you just keep it to yourself and look at your own business."
Harry was a bit miffed about how Ron treated Hermione. He would almost swear that he had the same mindset then Malfoy, seeing her inferior because her parents were muggles. When he thought about it, the Goblins from Gringotts had make him a lineage test with his blood to verify his ancestry. He had the feeling that Hermione had a surprise for everyone if she would take one too. Maybe he would suggest it to her to take one with her parents. But that was a long time away, as the schoolyear just started.
Harry soon noticed, thanks to Callie and her sensors, that John had arrived for lunch, being accompanied with someone he did not know. He asked Callie who the stranger was, only to be said that she had to ask Cortana as her data bank was not updated today. Maybe he was the reason John had to go into the forest last night, but she wanted to be sure. What Harry noticed by himself though was that this person almost moved the same as John did, even as John was like a head bigger than him. There was a precision to every movement that wasn't naturally human. But unlike John he sat down at the head of one table and was looking down the plate in wonder, in contrast to John, who sat by the teachers and just took some food on his plate. As he saw that, he also just took some food he liked and began to eat his share.
Harry asked Callie to relay to Cortana if John was free after lunch to talk about in private. Needing to be discrete about their meeting Cortana suggested Harry should drop off his bookbag in his dorm and discretely leave Gryffindor tower. Callie would then guide Harry to John's office for their private meeting.
After the Harry and his friends finished their lunch, they headed back to Gryffindor tower to relax for the day. After Harry dropped off his bag onto his bed he returned to the common room where Ron asked if he'd want to play a game of chess. Harry politely declined saying he needed to stretch his legs after working in the library with Hermione all morning. He told them he was going to walk around the castle and explore a bit to burn off his energy. Harry saw that Lavender and Parvati had distracted Hermione, so he made his discrete exit out of the common room.
Callie provided the navpoints for the quickest way down to John's office on the third floor. Arriving at his door Callie assured him that nobody was watching and Harry quietly knocked on the door. Hearing a John's voice giving him permission to enter Harry stepped into a room that reminded him of Doctor Halsey's lab in Kear Morhen. Harry paused seeing the newcomer from lunch and politely nodded. "I'm guessing your Spartan friend was the reason you were in the Forbidden Forest last night." Harry looked at John questionly.
Michael raised an eyebrow in surprise at the boy's keen perception. Cortana had spent the morning briefing him and Dot the reason why she and John were relegated to a school of magical children. Harry Potter was that main reason. Michael had to wonder what was so special about this boy and offered an introduction. "Yes, my name is Michael and my AI partner is Auntie Dot. Sadly, I can't go into detail of how I arrived outside the castle, you understand, I think?"
Harry nodded. He knew he was not cleared to know everything about John but at the same time this meeting was not about Michael's arrival, but something personal to Harry himself. Harry took the offered seat by John's desk and sat down with a sigh.
Harry traded a look at John, who was watching him expectantly, and Cortana who had a shrewd idea of what this meeting was about. "So, whose idea was it to keep me in the dark about my 'fame'" Harry used the air quotes when he was referring to his unwanted, in his opinion, fame.
Cortana chuckled knowing this conversation was long overdue. "It wasn't about keeping you in the dark, Harry. We, that is Yen, Doctor Halsey, Professor McGonagall and myself, all agreed that you didn't need this fame coloring your perception of the wizarding world. So, what book did your mini-Halsey give you that talked about it?" Cortana teased Harry knowing how similar Hermione was to her creator.
Harry smiled and shook his head at the joke that was a clear reference to Hermione, but kept on topic. "The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. Honestly part of that book spends more time speculating facts than presenting actual facts. Although it does help me understand why people freak out whenever I say Voldemort's name." Harry frowned as he thought about the meaning of the name for a moment. "Do people even know it means 'flight from death'? Granted that's French but it sounds, I guess, made up."
Cortana nodded emphatically. "Because it is made up. Dumbledore knows his real name but wants us to discover it on our own. He's weird that way, I suppose. Anyway, Voldemort fashioned himself a name that would be feared. And he succeeded using the Taboo. Based on my research, even his Death Eaters are afraid of hearing his name. But you won't hear them call him You-Know-Who. Instead, they settle for Dark Lord." Cortana shrugged. "Believe me, it wasn't easy getting any research on the history of the war, but I was able to piece together some basic facts. But you're not here about the facts. So what's the problem, Harry?"
Harry groaned. "The problem is people think I'm a hero just because I survived! How stupid is that? They don't even recognize my mother who stood against him until her death."
John sighed as he understood where Harry was coming from. Spartans were seen as a symbol of hope in the war with the Covenant. John himself has aquired quite the hero status that came with a small bit of anonymity because few people knew his name let alone seen his face. "Harry, the magical world needed a symbol to rally behind. Just like the UNSC used Spartans as their symbol to rally against the Covenant. If there was no Spartans do you think humanity would have a fighting chance? Just like with you, the wizarding world here in Britain was on brink of falling into Voldemort's iron grip until you, or rather your mother stopped him. Your story is just like a Spartan, we do the impossible."
Harry paused as he processed John's words. Harry knew John was not much for speaking but when he had to say something people should listen. Cortana's teasing voice brought his attention back on her with a glare.
Cortana grinned as she read a report from Callie. "Speaking of impossible you sure don't do It by half. You have to be the first Gryffindor to openly befriend a Slytherin in the first week. Do you know how rare that is?" Cortana's plan to lighten the heavy topic worked as it got Harry out of his dark mood.
Callie's did raise a valid point that only he could hear. "Look at it this way Harry, Daphne Greengrass doesn't subscribe to the Boy Who Lived belief and sees you simply as Harry like Hermione."
Harry thought quickly to move the topic away from him and looked over at Michael. "So erm, you staying here in Hogwarts?"
Harry thanked John and Cortana for giving him the time to listen and waved his goodbye before his friends started looking for him.
This routine kept up for almost a month, during the week the students would have their classes and do their homework, in case of Ron always at the last minute, on the weekends Harry would train either with John or with Oliver for his first Quidditch game. What was a little surprise for everyone was that in the third Potions class Snape took Harry aside afterwards, as he wanted to tell him that his essay was satisfactory and he was on the right path, but this herb had some properties for that potion that was unwanted and the reason why it was not used. These properties were never written down into any schoolbook, so he suggested some extra reading material. Snape even handed him a book with the remark he would like to get it back the next day. So, Harry had Callie scan every page of it to view later.
Sooner than anyone thought, Halloween rolled around and was highly anticipated. For Harry though, it was also a time of grief, as it was the day his parents died. He always stayed alone since he knew what happened. He never told the others, so they tried to convince him to come to the feast at least. Ron was getting a bit on his nerves, especially after he badmouthed Hermione. She helped him in Charms, as were learning the levitation charm on a feather and Ron just couldn't do it right. It was obvious that he did not even try it hard enough and that his pronunciation of the incantation was wrong, which Hermione told him how to say it correctly. Ron then told her that she should show him if she could do it better. And she did just that, even letting it fly away from Harry's feather as it chased it down the room. This impromptu race gave them both some House points from an amused Professor Flitwick and some applause from the other students.
As they left the classroom after the class, Ron told everyone in earshot that Hermione was just a know-it-all and that she should just keep it to herself. Of course, Hermione heard that too and ran with tears in her eyes. Harry just glared at Ron in anger and had Callie track Hermione just in case. Hermione did not come for the classes afterwards, which showed that Ron had hurt her badly. And now Ron acted like nothing happened and tried to convince Harry to come to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. But Harry just shook his head and walked off, Harry hoped that Ron would learn his lesson soon.
Harry decided to go look for Hermione but Parvati and Lavender, as they grew close to Hermione and even called her a friend, decided to join him. The two girls were also angry with Ron, as they also could see that he did not really gave the effort necessary to learn.
On their way to a girl's bathroom, where someone heard a girl crying inside of it and Callie told Harry that's where Hermione was, they met John and Michael, which Dumbledore told everyone some weeks prior that he was here to help John as security. The "official" story was that he was John's brother, Michael Wulf, but thanks to Callie Harry knew the truth as far he was allowed. The three students told them that they were searching for Hermione, to which both men nodded and told them that they would let the teachers know where they are.
"Was it just me or did Mr. Wulf carry something on his hip? What was that?" Lavender asked aloud, getting Harry's attention. She was right, Michael had his pistol on his hip as it seemed that he was still not sure if the castle was safe. Harry thought it was a small miracle that Michael was not in his armor.
Parvati offered her opinion to Lavender's observation. "Maybe it is his wand holster? I heard that some Aurors carried it this way as it would be faster for them to draw it. But it looked different." Harry thought Parvati had some good eye as she noticed the shape of Michael's sidearm.
Soon they stood before the bathroom, where Hermione was still crying. The door to it was in a corner between two corridors where the paths met in a 90-degree angle. Lavender and Parvati where now inside, trying to calm her down when Harry smelled something really awful nearby, so he looked around if someone had placed a stink bomb that exploded after a set time, when Callie almost screamed inside his head. "HARRY! WATCH OUT" she pointed to his left, where he saw a mountain troll swinging his club down on him. Harry could just evade it in time as it hit the ground where it made a mighty boom, so Harry could at least hope that the girls heard it and stayed inside the bathroom. He was relieved as he heard the lock form the door turn, locking it from the inside. But he knew if that troll could swing his club at the door, it stood no chance in holding it back. Harry took his dagger out of his boot that he always carried with him and charged at the troll; hoping that it would distract him from the bathroom.
The troll was a bit dumb, as it was normal for his species. The troll saw the small boy running toward him, holding something small and pointy in one hand and a wooden stick in the other. The boy was no big threat, but it annoyed him like a mosquito. The troll would just swing his club at him until the boy was flat. What he did not see coming was that the boy was evading his swings, which was getting him more angrier.
Harry soon got close enough to stab his dagger into the wrist of the troll where he held his club, hoping he would drop it. The troll screamed out in pain but held on to his weapon and pulling his arm back, which pulled the dagger out of Harry's hand as it was still in the wrist of the troll. Now Harry began to panic, thinking about his options what he could do. He then remembered his wand in his other hand and began to cast the levitation charm, which had the effect of pulling the club out of the troll's hand and letting it hover over the troll's head before Harry let it fall again. It hit the troll's head with a mighty thump and knocking it out.
Harry sighed in relief as he saw the unconscious troll on the floor. He walked slowly over to it, taking his dagger out of the wrist, and cleaned it on his robes. As Harry put it back into the sheath in his boot, he heard someone running down the corridor to his left, so he looked around the corner. Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Professor Quirrell and John were running in his direction. John was in his green armor, with his helmet on and assault rifle in the ready. Harry lifted his hand automatically as to show that he was not armed.
"Harry, get over here, there is a troll set lose in the school."
"Oh, I know that. He's taking a nap over there." Harry pointed around the corner, stepping aside for John sprinting around the corner. The other teachers soon were around it too, surprised that the threat was already dealt with.
"Where are the people who did this?" Professor Snape was looking around, expecting that someone was hiding somewhere. Harry was ready to answer, as John catches his attention with his calm voice and closed fist to signal Harry to be quiet.
"Harry, can I see your dagger?" John demanded, holding his hand out. Cortana already pointed out the wound on the troll's wrist, John just wanted to know if it was really Harry who gave it that wound. Harry crouched down and pulled out the dagger, giving it to John handle first.
"Wait, you have a dagger in your boot? Why do you carry that all day?" Snape demanded an answer, as he was afraid that Harry could hurt someone.
As Harry explained to Snape why he had one always on his person, Snape calmed down just a little. Harry than told everyone present what he had done and why.
Meanwhile John had Cortana scan the blood on the dagger and compared it to the troll. As he saw that it matched, he put the dagger into a compartment of his armor, telling Harry that he would return it as soon as he cleaned it properly. Harry thanked him, now walking over to the door of the bathroom. Since it was still locked Harry knocked on the door, letting the girls inside know that it was safe. They heard the lock click from inside and the girls came out, looking around in fear.
"Is it really over? What was that, Harry?" It was then that Lavender saw the troll on the floor, letting out a gasp. "How did you defeat that?"
"I'll tell you later, but now we should go to the common room, as the other students are also there." Harry told them. As he was going over to the teachers, Cortana asked Callie via radio-waves if she recorded the fight. Callie answered her with an affirmative, sending Cortana the recording to analyze.
Professor McGonagall escorted the students to the common room, after she heard everything from Harry on what happened and giving him 10 points for his House for his bravery but reminding him that next time he may be not so lucky. Hermione was still a bit shaken, her eyes still a bit puffy and red from her crying, but she calmed down enough to thank Harry, Parvati, and Lavender that they searched for her after the classes just to make sure she was alright.
After they entered through the portrait of the Fat Lady, they were almost run over by the other Gryffindors with questions, like where they were and what happened. Harry had to stomp his foot down hard on the floor so that they at least let them sit down. Much to those four's surprise Ron came over to them and apologized to Hermione for calling her a bigmouth know it all. But Harry noticed that Fred, George, and Percy were standing a bit of to the side and watching their younger brother, as if to make sure that he really meant it. So, it was not wholly voluntary from him, but at least he did apologize.
"As much I'm grateful for that apology Ron, your words did hurt me to much as I could consider forgiving you just like that. Just give me some time and space, okay?" Hermione explained to Ron, who just nodded and was once again walking to a table to play some chess.
Percy than came over to them and explained that Professor Quirrell stormed into the Great Hall during the feast and told everybody that he saw a troll in the dungeons. After Quirrell reported the troll, he then passed out, after muttering "Thought you should know", had This revelation Harry confused. After all, Professor Quirrell should be an expert on Defense against the Dark Arts, as he teaches that subject. Harry had to admit that Quirrell's teaching was a bit dry, Harry learned more by reading the books in the library on that theme.
Meanwhile Callie was thinking, maybe she should counsel the girls in a psychological capacity or at least offer it. But how she could do that without breaching her security protocols, she did not know. That was the moment where she got a notification from Cortana and Auntie Dot, that the In Amber Clad II was back on its post and ready for the updates they compiled while she was out of range. Callie then decided to ask for permission to widen the circle of the initiated to her presence and function to four more people. If she was sure they could keep a secret, she would ask Harry to give her matrix to Hermione at least once a week for counseling until she worked through this trauma of almost losing her live.
Soon she received confirmation for doing that, but she had to make sure that those 4 people were alone when she activated her projector. She gave her affirmative answer back and notified Harry to tell the girls to wait a bit until everyone has gone to bed. For the last person, she still had to decide if it would be wise for her to show herself, but that was not immediately necessary.
A few hours later, as the others were already in bed, Harry took out the device which housed the matrix for Callie, as Hermione was looking at him with curiosity. Meanwhile Parvati and Lavender didn't know what that contraption was, as it began to glow a faint blue. They were in awe as a small woman was now standing on top of it, looking at the three girls and Harry.
"Good evening, my name is Callie, nice to meet you all." Callie waved her hand in greeting.
Hermione let out a small gasp, recognizing that this device must be a holographic projector as she has seen in a movie her father liked to watch. She put her hands over it, getting a giggle from the small woman standing on it.
"As I am sure that you wanted to be certain that no one saw me, do not worry I had already scanned the room before activating this device. Please let me introduce myself to you fully, I am the AI assistant of Harry, given to him by his foster grandaunt, a brilliant scientist. As I am a prototype, please keep my existence between yourself. Now the reason I gave Harry the notice that I would like to show myself to you is that I want you to offer some counseling regarding today's events. If you agree, Harry can give you this device once a week so we could talk with each other."
Hermione had heard only half of it, her mind spinning in circles how this was possible. But how ever she turned the facts, it all concluded that this device should not function inside of Hogwarts.
"Harry, please explain this to me once more what this means. Are you really in possession of a real artificial Intelligence?" Parvati and Lavender were now looking over to Hermione, who had her brown eyes fixed on Harry's green eyes as to watch for any sign's that this was just a dream of hers.
Harry nodded and took of his glasses, handed it over to Hermione. "As you may have thought already, I got her notice that she mentioned trough these glasses. And Callie if you would also extend these sessions that I can participate too? After all it was not an everyday occurrence for me too."
Callie nodded and said that they could begin right now for an hour, as they still needed some sleep.
Meanwhile Hermione took Harry's glasses and put them on, feeling a bit weird having them. But she saw Callie on the table as well in the glasses, so that had to be the way they communicated. She noticed that some texts were scrolling down on the side of her vision and as she began to read it, she saw that it was a report from this session they held right now.
"Erm, please excuse me Callie, but who will see this report you are writing?" Hermione took the glasses of again and handed it back to Harry, which took it back gladly.
"Only me, as it will be encrypted to maximize secrecy and confidentiality between a doctor and her patient. As a muggle born I understand your concern for it leaking out, but until all of you give me permission this will stay between us. Only my existence had to be approved before, but that will be the extent anyone will know what we are talking about. Do you have other questions?"
"Yes, in fact I do. Did you ever help Harry during any tests or assignments?" Hermione would be angry if that would be true, but she needed to know.
"Don't worry, even if I could try, all I can do is record everything for him to see again, but as soon a test comes up, my programing forbids me to give him any answers. That means he must study like every else. And as you may know he still has to do all the potions and incantations by himself." Callie told her the truth, even if the part about her programming was the wish from Harry himself, which he could disable at any moment. Hermione was satisfied with her answer it seemed and began also to tell Callie her point of view of today's events.