Title: Curse of Fate
Author: Mistress Nika
Rating: PG-15 (Yes, 15. That's somewhere between PG-13 and R)
Summary: Thousands of years into the future, vampire Harry only wants to join his loved ones in death. However, his curse of immortality is absolute. Therefore he sends himself back into the body of his infant self, vowing to this time refuse eternity. When do things ever go according to plan? Unexpected changes to the timeline, people who aren't as they once were and more send his life spiraling out of his control.
Pairings: Harry/Lucius(main), possible Harry/Severus, possible Lucius/Severus, possible Harry/Lucius/Severus, Sirius/Remus, Theo/Hermione, possible Theo/Blaise, possible Hermione/Ginny, Draco/Luna, possible one-sided Harry/Luna on Luna's part, possible Hermione/Pansy, Cedric/Eleanor(OC), past Harry/Ginny
Warnings: AU, het, slash, angst, language, violence, time travel, VampireHarry, DarkLordHarry
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter Nineteen:
The next morning, Harry woke to a flurry of activity. Everyone was dashing around, searching for books, trying to dress and get down to breakfast before timetables were handed out.
Harry yawned, pushing the blankets back and stretched his arms over his head. A quick check of the clock beside his bed showed that it was going on seven. He had finally fallen asleep at four and he felt surprisingly good this morning. Absently he wondered why his body didn't protest the bright morning sun falling through the windows. Normally, he would feel a strong desire to burrow into his blankets and go back to sleep. He supposed he was energized in a way by the latent magic of the castle that he could feel flowing through him.
Anthony Goldstein hopped by, struggling to tie his shoe and comb his hair at the same time. Kevin Entwhistle had most of his upper body under his bed, searching for something he seemed to have dropped.
"Better hurry up, Potter," Terry Boot said as he passed by, the only one who seemed to be fully dressed and heading out. "You've overslept."
Harry gathered his things and headed for the showers. Stephen Cornfoot dashed by as he entered, the last and latest of the other boys, his hair still dripping wet and a frantic expression on his face.
'Ravenclaws,' Harry chuckled to himself as he stripped down and showered. 'They're not too different from Gryffindors. Only while Gryffindors wake up late and have to rush, Ravenclaws wake up early and think they're late.'
By the time he returned to the dorm, it was empty. Taking advantage of this, Harry flicked a hand and a second later he was dried, dressed and holding his school bag, ready to face the day. Grabbing Nellie, he secreted the snake away under his robes and headed out.
Several older students were milling around in the common room when he went down, well aware that classes for them wouldn't start for another hour. Most had their noses buried in a book, but some were socializing or making a few last minute adjustments to their summer essays.
Hermione was waiting at the bottom of the boy's stairs, rocking back and forth impatiently. Upon spotting him, she cried, "Harry!" and grabbed him by the arm with a bright smile. "How did you sleep? Have you made any friends among the boys yet? All the other girls have gone down to breakfast already. Have you sent an owl to your family yet? Do you think they'll be happy you're in Ravenclaw? Weren't your parents both Gryffindors? And your godfathers? I'm so excited! What do you think we'll have first? I do hope it's transfiguration. It sounds so interesting! Changing one thing into something else entirely. Oh, but potions is wonderful too and I already know I'm good at it and so are you, but what if we just think we're good, but we're really not, and everyone here is so much better at it that we make total fools of ourselves! And- and-!" She had gone from happy and excited to nervous and frightened and was working herself up into a good panic by the time she trailed off.
"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, patting the back of her hand placatingly. "Calm down! Take a deep breath. There's nothing to get worked up about! I'm sure we'll do fine. You probably know more than some of the third years by now. Remember how Blaise called you a genius and walked off in disgust when you corrected him? And his entire family have been in Ravenclaw for centuries. I swear to you, on my mother's grave, that you'll do fine."
Without warning, Hermione squeaked, threw her arms around Harry's neck and squeezed tight. Harry sighed in resignation and patted her back comfortingly as he led her toward the portrait hole. Behind him a couple of sixth years remarked, "I think I see a future Head Girl," and chuckled among themselves.
As Harry, with Hermione still clinging desperately to him, walked down the corridor toward the Great Hall, a familiar voice stopped him.
"Well, that's a new look," Draco drawled, stepping up alongside him with Blaise, Theo and Pansy in tow. He pretended to study Harry seriously before remarking in a grave tone, "You should have that looked at. You seem to have acquired a mudblood leech sometime in the night."
Harry almost reprimanded Draco, but his playful smirk gave away the joke and the fact that Hermione obviously didn't take offense saved him from a thorough tongue lashing.
Hermione let go of Harry, crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her nose in the air in an imitation of the haughty boy. "I am not a leech," she proclaimed imperiously. Pointing a finger at him, she declared, "My father will hear about this!"
Draco's cheeks pinked as his friends laughed. "I do not sound like that," he muttered.
"Sorry, Draco," Pansy said through giggles, "but you do." Launching herself at Hermione, she hugged her tight, much to the other girl's annoyance, and started them on their way down the corridor again. "Oh Hermione!" she exclaimed. "It's so horrible in Slytherin! The only other girl I know is my cousin Millicent and she's even more stuck-up than Draco! If only you weren't a mudblood and a genius, I wouldn't be so horribly alone without you!"
"Yes, well," Hermione replied, extricating herself from Pansy's grip. "I'm rather proud of the fact that I'm muggleborn and intelligent, so please forgive me if I don't share your sentiments."
Pansy looked happily oblivious to Hermione's dismissive tone.
The two groups separated as they entered the Great Hall. Harry followed Hermione to the Ravenclaw table as the others headed to Slytherin. Whispers followed him all the way to his seat, but he did his best to ignore them. When he caught a Hufflepuff staring, he smiled and said hello. The boy squeaked much like Hermione had and turned around in his seat. Harry sighed. Hopefully this would stop after the first week or so.
When he passed by Eleanor, he tapped her on the shoulder. "Good morning, Ellie," he said with a bright smile.
She smiled back and replied, "Good morning, Harry. Congratulations on Ravenclaw."
"Thanks."
Eleanor blushed at the attention this got her and Harry continued on to his seat as she became the coveted center of attention at the Hufflepuff table.
Sitting next to Hermione, he was quickly drawn into a conversation on Quidditch by a group of older boys. Apparently, Damon Zabini had told them of the skills he'd displayed at his tenth birthday party and they were eager to hear more. Hermione didn't care much for Quidditch and was talking with Lisa and Daphne across from her about their first classes.
Flitwick passed out timetables about halfway through breakfast and Harry chuckled as his dorm mates groaned. Their first class didn't start until nine. Some of them had been up since five.
As a group of first year Gryffindors sprinted through the doors and scrambled to stuff their faces before class began, Dudley called his name loudly.
"Harry!" the boy cried, standing on his seat and waving enthusiastically. Harry waved back as McGonagall strode down the aisle with a stern look on her face.
"Feet on the floor, Mister Dursley," she commanded. "We do not make spectacles of ourselves. If you wish to greet a schoolmate, walk over and do so. We do not scream at them from across the hall while standing on our seats."
"Sorry," he mumbled with his head bowed and jumped down, the grin on his face threatening to ruin his act of chagrin. Ron slapped him on the back good naturedly as the others laughed.
This was followed by a repeat performance when Fred and George leapt up on their seats, waved both arms over their heads and cried, "Harry!" in his general direction. McGonagall scowled, scolded them and removed five points each. Harry just laughed.
After breakfast, Harry and Hermione, along with a group of other Ravenclaw first years, headed to their first class of the day. They all entered the charms classroom twenty minutes early and Flitwick did not seem surprised to see them. Indeed, their head of house handed them all outlines of what they would be learning during the school year. Each student read over the list and began quiet conversations with friends.
Hermione was surprised to learn that she already knew most of what was on the outline.
"Technically," Harry explained, "children aren't allowed to learn magic before they're eleven and aren't allowed to use it outside school until they're seventeen. This means a first year education has to start from scratch. Most children from magical families will know some spells already, but it wouldn't be fair to muggleborns to assume that everyone does. It's also only muggleborns who are monitored for magic outside school, so they aren't able to advance themselves during the summer unless they have a magical tutor. The Ministry's official stance is that they assume magical parents can control their children. Of course, everyone knows they simply don't care if pureblood children use magic. The only reason you can already cast these spells is because you, unlike most other muggleborns, have had prior training. The reason you have such a large repertoire of spells, unlike even most pureblood first years, is because your lessons were rather intensive. And you're a genius, of course."
Hermione smiled at the compliment, but then frowned. "But that's not fair to the children from magical families," she protested. "I understand they want to help muggleborns like me, but bringing others down to our level just isn't right. Why couldn't they just give us lessons like I had this summer? If I can learn all that in such a short time, certainly others could learn half that. There's a full month between when letters go out and when school starts. Muggleborns could be using that time to learn, not just sit around waiting."
"I know, Hermione," Harry replied with a sigh, "but it's the Ministry. What can you do?"
Hermione pursed her lips. "Well, nothing. But can't you do something? I mean, you have all this power right? From what I understand, you have a lot of pull in the Ministry and you even own Hogwarts. Can't you make them offer muggleborns preemptive classes?"
"I think you're overestimating me, Hermione. I may have power, but I'm still just a child. Very few people would take me seriously at this point. Especially if I go around trying to change things that have remained the same for over a thousand years."
Hermione looked thoughtful but was prevented from replying by the arrival of the first year Hufflepuffs and the class beginning. She remained thoughtful for the rest of the day. They only had three classes as all first years had a free period before dinner each day. That free period would eventually be taken up by their electives or extra classes, but they were all quite happy to have it while they could. Harry spent most of his in a study group with Hermione, Lisa, Daphne, Padma, Terry and Anthony.
With only charms, transfiguration and history of magic that day, the only practical work they did was changing a matchstick into a needle. Terry Boot managed to turn his silver, but both Harry and Hermione managed a full transfiguration. McGonagall was beyond pleased and hailed them both as child prodigies. By the end of the day, Ravenclaw had earned seventy-five points and was leading Slytherin by ten. Gryffindor was already in the negative due to not one, but three exploded first year cauldrons and a fight between Ron and Draco in which Draco laughed at Ron's potions mishap and Ron attempted to hex the other boy. Suffice to say, Snape was not pleased.
At dinner, the school was treated to the odd sight of Dumbledore sitting at the head table, flashing every color of the rainbow. Food was forgotten as everyone stared, dumbfounded as their headmaster turned bright blue, yellow, green, orange and a multitude of other colors in rapid succession. He had developed a tic by the time he rose from his seat to address the students and staff. Looking directly at the Gryffindor table, he said, "Mister Weasley. Mister Weasley. While I must congratulate you on a fine piece of spellwork, I must also remind you that the hexing of teachers is strictly forbidden."
Fred and George looked at each other questioningly before turning back to Dumbledore. "We didn't do it," they said together.
Dumbledore looked reprovingly at them. "Now boys..."
"Honest, sir!"
"If we did it-"
"We would admit it!"
"A fine piece of spellwork,"
"As you said,"
"And we'd love to claim it,"
"But we can't,"
"So you'll have to look elsewhere-"
"For the culprit."
The tic increased.
"Albus," McGonagall said calmly, shielding her eyes as he flashed a particularly bright shade of yellow, "I seem to recall a group of students from a little over ten years ago who enjoyed performing this particular spell on various members of the staff at the beginning of each year. Perhaps you should be looking to the offspring of one of those students." She looked at him pointedly before turning her gaze to the Ravenclaw table.
Dumbledore's eyes widened in realization and snapped over to Harry. Harry smiled innocently up at him. The tic slowed to a stop and Dumbledore smiled back at him indulgently. "Mister Potter," he began kindly, "would you please remove the spell?"
"What spell?" Harry asked in a childish tone.
The tic threatened to return, but the old man held it off. "You know very well what-" He paused in confusion as he suddenly returned to normal. Harry had not moved an inch and so could not have canceled it. Dumbledore sat back down, befuddled by this turn of events.
Harry grinned into his pumpkin juice.
After dinner on their way back to the common room, Hermione began ranting about Dumbledore.
"I can't believe he called you out like that, Harry!" she exclaimed. Lisa nodded from her right. "Honestly, if he thought it was you, he should have pulled you aside, into his office. He should not have accused you in the middle of the Great Hall! I can understand with the Weasley twins. I've heard such stories about them already. But you're just a first year! He had no reason to believe you cast that spell!"
"You're absolutely right, Hermione," Harry replied with a smirk. "Besides, it was a potion."
"What?" Hermione asked, staring at him in disbelief. "Harry! You didn't!"
Harry nodded. "Sirius gave it to me before we left," he said. "I asked the house-elves to put it in Dumbledore's food."
Hermione pursed her lips for the second time that day, but a smile was trying to break through. "Harry," she began, "that was against the rules and I really should scold you for it, but I won't. It was harmless and from what you've told me of his actions concerning you before you even came to Hogwarts, he had it coming. Just don't do anything like that again. Without telling me."
From the shadows, the twins grinned devilishly.
-SCENE BREAK-
The next month passed with its high and low points.
The classes were obviously extremely easy and his house mates, for the most part, treated him just like any other first year. Ravenclaws were also the only ones known to make friends indiscriminately from any house, so no one questioned his friendship with Draco, Pansy, Theo and Blaise.
His plans for befriending Neville weren't going as well as he'd liked though, at first. Ravenclaw shared most classes with Hufflepuff, so it was difficult to find time to speak with the boy. Dudley had no problems dragging Ron, Seamus and Dean over to wherever Harry was, but Neville had not made friends with them. In fact, Neville had not made any friends at all. Eventually, Harry had walked out of a study session in the Ravenclaw common room and hung around the portrait of the Fat Lady until Neville appeared. He'd quite simply stalked the poor boy from place to place all over the school until Neville was spending more time with the Ravenclaws than with Gryffindors. He'd even gotten permission from the Head Boy, who was coincidentally a Ravenclaw, for Neville to enter the Ravenclaw common room. Neville's confidence was slowly rising, much like Eleanor's had, and he was already doing noticeably better in classes. Even McGonagall had to admit that hanging out with Ravenclaws was good for the boy.
Ron, Harry had already had problems with. He'd forgotten how very prejudiced his brother had been as a child. Ron despised anything that didn't fit into his perfect view of the world. Light was good, Dark was evil and there was nothing in between. Likewise Gryffindors were all Light while all Slytherins were Dark and obviously evil. Anything different was to be viewed with suspicion and anything that might possibly be even the slightest bit Dark had to be pure evil, something to be reviled and shunned. Ron despised Slytherins for specifically this reason and could not restrain himself long enough to see what Harry saw in his Slytherin friends. Not to mention his jealousy concerning Harry himself.
Ron wanted to be around Harry, to be Harry's friend, the friend of the famous Boy-Who-Lived. He liked being Harry's cousin's friend as that put him one step closer to Harry himself. He was even willing to put up with that pushy know-it-all muggleborn because she was Harry's friend. After all, if she were friends with Harry, she must be something special. Ron wanted desperately to be special. He wanted to be the one people looked up to. He wanted to stand out in a crowd, in his family. His family that already had such special people that he was often forgotten and overlooked. He wanted to show his family that he was something to be desired. He wasn't a powerful cursebreaker like Bill or a fierce dragon tamer like Charlie. He wasn't a great student and scholar like Percy or a clever prankster like Fred and George. He certainly wasn't a girl like Ginny, a remarkable feat in itself as there hadn't been a female Weasley in at least six generations. He had nothing he was particularly good at and so hoped that perhaps a bit of fame would rub off on him if he were Harry's friend.
Harry had found himself yelling at, ignoring or reprimanding Ron more often than not. Short of several powerful personality altering spells, Harry didn't see how he was going to change Ron's opinions anytime soon. After all, it had taken a war before and Ron was far too young to know of the atrocities of such a conflict at the present time. For the moment, Harry was content to let Ron have whatever preconceived notions he wanted. Of course, that didn't mean he was above a bit of petty revenge whenever Ron insulted one of his friends. Fred and George were highly amused when Ron became the target of several pranks, one of which involved biting underpants.
Speaking of Fred and George, Harry had been cornered by them before breakfast on the second day.
Hermione had already been dragged off by Pansy and Harry was making his way to the Great Hall alone when he was accosted from behind.
"Hello there, mate!" Fred grinned, shaking his hand enthusiastically. "I'm George," he said, pointing to his twin.
"And I'm Fred," George said, pointing to the other. "Great to meet you!" he exclaimed, taking Harry's other hand and giving it a good shaking as well.
"Yes, such a great pleasure to meet one after our own heart."
"Not enough like us here."
"To be sure!"
"We just wanted to say how much we enjoyed that little prank you played on Dumbledore-"
"And invite you to join us in our mischief making."
"We've got an eye for talent, right Fred?"
"That's right, brother mine, and despite your unfortunate sorting into Ravenclaw-"
"Terribly unfortunate that."
"We would be willing to take you on as-"
"Our apprentice!"
Harry laughed, reclaiming his hands from the twins. "I'm flattered, truly I am, but I'm afraid I'm already apprenticed to someone else in the art of mischief making."
The twins looked grief stricken. "Someone got to you before us!? Horror of horrors!"
"Who could undermine our monopoly of Hogwarts humor in such a way!?"
Harry smirked. "If I told you that, well, he'd likely be mauled by Professor McGonagall. And I assure you, she'd hear of it. I know for a fact that painting reports to her." Harry pointed to a portrait of a prim looking witch who suddenly found her dress very interesting.
Fred and George looked at the painting thoughtfully. "Hmm. That explains how we got caught planting those dungbombs first year. And all this time we thought McGonagall had some kind of super secret ability to just know when anyone in her house is up to something. Fred! Make a note of this!"
After that, the twins seemed to adopt Harry as either a little brother or a pet. Harry wasn't sure which. They would pat him fondly on the head when they passed him in the halls and give him packages of pranked sweets, which he always passed on to Ron rather than eat himself. They began calling him "Harrykins" and kept asking who his mysterious "Master of Mischief" was. Harry considered outright telling them, likely causing them to immediately hand over the Marauder's Map, but it would have been a bit odd when he had supposedly been sworn to secrecy. As it was, Sirius and Remus were picking him up for Christmas and he had arranged for the twins to overhear certain names being dropped.
The Marauder's Map. Harry did not want it. He needed it! While Fawkes and Hogwarts were able to keep Harry from getting caught where he shouldn't be, doing things he shouldn't be doing, Fawkes could only reliably keep tabs on Dumbledore and Hogwarts' warnings extended only to "Someone's coming!"
The castle, while sentient, was not what one would necessarily call very intelligent. As it had no eyes, it could not see its inhabitants, per se. It was not able to distinguish people by anything other than their unique magical signature or, in rare instances, their habits. For example, Trelawny was "Tower Woman" because she never left her tower. Therefore, when Harry asked where a specific person was, usually all he got in reply was confusion. Most "conversations" of the sort went something like this.
'Where's Hermione?'
'Who?'
'My friend. She's always around me.'
'A female. This one?' An image of Pansy would appear in his head.
'No, that's Pansy.'
'This one?'
'No, that's Eleanor.'
'This one?'
'I don't even know who that is.'
'This one?'
'That's... Oh come on! Professor Vector's never around me! Hermione's in the same house as me, sleeps in the same tower as me!'
'This one?'
'That's Lisa Turpin!'
And that was if Hogwarts could talk, but it couldn't. It only communicated in thoughts, emotions and images. By the time the castle figured out who he was talking about, Harry was incredibly frustrated and they'd gone through half the population. That was why he needed the map so desperately. However, if he was one thing, he was insane...but he was also patient. He could wait a few months. Of course, if the twins didn't give him the map after learning it rightfully belonged to him, he'd just steal it. He'd never claimed to be a nice person.
-SCENE BREAK-
On the second day, he had Defense with Slytherin right before lunch and Potions with Hufflepuff right after.
Pansy had dragged Hermione into a seat next to her the moment they entered the Defense classroom, so Harry ended up sitting with Draco.
Unlike the Slytherin/Gryffindor classes and even some of the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff classes, this one did not segregate themselves by house. There was no Slytherin side and no Ravenclaw side. Ravenclaw was the only house Slytherin would even think about socializing with as it usually had the second highest ratio of pureblood members, muggleborns usually going to Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, and Slytherin considered them to be worthy of their amity. Likewise Ravenclaw seemed the only house able to put up with the Slytherins for an extended length of time. After all, most Slytherins are quite intelligent, if you can get past their arrogance.
All the students had seated themselves when Professor Roselli made her appearance. She stood in front of her desk, crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the class until everyone was quiet. When she was certain she had everyone's attention, she began by taking roll. Afterwards, she addressed the class.
"I am Professor Francis Roselli. You will address me as Professor Roselli or ma'am. I am your teacher, not your friend. If you use any other form of address or reference, such as simply Roselli, which I am certain you will be tempted to do, I will be very displeased. When I am displeased, you will suffer the consequences. For each infraction, I will take five points. This first day I will allow you to ask any questions you wish, though I reserve the right not to answer. Afterwards, any questions of a personal nature will be punished with points taken. Now, do you have any questions?"
Hesitantly, Tracey Davis raised her hand. "How old are you?" she questioned tentatively.
Roselli glared. "I am twenty-three."
"Aren't you a bit young?" Theo asked boldly.
"My age has nothing to do with my qualifications, Mister Nott. Does anyone have any other questions, not related to my age?"
Millicent Bulstrode raised her hand and, without waiting to be called on, asked with a sneer, "Roselli isn't a pureblood name. Are you a mudblood?"
Several of the girl's classmates, including a few of her fellow Slytherins, glared at her for that comment.
The woman's eyes flashed icily. "Ten points from Slytherin. That word is not to be uttered within my classroom." Millicent let out an irritated huff. "My mother is pureblood and my father is muggle, so by your standards I am a halfblood."
"What family is your mum from?" Pansy asked with a friendly smile. "We may be cousins."
Roselli glared at the girl's flippant remark. "My mother is Artemis Roselli, formerly Artemis Malfoy."
Everyone looked at Draco. "What?" he asked in confusion, glancing around at his classmates. "I don't know her."
"My mother," Roselli said sternly, "is not a topic for discussion. Suffice to say, she was disowned when she married my father. Now, we will move on from this topic. You have ten minutes remaining in which to ask your questions, then we will begin the lesson, and I assure you, it will be quite intensive."
For the next ten minutes, she answered questions ranging from where she attended school, Beauxbatons, to how she got the job at her age. Surprisingly, she had been Quirrell's apprentice and took his place as a favour to him. Finally, as the questions began to die down, Harry raised his hand.
"What happened to Professor Quirrell?" he asked respectfully when called upon.
Roselli stared at him for a long moment, as if sizing him up, before answering. "The headmaster informed me that, should anyone ask that question, I am to tell you that he had a bad encounter with an angry vampire. While that is true, it is not the reason he is in St. Mungo's and I see no reason to lie to you. The truth is, he was possessed by the Dark Lord."
Shocked gasps and murmurs filled the classroom.
"What happened?" Padma asked curiously. The rest of the class quieted and waited for the answer, watching the stern young woman in fascination.
She took a deep breath before answering. "For some reason, the Dark Lord's spirit separated from him, leaving him near death. Whether it was by choice or force, it still caused serious damage to Professor Quirrell and he would have died, being miles from civilization and unable to apparate, had a group of muggle explorers not found him. There was luckily a wizard among them and, recognizing him as a Hogwarts professor, he obliviated the muggles and took him directly to St. Mungo's. He suffered severe trauma to both his magic and soul and is in critical condition, though he's expected to survive."
Harry pondered that. With only the one remaining Horcrux to sustain him, Voldemort may have been unable to maintain his possession of Quirrell. With his flagging strength and Quirrell likely fighting against him at that stage, it's possible that Quirrell was able to force him out. So, Voldemort was either relegated to possessing animals or floating around as a spirit, unable to influence anything. This was good.
"Now, your time is up," Roselli said after answering a final question from Blaise concerning her NEWT scores. "Open your books to page 42. You will not be learning to cast any spells in this class until you are able to properly distinguish a jinx from a hex. On that subject, who can tell me the difference between jinxes, hexes and curses?"
Hermione's hand immediately shot into the air, followed closely by several other Ravenclaws, including Harry himself, and Blaise. Hermione was called upon.
"Curses," she began, "are powerful, destructive spells. They are used offensively, often with deadly results, to cause physical damage as well as a magical effect. These can range from the Reductor Curse, which is a common blasting spell, to the Unforgivables. Spells that are considered curses usually have a high potential to do serious harm or cause death. Hexes and jinxes are lesser spells that negatively effect the target. While not as dangerous as a curse, hexes have similarly harmful effects. For example, a simple Stinging Hex, if left on a target for too long, can cause skin degradation and even self-inflicted harm. Jinxes, on the other hand, while still being spells with negative effects, are not usually dangerous. For example, while a Tripping Jinx may cause someone to fall, it doesn't actively harm them. Furthermore-"
"Thank you, Miss Granger," Roselli interrupted before Hermione could continue. "That was a very thorough explanation. Ten points to Ravenclaw."
Most of the rest of the class was spent reading from the textbook. At the end, Roselli demonstrated several spells and the students had to decide whether they were jinxes, hexes or curses.
All in all, Harry came to the conclusion that Roselli was a fine teacher and would one day make a great Defense Mistress, if she ever found another Master to apprentice herself to. That is, if she survived the cursed position. He only wondered what horrible fate would befall her before the year was out.
-SCENE BREAK-
His first Potions class was even more eventful. Snape made his dramatic entrance, causing many Hufflepuffs to start, and gave his customary speech, causing many Hufflepuffs to cringe and cower as his eyes roamed over them, lingering on each, one by one, for only the briefest moment, just long enough to mark that particular student.
Harry was mildly surprised at this Snape. He was relatively young looking, no more than late twenties, and was little like the "greasy bat of the dungeons" from before. His skin had the same porcelain quality all vampires had, not quite so pale that one would think him inhuman, but pale enough that it was obvious he had some vampire in him. He could probably pass himself off as having a vampire grandparent, and likely did. His eyes, while always having been dark, were more intense. When he looked at you, it was like looking into the eyes of a dangerous predator on the hunt.
His hair, Harry noted with amusement, was only slightly shorter than Harry's and appeared silken rather than greasy. It hung in front of his face, brushing against his pale cheeks, as if attempting to hide his face from the world. However, every time an errant strand dared to cross his line of sight, he would hastily swat it back so that it didn't inhibit his glare.
One of the more striking difference was his nose. While still prominent, it did not have the appearance of having been broken several times. While this probably wasn't true, his vampiric blood would have immediately worked to correct that, and any other bodily imperfections, the moment he began to change. One of the perks of being a vampire. Speaking of being a vampire, Harry could see small, almost imperceptible fangs when the man spoke.
"Miss Bones," Snape said in a deceptively calm tone, breaking Harry out of his reverie. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
'Ah, here we go,' Harry thought fondly. 'Questions no first year should know, unless they happen to be a particularly studious Ravenclaw.'
"Uh, I- I think," Susan stuttered, turning red, "I think it's a draught, of some kind."
"Very good, Miss Bones," Snape sneered sarcastically. "It is indeed a draught of some kind. Five points from Hufflepuff for coming to class unprepared!"
Susan jumped at his suddenly raised voice and choked back a few tears. Really, and Susan was one of the braver Hufflepuffs in his year. Was Snape even more terrifying this time around, or what? The preternatural shine his eyes gave off when he was incensed couldn't have been very comforting. Harry almost grinned.
"Potter! Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
This time Harry did let out a small smirk. "Likely, the ingredients cabinet." A couple of students dared to giggle and Snape's glare intensified.
"Quiet!" he snapped causing everyone to go silent. "Five points from Ravenclaw for your cheek, Potter!"
Before he could berate him any more, Harry said, "However, if you're asking where a bezoar comes from, the answer is the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most common poisons. Incidentally, it's not a stone, as is commonly believed. It's a hairball."
"Eww!" Zacharias Smith exclaimed, turning up his nose while a few of the girls looked a bit green.
Snape's glare quickly returned them to silence. Taking a few steps forward, he placed himself directly in front of Harry, attempting to use his greater height to intimidate him into submission. Of course, it wasn't working.
"Alright, smart aleck. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"Only the name, sir. It's the same plant and it's proper name is aconite. It's extremely poisonous and, if swallowed or absorbed directly through any break in the skin, could be deadly."
Not to be deterred, Snape continued firing increasingly difficult questions at him. "What is the main ingredient in Exploding Fluid?"
"Erumpent liquid. Highly unstable."
"Love potions."
"Ashwinder eggs."
"Confusing Concoction."
"Sneezewort."
"The properties of mandrake in potions."
"Essential for most antidotes, including petrifaction, human transfigurations and various curses."
"The ingredients of Polyjuice Potion."
"Lacewing flies stewed for 21 days, leeches, powdered bicorn horn, knotgrass, fluxweed picked at the full moon, shredded boomslang skin and a bit of who you want to turn into."
"The most important ingredient in Veritaserum."
"Venom from the left head of a Runespore. Sir, you're not going to stump me. I've had one the best potions teachers in the world as my tutor since I was nine."
"One of the best?" Snape sneered. "I didn't think a Potter would settle for anything less than the absolute best."
"Well, yes," Harry replied with an innocent smile. "Normally that's true, but you weren't available, sir."
The students gasped, watching the display in a combination of fascination and horror.
A glower. "Flattery will get you nothing but a detention, Potter."
"It's not flattery, sir," he replied, attempting to sound as genuine as possible. "Merely the truth. I asked for the best and your name was given. Your potions skills are legend."
Snape's eyes bore into his and Harry felt a brush against his mental barriers. Allowing him into the shallowest places of his mind, he gave forth feelings of awe, respect and excitement.
After drawing his mind back, the man smirked, relaxing the slightest bit. "I like a challenge."
-SCENE BREAK-
Severus watched as his first year Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff class filed out of the room in all due haste, eager to be away from him. Most of the students were the same sort he got every year. Scatterbrained Hufflepuffs who were afraid of their own shadows and know-it-all Ravenclaws intent on showing off. He was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the new Ravenclaws actually showed some promise. She was arrogant, but pride in one's skills, when the skills were genuine, was not an undesirable trait. With the proper focus, she could easily become top of her class in no time.
That is, if Potter had not been in her class.
The boy was an interesting study. The moment he walked through the doors, Granger on his right and surrounded by other hangers on, Severus knew he was not human. The way he moved. The way his eyes flickered and shone in the dim light. The way the boy studied Severus himself, as if finding something familiar in him. The headmaster was both right and wrong in his assumptions. Inhuman, the boy may be. Werewolf, he was not.
However, the boy's secrets were his to keep. There was no way Severus was giving Dumbledore any more information than he had to. Perhaps out of some sort of sense of self preservation, or perhaps he just wanted to spite the man. Either way, the secret of Harry Potter's vampirism was safe, for the moment.
As for Potter's incredible talent with potions, Severus was beyond impressed. Some of those questions had been OWL level or higher, yet Potter had answered them quickly and effortlessly. He wondered where the boy had gotten the knowledge. It wasn't impossible, but the child would have to be a genius of some sort. Perhaps, he should have a talk with the other staff, find out if he displayed the same level of knowledge in their classes.
Potter's attitude toward himself was surprising as well, especially considering who he'd been raised by. The boy was polite, yet confident. He spoke his mind, but knew when to remain silent. Most importantly, he respected Severus. In fact, he almost seemed awestruck by the Potions Master. This, more than his uncanny aptitude for potions, caused Severus to separate James Potter and Harry Potter into two different individuals in his mind.
This boy was nothing like his father. He was self-assured and confident in his own abilities, but not cocky and a showoff like James had been. He had his mother's willfulness, that was for sure, and perhaps a bit of Black's playfulness, but it was not overwhelming. He was far smarter than Lupin had been at that age, a definite Ravenclaw, seemed very eager to learn and held great reverence for Severus, not just as his teacher, but also as one of superior knowledge.
Truthfully, the boy wasn't all that bad. Definitely not as bad as he'd been expecting. Severus could even imagine himself liking the boy, at some point in the distant future, when he was an adult and no longer a snot-nosed brat. He would make sure to bring him up during the first staff meeting of the year.
-SCENE BREAK-
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed as they left the Potions classroom. "That was brilliant!" Several of their fellow Ravenclaws voiced their agreement. "I mean, some of those questions he asked were so hard! I didn't even know them! How did you?"
Harry laughed. "Well, you know me. I've always got my nose buried in some book. Most of them just happened to be Potions books. Plus, Sirius has had to drag me out of my lab at times."
"You've got your own potions lab!?" asked Daphne in amazement. "That's so cool!"
"It was there when we moved in," Harry explained with a shrug. "Since, you know, kids aren't allowed to do magic outside of school, I spent most of my time there."
"Invite me over for Christmas!" she pleaded with large eyes, tugging on his arm imploringly. Lisa latched onto his other arm and even Terry and Mandy looked like they wanted to join in.
Harry laughed again. "It's nothing special."
He stumbled a bit when Hermione leapt up and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. "I think they want a chance to study and improve over the holidays," she mock whispered in his right ear.
Harry affected a hurt expression. "You mean you just want to use me for my resources?"
"You got it!" Padma confirmed, joining the others in latching herself onto Harry by clinging to his middle.
His progress effectively halted by the four girls hanging onto him, he gave a put upon sigh. "Well," he said, "you'll have to ask your parents, but I would love to have you all over. For a couple days, at least. No offense, but I don't think your families would like you spending all of Christmas in my libraries and potions labs."
"You've got more than one!?" squeaked Mandy, finally succumbing to impulse and joining Padma at his waist.
"Hey," Su Li finally spoke up with a pout. Giving Harry a poke on the shoulder, she declared petulantly, "There's no more room for me."
They all dissolved into giggles and Anthony said through his laughter, "I think this gives new meaning to the term 'Ladies Man'."
"You are blocking the hall." Twelve heads whipped around at the stern voice from behind.
At the sudden movement, the five girls and Harry all crashed to the floor in a pile of flailing limbs and short girlish shrieks.
McGonagall's lips twitched. "Mister Potter," she began, "if indeed you are under there somewhere, while you may have a free period now, others do not and need to utilize this corridor. Please remove yourselves to your common room or somewhere more appropriate." With that, she smoothly stepped over them and continued down the hall, a small amused smile on her face.
-SCENE BREAK-
That Friday, after the last classes of the week, the Hogwarts teachers gathered in the staff room for their bi-weekly meeting. Severus remained stoically silent as each of his coworkers nattered on about this or that. He seriously did not care that Neville Longbottom had a green thumb, or that Davies was a good candidate for Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, and he especially did not care that Trelawney thought Elio Trudeau was going to contract the Plague next week. Finally, the subject moved onto something more pertinent.
"Mister Potter," Flitwick began. "He's incredibly gifted."
At this, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he began to pay great attention.
"While both Miss Granger and he were able to successfully cast Wingardium Leviosa on the first try, his was far more polished than hers. His feather did not waver or lose altitude for even a moment. He had perfect control. Very impressive."
"I agree," Minerva concurred. "In his first class, both he and Miss Granger managed a full matchstick to needle transfiguration, but once again, his was simply better than hers. His needle had far more detail and took less energy to produce. He is very talented."
"Interesting," Dumbledore began, resting his chin on his hands. "Pomona?"
"Well," the squat witch began, "we haven't done any practical work yet, but he's answered all his questions correctly and his written work is quite accurate."
"He's an excellent flyer, but I'm sure we all expected that," Madam Hooch interjected.
"I believe he slept through my class," Binns said, hovering over his chair. "I'm afraid I didn't really notice."
"Of course not," Severus sneered at the ghost.
"Severus?" Dumbledore asked, directing his gaze at the younger man.
Severus drew himself up in preparation to utter a sentence he never thought he would. "Potter is quite possibly the most talented student I've ever taught." He ignored the looks of shocked disbelief and continued on. "His knowledge of potions is thorough and concise. He has yet to answer a question wrong and his written work is beyond exemplary. I have here copies." He handed several scrolls to the headmaster and continued speaking as the man looked them over before passing them on to Minerva. "Perfect scores each time. In practical work, he's even better. He has an instinctive knowledge of what works and what doesn't. Each of his potions have been perfect and he's even prevented each and every potential explosion by his classmates by tossing in exactly the right ingredient at exactly the right time to settle the solution. He's also given some very intelligent answers to questions I've asked in class. Here are copies of those questions and the answers he gave."
He handed Dumbledore a few more scrolls which caused the old man's eyebrows to rise when he looked them over.
"As you can see, the boy is far beyond the first year level. He has a great talent for potions and seems to genuinely enjoy my class. I don't have to tell you how unexpected it is that any student should enjoy my class, much less a first year Potter. For the moment, I believe it would be beneficial to allow him to attend my second year Ravenclaw class instead of first year. Also, I believe that, should he be given the proper training, he could sit and pass his Mastery in two years time."
The other teacher's astonished exclamations were cut off as the headmaster spoke. "I'm afraid I cannot allow that. Mister Potter must not be treated any differently than our other students."
Snape glared. "I'm not suggesting anything of the sort. You know that. If any other student demonstrated this degree of knowledge and skill, I would insist they be given the same opportunity."
"Yes," Minerva stated, a similar glare and frown on her face. "It would be a crime to allow the boy's potential to go unrealized. He should be given every opportunity for advancement possible. This has nothing to do with who he is and everything to do with what he is capable of." At Dumbledore's unrelenting gaze, she slapped her hands down onto the table and stood up. "I will not allow that boy to go fallow, Albus!"
"Sit down, Minerva," Dumbledore ordered sternly, causing her to drop back down into her seat automatically. "I am Hogwarts' Headmaster and I say he will not be treated any differently, including these so called 'opportunities' you would like to see offered him. That is the end of the matter and it will not be broached again. Am I understood?"
"Perfectly," she said with spite, standing once more and storming out of the room in contempt.
Severus raised an eyebrow at the man before following her out.
Quiet whispers broke out, discussing the two Heads of House's open show of scorn and protest.
In the furthest corner, ice blue eyes watched the meeting with interest and curiosity. Lips quirked up into a half smirk and murmured quietly, "Well, isn't this fascinating?"
AN: I briefly, accidentally replaced this chapter with the previous one. As such, all my editing has been lost, including spell/grammar checking and likely a few changes to the plot. All I had to restore this chapter was the unedited version on a CD. As such, I apologize for any and all glaring errors and inconsistencies.
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