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Disclaimer: Harry Potter and other canon characters belong to JKR I'm only having some fun
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and other canon characters belong to JKR I'm only having some fun


Chapter 14: Preparing For First Term


Dumbledore



Colin and Dennis Creevey, founder and founders brother (and only members) of the All Male Harry Potter Fan Club (Unofficial), were most surprised when they received an Owl from Hogwarts. They had already received their booklists and had purchased what was required.



They removed the scroll of parchment as Hagrid had shown them in Care of Magical Creatures, broke the seal and read.



Dear Mr. and Mr. Creevey,



I would like to meet with both of you and discuss a very important job I need you to do this coming school year. If you are interested please send your reply with this owl and I will come and talk with you tomorrow at ten a.m.



Yours truly,



Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster Hogwarts.....etc.



The two young men looked at each other and quickly wrote a reply.



Dear Headmaster



We would be very happy to help you. We will meet you in the park near our home tomorrow at ten.



Colin & Dennis.



They carefully tied the note to the owl's leg and sent it on it's way, not really noticing that the owl had left each of them a present in it's disgust at not even being offered a drink of water.



The next morning found Dumbledore in his best Muggle outfit, a WWII sailor's uniform, sitting talking to the Creevey brothers in their local park. He explained to them that in order to confuse Voldemort and the Death Eaters that Harry would be pretending that he had fallen out with him. To make sure they could keep in touch without anyone knowing it would be Colin and Dennis' job to listen in to Harry's conversations and report them back to Dumbledore.



To aid them in their task Dumbledore gave them several Extendable Ears and a new Wizarding Camera each so they could photograph what Harry was doing.



Unfortunately for Dumbledore a local do-gooder had seen the strangely dressed man talking to two young boys and giving them gifts. She reached into her handbag and used her mobile phone to contact the Police. She was such a good citizen that she had their number on speed-dial.



As the three parted Dumbledore saw the Police Officers enter through the park gate, he thought nothing of it until he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a voice saying.



"Excuse me, sir, but could you please come with me until I ask you some questions?"



His mind was made up for him when another Officer with a large German Shepherd dog joined the party. He accompanied the Officers back to the Patrol Car and sat in the back as requested. Surreptitiously he drew his wand and Obliviated the last five minutes of memory from the two constables and quietly Apparated away.



Watching from the bushes a bearded man in a sailor suit heaved a sigh of relief, 'Jonah' as the local paedophile was known had thought he had been caught. He knew his luck couldn't last forever so two days later he quietly moved to another town.


The Weasleys.


Arthur, Molly, Ron and Ginny had had a wonderful time in Rumania visiting Charlie at the Dragon Reserve, they had been shown Norbert who had grown into a magnificent example of his breed. He only had one flaw, if he smelt tea or toast he whined like a puppy until he got some. He was also known to track the giant shadows cast by the keepers as the sun set.



Ron and Ginny were happy that for the first time they would be going back to school with new books and robes, Ginny had been bought a new broom and was set to try out for one of the vacant Chaser spots on the Quidditch team, she was an excellent flyer and had a love of the game, she had learned to talk Quidditch so she wouldn't be left out of her brother's conversations. Unlike Ron however, she liked to follow a team that could win games and followed the Holyhead Harpies, an all female team who held their own in the Professional Quidditch League.



Arthur and Molly had done as requested by Sirius and had remodelled their house, but only on the inside, never people to be ostentatious they left the outside the same but with the judicious use of charms had extended the inside, hoping one day to fill the space with visiting grandchildren.


Snape.


What passed for a smile was pasted across Severus Snape's pallid face, he had finally got the job he was after.


Flashback


Albus Dumbledore's head appeared in the fireplace of Snape's holiday cottage, "Severus, dear boy, I have been unable to get someone to fill the Defence Professor's post this year, would you be willing to take it, I can easily get another Potion's Professor, not one of your standard, of course, but a few of the people I've spoken to have expressed an interest."


End Flashback


After giving the Headmaster an affirmative answer he rubbed his hands with glee (he kept a pot handy for such occasions) 'Now,' /he thought, 'I'll be able to show that spoiled brat up for the charlatan he is, best Defence O.W.L. score ever, no way, Draco says the teachers are biased."/



He was so happy at the thought that he forgot that three out of the five Defence Professors had literally tried to kill Harry, one had been an incompetent con-merchant and only Lupin actually had had time for him.



Snape planned to humiliate Harry in particular and the Gryffindors in general by showing them up in class, and planned his tactics accordingly.


Minerva McGonagall.


The Deputy Headmistress had sent another letter to Harry and Hermione, she had expressed her regret that they had turned down the prefect positions and invited them to meet with her as soon as practical after the start of term to discuss their reasons. She also let Harry know that Professor Snape wasn't going to be teaching Potions and that the replacement Professor only required an EE to progress into his N.E.W.T class, along with a note of the required text for the year.



She also promised that she wouldn't let Snape bully non-Slytherins and use her position to check the fairness of all points deducted and awarded by the Slytherin Head of House. She also vowed to watch the Headmaster very closely.



Harry and Hermione.



Harry and Hermione had received the letter from Professor McGonagall and had found it quite amusing, Argus Filch had already informed them of Snape's change of job but hadn't known who the new Potions Professor would be. When Harry read the name a smile broke across his face, he knew this man well, after all Nobel had been one of their Potions Instructors while they trained with the Unspeakables, it looked like Newell planned to put to rights the lack of decent Potion Brewers available in Wizarding Britain.



Other than a brief trip to pick up their course books and to buy new school robes, they had spent their time at the house on St. Kitts, both were nicely bronzed and their dorm-mates would find it impossible to find tan-lines.



On their trip to Diagon Alley they had made a side trip to Gringotts where Remus Lupin had spent almost every day trawling through the Potter Trust and the Black Family Holdings. He had quietly offloaded some of shares that the Blacks had held in some less than reputable businesses, a few hundred at a time to keep the prices from dropping and invested the money in some of the businesses that the Potter Trust held an interest in.



The one interesting piece of information that he had passed on to Harry was that between the two families he now owned forty-nine percent of The Daily Prophet, no other single investor owned anywhere near as many shares. Harry organised a visit to the Prophet Office, telling them he was willing to give an exclusive interview to the Editor-In-Chief.


The Prophet.


Harry and Hermione swept into the Prophets Office like they owned the place, and were shown straight into the Editors Office. The editor (Mr. Wobblepike) stood up and shook their hands in welcome.



"Mr. Potter," he started "What a great privilege to meet you, I'm glad you want to give another interview. Now do you want Rita to write it up? She says she's a good friend of yours."



That was the almost the last coherent sentence he spoke until Harry had finished.



"Mr. Wobblepike, do you know who the majority shareholders in the Prophet are?"



He nodded and answered, "The Potter Family Trust and the Black Family"



"Did you know that I inherited the Black Family Fortune and that I am the Head of the Potter Family?"



Wobblepike shook his head and his face began to pale as what Harry had said sunk in.



Harry stared into the man's eyes and could see the fear building. He spoke very quietly but firmly, his voice filled with menace.



"If your nasty little paper publishes one negative word about me, or my friends, I will instruct my advisers to sell every share I own in the Prophet, not little at a time but all of them will become available on the same day. I'm sure you will be aware that this will cause a run on the shares and that the value of the Prophet will plummet. Do you understand me?"



Wobblepike gave the slightest of nods.



"Right, I expect a full apology for the way you treated me last year printed on the front page of tomorrows edition, further, if Rita starts using her 'special quill' against anyone, or her Animagus ability to snoop on people, I will sell my shares and then sue The Prophet and her for the articles she wrote by spying on me in my fourth year. Give her something constructive to do, like writing a good housekeeping column. Also tell her that any beetle I see is going to be squashed."



With that said they swept out of the office and Portkeyed back to Potter Manor.


Voldemort.


Voldemort was cursing any Death Eater that came within his presence, not only had his Lucius Malfoy been captured and sent to Azkaban, but his mostly worthless son had joined him, and all because he was jealous of the Potter brat. He was beginning to seriously doubt the truth of what Malfoy Jr. had told his father about Potter, from what he had heard about the attack Jr. owed his life to the Aurors that had turned up.



He stopped his musing and shouted "NOTT, GET YOUR WORTHLESS HIDE IN HERE!"



Nott entered and bowed low and kissed the hem of his Masters robes.



"How can I be of assistance, My Lord?"



"Bring your son before me tonight, he will take over from young Malfoy at Hogwarts, he will not be marked, as the Old Fool would detect it."



Several hours later the young Slytherin knelt before the Dark Lord. "Master Nott, do you believe in my cause."



"Yes, My Lord," he replied nervously.



Voldemort scanned the young man's thoughts with Legilimency and confirmed that he had been indoctrinated with the creed of the Death Eaters.



"You tell the truth, young Theo, you will be my main man among the students of Hogwarts. You will watch Potter and Dumbledore and report to your father. Crabbe and Goyle Jr. will help you. If you want a woman, Pansy Parkinson will fulfil your needs."



"Er, My Lord, I'd rather not rely on Crabbe and Goyle, neither of them can be trusted to do as they are told, if they hang around me, Potter will know that I've replaced Draco No-Name, as for Parkinson, I wouldn't touch her with someone else's. Daphne Greengrass meets my needs nicely. Blaise Zabini will back me up."



"Ah, someone with intelligence, I'll set Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle to be the obvious Death Eater followers, you and Zabini can work in the shadows like true Slytherins. Oh, and by the way, 'Crucio.'" He held the pain curse on the young man for ten seconds. "Do not assume to correct me again, learn your place, Nott."



As the pain died Theo Nott filed the lesson he had learned and promised himself that he would never be subjected to the Dark Lord's curse again, little did he know that the only thing that was consistent in his new Master's service was being cursed no matter what you said.



Through the pain he managed to learn the obscuring charms he would use on the letters he would send to his father, well he thought, there's nothing like the promise of a little pain to help you learn not to fail.


Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle.


The Slytherin Trio were not told of their mission by the Dark Lord, their fathers had been told to tell their offspring what they were to do. Crabbe and Goyle were only returning to Hogwarts to keep them off the streets for another two years, they were entered for three N.E.W.T.s each, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination, the only subjects that had no need of an O.W.L. to gain entry. They were given their instructions, "Do what Pansy tells you."



Pansy however was quite clever, in class she had always under-performed to ensure that she didn't show up Malfoy, but she was no more subtle than he was. Her instructions were, "Goad Potter and his friends, disrupt them and report back their reactions. Get Crabbe and Goyle to bully anyone not from Slytherin, but make sure they don't get expelled, Snape will help you."


On The Hogwarts Express.


The first of September rolled round, Harry and Hermione were quite tired when they got up as they had made love well into the night, knowing that it might be difficult to find time to spend together during while at school. While they would be able to walk around holding hands, any other PDA's (Public Displays of Affection) would be frowned on and they didn't want to give Snape a legitimate excuse to take House Points.



As they had packed the night before they were able to have a relaxed breakfast, enjoying the company of their parents, Harry had progressed to calling Roger and Jill mum and dad, it seemed natural as they had accepted him into their family. They said their goodbye's and the teens Portkeyed to Gringotts by prior arrangement with Griphook.



Remus met up with them and escorted them to Kings Cross where they boarded the express with thirty minutes to spare. The two of them enjoyed watching their fellow students rush to get on the train on time. Ron and Ginny were last to board the train (as usual.)



The Weasleys were surprised to see that Harry and Hermione weren't wearing Prefect Badges, they had assumed that when Ron had lost his badge that Harry would step into the vacant slot. The fact that Hermione would voluntarily give up her badge hadn't even crossed their minds.



"Well" said Ron, "No Malfoy this year, things are looking up. Are you back on the Quidditch team this year, Harry."



"No, according to Dumbledore only Umbridge can lift my ban, and as she's currently sitting in Azkaban waiting to go on trial, I don't think she's likely to do it, especially as I put her there."



"So, Ginny" he continued, "Looks like you're still the Gryffindor Seeker, if you want I'll see if McGonagall will let me help you train, if we can find my Firebolt that is."



"Thanks, Harry" she replied "That would be great even if you can't find your broom you might be able to help the team by watching from the stands. Do you know who the new Captain will be?"



"Hopefully, Ron, after all who else knows more about strategy and tactics? McGonagall will tell us soon, we really need to get new Beaters unless Kirke and Sloper have improved, although I've got some ideas to help them if they're willing to try."



Just then they had their first interruption of the journey, the Creeveys. "Hi, Harry," they said in unison as they bounced into the compartment. "didyouhaveagoodsummer," the rest of their speech ran together in a jumble of words.



Hermione looked Colin in the eye and Harry did the same with Dennis, after ten seconds they looked at each other and gave the slightest of nods.



"Guys," said Harry. "If you want us to answer you need to slow down, we can't make out what you're saying."



The two stopped talking and Colin started. "Sorry Harry, did you have a good summer? I did, Dennis and I got a new camera each, isn't that great? Eh Harry? Now we can take more photos...."



The four friends tuned out the hyperactive boys, Harry thought that if he didn't know that it was impossible that he would have thought the two boys had house-elf DNA in them.



By hearing non-committal noises at approximately the right time the Creeveys were convinced that they had had an interesting conversation with Harry, and went off to compose their first report for Dumbledore.



After they had eaten their fill from the food trolley, they had their second interruption, they had actually wondered if without Malfoy that the usual Slytherin visit would happen, but here it came.



Pansy Parkinson entered with Crabbe and Goyle in tow, "Well then, what have we here? Potty, the Mudblood, Weasel and Weaslette..."



Her speech continued but no one responded. When she finished Harry replied.



"I see you've taken over Malfoy's scriptwriter Parkinson, and his shadows, be very careful, you know what happened to him, is he enjoying visiting his daddy?"



"Why you..." she started as she tried to draw her wand, only to find herself with Harry's wand resting against her nose. Crabbe and Goyle hadn't even got the chance to draw theirs, Ron and Hermione had each of them covered. The three Slytherins turned round and left.



"Well that was interesting," said Harry. "Now we know who's taken over from Malfoy, but just to be on the safe side watch yourselves with the other Slytherins too. You'd think that after Malfoy they'd be more subtle."



Out in the corridor Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini watched the interaction between the two groups with interest. As long as Parkinson and company remained so obvious his job would be easy. Potter would be watching them and he'd be watching everyone.



Eventually the journey came to it's end and the train drew into Hogsmeade Station, they left their luggage as usual and made their way to the Thestral drawn carriages, pausing only to greet Hagrid as he rounded up the new first-years.



"Were we really that small and scared?" Harry asked his friends as they got into the carriages.



"I don't know about scared," replied Ron, "I was terrified, Fred and George had me convinced I had to wrestle a Troll, they even had a picture to prove it. What I didn't know was that they had faked it. Percy just said nothing and Bill and Charlie only sighed and wished me luck."



"I just hoped that I would be sorted." Said Harry. "I was convinced that I would be rejected and have to go back to the Dursleys."



The conversation ended as the carriages pulled up to the front doors of Hogwarts. Standing in the entrance hall talking to Pansy and her shadows was Snape.



"POTTER, GRANGER, WEASLEY" he bellowed. "Fifty points each from Gryffindor for drawing your wands on fellow students."



"Professor Snape, how many points have you taken from your Slytherins for drawing their wands on us?"



"Are you calling my students liars?"



"Yes, sir, oh and by the way, you can't take points, term hasn't started, and doesn't officially start until the Headmaster says /'Let the feast begin' /I may not be a prefect but I was sent a badge and the School Rule Book, and I studied it."



"Fifty more points for being disrespectful to a Professor, and a weeks detention with me starting tomorrow."



"I don't think so, sir, I have been nothing but respectful to you, and" he said pointing round, "I think most of these students will agree with me."



Snape looked round, almost every student from second to seventh year had witnessed the discussion. The only ones he could rely on backing him up were his Slytherins.



"Ok, Potter, no detention but the points removal stands."



Cho Chang spoke up. "I don't think so, sir, Mr. Potter is correct, and as Head Girl, I'll support any complaint he makes, and if he doesn't make a complaint I will, and I'll get every student here to sign it."



Snape tried to contain his anger, but when he couldn't, he turned and swept into the Great Hall with the students trailing behind him.



From a hidden door into the small anteroom where the first-years waited to be taken in to be sorted, Minerva McGonagall had watched the confrontation with interest, this was a new Harry Potter, the boy she had known for five years would have reacted by getting into a shouting match with Snape, she was truly proud of him and really regretted that he hadn't accepted the Prefect badge.


Staff Meeting.


The welcoming feast was over, and the Hogwarts' staff met in Dumbledore's office for their traditional start of year meeting. After the Headmaster's opening remarks he asked if anyone had anything to say.



Snape began. "Potter has returned even more arrogant than he was last year, he had the nerve to tell me I couldn't remove points from him."



"And, Severus, he was correct" interjected McGonagall, "I watched the whole incident, you can't take points for something that happened on the train, and he certainly wasn't disrespectful to you. I'll be watching you carefully, Professor, I have looked back over the points deducted points awarded ratio for the past five years, you have awarded more points to your own House than any other Professor, and removed more points from Gryffindor than any other Professor. No one else has been as biased as you. I mean, twenty points off for breathing too loudly, that is ridiculous."



At the shocked look on Snapes face she quietly said, "did you forget that all point reductions are recorded in the book? or did you think that no one checked it? Be aware, I'll check it daily."



"Now, Minerva," said Dumbledore, "You know Severus has to favour the Slytherins to keep his cover with his former Death Eater colleagues, it wouldn't do for him to be seen to favour non Slytherins"



"Nonsense, Albus." Said Sprout. "He is nasty and petty minded, you know we all back up our colleagues in front of the students, but I'll be joining Minerva in monitoring the House Points this year. Maybe things will be fairer, although with Gryffindor winning in spite of Severus' actions I'll hate to see the outcome of the race for the House Cup."



Seeing his grip on the staff group begin to slip, Dumbledore quickly drew the meeting to a close, silently he cursed Harry as the cause of the disruption. He really needed to get something on him quickly or he'd never regain control.



My Muse is back hopefully the next chapter will be out quicker.