Categories > Books > Harry Potter > The Dark Light Within
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. Sorry, but I have to quote one which refers to the fact that my story is clichéd (see A/N 4 of the previous chapter): “Joke ‘em if they can’t take a fuck.” Love it.
A/N 2: I don’t own Harry Potter, however, I do have a cure for gullibility and there’s a special offer: buy two, get a third free. That’s a saving of £500! Limited stock so reserve yours today!
Chapter 9: The New School Term
Charlie Weasley waited in the ruins of the Delacour mansion nervously. The twins had set up this meeting with Harry for him. He wanted to know what was going on. His family was really close-knit, it was great, but it did mean that if one of their precious children said anything Arthur and Molly wouldn’t hear the other side of the story. It was part of the reason he had moved to Romania: his family suffocated him.
Around him stood the three other members of the order who had sought out Fred and George on Harry’s advice. They were new members and had only recently graduated from Hogwarts. They said that they didn’t believe the way Harry had spoken to Dumbledore; he was rumoured to be Dumbledore’s favourite pupil. Harry’s actions were definitely out of character and they wanted to know why. Needless to say two had been in Ravenclaw; the third had been a Hufflepuff. Only four people stood there, not even Alastor Moody, although he suspected that Tonks had been in on it. The way she had smirked had reminded him of their days in Hogwarts, specifically the times she knew something that he didn’t.
He hadn’t talked much to the others; they appeared to be friends and were joking among themselves. Instead he was lost in thought about Harry’s actions. From what his family had told him, Harry had lashed out at them when they tried to keep him safe; he had verbally abused Ginny and Molly before attacking Ron. Ron was still in the hospital; his broken nose was taking longer to treat than it should’ve. The healers mustn’t have liked the fact that the lanky ginger kid had started a fight with the Boy-Who-Lived. He also had a damaged kidney, although witnesses said that Harry only hit him once. That boy could punch hard.
Charlie glanced at his watch: Harry was late. It might have been the day before Hogwarts started again, but the boy had set up the time and place of the meeting. Something didn’t feel right. Harry had always been punctual.
Charlie looked at the sky, something he had drilled into him from being a dragon keeper. Trust your instincts he had been told, if a dragon is going to attack, it’ll be from the air. He didn’t expect to see anything, but it was a good habit. Unfortunately, his luck had run out. There was a dragon: it was silver, a species Charlie didn’t recognise. He drew his wand as he ran through every thing he had learnt about dragon species. There was no denying that the thing hurtling out of the horizon towards them was a dragon. With no idea about the species he resorted to the first methods of living through a dragon encounter he had been taught: make loud noises, then escape. Dragons’ ears were almost as sensitive as its eyes, but the loud noises were easier to make than bright light, especially in the middle of the day. The other sensitive parts of a dragon are the wings and underside.
He observed the dragon as it got speedily nearer. For a dragon, it was small, but fast. The fact that it was only about twenty metres from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail was encouraging. People say that the bigger the foe is the harder they fall, but Charlie knew that wasn’t true. The bigger they are the harder they hit was closer to the truth, even more so with dragons.
When he was finished with his observations Charlie started sending redactor curses at the large parts of the Delacours’ mansion. The loud bang produced would hurt the dragon, and the scattered masonry might injure its wings, unlikely as it was. He was disappointed though as the dragon continued flying towards them, low to the ground in an unusual attack arc, which only made things worse.
At about four hundred metres away the dragon suddenly dropped onto the ground and transformed into a humanoid figure clad from head to toe in black robes. As the figure sprinted towards them Charlie thought the twins had set them up. Black robes meant one thing: Death Eaters and whoever could be a dragon animagus would be extremely powerful: the last recorded was Merlin himself. This didn’t look good.
Suddenly the man disappeared and silently reappeared in front of Charlie with his wand pointed straight at his face. He heard soft pops around him which told Charlie that the Death Eaters had back up. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He was thinking about which spell he would use when the figure in front of him spoke.
“Password?” he asked.
“The Dork Lard wants to suck off Harry Potter,” he responded automatically, barely registering the fact that the other three had said it at the same time.
“I knew I shouldn’t have let the twins set this up. Trust them to come up with a ridiculous password,” the man said, lowering his wand.
“Harry?!” gasped Charlie.
“In the flesh,” said the man as he pulled back the hood on his robe to reveal the famous lightning bolt scar.
“Shit you scared me! Was that dragon you?”
“Yeah; why?”
“Because you’re the first dragon animagus since Merlin himself.”
“So everyone keeps telling me.”
“I didn’t even recognise the dragon species.”
“I honestly didn’t expect you to.”
“Why not?” asked Charlie, who was a little annoyed that Harry had doubted him.
“Don’t worry, it’s not because I don’t believe in you or anything; it’s just because the silver dragons have been extinct since before Merlin’s time.”
“Ah, right. That’s a fairly good reason.”
Harry chuckled softly; he wasn’t at all what Charlie had expected. Charlie had images of Harry acting like a pureblood snob: Malfoy was a good example. He had thought, from his siblings’ descriptions, that Harry would be an arrogant prat. He wasn’t; he was exactly like the accounts about Harry he had heard prior to this summer: he was a spirited, courageous, fool-hardy young man who had been through so much, but still had a vivacity that was described as contagious.
Charlie thought back to when Ron and Ginny had been telling him about Harry’s behaviour. He knew that Hermione was with them at the time, but she was oddly quiet, like when she was deep in thought. She had been since that day in Diagon Alley.
“Can I see it?” asked Charlie nervously.
“Sure,” answered Harry, who then transformed.
Harry stood still while Charlie inspected him. The only action he took was to lift his wing when Charlie indicated that he should. When Charlie said to him about breathing fire, Harry continued to shock Charlie at the extent of the flame. It was white hot and extended nearly the full length of the small dragon. The claws and teeth were razor sharp. Harry had also been pleased to discover that this species of dragon could swim, which was a talent which Harry himself still was not confident in, despite receiving lessons from Daphne and Tracey. Finally Charlie stopped walking round him and stood in front, staring at his emerald eyes and the black tribal mark on his forehead. They were the only identifying marks on Harry. The eyes were exactly the same as his, but he couldn’t explain where exactly the tribal mark had come from.
Once Charlie was finished Harry changed back and stretched his neck before Charlie started interrogating him.
“Where did you learn to do that? What’s up with the marking on your forehead? Where did those swords and that bow come from? Where have you been all summer? Have you seen Tonks recently? I know she’s in on this. How come you’re so much taller and better built? Why can I feel the magic coming off you?” Charlie asked in one breath. Once he stopped to breathe, Harry quickly cut in.”
“One question at a time; I’m not superman.”
“Huh?”
“Muggle reference, don’t worry about it.”
“Okay.”
“Anyway, just wait patiently and your questions will be answered.”
Harry indicated to the other robed figures that he was ready to begin. Charlie looked around to see who it was as they pulled down their hoods. He recognised Fleur and he scowled at Tonks when she revealed herself, but didn’t recognise the other man. He didn’t know who the three teenage girls were, but he thought he had seen them in the “Daily Prophet” recently. The final person shocked him.
“You’re a vampire,” he stated, surprising himself at how calm he was.
“Yeah; I’m Peter Johnson. I’m a day-walker; the normal magic means I’m not as affected by the sun. Mark Hunter over there is a werewolf.”
Charlie whipped his head around to the other man who flashed him a grin before transforming into the wolf form and back.
“You’re not a werewolf. You’re a wolf animagus.”
“No, I’m a real werewolf. The tail and nose give it away. I can just control the transformations.”
“He really is a werewolf,” Harry said. Charlie heard one of the Ravenclaws gasp.
“Right,” said Charlie, storing the information. He really shouldn’t mess with any of the people around him. “A word of advice Harry.”
“What is it?”
“Change your robes, you look like Death Eaters.”
The group chuckled. Charlie really was the older brother of Fred and George; he was charismatic and good-humoured. They were built the same way as well. Harry thought for a moment, and then waved his hand. At once his robes changed. They became pure white, except for a black tribal marking on the back and over the left breast and left arm. Charlie noticed that it was the same symbol as the one which had graced the dragon’s head, but decided to hear Harry out before asking any more questions.
Harry sat on the ground and indicated for everyone else to do so before swearing them all to silence and beginning his tale. As he listened Charlie felt different emotions: pity, joy, sadness and anger, the latter being directed towards his family and their actions. Harry told of how he had been abused and Daphne had rescued him. He told the four who had come to talk to him everything, up to learning to apparate the previous day. Charlie now understood why the twins had disowned the family. He doubted he could stay in the Burrow for vary long before there were arguments every five minutes. It would be a disaster.
“Right,” he said aloud, “I can see why the twins don’t want anything to do with the family. I’d better owl them to check if they wouldn’t mind housing me.”
At this Tonks spoke up, while looking nervously down at her feet. “You could stay with me if you wanted.” Tonks acting shy; that was one for the record books. Since the group had been forced out of Greengrass Manor she had been staying at her own flat; nobody had managed to link her to Harry.
Charlie agreed quickly, before she had a chance to change her mind. This caused Tonks to look up sharply, straight at Charlie, beaming.
Before they left though, Charlie had some things he wanted to straighten out. He turned to the three teenage girls he didn’t recognise.
“I’m going to presume that you’re Daphne and you’re Tracey.” Once Harry had said the name he had recognised Blaise; the Zabini family were a prominent member of pureblood society, but he couldn’t remember anyone saying they were allied with Voldemort.
“Other way round,” answered Tracey. “I’m Tracey.”
“And I’m Daphne.”
“Alright, I’ll try not to get you two mixed up, but I’m not very good with names.”
“Don’t worry; usually if one of us is somewhere the other isn’t far away,” answered Daphne.
He then turned to Fleur. “You’re a half-veela, right?”
“A quarter,” corrected Fleur.
“Okay, a quarter veela, but either way you still shouldn’t be able to do the avian transformation.”
“That’s right,” said Fleur, before demonstrating her capabilities by turning into the iconic symbol of a veela. She grew wings and her face changed into a bird’s. Her lower legs also developed claws and when she held out her hand a ball of fire appeared.
After turning back she said “The room in the Potter cemetery gave me all the powers of a pure-blooded veela.”
“Okay, it was nice to meet you all. See you around,” said Charlie, as Tonks started pulling impatiently on his arm.
“Bye,” she said quickly, before apparating away.
After checking to make sure the three remaining people didn’t have any questions and could get back to wherever they lived without help Harry and his growing group of followers disapparated.
*
Harry awoke early the next morning: it was the first day back at Hogwarts. The girls, including Blaise (who had spent the night at Potter Hall), Peter and Harry had all packed the night before. They were all eagerly anticipating their return to Hogwarts. Fleur was a bundle of nerves: she would be helping the teachers in various subjects and would help brew potions for the hospital wing. Peter was nervously awaiting his first day at Hogwarts, wondering how he would be welcomed. It isn’t everyday a vampire goes to school.
They managed to convince Hilda and Liv to take them to the platform early, even if it did mean they were waiting around for an hour. As it was they were among the first there, only some first and second years who nobody knew had arrived before them. This allowed them to choose whichever carriage they wanted. They settled on the one at the very back of the train and got comfortable.
They chatted for the next hour, and greeted anybody they recognised who walked past outside. Many were stunned by the fact that Harry Potter was sitting with a group of Slytherins, even if they were very attractive. Many of the boys also stopped outside when they noticed Fleur. She had lowered the effect of her veela charm, but many of them still stared. She shook her head after they left and muttered something about weak-minded fools. Harry thought that it would guarantee that people would stay awake in History of Magic.
Eventually the train started pulling out of the station. There was a rush to the windows as people flocked towards them so that they could wave goodbye. Neither Ron nor Hermione had shown their faces to Harry; he didn’t want to see Ron who would probably try to fight Harry again, but he wouldn’t have minded talking to Hermione. She hadn’t said a word at the confrontation which was definitely unusual. She had been Harry’s best friend since the Halloween of their first year and she had acted as his conscience since then, advising him when something was wrong, but still going along with Harry to prevent him getting into more trouble.
While he was gazing out the window Cho Chang stood nervously outside the carriage, not wanting to disturb Harry’s thoughts. It wasn’t until Daphne hit his shoulder and nodded in the head girl’s direction that Harry realised she was there.
“Harry,” she started.
“Yeah,” replied Harry coldly. She had sided with Marietta last year after she betrayed the DA, even though it meant that she had nearly been caught.
“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean all that stuff at the end of last year.”
“Okay.” Harry returned to staring out the window.
“Right, you don’t want me here, so I’ll just give you the money and go.”
“What’s this for?” asked Harry as the money landed on his leg.
“It’s the money you left after the fight with Ron. It’s my parents’ apothecary.”
“Oh, right, sorry about that. And I’m sorry about how I acted there now.”
“Apology accepted.”
“Anyway, that money was to repair the window.”
“We know; that’s the change.”
“Alright, that’s okay then.”
“Well, see you around. I’ve got to start this Prefects’ meeting now.”
“Bye.”
As Cho left and quietly shut the door behind her Tracey turned to Harry. “Well, that was awkward.”
“I know,” said Blaise, “Harry; what did she say at the end of last year?”
“She said some shit about my parents and Cedric. She started saying it was my fault they died. I know she didn’t mean it, but it still hurt.”
“That bitch!”
“Just leave it, alright? She said sorry.”
“Alright.”
With those final words Harry turned on his side and tried to get to sleep. The rocking of the old train was soothing and soon Harry was fast asleep.
*
“Potter!” shouted a voice from the doorway, waking Harry up.
“What do you want weasel?” Ron was standing in the doorway; his lanky frame meant he had to duck to enter.
“We aren’t finished yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“That fight: it’s not done.”
“Yeah right, I beat the shit into you and you know it.”
“I wasn’t prepared.”
Harry just ignored him and turned to Blaise. “Do you ever notice how alike weasels and ferrets are?”
“Yeah, they are quite similar, now that you say it.”
Ron advanced into the carriage, drawing his fist back to hit Harry. At once the girls had drawn their wands on him. Harry and Peter both sat with bored expressions on their faces.
“Real manly Potter: needing girls to defend you. And they’re Slytherins as well.”
“What’s wrong with that weasel?” asked Blaise threateningly.
“Everything.”
“Simple answer from a simple person,” counter Harry, “But wrong. There isn’t much wrong with them. Just leave before you embarrass yourself anymore.”
Ron looked angry, but twirled around and strolled angrily from the carriage. The way his robes flared would have made Snape proud. He stormed out past Hermione who was standing behind him. Her eyes darted between Harry and Ron, trying to decide which one she would follow. She shrugged her shoulders in way of an apology to Harry and said “We’ll talk later,” before running after Ron. Her behaviour was definitely weird.
There wasn’t much talk in the carriage after that, as Harry rolled over and promptly went back to sleep.
*
Harry felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.
“I’m up, I’m up,” he claimed groggily.
“Harry,” Fleur said gently, “You need to wake up, we’re nearly in Hogsmeade.”
“It can wait,” said Harry. He felt someone pulling him up.
“Out, now,” ordered Daphne as Blaise manhandled Harry towards the door. “Unless you want to see us getting changed.” Harry just smiled and sat back down.
“You shouldn’t have said that,” said Tracey.
“Let me put that another way,” said Blaise, while talking out her wand, “Out of the carriage or I’ll hex parts of your body that Fleur enjoys so much.” That got Harry moving; he was out of the carriage as soon as he could open the door.
Half an hour later the train pulled into the station. They group disembarked quickly, hoping to secure a couple of the carriages up to Hogwarts. As Harry walked up to one of the carriages he was thinking about Cho’s apology; he would definitely be restarting the DA this year and was willing to welcome Marietta and Cho back, but didn’t know how well they would be received.
While thinking about this he saw someone he needed to apologise to and hurried to catch up with her after giving Fleur a quick explanation. The thestrals pulling the carriage started moving away, but Harry sprinted and managed to clamber in while it was moving. The three girls in the carriage stopped talking and watched him as he managed to open the door and swing himself in before collapsing on a seat.
“That,” Harry started “Is a lot harder than it looks.”
The three girls, two of whom were known gossips, sat speechless, so Harry decided he would be the one to start.
“Parvati, I’m really sorry about what happened in fourth year.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, finally able to find her voice.
“When I took you to the Yule Ball; I was a complete prat and I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay; you made up for it with the DA last year. I got an O!”
“So did I,” said Lavender.
“And me,” agreed Padma.
“Padma, I’m also sorry for setting you up with Ron.”
“No problem, I wouldn’t have had a date if you hadn’t.”
“What? You’re serious, are you?” asked a disbelieving Harry.
“Umm, yeah, nobody asked me.”
“What?! But you’re smart, can hold a conversation and you’re pretty good looking.”
“Harry, are you trying to flirt with Padma?” asked Lavender teasingly.
“No, no offence, Padma. I’m taken.”
“Who’s the lucky woman then?” asked Parvati, trying to get some good gossip before term had officially started.
“Umm, you remember Fleur, don’t you? From the Triwizard Tournament?”
“Of course, she was the one that every boy asked. Honestly, I was jealous.”
“That’s the one.”
“You mean you’re dating a veela?” questioned Padma.
“A quarter veela,” corrected Harry, who was uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. “Are you guys going to the DA again this year?”
The answer was positive from all three. Harry added a mental note to change its name though. Dumbledore’s Army just wouldn’t do this year.
The rest of the chat on the way to the castle was light-hearted. The girls talked about their summers while Harry promised to reveal all at the first DA meeting, which only intrigued the two girls. During the ride Harry thought he saw a pair of red eyes watching him from the forest, but he blinked and the eyes had disappeared so he just put it down as his imagination.
*
Harry lay in bed that night; the feast had been fairly lively. He had noticed that Dumbledore wasn’t there, but that was only because McGonagall had given the speech. Ron hadn’t said anything to him and it looked as if most of Gryffindor were supporting Harry, even if they didn’t know the full story. The only person who puzzled Harry was Hermione: she kept sending him weird looks. She had the same glint in her eyes as when she was trying to solve a particularly complex rune series; it unnerved Harry. He ignored it though; there was no point worrying and it was doubtless that Hermione would confront him at some point.
Nobody had been sorted yet either; they couldn’t find a way into Dumbledore’s office. They had tried guessing the password, they said every sweet they could think off but nothing worked. The muggle studies teacher had even listed every muggle sweet and chocolate bar there was. That took quite a long time.
Harry lay for another hour, but just couldn’t sleep. He thought back on the day and Peter’s awe when he saw Hogwarts for the first time. His eyesight was amazing; he could see miles away. As Harry was thinking he remembered what he had seen earlier: the eyes. He decided that he might as well go out to explore because he couldn’t sleep anyway.
He dressed quickly and cast a quick silencing charm on his feet. He then crept out of the dormitory and through the common room; no one else was up. He exited Gryffindor Tower through the portrait of a sleepy and very grumpy lady. He apologised profusely before sprinting down the corridor and leaping down the floors, not even waiting for the stairs.
He was nearly caught on the ground floor; only his improved hearing prevented Mrs Norris from catching him at the bottom of the stairs. As it was, he ducked into an alcove and watched as the cat appeared from a corridor opposite. Filch followed soon after.
“What is it girl? Is some nasty pupil out of bed?” he asked. His eyes glanced around the room. Harry was sure he would be caught, but the caretaker just scanned the grand entrance.
“Nobody here girl; let’s go on.”
Harry watched them leave and hen waited for a minute before scampering across the foyer and outside. He felt good, even with the presence of Snape inside the castle behind him. He saw light flickering through the gaps in the curtains in Hagrid’s hut. He wondered what the man was doing up so late, but ignored it.
He turned and ventured into the forest. It was alive. There was sound and movement everywhere. Even though it was the dead of night all the animals were still hard at work. Harry became absorbed by the sound. After about five minutes he heard the heavier sound of hooves approaching him. He looked up in time to see Bane charging at him. He stood calmly as Bane galloped. At the last second he threw himself out of the way and watched as Bane’s spear flew where his head had been a fraction of a second ago. He rolled and was instantly up on his feet.
“I told you never to enter this forest again human,” said the centaur.
“I know, I just don’t trust you very much, so I won’t take your advice,” said Harry.
“You’re all grown up now, there will be no mercy.” Bane was serious; he intended to kill Harry.
It was only then that Harry realised he was surrounded. “Your right; I won’t be sparing your life.”
The centaur laughed. “You couldn’t take any life; let alone best me in a contest.”
Without giving Harry time to reply he charged. Harry sidestepped him, crouched and stuck out his leg. “I’m sorry, did I trip you?”
“That was a dirty move.”
“So was attacking me while speaking to me.”
“That doesn’t excuse what you did; it is a grave insult to a centaur.”
“Yeah, well, shit happens; deal with it.”
Bane climbed unsteadily to his feet. Then, with surprising speed, he suddenly grabbed the spear lodged in the tree behind him and threw it at Harry. He was trying to kill him, and Harry reacted. Without thinking he ducked and plucked the weapon from the air. Turning around, he used his momentum to hurl the spear at Bane who was beginning to charge in a follow up attack. He didn’t see the spear until he felt it slam into his chest. He stumbled and fell, skidding to a stop right in front of Harry.
Harry ignored the body and turned round. He tried to walk away, but the centaurs levelled their weapons at him. Many were armed with similar weapons to Bane, but some had bows.
All of a sudden, there came the sound of multiple bowstrings being unleashed simultaneously. Each arrow hit its target with deadly accuracy. About a third of the centaurs dropped before they realised what was happening. The rest didn’t stay to watch their comrades die; they fled back into the forest. Harry stood his ground.
He looked towards where the arrows had come from and watched as a humanoid figure appeared from the shadows. The man had shoulder length black hair and bright red eyes, along with dark blue, almost black skin. He stood at about seven foot tall and was dressed only in loose trousers. Harry noticed the sword hanging from its scabbard around his waist and the quiver of arrows. He carried a bow in his hands. Harry also saw a tattoo in the same shape as the markings on his weaponry across the man’s left shoulder.
He beckoned to Harry and walked back into the forest. He was obviously leading Harry somewhere; they had saved him, so they couldn’t mean harm. Something told Harry that he was surrounded, but he couldn’t detect any sign of life from the other elves. He walked for about five minutes before they arrived at a clearing.
In the centre of the clearing was a large pool of water, about fifty feet wide, with a small waterfall leading into it. The water looked clean and clear, easily suitable for drinking. By the edge of the small lake stood two figures and they turned around as he approached.
“Godric?” Harry asked. “Sirius?”
*
A/N: I was going to make it longer, but decided to end it there. I don’t want to keep you waiting. Too long. What house should Peter be sorted into? There’s a poll going up about it. Also, keep suggesting ideas for the gifts. Harry has to defeat Voldemort at some point and in my fic. both will be more powerful than in canon. Way more powerful.
Yeah; I love Sirius as a character. What can I say?
A/N 2: I don’t own Harry Potter, however, I do have a cure for gullibility and there’s a special offer: buy two, get a third free. That’s a saving of £500! Limited stock so reserve yours today!
Chapter 9: The New School Term
Charlie Weasley waited in the ruins of the Delacour mansion nervously. The twins had set up this meeting with Harry for him. He wanted to know what was going on. His family was really close-knit, it was great, but it did mean that if one of their precious children said anything Arthur and Molly wouldn’t hear the other side of the story. It was part of the reason he had moved to Romania: his family suffocated him.
Around him stood the three other members of the order who had sought out Fred and George on Harry’s advice. They were new members and had only recently graduated from Hogwarts. They said that they didn’t believe the way Harry had spoken to Dumbledore; he was rumoured to be Dumbledore’s favourite pupil. Harry’s actions were definitely out of character and they wanted to know why. Needless to say two had been in Ravenclaw; the third had been a Hufflepuff. Only four people stood there, not even Alastor Moody, although he suspected that Tonks had been in on it. The way she had smirked had reminded him of their days in Hogwarts, specifically the times she knew something that he didn’t.
He hadn’t talked much to the others; they appeared to be friends and were joking among themselves. Instead he was lost in thought about Harry’s actions. From what his family had told him, Harry had lashed out at them when they tried to keep him safe; he had verbally abused Ginny and Molly before attacking Ron. Ron was still in the hospital; his broken nose was taking longer to treat than it should’ve. The healers mustn’t have liked the fact that the lanky ginger kid had started a fight with the Boy-Who-Lived. He also had a damaged kidney, although witnesses said that Harry only hit him once. That boy could punch hard.
Charlie glanced at his watch: Harry was late. It might have been the day before Hogwarts started again, but the boy had set up the time and place of the meeting. Something didn’t feel right. Harry had always been punctual.
Charlie looked at the sky, something he had drilled into him from being a dragon keeper. Trust your instincts he had been told, if a dragon is going to attack, it’ll be from the air. He didn’t expect to see anything, but it was a good habit. Unfortunately, his luck had run out. There was a dragon: it was silver, a species Charlie didn’t recognise. He drew his wand as he ran through every thing he had learnt about dragon species. There was no denying that the thing hurtling out of the horizon towards them was a dragon. With no idea about the species he resorted to the first methods of living through a dragon encounter he had been taught: make loud noises, then escape. Dragons’ ears were almost as sensitive as its eyes, but the loud noises were easier to make than bright light, especially in the middle of the day. The other sensitive parts of a dragon are the wings and underside.
He observed the dragon as it got speedily nearer. For a dragon, it was small, but fast. The fact that it was only about twenty metres from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail was encouraging. People say that the bigger the foe is the harder they fall, but Charlie knew that wasn’t true. The bigger they are the harder they hit was closer to the truth, even more so with dragons.
When he was finished with his observations Charlie started sending redactor curses at the large parts of the Delacours’ mansion. The loud bang produced would hurt the dragon, and the scattered masonry might injure its wings, unlikely as it was. He was disappointed though as the dragon continued flying towards them, low to the ground in an unusual attack arc, which only made things worse.
At about four hundred metres away the dragon suddenly dropped onto the ground and transformed into a humanoid figure clad from head to toe in black robes. As the figure sprinted towards them Charlie thought the twins had set them up. Black robes meant one thing: Death Eaters and whoever could be a dragon animagus would be extremely powerful: the last recorded was Merlin himself. This didn’t look good.
Suddenly the man disappeared and silently reappeared in front of Charlie with his wand pointed straight at his face. He heard soft pops around him which told Charlie that the Death Eaters had back up. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He was thinking about which spell he would use when the figure in front of him spoke.
“Password?” he asked.
“The Dork Lard wants to suck off Harry Potter,” he responded automatically, barely registering the fact that the other three had said it at the same time.
“I knew I shouldn’t have let the twins set this up. Trust them to come up with a ridiculous password,” the man said, lowering his wand.
“Harry?!” gasped Charlie.
“In the flesh,” said the man as he pulled back the hood on his robe to reveal the famous lightning bolt scar.
“Shit you scared me! Was that dragon you?”
“Yeah; why?”
“Because you’re the first dragon animagus since Merlin himself.”
“So everyone keeps telling me.”
“I didn’t even recognise the dragon species.”
“I honestly didn’t expect you to.”
“Why not?” asked Charlie, who was a little annoyed that Harry had doubted him.
“Don’t worry, it’s not because I don’t believe in you or anything; it’s just because the silver dragons have been extinct since before Merlin’s time.”
“Ah, right. That’s a fairly good reason.”
Harry chuckled softly; he wasn’t at all what Charlie had expected. Charlie had images of Harry acting like a pureblood snob: Malfoy was a good example. He had thought, from his siblings’ descriptions, that Harry would be an arrogant prat. He wasn’t; he was exactly like the accounts about Harry he had heard prior to this summer: he was a spirited, courageous, fool-hardy young man who had been through so much, but still had a vivacity that was described as contagious.
Charlie thought back to when Ron and Ginny had been telling him about Harry’s behaviour. He knew that Hermione was with them at the time, but she was oddly quiet, like when she was deep in thought. She had been since that day in Diagon Alley.
“Can I see it?” asked Charlie nervously.
“Sure,” answered Harry, who then transformed.
Harry stood still while Charlie inspected him. The only action he took was to lift his wing when Charlie indicated that he should. When Charlie said to him about breathing fire, Harry continued to shock Charlie at the extent of the flame. It was white hot and extended nearly the full length of the small dragon. The claws and teeth were razor sharp. Harry had also been pleased to discover that this species of dragon could swim, which was a talent which Harry himself still was not confident in, despite receiving lessons from Daphne and Tracey. Finally Charlie stopped walking round him and stood in front, staring at his emerald eyes and the black tribal mark on his forehead. They were the only identifying marks on Harry. The eyes were exactly the same as his, but he couldn’t explain where exactly the tribal mark had come from.
Once Charlie was finished Harry changed back and stretched his neck before Charlie started interrogating him.
“Where did you learn to do that? What’s up with the marking on your forehead? Where did those swords and that bow come from? Where have you been all summer? Have you seen Tonks recently? I know she’s in on this. How come you’re so much taller and better built? Why can I feel the magic coming off you?” Charlie asked in one breath. Once he stopped to breathe, Harry quickly cut in.”
“One question at a time; I’m not superman.”
“Huh?”
“Muggle reference, don’t worry about it.”
“Okay.”
“Anyway, just wait patiently and your questions will be answered.”
Harry indicated to the other robed figures that he was ready to begin. Charlie looked around to see who it was as they pulled down their hoods. He recognised Fleur and he scowled at Tonks when she revealed herself, but didn’t recognise the other man. He didn’t know who the three teenage girls were, but he thought he had seen them in the “Daily Prophet” recently. The final person shocked him.
“You’re a vampire,” he stated, surprising himself at how calm he was.
“Yeah; I’m Peter Johnson. I’m a day-walker; the normal magic means I’m not as affected by the sun. Mark Hunter over there is a werewolf.”
Charlie whipped his head around to the other man who flashed him a grin before transforming into the wolf form and back.
“You’re not a werewolf. You’re a wolf animagus.”
“No, I’m a real werewolf. The tail and nose give it away. I can just control the transformations.”
“He really is a werewolf,” Harry said. Charlie heard one of the Ravenclaws gasp.
“Right,” said Charlie, storing the information. He really shouldn’t mess with any of the people around him. “A word of advice Harry.”
“What is it?”
“Change your robes, you look like Death Eaters.”
The group chuckled. Charlie really was the older brother of Fred and George; he was charismatic and good-humoured. They were built the same way as well. Harry thought for a moment, and then waved his hand. At once his robes changed. They became pure white, except for a black tribal marking on the back and over the left breast and left arm. Charlie noticed that it was the same symbol as the one which had graced the dragon’s head, but decided to hear Harry out before asking any more questions.
Harry sat on the ground and indicated for everyone else to do so before swearing them all to silence and beginning his tale. As he listened Charlie felt different emotions: pity, joy, sadness and anger, the latter being directed towards his family and their actions. Harry told of how he had been abused and Daphne had rescued him. He told the four who had come to talk to him everything, up to learning to apparate the previous day. Charlie now understood why the twins had disowned the family. He doubted he could stay in the Burrow for vary long before there were arguments every five minutes. It would be a disaster.
“Right,” he said aloud, “I can see why the twins don’t want anything to do with the family. I’d better owl them to check if they wouldn’t mind housing me.”
At this Tonks spoke up, while looking nervously down at her feet. “You could stay with me if you wanted.” Tonks acting shy; that was one for the record books. Since the group had been forced out of Greengrass Manor she had been staying at her own flat; nobody had managed to link her to Harry.
Charlie agreed quickly, before she had a chance to change her mind. This caused Tonks to look up sharply, straight at Charlie, beaming.
Before they left though, Charlie had some things he wanted to straighten out. He turned to the three teenage girls he didn’t recognise.
“I’m going to presume that you’re Daphne and you’re Tracey.” Once Harry had said the name he had recognised Blaise; the Zabini family were a prominent member of pureblood society, but he couldn’t remember anyone saying they were allied with Voldemort.
“Other way round,” answered Tracey. “I’m Tracey.”
“And I’m Daphne.”
“Alright, I’ll try not to get you two mixed up, but I’m not very good with names.”
“Don’t worry; usually if one of us is somewhere the other isn’t far away,” answered Daphne.
He then turned to Fleur. “You’re a half-veela, right?”
“A quarter,” corrected Fleur.
“Okay, a quarter veela, but either way you still shouldn’t be able to do the avian transformation.”
“That’s right,” said Fleur, before demonstrating her capabilities by turning into the iconic symbol of a veela. She grew wings and her face changed into a bird’s. Her lower legs also developed claws and when she held out her hand a ball of fire appeared.
After turning back she said “The room in the Potter cemetery gave me all the powers of a pure-blooded veela.”
“Okay, it was nice to meet you all. See you around,” said Charlie, as Tonks started pulling impatiently on his arm.
“Bye,” she said quickly, before apparating away.
After checking to make sure the three remaining people didn’t have any questions and could get back to wherever they lived without help Harry and his growing group of followers disapparated.
*
Harry awoke early the next morning: it was the first day back at Hogwarts. The girls, including Blaise (who had spent the night at Potter Hall), Peter and Harry had all packed the night before. They were all eagerly anticipating their return to Hogwarts. Fleur was a bundle of nerves: she would be helping the teachers in various subjects and would help brew potions for the hospital wing. Peter was nervously awaiting his first day at Hogwarts, wondering how he would be welcomed. It isn’t everyday a vampire goes to school.
They managed to convince Hilda and Liv to take them to the platform early, even if it did mean they were waiting around for an hour. As it was they were among the first there, only some first and second years who nobody knew had arrived before them. This allowed them to choose whichever carriage they wanted. They settled on the one at the very back of the train and got comfortable.
They chatted for the next hour, and greeted anybody they recognised who walked past outside. Many were stunned by the fact that Harry Potter was sitting with a group of Slytherins, even if they were very attractive. Many of the boys also stopped outside when they noticed Fleur. She had lowered the effect of her veela charm, but many of them still stared. She shook her head after they left and muttered something about weak-minded fools. Harry thought that it would guarantee that people would stay awake in History of Magic.
Eventually the train started pulling out of the station. There was a rush to the windows as people flocked towards them so that they could wave goodbye. Neither Ron nor Hermione had shown their faces to Harry; he didn’t want to see Ron who would probably try to fight Harry again, but he wouldn’t have minded talking to Hermione. She hadn’t said a word at the confrontation which was definitely unusual. She had been Harry’s best friend since the Halloween of their first year and she had acted as his conscience since then, advising him when something was wrong, but still going along with Harry to prevent him getting into more trouble.
While he was gazing out the window Cho Chang stood nervously outside the carriage, not wanting to disturb Harry’s thoughts. It wasn’t until Daphne hit his shoulder and nodded in the head girl’s direction that Harry realised she was there.
“Harry,” she started.
“Yeah,” replied Harry coldly. She had sided with Marietta last year after she betrayed the DA, even though it meant that she had nearly been caught.
“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean all that stuff at the end of last year.”
“Okay.” Harry returned to staring out the window.
“Right, you don’t want me here, so I’ll just give you the money and go.”
“What’s this for?” asked Harry as the money landed on his leg.
“It’s the money you left after the fight with Ron. It’s my parents’ apothecary.”
“Oh, right, sorry about that. And I’m sorry about how I acted there now.”
“Apology accepted.”
“Anyway, that money was to repair the window.”
“We know; that’s the change.”
“Alright, that’s okay then.”
“Well, see you around. I’ve got to start this Prefects’ meeting now.”
“Bye.”
As Cho left and quietly shut the door behind her Tracey turned to Harry. “Well, that was awkward.”
“I know,” said Blaise, “Harry; what did she say at the end of last year?”
“She said some shit about my parents and Cedric. She started saying it was my fault they died. I know she didn’t mean it, but it still hurt.”
“That bitch!”
“Just leave it, alright? She said sorry.”
“Alright.”
With those final words Harry turned on his side and tried to get to sleep. The rocking of the old train was soothing and soon Harry was fast asleep.
*
“Potter!” shouted a voice from the doorway, waking Harry up.
“What do you want weasel?” Ron was standing in the doorway; his lanky frame meant he had to duck to enter.
“We aren’t finished yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“That fight: it’s not done.”
“Yeah right, I beat the shit into you and you know it.”
“I wasn’t prepared.”
Harry just ignored him and turned to Blaise. “Do you ever notice how alike weasels and ferrets are?”
“Yeah, they are quite similar, now that you say it.”
Ron advanced into the carriage, drawing his fist back to hit Harry. At once the girls had drawn their wands on him. Harry and Peter both sat with bored expressions on their faces.
“Real manly Potter: needing girls to defend you. And they’re Slytherins as well.”
“What’s wrong with that weasel?” asked Blaise threateningly.
“Everything.”
“Simple answer from a simple person,” counter Harry, “But wrong. There isn’t much wrong with them. Just leave before you embarrass yourself anymore.”
Ron looked angry, but twirled around and strolled angrily from the carriage. The way his robes flared would have made Snape proud. He stormed out past Hermione who was standing behind him. Her eyes darted between Harry and Ron, trying to decide which one she would follow. She shrugged her shoulders in way of an apology to Harry and said “We’ll talk later,” before running after Ron. Her behaviour was definitely weird.
There wasn’t much talk in the carriage after that, as Harry rolled over and promptly went back to sleep.
*
Harry felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.
“I’m up, I’m up,” he claimed groggily.
“Harry,” Fleur said gently, “You need to wake up, we’re nearly in Hogsmeade.”
“It can wait,” said Harry. He felt someone pulling him up.
“Out, now,” ordered Daphne as Blaise manhandled Harry towards the door. “Unless you want to see us getting changed.” Harry just smiled and sat back down.
“You shouldn’t have said that,” said Tracey.
“Let me put that another way,” said Blaise, while talking out her wand, “Out of the carriage or I’ll hex parts of your body that Fleur enjoys so much.” That got Harry moving; he was out of the carriage as soon as he could open the door.
Half an hour later the train pulled into the station. They group disembarked quickly, hoping to secure a couple of the carriages up to Hogwarts. As Harry walked up to one of the carriages he was thinking about Cho’s apology; he would definitely be restarting the DA this year and was willing to welcome Marietta and Cho back, but didn’t know how well they would be received.
While thinking about this he saw someone he needed to apologise to and hurried to catch up with her after giving Fleur a quick explanation. The thestrals pulling the carriage started moving away, but Harry sprinted and managed to clamber in while it was moving. The three girls in the carriage stopped talking and watched him as he managed to open the door and swing himself in before collapsing on a seat.
“That,” Harry started “Is a lot harder than it looks.”
The three girls, two of whom were known gossips, sat speechless, so Harry decided he would be the one to start.
“Parvati, I’m really sorry about what happened in fourth year.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, finally able to find her voice.
“When I took you to the Yule Ball; I was a complete prat and I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay; you made up for it with the DA last year. I got an O!”
“So did I,” said Lavender.
“And me,” agreed Padma.
“Padma, I’m also sorry for setting you up with Ron.”
“No problem, I wouldn’t have had a date if you hadn’t.”
“What? You’re serious, are you?” asked a disbelieving Harry.
“Umm, yeah, nobody asked me.”
“What?! But you’re smart, can hold a conversation and you’re pretty good looking.”
“Harry, are you trying to flirt with Padma?” asked Lavender teasingly.
“No, no offence, Padma. I’m taken.”
“Who’s the lucky woman then?” asked Parvati, trying to get some good gossip before term had officially started.
“Umm, you remember Fleur, don’t you? From the Triwizard Tournament?”
“Of course, she was the one that every boy asked. Honestly, I was jealous.”
“That’s the one.”
“You mean you’re dating a veela?” questioned Padma.
“A quarter veela,” corrected Harry, who was uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. “Are you guys going to the DA again this year?”
The answer was positive from all three. Harry added a mental note to change its name though. Dumbledore’s Army just wouldn’t do this year.
The rest of the chat on the way to the castle was light-hearted. The girls talked about their summers while Harry promised to reveal all at the first DA meeting, which only intrigued the two girls. During the ride Harry thought he saw a pair of red eyes watching him from the forest, but he blinked and the eyes had disappeared so he just put it down as his imagination.
*
Harry lay in bed that night; the feast had been fairly lively. He had noticed that Dumbledore wasn’t there, but that was only because McGonagall had given the speech. Ron hadn’t said anything to him and it looked as if most of Gryffindor were supporting Harry, even if they didn’t know the full story. The only person who puzzled Harry was Hermione: she kept sending him weird looks. She had the same glint in her eyes as when she was trying to solve a particularly complex rune series; it unnerved Harry. He ignored it though; there was no point worrying and it was doubtless that Hermione would confront him at some point.
Nobody had been sorted yet either; they couldn’t find a way into Dumbledore’s office. They had tried guessing the password, they said every sweet they could think off but nothing worked. The muggle studies teacher had even listed every muggle sweet and chocolate bar there was. That took quite a long time.
Harry lay for another hour, but just couldn’t sleep. He thought back on the day and Peter’s awe when he saw Hogwarts for the first time. His eyesight was amazing; he could see miles away. As Harry was thinking he remembered what he had seen earlier: the eyes. He decided that he might as well go out to explore because he couldn’t sleep anyway.
He dressed quickly and cast a quick silencing charm on his feet. He then crept out of the dormitory and through the common room; no one else was up. He exited Gryffindor Tower through the portrait of a sleepy and very grumpy lady. He apologised profusely before sprinting down the corridor and leaping down the floors, not even waiting for the stairs.
He was nearly caught on the ground floor; only his improved hearing prevented Mrs Norris from catching him at the bottom of the stairs. As it was, he ducked into an alcove and watched as the cat appeared from a corridor opposite. Filch followed soon after.
“What is it girl? Is some nasty pupil out of bed?” he asked. His eyes glanced around the room. Harry was sure he would be caught, but the caretaker just scanned the grand entrance.
“Nobody here girl; let’s go on.”
Harry watched them leave and hen waited for a minute before scampering across the foyer and outside. He felt good, even with the presence of Snape inside the castle behind him. He saw light flickering through the gaps in the curtains in Hagrid’s hut. He wondered what the man was doing up so late, but ignored it.
He turned and ventured into the forest. It was alive. There was sound and movement everywhere. Even though it was the dead of night all the animals were still hard at work. Harry became absorbed by the sound. After about five minutes he heard the heavier sound of hooves approaching him. He looked up in time to see Bane charging at him. He stood calmly as Bane galloped. At the last second he threw himself out of the way and watched as Bane’s spear flew where his head had been a fraction of a second ago. He rolled and was instantly up on his feet.
“I told you never to enter this forest again human,” said the centaur.
“I know, I just don’t trust you very much, so I won’t take your advice,” said Harry.
“You’re all grown up now, there will be no mercy.” Bane was serious; he intended to kill Harry.
It was only then that Harry realised he was surrounded. “Your right; I won’t be sparing your life.”
The centaur laughed. “You couldn’t take any life; let alone best me in a contest.”
Without giving Harry time to reply he charged. Harry sidestepped him, crouched and stuck out his leg. “I’m sorry, did I trip you?”
“That was a dirty move.”
“So was attacking me while speaking to me.”
“That doesn’t excuse what you did; it is a grave insult to a centaur.”
“Yeah, well, shit happens; deal with it.”
Bane climbed unsteadily to his feet. Then, with surprising speed, he suddenly grabbed the spear lodged in the tree behind him and threw it at Harry. He was trying to kill him, and Harry reacted. Without thinking he ducked and plucked the weapon from the air. Turning around, he used his momentum to hurl the spear at Bane who was beginning to charge in a follow up attack. He didn’t see the spear until he felt it slam into his chest. He stumbled and fell, skidding to a stop right in front of Harry.
Harry ignored the body and turned round. He tried to walk away, but the centaurs levelled their weapons at him. Many were armed with similar weapons to Bane, but some had bows.
All of a sudden, there came the sound of multiple bowstrings being unleashed simultaneously. Each arrow hit its target with deadly accuracy. About a third of the centaurs dropped before they realised what was happening. The rest didn’t stay to watch their comrades die; they fled back into the forest. Harry stood his ground.
He looked towards where the arrows had come from and watched as a humanoid figure appeared from the shadows. The man had shoulder length black hair and bright red eyes, along with dark blue, almost black skin. He stood at about seven foot tall and was dressed only in loose trousers. Harry noticed the sword hanging from its scabbard around his waist and the quiver of arrows. He carried a bow in his hands. Harry also saw a tattoo in the same shape as the markings on his weaponry across the man’s left shoulder.
He beckoned to Harry and walked back into the forest. He was obviously leading Harry somewhere; they had saved him, so they couldn’t mean harm. Something told Harry that he was surrounded, but he couldn’t detect any sign of life from the other elves. He walked for about five minutes before they arrived at a clearing.
In the centre of the clearing was a large pool of water, about fifty feet wide, with a small waterfall leading into it. The water looked clean and clear, easily suitable for drinking. By the edge of the small lake stood two figures and they turned around as he approached.
“Godric?” Harry asked. “Sirius?”
*
A/N: I was going to make it longer, but decided to end it there. I don’t want to keep you waiting. Too long. What house should Peter be sorted into? There’s a poll going up about it. Also, keep suggesting ideas for the gifts. Harry has to defeat Voldemort at some point and in my fic. both will be more powerful than in canon. Way more powerful.
Yeah; I love Sirius as a character. What can I say?
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