Harry Potter, Dark Legacy » by The Fallen One 2012
Harry has been ostracized by most of Hogwarts due to his name coming out of the Goblet of Fire, the isolation has given him a new perspective however and when he decides to not take this attempt on his life lying down he finds a strange book which will lead him to great things. Will the world be ready for it though? HarryXMulti Harry/smart Eventual/GreyHarry.
Harry Potter, M, English, Fantasy & Romance, chapters: 35, words: 297k+, favs: 5k+, follows: 7k+, updated: Mar 12, 2024 published: Oct 2, 2021, Harry P., Hermione G., Susan B., Daphne G.
Chapter 1
I do not own anything from the harry potter universe, unfortunately.
"Normal Talking"
'Thoughts'
"Parseltongue"
Sometimes Harry would just look around and wondered why he even kept coming back to this damned dorm. Currently, he found himself underneath his invisibility cloak, his only keepsake from his father along with the marauder's map. He was idly fingering the worn parchment but wasn't using it. He didn't need to sneak anywhere but thankfully, with his cloak, he was able to be invisible to the world.
If you are curious about the fact that Harry felt such a need for solitude well like every year it seemed that he was destined to be in deadly situations even when not in school. Going with the Weasleys to the quidditch world cup had been exhilarating to be surrounded by so many magical people and even muggle families and to see people race through the air on brooms. It felt like home, but of course as would be fate's decree any sense of safety and joy was ripped from him as a group of death eaters attacked the world cup. He remembered hearing the screams, the sound of thundering stampeding feet as wizards and witches ran off in a panic. He remembered seeing an innocent muggle family levitated off the ground, humiliated and tortured.
Even after the horrific event, he had hoped that maybe that fate may be a gentle and kind mistress as hopefully that would be his yearly obligation of life-or-death situations checked off for the year. To some extent it seemed that it actually might be as, like every year, they got a new DADA professor who, like Remus, seemed to know what he was doing. He was glad, elated as the first week of school passed without incident the only annoyance being Malfoy and his entourage annoying him but he found himself grateful for that as it actually was normal.
Then after that first week, Dumbledore announced how Hogwarts would be hosting students from two other schools. He had not announced who they were, but he was most likely saving it as a surprise for when they did arrive on Halloween. Well, that set the castle abuzz with gossip and the time passed like a snitch through the air, in a flash. The day before Halloween came and the two schools were introduced as Beauxbaton French School of magic. The students were dressed in blue robes he didn't make note of any striking details, but he did remember a silver-haired girl that seemed to lead the group of foreign students.
She was a beautiful girl older than him but to him seemed off in a way. Like she was ready to defend herself at a moment's notice. He also took note of how every single male in attendance seemed to drool over themselves as she arrived which confused him and seemed to really rub the girls the wrong way.
After that a group of much rougher-looking students came through dressed in red and black, they were introduced as Durmstrang Academy and to Harry's surprise and Ron's near orgasmic delight, Victor Krum was amongst the students, though he walked side by side with his headmaster.
After these groups had been introduced Dumbledore had then gone on to introduce not only the goblet of fire but also show off the Tri-Wizard cup which was the prize along with a thousand galleons. Though there was some disappointment that only wizards over the age of seventeen and therefore of legal age could enter the tournaments. Harry was more than happy with this arrangement as it meant that he didn't even have a hope of entering, not that he wanted to in the first place.
If only.
Yes, it seemed Fate wanted to bend him over and spank him for even entertaining the idea of a nice quiet school year with just the normal amount of excitement from the other schools being here. Oh no, that would be too much to ask!
Instead, as the school gathered after the Halloween feast on the day the champions were to be selected by the great Goblet of bloody Fire. Everything had gone normal, From Beauxbaton was Fleur Delacour, the same beautiful silver-haired witch he had noticed the other day. Then from Durmstrang Was Krum, though Harry was pretty sure he was the only one to enter from his school. Then there was Hogwarts he held his breath and hoped and prayed that it wouldn't be him. His prayers seemed to be answered as Cedric Diggory was chosen from the Hufflepuff house. He actually smiled he was glad and as Dumbledore had gone on to his speech about eternal glory or some such the goblet started to blaze again. And with a hammering heart in his chest harry saw another piece of slightly singed parchment exit the goblet and Dumbledore caught it.
As soon as he saw the headmaster mutter confused, he didn't even need to hear him to know whose name was written on that paper. Who else would it have been? Jesus!?
After that he was met with a barrage of questions from the headmasters, well questions from Dumbledore, the others felt more like accusations. After that he felt like he was back in his second year when everyone was afraid of him, only now instead of fear, it was anger. Hatred even in some cases. Thought the blade of betrayal that stung was Ron, without thought or question he had accused Harry of putting his name in the goblet. No belief not even a hint of doubt Ronald Weasley his best friend had just believed that Harry had somehow cheated his way into eternal glory.
They fought over that Ron had at that point made it his mission to make sure Harry was seen as a real cheater just looking for more attention. That had turned his house against him quicker than he thought it would. In fact, the only people who seemed to believe in him were Neville, Fred, and George as well as Hermione though none of them were very supportive.
He had always felt safe in his common room and dorm now he couldn't go a day without some form of harassment. His schoolwork was ruined, sometimes to the point where he would have to start entire essay's over again, his clothes being bombarded with stink bombs thankfully he was able to clean those. He even found to his horror that someone had broken into his trunk and had poured some foul-smelling liquid into its contents. He didn't care about anything, even though most of his books were ruined, all he cared about was the fact that his one photo of his parents, the map, and the cloak had managed to be saved.
This currently led to where he was now, he found that if he was out of sight he was generally out of mind for his house and that was better than nothing at least. He knew that before the week was up, he was going to attend a wand weighing ceremony. But something that made this easier was that apparently, the champions were exempt from having to take classes and the like.
Letting out a sigh he opened the map and quickly muttered the password. As the ink bled to life on the page he looked at the Gryffindor common room to see it was empty and felt it was safe to head to the kitchens. He had decided against eating with the rest of the populace of the school, thankfully the elves were much more trusting and kinder to him than his peers he laughed bitterly at that, thinking about how he was treated by the Dursleys. Perhaps they all were kindred spirits of sorts.
He kept his cloak on and thankfully the halls were pretty empty since the other students were at breakfast.
Stepping into the kitchen he found the elves busy at work preparing meals and upon seeing him they gave him a polite greeting which he returned. One of the elves, Misty, the sort of head elf in the kitchens met him.
"Hello, kind Harry Potter sir!" she said with a bow "Will you be needed some eatsies before classes?" she asked and he nodded. She smiled brightly her large gold eyes shining as she skipped away to grab some toast with eggs and sausage also taking a side dish and filling it with a few strips of bacon which she then sealed into a simple paper bag. Coming back to Harry she presented the package with a smile.
"Here are some eatsies, will you be coming back for lunch then?" she asked as Harry took the bag and nodded.
"Most likely, and probably dinner too. Most likely for the rest of the year." He said a bit bitterly at the end as Misty shook her head her floppy ears swinging with the motion.
"No Kind sir, Surely your friends will realize they are being cruel to such a kind and amazing wizard and will apologize! I am sure!" Harry gave her a sad smile and nodded.
"We can hope." He said and bid the other elves a fair well which they returned.
After leaving the kitchens Harry quickly navigated his way through the castle, on any other day he wouldn't mind taking his time and admiring the sheer majesty of Hogwarts halls and décor but he didn't want to be caught in a crowd. After a few halls and turns later he found himself climbing the familiar steps of the owlery. Even if everyone else turned their backs on him or held him at arm's length there was one who would always be there. Someone who helped him through his less than pleasant life with the Dursleys and every time he found himself ostracized by his peers.
Arriving at the top he sat at the top step and took his cloak off. Within only a few seconds he felt a slight flush of wind and a weight on his shoulder accompanied by the soft tickle of feathers against his ear. Hedwig had wasted no time in lovingly nibbling away at his hair and cheek. He smiled, Hedwig had always been there for him ever since he got her. He had little doubt that he would have gone mad back at the Dursleys without Hedwig there to keep him grounded.
He quickly unfolded the bag that help the food and took the bacon plate and set it aside. Hedwig seeing her favorite treat quickly hopped down to eat the crispy strips. Harry for himself enjoyed the breakfast provided.
"You know misty says, that the others will come around and see that they're being cruel. What do you think?" he asked as the Snowy owl downed a strip of bacon before letting out a screech, her feathers raising in agitation.
"Not even a chance?" he asked and she screeched again. He smiled sadly stroking her feathers back down.
"Maybe they don't deserve a chance, I mean this is the second time that something out of my control has turned them all away, even Ron. Do they even care about me? Or has it always just been the Boy who lived?" he asked not really expecting an answer. Looking back on it he tried to think about his experiences.
There had been moments of course where it truly felt like he had a family here but just as quickly as they came they left again. He remembered being so excited about learning magic and being away from Dudley. He had always had to hold himself back in muggle school since getting better grades meant he was cheating which meant he was bad which meant a beating. Coming to this school he thought it could be different but the more he thought about it the more he realized just how much he let Ron run his life in some cases. It wasn't much but, in first year when he was talking about Hermione and hurt her feelings, he hadn't agreed at all but held his tongue.
He found he did a lot of that, when Ron would drone on and on and how he would constantly distract him from his work. Harry wasn't studious by any means, he wasn't married to books, but when he found something that truly interested him and that he wanted to know about he wanted to read about it. And when it came to academics Harry could see that the old Dudley routine would play out in his head whenever they would do assignments. He would catch just a flicker of annoyance in Ron if their grades weren't the same or at least close.
And not to mention that Ron also seemed to guide him away from other people, at least if they weren't dressed in red and gold.
Harry began to worry a bit at these thoughts, 'Had I really been that desperate for a friend?' he thought to himself. In his mind, he began to try to list the friends he had, real friends, not acquaintances or someone he worked with on an assignment or talked to just because they happened to share a common room. Only two names came to mind, Hermione and Ron. Yes, he was on good terms with the Weasley family as a whole but Ron was the only one that he was truly friends with the rest were more friends by proxy rather than effort. Though the twins did seem to care quite a bit but even then, Ron would just scoff at them and change the subject or urge him away.
Harry's eyes narrowed as he thought about this. The more he thought and looked back the more he saw himself as some wide-eyed idiot. Ron had been much more controlling than he had originally thought, possessive even. Even there very first few moments in Hogwarts he did his best to steer his opinion.
The Sorting hat itself, which had sorted hundreds of thousands of young wizards and witches since the inception of Hogwarts, and yet the only reason he asked, no begged, he begged the hat not to put him in Slytherin. Why?
'There's never been a wizard who went bad that wasn't in Slytherin, There dark through and through you don't want to go there.' Harry echoed the words Ron had said to him in his mind.
"I haven't changed at all, have I, Hedwig? Still, just a little boy locked in a cabinet." He said as Hedwig after she finished her last strip of bacon hopped onto his leg and cooed softly at her human nibling his shirt affectionately.
"Maybe I should, I'm supposed to be free here. I'm supposed to be better. Not Freak, or the boy who lived. I'm supposed to be just Harry!" he said his fist clenching and eyes narrowing as he looked out the window.
"I'm going to the library first chance, I'm going to study every spell I need to, and you know what." He said as Hedwig looked at him expectantly. "I'm going to win this damn thing! I don't care that someone probably is trying to get me killed, I'll just knock over everyone and everything in my way!" he said as Hedwig flapped her wings with a cry of approval.
If harry had paid a bit more attention to his surrounding at that moment he would have noticed the sound of retreating footsteps below him, lower on the tower.
Harry had done exactly what he set out to do, after saying goodbye to Hedwig who went on her morning flight. He kept the cloak on and navigated his way to the library, no reason for anyone to know where he was going. It'd make it easier to study in peace if no one knew where he was so they couldn't bother or harass him.
Upon reaching the library he shed his cloak and shrunk it so that it fits nicely in his pocket. Entering he was met with pure quiet as he made his way to the desk where Madam Pince sat going over a book she had opened on her desk. Sensing his presence, she looked up and she could see the flicker of annoyance in her eyes upon recognizing him. Him and Ron had been less than respectful of the rules of quiet while they were here if they were ever here.
"Madam Pince, I was hoping you could help me find some books." He said simply he honestly didn't know what he was looking for but hoped she could give him an idea on where to start searching.
"Well," she said closing her book "I am going to need some specifics." She said and he could hear the slight guard in her voice, again warranted and unfortunately earned.
"I, well, you know I'm an unwilling participant in this tournament, so I need spells. Powerful ones, or at least ones that can help me in these tasks whatever they might be." Madam Pince actually cocked an eyebrow at that and thought for a moment.
"Without knowing the nature of the tasks, themselves it would be ill-advised to just search random spells that may or may not aid you. However, I do know that the nature of these tasks can be quite, combative, to say the least." She stated coming out from behind her desk and walking down the aisle Harry following her steps.
"So, I can at least say that your grasps over protective charms and shields should do with some polishing." She stated waving her wand as two different books flew off the shelves and into Harry's arms. "Also, from my knowledge of past tournaments they often find it exciting to include magical creatures of the more dangerous nature so perhaps these will be of aid to you." she said again flicking her wand and two more books flew from another isle into Harry's arms.
"As for the offensive side of things I doubt Dumbledore and the other organizers would expect you to do anything of real combative value most likely your best strategies would be defense. However, since this is a known dangerous tournament I will give you limited access to the restricted section." She said summoning a card and placing it on top of the books he already possessed, and he saw that it had his name on it and below his name was a large R and next to that a 2.
"That will clear you for anything within the first two aisles of the restricted section. That being said should you misuse or handle any books from that section irresponsibly your access will be revoked indefinitely. Do I make myself clear?" she asked her brow furrowed and eye narrowed dangerously at him.
Harry nodded. Madam Pince nodded back and returned to her place behind her desk and opened her book.
Harry quickly found a table out of the way in the library and set his four books down and looked at them. The first two were texts on defensive spells and wards along with how to recognize protective spells and wards. The second two were bestiaries and quickly opening one to the table of context he saw a long list of different magical creatures and what page to find them on.
Looking at the four books he quickly collected some spare parchment which was always available in the library along with a quill and ink. Flipping through the bestiaries first he began to note which were dangerous and which were not as he doubted the organizers would use fairies in a deadly task. Before he could even get past the fourth entry, he was interrupted by a group of figures approaching him. He growled and rolled his eyes a bit, he was sure no one saw him enter the library and this table was well out of view and out of the way. Look up he was prepared to see some sneering Slytherins or snarking Gryffindors or angry Puffs or even haughty Raven claws. What he did not expect was to look up and see a mixture of two of the previously stated options.
Two Slytherin girls and one Hufflepuff.
One of the Slytherin girls was slender with a modest bust but still curvy in terms of her figure. She had bright almost electric blue eyes and cascading honey blonde hair it was naturally straight as well as fair skin with no blemishes that he could discern. She seemed to come off as a bit cold to him, her face a mask of indifference but not cruel.
The other Slytherin was slightly more filled out than the blond though they were around the same height. She had a larger bust than the first girl but seemed to match her in terms of figure despite being a bit less slender than the blonde. She had long dark brown hair that was less straight and wavier than the other girls. She had slightly tanned skin and had just a bare splash of freckles on her face which also played host to a pair of rather slender glasses.
The Hufflepuff girl he recognized, Susan Bones, had the largest bust out of all three of the girls and not by a little either she also had a rather well-kept figure as well which was accompanied by rich strawberry blonde curls which she currently had in a loose ponytail with only two bangs free to frame her face. She had fair skin like the first Slytherin though she had one beauty mark just off to the lower corner of her left eye.
He waited for a moment, expecting a sneer or some other form of slander to come his way before he was allowed back to his research.
"Whatcha working on?" the brunette Slytherin asked and Harry slightly narrowed his eyes as he pulled his books towards him almost protectively.
"Stuff." He said simply hoping they would just insult him already and get it over with.
"Important stuff?" she asked again and now Harry was becoming less defensive and more confused.
"Life and Death." He stated flatly which got a snort of amusement from the honey blonde. Finally, Susan just sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Harry, would you mind if we studied with you."
she asked with a smile and it was setting off warning bells in his head and now his eyes darted around the room seeing if there were any other students hiding behind the shelves waiting to pounce as soon as he let his guard down.
"I'm not sure we're studying the same thing here." He said still not sure what their intentions were.
"Potter we don't bite, honest, we just want to study a bit." The honey blonde stated speaking up for the first time. Harry wanted to tell them to shove off and find somewhere else to study. He wasn't exactly trusting lately, but Madam Pince was very strict and He knew that if she even thought something was amiss she would come around to check up on it.
"Fine, I guess." He muttered out keeping his books close as he went back to flipping through the pages. The girls settled around him Susan had decided to sit next to him but still give him some space and the two Slytherins sat in front of him.
He quickly glanced to his right and saw that if he needed to, he had a straight shot to the door. He would've chuckled to himself if he was alone. The one place he was supposed to feel safe, and he was making sure he had an exit strategy handy now.
Harry had only gotten through three more entries marking only one of them down when the Honey blond Slytherin spoke up.
"So, are you working on something for the tournament?" she asked seeing the tomes he had in front of him.
"Like I said, Life and Death." He answered flipping to the next entry of the bestiary he had in front of him. He began to skim through it but didn't see anything about the beast that was tournament worthy.
"So, who do you think entered you in the tournament?" she continued as Harry looked up surprised by her question. He couldn't decern anything from her gaze, she seemed calculating and cold but there was something else too.
"You don't think it was me?" he asked and was further surprised to see all three girls confirm in the negative. "Really?" he asked again just to be sure, and the blonde rolled her eyes.
"Potter, despite the impression you get from Malfoy and his band of trolls the rest of Slytherin are actually cunning and observant. Barley anyone in our house believes you did it. Despite Malfoy's incessant claims to the contrary, you're not a… how did he put it?" she asked the brunette as she took up a phony thinking pose.
"A stinking, pathetic attention-seeking mudblood loving prat. Or something of that nature." She said shaking her head.
"Yeah harry, while I can't really speak for the rest of my house, I know that you're not the kind of guy who wants eternal glory." Susan said with a smile and a nod.
"Also, you're the boy who lived I don't see how you can get much more eternal glory than that." the brunette said as Harry's eyes narrowed again as a frown marred his features. The blonde rolled her eyes in annoyance as her body suddenly shifted and her friend jumped, probably from being kicked. Her friend who seemed to catch on to what her words might implicate.
"N-not that there's anything glorious about what happened that night. I mean it's great that he was beaten, I guess. But it defiantly shouldn't have cost you your… you know I'm just gonna stop." She said as the blonde shook her head.
"The point is Potter we don't think you put your name in." she said as Harry let a ghost of a smile grow on his face.
"Thanks, I guess, um, what are your names? I know Susan, well not really but I know her name." he said knowing that the only thing he really knew about Susan was her name, how she looked, and her house.
The blonde smiled lightly, a ghost of a smile really "I'm Daphne, Daphne Greengrass. Miss foot in her mouth is Tracey Davis." She said indicating to the brunette at that last part. The now named Tracey smiled sheepishly as she nodded.
"So, what are you actually working on? It's for the tournament but like which part?" Susan asked scooting just a bit closer.
"I don't know what the first task is supposed to be so I'm just trying to, I don't know cast a net I guess." He said spreading the books out in front of him.
"Madam Pince said that past tournaments liked to use magical creatures in their tasks so I planned to weed out possible magical creatures that they could use then research them more thoroughly." Susan examined the second bestiary that he had yet to open.
"Fantastic beasts and where to find them. I know this book, more of a Magizoologist field guide with how to handle and approach creatures." She said idly opening the book and fingering through the pages.
"What about the one you got there?" Tracey asked as Harry kept his hand in the book so as not to lose his spot.
"The Fanged, Clawed and the weird." He read out loud.
"That's probably going to be a better bet since it's more of a list of creatures and the dangers they represent." Susan said closing the book she had.
"And these?" Daphne asked indicating to the other two books.
"Haven't looked yet but there about defensive spells and enchantments." He said as Daphne picked up one of the books and began to finger through it.
"I thought you girls said you had to study?" Harry asked a hint of a smirk on his face. He just received shrugs.
"Well, this isn't bad, at least it doesn't look too bad. I would personally recommend Dueling techniques that could save your life. Not much in the way spells but it does give some decent pointers on movements and strategies."
"Think I'll be dueling someone?" Harry asked and was met with a shrug from Daphne.
"Dodging can be useful for getting out of the way of a spell or a troll's club." She said and Harry had to concede she had a point.
The girls were only able to stay for a few more minutes but they helped him skim through the bestiary and make note of certain creatures that could pop up in the tournament.
"Don't you have to get to class too?" Daphne asked as the girls gathered their things.
"I don't technically have to attend classes since I should be preparing for the tournament or something like that." he said as he notices the girls, mainly Daphne and Susan, seemed to deflate almost at his statement; though Daphne hid it quite well.
"Well, you should maybe talk to the professors, Flitwick was a professional duelist once, maybe he can help you out." Daphne said before turning as the three left. Harry spent the next half an hour combing through the books before he decided to try for the restricted section. Grabbing the card given to him by Pince he made his way over to the chained-off area.
Without having to reach for the chain it actually moved itself, floating off its hook and clearing the way for harry to pass. Looking down the isles he saw that the chains blocking the first and second isles had done the same as the entrance but third and beyond kept their place. Looking around Harry looked for any books that might be helpful and while he saw many interesting books none really looked as if they held any secret combat knowledge.
He was about to just take the books he had and go before he felt something. Like a faint whisper past his ear as he looked back. He then felt a tug like a gentle hand was trying to lead him somewhere. Curious he followed the feeling as it lead him to the second isle of the restricted section and over towards the back end of the shelves. Now the whispers had been replaced with a slight hum that rang throughout his ears and he gently placed his fingers along the spines of the books running down until he felt warmth emanate from one of them.
Looking at the book he saw that the spine was black leather and bound with silver and along the spine was a series of runes. He wasn't quite sure which form of runic language they belonged to but even so he took the book from its place on the shelf.
Looking at it a saw the silver binding wrapped all around the book from the spine to the edge of the book outlining the black leather. On the front face of the book was something like a silver dragon skull with forward-facing horns. There were no runes on the front or the back and the book itself wasn't that large maybe about the size of a large Journal.
As he went to open it and a small note fell out with the reflexes of a seeker, he was able to catch it before it was even an inch from the book. The note was worn much like Harry's map, it was definitely old. Though how old he couldn't really be sure. Opening the note, he saw a rather neat flourishing handwriting as he read the note.
To whom it may concern
If you are reading this then you have found my personal grimoire, a collection of every spell I have concocted or have dreamt up, every ritual and enchantment I have mastered. I leave this in hopes that my works can still lead to great things, for they will lead to great things. My time is limited and my power failing however you should know that the magic contained within these pages is not for the faint of heart. It may very well seem like dark magic to others but to those of us who truly understand magic, we know that there is no dark or light there is only magic.
And magic blooms in only the rarest of souls. I leave this, my works so that my legacy, may live on. Do not fear magic for we are magic. To fear magic is to fear oneself, so when you delve into the depths of these pages and the secrets held within remember that magic blossoms in the spirit of freedom, let it bloom in you.
Harry read the note before folding it and pocketing it and opening the book and was met with the same dragon skull symbol only it took up the entire page and was surrounded by a ring and within the ring was the same runic language that he couldn't understand that was on the spine. Flipping through the pages he was confused when he saw the first entry, he briefly observed it seeing paragraphs filled with details on the spells that the page held but after flipping through the first ten pages he found the rest of the book to be blank.
Shaking his head in confusion he placed the note back into the book and was about to place it back on the shelf before stopping. His face gained a contemplative expression as he took the book back and opened it to the first spell. Apparently, it was some form of conjuration which was derived from the root spell Serpensortia, but unlike that spell, this one conjured magical snakes though it required a great deal more power to achieve and knowledge of the serpent to perform.
Harry considered for a moment before he thought to his own Parseltongue ability. He hardly used it though he did enjoy it. Talking to the python at the zoo before his first year was quite nice. To be able to summon magical snakes would be something incredible and very useful. He doubts he'd be able to summon a Basilisk, but still.
Closing the book, he ran his fingers over the silver symbol on the front of the book before nodding slowly. Adding the black book to his pile he went to Madam Pince who okayed the books for his use. Once he left, he found an out-of-the-way alcove before enlarging his cloak and throwing it over himself then shrinking his books. Though he found he couldn't shrink the black grimoire not thinking much of it since it was from the restricted section as he just tucked it under his arm.
He checked his map and saw that most people were still in morning classes he looked around before finding an abandoned classroom that he could use. Entering he saw that it was just a standard rectangle lecture room nothing too special. It was also bare no desks or chairs which was fine for him.
"Okay let's give this a try." He spoke to himself as he placed the other books on the ground along with his cloak before opening the grimoire to the first spell which was the evolved version of Serpensortia and began reading.
Serpenmaiora: The Greater Serpent summoning spell
For those who speak of conjuration and hold mastery in the subject, they all agree that the conjuring of a magical being is impossible. Though I have found that their excuses are less than savory as a reason for why they fail. Most will simply state that to summon a magical creature of any standing is impossible at the magical strain it places upon the core of the wizard or witch, is too great and risks great harm. I have found that this is easily rectified. For you see in the idea of conjuration it is commonplace to summon an object or creature and simply let it exist however magical creatures function differently than others.
In the case of the Serpensortia snake summoning spell, the casting of this spell summons a snake of choice and it can exist in the world indefinitely until it dies naturally or is vanished by the counter charm. The reason for this is when the serpent is conjured all that it needs to survive is present. The heart, lungs, muscles, bones so on and so forth. However, for a magical snake such as an Ashwinder or a Runespoor, they require more than just blood flow and oxygen to survive. No, they require magic.
Magical creatures draw their magic from the environment and that is where their magic comes from. However, when conjured they do not have that connection since their power is not born naturally but through the power of the caster. So when this spell is in use it is important to realize this, you cannot just cast and forget. You must feel that connection and allow it to flow freely through you. imagine if you would two lakes connected by a river. When you cast this spell, you must allow your magic to flow out of you into the serpent but must also allow it to flow back within you. Failing this will cause your conjured creature to fade rather quickly and can result in a rather nasty backlash for you.
The book then had a diagram describing the wand movements as well as a small list that named different magical snakes with a number next to their names and harry guessed that this was a sort of difficulty ranking for the spell. Looking through the list he saw that the Ashwinder was the easiest rank with a simple number 1 next to its name with a helpful note stating that if you conjure the serpent in a fire it would make the spell far easier to summon.
Grabbing his wand Harry pointed it out to the middle of the room the grimoire held in his other hand laying against his forearm as he gripped his arm so he could see the diagram for the wand movement.
"Incendio!" he cast conjuring a small ring of flames in the middle of the floor as he aimed his wand towards the flames. He remembered the Ashwinder he had seen in DADA last year and the drawing of the one he saw in Bestiary he just had in the library. He imagined the thin body and the grey ash-colored scales and silver eyes. With the image in his head, he opened his eyes, and with a flourish of his wand as the diagram showed he spoke.
"Serpenmaiora!" he chanted and felt the familiar pull, like a warmth flowed from his chest through his arm and out his wand. There was a flash of dark blue light as a tendril flowed from his wand. Though he felt something, like as the tendril traveled it pulled some of his magic with him.
Quickly realizing that it must have been the magical drain the book was talking about he didn't try to cut it off but instead let it flow out of him as the tendril met the flames and it became silver in color before becoming smokey and it started to solidify and Harry saw the viper like, grey serpent as it coiled within the flames he summoned.
Though it did seem different to what he had known the snake to usually to look. For starters, it had bright green eyes and a black stripe going down its back which dipped down its sides at times. Then Harry could feel it, the pull on his magic seemed to intensify for a moment before it calmed and now felt less like a pull and more like he had some form of invisible connection to the snake.
The snake itself observed its surroundings as it observed him and Harry quickly spoke up in the language he hadn't used since second year.
"Can you hear me?" He asked as the snake reared back almost like it was surprised to hear him speak.
"I can Speaker, what is my purpose?" The snake had hissed back.
"I am training, I am studying a new spell."
"I see, but I sense something is bothering you, Speaker." The snake hissed as it began to leave the fire that Harry had summoned and as soon as it did the snake's skin began to flake off like he was shedding at an accelerated rate and his shed skin became ash just as quickly.
"How do you know that?"
"I don't know, perhaps it is the spell, but I am not long for this world even with your magic. Speaker, speak to me, what ails you?" The snake asked as it made its way to Harry who knelt down on one knee and held his hand out for the serpent to slither up as it wrapped itself around his wrist. The snake was warm to the touch and his scales were surprisingly soft.
"I have been placed within a tournament, one that I did not wish to enter. I have been cast out because of it. Betrayed." Harry told the serpent as he brought the snake up to eye level. "Those who I thought were my friends have turned their backs on me. They harass me as well."
"They dare insult one of the noble tongue!" The snake hissed angrily its fangs barred in displeasure.
"They do; however, I have decided that I will not care about them. I decided that I won't just survive, I will win!"
"You will conquer." The snake agreed as harry had noticed that the flecks and flakes became more apparent.
"What's happening to you? Did I not perform the spell properly?" Harry asked worriedly he allowed the magic to flow between them just like the book said and the Ashwinder was supposed to be the easiest to conjure. The Ashwinder shook its head.
"I do not believe so, my kind just do not live long in this world naturally. Speaker if I may be so bold as to offer advice." Harry nodded urging the snake to continue. "This tournament you have been placed in, I would suggest using your abilities to gather information. Serpents can be rather good at this, and knowing what you may face could be instrumental."
"I think you are right; I hadn't considered using my ability much in past years."
"You should it is a noble and ancient magic that doesn't gift itself to just anyone."
"How could you know this? You were created just a few minutes ago."
"My kind may not live long in this world, but we exist beyond it. My knowledge comes from there." The serpent explained as it began to smoke, and Harry noticed that pieces of the snake's skin began to crack and fall off into dusty ash. "I am returning there now, live well Speaker, and conquer."
"I will, thank you." Harry said as the snake began to completely fade away leaving nothing but a palm-full of ash in his hand as well as on the floor from where it fell. As it vanished Harry could feel the connection that he had molded with the snake snap almost and return to him.
Quickly dusting off his hand he picked up the grimoire which he placed on the ground when he picked up the Ashwinder. Thinking about it the Serpent was right, if he knew what to expect then he could have a serious advantage in this tournament. Also if a serpent as big as the Basilisk could sneak around the school in second year undetected then a couple of normal snakes could easily do the same and the organizers of the tournament were all staying in the Castle for the duration of the tournament.
With a plan in mind harry picked up his book and cloak and made his way back to Gryffindor tower, a plan already cooking up in his head on how he was going to get through this.
_Scene_
Welp I'm doing it, I'm throwing my Hogwarts hat into the ring of fanfiction, I will start out by saying that I will be making original spells and now not all of them will be overpowered, a few of them but those will be draining spells. Harry in this story is more of a stunted person, a bird that never got a chance to leave the nest as it were. So he will grow and in this story we will see a bit of the cunning that the hat saw which was worth of Slytherin and helped him free dobby to become a free elf. Now I will not lie that my experience with the Potterverse is largely through the movies and the media, but I will not shy away from some of the ideas or smaller plots seen in the books. Let me know what Ya'll think, and I will be getting back to you. Until next time this has been your average, ordinary, everyday fallen angel.
Chapter 2
I do not own anything from the harry potter universe, unfortunately.
"Normal Talking"
'Thoughts'
"Parseltongue"
To say that Harry was for the first time since the beginning of this damned tournament, actually happy was not an understatement. The grimoire that he had found, or rather, the one that called out to him, was a godsend. Just the first three spells were beyond what he could've found in the library under normal circumstances.
He had practiced the Serpenmaiora spell extensively and had gotten a great feel for the spell, he had kept with the Ashwinders and found them to be unusually wise. Using the advice he had received from the first Ashwinder he summoned he had conjured a few normal snakes with Serpensortia and had ordered them to observe the castle for the organizers of the event for any information pertaining to the task.
It would seem that Madam Pince was correct that some form of magical creature was being brought in for the first task, but he was unable to figure out the specifics since his snakes could not read English. He had to remind himself at times that he was speaking in a magical language when he conversed with them.
As for the grimoire, the spells had all been conjuring spells of some form. The first spell being the greater snake summoning spell. The second spell was an evolved version of the bird summoning spell while the original spell, Avis, summoned normal birds. The spell he had learned summoned a flock of magical birds of the raven variety. From what he was able to tell with his two books on magical creatures they were a form of magical ravens. Summoning them had brought up the same magical tug that accompanied the summoning of magical creatures that he had come to expect.
The Shadow Ravens, which were what he had summoned, were a great spell to practice finding and guiding this magical tie he made when conjuring magical creatures. Which helped him greatly when he attempted the third spell which according to the book wasn't a conjuring but rather a summoning. Where the first few spells had the magical connections forged between the creator and created this new spell instead summoned something which required Harry to lasso, for lack of a better term, the creature in question and forces a temporary bond.
The third spell summoned a wolf creature. He couldn't find whatever it was in the two beast books that he had on hand but by the looks of the beast, it definitely wouldn't pass as a light creature. Currently, Harry was attempting to summon the very creature in question now.
Going over the spell once more from the book just to make sure he had got it down he walked away from the desk he managed to sneak into the classroom and walked to the center.
Holding his wand up he remembered the instruction the grimoire had spoken of. Where he would have to call upon his magic and make the connection after the spell was in effect, this spell required him to make a halfway connection so that it was ready when he cast.
Harry found it quite helpful to imagine an unplugged electrical cord in his head while forming the partial connection. The past few times he had practiced this spell he found that if he wasn't quick enough to form the connection the beast would disappear, a sort of built-in safety net for this spell. So, Harry had to form the connection in order for his summon to stick around.
Raising his wand he made a wide motion over his head as he brought the wand forward and felt the power flow into the wand and to the tip as he called out the spell.
"Canis Infernus!" he called out as a torrent of smokey black energy with hints of flames hidden within the smoke flowed from his wand and seemed to for a spherical cyclone in the center of the room. He waited, waited for that moment that would tell him that what he was summoning had fully crossed over.
There it was, as if something stepped through him and into this world he saw the sphere of shadow and flame began to morph into a lupine shape, and just as it began to take on a solid form he took the connection he had prepared and with the mental image of a lasso cast it around the creature. He felt his magic mingle with the beast's own. The beast's magic bit back at him but he didn't flinch back, that had been his biggest blunder during his first few attempts.
He willed his connection forward at the beast's own tendrils of magic and latch on as he felt the battle of wills between them play out. It was almost like something was tugging against him, not in the physical sense but that was the only way he could describe it.
Just as the beast began to settle in the physical world, he felt his magic settle in a sort of lock as he opened his eyes seeing the wolf-like creature in full for the first time. Instead of just melting in shadow and embers like before it finished materializing in front of him.
It was a large Wolf-like creature with pitch-black smokey fur and smoldering red eyes that seemed to let a few sparks fly from their depths like from burning logs in a campfire. The wolf also had a pair of rigged spindling horns that had a single wave in shape going up, down then curving back up again. And harry could see a sort of glow from the wolf that peeked from under the thick coat of fur as if there was a constant fire burning within the body of the beast. Looking down its length he saw that there was a series of spines that began at the lower spine and ran down the tail getting shorter as they reached the end of the tail.
The wolf looked towards Eyes with a curious gaze, or was that a hungry gaze? Harry slowly moved to the side and the wolf followed his motion though in the opposite direction as they began to circle on another. The beast was enormous, easily the size of a horse at the least.
As they circled Harry could feel the connection between them, he could feel the wolf's uncertainty. There was no fear just curiosity and he tried to push his own feelings through the connection. He conveyed feelings of calm and safety as best as he could.
As he did this, he slowly approached the wolf who did the same, reaching out he briefly flashed to his memories of Buckbeak when he first met the hippogriff in Hagrid's class. Though instead of a half-bird half-horse he was now reaching out to something that looked twice as fierce. Through their connection, he could feel the Wolf gently accept the connection between them as he pawed forward and bowed his head slightly as Harry's fingers brushed through its thick fur.
The warmth was expected yet still a surprise as he fell it practically radiate of the large wolf. As they connected he could feel the connection further solidify and suddenly it was as if a jolt went through both of them as it affected Harry for more than it did the Wolf.
Harry's legs very quickly felt like they were composed of nothing but jelly as he nearly fell forward but the Wolf was quick as it put its snout under Harry's arm as he grasped the horns for stability. It took him a second before he was to regain the feeling in his leg and he wobbly made his way over to the desk, the wolf aiding him along the way.
Quickly looking through the book he found the description and instruction though no mention of the counterspell. Turning the page, he couldn't help the way his jaw hit the floor at the sheer shock at what he read.
By the way, the Canis Infernus summon is permanent once the connection is properly formed, so here's to hoping you thought of a name for your new companion. Fear not, it can always hide in your shadow when needed.
What kind of mad man left that tidbit of information for the end of the instruction, and on another page too! He shut the book and with a groan he let himself sink to the floor a feeling of exhaustion filling him as the amount of magic needed to summon the wolf finally caught up to him.
Taking a few deep breaths to steady himself he reached up to grab the Grimoire opening it up back to the page he was just on.
Now, the wolf you have summoned is known by many names, the Infernal Hound, A Hell hound, Satan's wolf, and many others. As I stated before these beasts exist in a separate dimension to our own. Summoning them is rather simple, controlling them is another thing entirely. However, with the spell you have just performed has connected you in a way never attempted before. In my research, I have found the original spells and rituals simply summoned the hounds then try to gain control after they had called it to our world. While possible the hounds would most likely kill the caster before they could gain any form of loyalty from the creatures.
That is why this spell requires the use of the bonds you have been using from the past two spells you have hopefully mastered at this point. Now you have an understanding of connections in the form of the creator and the created as you have felt with the previous spells as well as now a connection being used in the form of master and servant.
However, all three of these spells require one joint thing, and that thing is the feeling of magic within you and the connection that can be created through magic. That will make the next spells and rituals far greater.
For you see, most wizards and witches believe just because we are born with magic within ourselves that we must draw power from ourselves alone. This is foolish, Magic may bloom in our souls, however, even the most beautiful blossom has to draw its water from somewhere and that is where the world comes in.
You have sensed magic in things like a connection, now you will have to feel it beyond just you and something you have either created or called but also all around you. For magic exists everywhere, even in the muggles of the world though they can never tap into it themselves. The next series of spells will be standard but instead of powering them by yourself alone allow residual magic around you to fill you up and aid you in empowering your spell.
Harry would have continued reading however he suddenly heard a shuffle of feet and voices outside. Looking towards the window he saw that the window had started to dip in the sky, and he knew that after dinner he would be expected to attend the Wand weighing ceremony. Closing his book and shrinking his other tomes he quickly stuffed them in his pockets. He then felt a tug in the connection to the wolf. Looking at it he remembered that it was here permanently.
"Guess you need a name?" he said out loud as the wolf snorted and he could feel a rush of what he could only describe confirmation through his bond.
"Well, um, let's see… are you a boy?" this time his bond went a bit cold causing him to shiver. "Okay a girl then?" it went warm "Alright a girl, you're a wolf, well the book said you're called a hell hound." He said looking at the wolf its smoldering eyes almost boring into him expectantly.
"How about… Demona?" he asked and for a second he didn't feel anything as the wolf tilted her head to the side before he suddenly felt warm.
"Brilliant, Demona it is. So, the book said you could hop into my shadow, how does that work?" he asked as Demona simply stepped forward and seemed to melt into shadowy smoke which drained into his shadow. He wasn't sure but he thought his shadow appeared a bit darker than normal.
"Can you still hear me?" he asked and felt the warmth of confirmations again as he nodded. He took his cloak and shrunk it stuffing it into his pockets along with his shrunken books. He wanted to shrink the grimoire as well, but it was still resistant to all attempts. It was comforting since that meant no one could bewitch or curse it, at least not easily.
Exiting the classroom, he was made his way towards the great hall for dinner. It didn't take him long and upon entering he saw that the Beauxbaton students and Durmstrang were scattered through the hall mingling with their own peers and Hogwarts students. Some eyes noticed his entering the great hall and greeted him with a sneer.
He hadn't actually been to a meal since the whole goblet fiasco, so he decided to check on what Daphne had told him a few days ago and took stock of the houses and found she had been correct. Despite Malfoy and his circle, it did seem that the majority of the Slytherins were greatly indifferent to his presence. Most of the animosity was from the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor table. The Ravenclaws seemed rather indifferent like the snakes had been. As he walked forward, he took a seat at the end of the table. He noticed the Gryffindors around him either move or scoot away from him. He ignored it and began to fill his plate.
Dinner went on for a while and he spent that time taking stock of his surroundings specifically the other fellows of his house. Ron, it seemed was talking with Seamus and Dean while glancing at him with sneers and scowls. He wondered what form of harassment they had planned for tonight. Shaking his head, he looked to find Hermione who was sitting away from Ron and was actually reading a book.
She didn't notice him enter the Hall, actually now that he thought about it, he hadn't really given her much of a chance to approach him, he hadn't been coming to meals and he had made it an effort to only leave his bed after everyone had left and only came back after everyone would be asleep. He made a mental note to try to talk to her later.
After dinner ended and the students began to file out the three champions and Harry stayed behind for their Wand weighing.
"Mister Potter." Dumbledore said as he approached Cedric Already at his side "if you'll follow me, we will commence with the ceremony as well as information on the first task." He said as Harry nodded and followed the headmaster as he looked at Cedric. Funnily enough, Cedric didn't seem to share his house's animosity towards him.
Entering the same trophy room that he entered during the champion selection he Saw Ludo bagman flagged on either side by Barty Crouch and Ollivander.
"Welcome champions, to the Weighing of the Wand Ceremony. Here we will have our wand expert Mister Ollivander, examine your wands. To make sure they are in proper working order for the tasks ahead!" the excitable man stated stepping aside for Ollivander to come up.
"Mister Krum if you please." He said extending his hand as Krum gave out his wand. It was lightly colored with a waved shaft, but it was the handle that drew attention for harry. Seeing as at the end of the handle the want suddenly reared back with the carved head of a bird at the end.
"Ah, Hornbeam thicker than average, one of Gregorovich's am I correct?" Krum nodded to the question as Ollivander continued his examination. "Dragon Heartstring core, Rigid, Ten and a quarter inches long." He said giving it a slight wave as the end lit up with light and with another flick, it went dark again.
"Very good Mister Krum." The wandmaker said as he handed the wand back. "Miss Delacour if you please." He asked as the French witch did so presenting her wand. It was a dark grey color and very ornate in design. The shaft seemed to have been twisted making it appear like a very slight spiral while the handle reminded Harry of those expensive ornate decorations you would see on palace doors and windows all curvy and spindled.
"Hmm… Nine and a half inches, Rosewood rather inflexible and the core… oh my…"
"Veela 'air my Grandmere." She said as Ollivander nodded.
"I see, very finicky for a core, I don't use it myself." He stated and that seemed to be slightly offensive to Fleur as her nose scrunched up. Ollivander simply waved the wand and a bouquet of flowers appeared at the end. Nodding he handed the wand back along with the flowers.
"Now mister Diggory, if I may." He said as Cedric approached and handed his wand over. It was a two-toned wand with a dark almost black color on the tip that bled into a warmer brown hue as it reached the other end. Unlike the other wands, there was no obvious break between the shaft and the handle though it did become thicker as it went towards the lighter-hued side and the thicker end was carved with decorative patterns and symbols.
"Yes! I remember when I sent you out holding this wand, well cared for too."
"Yes sir, I just polished it this morning."
"Good, twelve and quarter inches, Ash, pleasantly springy and containing the single tail hair from a proud male unicorn." He said giving it a wave and rings of silver smoke erupted from the wand. "Yes, perfect working order." He said handing the wand back.
Then his eyes fell to Harry as he recognized that familiar almost mad glint pass through the wandmakers wizened eyes.
"And finally, Mister Potter." Harry approached and handed his wand over and Ollivander took it before looking surprised. The surprise quickly melted into a smile.
"I see my message was not lost on you the day this wand chose you; great things are possible." Harry's eyes widened slightly, could he tell? Could he actually tell what Harry had been practicing with his wand lately?
"Holly, eleven inches, nice and supple, and I see the brethren Phoenix tail feather core is ripe with magic." He said a twinkle in his eye.
"Brethren?" Fleur asked not understanding what the wandmaker had meant. And Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly and mentally cursed the excitable wandmaker for revealing that bit of information.
"Yes, the Phoenix that gave the tail feather for this wand gifted one other feather and only one other." Ollivander said giving a slight wave as a shower of spark lit the end of Harry's wand before he canceled it and handed it back.
"How do we know that this brethren wand does not give him an unfair advantage!?" Igor claimed as Ollivander simply turned to him about to answer.
"I do not believe that the wand has any unnatural properties, Igor." Dumbledore stated trying to get the topic off Harry's wand.
"You can understand Albus, my concern. After all, Hogwarts has two champions, and now, what sounds to me like a dual sourced wand." Harry found this man annoying, while to two Hogwarts champion thing was unfair he knew that the owner of his wand's brother was going to be a lot of things, but helpful was not one of them.
"I assure as a master of Wand lore there is no advantage to this just simple curious circumstance." Ollivander stated before turning to Bagman. "All the wands are in fine working order Mister Bagman."
"Excellent, now champions with your wands examined and cleared the first task of the Tri wizard tournament will take place on November twenty-fourth that's eleven days from now. Use the time wisely to prepare yourself. For now, we have interviews for each of our champions! Miss Skeeter if you would" he said as a rather lavish woman approached in a bright green overly frivolous dress. She had rather obnoxious blonde curly hair and a generous amount of applied makeup.
"Yes, indeed!" she said, and Harry didn't like her eyes as she gazed upon him, like a rabid dog looking at a piece of meat. If he looked towards his headmaster, he would've noticed Dumbledore coming towards the pair but not fast enough. "Why don't we start with the youngest!" she said, and two things set Harry off.
The first is the rough manner in which the woman had grabbed his arm and the second is when she began dragging him towards a nearby broom closet. Harry's eyes widened as images flashed in his mind of his aunt dragging him to a cupboard and sensing her new master's extreme discomfort at the situation Demona made her presence known.
The first clue was that shadows began to flow upwards from Harry's own shadow forming the ghostly smoldering head of his new wolfish companion. Which released a snarl loud enough to vibrate every trophy in the room and the bones of every, now wide-eyed occupant.
Harry quickly realized that his negative emotions were riling up Demona began to push calmness through their bond getting the Hell hound to calm down and sink back into his shadow. Looking around at the frozen occupants he shrugged.
"I've been practicing." He stated simply and turned towards Skeeter.
"Ma'am don't… grab me like that again. It's uncomfortable." He stated as the woman only nodded.
"R-right, well then please." She said indicating for the closet and Harry looked at it abrasively before shaking it off and walking towards the now opened door. Skeeter for her part conjured a pair of chairs for them to sit on. Once they were both situated Skeeter pulled out a long green quill and a note pad both of which floated out of her hand and the quill seemed to look at them expectantly.
"Not a Dicta-Quill?" he asked, and Skeeter shook her head.
"This is my own quill a quick notes quill, I find this helps me best since I already have a very good memory." She said with a smirk. Harry looked between the two and know that he thought about it this would be the first time the media would be able to talk straight to him, not an offshoot or secondhand account of events involving him but his words. Looking at the woman in front of him it wasn't hard to tell that she wasn't impressed with what she saw despite the little show before.
"Now mister potter"
"Actually, Ma'am if I may?" he said interrupting her she looked annoyed but nodded. "I just realize that I don't properly know your name." he stated.
"Oh? You don't read my articles?" she asked, and he panicked for a second.
"No, it's not that I don't want to of course, but I am quite busy with my studies most of the time. Though meeting you now I'll be sure to fix that mistake." That seemed to work as she smiled at him.
"That's good to know, well my name is Rita Skeeter writer for the daily prophet." She said with a slight bow of her head.
"One of their best, right? After all I don't think they would send just anyone to interview the Champions." He said back and now she was looking very pleased with herself.
"Of course, though it's not just the interview of course, I'll be covering the whole tournament." She said with no lack of pride and slight arrogance. Harry smiled doing his best to convey he was very pleased for her.
"Then I am sure that when I read the prophet it will be nothing short of brilliant." He said hoping his enthusiasm and pandering had dissuaded the woman from righting anything frivolous. The woman smirked at the praise and was about to begin her interview before she noticed something. Harry's shadow was being cast behind him but she noticed two smoldering eyes staring at her from the depths of the shadow.
Gulping audible Rita quickly grabbed her green quill before replacing it with a standard Dicta-Quill. Rita may not be the brightest witch, or very talented but she wasn't stupid and she knew that whatever was hiding in that shadow could end her before she even had a chance to defend herself.
"Something wrong?" he asked but Rita shook her head.
"While I have a great memory, I think this interview should be word for word, don't you?" she said doing her best to keep her eyes from his shadow and towards Harry's own eyes. Bright emerald was a much better color for her than burning Devil red.
"Very much so!" he readily agreed.
"Now, Mister potter I have to ask, did you place yourself into this tournament?"
"No, I did not." He answered noting how the quill was writing down every word.
"Then how is it you have come to be in this tournament?"
"I wish I could tell you, in fact, I want to know as well. To be honest I don't want to be in this tournament at all."
"Why ever not? This is a chance at eternal glory after all not to mention the sizable prize money."
"I've didn't want eternal glory and the money doesn't interest me. If anything, I feel like someone is trying to kill me or threaten my life, again."
"Again? Are you referring to that night? The night you know who was vanquished by, well you." At this Harry deflated a bit.
"That's what that night is to everyone else, to me it's the night I lost my parents."
"Oh, I'm so sorry mister Potter I did not mean to cause you undue distress." She stated though Harry was pretty sure she was only saying that for effect.
"It's fine, but to your original question, no I'm not talking about that night. I'm talking about other things like last year."
"Ah yes with Sirius Black the mass murderer on the loose."
"Only it wasn't Black that was a danger to me." Harry hated having to refer to Sirius in such a way, but he was pretty sure if he casually called Sirius by his first name it would raise unwanted questions.
"Truly?"
"Yes, if anything, the Dementors threatened me more than anything, they tried to kill me no less than three times last year. It was so bad I had to learn the Patronus charm just to defend myself." This caught Rita by surprise.
"You can produce the Patronus?" For the first time, Harry felt that Rita was genuinely surprised and impressed.
"Yes, I can. But I wouldn't need to if the Dementors didn't try to kill me."
"Why would the Dementors try to kill you?" she asked now fully interested.
"As it was explained to me the Dementors are attracted to those who have suffered in their lives." He spoke.
"The loss of your parents, I see."
"If only." He muttered miserably.
"You don't mean to say that you are unhappy with something else. According to credible sources, you have lived quite a lavish life."
"Lavish!?" he growled out as Skeeter seemed quite surprised by that. "Miss skeeter my home life was anything but lavish. Bloody terrible more like! I was raised by my muggle relatives who treat me like… like…" he wanted to say, he wanted to tell the world the horror he had to live through, the scars on his back, and the nights nursing broken bones. How he felt uncomfortable even now in this tightly closed space which reminded him of that damned cupboard.
"I'm sorry, it just… it wasn't lavish and far from pleasant." Rita nodded before straightening up.
"Well to change topics why don't we discuss the tournament itself yes?" she said, even if she wanted to press the issue one look at the eyes within Harry's shadow told her to keep from upsetting the boy. Harry nodded and for about an hour it was a back and forth between them discussing in's and out's of the tournament.
It wasn't very late when Harry began to make his way back to the Gryffindor common room. But still after training the new spells and summoning Demona Harry felt exhausted. Approaching the portrait of the fat lady he muttered the password but was not allowed entrance. He tried again louder and clearer this time still nothing.
"Hello! Lady, I said the password." He said waving his hand in front of her face not even a hint of recognition in her eyes. He tried for the next several minutes with no luck and growled. Somehow Ron and the others had effectively locked him out of the Gryffindor tower. He was sorely tempted to have Demona tear through the portrait and bash his way in but was too tired to even care. Instead, he just made his way to the classroom that he had been using for training.
Upon reaching the door to the classroom he sighed as he entered and locked the door behind him. Looking around all he had in there was the desk and he was pretty sure that wouldn't have made a very good bed.
"Maybe I should just move in here permanently and get a bed." He muttered to himself. Quickly taking out his wand he pointed to a spot near the wall.
"Incendio." He casted and a small spot of flame came to life as he went towards it and slid down the wall. The warmth of his flames helped against the cold of the room. Pulling out his cloak from his pocket he resized it and threw it around his shoulders, it wasn't very helpful but it's not like it was made with the intention of being used as a blanket.
He wondered how he looked right now just ahead and a bit of neck laying on the floor as he scoffed at the thought. Closing his eyes, he knew even with his little fire he wouldn't be getting much if any sleep tonight against the cold unforgiving floor. It must have been just about three hours when Harry was jolted from his half-asleep state when the door opened. Blinking as his eyes were assaulted by a bright light from the door.
"Potter?" Harry groaned he knew that disapproving tone and drawl anywhere.
"Professor." He said in return his cloak falling away as he sat up. This was just what he needed right now, good old Professor Snape.
"You realize of course it is past curfew." Snape asked incredulously.
"No that had slipped my mind." Harry replied able to get one cheeky remark off despite his tiredness. The spell to summon and bond with Demona had drained him quite a bit more than he thought.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for your snark." Snape growled at the boy though took a second to observe. This classroom had nothing of value or worth inside to capture Harry's attention. And he was sure that there were no secret passages or the like. He was surprised by the cloak but only for a second, he was more surprised that it appeared Harry was actually sleeping here. Why would the Gryffindor golden boy be sleeping in a cold dark Classroom and not in his dorm?
"What are you doing here instead of in your bed where you should be." Harry, for his part, was too tired to come up with anything snarky or smart in reply, so he just decided to ride with the truth.
"I'm not exactly welcomed in the tower anymore." He said as he began to gather his cloak and shrunk it knowing that Snape would just drag him away anyway so no point in trying to stay.
"Not welcomed?"
"Just one more thing to add on to the list of harassments." Harry stated not needing to cancel his Incendio spell as it died out on its own.
"Harassment?" Snape asked, images of a man very similar to Harry flashed through his mind. Harry simply looked at Snape his eyes showing obvious exhaustion and, despite his best efforts, Snape had felt a pang of sadness seeing his eyes bright emerald green eyes that were so familiar to him.
"Yeah, well nothing new right?" Harry said dragging his feet towards Snape. This caused snape to narrow his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Professor I'm really tired so let's not pretend that this doesn't happen at least once every other year. It's not like this is the first time my house treated me with coldness and all but turned their backs on me. Only back then they didn't know as many spells as they do now. Besides you hate me, so this all should make you happy." Harry said bitterly not caring at what he told Snape at the moment.
As for Snape, he could not express how uncomfortable this was making him. Harry still had that snarky attitude, but it was so diluted now. Like he was truly just fed up with everything that was going on around him. For a split ever so fleeting moment he had thought to himself and how he felt during his youth in Hogwarts.
Again, he saw Harry's eyes and he couldn't help but think of a similar set of eyes on a person he cared for deeply and failed to protect. For another fleeting moment, he allowed a thought. A treacherous thought that he tried desperately to avoid whenever Harry looked at him in the eyes with his own.
'What would Lily think right now?'
"Potter, do you feel safe in your dorm?" Snape asked as Harry managed to bring a confused expression to his face through his exhaustion.
"What?"
"Do you feel safe in your house, yes or no?" Snape asked again this time slower. Harry thought for a moment, did he expect to get attacked in his house, not really. But still, all it would take is one ill-placed incendiary or stink bomb and his prized possessions could be ruined and that alone would destroy him more than any form of bodily harm.
"Honestly Professor, not very much, no." he said and there was a moment of silence between the two as Harry tried to gauge what Snape was thinking. There was no sneer or scowl, the professor didn't even look contemplative just blank. Though his eyes did betray emotion, usually those black eyes held nothing but loathing and annoyance but now, they seemed deeper than normal.
"Come with me." Snape told Harry, not that he could conjure the energy to even argue or question the professor.
Harry for his part barely registered where they were going, he wasn't keeping up with Snape in the least as the Potions master had to constantly slow his stride for Harry to catch up. And more than once did Harry's eyelids become unbearable heavy and he stumbled almost falling asleep on his feet. It wasn't until they reached what appeared to be the dungeons did it click for Harry, even in this sluggish state, where they were heading.
With a quick mutter of a password to what harry recognized as the false wall that hid the hallway that led to the entrance of Slytherin's house. Upon entering Harry saw the common room, this being the second time he was ever here. Was much the same as when he was last here? Emerald-colored velvet sofas and chairs with black furniture embroidered with silver. A single large Fireplace much like Gryffindor only instead of the windows showing an overview of the castle grounds it instead shows the murky depths of the lake, which Harry would admit is pretty cool.
"This way." Snape instructed and Harry followed him to the far end of the common room which showed two sets of stairs which lead to two hallways. Snape led him down the left hall which held a series of doors and at the end of the hall was a flight of stairs which must have led to more rooms. Opening a door Harry was ushered in. The room was large, not overly so but enough to fit two well-sized beds and two desks.
Harry found that like the Gryffindor common beds they were the same style and make, only with swapped color palettes. Also, the window wasn't against the wall, but it was more situated at the top of the room and again showed the murky depths of the lake. Again cool.
"Try to get some sleep Potter, this room is unoccupied. We will talk in the morning." Snape said closing the door before Harry could even argue about it. Not that he was going to, instead he just all but collapsed onto the bed not bothering to even kick off his shoes as he quickly found himself drifting off into sweet, relaxed sleep.