Finally, Dumbledore thought as he arrived back at his office in Hogwarts. Between his week on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, the summer meeting for the international Confederation of Wizards, and the running back and forth between Beauxbatons and Durmstrang he had to do for the preparations for the Triwizard Tournament, he hadn't been in the country for weeks. It was a pity that the Triwizard Tournament had been restarted, as it meant he had to miss the Quidditch World Cup final. He had lobbied for it to be held in Britain this year so that he would get the chance to see it without travelling, but alas it seemed that luck wasn't on his side this time. Brazil had won the bid for the next World Cup in three years. so maybe he would be able to go watch that one.
Now, though, he had to catch up with what had happened while he was away. He winced when he looked over at his desk and saw the pile of envelopes there waiting for him. One of the Hogwarts elves had sorted them into the order in which they arrived, so with a sigh he opened the first one. He read a bunch of drivel about a proposed bill to standardise the thickness of cauldrons. Boring, but potentially a good thing, so he moved it to his "worth an in-depth look" pile.
Next was a circular for a proposed bill to sanction muggleborn who don't completely renounce the muggle world. That one went in the "hard no" pile, a.k.a. the bin. He did, however, make a mental note to let it go far enough that he could be seen to squash it publicly. It never hurts to remind the sheep who their shepherd was. After that was a notification from Gringotts that the student fees had been transferred to the school account, followed by a note from his goblin inside Gringotts that wages for the History of Magic professor and the Care of Magical Creatures professor had been transferred to his war chest account. Binns had no use for gold and Hagrid hadn't noticed that he was doing two jobs while only being paid for one.
Next up was a notification for a trial he had missed. He was just throwing it away when he noticed the name of the defendant was 'Sirius Orion Black'. Depending on the outcome, this could either be very good or very bad. If Sirius had been able to convince the Wizengamot that he was innocent, then that was a wild card in preparing Harry to deal with Voldemort that Dumbledore really didn't need. There was also the fact that fingers could be pointed at him over the fact that Sirius went to Azkaban without a trial in the first place. He wasn't the main force behind it, but of the three that signed off on skipping the trial, he was the only one who currently still held the same office. He was going to need to discover what had happened.
It ended up worse than Dumbledore could have imagined. Sirius had found Charlus Potter alive and caught in a temporal storm, which explained why the wards of Potter Manor never faded. Dumbledore had assumed they were linked to Harry for control while remaining powered by being connected to a layline or something similar. Apparently all Dumbledore had done was to prove an old advice about making assumptions.
So Charlus was alive, Sirius had been cleared by the Wizengamot, and the two of them and Harry were now living in Potter Manor. Harry was now shielded behind a man Dumbledore had no hope of cajoling or manipulating, and he should expect to see the man as an irate parent. After all, Harry would tell Charlus everything, and when Harry laid out his life story from his point of view, Dumbledore didn't come across as looking that good. Not checking up on Harry's welfare while he was at Privet Drive, and then when Harry got to Hogwarts: a troll, a Cerberus, a trip into the Forest, a possessed teacher that tried to murder Harry during a Quidditch match, a Basilisk, school-wide bullying, and a colony of Acromantula. He was just glad that he could lay the Dementors at Fudge's feet.
The one silver lining he could find was that as he went through the court transcript it seemed that he hadn't been implicated too much. Yes, it was true that he had been mentioned as the one who suppressed Lily and James's last will and testimony. but he had long ago prepared counters for those attacks he could face. Now he just needed to rework his strategy to work out another way to make sure Harry was prepared to deal with Tom.
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Harry had only relaxed when he saw with his own eyes that Percy looked like he was going to fine. When he apologised, Percy accepted it straight away and then told Harry thanks for pushing the Death Eater back enough that the man needed to retreat. According to him, if Harry hadn't stepped up when he did the masked man would've kept playing with them until someone actually died. Percy was happy to hear that the man had been unmasked and they had all given their descriptions of him to the aurors, so there was a good chance that they would catch the person responsible for Percy's near miss with death.
Charlus had Harry, Hermione, and Sirius leave when Percy's girlfriend Penelope Clearwarter came rushing in, also so that he could recuperate in the care of his family. Besides, they had to take Hermione home anyway. By now both Sirius and Charlus had been to Hermione's home, either to collect Harry after a visit or to take Hermione home if she had to leave Potter Manor early for some reason, so it was easy enough for Charlus and Sirius to side along the two teens to a secluded spot on the Hampstead Heath near Hermione's home.
The walk to Hermione's from there was short and quite enjoyable, as the early afternoon sun felt great on their skin. The Grangers were still at their dental surgery, but Hermione picked up the phone and gave them a call to tell them she was back, only to learn that it was a slow day and her parents would be home in a little under three quarters of an hour. Charlus decided that they would all wait there, as he wanted to talk to Dan and Emma about what had happened at the World Cup. Hermione had asked him not to at first, but he was adamant. He had promised Hermione's parents that he would keep them in the loop as much as possible and he intended to honour that, especially as it was possible that Hermione could be called as a witness if that Death Eater was ever caught.
Of course, Hermione was nervous about telling them, afraid that they would pull her out of Hogwarts. As a muggleborn, that would mean Hermione's wand snapped, her magic bound, and her memories erased. Charlus had assured her after she confessed her fears that if Hermione wanted to keep learning magic, then he would make sure she could do just that. He would even pay for her education as if she was his own daughter, as that's what being under the protection of a House meant. After all, it was exactly what he had done for Sirius.
Hermione need not have been so worried. Her parents were shocked that the event was targeted like it was, but such things happened even in the mundane world. It was only a few years ago that the Olympics were targeted too. Dan and Emma also couldn't find any fault in the decision that everyone made. Sending the kids to safety with a few responsible adults was the right call with the information they had at the time, and it was only bad luck that they ran into another one. As for them all fighting, they had been told by Professor McGonagall before Hermione's first year that the reason there was a class called Defence Against the Dark Arts was because every witch and wizard had the potential to turn their wand into a weapon, and the easiest way to prevent all out anarchy was to give everyone some self-defence training. Because of all this, Hermione's parents were not as blindsided and reactionary as she had feared. They weren't happy, and wanted Hermione to avoid large gatherings for a while, but there was no talk about removing her from Hogwarts.
They took a few days off from lessons, as Hermione's parents wanted her home for a few days and Ron's were pretty much the same. What really surprised Harry was seeing his own face on the cover of the Daily Prophet under the headline 'Boy-Who-Lived attacked by Death Eater at World Cup!' It turned out that someone in the auror department had talked to a reporter named Rita Skeeter and had given her a copy of the interview Harry gave to an auror after the attack. Skeeter had published nearly the entire thing, including what looked to be a photo of the man taken from the copy of Harry's memory.
The article may have started by talking about how Harry was attacked, but it also gave him some much-needed information about what happened to everyone else during the riot. At first Harry was happy to learn that there were no fatalities, until he learned later that the death of a house elf belonging to the Head of the Department for International Magical Cooperation was listed under property damage. There were about ten people in a similar situation to Percy with major injuries, and there were a lot of people with minor injuries.
The article whipped a public already angry at the attack into almost a mob-like state. The crowd latched onto the photo of Harry's memory and suddenly he was the most wanted man in magical Britain. The public seemed to blame the whole raid on that one person, and it didn't take long for the D.M.L.E. to have a name: Randall Parkinson.
Charlus was told about the man as a member of the Wizengamot. Randall Parkinson was apparently the younger brother of the father of Harry's year mate Pansy Parkinson. He was too young to have been involved in the last war, only in his third year at Hogwarts when Voldemort killed Harry's parents, so the biggest thing the D.M.L.E. wanted to do when they caught him was to discover who it was that recruited him. Unfortunately, Randall Parkinson went into hiding and no one could find him.
After a few days, Charlus started up the lessons again, starting out by handing each of the three teens a present. Surprised, they found that they each had a professional duelist-grade forearm wand holster made of deep black leather and looked very practical but at the same time stylish. The underside that pressed against the arm of the wearer was made of acromantula silk, and it was enchanted to stick to the arm of the wearer without the need for uncomfortable straps.
"Harry, if your stories of what has happened to you since you rejoined the magical world are even half true, they tell me one thing. You are a magnet for trouble, and these two are just as likely to be in the thick of it as you are. You actually left your wand in the tent at the World Cup when you needed it the most. That cannot happen again. You got lucky once, so learn from your mistake and don't rely on luck next time. Keep your holster on your arm at all times and practice putting your wand back in there until it becomes an unconscious habit." The three teens thanked the man effusively.
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They cut their trip to Diagon Alley way too close to the start of the year for Hermione's liking. She preferred to read all her new textbooks cover to cover a few times before leaving on the Express, but as they picked up their books this year Hermione complained to Harry that she would barely be able to read half of them only once.
Harry was more nervous about trying to transfer to Ancient Runes. His grandfather had written to Professor McGonagall to request that Harry be tested to see if he could join that class and the professor had agreed to let him try, not that there was any doubt that she would let him try to leave Divination. The Scottish professor may try to keep her opinion about the subject and her colleague to herself, but it was no secret to any of the students how she felt. The question had been whether Professor Babbling, the Ancient Runes professor, would agree to let him try, but she apparently had.
Sirius also bought all three of them brand new multi-compartment trunks for school. Mrs Weasley tried to protest the charity, but Sirius argued that he couldn't get one for Harry and Hermione and leave Ron out. Hermione loved her new trunk, especially the large library compartment, as she had a lot of books at home that she would love to take to Hogwarts with her. Ron bought himself a cage for his owl Pig at a second hand store while grumbling that Ginny had named the owl before he had gotten the chance, and now the owl refused to answer to anything but the ridiculous name she had given him.
Then it was off to Madam Malkin's for dress robes. Harry basically got no say in what he was going to wear but deduced that formal robes meant a formal event, which meant a date. So Hermione told him she would pick the colour of his robes so that their colours would complement each other while Sirius took charge of the style and cut of the robes. Harry saw the look of fear in Ron's eyes when his mother was going through the budget racks looking for robes for him, so he told Ron that he would buy Ron's robes for him as a Christmas present.
The first of September brought with it a lot of the usual back to school rush but it was also completely different from any Harry had expressed before. Harry had never felt homesick before, at least not going to school, he had actually only felt something similar when he went home for the summer. But also it was because Harry had spent the previous evening at the Grangers.
Hermione's parents lived in London, only a handful of miles away from King's Cross, so Dan and Emma had offered to let Harry stay the night and drop him off the next morning. The Grangers were almost the exact opposite of the Weasleys on the first of September. Everything was checked and packed away the night before, and the school trunks were loaded into the back of the car before they went to bed. If somehow everyone slept late until half past ten even, then they still would be able to get in the car and go and still be on the train on time.
Of course they were all up earlier than that, and after a large breakfast Harry and Hermione were each handed a packed lunch of a chicken pasta salad and were dropped off outside Kings Cross with an hour to spare. The teens were actually on the platform a few minutes before the Express arrived, along with only a handful of students and their families. They were some of the first on the train, and Harry had a relatively easy time loading their trunks into the overhead storage in their compartment, the charms on the luggage making it easier to lift than it should be. Harry also placed Hedwig's cage up there and covered it with a cloth that Sirius had charmed to dampen sound so as not to irritate Her Highness. With the number of books Hermione had in her trunk, without the charms on it Harry was sure the trunk would be too heavy for the overhead rack to support it. And he had seen people like Crabbe and Goyle swinging off the racks a few times without an issue.
Hermione waited for Harry to sit, then she laid down on the same bench using Harry's lap as a pillow while she pulled out her new History of Magic textbook and started reading. Hermione's cat Crookshanks soon escaped from his carrier and settled in to sleep on Hermione's stomach, technically turning it into a cuddle pile. Ron joined them a few minutes after the train had left the station. He and his family had once again only just made the train on time. "Does your family have a curse on it or something? How can you always be so late getting to the train?" Hermione asked as Ron stowed his own trunk and owl in the overhead rack.
"Probably either that or karma for all the crazy Fred and George bring with them. Still, we always get here on time," Ron said as he collapsed into the bench opposite. "So what are you reading, Hermione?"
"History of Magic textbook. There is an interesting chapter in here about the emigration of magicals from Britain and Europe to the new world. Apparently there is some speculation that the American witch burnings were kicked into such a frenzy by French magicals to weaponise the muggle population against pro-British Empire magicals."
Ron started to cover his ears and say loudly that he didn't want to study yet, causing both Harry and Hermione to laugh a little. Harry and Ron chatted about Ron's chance to get on the Quidditch team this year as the new keeper, with Harry thinking he had a good shot. Ron was a great keeper at the Burrow, and Harry had seen plenty of shots at the goal against both Ron and Oliver Wood, the former keeper who had just graduated. Ron wasn't as good as Wood, of course, but the difference wasn't as much as most would assume. But also Harry was sure both of them ran Quidditch drills in their dreams. Malfoy eventually came along for his regularly scheduled verbal sparring match, and Harry was honestly thinking he might have to let Draco win one soon, it was starting to feel like he was bullying a kid.
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To the dismay of most everyone but especially to Harry and Ron, at the feast Dumbledore announced that there would be no Quidditch this year, which was only assuaged by the subsequent announcement of the Triwizard Tournament. It actually sounded like fun to Harry until Dumbledore mentioned that the tournament was discontinued centuries ago because of the death toll and that the draw was going to take place on Halloween. Suddenly the event changed in the minds of the trio from a fun little tournament to a horrible and gruesome trap.
The first thing the three of them did once the feast ended was run up to the owlery and write a letter to Sirius and Charlus, telling them about the Triwizard Tournament and their suspicion that Harry would somehow be forced to compete. Hedwig wasn't too happy about flying all the way back home already, but Harry offered to let Hedwig rest her old body and he would just use one of the younger owls to send the incredibly urgent letter that his grandfather needed to read as soon as possible. Hedwig's vanity quickly had her taking the letter before flying out the window and heading south.
At breakfast the next morning, Professor McGonagall approached Harry as she was handing out the Gryffindor time tables. As she handed Harry the slip of paper that was going to dictate how he spent about a third of his life for the next year, she told him, "You will be sitting your placement test for Ancient Runes and Arithmancy this afternoon. Come to my classroom after the end of your last lesson, which for you today is History of Magic. Maybe you can study for your tests instead of taking a nap." She gave a rare thin smile to Harry.
"Um professor, it's only supposed to be Ancient Runes. I didn't ask to take the Arithmancy test," Harry protested.
"No you didn't, but your grandfather did. If you pass the Arithmancy test, he wants you to take that course as well. But I will remind you that it's your education and your choice. My advice: take the tests, see how you did, and if you pass only one, take that class. If you pass both, do what you want. You can do both like Miss Granger here or you can choose one. Both are good solid options for your career after school."
Harry sighed and agreed. He didn't have a hope in hell of passing the Arithmancy test anyway, he had looked at Hermione's notes a few times, and while most of it was the type of maths he did in school in Surrey it was difficult to know when to do what. For example, breaking down the lumos spell, one of the examples Hermione showed him from the first chapter of her first Arithmancy textbook. The spell only had one component: the incantation. The spell had five letters, and five and one were both prime numbers, so for some reason Harry couldn't understand you had to subtract the one from the five leaving you with a four that wasn't real but still meant you needed three points of will from the caster to make seven. This meant that the spell had the numbers one, three, and five that somehow added up to seven, which was important because they were all prime numbers that were magically significant. Well, all except the number four that was somehow both there and not there in the equation.
Harry could follow each and every individual sum, but the when to do what was and why was confusing to him. And that was for a spell you could teach any witch or wizard in under three minutes even if you didn't speak the same language. There was a reason it was one of the first spells Flitwick ever taught. But the point was, if Harry couldn't understand the whys of the Arithmancy behind an example that was probably the very first example in the Arithmancy class, then it didn't really matter that he could follow the pure mathematics of the subject.
Runes, though, Harry had a high hope for. They weren't easy, but he had understood the explanations Hermione had given him over the summer when Harry's grandfather had expressed his desire that Harry (as he was not a Seer) transfer out of Divination. So Harry had studied Ancient Runes, both with Hermione as she went over her class notes with him and on his own with a few books from the Potter library.
Harry and his friends looked over their timetables and winced a little. "Any day with both Potions and History of Magic was just cruel and unusual punishment. At least it's Potions before History and not the other way around. Can you imagine a groggy student in Snape's class? Poor bloke is liable to be skinned alive by the dungeon bat. This is, of course, unless they are wearing green trimmed robes, then Snape would take points away from Harry for blinking too loud and disturbing the rest of the poor delicate Slytherin who is obviously overworked," Ron animatedly said, causing Harry, Hermione, and a few of their year mates to giggle with his hyperbole. That the giggles also included Lavender and Parvati had Ron's chest puff up a little in pride.
The mail came in soon after that, and Hermione got a copy of the Daily Prophet. This surprised Harry, but she told him that she had been getting it delivered for a few weeks now and then complained a little about him not listening. Harry also got a letter back from Charlus that basically said he would look into the Triwizard Tournament, and as the participants weren't going to be chosen until Halloween there was no point worrying yet. Soon they had finished their breakfast and the Gryffindor fourth years started to make their way to their first class, which was thankfully Charms with Flitwick, a nice fun class to kick off the year.
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Potions turns out to be its regular disaster. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had instinctively cast all the safety charms that Charlus had insisted on, prompting Snape to start shouting at them. "What do you think you are doing? This is not the class for foolish wand waving. This is the noble art of potions, so why are you three waving your wands around?!"
"These are standard charms to use while brewing…" Hermione tried to defend them but was cut off.
"Charms like that are nothing but a crutch for inadequate brewing and I won't have them in my classroom! And I will not be questioned by some know-it-all Gryffindor who needs to learn when to shut up!" Snape shouted in Hermione's face, spraying her with spittle.
Harry didn't like that one bit, and if there was something that could rile him up it was someone who was attacking one of his friends, and that went double for Hermione. So Harry parroted back what his grandfather had told him. "Well, any competent instructor would realise that in a mixed class like ours there are always going to be people who aren't as adept as a potions master and would insist on the safety charms. Personally I think you just don't like us preventing Malfoy from lobbing things into our cauldrons from across the room, giving you an excuse to deduct points from Gryffindor and fail us for what were perfectly good potions!"
Harry's outburst had the effect he desired. It took all of Snape's attention from Hermione. Unfortunately Harry couldn't make that attention disappear and that attention was entirely focused on him now.
"How dare you speak to your professor like that! You really are as arrogant as your father."
Harry was seeing red now. He had seen what a competent teacher of potions could do over the summer, and he found Snape lacking. He probably should have backed down at this point and accepted his punishment, but he didn't even consider that. "Professor? I hardly think that 'The recipe is on the board' counts as enough teaching to earn the respect due to a professor. Heck, I'd expect more from students helping each other."
The whole class went silent and stared open-mouthed at Harry as they waited for Mount Snape to blow its top. They didn't need to wait long. "Potter! Headmaster's office! NOW!" And he grabbed Harry by his robes and pulled him out of the classroom and up the stairs. Not that Harry cared one bit, he had had enough of Snape and it was time to have this out once and for all.
Snape shouted the password to the gargoyle that guided the entrance to the headmasters office (though according to Hermione it was only a grotesque as it did not have a water spout that gargoyles apparently needed) and it stepped aside and let them pass. After climbing the staircase, Snape opened the doors to the headmaster's office with a flick of his wand and half-threw Harry inside, sending him stumbling into the room. Harry was sure he was supposed to turn and see Snape stride into the office all impressive and intimidating, but instead he reached into his robes and pulled out a pinch of Floo powder. At his grandfather's and godfather's insistence, he had started carrying some with him whenever he was away from the manor, and now he threw it into the fire. "Potter Manor!" Harry called before sticking his head in the green flames, sure his grandfather would want to be there for this.