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Chapter Text

Contrary to what most believed, Harry James Potter was not stupid. Sure, he wasn't doing exceptionally well in school, but that was simply a precaution. Hermione Jean Granger was known to easily be miffed with someone who she percieved as smarter than her, and her reactions to not being best of the class or even year could be viscious. Ronald Bilius Weasley was, when it came to academics, straight up lazy and mostly carefree, and viewed most people who made an effort for their grades (the only exception Hermione) as nerds and priviledged stuck-ups. And well, Harry has never had friends before in his life, so his eleven year old self and his inner child had quickly been convinced that it was for the sake of keeping his first ever friendships, if he were to just barely scrape by to appease Hermione's and Ronald's tempers. 

However now, at 13, almost 14 years old, he had matured quite a bit, especially after being in not one, not two, but three life threatening situations. The first one was the Defenses Against the Dark Arts teacher Quirinus Quirrel, who had hosted the Dark Lord Voldemort as a parasite on the back of his head. Both of those tried to kill him. During his second year students were getting petrified in the Halls, which turned out to be a Basilisk let loose by the memory of the young Voldemort, back then Tom Marvolo Riddle, possessing the innocent first year Ginevra Molly Weasley. Harry had had to fight the deadly serpent, almost died, if not for the healing abilities of Fawkes the Phoenix, and destroyed Tom Riddle's memory captured inside the journal, which had lured Ginny Weasley into being possessed all along. During his third year he had to fear that the serial killer Sirius Orion Black had broken out of Azkaban for the sole purpose of killing him, only to find out that it was not him who betrayed his parents that faithful night, but the other member of the Marauders, Peter Pettigrew. Harry had to fight both Dementors all throughout the year, but also had to use time travel to save Sirius from being caught after finding out about his innocence, and outrun Professor Remus Lupin when the man was transformed into a werewolf. 

All in all, Harry had begun to be more alert to his surroundings, as neither the Muggle World, nor the Wizarding World were particularly safe for him with his fame and apparent talent to attract trouble and danger worse than the lumos-charm did moths. He'd retaken to always have an ear out for possible threats, as had been his cousin and his friends when they would try to sneak up on Harry and beat him up up until he started Hogwarts. 

Summer was unfortunately much the same as every year. While the Dursleys had given him his own room now, he was still being locked in most of the time, and only after two weeks did he manage to sneak his trunk up into his room and hide it under his bed. He was aware that it was not the best hiding spot, but with him being underage and therefore not permitted to cast any magic, it would have to make due. 

And since everytime he was locked into his room, he was alone and with no real means to pass the time, he would mostly think things over. For example, he had been wondering for some time now if Hogwarts, more specifically the Headmaster, was aware of him having been forced to live in the cupboard under the stairs, since his Hogwarts letter had specified his living arrangements as such. If Harry had been in charge, and if the whole addressing the letters business was only done through magic, and he had seen the address, then that would have raised some serious red flags. 

Another thing he had been wondering about was the fact that Harry was not at all the only muggle-raised student in Hogwarts. Infact, there were only about a quarter of the studentbody descendants of pure-blood families, the rest was either consistent of half-bloods, like Harry, or muggle-borns, like Hermione. And most muggleborns and half-bloods were muggle-raised. And as much as he loved Hagrid, the boy had an inkling that the half-giant was not qualified nor trained in how to ease children into believing that magic was indeed real and part of everyday life. He was also sure that to be able to take a child from their family (while he didn't consider the Dursley's his family, he supposed the statement was  true for most other muggle-raised kids) one would at least need to be qualified, a high ranking professor or some other official authority figure. And since he knew that Hagrid was none of that, he doubted that the handling of his case was entirely legal. 

Another thing he had wondered about was how Hagrid could have left Harry alone in King's Cross, when he so easily could have missed the train if he hadn't stumbled across the Weasleys. At least in Muggle-Britain it was frowned upon to let any child under the age of 14 travel alone at a trainstation, since these places often attracted shady people. He was fairly sure there were child-protection-laws in place for something like this. 

Additionally, when Hagrid had to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone from Vault #713, Harry never should have seen the whole process to begin with, if it was so top-secret as the tall man had claimed. He could have told Harry to wait with one of the Goblins and retrieve him later when he had finished his business, and Harry would have been none-the-wiser. And don't even get him started on the absolute mishandling of the security of the Philosopher's Stone, and why the school wasn't closed as soon as more than one student was petrified in the halls. He could understand the continued openning of the school while in third year, but when Sirius had destroyed the Fat Lady's portrait, that should have been the first thing to do to protect the children. 

All in all, it was time he stopped trusting people blindly, even if they have taken him away from the hellhole in Privet Drive #4. That also meant for him to try and be more independent. Up until now, Harry had been much of a follower in everyday situations, never saying no to anything Hermione and Ron said or asked him to do, even if he didn't want to do it. Obviously he couldn't practice that with his relatives, but he had plenty of opportunities at Hogwarts. As long as he didn't find himself in a life threatening situation again. 

Another thing he had been thinking about was to finally start looking after himself. It was also part of the whole independence thing, but honestly? If he was to fight for his life every year, he should be a bit more fit and know how to defend himself. Since he couldn't really get out of his room most of the time, he had gone to the library and found a book on calisthenics, so that he wouldn't need to buy anything, but still get fit. 

His next goal was to get better in school. About a week after he had gotten back to the Dursleys he had been so bored that he actually started to read a few books he had gotten from Hermione, and learned that if he wanted to take his NEWTs in Seventh year, he'd need to have at least EEs or even Os in certain subjects, and at the moment, he was barely scraping by. Not to mention the OWLs he was going to have to take in Fifth year. 

Which meant that his usual days in Little Whinging looked like this:

• Get up before the Dursleys
• Make breakfast and make sure noone sees him eat any of it
• Get the mail
• Clean the kitchen
• Clean the bathroom (only every third day, but still)
• Check for laundry
• If needed mow the lawn and tend to the gardenias
• make lunch
• clean up the kitchen
• Go to his room
• read up on the last three years worth of school to catch up
• do calisthenics
• make dinner
• eat the leftovers of said dinner
• clean up the kitchen
• shower
• read some more
• go to bed

Then at the end of the summer break, the Weasleys took him to the Quidditch World Cup, and at first it was brilliant, but it soon turned to shit when Death Eaters attacked. 

At least now things would return to normal as he was sitting in one of the compartments of the Hogwarts Express with Ron, Hermione and Neville. 

Chapter Text

Harry dosed against the window and the other occupants of the compartment left him alone. Which he was very grateful for. As much as he was always thankful for the Weasleys to host him for a full month before Hogwarts, the family itself was such a stark contrast to the more or less quiet Privet Drive #4 provided. Which always proved to be a great way to both power him out mentally, physically and sensory wise. 

The sun was shining softly on his face, the rhythmic rattling of the old locomotive soothing him into relaxing. Neville, after confiding with them that he often suffered from sensory overloads, had given him soft earmuffs, which cancelled out all sounds. Normally, his mind would wander and start to get loud, it was a habit he had developed after years of isolation at the Dursleys, but today he was content to just focus on his breathing, stare out at the landscape and sort out his thoughts. 

Harry, after being plagued by countless nightmares most of the time featuring either Uncle Vernon's beatings, Voldemort attacking him through Quirrel, getting bitten by the Basilisk and thinking he was going to die due to the venom coursing through his body, and most often, Dementors, had gone to the local library to see if he found anything he could do without using magic, and the book recommended to regularly meditate and excercise lots. Since he had been making it a habit to practice calisthenics almost everyday, he first did exactly that, and then, after cooling down, he would meditate.

And he stuck to that new routine.

He had started to try meditation out for only 10 minutes to get a feel for it during the first few days, and then he increased the time little by little. Now he was content with one hour a day. Half an hour after waking up, and half an hour before going to sleep. It had helped quite a bit, and his normally swirling thoughts only resurfaced when he lost focus on his breath. 

After meditating proved to be a successful method for him, he started reading more into the arts of the mind, and stumbled across a study method called "Mind Palace". Apparently it was a technique that relied heavily on envisioning some sort of room or house or whatever one wanted, and then "sorted" all things worthy of remembering into certain places. 

The raven-haired teenager had started to build up his Mind Palace as soon as he found out about the technique, and had started out with building the frontdoor, then the hallway, which branched into the kitchen. He was currently focusing on furnishing the kitchen, and putting random everyday objects he associated with schoolrelated stuff, to see if he then recalls them better or not. Right now he was still working on his system, and had to determine wether or not he wanted to keep doing it, or not. 

Right now, it was going pretty well, if he dared think so. 

He's read over his school books every evening while at the Dursley's and the Burrow, and even though he hated Potions Lessons, he realised he only hated it because of Snape, not because of the topics themselves. Potions were unbelievably interesting, and after he had read through Hermione's book back from First Year, which he hadn't gotten for some reason, so many things suddenly made sense, such as the fact that preparing the ingredients was one of the most important things to look out for, or to always wash the board between preparing different ingredients to avoid cross contamination and therefore avoid any abstract reactions. 

He stocked the Kitchen in his Mind Palace with the first ten potions of first year, writing the ingredients onto the label of each vial he put into his cupboards. The ingredients themselves he stored neatly on a shelf, and labeled the glass containers with the name, how to get it from scratch or how to grow it, what it is used for and in which potions, how they reacted with other things and why, and as many other information as he could find in the textbooks and recall from Snape's lessons. 

In the back of his mind he briefly thought about starting up a greenhouse to grow some of the plants, but quickly put that aside. His first goal was to finish the kitchen and memorise everything in there before he started building new rooms and expanding his Palace. 

A gentle touch made the image in his head fade away and he blinked at Ron, whose mouth was moving. He pulled off the earmuffs - he really needed to get a pair of those - and smiled up at the redhead. 

"Sorry mate, what did you say?" He asked sheepishly, while stretching his now a bit stiff muscles from sitting in the same position for Merlin knew how long. 

"I said that we're arriving at Hogwarts in less than half an hour, so get dressed. Hermione, Neville and I are already in our robes." He said, and Hermione quickly stepped out to give him some privacy. The other boys filled him in that since he seemed to be asleep, or at the very least completely spaced out, only Ron and Neville had to step out while she changed, and all of them got their luggage ready when he was done to make sure they had a smooth departure. 

"Thanks for the earmuffs, Neville. They did wonders." Harry mentioned and smiled while handing them back to him, and Neville just waved him off. "It's fine, Harry. As I said, I know the feeling of being overwhelmed and I saw your face and immediately knew. You look better aswell. More rested." 

Harry just grinned at him, and the four of them held up their usual smalltalk until they were sitting in the Great Hall and waiting for dinner to start. Apparently Hermione had visited Germany with her parents and was allowed to explore Berlin while they were doing something workrelated, and Neville had visited relations in Australia. 

Dumbledore then started up his annual speech, which Harry tuned out completely. If anything important was among the topics this year, he was sure the others would fill him in anyway. The only interesting thing that happened was that apparently an auror called Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody was going to be the new DADA teacher this year, and while sure, the man might be a bit crazy, but since he's an auror he should know more than the last two out of three DADA professors Hogwarts has had. Everyone knew that Quirrel was far too stuttery and never actually taught any practice, and Lockhart was simply put incompetent. The only competent teacher had been Professor Lupin, who was well liked by the majority of the student body. 

"Hey Harry! What's our-"

"-favourite little-"

"-honorary brother-"

"-thinking about?" Fred and George appeared on either side of him and had shiteating grins on their faces. 

"You thinking 'bout-"

"-someone? Come on-"

"-tell us! Who's the lucky-"

"-damsel?" 

Harry frowned and turned around to them, looking at both of them for a moment to process the sudden intrusion in his private life. "Wait, what? What brought that on?" Fred and George shared a look and supposedly came to a mutual agreement, before George tackled him and hoisted him up from the bench and off it, while Fred expertly took his feet, before swinging them upwards and back, making Harry yelp while being picked up like a sack of potatoes and then carried out of the Great Hall over George's shoulder. 

It took Harry a few moments to really process what's happened, but when he did, the only thing he could do was try to get out of the twins' grips, obviously with no success. They quickly deposited him in an unused classroom and Harry simply stared at the two of them. 

"Ya see, Harrykins, we visited you on the Hogwarts Express-"

"-but you were staring out the window and so lost in thought and-"

"-we thought the most logical explanation would be that you might be either interested in someone-"

"-or were in a secret relationship. And now that you were spacing out again-"

"-during the Headmaster's speech no less-"

"-we decided to intervene."

His mouth opened and closed a few times. Fred and George, arguably two of the most sought after guys in their Year, thought he was either inlove with someone, or in a secret relationship. Heat started creeping up his cheeks, and he immediately saw the grins starting to spread on their faces, so he quickly waved his hands infront of him. 

"No, no! I'm not crushing on anyone, nor seeing anyone right now! Really now, I just stayed at your house for an entire month! How did you even get to that conclusion?" He asked bewildered, and watched as the twins both sat down in old seats. 

"Harry, we don't know if you know, but-"

"-we're quite good at watching people-"

"-and you've been daydreaming alot during the last month-"

"-and we thought that maybe you had become acquainted with-"

"-a pretty lady in the muggle world?" George finished, and pulled him into a sidehug. 

Harry just sighed and let out a humorous laugh. Really now, how did he end up in this situation? "No, George, Fred, I did not become acquainted with a pretty lady in the muggle world in less than a month." He quoted their words to drive the point across. "The reason why I'm 'daydreaming' as you call it, is because you Weasleys are a lot to take in for someone who is used to a quiet house and being alone most of the time. The last month has been a lot of sensory overload for me, so I'm blocking most things out and focus on sorting through my thoughts." He finished, and was met with two equal frowns.

"Harry, if the Burrow was too much for you you should have said something. Charlie used to have sensory issues, as did Bill and Percy. We have sensory aids at home."

Harry blinked at them sheepishly, before reassuring them that it was fine and that next time he would take them up on that. 

"And anyways, I haven't really had the time to think about getting into a relationship, much less actually talking and getting to know someone, and I personally don't fancy the idea of trying to get as many girls to snog with as you two. I've got enough drama going on in my life as it is." He added, and Fred and George nodded along, seemingly agreeing with his point. 

"Well, Harrikins, if you ever need anything from us, we're always there to listen." Fred said, before the three of them got back to the Great Hall, before the prefects led them and the new Firsties up to the common room. The new password was Balderdash, and Harry made a mental note, which he put on his Kitchen table to construct some sort of office for important information, like passwords, bureaucracy and the likes. 

The timetables were on the information board, so he lingered a bit in the back to avoid the first rush to get one of the parchments, and then he took two for himself, as he did every year. He's made it a habit to stick one timetable to the door of their dormroom, just to avoid his roommates constantly asking him what subjects they were going to have on that day. 

The plan was structured as normal, with the only difference being that whoever looked at it, saw their personal timetable with their electives, and not someone else's. 

Monday

History of Magic

History of Magic

Potions

Potions

Lunch

Herbology

Herbology

Tuesday

Care of Magical Creatures

Care of Magical Creatures

Herbology

Charms

Lunch

Divination

Divination

Wednesday

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Charms

Transfiguration

Lunch

Astronomy 

Astronomy

Thursday

Transfiguration

Transfiguration

Potions

Potions

Lunch

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Friday

History of Magic

History of Magic

Charms

Charms

Lunch

Care of Magical Creatures

Care of Magical Creatures

Well, looked like this year would have almost only double periods. Harry himself didn't really have a problem with it, but most other Fourth Years did. Seamus was moaning on and on about how shitty the timetable was, but Harry opted to not think about it too much. This was such a mundane problem, where he knew that moaning and pitying himself wouldn't actually get to anything, so he ignored it in favour of finding their dorm room taking up the best bed. 

After taking a shower and putting on his pajamas, he went to bed, and focussed on sorting out all his thoughts and information into this Mind Palace, while tuning out the others' noises as best as he could. When everyone except for Neville had gone to bed, he quickly cast a Tempus Charm, just to avoid sleeping in. 

Chapter Text

Harry's Tempus Charm woke him up at 5:00 a.m. and he spent the next thirty minutes familiarizing himself with his Mind Palace and occasionally stocking his ingredientsshelves up with herbs he read over. After that he quietly got dressed into his sportswear. Since it was already September, mornings started to get pretty fresh, so he opted for a pair of breathable black sweatpants, a tight gray tanktop with a small turtleneck, to avoid getting a sore throat because of the temperature, and over that a breathable mossgreen hoodie. He charmed all of those to keep him in a comfortable temperature, while still being able to sweat a bit. 

He cast a Tempus Charm to go off at 7:00 a.m. for the other occupants of the room, simply because he knew that otherwise they would sleep in, and ventured out of the common room. His running shoes muffled the sound of his steps a bit, and in some parts of the castle he had to cast the Lumos-Charm, since the sun was only starting to rise. While walking through the hallways he warmed himself up, stretching slightly and carefully rolling his ankles and the likes. At this hour it was eerily quiet, since most other people were asleep. When he arrived in the Great Hall it was to an empty one, and when he sat down, a spoon and a bowl appeared, along side porridge oats, berries, sliced banana, sesame seeds, a cup of black tea and a banana-strawberry-spinach smoothie and a note, saying that he should just ask, if he required any protein supplying potion. 

The lettering was similar to Dobby's, so Harry figured it must have been one of the house-elves who sent it up for him. After he asked for it to be mixed into hsi smoothie, a light emerged from his glass, and he watched as a vial with a bright red fluid popped up from seemingly nowhere, and mixed into it in only a few seconds. When he ate his breakfast he said thank you for the food to noone in particular as he got up, but he thought the elves might appreciate it nonetheless. 

He made his way down to the Black Lake, first walking. When he got down to the shore, he quickly found the path that leads around it, and simply starts running. 

Harry really liked running. 

When he was running, he felt free, but not as free as he felt on a broom. But still, when it was just him and nature, he could relax, breathe, and appreciate simply existing. Ever since he started running in the mornings, he noticed that he could focus better and was more energized throughout the day. He ran past a few trees and glimpsed a head poking through the surface of the water, watching him in curiosity. Not wanting to stop running, he simply smiled at them and waved. They cocked their head to one side before disappearing into the depths of the lake. 

Listening to his body, he slowly came to a stop, before making his way back. He checked the time and it was already 6:30. He had started running at around 6:00, and it was time to return to the castle. The crisp air and the lingering dew in the air felt awesome while breathing it in, and his cheeks and nose felt cold and were no doubt a rosy colour. His head felt light, but in a good way, and he was completely awake and ready to start his day. While he was running over a slight clearing he tried to go into his Mind Palace to remember his timetable, but he couldn't yet concentrate on both running and picturing it in his head, so he simply summoned his personal one with a swift 'accio timetable' and let it float before him. 

First a double period of History of Magic with Professor Cuthbert Binns, which basically translated that he was going to go on and on about the Goblin Rebellion of the 17th century, and the students did nothing. Well, since Harry had decided to get his grades up, he would start to read the course book on his own and more or less make it a self study period. At least the first half of the double lesson. The second part he elected to prepare for the double potions lesson. 

It was 6:50 when he arrived at the castle and was changing into his school robes when his 7:00 a.m. Tempus Charm went off, and he chuckled slightly to himself when he heard the groans coming from Seamus, Ron and Neville. He just finished tying his tie while stepping out, to see the other three boys yawning and stretching and grumbling under their breaths about how they hated monday mornings. 

As always, Neville was the first of the three to get up and go to the bathroom to freshen up, soon followed by Seamus, and lastly Ron. 

Harry opened his trunk and took out his History of Magic course book, and one of his new blank note books. When the Weasley family and he went to Diagon Alley, he had bought himself a multitude of different coloured blank notebooks, one for each subject and a few spares. He also bought himself a quill pen, where its lower part, the quill itself and its shaft were made out of metal and hollow inside, so it could be filled up with ink. Like this he would only need to refill it every few weeks, and not bother with carrying a bottle of ink to every single classroom. Maybe like this his fingers would stay clean for once. Another perk to it was also the fact that it was ergonomically developed, and he hoped that his hands wouldn't cramp as soon than when he used a regular quill. And it was also nice to have a smooth writing experience, and not the scratchy one. 

He also took out his Potions course book, another blank notebook and all his supplies he was going to need, because the time between classes was too short to not be late if they had to get their things. And he really didn't need Snape to have it out for him before he even arrived in the classroom. While at the Burrow Mr. Weasley had taught him the shrinking and deshrinking charm, so he shrunk everything and put it into his bag. 

"Ron, Seamus, Neville, it's 7:15 already! Classes start in 45 minutes and you still haven't had breakfast." He sighed. He heard a flurry of movement inside the bathroom and he heard Ron's voice among them all. "Harry, could you pack my books? They're in my trunk!" And before he could respond, Neville and Seamus called out at him to do it too. "Yeah, I'll do it, but hurry up!" He called back.

First he opened Ron's trunk, and shrunk the History book, the Potions book and the Potions supplies and floated them into Ron's bag. He did the same with Neville's and Seamus', and his roommates came out of the bathroom only to witness him shrinking the last of Seamus' things and floating them into his bag. 

"Thanks, mate!" They quickly snatched their respective bags and he followed them down into the Great Hall. As usual Ron started devouring his breakfast, and Hermione simply sighed and ate her own, before noticing that he wasn't eating anything. 

"Harry? Are you alright? Why aren't you eating any breakfast?" 

Harry, who had been reading the Daily Prophet, looked up briefly. "Because I've been up for a while and already had some." He took his glass of orange juice and took a few sips, and went back to reading. 

Ron and Hermione looked at each other briefly before shrugging and finishing up their breakfast. Together they made their way towards Professor Binns' classroom and arrived 5 minutes early. Usually they sit on the right side in the middle, however Malfoy and his friends were already sitting there, so Harry quickly went to the other side of the classroom and up into the far left corner. Ron and Hermione followed him and got ready for the lesson. 

Harry quickly unpacked his new notebook, the yellow one, his History of Magic course book and his new quill and labeled the up until now blank notebook. 

Notes 

History of Magic

by Harry James Potter

He opened it and quickly wrote down the date, 1st of September 1994, in the upper right corner, and opened his History of Magic course book from First year A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot. 

On the upper left corner of the first page he wrote down the book title, name of the chapter, and the page and then began to summarize everything. He's come to realize that if he really wanted to learn something, he needed to summarize everything, which meant to shorten the text to one third of its original length while including the most important information, and then completely rephrase it that he understands it immediately and doesn't have to agonise over overly complicated academic vocabulary. 

Additionally he only uses three quarters of the page and leaves the outer quarter blank, to fill with any potential notes, and he does the same at the bottom to note down potential sources for additional research. 

All in all, the average page was not too cramped and quite pleasant to look at, and not at all overwhelming when he wanted to study something. It was exactly what he needed, and managed to completely tune out Professor Binns' ramblings about the Goblin Rebellion. His new quill did exactly as it should aswell, and his hands stayed miraculously clean of any ink. 

Another thing he was going to exploit, as bad as it sounded, was to carefully manouver it so that Hermione would always be sitting between him and Ron, like this morning. Like this, Ron was less tempted to talk to Harry during class and drag his focus away from the lesson's material. 

During the first of the two lessons, Harry managed to fill out four pages worth of information about Chapter 1; The Founding of Hogwarts, and made a mental note to finally read through Hogwarts A History, to fill in the lacking information. 

The first bell rang indicating a ten minute break and he put his History books aside. 

"Harry? We still got another hour of History left, why are you putting your stuff away?" Hermione asked and eyed his actions with an expression that was both exasperated and disappointed. 

Harry huffed out a chuckle and proceeded to pull out his new gray notebook and First Year Potions Book Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger. "Because, 'Mione, I've decided to start revising the material starting at the basics to get a head start on our studies. Next year is gonna be our O.W.L.s and I really need to pass those if I wanna get a good job after Hogwarts." 

Hermione's and Ron's eyes widened in surpise and he continued. "Besides, we've got double Potions after this, and we know that Snape always asks us about things from past years. I've been reading over everything during the summer aswell. Ron, you should know I've been doing that!" He added, addressing the redhead. "I always did it before going to sleep at the Burrow aswell."

"What brought that on, Mate? And I never really read the titles of your books, I assumed they were some novels! I've seen you read novels before, Harry." Ron remarked. "It wasn't really out of character for you." 

"Well," Hermione piped up, "I think it's hightime you do!" Ron threw a betrayed look at Harry, who simply raised an eyebrow. "And that concerns both of you!" She turned to Ron and leveled him a glare worthy of Mrs. Weasley's dissapproving ones. "You should also do that, Ron! Both of you have been barely scraping by and O.W.L.s really are some of the most important exams during our entire time here at Hogwarts. If we don't pass those with as good grades as possible, certain jobs might not be possible for us to even try to get." She straightened her back and nodded to herself. 

"I'm gonna make all three of us studyplans!" She declared, Ron looked absolutely miserable, and Harry interjected before she could say anything else. 

"Actually, Hermione, I've already made my own plans about this." She turned back to him, eyebrows raised again. "I mean sure, we can make studyplans and studysessions and all that, but if I'm honest, you have an entirely different study style than me. I don't know about you, Ron, but personally I can't just read through the material and then recall it, as you do, Hermione. I've developed my own method, and it's working out pretty well." He wasn't yet ready to tell them about his Mind Palace. Something inside him just, wasn't comfortable with it for some reason, so he kept it to himself for the moment. 

Hermione seemed to ponder over this for a moment, and Ron sent him a thankful look over her head, which he responded to by subtly nodding. When it came to studying they both knew that Hermione was ruthless. It wouldn't be the first time for the two boys to talk about that after all. 

"Harry's right, you know?" He admitted. "I can't recall anything by sitting still reading through the material. I need to speak it out loud and stand or pace or do something with my hands or feet. I need someone to have a discussion about it with me, and the more emotions get into it, the better I recall it. If it's just a boring lesson like the one we just had, everything goes completely over my head."

Her mouth was set in a hard line as she thought it over, but soon she acknowledged everything and said that she'd think of something else, since she still wanted to make sure that both of them were actually studying and up to par with everything. To Harry it sounded like she was gonna implement some sort of regular quizzing sessions or something.  

Professor Binns floated back in and immediately launched into it again, and Harry dove into revising Potions. While at the Burrow, he had gotten through almost most of First Year's course book, and had filled his Potions Notebook almost to the brim with all the most important things. He even finished it and used the remaining half hour to go through the entire book and attempted to enter his Mind Palace, but just like a few hours prior it was hard while being surrounded by so many people. 

The bell rang, signalling the end of History of Magic, and Harry braced himself for the next double lesson in Potions. 

Chapter Text

Of course, Harry had been right. Not even before he could take out his things did Snape focus in on him, and in the corner of his eyes he could see Malfoy and his friends trying to hold back laughter.

"Mr. Potter. Let's see if you recall any of your first year knowledge." Snape growled. "Tell me the ingredients to the Burn-Healing Paste." 

"For a quarter kilogram of paste you need 50 gramms of dried bitterroots, freshly ground, four beetle eyes, 70 millilitres of Bubotuber Pus, 30 millilitres of fresh dandelion-petals ground into a paste, one teaspoon of regular honey and 100 gramms of beeswax, sir." Harry replied, and ignored the whispers rising from his classmates and some of the Slytherins. 

"Somehow that was correct, Mr. Potter. Now tell me the process of how you would make it. Let's see if this was just a lucky guess on your side." Harry inwardly rolled his eyes at that jab and simply started to explain the process.

"First you make sure that all your supplies are clean and ready to use. You need your cauldron, silver knife, grinder, mortar, scale, one or optionally more silver spoons if you have multiple, and a silver stirring spoon. The second step is to prepare all the ingredients." He stared at Snape's eyes and continued. "You grind 50 gramms of the dried bitterroots and set them aside in a clean bowl. You extract four beatle eyes from the skull of two beatles with the tip of your silver knife and squish them with the flat side of the blade. Then you measure out the Bubotuber Pus, 70 ml to be exact, and grind fresh dandelion-petals into 30 ml worth of paste. The honey and 100 gramms of beeswax only need to be measured and put aside." 

Harry took a breath between talking, and then proceeded to a now silent classroom. His words carried through the entire room, and it was a novelty to have all eyes and ears on him. 

"First you melt the beeswax in your cauldron at 63°C. Then you add the Bubotuber Pus and stir clockwise seven times. Then you add the four beetle eyes, and let that simmer until the colour changes from dark gray to red. Then you add the dandelion-petals, the powdered bitterroots and mix that by stirring the cauldron seven times counterclockwise. Then you add the honey and when the fluid turns a white-orange colour, everything went right. You put out the flame, fill it into a glass jar and let it cool down on its own. After six hours it should be ready to use and can be stored in a clearly labeled container for up to six months in a dark and dry place. After that you clean all your supplies and put them away accordingly, sir." 

You could hear a pin drop all the way down the corridor while Harry stubbornly watched Snape as the teacher watched him like a hawk. 

"And why do you wait six hours until it's ready to use?" Snape near whispered in a sneer.

"Because it takes six hours for the paste to cool down, settle down and become the right consistency. Additionally, if you were to use the unfinished paste on any kind of burn, provided the burn has already been cleaned and tended to, then you would risk infections and further scarring, aswell as discoloration of the surrounding skin, sir."

"And what does the paste feel like after applying it to the affected area, provided everything has been done correctly?"

"The patient will feel the affected area first being soothed, and when the paste dries it starts to itch, sir." 

"How long does the paste remain on the burns?"

"As long as it needs to completely dry and fall off on its own. That can take anywhere from 20 minutes up to a few hours depending on the size and depth of the burn. The paste is not to be disturbed while it works, which means the patient has to bear with the itch until it is done, sir." 

"Describe the process of the aftercare after the the paste has completely fallen off."

"It's advised to wait another hour until using lukewarm purified water to wash off the residue. Then dry off the affected area with a fresh and soft towel, and if necessary use a neutral soothing balm or cream to avoid any possible irritation of the skin. If the location of the burn is anywhere where clothing could aggravate the sensitive skin, it is advised to use bandages to cover it up. The bandages should be changed twice a day, sir." 

Snape regarded him for a long while, seemingly searching for something. Then, without warning, he whirled around and barked at the rest of the class. "Well? Why are none of you taking notes?" 

A flurry of movement went through the classroom, a few whispers rose up again, and Harry simply sat down and got out his newest coursebook Book of Potions by Zygmunt Budge, and his full Potions notebook and a new one with the same shade of gray and labeled it.

Notes

Potions

by Harry James Potter 

And put it away again. These notebooks were supposed to be summaries of everything, so he first would write everything he noted during class down on normal parchment and then at the end of the day figure out how to include them into his personal notes. 

Surprisingly Snape left him alone for the remainder of the double lesson, and he also brewed the Fire Protection Potion perfectly, however he did have to admit that that was a beginner level potion and had also been taught in First Year. But no matter, Harry didn't get any points deducted during the entirety of the double lesson, and even managed to subtly prevent Neville from screwing up his. 

All in all, he went out of Potions with a slight bounce to his step, and all the other Gryffindors were over the moon that nothing actually went wrong for once. Even Parvati, one of the girls in his year, congratulated him and said he made a new record, while they were eating lunch in the Great Hall. 

The houseelves let protein-rich food appear infront of him, and Harry was immensely grateful. He'd written a letter for the houseelves before History had started, and asked them if it would be possible to alter his food to one that was a bit more healthy and would promote building up muscles. Before he'd gone to Potions he had whispered "If one of you houseelves can hear me, I've got a letter for you" and it promptly vanished from his desk. 

And they certainly delivered.

He got pesto chicken with cooked quinoa and a lot of vegetables, and it was heavenly seasoned aswell. He got another glass of juice, this time cloudy apple juice, and the same protein-potion mixed itself into it. An additional glass of water also appeared. 

Herbology went just like always, and since it was such a practical lesson, Harry only made notes here and there, and after the lessons were over he went to the Library and summarized everything into his green notebook. When he was done with that, he went up to Gryffindor Tower, put his things away and changed out from his schoolrobes and into his second pair of sportswear. 

He then went outside for the second time that day, and ventured down towards the Quidditch pitch. However, instead of actually entering the Quidditch pitch, he turned further away from it and walked into the building next to it. Oliver Wood had told him that that building used to be used as a training facility a few years ago, but not many students still used it. All in all, it was a gym, if an old one. The houseelves had done a wonderful job in keeping the building up to par and clean, so Harry decided to use it. It even had functioning showers! If he knew one thing about houseelves from Dobby it is the fact that they love it when people use things they'd just cleaned, made, or simply used them. 

The light inside was already on, and he spotted a few Upper Years already working out. Most of them he recognised as Ravenclaws, which were seven people, then there were three Hufflepuffs and maybe two Seventh Year Slytherins. They only glanced at him for a moment, before focusing on their workouts again, and Harry was immensely relieved that they wouldn't pay him any mind. 

He did his usual warm-up-routine by beginning with a few slow Mountain Climbers before picking up speed, some arm swings, then some wrist circles, walking high knees, his usual stretching and then inchworms. 

And then he started his usual routine. 

• 10 push-ups
• 10 leg raises
• 20 squats
• 10 pull-ups
• 10 bridges
• 10 twist holds for each 20 seconds
• 10 dips
• 20 lunges with added weight (currently 2 kg on each side, working on increasing that slowly)
• 20 calf raises
• if up to it, repeat a few more times. 

At the end of two sets of that he was thoroughly sweating and even trembling a bit from extersion, so he did his cooldown routine and then got back to the castle. He smiled to himself when he remembered at how he started out during the summer at the Dursley's. His arms and legs had felt like jelly after the workout, his torso would hurt everytime he moved it funny, he discovered aching muscles where he wasn't even aware he had them. Now he was already more or less used to the constant feeling of aching muscles, which is why he was careful not to overextert himself and mix in some rest-days. 

Right now his rest days were saturday and sunday, but he might change that depending on how the schoolyear will go. 

Dinner was served and he was pleasantly surprised yet again at what the elves had cooked up for him.

Rosemary parmesan roasted sweet potatoes with a few grilled slices of zucchini, peppers, a green salad on the side and a post-workout-shake and a glass of water. 

After dinner he spent the rest of the evening having fun with the others in the common room, and yet again spent half an hour developing his Mind Palace after having showered, casting his 5:00 a.m. Tempus Charm and gotten ready for bed. 

Another perk of his new routine was that his sleep was far less fitful, he had less nightmares, his mind wasn't always racing with unprocessed thoughts, deeper and he fell asleep in a matter of minutes. 

Chapter Text

Tuesday's morning went much the same, with the Double Care of Magical Creatures being exactly like it was last year, Herbology like yesterday, in Charms they repeated every charm from the year prior and Divination was exactly like it was last year aswell. Which meant that Professor Trelawney predicted Harry's death within the first ten minutes yet again. 

Ron, Seamus, Neville, Parvati and Brown all begrudgling handed him five galleons, as all of them had bet against him that she'd at least get through the first part of the lesson, but alas all of them were now five galleons poorer. 

"Don't be so smug about it!" Ron hissed and swatted him over the back of his head, which only made Harry smother down his laughter even harder. "It's not like it should be funny considering she has a point. You're a huge trouble magnet!" 

Harry took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down after that and actually went back to his notes. He really didn't like Divination, and he also didn't see any value in continuing the subject. Could you drop a subject after a year and take up a new one? Which one would he even take on?

Muggle Studies would be just as boring as Divination, he already took Care, which meant that the only options for him would either be Arithmancy, which according to Hermione was difficult even for her, or Study of Ancient Runes, which wasn't that hard, but still alot to study for and demanded a lot of attention during the lessons. He once overheard a Ravenclaw student that they intended to either brew or buy a Focus Potion for the subject. 

And he guessed that even if it was possible to drop a subject this late, then one would need a good explanation for it, and possibly a very good reason aswell. Would his death getting predicted every other day be good enough? He could say that it was starting to take a toll on his mental health and that he was actually starting to believe it. 

Which wouldn't even be too far from the truth, actually. After the troll, Quirrel, the diary, the basilisk, Mr. Malfoy's attempt at killing him over Dobby, the dementors, Professor Lupin's werewolf-mishap, and the Death-Eater terror at the Quidditch World Cup, he was quite lucky to still be alive, if he thought about it like that. 

The bell signaled the end of the lesson (finally) and they all packed their things as quickly as possible to get out of the professor's stuffy classroom. Ron descended down the ladder first, then Harry, closely followed by Neville and Seamus. 

"Hey Harry, what are you gonna do with all that money?" Seamus came up next to him then, he hummed thoughtfully.

"Not sure yet, actually." He mused. "Might use it during my next visit to Hogsmeade, or I could go to Gringotts and put it in my trust vault."

"Right! When's the next Hogsmeade weekend again?" the sand-haired boy asked.

"It's this weekend actually! Saw it this morning at the information board in the common room. I think it's neat that Fourth Years don't need permission slips anymore." Neville chimed in from behind. "I messed up during summer while on a party, spilled Merlin knows how many glasses of red wine on top of an important lady-friend of my grandmother. Don't think she would have signed it after that." 

Harry swivelled around with a frown. "Why were you carrying glasses of red wine?" 

A slight blush crept on Neville's face at that and the group came to a stop in the hallway. Neville gulped a bit, before quietly telling them. 

"My grandmother and I were invited to the Gala-Evening in the VIP section of the World Cup, grandma has good friends amongst the trainers, the retired ones, of the players for some reason." He shuffled around on his feet a bit before continuing. "Grandma then insisted on me working while there as a waiter, since she doesn't believe in having every priviledge handed to young people on a silver platter simply because of who their family knows."

"Blimey, Nev, that's awesome!" Ron exclaimed, and Harry continued where he left off. "To think that you were in the VIP section, and got to attend a Gala-Evening! That was before the actual match, right?" 

The nervous teenager visibly relaxed. "Yeah, that was the day before. They do that before every World Cup, and the Minister and the Heads of almost all the different Departements give speeches." They started walking again, while still talking about how awesome it must have been to be in such close viscinity to the pro players, when they walked past Professor McGonagall's office, and Harry stopped mid-sentence and let his intrusive thoughts win. 

"Hey guys, you go on without me, I gotta talk to McGonagall real quick." 

Ron looked him over with concern in his eyes. "You alright mate? What's wrong?" Harry waved him off. "It's nothing serious, Ron. I'll tell you later." 

The redhead frowned but followed the others, and Harry asked the person in the portrait to go and ask her, if she's free right now. Not even ten seconds later she opened the door behind the frame and asked him in. 

"Well, Mr. Potter, I do admit it is a surpise to see you in my office this early into the year." She smiled at him and motioned for him to sit. "How may I help you?" 

Harry sat down. "Well, Professor, I had hoped you could give me some advice?" 

McGonagall sat down aswell after filling two glasses with water for the both of them. "I can try my best, but I cannot promise anything." 

"Alright, well. It's about Divination." He started, and the professor only raised an expectant eyebrow. Harry grounded himself by quickly tapping his fingers against each other and continued. "Well, I'm going to be honest with you, I made a mistake in Third Year choosing it as one of my electives. I'm barely scraping by because it doesn't interest me in the slightest-"

"Are you implying, Mr. Potter," she interupted, eyes sharp and concentrated on him. "That you intend to drop the subject alltogether?" 

He held eyecontact with her for a few seconds longer, and nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I believe I would have to take up a different elective, to have the required number of two in my curriculum. I'm aware that the school year has already started, but..." he trailed off, picking at the hems of his shirt.

"Mr. Potter, dropping an elective after only a year of having it and switching into a different one is rare, but not unheard of. Usually, you should have requested a change before you returned to Hogwarts, however since we have a history with your mail either not arriving at yours or remaining unanswered, I can assume there must be some issue with that and why you haven't been able to contact us." 

Harry bit his tongue only to swallow down the retort about how the Dursleys had put bars on his window before Second Year, and simply nodded. McGonagall's eye twitched for a moment, before she went on. 

"However, since it is not yet your Fifth Year, but rather your Fourth Year, and only the second day of school aswell, we might be able to pull something." Harry watched as she got up and went over to a wall with hundreds of pamphlets and booklets, and pulled some out. "I'll have to discuss this with Headmaster Dumbledore, however seeing as it is very early into the year, I'm about 90% sure you will be able to switch. Now which elective did you have in mind?" She spread out one booklet for each elective infront of him, before taking a seat again. "If you'd like to read through those before you tell me, go ahead. I'll go ahead and do some paperwork while I wait." 

Harry immediately knew that wasn't a question and that he should do so regardless of what he thought, so he took the first one up. 

Muggle Studies

Muggle Studies is part of the non-magical studies curriculum at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is exactly what the name implies - the study of the daily lives of Muggles and how they cope with electricity and not magic. This class aims specifically to acquaint wizards and witches who do not have direct contact with Muggles with the way they live; one known essay topic is for example "Why Muggles Need Electricity." It is an optional subject, taught from the third year to the seventh. 

Required books are as follow:

• Cooking the Muggle Way
• Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles
• Moronic Muggles
• Muggles Who Notice
• My Life as a Muggle
• The Philosophy of the Mundane: Why the Muggles Prefer Not to Know
• When Muggles Attack

All of which are available at Flourish and Blotts, Tomes and Scrolls, Screed and Sons, Quinto Bookshop & Francis Edward and various Second-Hand bookshops in Diagon Alley. 

Third Year's curriculum entails the active working through of books Cooking the Muggle Way, Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles and My Life as a Muggle. Fourth Year focuses on Moronic Muggles and  Muggles Who Notice. Fifth Year discusses the topics of books The Philosophy of the Mundane: Why the Muggles Prefer Not to Know, and When Muggles attack. 

Should a student wish to pursue their N.E.W.T.s in this elective,  their professor will give them the updated list of books to purchase. More information on more indepth study material on pg. 3...

Well, Harry thought to himself, Muggle Studies sound like mostly common sense to him, since he grew up as a Muggle-Raised student, and the rest might be historical and referring to the Witch Hunts of Old or something. The next booklet is about Arithmancy, so he picked that up and read through the first page's overview. 

Arithmancy

Arithmancy is an elective subject offered from the third year on at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Homework assignments, which include writing essays, require the consultation and/or composition of complex number charts. Muggle-born students have often mentioned how it is similar to their equivalent subject of "maths in highschool". Focus lies in finding numerical patterns, using and memorizing existing formulas and discussing how these formulas have been made and how they work. 

It is of advantage to be a so called Logical Thinker in this subject, as it focuses mainly on picking apart patterns, creating and getting information out of statistics, and numerical equations...

 

Harry closed it as soon as he read all that math-related stuff, and knew he wouldn't be a good fit for it. In elementary school he had never enjoyed maths, and Arithmancy now sounded even more complicated than what he had already heard from other students. The last one was about Studies of Ancient Runes, the one he had been thinking about already anyway, and sat up a bit straighter than before while reading. He absentmindedly took a sip from his glass of water. 

Studies of Ancient Runes

The Study of Ancient Runes (commonly shortened to Ancient Runes) is an elective course at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that can be taken by students third year and above. It is the study of runic scriptures, or Runology. Ancient Runes is a both theoretical and practical subject that studies the ancient runic scripts of magic. 

The practical part of this elective requires a steady hand and immense focus. Students are encouraged to try and imbue their everyday items with runes, as every rune and rune combination has its own use. 

Runes are even today a very widespread method of indirect magic, and most every magical household is using them. The subject will teach the students how to successfully create runes, imbue them with magic and put them up. 

Required books are as follow:

• Advanced Rune Translation
• Ancient Runes Made Easy
• Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms
• Rune Dictionary
• Spellman's Syllabary
• Runes at Home: Everyday Runes for Every Household
• Glyphs and how to apply them

All of which are available at Flourish and Blotts, Tomes and Scrolls, Screed and Sons, Quinto Bookshop & Francis Edward, Third Hand Book Emporium and various Second-Hand bookshops in Diagon Alley. For further information on more indepth topics of the subject, more on pg. 3...

He made sure to read through the entire booklet and the small pamphlet aswell, and even asked the teacher for additional ones, and after two hours of both of them doing their own things, Harry had read through everything she had available. 

"Professor McGonagall?" he broke the silence, and she finished up the last of her what seemed like a letter, and then turned her attention to him. 

"I assume you have come to a decision, Mr. Potter?" Harry nodded and handed all other information packets back and put the Ancient Runes ones on a neat stack.

"Yes, ma'am. I think Ancient Runes would be better suited to me." The woman's eyebrows shot up into her hairline at that. 

"Ancient Runes? Well this certainly comes as a surprise, Mr. Potter. Are you aware that you will have to learn an entire year's worth of lesson's by yourself in a very demanding subject? Ancient Runes are not easy." She studied him intensely, her elbows propped up on the desk and hands intertwined and under her chin. 

"Of course, Professor. I am aware. Hermione has been taking it since last year and loves it. I doubt she wouldn't want to help get me up to par with everything." He chuckled,  and took another sip of water. "And even if she doesn't want to, I heard there are some Ravenclaw upperclassmen, who host study sessions every week, to help younger years and deepen their own knowledge about things. And then there's still the teaching professor who I could ask." 

"I believe you therefore understand what is coming for you. Very well." She clapped her hands once and the pile of booklets and pamphlets floats into Harry's bag. "I shall bring this to Headmaster Dumbledore's attention this evening, and I'll inform you of how things develop on Thursday after our double Transfiguration. If all goes well for you, you shall have a new timetable by next week. Now off you go and do your homework, I'm sure Pomona has given you an essay on some plant by now, no?" 

He laughed a bit at that and put his bag over his shoulder and started over to the door, when she called his attention back again.

"Mr. Potter, is there another reason why you would like to change electives?" 

He let out a long sigh before looking at her with resigned eyes. "Yes, actually. Professor Trelawney has a tendency to predict my death in as many ways as possible. This year my friends and I even bet on how long it would take her. I bet beneath ten minutes, the others all gave her more than the first lesson. It's why I'm now twenty-odd galleons richer." 

She looked genuinly surprised at that and set her mouth into a thin line, understanding crossing her face briefly. 

"I see. I really cannot fault you in that, Mr. Potter." She straightened up after that. "Well, I really do believe that essay needs to be written sooner than later. It was the right decision to come to me about this. Have a nice afternoon, Mr. Potter."

And just like that he was ushered out of her office two and a half hours after he had entered, fairly optimistic about his change in electives. 

He quickly weighed out the decision between writing that essay now or after working out, and decided to get it done with and then go to the gym. 

He really needed to get some of his energy out before he talked to Ron and Hermione about his plans. He knew that Hermione would be over the moon about him finally taking his studies more seriously, however Ron was an entirely different story. Harry feared the redhead might be upset about it at first, but this was Harry's decision, and if he couldn't cope with that, then that wasn't his problem, as bad as that sounded. 

Harry went to the library and wrote his essay in a quiet corner. Every professor who gave them essays as homework always collected them to correct them, then gave the essays back, and the students would have to write a new one based on that correction, which then was given back to the teacher. Percy had advised him while at the Burrow to always make a copy of his corrected essays and keep them in a folder, and then promptly taught him the Copy-Charm. 

After he was done with that, he went to the gym for an hour and then he braved himself for the inevitable conversation with Ron and Hermione.

It couldn't possibly go too bad, could it?

Chapter Text

"What do you mean, you're trying to drop Divination?!" Ron shouted at him and paced around the common room. "You can't just- After three entire years of never having different classes, you just wanna discard me like that?" 

Hermione, Merlin bless her soul, also got up and tried to reason with him. "Ron, I don't think Harry wants to discard you, specifically. As he said, he's awful at it, and according to him, McGonagall said he could transition to Ancient Runes if he sets his mind to it." 

Ron swerved around and glared at Harry, who was sitting on one of the couches and distantly aware that some younger years were watching the whole argument. "Well why didn't you ask me first? About what I thought about it? How I would feel? You're just gonna leave me alone like that, aren't you?" 

"Ron-" he started, but the second-youngest Weasley cut him off. "No, Harry! Don't you dare come up with excuses!" And then promptly stomped off and slammed the door to their dorm room shut. 

Hermione shuffled her feet a bit, and the common room quickly returned to its usual chatter around them. "He'll see sense eventually, Harry." 

He just sighed and took a deep breath. "I know, but I didn't expect him to not even listen to me..." Harry could admit, he was hurt by that. Not deeply, and it wasn't the end of the world, but it still stung to know that his best friend's first thought was that he was going to discard their friendship just because he wanted to switch an elective. 

"You know how Ron can be. I'm sure he'll just have to brood over it for a day or two, and then he's gonna realise what a jerk he just was." The brunette squeezed his shoulder encouragingly and Harry ran his hands through his hair before smiling back at her. "I guess you're right..." 

His fingers got stuck at the back of his head at a knot. He really needed to brush it, he realised. Yesterday he'd gotten a compliment about how longer hair apparently suited him from one of the Parvati twins, and promptly decided to try out letting it grow long. Fred and George, who were also letting it grow out, despite their mother's clear disapproval, gave him a shampoo that promoted hairgrowth due to a potion mixed in, for easier combing a conditioner, and a hair oil to try and keep split ends away as long as possible. 

He still needed to try all the products out, but he was nevertheless hoping that his usual ratsnest would become a bit more tameable. 

Ron continued to sulk until dinner and stuck with Dean and Seamus, and the Twins took up the vacant space on either side of him. They even managed to cheer him up considerably. 

Ron did, infact, not come around after a day or two. 

He didn't even come around after the Hogsmeade weekend, where he, yet again, distanced himself from Harry and instead went with Seamus and Dean to the Three Broomsticks Inn, while Hermione and Neville accompanied him to Dervish and Banges, a shop that had almost every schnick schnack a wix could think of. 

The bell chimed softly when the three Fourth Years entered, and a short, plump, middle aged woman rounded the corner. The first impression Harry had of the woman was that she reminded him of Mrs. Weasley, but she had a more... elegant? Air about her. 

She wore a white blouse with a leather-like corset over it, and her skirt was a dark red, almost ankle-long slightly bushy almost brownish colour with lots of frill. Around her waist she wore a holster for her wand, aswell as a few pouches. She had a beige cardigan around her shoulders and a multitude of necklaces with various crystals and even a small vial with Merlin knew what in it. She kept her curly dark brown hair in a low messy bun at her nape, and wore a bandana of the same shade of red as her skirt, adorned with a few additional crystals and other things. What immediately drew his focus though were her golden eyes. They jumped out at him and their effect was even stronger in contrast to her dark skin. The eyes at first reminded him of Madam Hooch, but the Lady's eyes were far more pleasant and less intimidating to look at. 

"Good morning my loves! I'm Sierra Monroe, the owner of Dervish and Banges, how may I help you?" She carried herself confidently and tall, but not stuck-up like Mr. Malfoy did. Harry smiled at her. 

"Good morning, Mrs. Monroe, you wouldn't happen to have a pair of magically enhanced earmuffs?" He asked her, and Neville and Hermione went off to explore the store a bit, while he followed her further into the building. The building itself was enchanted in a way that the inside was far bigger than the outside, so he followed her up a case of stairs and onto the second floor, which apparently was dedicated to anything that had to do with being worn. Racks and stacks of coats, sweaters, shirts, blouses, suits, shoes, hats, jewellery, etc. were lined up at the wall, in rows throughout the entire room and every single colour was present, but sorted. Usually shops like this made him dizzy with everything that was going on, but this one was alright. 

"And... here we are!" Mrs. Monroe exclaimed, showing him a display with all sorts of earmuffs. Some covered the entire ears, some went into the ears, some were like headphones. "I'll be downstairs, hon, to help the other two. When you're done and I'm not back with you yet, go ahead and have a look at other things. See that door there?" She pointed at a circular door on the other side of the room. "Up there is a different section of my shop, if you wanna take a look. See you later!" And with that she hurried off and back downstairs. He called a thank you back at her, and after a few minutes of trying some out, he chose a pair of in-ear muffs, which looked more like silver jewellery than sensory aids. They were only two galleons, so he took the pair with their container and looked around. 

Since he hadn't planned on going clothes-shopping today, he went over to the door Mrs. Monroe had shown him, and carefully opened it. It lead to a wooden, winding staircase, with its floor overgrown with moss. When he looked upwards, his breath got knocked out of his lungs. 

The ceiling was partially visible and it had the same enchantment as the Great Hall in Hogwarts had. Planets made out of gold, silver, bronce and other metals were floating around, as were various crystals and mirrors. 

When he got to the end of the stairs he stepped onto solid stone floor, and the walls were filled with all sorts of books. In a few places he spotted booknooks, and after taking a closer look found that they weren't there for decoration as he originally thought, but rather actually housed little fairies! Realising that he was most likely being hella creepy right now by watching someone's house/home/nook, he tore his eyes away and whispered a small 'sorry for staring' and focused on the titles on the spines of the books. 

Atlas of Celestial Anomalies, by M. P. N. Carneirus 

Quintessence: A Quest

Decline of Pagan Magic, The by Bathilda Bagshot

Impenetrable Azkaban: The Hidden Prison to Escape in the World

Dominating Dementors: A True History of Azkaban

Triwizard Tragedies

Living With Legilimens: Choose Your Minds Wisely by Franciscus Fieldwake

Protection Charm Your Mind: A Practical Guide to Counter Legilimensy by Franciscus Fieldwake

The last two caught his eye. Legilimens? Legilimensy? He carefully pulled out Living With Legilimens: Choose Your Minds Wisely by Franciscus Fieldwake and read the table of contents on the first page. It turned out to be a self-help-guide for people with the ability to hear other people's thoughts and memories and how to cope with that. He put it back to where it belonged, since he also didn't know anyone with that ability, and opened the second one, Protection Charm Your Mind: A Practical Guide to Counter Legilimensy by Franciscus Fieldwake and read that one's table of contents. 

And it was incredibly capturing. The method to counter Legilimensy was called Occlumency, and required one to empty their mind and put up 'barriers' of sorts to shield one's actual thoughts, feelings and memories from Legilimensy attacks or sudden intrusions. It also provided an actually useful explanation to what exactly it is. 

Occlumency: The Subtle Art of Mental Fortification

Occlumency, a distinguished and esoteric discipline within the arcane realm of magical arts, is revered as an exceptional art of the mind. This practice involves the profound ability to shield one's thoughts, emotions, and memories from external penetration, thus safeguarding the sanctity of the mental interior from invasive forces. Despite its classification as a sub-branch of the Dark Arts—a designation stemming from its potential to be wielded for manipulation and deception—Occlumency is not deemed illegal. Rather, it occupies a nuanced position within magical jurisprudence, recognized for its intrinsic value in the preservation of mental privacy and integrity.

The practice of Occlumency requires an adept understanding of the intricate interplay between mental discipline and magical prowess. An Occlumens, as the practitioner is known, must cultivate a meticulous control over their cognitive processes, achieving an unparalleled level of introspective clarity and composure. This is achieved through rigorous training and the systematic honing of one’s meditative and mnemonic capabilities.

Historically, Occlumency has been both venerated and viewed with suspicion. Its association with the Dark Arts arises from its frequent utilization by those seeking to obfuscate their intentions or shield malevolent machinations from detection. Nevertheless, the ethical application of Occlumency is equally prominent, serving as a crucial defense against those who might seek to exploit the vulnerabilities of the mind.

Prominent figures, such as the illustrious Merlin, have demonstrated the noble potential of Occlumency, employing it not for nefarious purposes, but to maintain an ordered and fortified mental repository. Through practices such as the 'Castle of the Mind', Merlin exemplified how Occlumency could be harnessed for the retention and organization of vast stores of knowledge, thereby enhancing intellectual capacity and safeguarding personal autonomy.

In conclusion, Occlumency, while a sub-branch of the Dark Arts, transcends its ominous classification through its profound application in mental fortification and the preservation of cognitive sovereignty. It remains a testament to the intricate and multifaceted nature of magical disciplines, embodying both the potential for ethical use and the necessity for cautious oversight.

The guide said that step 1 was to start practicing meditation, and Harry did a mental flip when he realised that he already did that, and even regularly. 

Step 1: Laying the Groundwork for Mastery in Occlumency

To cultivate a firm and unwavering foundation in the ancient and revered art of Occlumency, one must first master the serene and contemplative practice of achieving harmony with one’s own mind. This foundational step is paramount and cannot be overlooked, for it is upon this bedrock of mental tranquility that all subsequent skill in Occlumency is built.

Achieving this state of mental peace can be approached through numerous methodologies (for an exhaustive exploration, refer to pages 12-47), of which it is imperative to become proficient in at least one. Among these, the practice of meditation stands out as particularly efficacious. This age-old discipline, while universally beneficial, proves especially advantageous in the context of Occlumency. By engaging in meditation, practitioners can systematically sort through their myriad thoughts, thus calming what many refer to as the 'ceaseless whirlwind of cognition'.

Upon attaining a degree of mastery in meditation, the aspirant is then prepared to advance to Step 2: the intricate process of scrutinizing and categorizing one’s emotions, thoughts, and memories to determine which should be utilized in the practice of Occlumency. 

It is at this juncture that the path diverges for each individual, as the intricacies of the mind are as unique as fingerprints. Some individuals describe their method of Occlumency as constructing a formidable, almost palpable barrier before the seat of their consciousness, a bulwark designed to protect the sanctity of their inner self. Others prefer a more nuanced approach, employing seemingly trivial memories as a means to deflect and mislead any potential mental intrusions.

Legend has it that the great Merlin himself was an unparalleled master of Occlumency. His method, known as the 'Castle of the Mind', remains one of the most renowned and sophisticated techniques in the annals of magical history. Merlin envisioned a grand and labyrinthine castle within his mind, meticulously organizing his memories into specific rooms and chambers. This mental construct allowed him to recall any piece of information with remarkable precision by 'visiting' the appropriate room within his mental fortress.

Merlin's prowess in Occlumency was so advanced that he extended the boundaries of his mental castle to include a vast surrounding area, replete with traps and jinxes. These were designed to ensnare and confound any would-be intruder, compelling them to navigate a perilous gauntlet before even approaching the inner sanctum where Merlin's most valuable memories were safeguarded. It is said that this elaborate mental architecture enabled Merlin to manage and retain an extraordinary breadth of academic knowledge, his mind functioning as both a repository and a fortress of unparalleled complexity.

Thus, the first step in the arduous journey of mastering Occlumency is to cultivate a profound and enduring peace within one’s own mind. Through dedicated practice of meditation and other mental disciplines, the Occlumens prepares themselves to build further defenses and organize their inner world with the precision and elegance exemplified by the legendary Merlin. Only upon laying this crucial groundwork can one hope to progress to the more advanced stages of Occlumency, and thereby achieve true mastery over their own mind and thoughts...

Harry stared wide eyed at the book. The technique he'd found in the library of Little Whinghing, the 'Mind Palace' one, was exactly the same one as the one Merlin of all people had used and even come up with! And he's been using it for just about two months now! He thought it was just a study method, not Occlumency! 

When the teenager read through the part where it described that it was a sub-branch of the Dark Arts, he almost recoiled, however when he continued to read through the information, he knew that by practicing Occlumency, he didn't hurt anyone. Which was weird, considering he always thought that the Dark Arts were there to hurt people. 

Which, if he thought about it, was really all he knew about the Dark Arts. 

Deciding not to go down that rabbithole of a possible mental crisis, he took it to purchase aswell. It was a second-hand version, which meant that the price was already reduced, it was in awesome condition anyways and it only cost five galleons. 

He went further over and came to a full with various trunks. Now usually one had one single trunk for the entirety of their Hogwarts experience, however since Harry's trunk hadn't been handled too carefully by either enraged cars, the Dursleys and one time even himself, it really was about time he got a new one. He wouldn't have thought that he'd find a trunk in Hogsmeade, but the village seemed to surprise him everytime he visited. 

Harry carefully read all the descriptions of each trunk, however they were either far too expensive, with over 50 galleons for a particular one, that had so much unnecessary schtick in and on it, he briefly wondered why someone would need an anti-sticker-charm. 

He almost decided to just buy the cheapest one, when a suitcase of all things caught his eye (it seemed to be a common occurrence for him to spot something interesting these days). It was not overbearingly broad, and only looked a little bit worn, but after taking a closer look, it was designed to look more vintage. 

He guessed it was designed to look like it came straight out of the 1920s, however it was entirely new. He read the description and then decided to open it up. 

Introducing the "Arcane Wanderer" by EnchantEra, the pinnacle of magical travel accessories. Step back in time with this brand-new, 1920s-inspired leather suitcase, crafted with exquisite detail and timeless elegance. Designed for the discerning wizard or witch, the Arcane Wanderer combines vintage charm with modern magical technology.

Made from the finest dragon-hide leather, this suitcase features gleaming metal clasps and sturdy leather straps, ensuring your belongings are securely fastened for any adventure. The rich, supple leather and meticulously crafted design make it both durable and stylish, perfect for any journey.

But the true magic lies within. Equipped with an advanced Muggle-Repelling Charm, the Arcane Wanderer ensures your secrets remain hidden from non-magical eyes. Access the enchanted interior by simply opening the lid and descending a cleverly concealed ladder. Inside, discover a vast, walkable space that adapts to your needs, inspired by the infamous Room of Requirements in Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Like the RoR, the space is entirely undetectable. No magical trace can be found once inside this incredible suitcase. 

This extraordinary suitcase is enchanted to open only for those who have been keyed to it, providing unparalleled security. Additionally, it is 100% weatherproof, slash-proof, and self-cleaning, ensuring it remains pristine no matter where your travels take you. If stolen, the Arcane Wanderer is charmed to teleport back to its owner with all its belongings intact and complete.

Only 10 pieces of the Arcane Wanderer have ever been made, making it a truly limited edition treasure. The Arcane Wanderer by EnchantEra isn't just a suitcase—it's a mobile sanctuary for the modern-day explorer. Embrace the adventure and travel in style with this extraordinary piece of magical craftsmanship. 

The informationnote was crumpled and clearly discarded, and when he checked the prize, he only managed to gape. 

Only 17 galleons?! 

That thing was brand new, made only five years ago actually, and had everything anyone might ever need! Could it... Could it be that since it hasn't been bought for so long, and that maybe because it looked so worn, that nobody wanted to buy it, and that because of that its value went down? 

Well. Harry, after not really getting an allowance from the Dursleys, had learnt how to be a bargain hunter, so he took that suitcase, and went back down. Now he was down to only one galleon left from his win at the bet, and he doubted he'd find anything useful anymore anyway. 

On the second floor, Harry noticed Hermione gazing longingly at a pair of earrings. After setting down his belongings, he approached her.

"What's on your mind, Mione?" he inquired. "Having trouble deciding about those?"

She let out a sigh of frustration. "I really want to buy them, but I'm two sickles short..."

"Well, lucky for you, I happen to have exactly one galleon left from our bet!" It seemed the leftover money might finally be put to good use.

Hermione turned to him, her hair swaying as she did. "No, Harry, seriously! I can just come back for them next time. I really don't want to-"

He raised a hand to stop her, swiftly taking the small case from her grasp with his other hand. "I'm telling you, I insist!"

"But Harry, I can't let you spend your last galleon on me," she protested, her concern evident.

Harry shook his head, his resolve unwavering. "Nonsense, Hermione. You've always been there for me. Let me do this for you," he insisted sincerely.

After a brief pause, Hermione's expression softened, and she nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Harry," she said softly, her eyes reflecting her appreciation. "I'll make sure to repay you as soon as I can."

Harry waved off her offer with a smile. "No need, Hermione. Just think of it as a token of our friendship."

With a nod and a warm smile, Hermione accepted the earrings and they went down to the first floor, where they found Neville waiting with a magazine waiting. 

Harry put the earrings, the earmuffs, the book and the suitcase, to which both Neville and Hermione threw him curious glances, on the counter and after taking Hermione's money and paying for everything, Mrs. Monroe showed him how to key his magical core to the suitcase and how to key other people in, while Nev and Mione waited outside. 

Her eyes had a mischievous twinkle in her eye after she watched him descend down the ladder and briefly explore the room. 

"Dearie? May I come down aswell?" She called, and descended the ladder when he gave her the okay. She showed him the spell with which he could expand the room to his likings, which he managed to cast after only ten minutes of trying, and then they said their farewells and he headed out and back to Hogwarts with his friends. 

Chapter Text

The first week of school ended like this and he got a note from Professor McGonagall to come to the Headmaster's office after he got back from Hogsmeade, so after he put away his purchases, he briefly wondered if he should change into his school uniform, but ultimately decided against it. He was wearing black jeans and a beige sweater anyway, he could look worse. 

He quickly told Hermione and Neville where he was going, they wished him good luck and then he went off. 

It was already beginning to get dark and the soft but vibrant dusk-colours were filtering in through the windows and basking the hallways into a cozy atmosphere. It didn't take long for him to arrive at the Headmaster's office, where McGonagall was already waiting for him. 

The meeting was quite short-lived, and Harry had the feeling that Dumbledore had wanted him to stay in Divination, he even tried to talk him out of it, which struck Harry as weird. 

Sure, he could understand why Dumbledore might be worried, with his grades during the last three years, and it was a logical conclusion that he might not easily achieve better grades than his trackrecord. 

It took Harry convincing him that he was going to actually start to study, had infact already started to do so, and that he'd search out people who could help him catch up in Ancient Runes, and admitting that he was getting tired of always getting his untimely death predicted, which really shouldn't be the norm for a 14 year old. 

He just didn't understand why he would be so adamant that Harry stay in an elective which he was even more atrocious in than in Potions. It just didn't make sense. In Care for Magical Creatures he was constantly getting Os, not because he was one of Hagrid's favourites, but because he was actually good at it. 

In Divination his records showed that he only once got an EE (which was the incident with the grim in the tealeaves), the rest was only As and once or twice he even got a P, a D, and once, when he was supposed to look into a crystal sphere, he even got a T. 

In the end, after 20 minutes of discussing the pros and cons of switching electives, and showing that he wasn't half-assing this and letting his intrusive thoughts win without having informed himself of everything, Dumbledore drafted him his new timetable up, and sent him off with a new stack of books. 

His timetable now had a double lesson of Ancient Runes in place of Divination on Tuesday, and on Monday after Herbology he'd have another double period of Ancient Runes with Hermione. 

Monday morning went pretty well, with him working on selfstudy in History and preparing for Potions, and somehow not getting Snape to explode on him. They'd started to move on to entirely new potions, where he decided to start doing things differently. First he'd copy down the ingredients after reading through them at least once. Then he'd get all the ingredients and prepare them. After that, and after doublechecking that he had everything, he read through the instructions and begun brewing. 

His potion turned out alright, and he even got an EE for it, which was far better than he thought he'd ever get from Snape. 

Ron and Neville had now basically permanently switched seats, so Harry was able to help the nervous teen get an A for his potion. Hermione, of course, got an O, even though her hair looked like she walked through mist that was charged with lightning. 

Right now they were having lunch in the great hall, and Harry was being taught by Marie Cromwell, a fifth year Hufflepuff, how to braid Hermione's hair. At the end of it, she had two french braids and Cromwell tied them together by summoning two small elastics. 

"You're quite good for your first time, Potter!" She said. "Granger can definitely walk around in those. Well then, see ya!" And she skipped away and back to her friends. 

Herbology went by with nothing unexpected happening, and then he and Hermione walked to Ancient Runes. He was a bit nervous about his first lesson with a new Professor, however Mione reassured him that she was a really nice Professor. 

"You'll see, she's great! She's a teacher much like McGonagall, but at the same time entirely different." She gushed excitedly. "She somehow manages to make Ancient Runes sound interesting- don't look at me like that!" she flicked him in the forehead after he raised his eyebrow at her. She couldn't blame him! She found everything interesting. She huffed before turning a corner. "Anyway, the topics can be a bit dry, but she always engages her students by having open discussion rounds. If I'm honest, it's the most productive subject we've got, right next to Transfiguration." 

They entered a mix between Auditoria Lecture and Case Study Classroom, and a few students were already sitting and unpacking their things. Hermione said that since not many students chose this elective, all four houses joined together. 

Susan Bones, Megan Jones and Zacharias Smith from Hufflepuff, Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot from Ravenclaw, Hermione and him were the only Gryffindors, and Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini from Slytherin. All in all, there were only nine people in this class, and he could imagine that the smaller a class, the better the discussions might go. 

Greengrass was sitting between Zabini and Goldstein in the upper right corner, the Hufflepuff girls were sitting in the middle, Smith and Boot were not far away either, and cuddling. Fred and George had made a betting pool about when the two would finally get together, and this year it finally happened. 

"Good afternoon, please take a seat, everyone!" Professor Babbling entered the room, and Hermione and he quickly sat down first row on the left. 

"Now as you have seen, we have a new student joining us from now on! Welcome, Mr. Potter. My name is Professor Bathsheda Babbling." She shook his hand before going to her desk. 

"Now, Mr. Potter, let's get you up to date on what I expect to happen in my classroom. I quite dislike the whole 'the professor must be feared' mindset, which means that I do not care if you raise your hand or not if you want to say something. As long as you don't cut your classmates off while they say something, you may speak whenever you'd like, as long as it is about the topic we are discussing." She charmed a chalk and it proceeded to write a book title and a page on the blackboard. "Additionally, if you have to go to the toilet, want to eat or drink something, don't ask, just do it. Study of Ancient Runes is a very demanding subject for the brain, and it needs sustenance to function at full capacity." 

That was a pleasant surprise alright. 

"Lastly, I do not have a single drop of tolerance for inter-house-rivalries. In this classroom, it does not matter if you have, as you young ones would say, 'beef' with someone, you are still required to hold professional and enlightning discussions. There is no place for all that 'sulking drama' in my lessons." 

He nodded at her. "All this sounds doable, Professor. Thank you for having me." 

She smiled back at him and started the lesson. 

“Today, we will delve deeper into the Elder Futhark, one of the oldest known runic alphabets used by the ancient Germanic tribes. We’ll discuss not only their meanings but also their historical context and practical applications in modern magic.”

She pointed to a series of symbols on the chalkboard. “Can anyone tell me the significance of the rune Fehu?”

Hermione answered promptly, “Fehu represents wealth, prosperity, and good fortune. It’s often associated with cattle, which were a measure of wealth in ancient times.”

“Excellent, Miss Granger. Five points to Gryffindor. Fehu indeed symbolizes wealth and abundance. In ancient times, cattle were a primary resource, hence the association. How do you think this rune could be applied in modern magical practices?”

Harry listened intently, trying to piece together what he could. Zacharias Smith from Ravenclaw chimed in, “Could it be used in charms related to financial success or in spells to attract prosperity?”

“Absolutely. Fehu is often used in charms for financial gain and prosperity. It can be inscribed on objects or used in incantations to attract wealth.” Professor Babbling tapped the rune with her wand, and it glowed briefly.

Harry scribbled notes furiously, fascinated but struggling to keep up.

“Now, let's discuss the rune Uruz. Can anyone share its meaning and possible applications?”

Susan Bones, paired with Megan Jones from Hufflepuff, spoke up, “Uruz symbolizes strength, endurance, and health. It could be used in healing spells or charms to enhance physical strength and vitality.”

“Correct, Miss Bones. Uruz signifies physical strength, endurance, and good health. It also represents wild oxen, symbolizing untamed power and vitality. Can anyone think of historical instances where Uruz might have been used?”

Anthony Goldstein, part of a trio with Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini from Slytherin, added, “In ancient rituals or runic inscriptions found on Viking artifacts, perhaps to imbue warriors with strength before battles.”

“Exactly. Uruz was often used in ancient rituals to grant strength and resilience to warriors. Its power was harnessed to ensure victory and survival in harsh conditions.” Professor Babbling moved to another rune.

“This is Thurisaz. It embodies a dual nature. Who can explain its complexities?”

Hermione, ever eager, answered again, “Thurisaz stands for both protection and danger. It’s like a thorn – it can protect a plant, but it can also cause harm. Historically, it might have been used for protection spells or to ward off evil.”

“Well done, Miss Granger. Thurisaz indeed embodies both protection and threat. It's a powerful rune that must be used with care. How do you think it could be applied in a modern context?”

Daphne Greengrass interjected, “It could be used in defensive spells or charms to protect one's home or personal space. But it might also be employed in hexes or curses, considering its dangerous aspect.”

“Very insightful, Miss Greengrass. Thurisaz is versatile but must be used with a clear understanding of its dual nature to avoid unintended consequences.” Professor Babbling waved her wand, and the runes on the board rearranged themselves into a different pattern.

“Now, let's practice inscribing these runes. Pair up and work on inscribing the runes Fehu, Uruz, and Thurisaz onto your practice stones. Remember, the intent behind the rune is just as important as the accuracy of the inscription.”

The students paired off as instructed. Hermione paired with Harry, carefully inscribing their runes. Susan Bones and Megan Jones worked together, while Anthony Goldstein formed a trio with Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini. Terry Boot and Zacharias Smith collaborated, their heads bent over their work. Professor Babbling walked around the classroom, offering guidance.

“Remember to focus your magic as you carve. The rune must be infused with your intent,” she advised.

Stopping by Daphne, Blaise, and Anthony's desk, she said, “Miss Greengrass, Mr. Zabini, Mr. Goldstein, try to steady your hands and visualize the rune's meaning clearly in your minds.”

After a while, she returned to the front of the class. “Excellent work, everyone. For homework, I’d like you to write a short essay on the significance of any three runes from the Elder Futhark. And remember, understanding runes is not just about their shapes and sounds, but about the power and history they carry. You still have twenty minutes of class left, so use the time wisely. Mr. Potter? Please come up front.” 

Harry went over to her and she motioned for him to sit down in the chair next to her. 

"I know that this is quite fast-paced, especially for you. Now I don't expect you to keep track of the discussion. What I want you specifically to do is work through the book Ancient Runes made Easy outside of class. It covers everything we learned last year. Now, I don't want to leave you to struggle alone, so if it would suit you, I'm free and have time for some additional tutoring lessons wednesday afternoon. I noticed you don't have any subjects then after we Professors were briefed about your switch." 

"That would actually make things a lot easier, thank you!" Harry grinned, and they quickly decided to fill Harry's sixth and seventh lesson on wednesday with extra Ancient Runes tutoring. 

His timetable was filling up more and more: 

Chapter Text

Professor Moody's classes were... not for the faint of hearts. 

The man was wicked good at teaching, Harry was not going to deny that, but the man himself? Well, he definitely understood why he was called "Mad-Eye Moody" now. 

However, he did have to agree with Hermione that showing the three Unforgivables in a Fourth Year classroom and even performing them was not alright. In upper years like Sixth and Seventh Year, yes, he could understand showing them then, but not to 14 to 15 year olds. 

September and most of October flew by like nothing, with Harry quickly getting into a routine. Every morning he would wake up at 5 a.m. and spend half an hour getting into his Mind Palace and working on the Palace itself as in its foundations and walls and whatnot. He let himself be inspired by Merlin's Castle of the Mind and added a garden all around it, with various plants and animals guarding his palace. Well, right now it was still only a house, but he was working on it! He had finished the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom and the office and was now working on constructing a library with a study area. 

When the half hour was up, he'd go get breakfast, then ran his usual route along the Black Lake, and then would focus as much as he could during classes. After classes were done, he'd go to the library to start on any homework or study something, then he'd go to the gym until he felt satisfied, went to dinner in the Great Hall, spend time with his friends until he retired for bed, sorted all his newly acquired knowledge into his Mind Palace and revisited older information, and then went to sleep. 

The only anomaly was wednesday, as he had one-on-one tutoring with Professor Babbling, who was very patient and understanding. The redhead was actually starting to become one of his favourite teachers. He also noticed how he was taking to Runes like a fish to water, a stark contrast to Divination. 

A few of his Professors had taken notice to his new dedication and even remarked that that was pleasing them. He's never had so little stress with Snape during Potions either, since usually by now he would have gotten at least 50 points retracted for Merlin knew what. This year he was at only 15 points! As much as he tried, Harry wasn't perfect and still made mistakes every now and then. 

Ron still wasn't talking to him out of his own volition, and only ever said anything when they were assigned to be partners. Harry was constantly getting the stink eye, and if he was honest, it was getting a bit ridiculous, however he didn't do anything wrong, so he wouldn't apologize to him, even if Hermione had suggested it. She thought that if he apologized, Ron would come around again, but Harry was done with kissing everyone's feet around him, so he refused. She was a bit upset about it at first. He understood, she only wanted to have their original trio-friendship back and was probably tired of having to choose one over the other everyday, but after he explained to her that he did nothing wrong, and that he wasn't a pushover, she saw eye to eye with him and dropped it. 

Harry was currently transfiguring part of the inside of his new suitcase to be a walk-in closet. He hadn't had time yet to reorganise his trunk into it, and since he wanted to finally chuck that thing into the bin, he ditched the gym today to do exactly that. 

When he'd first found out that he'd have to get along with Greengrass and Zabini, two Slytherins, he'd feared the worst. Sure, neither had actually ever talked to him or done anything to anyone, but they were still Slytherins. After having four lessons a week with them, and after three weeks of the tutoring, he'd started to tentatively participate in the discussions, and has had surprisingly civil conversations with the two. It seemed like Professor Babbling's warning had been taken to heart by every single student, and for the duration of the lessons, every house left the other alone. 

It was nice. 

Greengrass was an absolute queen at fashion. She was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about the last hundred years on fashion trends and collections and whatnot, and was a walking assembly of expensive brands and what almost looked like professionally done make-up. Meaning, it looked natural, but still like make-up. He was bad at describing things like that. 

Harry himself knew how to do make-up, simply because he's had to hide bruises and other injuries from when Dudley and his friends would beat him up too badly. 

Zabini wasn't much of a talker, but in class, when he was interested and participating in debates, that dude was smart as hell and if the famous teenager was honest, he gave Hermione a run for her money sometimes. Which was both awesome and terrifying at the same time. 

Since every Ancient Runes lesson was a double, they had a ten minute break inbetween, so of course, students would talk with each other, and he'd overheard the two talking about pureblood culture and traditions more often than not, but it sounded far less degrading than when Malfoy did. And they never talked about blood purity. Only ever about how they missed some, not all, of the old traditions, and that they wanted their holidays back. 

It was thanks to more or less accidentally eavesdropping on that particular conversation that he realised that he really knew nothing of the wizarding culture in Britain. He was fairly sure that wizarding culture was bound to vary between countries and regions. He doubted british wix had the same culture as, say, italian wix. So he decided to go back to Dervish and Banges, since he could vaguely remember seeing a book about it, during his next Hogsmeade visit. 

All students immediately scrambled and crammed at the windows and outside to get a good look at the flying carriage pulled by Abraxans, a type of horses with wings, and the ship emerging from the water. 

It was fascinating to Harry how a ship could travel underwater like that. Who had the idea to sink a ship and then use it for transportation underwater?! A ship was something you typically used to travel on water, not beneath! 

Bones leaned over to Megan Jones, eyes wide with curiosity. "Wow, did you see that? What do you think all this is about?"

Jones shrugged, equally fascinated. "No idea, but it must be something huge if we've got visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang."

Zacharias Smith, standing nearby, nodded. "I overheard Professor Flitwick talking to Professor Sprout. He mentioned something called the Triwizard Tournament."

Goldstein, ever the inquisitive Ravenclaw, turned to Smith with a furrowed brow. "Triwizard Tournament? What's that?"

Terry Boot, who had been listening intently, chimed in. "I think I read about it in 'Hogwarts: A History'. It's a magical competition held between the three largest wizarding schools in Europe: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang."

Greengrass crossed her arms, intrigued but skeptical. "A competition? What kind of competition?"

Zabini added, "From what I’ve heard, it involves a series of magical tasks that are supposed to test a champion's magical ability, intelligence, and courage. It's meant to foster cooperation and understanding between the schools, but it's also incredibly dangerous."

Bones' eyes widened. "Dangerous? How dangerous are we talking?"

Terry nodded, his expression serious. "Very dangerous. There have been deaths in past tournaments, which is why it was discontinued for a long time."

Jones looked worried. "Then why bring it back now?"

Goldstein shrugged. "Probably because it's a great way to show unity and friendship between the schools. And let’s be honest, it sounds incredibly exciting."

Smith grinned. "Exciting is an understatement. Imagine the glory of being the Triwizard Champion, representing Hogwarts and winning the tournament!"

Greengrass raised an eyebrow. "And how do they choose the champions?"

Zabini smirked. "I think they use something called the Goblet of Fire. It selects the most worthy student from each school to compete."

Bones glanced around, excitement mingling with concern. "Well, I just hope whoever gets chosen knows what they’re getting into. It sounds thrilling but also terrifying."

Goldstein nodded. "Agreed. But it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Whoever gets picked will go down in history."

Harry felt a pit in his stomach open and worry washed over him. 

Today was the 30th of October.

One day before Halloween.

Halloween was the day his parents died. 

Halloween was the day Voldemort tried to kill him and gave him his scar.

Halloween was the day he was put on the Dursley's doorstep.

Halloween was the day he was never allowed to go out and dress up as a child (he didn't know that it was also his parents' death anniversary back then). 

Halloween was the day the Troll was let into Hogwarts and almost killed Hermione, Ron and him.

Halloween was the day the Chamber of Secrets had been opened by Ginny being possessed by Voldemort's teenager's memories in a dark artifact.

Halloween was the day Sirius (back then he still thought he was a serial killer) broke into the school and attacked the portrait of the fat lady, making the Dementors stay on schoolgrounds. 

All in all, Harry was convinced that day ways cursed. Nothing good ever happend on Halloween. 

He continued to worry and simultaniously feel numb for the rest of the day, until he was sitting in the Great Hall and waiting for the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students to arrive. He couldn't even stop worrying for a few minutes while his housemates all whispered about what was going on. He felt numb, but nauseous. A weird combo, he thought briefly.

"Now we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement." Professor Dumbledore raised his voice, and everything went quiet. "This castle will not only be your home this year but home to some very special guests as well. You see Hogwarts has been choosen to host a legendary event. The Tri-Wizard tournament. Now for those of you who do not know, the tri-wizard tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single contestant is selected to compete. Now let me be clear, if choosen you stand alone. And trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint hearted, but more of that later. For now please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of magic and their headmistress Madam Maxime." 

The french girls strutted in, and he absently watched Ron almost drool all over himself while watching them. 

"And now our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and the high master, Igor Karkaroff!" 

The Durmstrang boys walked in, put on a great performance, with the grand finale being the best Seeker in the world, Viktor Krum, walking in right before the high master, Karkaroff. Harry hadn't known the Quidditch player was still in school. Huh.

A feast appeared infront of the students, however even the smell of anything edible made Harry want to puke, so he chose not to eat anything at all. He really did not want to throw up right now. He was content in spiralling a bit into his own thoughts until the food vanished, with it the smell, thank Merlin, and Dumbledore demanded silence yet again.

"Your attention please! I would like to say a few words. Eternal glory, that is what awaits the student who wins the tri-wizard tournament. But to do this that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks. For this reason the ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this we have the head of the department of international magic cooperation Mister Bartemius Crouch." 

The mentioned man stepped onto the podium and began speaking in a voice that sounded much like he did not want to be there. However, the content of his short speech almost instantly closed the gnawing pit in his stomach.

"After much deliberation the ministry has concluded that for their own safety no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name for the tri-wizard tournament. This decision is final."

Cries of outrage started rising from the crowd of students, and Harry let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. 

No student under 17 would be allowed to participate. 

He was 14. 

Three years younger than 17. 

He would finally get a chance to be a spectator, not in the spotlight but rather watching like a normal boy. 

His shoulders dropped their tension and he leaned against Hermione, who turned to look at him. "Are you alright, Harry?"

"Better than alright." His voice shook with relief and he only now noticed how his hands were shaking and his knees were bouncing up and down. Hermione noticed too, and was about to say something again, but was cut off by the headmaster. 

"Silence! The Goblet of Fire." He revealed a huge goblet where a beautiful blue flame was flickering on top. "Anyone wishing to submit themselves for the tournament merely write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour tomorrow night. Do not do so lightly, if choosen there's no turning back. As from this moment the Triwizard Tournament has begun." 

He and Hermione got caught up in the rush of all the students trying to leave the Great Hall to go back to their dorms, and they didn't manage to talk until they were up in Gryffindor Tower and in a more or less secluded area in the common room. 

Chapter Text

"Alright, Harry, what was up with you in the Great Hall?" Neville frowned and Hermione mirrored his expression. 

"Yeah, I've never seen you shake like that, not even when we faced off a werewolf..." She added, concern written all over her face. 

Harry was sitting in one of the most comfortable armchairs in the common room, draped over it with his legs over one armrest. "I'm just- I'm just so relieved that this year nothing's going to be revolving around me, you know?" His two best friends looked at each other in confusion and he clarified. "I mean, thanks to the new rule that only 17 year olds and above can enter the tournament, there's no way I'll somehow get roped into it! I mean, tomorrow is Halloween, and I really don't have the best track record with things happening on Halloween..." 

"We understand, Harry. But that still doesn't explain why you acted the way you did down there." The girl countered, and Neville nodded agreeingly. 

Harry shifted into a more comfortable position, further into the chair, rested his head on the armrest at his back and sighed while looking up at the ceiling. 

"I was... waiting for the shoe to drop, I suppose?" He huffed. "My parents died on Halloween. I was almost killed on Halloween. In first year the troll was let into the school on Halloween. In second year the Chamber of Secrets was opened. In third year Sirius Black broke into the school." He listed, and covered his eyes with his arm. "I'm just... I was just worried that something was gonna happen again this year, and that it would yet again revolve around me." His voice got quiet towards the end. 

"Oh Harry..." Hermione took his arm and pulled him off the chair, and embraced him tightly. "I'm sure nothing will happen tomorrow. We're in Fourth Year, nowhere near 17 years old. You'll be fine." 

He tightened his arms around her waist and buried his face into the crook of her neck. "I think it stressed me out a bit." He felt her arms tighten around him in response and he pulled away after taking a deep breath. 

"It's getting late." He noted. "I'm gonna go turn in. Are you coming, too, Nev?" 

The boy smiled and nodded, and they both went to sleep.

"Harry Potter..." Dumbledore's voice was barely above a whisper, however everyone in the Great Hall heard him clearly. 

Just a few moments ago Harry had been cheering on Cedric with all the other students from Hogwarts, and had even half-hugged Hermione again and laughed, tears of joy wetting his eyes. 

Now his grin had dropped and he was shaking, his face unusually pale. He made himself smaller and tried to hide behind Hermione, who was looking at him with horror and concern written all over her face.

"Harry Potter!" the headmaster's shout startled him badly, and after Hermione coaxed him into getting up and walking over, he felt the pit of dread in his stomach from the day before coming back full force. 

His feet felt like bricks, and the only thing he could focus on instead of all the whispers rising was to put one after the other. 

He could only take the little piece of parchment from Dumbledore, and stiffly walk down the stairs to the other Champions. His ears were ringing, and his chest felt tight. 

"Sorry, but this is a room only for Triwizard Champions." 

Harry looked up at Krum, and Delacour stepped forward, her brows furrowed and slowly. "Did ze professors send you? Don't worry, we don't bite." 

He realised that he was shaking. Why was he shaking? His chest felt even tighter than before and he tried to inhale, but it wouldn't work. He tried again, but it didn't feel like he was getting any oxygen into his lungs. 

"Harry? Harry, what is it?" Cedric got up from the chair he had been sitting him, and approached him aswell. He looked at him, the true Hogwarts Champion, and could only hold out the piece of paper with his name on it. 

Slowly, Cedric reached out and took the paper from his trembling hands, and took a look, before looking at him in disbelief. 

And that was all it took.

An ugly sob broke through his lips, tears clouded his vision and he gasped for air. His vision was now blurry, his knees wobbly and weak. 

"My-my name came out of the- the goblet" He sucked in a breath. "But- But I didn't put my name in! And- And I'm too young and I thought- I thought I was finally gonna have a- a normal- normal year" His voice broke and he hiccuped. "But apparently- Apparently-" 

Another ugly cry wrenched itself out of him, and he vaguely felt Delacour guide him toward the chair, in which he collapsed. 

"Apparently my life is des- destined to be short! I don't want- want to be a Champion I just- I just want to be normal for once" He gasped for breath again, but it wasn't working. 

He was crying and sobbing, sniffing snot back up his nose. His legs were bouncing, his hands were trembling. 

His name was spat out by the Goblet of Fire. 

He was going to be a Champion in the Triwizard Tournament. 

Dumbledore said that once someone was chosen, they were magically bound. Which meant that he'd lose his magic if he were to refuse. 

The Tournament was deadly. 

He was gonna die. He couldn't breathe. Most possibly in a gruesome and painful way. 

He grabbed the fabric of his shirt over his chest, it was feeling incredibly tight. 

The ringing in his ears got louder and louder, and he still couldn't breathe. His head felt hot, and a headache was forming. He let out another sob, tears running freely down his face. 

His mind raced, jumping from one horrifying thought to the next. The Triwizard Tournament was deadly. People had died in it before. Cedric, Krum, and Delacour were all older, more experienced. He didn't stand a chance. He was going to die.

The room seemed to tilt, the walls closing in on him. His vision blurred, dark spots dancing at the edges. He felt like he couldn't breathe, his lungs refusing to expand properly. The noise of his own heart pounding in his ears drowned out everything else.

His hands trembled, and he felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead. How was he supposed to survive this? He didn't have the skills, the training. He was just a fourth-year student, not a champion.

A wave of dizziness hit him, and he swayed even while sitting. The thought of facing those tasks, of trying to survive when he was so clearly outmatched, was overwhelming. He could picture himself failing, getting hurt, dying in front of everyone. His friends, his classmates, the entire wizarding world watching as he was torn apart.

"'arry?" Delacour's voice broke through the fog of his panic, but it seemed distant, like a sound coming from underwater. She stepped closer, her face full of concern. 

He flinched away as she reached out to touch his arm, a reflexive reaction to the overwhelming fear consuming him. His throat felt tight, constricted. He was on the brink of hyperventilating. The room continued to spin, and he felt as if he was about to collapse.

"'arry, it's alright," Fleur said softly, keeping her distance for a moment. "Can you try to focus on my voice? Just breathe wiz me. In... and out."

He tried to focus on her words, on her steady presence. He matched his breathing to hers, each inhale and exhale a struggle against the rising tide of his panic. In... and out. Slowly, painfully, he forced himself to follow her rhythm.

His thoughts continued to race, each one a new terror. What if he got someone else hurt? What if he failed spectacularly, embarrassing himself and everyone he cared about? He felt a deep, gnawing dread in his stomach, the kind that wouldn't go away, that only seemed to grow with each passing second.

"May I touch your arm?" Fleur asked gently as she noticed him spiralling further. "It might 'elp ground you."

Harry hesitated, his body still trembling. He didn't want to be touched, didn't want to feel more than he already was, but he saw the calm and sincere concern in Fleur's eyes. He gave a small, shaky nod.

Fleur reached out slowly, her touch light and careful. "Breathe with me, 'arry. In... and out. Focus on my 'and."

He tried to concentrate on the warmth of her touch, on the steadiness she was offering. Gradually, the tightness in his chest began to ease. The dizziness receded, and his vision cleared a bit. He could see Fleur's eyes, calm and steady, guiding him through his panic.

Cedric and Krum stood back, watching with concern but giving him the space he needed. He couldn't hear them at all, actually, he could only hear Delacour talking to him. Their presence was a strange comfort, a reminder that he wasn't completely alone in this nightmare.

Finally, his breathing returned to something resembling normal. He still felt shaky, his mind a whirl of anxiety and fear, but the immediate panic had receded. He was still terrified, but he was no longer on the verge of collapsing.

"Thank you," he whispered hoarsely to Fleur, his voice barely audible.

Fleur smiled gently. "It’s alright, 'arry. You are not alone in zis."

Harry glanced at Cedric and Viktor, who both nodded in silent support. Despite the chaos and fear, a small part of him felt a flicker of hope. He was terrified, still sure he was going to die in the tournament, but maybe, just maybe, he could face it with them by his side.

"'arry, I put up a silencing spell around us." The french woman's soft voice drew his attention back to her, and only now noticed the faint glimmer of the spell around them. He could see more people than before in the room, and he also noticed that he wasn't on the chair anymore but on the floor in the far right corner. "Are you ready for me to put it down or do you need a few more moments?" 

Cedric and Krum looked like they were arguing with the headmasters and Mr. Crouch, and all in all the room looked like it was pure chaos incarnated. She squeezed his arm a bit tighter than before, and gave him an encouraging smile. "All zree of us believe you, 'arry. Do not worry, we will 'elp you as much as we can." 

He forced himself to take a few more deep breaths, before bracing himself and nodded. 

The noise level was immense. 

Krum and Cedric were both shouting at the headmasters, who were shouting right back, Moody was arguing with Crouch and Snape, and McGonagall was trying and failing to get everyone to calm down. 

"The boy is 14! He did not put his name into the Goblet, his reaction is enough proof! Vhat else are you on about?" Krum shouted, and Cedric backed him right up. "He's right! Harry looked like a walking corpse, he was so terrified. Merlin, he's still terrified!"

"And how do you explain 'is name coming out of ze Goblet?" 

"How could Potter have tricked the Goblet of Fire?!" Moody interjected. "Only a strong confundus charm, an aging potion or something could have fooled that relic, and since Hogwarts already has a Champion, the confundus must have been strong enough to make it believe there are four schools participating! Which is far over the skilllevel of a Fourth Year!" 

"You seem to have given this alot of thought, Moody." Karkaroff growled and Moody started making his way over to the Durmstrang high master, when Dumbledore silenced everyone again. 

"Enough!" He spotted Harry watching everything go down from slightly behind Delacour and went over to him. 

"Harry, did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire?" He asked, surprisingly calmly. The young boy was already shaking his head before the question was done being asked. "No sir." 

"Did you ask an older student to do it for you?"

"No sir."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Dumbledore pressed. 

"Yes sir, I'm sure, sir." 

The old man let out a sigh and turned to Mr. Crouch, who was looking at him apologetically. "The rules are absolute, the Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract. Mr Potter has no choice, he is as of tonight... a Triwizard champion. Champions, these are the rules: You may not seek help for a task from any teacher. The first task will take place on November 24th. You will not be told about the contents of this task. I wish you all good luck." 

And with that the Politician turned around and left the room, with Snape, Moody, McGonagall, Karkaroff, Maxime and Dumbledore in tow, leaving the four students alone. 

"Well. That happened." Harry mentioned, trying (and failing) to sound confident and nonchalant about all this. It was bad enough that they witnessed him having a meltdown, and he really didn't want them to think of him as a weakling. 

"Your name is Harry Potter, right?" Krum asked, and extended his hand for him to shake. "I'm Viktor Krum, you can call me Viktor. You're the one who survived the killing curse, no?" 

Harry took the offered hand and nodded. "Yeah. Call me Harry. Infact, all of you call me Harry, please." 

The Beauxbatons student smiled at him. "Zen all of you must call me Fleur. It is very nice to meet you." 

"Then I'm Cedric. And sorry if I rush into this, but I think we all agree that these are special circumstances, and that we won't leave Harry here hanging, right?We should stick together," Cedric began, his tone firm but gentle. "This tournament is dangerous. We can help each other get through it."

Viktor nodded, his expression serious. "Ve are stronger if we are united. Helping each other makes more sense than competing against each other."

Fleur glanced at Harry, her eyes softening. "Oui. We can watch out for each ozer. It is safer zis way. We can start by sitting togezer during meals. It will show everyone zat we are a team."

Cedric and Viktor agreed, nodding. They all understood the power of unity, not just for their own safety, but to send a message to the rest of the schools. 

"Let's do that," Cedric said, looking at the others. "Starting with breakfast tomorrow, we sit together."

"Yes," Viktor agreed. "We support each other. No more rivals. We are in this together."

Fleur smiled slightly, her gaze still on Harry. "And we are going to make sure you are as prepared as you can be."

Harry, still too overwhelmed to speak, felt a wave of gratitude and relief wash over him. The three older champions had decided to stand by him, and for the first time since his name had come out of the Goblet, he felt a glimmer of hope.

Without needing to say more, the three champions had reached a consensus. They would face the challenges ahead as a team, each watching out for the others. In their unity, they found strength, and in their support for Harry, they forged a bond that transcended rivalry.

As they exited the chamber together, Harry followed them, feeling a bit steadier with each step. The unspoken promise of solidarity gave him a newfound courage. They were four champions, but more importantly, they were allies. And together, they could face anything.

Chapter Text

"Harry?" 

He turned around to Viktor. "I'm sorry to say this, but before you got down to that chamber, we heard a lot of booing. Will you be alright with your schoolmates?" 

He stopped walking. That had completely slipped his mind. For some reason he thought that since Cedric was on his side, the rest of the school would be, too. But they don't know what happened. The only thing they know is that his name was selected and that he was the Fourth Champion. 

His eyes were wide in realisation. Viktor set his mouth in a thin line. "Thought so. Come with me." Cedric and Fleur also followed them, and Harry was a bit reluctant when he realised they were walking towards Karkaroff. 

A Death Eater. 

Viktor spoke with the man in rapid bulgarian, before the seeker turned back. 

"High Master Karkaroff is villing to let you reside on our ship, however he cannot guarantee that the ship vill be villing to let you in." He said, and continued with his explanation at Harry's lost expression. 

"I figured since your schoolmates might be hostile towards you now, you might not be velcomed. On the ship, you vould be safe. The ship is a very old one, and completely imbued with magic, so it has developed some sort of concience. It only lets certain types of wix inside." 

He blinked his shock away and turned to Karkaroff. "That's incredibly kind of you." He remarked. "Thank you. I suppose there's no harm in trying? I admit I am a bit reluctant into finding out what the rest of Hogwarts thinks of me now..." 

Karkaroff smirked a bit and nodded, before leading them out of the castle. 

All of this was so very surreal that he didn't know what to make of anything anymore. In the back of his mind he knew that he shouldn't trust the other champions just like this, especially not Karkaroff, but his gut wasn't screaming at him. Hell, it was constantly screaming at him around Moody, but that man was safe. 

For some reason, it wasn't alarming him when he was in Karkaroff's presence. 

And his gut was always right. 

So, he followed the Durmstrang students, their headmaste-, no, High Master, out of the castle and down towards the ship. Since the ship was incredibly big, and there weren't any suited docks available, smaller boats waited for them and Viktor helped him into one they shared with Karkaroff, and two other, older students, who introduced themselves as Ilian and Miro. 

The boats started like the ones they were riding in First Year, and soon they arrived at the side of the ship. Ladders were thrown down to them, and they started climbing up. Harry took everything in with unconcealed interest. 

"Never seen a ship before, Harry?" Viktor chuckled with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope. Never been at the sea before either." He remarked, and completely missed the disbelieving looks between the Durmstrangs. 

"Well, let us see if you are the type of vizard the ship lets inside or if all this vas as much of a vaste of time as I think it vas." Karkaroff scoffed and held open the door that led to the inside of the ship. 

Harry looked questioningly at Viktor before shrugging and approaching the door. Everyone around him fell silent and watched, and he tried not to give them any mind. It must be some sort of test or something, which he really hoped he would pass. 

He took a step into the doorway and immediately felt warmth rush through his body. He instantly relaxed, but then faltered a bit, unsure of what to feel. The feeling was foreign, but not unpleasant. It was nice, actually, so he smoothed out his frown again and took another step inside, and the feeling subsided into a barely there thrum beneath his skin. 

The hallway he was in suddenly came into much more focus, it was almost as if it lit up, even though the lighting stayed exactly the same with candles, lanterns and lamps hanging from the walls. It seemed like the previously almost black wood turned into a warm, reddish colour, and the milky windows turned clear. A few houseelves were milling about, all dressed in what seemed to be like Durmstrang themed uniforms, and they looked much healthier than all other houseelves Harry had seen up until now. The door next to him was open and he could see a classroom in it, with one desk per person, unlike the pair-desks in Hogwarts. 

The wooden walls were adorned with rubies and the Durmstrang crest, aswell as very advanced runes and even runic languages he didn't know how to read, and wasn't even sure if they were taught in Hogwarts at all. 

"Good evening! May Voply take the guest's coat and shoes to the wardrobes?" A female houseelf popped up next to him and he smiled at her after crouching down and shaking her hand. "Yes, thank you very much, Voply. I'm Harry." He introduced himself while giving her his coat, and she positively beamed up at him. "Voply will make sure that Mr. Harry's coat and shoes is well taken care of!" And promptly popped out of existence after magically switching his shoes for fluffy indoor slippers made out of faux fur. 

Harry only blinked down at his feet, before looking back to the entrance, where Viktor and Karkaroff were standing, the younger one smiling triumphantly and the older one looking both surprised and shocked. 

"Harry?" Viktor asked while coming over to him. "What did you feel when you stepped inside?" He was wearing an important sort of expression on his face, and he regarded him closely.

"Uhm, it felt... warm? Like, warmth rushing through my body and, I don't know how to describe it, uhm..." scratching his head he wrecked his brain for a better description. "It almost felt like... I was weirdly content?" 

The Durmstrang student and High Master shared one look together, before Karkaroff burst out laughing. For some reason, Harry didn't think the man was capable of laughing, however, the deep, full on belly laughs were echoing through the ship's hallways, and Harry shot a weirded out look at Viktor, who just grinned.

Karkaroff held his side and finally calmed down. 

"Vell, if that is not a surprise. To think that the boy who lived is not vhat everyone thinks he should be!" The laughter rose up again, and now he was completely lost. Did he miss an important detail here? 

Viktor saw his confusion and patted him on the back. "The High Master means, that he is surprised that you are not a completely Light Wizard." 

That wasn't clearing up anything.

"Light Wizard? If I'm not a Light Wizard, then what am I?" 

Karkaroff's laughter immediately died down and he scrutinized him again, however this time Harry could see a tiny hint of curiosity in those dark eyes. 

"Mr. Potter, tell me the definition of magic." Karkaroff's voice sounded like the voice of a teacher, and Harry startled a bit at the sudden change. 

"What? Magic is magic? What do you mean?" He threw a confused look towards Viktor, who frowned at him. 

"Magic is, as a whole, very difficult to explain." The student began. "It is everyvhere, and novhere. It is alvays, and never. It is raw energy." Harry listened with rapt attention. He's never heard of the actual definition of magic before, and it certainly has never come up during class. 

"Vhen ve use magic, ve draw on the magical energy either inside of us, or around us, depending on the spell. Have you heard of the terms 'Dark Magic' and 'Light Magic'?" 

Now that Harry knew a bit about. "Light Magic is good, and Dark Magic is evil." He stated, it was true, after all. That was what everyone said. 

"Right, I forgot ve are in Britain..." Viktor murmured to himself, before watching him intently. "That is not necessarily true. It is true that Light Magic is usually used for 'good' things, and Dark Magic for 'evil'. However, it depends solely on the vielder of the vand, no? For example:" The 17 year old pulled out his wand and pointed it at a vase. 

"Wingardium Leviosa." The flowers in the vase started to float around. 

"This spell is considered a spell of 'Light Magic'. It helps the user move or transport things vithout having to use physical strength." The flowers were floating in a circle infront of them, and Harry nodded along. Wingardium Leviosa was one of the first charms he's learned, and he can cast it successfully with many objects at the same time without breaking a sweat.

"However, imagine the flowers are people." Viktor continued and started to spin the flowers around faster and faster. "If you use the spell on people, and for example spin them like this, you can easily..." The heads of the flowers cracked and were slung out, falling to the ground. The stems were still spinning around. "... break their necks. You could also swing them into a vall. You could levitate them into a body of vater and let them drown." 

Harry looked at them in horror. 

"Then there are the Dark Magic spells. One that is commonly used is Incarcerous. It conjures up a rope, which binds the target and immobilizes it. Aurors use it often vhen arresting someone. But it can also be used to choke someone to death, if that is the vish of the vand veilder." Viktor thankfully did not use that spell on anyone or anything. 

"Vhen ve say 'vhat kind of wix', then ve mean vhat kind of magic speaks to you more. You could not have entered this ship, if you veren't on the side of the spectrum of Dark Magic or at least Neutral Magic. That spectrum is the reason why some wix learn certain spells more easily than others. Light Wix have no problem with casting a Patronus Charm, where Dark Wix have to practice for months or even years, if they ever even succeed at all." 

The realisation hit him like a brick. 

"It... It took me months to learn the Patronus back in Third Year..." He whispered. Viktor only nodded. 

"Then that means that you are most likely more aligned vith Dark Magic, or a Neutral Vizard with a leaning tovards the Dark. Can you make a corporeal Patronus?" 

Harry swallowed before nodding again. 

"Really? Vell that is a surprise then. Only Neutral Wix and Light Wix can make a corporeal Patronus. Anyone with a leaning tovards the Dark cannot." 

A rush of air left his lungs and he instantly relaxed. He really wasn't sure what to think about all of this. Him? A Dark Wizard? That would be awful. 

Karkaroff led him to the rooms of the students, and he got a spare room to himself, since the ship's interior was much larger than the outside, much like his suitcase. 

Thinking of, he quickly memorised the layout of the floor he was on and walked out onto deck, before summoning his suitcase with a swift 'Accio'. 

He wasn't sure what the rest of the school now thought of him, and he certainly did not want to be in the same room as Ron right now.

Chapter Text

Dear Snuffles,

I hope you're doing well? 

The last time we saw each other, you told me to write to you about anything that might be going on with me and my life, both good and bad, right? 

Well, this year the Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts, and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute are the other two schools participating. 

That's not my problem though. 

You see, the Ministry of Magic has passed a law that only 17 year olds and older are permitted to enter the Tournament, which makes a lot of sense, since anyone younger would basically sign a death sentence. Headmaster Dumbledore even drew an age-line around the Goblet of Fire to prevent anyone younger from participating. 

Well, to make an annoyingly long story short, someone has put my name into the Goblet of Fire, and I was chosen. 

But not as the Hogwarts Champion, that's Cedric Diggory. 

Fleur Delacour was chosen as the Beauxbatons Champion, and Viktor Krum as the Durmstrang Champion.

Professor Moody's theory is that someone must have put a Confundus Charm on the Goblet into making it believe that I belong to a fourth school that's competing. 

The worst part: The contract with the Goblet of Fire is magically binding. 

I can't get out of this one, Snuffles. I have to compete, or I lose my magic. 

The students of Hogwarts seem to collectively hate me for 'stealing Cedric's spotlight', which means that now I'm staying on Durmstrang's ship to avoid getting hexed, jinxed or cursed in my sleep. 

Thankfully I'm not alone though. The other Champions are all on my side, and Viktor even admitted that I reminded him of his little brother back in Bulgaria. 

It's been two weeks since I was chosen, and classes have been awful. I can't go anywhere alone, lest I get hexed or jinxed in the hallways. Neville and Hermione have taken to flanking me and basically be my bodyguards, which I'm thankful for, but it's starting to get incredibly suffocating. Those two are the only ones willing to stay by my side and believe me that I did not put my name into the Goblet of Fire. 

Then there's Rita Skeeter. She's a journalist who's working for the Daily Prophet. She demanded this morning that the other Champions and me all come to do pictures and give interviews, and a poor second year was sent into Snape's class while he was teaching to retrieve me. 

I really don't know what came over me, but I told him to tell them that these silly little interviews could wait until after school, and let them wait for me for another eight hours before showing up. 

Upon arriving, she wanted to take me into a broom closet to interview me, and I said no, that I did not consent to being interviewed without my legal guardian present, as I am still a minor. 

I have a feeling she's going to write something up regardless. 

Another thing I probably should let you know is that I am now going to start having my education on the Durmstrang ship with the other Durmstrang students, since a tripping jinx was cast on me while I was on the stairs and I almost broke my neck. Fun. 

I don't know what exactly to think about Karkaroff, especially him teaching me stuff, and I promise not to take everything he says at face value. I know he's an ex-Death Eater, so I always have my guard up against him, despite the fact that both of us know that if he tries anything, he'll be the first to be questioned. 

So to sum it up: 

I'm a Champion in a deadly tournament with no way out, most of the time not on Hogwarts grounds anymore other than dinner, I'll probably be featured against my will in the Daily Prophet, and I'm going to get taught by an ex-Death Eater. 

I would really appreciate it if you could give me some advice on how to cope with all this without exploding, 

Love,

Prongs 2.0