Using all means
Harry found himself in need of an entire new attire of supplies for school. Once his relatives had discovered he was expelled for underaged magic after saving Dudley from the dementors, they had had an unhealthy pleasure destroying all his possessions. The only exception to that treatment was Hedwig, his owl who flew right before getting cut into pieces. There was also his invisibility cloak which he had saved just in time by easily hiding it under his overlarge clothing. His uncle had made sure that the poor boy was watching while his stuff was burnt into ashes and his wand snapped in two. The poor Harry couldn’t do anything and his hate towards his family did nothing but expended. He had just saved his cousin for goodness’ sake! As always, they didn’t believe him. He almost wished that he never saved him, but Harry was still shaken from witnessing Cedric’s death and didn’t want to repeat the experience any sooner.
Dumbledore didn't want Harry to replace his wand, books and robes at first. After all, why would Harry need all of it if he wasn't coming back to school? That had made Harry more than worried; did Dumbledore think he had no chance of returning to Hogwarts, to his home? Now that the charges were dropped however, Harry and the Weasleys were going on a trip to Diagon Alley. Before the shopping began though, Harry needed to make a little detour to Gringotts to retrieve more money since he only had enough for a few new books.
At first, the Weasleys had insisted to accompany him, but Harry convinced them otherwise. Not because Harry did not appreciate their company, but they could be loud, and the bank was a quiet and serious place. Now that he was facing the staring goblin however, the boy wished he had let them stay with him, the creature was a little intimidating.
"Hello, I'm Harry Potter" said Harry "I'm here to withdraw money from my vault."
"Does Mister Potter have the key to his vault?" replied the goblin while leaning over the counter. Harry gulped; he hadn't thought of his key. It was the first time he was here alone. Habitually, an adult was always ensuring he had enough coins to last the year. He didn't even know who was supposed to currently possess it. He supposed it was Dumbledore since the man was always present in his life whatsoever.
"I've sadly lost it and I'm kind of in a hurry, is there another way to have access to my vault without it?" he asked nervously.
The goblin frowned; he was obviously not happy with this upcoming. “I can make you prove your identity by doing a heritage test with your blood and then proceed to make another key.”
“That would be great!” Answered Harry, relieved.
“Now if you would follow me.”
The goblin took Harry in a long corridor that had no decoration and got a heavy atmosphere. It was also long and narrow. Their steps were resonating against the concrete floor.
He was led to a tiny room. It was as empty as the corridor: the only decoration was a little brown couch in the middle of the tiny square space. The raven sat on the sofa nervously, a screech resonating from where his ass touched the fabric while the goblin retrieved a little needle from his pocket (why did he carry needles with him?) and pierced Harry’s index finger.
His blood floated in front of Harry, and he watched with amazement as the blood expended to a rectangle and slowly transformed into a parchment. The creature took it gracefully and read it rapidly.
“Well, mister Potter, from which vault should I make the key of?”
“What do you mean, which vault, I thought I had only one.”
The goblin sneered and handed him the parchment to whom Harry snatched from his hands.
Full name: Harry James Potter
Father: James Potter
Mother: Lily Potter, ne Evans
Godfather: Sirius Black
Godmother: Augusta Longbottom
Lordships: Potter heir, Peverell heir and Slytherin heir
“I don’t understand, how I am the Slytherin heir?” Harry almost screamed. He was disgusted, he didn’t want to own anything that Voldemort could have had. He also didn’t know about the Peverell family, bur Harry assumed it was a lost lineage from his father.
“By killing the dark lord when you were a baby, you inherited all his possession and wealth. I believe it is also why you can speak Parseltongue. So, which one of your three vaults are we taking money from?” The goblin replied. Harry could see that he was losing patience, he had to make it quick.
“Hum, one of each maybe?” Harry replied, unsure. Each one of them could be useful one day. But how could he not know about his Slytherin “ownership”? Did Dumbledore know this fact? If yes, why would he not tell him? Most of all, he couldn’t his second year, when he was accused of being the heir of Slytherin. He was it! Harry didn’t know why, maybe because of shame, but he was sure: he wouldn’t tell anyone.
Harry got enough money for the day after taking his brand-new keys. He joined his two best friends who asked him what had taken so long. Harry simply shrugged. The two were chatting, but Harry was not in the mood to listen to them, he was still thinking about what he had discovered.
They first went to Madam Malkin’s robes. Harry was a little embarrassed, there were only first years who were staring at him with their mouth wide open. Some of them were amazed but the majority seemed disgusted or afraid. Odd, Harry though, why would they fear him like that? He then went to Flourish & Blotts. There, more people stared at him with the same mix of expressions as the 11-year-old kids. Harry was relieved when he exited the shop. He had an idea about the reason of so many hostilities. Last year, he had entered the Triwizard tournament without being allowed, then came back with the dead body of another contestant and claimed that Voldemort was back. Harry didn’t know for sure, but he thought that a lot of wizards did not believe the last fact, nor the fact that he was a competitor.
It was soon time for Harry to buy a new wand. The raven would never admit it out loud, but he was quite pleased to have a new one after learning his old one was the brother of Voldemort’s wand. He entered Ollivander and was greeted by the old man.
“Harry Potter, wand made of holly wood, phoenix feather and measuring 11 inches. I remember every wand I sell.” Greeted Ollivander and soon as he spotted Harry.
“Not anymore, my wand was broken, and I need to purchase another one.”
“I see, then let’s find you the perfect one.”
Harry tried more wands then he could count and the boy was fairly sure it hadn’t taken as long the first time. He was soon getting despaired and impatient since Ron and Hermione were waiting for him before starting their own errands. Finally, after what felt like hours, a Rowan wood and a phoenix feather wand reacted strongly to his touch.
“Yes, a wand made of Rowan wood is extremely resistant. I’m also not surprised that its core is made phoenix feather considering your old one. It is also 10 inches and has a great flexibility.” Explained Ollivander.
Happy with himself, Harry left the shop while admiring his new possession, his wand was beautiful, the model was simple without many details, it blended into the crowd just like Harry wished he was. It also possessed a gorgeous handle.
“Show it to me!” Ron commanded.
Harry huffed: he was still a little mad at his friends for not contacting him all summer just because Dumbledore asked them too. Harry was looking to receive news about Voldemort from them since he had cancelled his inscription to the Daily prophet after the bullshit written about him during the tournament. However, he was now kept in the dark. Even now, everybody seemed reluctant to give him information. If it was Harry, he would have ignored Dumbledore’s command and wrote to them. Even more, since when did Ronald Weasley respect any rule? He showed his wand to him anyway and watched as his eyes lit up from amazement. There was no doubt, Ron found the new wand cool.
“Nice wand” Hermione said. She then proceeded to explain the origin of wands, their proprieties and how each of them represented the wizard (or something like that, Harry didn’t really listen.)
“Why don’t we look at the brooms before returning at Grimmault place. You should buy the Firebolt again Harry, the new model is basically the same as this one but double the price.” Interrupted Ron who had no interest in listening to the girl’s speech.
Hermione gave him a furious look, knowing damn well his intentions. Ron did his best to ignore the glare while leading them to the store where Harry listened to his friend’s advice and brought a new Firebolt.
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Back at Grimmauld place, the little band found McGonagall chatting quietly with Sirius at the kitchen table.
"Mister Potter" said the professor "I was waiting for your arrival. I wanted to inform you that since you were expelled before the hearing, we had to re-enroll you at Hogwarts after the charges were dropped. By consequences, you will have to be re-sorted at the beginning of the year."
"That won't be a problem." Ron said "I'm convinced that he will still be in Gryffindor. He is literally the description of the house."
All of the Weasley quickly agreed, and the subject was dropped by all of them. Harry, however, was worried, he had told no one that the hat had almost put him in Slytherin back in first year. He was convinced it was still the case and was worried that he would not get out of it this time.
The young boy excused himself and went up to his room in hope of some alone time. Ron joined him soon enough and tried to make conversation, but Harry was not up to it. After a few minutes, his friend finally stopped trying and finally left his friend alone. Meanwhile, Harry made the promise to himself to find a room where he could be alone and think in peace, which would not be an easy task considering the large amount of people currently living here.
He also had to steal a copy of the Daily prophet. If no one wanted to inform him of what was happening, then Harry would discover by himself.
Harry got out of bed, and for the first time since he had arrived here, he explored the house. It had a lot of bedrooms. All of them were already occupied by a Weasley or a member of the order. There was also four bathrooms which could sound like a lot but was nothing considering there was more than ten people using them. It also contained two large libraries. After peeking through the first one, Harry saw Hermione with her nose buried in a book, reading while frowning and taking notes at a small table. Harry smiled at himself, she would never change, always taking the opportunities to gain knowledge.
The door to the second library was hidden behind a portrait of an old witch who always seemed to be sleeping. Harry would have never found it if the twins hadn’t explored the house at the beginning of the year and peeked through every curtain, portraits and searched for any hidden room. Entering the library, Harry looked around amazed. The four walls were covered in bookshelves. It had certainly more books than the other library. The only space where it wasn’t covered in books was where the window sat above a comfy looking seat with three green cushions.
Hermione had been the first to open a book after the twins had discovered it. She had only read the first few sentences before realizing it was about dark arts. She had shut the book and told firmly the others to never come back here again. She had claimed that it was a disgusting place that should have never existed. Harry knew he had found his place. No one dared to enter the place or even spare a look at it since then.
He was also convinced that no one would look for him in here. Satisfied with himself, Harry went to bed early. He needed to wake up before the others if he wanted to steal a copy of the Daily prophet.
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Harry woke up with a jolt by a nightmare. They were always the same, watching Cedric’s death night after night.
With a grunt, Harry stretched and quietly got out of the bed and headed downstairs. There, he stole some bread and to his satisfaction, he found an old copy of the journal. Harry took it and quickly made his way the dark library. He sat by the window and started to read it.
Harry Potter: the boy-who-lied
Harry Potter, winner of the Triwizard tournament, proclaimed that the sad death of another contestant, Cedric Diggory was caused by the return of the one whose-name-must-not-be-pronounced. The ministry assures that he, in fact, did not come back. He is dead and will continue to be. They declared that the boy-who-lived invented the story in a desperate attempt at gaining more attention. According to them, Harry Potter was also corrupted by Dumbledore who easily manipulated the teen with his lies for a still unknown reason. Also, earlier this summer, Harry Potter had been found using magic in a muggle street. He was expelled from Hogwarts at first, but the boy found a way to make his charges drop and be enrolled again at the school. However, he is ought to be resorted before starting this year.
Harry was beyond furious, he had obviously known this already, but until now, he still hoped that he was wrong and that the ministry was planning a better defense system. He also had not expected to find a section about his adventure of the summer. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Suddenly, Harry looked around the room, he was finally really realizing that he was surrounded by dark books.
Voldemort was back and only the Order believed him, and no one was inclined to teach him how to defend himself. He had to find a way to gain knowledge, and the easiest one was all around him. Harry hesitated a moment. Was he willing to learn about a type of magic now pronounced illegal? The answer was yes. Harry had to find various ways to fight, and the dark arts would offer him countless possibilities.
Not knowing where to start, Harry randomly picked up a book named The Origins of the Dark Arts. The book was rather interesting, Harry learned how the dark arts were introduced to the world. He also learned that most of the holidays like Halloween or Christmas were invented after various traditional days where the magic was at its strongest.
Another interesting fact was that originally, the dark magic was not considered bad, but when Grindelwald had tried to conquer the world while using it, most wizards had turned their back from it by fear to be associated with him. The majority of those who continued to practice it were Slytherins. Even though there were a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs using dark magic, people were more inclined to resent the snakes. The fact that Grindelwald was one was not helping as well.
In the next book he found, there were all lot of information about dreams. It went from controlling them to how to make them stop. Harry was super excited; he could stop having nightmares every night! He was about to note all the steps when he found out that he had to be a declared dark wizard to achieve it. Harry huffed in annoyance, he soon discovered that most charms or rituals needed someone fully declared to the dark arts.
After about a week of going through more books than he had read in his entire life, Harry found an index. The book was separated in countless sections going from runes, traditional days, declaration process to shadow walking. In each category was a list of titles. He also discovered that the volume was charmed to be updated daily. Harry sprung excitedly and decided to keep that book with himself.
By the third week, Sirius finally found Harry in the room, surrounded by books. Harry was terrified he would be yelled at and being forbidden from going there again, but to his surprised, his godfather only smiled at him and taught his godson a few hexes after telling him that magic was undetectable in this room to prank the students at Hogwarts. He stayed with Harry for three days before letting him by himself again.
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Time passed and it was time to return to Hogwarts. Harry quickly made his luggage and was currently waiting for the Weasleys to be ready.
Harry felt out of place, he hadn’t made a single effort to speak to any of them since he was here and he could see that Ron did not appreciate it, he was being awfully quiet. Only the twins seemed to cheer the family up.
Arriving in the train station, Harry found out that Ron and Hermione were both the 5th year Prefects and were required to a special compartment in order to discuss business, he felt awful that he hadn't known that fact before. Harry had to sit with Neville and a strange girl named Luna Lovegood. All of them were extremely quiet. There, Harry found himself extremely nervous about his upcoming sorting. He hadn’t thought about it since he was absorbed by books most of the summer, but now that he was alone, there was no stopping it.
He concluded that because of his newfound interest in the dark arts and his new mindset about how he was going to "use any means" to defeat Voldemort, he might be thrown in the sake's house without having any chance to change the hat’s decision. Lost in thought, Harry was startled to see that they had almost arrived. The ride had seemed shorter that any of his previous ones. He quickly dressed up in his robes and went to find his friends.