Year Three
Thanks for all the reviews.
Okay, I did it again and added a bit to the last chapter. Like getting Hagrid free and letting him practice magic. I think that’s it; I don’t quite remember if that’s all I added. It’s been a few days since I reposted it. Anything else must not have been important. LOL.
What can I say? Your reviews spark my muse.
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This summer was a bit better than last year. Dobby was a constant visitor and helped Harry greatly with his chore list. He also kept him company whenever he could. However, the little guy was still bound to his family and could only come sporadically. Still, Harry loved it when he showed up. He was great fun and a great friend when he wasn’t stealing his post.
Harry learned a lot that was going on about the wizarding world from his little friend. He learned that Gilderoy Lockhart had been found out to be a fraud and a pervert and was arrested. Mostly because he ran when the Chamber was opened. Amelia Bones had questioned him when he was found, and he sung like a phoenix under the influence of Veritaserum. He was sentenced to ten years in Azkaban and fined 20,000 galleons. Harry thought it couldn’t have happened to a nicer man.
He learned that Lucius Malfoy had been fined 15,000 galleons for interfering with Hogwarts. Again, that was because of Amelia Bones’ investigation into the happenings of the opening of the Chamber. She couldn’t pin much on the man, he was too slippery for that, but interfering with the Board of Governors and getting Hagrid arrested, that she got him for.
Dumbledore and Fudge were slapped on the wrist, they both had too much political power, but they were being watched closely.
Harry was just happy he wasn’t left in the dark, like last year.
“Dobby, how can I set you free?” Harry asked one day a month into the summer. He hated that his buddy was a slave.
It was his birthday and his friends had all sent him some things that related to his calling as a Magizoologist. He was ecstatic. They really understood him and what he wanted to do with his life.
They were things like books and a magnifying glass for his search for bugs and other small critters. He had also received one large magical house-like container, which had separate compartments for putting those creatures in, and some other items for observing them. It shrunk and expanded, so he could hide it from his relatives.
It was all meant to get him started in his studies. He was going to see if he couldn’t get some of the doxies, pixies, and fairies to come in when he got back to Hogwarts. Some of them might want a good safe home.
His friends must have pooled their resources to get these things for him. He was sure none of them could afford it separately.
“I is being working on that, Harry Potter, sir,” the elf said, sheepishly. He put his hand on the back of his large head and rubbed it in an awkward manner. His bulbous eyes shifted around the room, not looking at Harry.
“Oh, how?” the now teenager asked, his voice cracking a bit. He was hitting the peak of puberty and it was getting on his nerves. Dudley was picking on him something fierce. His cousin hadn’t gotten a creaky voice, and that wasn’t fair.
“Dobby is being weakening the bond between his master and himself,” he said in a secretive manner, leaning in close and whispering. “The more Dobby visits his friend, Harry Potter, the closer I is getting to bonding to my friend,” he said, glee in his tone. His smile lit up the room.
“So, we’re close to bonding?” Harry said in a slow fashion, not sure how he felt about that. However, it was better than Dobby being bonded to those that abused him. He still didn’t know who Dobby’s masters were. All he knew was that they were worse than the Dursleys were to him.
“Yes, sir, Harry Potter, sir,” Dobby said, his head bobbing so fast Harry was concerned about whiplash.
“Why don’t all abused elves do this?” the teen asked, tilting his head. If it was that simple…
“Not all elves are being smart like Dobby. And there is not being many humans that is liking elves like Harry Potter,” explained Dobby, preening a bit. It was very rare that a human would befriend a house elf in the manner that Harry did with Dobby. Sure, there were kids that would play with them, but it wasn’t the same.
“Well, alrighty then,” the teen said, smiling at his friend. “You’ll let me know if I can do anything,” he added, putting his hand on Dobby’s shoulder, and squeezing it.
“Yous just has to bes friends with Dobby,” the elf squeaked, smiling a friendly smile at the boy. He patted Harry’s hand and went back to what he was doing.
They were repairing Harry’s wardrobe. It was something they had taken to doing. Fixing the things in Harry’s room. Be it toys, clothes, or books. If it needed to be put back together, they spent time going over it and trying to fix it slowly, so they didn’t get in trouble. Dobby could mask his magic if he wanted to.
Dobby, of course, could fix it all with a snap of his fingers, but where was the fun in that. This was a bonding experience. It was magical in more ways than one.
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Harry had sent Hedwig off before he had gotten back to the Dursleys to find Newt Scamander to help with the basilisk. He wanted the man to proclaim that Sally, which was what Harry had named her, after Salazar Slytherin, was the last of her kind and now an endangered species. He put all that down in his letter and was hoping the man got back to him soon. He had yet to hear from Scamander, and he was concerned for Hedwig. He really hoped she was okay.
Right now, the Dursleys were preparing for Aunt Marge’s visit, which Harry really didn’t want to be there for. Aunt Marge was the meanest member of the family. In Harry’s opinion. She was a woman who was cruel to animals, for all she said she cared for them. Her dog, Ripper, was raised to be a vicious creature, who even Harry couldn’t charm. He had tried, it made him cry at the twisted caricature that the dog was. He hated Marge even more for making Ripper that way.
Harry knew he could leave at any time, but he was hoping to hear from Scamander first. However, the time was running out. Marge was due any day now. He was getting antsy. He had his trunk packed with everything he needed to make a quick getaway and had told all his friends that he was leaving soon.
“Potter!” his uncle bellowed, the day before Marge was due. “Get down here,” he demanded from the bottom of the stairs.
“Yes, Uncle Vernon,” Harry said, descending the stairs and skirting around the overweight man. It was hard to do, the man took up almost the entire space there. Harry felt sorry for him. He was probably going to die young. At least before he was fifty. He’d read that somewhere. That people this obese rarely lived long.
“Your Aunt Marge will be here tomorrow, and I want you on your best behavior. I’ll not have any of your funny business,” the fat man said, pointing his pudgy finger in Harry’s chest, causing pain to blossom there.
“I’ll not be here,” Harry stated, backing away from the offending digit. His back hit the wall, and he moved away from it to the center of the room.
“What do you mean, boy? Where else would you go?” Vernon asked, his beady eyes narrowing at the small teenager in front of him. His mustache twitched in annoyance.
“Look, I don’t like Aunt Marge, and she doesn't like me,” Harry said, still staying out of reach. He could see Dobby just out of sight of Vernon. “It would be best for everyone if I just wasn’t here,” he said, moving to go up the stairs.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” his obese uncle said, moving to block his path, which was easy for him to do. All he had to do was take one sideways step and he filled the space.
“I’m just going to pop over to a friend’s house,” Harry said, getting out of the man’s way. He did not want to get poked again, or worse yet, hit.
Dobby snapped his fingers, and Vernon found himself wanting to move. He wandered to the other side of the room.
“Don’t come back until next summer,” the man said, decisively, sitting down in his chair, making it creak and groan, and turning on the tv. What did he care what the boy did, as long as he wasn’t here.
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Harry said, hurrying up the stairs and grabbing his trunk. He rushed and threw a few last-minute items in and went down the stairs and out the door. He wandered down the block and stopped where there didn’t seem to be any muggles about. He was about to raise his wand when he heard a noise in the bushes. He whirled around ready to fire off a spell.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large black dog appeared. It was a scraggly thing, that was gaunt and grungy. Its fur was long, dirty, and tangled. It looked like it hadn’t eaten in days, nor had a bath in weeks. If ever. It looked happy to see Harry though. If the hanging tongue and excited eyes were anything to go by. Though those were some huge, albeit yellow, teeth.
“Doggy!” Harry exclaimed, moving towards the obvious stray. “You look like you could use a home,” he said, clapping his hands to his thighs. “Come here, boy,” he said in a joyful manner. “I’ve got food for you. Come on,” he said, continuing to slap his thighs, and still commanding him to come in a happy tone.
The dog moved slowly to him, wagging its tail the whole time. His whole back body moved with the action. When he got to Harry, he sniffed his hand and then licked it. He barked a happy bark and started prancing around the teen.
Harry patted his head and rubbed his neck and called Dobby and asked for something to eat for the dog. Dobby brought him some raw red meat and the dog woofed it down. With that done, Harry called the Knight Bus and the three of them went to the Leaky Cauldron.
The conductor of the bus, Stan Shunpike, warned Harry about Sirius Black and how he was after him. Harry worried about that until Dobby said he’d protect him, and the dog barked his agreement. The kid felt so loved that he put it out of his mind. That and he knew he had friends that would watch out for him too.
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Harry had a great rest of the summer. Hedwig finally reappeared with Rolf Scamander, and he talked to him about Sally and together they had her proclaimed an endangered species. He even gave Harry his own suitcase that held eleven animals. Rolf explained that the Chamber of Secrets was not the proper place for a snake. It was too moist and cold for a serpent. He helped Harry set up a nice environment for Sally and wished him the best of luck.
They even went to the Ministry and had Sally registered as Harry’s pet. Only Harry could handle her, and she was never to leave the suitcase. Harry was responsible for her and could sell her scales and venom at his discretion. He would talk to her about it. He was also registered as an apprentice Magizoologist under Kettleburn/Scamander. It all depended on what time of year it was. Harry was going to meet Newt and Rolf next summer.
He met up with the Weasleys again when they came back from their trip to Egypt. The twins told them all about their shenanigans and how they pranked their brothers. Lee, Hermione, Neville, and Luna also met up with them and they all went shopping for school supplies. It was a great day had by everyone.
The dog disappeared the day everyone showed up, which saddened Harry. He hoped he would find a good home. Maybe he’ll see him again in the future. Somehow, he felt connected to that dog. Like a long-forgotten memory.
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There were to be dementors around the school. They had tried to board the train, but a teacher, one Remus Lupin, had run them off. Now, Dumbledore was telling them that they were surrounding the school and there was nothing that he, the headmaster, could do about it.
Harry was not sure how he felt about that. They were creatures, and he liked creatures. However, they induced fear, and he didn’t like that. He would have to wait until he met one and learn the counter spell for them. He’d ask if his friends could learn too, or he’d teach them himself.
The first night there, he snuck down to the Chamber and talked Sally into his suitcase. It was easily done. All he had to do was show her the warm cave she would be staying in and the herd of cattle that was waiting for her to eat as her leisure. He couldn’t make Hogwarts pay for the cattle for his pet, so he had a herd put in the suitcase, via his vault. Dobby had set it up, with Rolf’s help.
“You are a man of your word,” she hissed at him when she settled in.
The cave was in a barren landscape. The livestock were in a field at the end, which was a lush grassland. Her area was dry and arid. She loved it. The artificial sun was beating down on her and she could bathe in it to her heart’s content. There was a small lake that she could swim in when she wanted to shed, or a large flat rock with sharp edges for similar purposes, or as a sunning rock.
“I warn you; you will be sharing this suitcase with other animals. However, there will be a barrier between you and them,” he said, explaining how the suitcase worked.
“For such comforts, I will behave,” she stated, curling around in a comfortable position, and settling down in her temperate and comfy cave. She was warm for the first time in her life, and she couldn’t be happier.
“How is it that I am not dead?” he finally asked, it had been bugging him all this time. He knew her gaze was deadly, yet he and Tom both stared right at her and lived.
“You are a parselmouth,” she said, like she was talking to an idiot. “I also have a second eyelid that prevents my gaze from killing. However, you are not dead from being a parselmouth,” she stated, basking in the heat and sighing.
“Oh,” was all he could say to that. “I will leave you now. I will visit as often as I can,” he stated, going to leave the suitcase. He was super excited to finally have a basilisk that he could talk to anytime.
“I require my privacy,” she said, being very used to being left alone. She had only her company for centuries. She was not used to entertaining.
“You don’t want me to visit?” he asked, disappointed. He really wanted to ask her some questions. No one had seen a basilisk in so very long, let alone studied one.
“Perhaps now and again, but I prefer to be left alone,” she answered, looking away from those hurt eyes.
“Can I at least count on you to help me with my enemies?” he asked, hoping for a positive response.
“You have given me a home and food. Of course, you can count on me for that,” she hissed in almost agitation. He had saved her life and given her a home. She’d do anything for him, even give up on killing her enemy.
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There was one animal in the castle that didn’t like Harry. That was Ronald Weasley’s rat. He stayed away from the boy. It was like he was scared of him. Every time Harry tried to be nice to the rat, it scurried away. It was unnerving to him.
“Ronald, is your rat a magical animal?” he asked his roommate one day, a few days after school started. This year the rat was acting even more out of character for a rat. It was extra twitchy. That and it stuck close to Ronald everywhere the boy went. There was an aura of fear around the animal.
“Not that I know of,” the redhead replied, picking up said rat around the belly and shaking it a bit. “He doesn’t do anything but eat and sleep.” He put it back down and it curled up and went back to sleep on his pillow. “Granted, he’s been sick since we got back from Egypt,” he added, looking with pity at the rodent.
“How old is it?” Harry asked, standing by his bed. He didn’t want to spook the rat, like he always did when he got near.
“Around twelve years old,” Ron said, getting his bookbag and heading for the door. They were going to be late for breakfast if they didn’t hurry. “It was Percy’s before he was mine,” he added as an afterthought.
“Oh,” Harry said, not expressing his concern. Inside, he was thinking that was too old for a common brown rat. Most rats didn’t live past four years of age. While Ron’s parents might do the whole replace the dead pet thing, he didn’t think they’d mutilate rats to do that. Ron’s rat was missing a finger on one of his paws. Harry couldn’t see the Weasley parents cutting off the finger of a new rat just to keep up a charade. They seemed like too nice of people to do that.
He went through the day and later when he was doing his class with Professor Kettleburn he told him of his theory. “Professor, something is wrong with Weasley’s rat,” he said as they were feeding the hippogriffs. These majestic beasts loved whole ferrets.
Harry had taken Runes as his second elective. He still had extra classes with this man, but only after all his other classes were done for the day. This year Harry was going to be learning about redcaps and dragons and more notorious creatures. Ones that could kill you. They wouldn’t have any on campus, but he could learn about them.
Hagrid was now Kettleburn’s assistant, and they would have his class in a few days. Hagrid would take the third and forth years, while Silvanus would take the fifth, sixth and seventh years.
“Oh?” Silvanus said, a question in his tone. Harry seemed to come to him with all sorts of mysteries lately. So, he listened closely.
“He’s over twelve years old and he seems scared of me for some reason,” Harry said, throwing a ferret to Buckbeak, the orneriest of the hippogriffs. It wasn’t that he was mean, he just took offence especially easily.
“That is quite long lived for a rat,” Kettleburn said, rubbing his good hand over his chin. His brow furrowed. “Have the boy bring it to me. Does he keep it in a cage?” the man asked, looking around the room to see if one was available.
“No, he keeps it in his pocket most of the time. Or he sleeps on Ron’s pillow, running free everywhere,” Harry said, wrinkling his nose. He knew the habits of rats. It was not sanitary. They pissed on everything, even your hands while you held them.
“Have him put it in this cage,” Silvanus said, pointing to a small cage for Harry to get. “Make sure you tell him that you think the rat might be sick, and that I want to make sure it’s fine,” he stated, looking into Harry’s eyes to make sure that he understood.
“Yes, sir,” the preteen said, grabbing the cage.
The next morning the plan went off without a hitch, Harry followed Ron as they brought the protesting rat to Kettleburn. It was squealing and running around the cage like it wanted out. Once there, they left the rat with the professor. Kettleburn stunned the rat immediately after they left and called Amelia. It was later that day that they found out that the man had turned it over to the DMLE.
“It was a criminal,” the professor said to Ron, who was angry that Kettleburn had done something with his rat.
“How can a rat be a criminal?” the redhead protested loudly. He was just upset that his pet was gone. His family was too poor to afford another one.
“It was a man hiding as a rat, young man. Don’t speak to me that way,” Kettleburn snapped, not at all liking Ron’s tone of voice.
“Sorry,” Ron said, rubbing the side of his nose.
“So, the police have him now?” Harry asked, then change it to, “I mean, the Aurors?” Remembering them from the last two years. Amelia Bones must be pissed about having been called to Hogwarts once again. This would be the third year in a row.
“Yes,” the professor said, sitting slowly down on his stool.
“Do you know what’s going to happen to him?” Ron asked, still pouting.
“No,” was the answer. “You two head back up to the castle and let the adults handle this,” he said, shooing the kids away.
“That’s tough luck,” Harry commiserated with the boy. He never got along with Ron, but he didn’t hate him.
“Yeah,” the redhead said, stomping along towards the castle. He was not a happy person. “What am I going to tell Percy?” he wondered aloud.
“What do you mean?” Harry asked, looking at the other boy’s face. “It’s not like it’s your fault.”
“No, I mean it was Percy’s rat for years. He’s going to freak,” Ron said, getting a peculiar look on his face.
“Just tell him the truth,” the other teen suggested with a shrug. “Have the twins help you,” he added, knowing they wouldn’t let any violence break out.
“Yeah,” Ron said again, this time thoughtfully.
Harry never knew what was said between the brothers, but Percy looked strange for days afterwards. He would run into walls because his face would blank out and he didn’t look where he was going.
One good thing came of all this. Sirius Black was found innocent. The whole story came out. That he was not a Death Eater, not the Secret Keeper, didn’t kill anyone, and was Harry’s godfather. The rat was Peter Pettigrew who was a Death Eater, was the Secret Keeper, and did kill all those people. He framed Sirius for everything.
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It was time for Hagrid’s class, and they were all trooping to the paddock that held the hippogriffs, which Harry thought was a bit too much for a first class. He was warning all of his friends and all those that listened, that hippogriffs were very sensitive, and got their feelings hurt very easily. They would react violently if provoked, so it would be best to be polite.
Many listened to him since he was a budding Magizoologist. However, there were some that just sneered at him. The idiots. So, it was no great surprise when Malfoy got hurt after he insulted Buckbeak. Harry jumped in, of course, and rescued the animal and the boy from further mauling.
“How dare you insult Buckbeak,” he snapped at the wounded boy, grabbing Buckbeak’s harness and hauling him back. Buckbeak fought him a bit, but knew this was a friend and complied, he just protested.
“How dare I insult him?” Draco shouted indignantly, holding his arm to his chest. Hagrid was tying a cloth around the wound. “He clawed me. I might lose my arm,” he cried, waving his arm around, then crying out in pain.
“You big baby. It’s barely a scratch. I warned you; Hagrid warned you. Heck if you had read your book before class, it would have warned you. Never insult a hippogriff. But no, the great Draco Malfoy is above listening to those that know better,” Harry said, petting Buckbeak and keeping him calm. The hippogriff preened under the attention but kept his eagle-like eyes on the brat that had insulted him, stomping his feet in distress.
“You’ll hear from my father about this. I’ll see that beast is put down,” Draco said, storming off to the castle, his entourage following at his heels.
“Do you think he’ll get Buckbeak killed?” Hagrid asked Harry. He was very concerned about the hippogriff.
“Not if I can help it. Go tell Professor Kettleburn what happened,” the teen said, patting the hippogriff one last time and moving to talk to Neville and Hermione. They took off to the library to find what they needed in the law books.
While they were searching to save Buckbeak, Harry was also making friends with Remus Lupin. It was the teacher’s aura that drew the teen to him. He approached him after class one day. The classroom was full of jars that had specimens of aquatic species in them. Harry was excited to learn about them. Kettleburn never touched on things that lived in the water.
“You’re a werewolf, aren’t you?” Harry asked, as he approached, keeping his tone low but excited. He took a chair in front of the man and sat facing him. His eyes were wide and joyful.
Lupin went white. “How did you know that?” he whispered, getting up and casting a spell on the door so they would not be overheard. He left the door open, as per policy.
“I can just feel it,” Harry said, his grin getting bigger at being correct. “You have an animalistic aura about you,” he explained, making waving motions with his hands as if to show what he was feeling.
“You can see auras?” the teacher asked, sitting hard in his chair.
“No, I can feel emotions, and those are like auras,” was the answer. “They generate off people and animals like a forcefield. So, it’s like an aura, see?” he lamely explained. He just didn’t know how to express what he felt.
“I see,” Remus said, his eyes narrowed in thought as he tried to puzzle it out. Remus was a gentle man, that looked a step above a bum. His sandy hair was peppered with grey, and his clothes hung off his thin frame, were threadbare and patched in many places. One would think that Hogwarts would have given him a clothing allowance. He had slightly yellow eyes, that were green otherwise. His face and body were littered with scars, some looked self-inflicted, like scratch marks, only done with claws or very sharp fingernails.
“That and I remembered your boggart,” Harry said, shivering at the remembrance of his. He had never seen a dementor, but he was terrified of them. He guessed that he was scared of fear, and they represented that.
The two talked a bit longer, with it ending in Lupin agreeing to teach Harry the Patronus Charm. Harry asked him a million questions about being a werewolf, until he could see the man was getting uncomfortable with it. They parted on good terms and with a Sunday tea date.
Halloween had Peter Pettigrew escaping from custody, which was good and bad news. Good because Sirius Black was cleared of all charges on that day. Bad because now the dementors were staying at Hogwarts because they feared that Pettigrew was after Ron and Harry. Ron for letting him get captured and Harry for being the Boy-Who-Lived.
The ministry was so corrupt that they didn’t even pay for Sirius to get healed. That’s okay, he was going to sue the hell out of them. He had never been tried and they sent him to prison. That was against every law in the book.
Black showed up at Hogwarts in the middle of lunch the next day. He just waltzed into the Great Hall and called out, “Harry Potter!” like it was the most normal thing in the world.
He looked clean, but very much like he spent twelve years in Azkaban. His body was bone thin, even if it was covered in fine rich clothes. His hair was nicely cut, but very thin and brittle. His face was gaunt and haunted, for all he had a smile on it.
“Mr. Black, I’ll thank you to write you are coming first,” McGonagall stated, getting up to go and get him out of the school. Dumbledore was absent, to who knows where.
Remus was torn between getting up and joining his friend and staying were he was. He decided to stay for now. He would let Padfoot have his reunion with Harry and talk to his friend later.
“I’ve waited twelve years to gain custody of my godson, I’ll not wait a second longer,” Sirius said, looking around the room and spotting Harry sitting with his friends, even Luna. He sauntered over and plopped down next to a shocked Neville and started serving up some food. “I’m starved.”
“Are you really my godfather?” Harry asked, peering at him with wide-eyed wonder. “And you want custody of me?” was his next question.
“Yes, to both questions,” Sirius said, eating his roast beef with gusto. McGonagall was standing over him with pursed lips.
“Hear that, Harry. You can escape the Dursleys,” Fred said, smiling at his little friend.
“Yeah, no more whales,” George stated, clapping his brother on the back.
“You can be shot of those ars… bas… mean people,” Lee said, glancing at his Transfiguration Teacher.
“What’s this then?” Sirius asked, slowly putting his fork down. “The Dursleys didn’t treat you right?” he inquired, his tone was trying for casual, but came out a bit dark.
“It’s no big deal, really,” Harry said, waving his hands quickly. “I just want shot of them,” he said, trying to keep the man from doing something stupid.
Sirius gave the twins and Lee a ‘we’ll talk’ look and blanked his face. Then he smiled and said, “Tell me about yourself.” He picked his fork back up and started eating again.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” Minerva said, her tone frosty. She went back to the Teachers’ Table and kept a keen eye on the group. She was not a happy person. Dumbledore would hear about this.
So, Harry and his friends told him all about what happened in the last two years, which got his dander up again a few times. But he kept his calm and continued eating to hide it. He was going to have words with Dumbledore.
“A Magizoologist, huh? That’s great. I’ll do whatever you need to help you along,” he promised, already thinking of all the things he could buy the boy.
“I’m apprenticed this summer with the Scamanders,” Harry said, bouncing in his seat.
“I’ll see that you get kitted out,” his godfather stated, taking another bite. He really was hungry.
“Can you help Buckbeak?” Hermione asked and told the story of Draco and their first CoMC class.
“Not a problem,” Sirius said, laughing at the gall of the boy. Even he knew better than to do what the Malfoy kid had done. That and taking Lucius down a peg or two would be fun.
“I’m going to take Buckbeak as my second animal, no matter what the outcome is,” Harry said, knowing that the animal was just too excitable to be around kids. He needed to set up the area in his suitcase, maybe Sirius could help. If not, Flitwick said he would.
With that they continued talking until it was time for classes. Sirius took himself off to talk to the headmaster, who had just returned. Harry never knew what was said, but Dumbledore looked at him queerly for a few days afterwards. Like he was guilty and sad.
Sirius and Remus hooked back up and Harry never knew what was said between them either. However, they were fast friends again and would be sharing a home here on after, until one or the other got married.
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The rest of the year went with nothing else happening, until toward the end. Well, Harry visited Sally and Aragog as much as he could, which wasn’t as often as he liked. However, they seemed to think it was plenty enough. They really didn’t like humans, and Harry wasn’t the exception.
Well, Yule held a great surprise.
“Dobby as done it,” the elf said, coming and hugging Harry.
“You broke the bond?” Harry asked excitedly.
“Yes, sir, Harry Potter, sir,” Dobby said, bouncing around the room. He was just super excited to finally be free of his former masters. He would never tell Harry Potter who they were. Unless directly asked, the teen didn’t need to know. “We is being bonded now,” he exclaimed.
“Great, now we’re closer friends than ever,” the teen said, joining his friend in the bouncing. “But what will you do? It’s not like I have a house.” That was an issue. He knew that house elves needed something to do.
“But Harry Potter does have a house, and Dobby would very much like to build it back up,” the little guy said, puffing out his chest.
“If that’s what you want,” Harry said, hoping it wasn’t too much for the elf.
“Dobby cans bes doing it,” Dobby said, then they made arrangements for Dobby to get into the vault for materials and then popping away to rebuild Potter Manor. Dobby would be gone until the end of the summer doing this. If Harry needed him, he could call, but other than that, he’d not see the little elf.
Meanwhile, Remus taught Harry the Patronus, and he taught his friends. For which they were very thankful. The twins and Lee because they still went into the forest and the dementors were still around the school. The younger years because it made them feel safer.
Harry’s Patronus was a basilisk. Fred’s and George’s were foxes. Lee’s was a Labrador. Luna’s was a rabbit. Hermione’s was a woodpecker. Neville’s was a bear. They had great fun chasing each other’s Patronus’ around the room.
Flitwick helped Harry set up an area for Buckbeak in the suitcase, and when the ministry came to kill the hippogriff, Harry was there to meet them, with Sirius, Kettleburn and Dumbledore by his side. There was also a solicitor that his godfather had hired, Mr. Waters.
They were facing Minister Fudge, Mr. Malfoy, and Wadlen McNair, the executioner for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. He wore a hood over his head, and black clothes and robes that had seen better days.
“You can’t have him,” Harry said, defiantly. He folded his arms over his chest and stood firmly in front of the hippogriff like he was bigger than the creature. “He’s done no wrong.”
“Now see here,” Fudge said, pointing his finger at the teen, “I am the Minister of Magic,” he stated like a child proclaiming he was the King of the Mountain.
“And I’m Harry Potter. What’s your point?” Harry said, sticking his nose in the air. They both seemed to have the same air of maturity.
“I outrank you,” Fudge said, moving to push Harry out of the way.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Waters stated, pulling out a piece of parchment. “I have here a Stay of Execution for this beast,” he added, showing them the writ. “If you kill Buckbeak we will sue you personally. The Wizengamot has found young Draco Malfoy to be at fault in the altercation,” he stated with finality.
“But, I’m the Minister of Magic,” Cornelius said, taking the parchment and reading it. “Why was I not told of this?” he asked, not having been at the Wizengamot meeting that decided this writ. Little did he know he was left out on purpose.
“Cornelius?” Lucius said, questioningly. He read over the man’s shoulder and his eyes narrowed.
“Your son was in the wrong. The whole class saw it and testified via witness statements,” Harry said, trying not to be smug. “I don’t know how he thought he’d get away with lying with so many witnesses.” There was a small smile playing at his lips, trying as hard as he might, he couldn’t hide it.
“I’ll remember this, Potter,” Malfoy snarled, jerking his head to the side to indicate his party was leaving. McNair sneered through his hood and followed. Fudge sputtered and then also followed his… friend.
“You would do well not to make enemies of the Malfoy family,” Dumbledore stated, running his hand down his beard in a knowing fashion.
“They’d do well not to try and kill my friends,” Harry said, petting Buckbeak and leading him into his suitcase. The two of them shrunk down the closer they got to the opening, and soon were in the forest that Flitwick had set up for the creature. Buckbeak was happy to be in a place that was all his. He was a loner by nature, unlike most hippogriffs. He might want a mate later in life, but for now, he was content.
Hphphp
It was towards the exams again when Harry’s life was once again put on the line. Peter Pettigrew came to Hogwarts. He snuck into the dorms and kidnapped Harry from his bed and took him to the Shrieking Shack. Harry awoke halfway there, and screamed and tried to strike out, but he was bound with rope.
“What do you want from me?” Harry asked, struggling with his bonds. This time there were no spiders about. At least none that he could see. His suitcase was in the dorms and there were no animals that he could call.
The shack was a pitiful thing. It was completely trashed as if a great animal had had a heyday in it. The furniture was torn apart and there wasn’t a piece that was in any sort of reasonable repair. There were years of dust on everything, and Harry was trying not to breathe it in. It congested his throat just trying to talk through it.
“My master must be found, and you will bring me quite the reward,” Pettigrew stated, pacing back and forth going over his escape plans. He didn’t look like he had a wand, so Harry thought he could take him, or at least get away.
“How do you plan on that?” the teen asked, hoping to keep him talking. Surely someone will notice him gone. Or at least he could get free, and escape.
There was a howl in the distance and some scuffling noises closer by. Wormtail didn’t seem to notice them, but Harry did. He looked to the doorway to the tunnel that the man had brought him through. He had finally gotten his right hand free and was working on his left. This man must not be good at knots. Or he was just too weak from Azkaban to tie a decent one.
“I’ll take a boat to Albania. I am sure my master is there,” he said, mumbling to himself, still walking back and forth, wearing a path in the dust on the floor. He was kicking it up and it was getting hard to see and breathe.
Harry got his second hand free and ran for the tunnel. Peter was quick though and snagged him by the waist and threw him across the room. He was strong for someone so emaciated.
Just then the twins and Lee burst into the room with wands a-blazing. Fred and George stunned him, while Lee tied him up.
“Thank Merlin,” Harry said, slumping down against the wall. “How did you find me?” he asked, standing, and brushing the dirt off his trousers.
“We’ll tell you later, but we’ve got to get back to the castle. Lupin is out there,” Lee said, his eyes terrified, as he scanned the very rickety shack.
“He’s on Wolfsbane,” Harry said as calmly as he could. He was just going to try and catch his breath.
“He’s still a werewolf,” Fred said, not wanting to take a chance. He waved his wand and cleared the dust from the air, making it easier to see and breathe.
“Yeah,” George concurred, lifting Pettigrew with a spell, and guiding him along the tunnel. The four of them hurried along and made it to the end. There waiting for them was Snape of all people.
“What are you reprobates doing out this late at night?” he sneered at them, his robe billowing in the wind. He was looking at them with disdain, like they were gum on the bottom of his shoes.
“I was kidnapped by Pettigrew,” Harry said, jerking his thumb to the man in question, making the potions master notice the floating man for the first time. His eyes widened and he withdrew his wand.
“We came to rescue him,” Lee said, nodding his head quickly and did a full body jerk as he heard a howl, closer this time.
“Come, to the castle, quickly now,” Snape said, taking control of Peter and rushing them along.
They were halfway to the school when the werewolf and a large black dog, which Harry recognized, came to them. Both canines sat and stared at the startled group.
“Doggies,” Harry said, going to go and pet them.
“Have you lost your fool mind, Potter? That is a werewolf,” Snape said, dragging the foolish child back to him with a toddler leash spell. He knew the boy was animal crazy, but to pet a werewolf was certifiable.
“He’s on Wolfsbane,” Harry repeated, pouting. Why won’t anyone let him pet the doggies?
The large black dog seemed to agree with Snape and set himself between Harry and Lupin. Then each of the canines noticed Pettigrew and started snarling.
“No, bad doggies,” Harry said, firmly, making them back up a bit. “We’re going to turn him in,” he promised them, and the group slowly continued their way to the school and made it there unscathed. Snape keeping Harry on the toddler’s leash in case he wandered too close to the lycanthrope again. The werewolf and the dog shadowed them the entire way but kept their distance until they were in the castle proper.
The DMLE was called again, and Bones was not happy to be bothered in the middle of the night. She changed her tune when she found out the reason why. She took custody of the criminal and promised to try and keep a better eye on him this time.
Hermione’s secret came out at the end of term exams. She had been using a Time Turner all year. It was no wonder she was cranky and at her wit’s end. The group of friends convinced her to stop, and she turned it in.
On the train Harry let the group know he was moving in with Sirius and Remus. Everyone was happy for him. Next year had better be quieter. They were all getting tired of Harry’s life being put in danger every year. Sirius vowed that if Harry’s life was put on the line, he was going to sue the school. Dumbledore was not happy about that.
The Scamanders were there to meet Harry at Sirius’ home 12 Grimmuald Place. They started his further apprenticeship in Magizoology and Harry was in for a tough summer.