The Hidden Hero

The beginning of the summer was basically a repeat of the previous year for Harry, back at his old job, living in his old boarding house.

Harry had hoped to stay with Ron again during at least part of the summer. However, Arthur Weasley won some money in an office pool at the Ministry and the family decided to use the money on a trip to Egypt to visit the eldest son, Bill, who was working there as a curse-breaker for Gringotts. Harry tried to be happy for Ron, but it was hard not to feel extremely jealous. The Weasleys looked so happy in the newspaper photograph taken of the family which Ron had enclosed in the letter he had sent Harry explaining the family’s good fortune. Even Ron’s pet rat, Scabbers, perched on Ron’s shoulder in the picture, got to visit Egypt! And he, Harry, was stuck busing tables during the summer.

However, the disappointment over not being able to visit Ron during the summer faded to the back of Harry’s mind when he received Hermione’s birthday letter. Hermione’s letter had enclosed the expected birthday greetings. But, she had added a postscript that rocked Harry’s world. “Mark, I suspect that you don’t receive any news of the wizarding world during the summer. I have a subscription to the Daily Prophet. You won’t believe the amazing thing that happened! Harry Potter has been found! I’m enclosing the article all about it. See you in September!”

“What?!” Harry’s yell was so loud, that the owl that had brought him Hermione’s letter let out a shrill squawk. Squirrels nearby froze and then raced for their treetop homes. Luckily, there were no people around as Harry was always careful to find an out-of-the way site to transform into his younger Mark Twist self, to wait for any owls that might be looking to deliver a letter to the now-thirteen-year-old boy.

Harry dropped Hermione’s letter and turned impatiently to the enclosed article. He tried to read it so fast, it made no sense to him. He forced himself to slow down. The headline, screaming “Harry Potter Found!,” took up almost half the page. Underneath the headline, taking up the rest of the page, was the picture of a young boy, with dark hair and brown eyes. He was good-looking but his narrowed eyes and unsmiling mouth detracted a bit from his looks.

Turning to a second sheet, Harry began reading the article about the miraculous discovery of Harry Potter.

The Boy-Who-Lived Lives!

by Rita Skeeter

The wizarding world rejoiced today as the Boy-Who-Lived was found, unharmed and in good health. While Harry Potter was not forthcoming about the details surrounding his disappearance, an unnamed Ministry official revealed exclusively to this reporter that Harry had apparently been in the United States during the last two years. This explains the hint of an American accent that sometimes can be heard in his speech.

This anonymous source reported:  “He was hiding in an alleyway when we first found him. We had received some reports of suspected underage magic and we went to check it out. We found this boy who was obviously living on the streets. He tried to run away but we were able to corner him.

“He said his name was Peter Jenson. He had blond hair and blue eyes. But, we thought to ourselves, what if it’s Harry Potter? After all, there aren’t too many wizard kids that need to be hiding, right? So, we checked to see if he was using a glamour charm and he was! His hair and eyes turned dark brown. So, of course, we knew who we had found. We were that excited! We took him straight back to the Ministry and he met with the Minister himself. Albus Dumbledore came to interview the boy, too. 

“At first, the boy denied that he’s Harry Potter. But, then he started to admit he might be. Everyone was asking why he had run away and where has he been hiding. He wouldn’t say much

“Of course, we all wondered about what happened to his scar. Finally, Harry said he was afraid that it would give him away, so he had a wizard in the States cast a strong disillusionment charm on it directly, so that it stayed hidden even when the glamour charm was lifted. The Minister wanted to have the disillusionment charm lifted too, but the boy became very upset. So, they decided to let it alone. 

“Dumbledore apologized to Harry for having left him with his relatives. The boy didn’t say much, but he nodded as if he understood. Everyone was so happy to see him that, after a while, you could see that Harry was starting to relax.” 

So, what will happen to Harry Potter now? Is the Ministry to be trusted to protect the Boy-Who-Lived? Well, Harry is being kept under close watch now and is expected to attend Hogwarts in the Fall. I am sure that I speak for all of us when I say that we will be keeping an eye on the Ministry to make sure that it does right by our little savior. Welcome home, Mr. Potter! [See page 5 for history of Harry Potter’s defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named]

Harry could barely believe his eyes. He had to read the article through twice to understand what had happened. Turning back to the picture of the boy, Harry studied his face carefully. Harry had been the victim of abuse himself and he thought he could recognize the signs in this boy as well:  the mistrust deep in his eyes, the air of waiting for something bad to happen, the strained expression in the face.

Harry suspected that this fake Harry Potter was actually a runaway. Probably from the States, but pretending to be British. The boy had decided to take advantage of being mistaken for Harry Potter. And, really, Harry could hardly blame him. If the boy was able to convince people that he wasn’t Harry Potter, then they would obviously start to ask who he was. If he was in hiding, the last thing he wanted was for anyone to be looking into his real identity.

Harry wasn’t sure how he felt about this pretender. He, Harry, had adopted a false identity too. But, while he wasn’t using his real name, he felt irritated that someone else would use it instead. He tried to be rational about the situation by telling himself that this false Harry would actually make him, the real Harry, safer. Any Death Eaters out there looking to kill Harry would focus on this boy instead. But, no matter how he tried to put a positive spin on this development, Harry couldn’t help feeling that this boy had stolen something very valuable from him.

*

Harry didn’t see Ron or Hermione again until on board the Hogwarts Express, heading back to another school year. The train seemed particularly crowded and they had a difficult time finding a compartment free. Finally, they decided to share a compartment with a man sleeping in the corner. His luggage label proclaimed the sleeping man to be “Professor R.J. Lupin,” who they surmised must be their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Trying not to wake Professor Lupin, the three friends chattered eagerly about the events of their summer. Having exhausted his tales of Egypt, Ron brought up the topic Harry was dying to discuss. Leaning back casually in his seat, Ron said idly, “I wonder what Harry Potter’s like. He’ll be in our year and, if he’s sorted into Gryffindor, he’ll be sharing our dorm room. Won’t that be fabulous?”

Harry tried to keep his voice even as he replied, “It would be great. He’s probably on the train, right? Why don’t we go find him and say hello?”

“Harry’s already at Hogwarts,” answered Ron. “He’s been there since he was found. Hogwarts is the safest place for him, what with Sirius Black after him and all.”

Hermione gasped. “Sirius Black! What makes you think that he’s after Harry?”

“I overheard my dad telling my mom that, right before Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, the guards heard him muttering, ‘He’s at Hogwarts.’  Obviously, that’s why Black escaped. To find Harry Potter, now that he’s turned up again.”

“What are you talking about? Who’s Sirius Black?” asked Harry.

At first, Ron looked scandalized that Harry didn’t know but, then remembered that his friend didn’t receive the Daily Prophet during the summer. He gave Harry a quick summary of current events. “Sirius Black was a Death Eater who was caught after You Know Who was defeated by Harry Potter. He blew up a street, killing a dozen muggles and a wizard before he was captured. He’s been at the wizard prison, Azkaban, for the past 12 years. However, right after Potter was found, Black escaped from Azkaban. No one knows how. It’s never been done before. The Ministry has been going crazy trying to find him. My father’s had to put in long hours responding to false alarms.”

“I thought your father worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department,” said Hermione. “Why would he be looking for Black?”

“Everyone has been pulled into the search,” explained Ron. “Not that anything’s turned up, though. Black has vanished completely. But, they know where he’s going. He’s after Harry Potter. So, the school will be under heavy guard this year. There are even going to be…” Ron looked in the corner to check that the teacher was still asleep, and whispered dramatically, “Dementors guarding the school.”

“No!” breathed Hermione. “Dumbledore wouldn’t permit it!”

Ron was satisfied with Hermione’s reaction. “He didn’t want to, but he agreed. After all, he can’t have anything happen to Potter on his watch, can he? He’s already gotten a lot of flak for having left Potter with those abusive relatives and then for losing him for so long. Dumbledore will do whatever he has to do to keep Potter safe.”

Vaguely remembering some information he had read, Harry asked tentatively, “Dementors are the guards of Azkaban?”

Ron nodded. “They are horrible creatures. They suck the happiness from people. They say that, if the Dementors catch Black, they have permission to give him a ‘kiss’. This means that they can suck the soul from his body!”

“That’s awful!” said Harry and Hermione in unison.

Ron shrugged. “He’s a dangerous criminal. I guess they’re afraid that, if he’s found, he could just escape again.

“Anyway, because of him, Potter’s been at Hogwarts for the last few weeks. He’s probably being tutored because he hasn’t been attending school the last few years, now has he? He won’t be able to join our grade unless he can catch up.”

As the friends lapsed into a companionable silence, Harry wondered about Sirius Black. As he had feared when he had first learned of his history, a Death Eater was looking to kill Harry Potter. This was one of the reasons that he had chosen to disguise himself. It seemed odd that another boy was perhaps in danger, as a result of claiming to be Harry Potter. Harry told himself that this other boy had chosen to steal his name and deserved whatever he got. But, he didn’t feel comfortable knowing that another person might be harmed because a killer was really looking for him.

Harry comforted himself with thoughts that Dumbledore would protect the pretender. And, one silver lining in having a fake Harry Potter running around was that Harry suspected that it would attract attention away from “Mark Twist.” Harry had worried that he was attracting too much attention in the last few years. He had wanted to keep a low profile, but killing Quirrell and defeating Voldemort in his first year, and then speaking parseltongue and defeating a teenage Voldemort in his second year, was not the way to go about it.

Suddenly, the train lurched to a halt and the lights went out. “What’s wrong?” asked Ron.

“We’re not at Hogwarts yet,” said Hermione.

The door of the compartment opened and, in the darkness, Neville Longbottom stumbled inside, falling over their feet. Ginny Weasley also felt her way into the compartment, wanting the protection of both her brother and Mark Twist, who had been her savior the year before. The children jostled for position and gave cries of pain when an elbow was jabbed into a side, or toes were stepped upon.

“Quiet!” ordered a deep voice. Professor Lupin had awoken. He muttered a spell and a dim light lit the compartment. The children looked at each other nervously as the train seemed to get colder and a strange depression fell upon them.

The door of the compartment slowly opened again. A cloaked figure appeared in the door frame. Although its face was hidden, Harry glimpsed a skeletal hand for a moment, before it, too, was pulled beneath the cloak. The creature took a deep breath and, as it inhaled, seemed to suck the warmth from the room.

Harry felt as if he had been plunged into icy water. His limbs turned heavy and non-responsive and he felt his brain become foggy. From a distance, he heard his aunt say, “I can no longer deny that you are evil and I will not pollute my family anymore with your presence. I want you out of here!” Vying with his aunt for attention, he heard his uncle shouting, “Boy! You are a freak and you should never have been born! You’re lucky we took you in because no one else would ever want you!”

“Mark! Mark! Are you all right?”

Harry shook his head and opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor and, shakily, with Ron supporting his shoulders, he sat up and then climbed back into his seat. He felt sick. Dimly, he realized that the train was moving again.

“Are you OK?” asked Ron.

Harry nodded slowly, and swallowed hard. “What happened?” he whispered.

“That was a Dementor,” explained Professor Lupin, breaking off a piece of chocolate from a bar he held in his hand, and handing it to Harry. “It was checking the train to make sure that Sirius Black wasn’t hiding somewhere.”

Harry took the piece of chocolate and stared at it as if he had never seen a piece of chocolate before. “Eat it,” urged the Professor. “It will help you recover from the effects of the Dementor. Now, please excuse me, but I need to speak with the conductor.”

After he left, Harry’s friends crowded around him and he assured them again that he was okay. “But, did any of you pass out, like me?”

They shook their heads. “But, it was awful,” Ron admitted. “I felt like I would never be cheerful again.”

Neville nodded in agreement. “It was so cold. It was horrible.”

Harry did not feel comforted. Why was he affected so much more than the other kids? Distractedly, he took a bite of the chocolate and was surprised that it really did make him feel better. It acted like hot chocolate, spreading warmth throughout his body.

A short time later, they arrived at Hogsmeade and took the horseless carriage up to Hogwarts castle. Peering out of the carriage as they passed through the gates, Harry saw two Dementors standing guard. The intense cold started to cloud his mind again, and Harry quickly leaned back inside the carriage, and waited for the sickness to pass as they left the Dementors behind and entered Hogwarts grounds.

As Harry stepped down from the carriage, he heard the hated drawl of Draco Malfoy. “Is it true you fainted, Twist? You actually fainted? I guess it’s your weak muggle blood showing.” He would have said more but he noticed Professor Lupin approaching and obviously thought better of continuing to bait Harry when a teacher could overhear.

Harry refused to respond. Ignoring Malfoy, he shoved his way inside the castle and made his way to the Great Hall. He sat down at the Gryffindor table, eager to forget about Dementors and focus on the feast.

He noticed that Hermione wasn’t there and asked Ron where she was. Unconcerned, Ron shrugged and said that Professor McGonagall had wanted to see her for a minute. Hermione arrived back at the table a short time later and confirmed that McGonagall had just wanted to speak with her about her course schedule.

The Sorting ceremony took place quickly and the first years soon joined their new houses. Harry wondered whether he had looked as young or as scared when he had been sorted.

Harry noticed that Ron and a number of other students were turning their heads and looking around as if searching for something. “What’s the matter? What are you looking for?” he asked.

“I’m trying to see if I can spot Harry Potter,” said Ron excitedly. “He’s got to be here somewhere.”

Harry was surprised that he had momentarily forgotten about the boy pretending to be him. He, too, looked around but couldn’t see anyone resembling the picture in the Daily Prophet.

When everyone was seated, Dumbledore stood up and silence immediately fell upon the room. “Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have some things to say to you all, and I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…”

The students leaned forward in their chairs, listening intently. “As you no doubt are aware, we are incredibly pleased to announce that Harry Potter has been found safe and sound.” The room erupted in spontaneous applause. Harry noticed that the Slytherin table didn’t join in. “Yes, yes.” Dumbledore smiled. “Mr. Potter will be attending classes this year and, in order to help smooth his transition, we had privately asked the Sorting Hat to sort him into his house. Mr. Potter will be joining Slytherin.”

Gasps were heard and then mutters, “Slytherin? Did he say Slytherin? Isn’t there some mistake?” At first, the students in Slytherin were equally dumbfounded but they soon were grinning widely and puffing up their chests. Malfoy had a particularly irritating smirk on his face, Harry thought.

Ron muttered under his breath, “I can’t believe it. Harry Potter! In Slytherin!”

Dumbledore raised his hand to restore quiet. “Harry?” Dumbledore looked behind him, toward a door in the corner behind the staff table, and gestured for someone to enter. Slowly, a young boy entered the Great Hall, to stand beside Dumbledore. He looked very scared and Harry couldn’t blame him. It must be very intimidating to have everyone looking at you, Harry thought.

“This is Harry Potter,” Dumbledore continued. “I am sure that you will all do your best to make Mr. Potter welcome. Harry, you may join your classmates at the Slytherin table.” Harry thought he detected a note of strain in Dumbledore’s voice as he mentioned Slytherin. So, your fair-haired boy is giving you worries already? Hah!

Jerkily, the false Harry walked to the Slytherin table and took a seat beside Draco Malfoy, who had quickly cleared a space for the boy to sit beside him. Harry mused cynically that Draco was happy enough to make friends with the famous Boy-Who-Lived, pureblood or not.

Dumbledore called for attention again. “As you are aware after their search of Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business. Please do not try to enter or exit Hogwarts without permission as they are guarding all entrances. They are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises, and it is not in their nature to respond to pleading or excuses. Do not give the Dementors a reason to harm you.” Harry shuddered involuntarily.

Dumbledore ended his speech by introducing Professor Lupin, who was indeed the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Hagrid, who had been appointed as the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher.

Harry was delighted to learn of Hagrid’s new position. He knew how much being a teacher would mean to Hagrid. Harry felt a wave of satisfaction. He knew that it was due to him that Hagrid’s name had been cleared. I have made a real difference in Hagrid’s life, he thought. My mother was right. I am a hero. I defeated Tom Riddle last year and look what happened. I was born to defeat Voldemort; I know it!

By the time the feast drew to an end, Harry was practically weaving with exhaustion. He knew that Ron was hoping to speak with “Harry Potter” or, at least, catch a closer look at the boy, but Harry was too tired to care about his “twin” at the moment. Yawning loudly, he made his way up to Gryffindor Tower and promised himself that he would try to speak with the pretender the next day.