423Yes, unbelievably, I am back. With too many excuses to count. It includes me having a hectic year and also reading such amazing fanfics I couldn't help but compare how full of holes and immature my story was. But, the continued reviews months after I abandoned (kinda) gave me hope someone would read it. So I painstakingly finished the chapter I had started in October but I haven't had my beta correct it yet, so it's not perfect. So yes, I am determined to finish this however horrible it may seem to me now. But since I realistically know I won't hold to it during my busy uni semesters, I am finishing this story this August/September. So expect lot's of updates!
I thank my reviewers, I wouldn't have continued without you and since it has been a long time, I'll include a short summary:
Harry (now Infinitus) got sent to 1977 when a spell during his duel with Voldemort went wrong. He needs to get back to his time after erasing his mortal enemy Voldemort from that time. In the year 1977 he goes undercover as a seventh year student where he meets the Marauders and Lily. While on a Hogsmeade outing, they arekidnapped by Death Eaters after Harry shows his duelling skills and Parselmouth ability. They manage to escape with the help of three new time travellers Hermione, Draco and George. Now back at Hogwarts, George will pose at the new DADA professor while Hermione and Draco join as Gryffindors...
Chapter 17: Marauder Meeting 274: The Harry Project
The moon shone softly, illuminating the slumbering castle. Despite the excitement of the day, the calm was again broken by Mrs Norris' yowls. The sound was quickly cut short by a whispered Silencio. Through the slumbering castle shuffling of invisible feet were gone unheard. Said feet belonged to Sirius, member of the infamous Blacks and more notorious Marauders. His wanderings were brought to a halt by the portrait of the Fat Lady. A hurried password later, he slipped past the couple who had unwisely chosen the entrance of the Gryffindor Common Room as their spot for a moment of...passion. Muffling a snort as he recognized the two; he continued on to the boy's dormitory. He had not even gotten the invisibility cloak off completely before a whispered voice asked:
'What the hell took you so long Padfoot? We've been waiting for hours!'
'Did you know Hornby and Olivia hooked up? I just passed the snogging pair.' Sirius sniggered before seeing James' face and adding: 'Filch was prowling, couldn't get rid of his blasted cat.'
'Was he asleep?' Remus asked.
'Yep, waited a good half hour, Harry's not sneaking out of the infirmary tonight.'
'What did they threaten him with? James asked, impressed.
'Pomfrey did nothing, it was that Granger girl. I swear I've never seen Harry so scared.' Then he stopped, as he realised, he had, in fact seen Harry more afraid, only a few short hours ago.
'Right, well, I affirm Marauder Meeting 274: The Harry Project officially open.'
There was a moment of solemn silence before- 'But… But I thought we agreed on the Infinitus Mystery?'
'Shut up Sirius, you're ruining the effect.' James joked weakly, 'And where's Peter?'
'Apparently he landed himself in the infirmary.' Remus answered heavily.
'How is that even possible?' gaped Sirius, 'he was safe at Hogwarts!'
'During the Hogsmeade attack, he changed into his Animagus form. From what I understood of his garbled recounting, he got stuck in the Zonkos cellar while trying to get to the passage and had to change back to be found; aggravating his condition.'
There was silence after that statement before James spoke up: 'We'll visit him tomorrow. But I wanted us to meet here while it's still fresh in our mind...Harry's latest actions are just too...'
'Suspicious?' Sirius finished darkly. James nodded absentmindedly before retracting:
'Don't get me wrong; I'm glad he saved our lives, but the manner in which it was done… and his...friends...'
'Right, so what have you already written down in your diary Moony?'
Remus tried to look insulted, 'What diary?'
'Oh come on, you write everything in there, I'm half surprised you didn't open it in that dungeon there and then and start jotting down things.'
Remus threw his pillow at him before retrieving said ever present dia-notebook,
'Right, well, I went chronologically instead of alphabetically, starting with the knowledge he had of the attack before it happened, how weird he got. Then there was his dueling skills which rivaled the professor's. His Parselmouth ability, the weird scene with You-Know-Who, the things he said under the Veritaserum; especially his godfather Sirius and his knowledge of the Black family.' Remus took a breath as he glanced at his friends' bemused expression and continued, ' His friends' suspicious arrival, especially since the anti-Apparation wards were still in place. Once there, their complete lack of knowledge about the situation but their awareness of Death Eaters and the location, especially the blonde, Draco. Hmmm…Right, also how they recognized us. The fact that they were carrying Polyjuice, a restricted potion, very difficult to make. Hermione also being a Parselmouth, passing the barrier, and knowing the secret passage. Finally their wish to take Harry and leave with the strange Portkey which didn't work.'
Remus raised his eyebrow at the expressions, 'What? I took note of those things while you two were being heroes. Did I forget anything?'
'Aah I don't think so Moony, you were very… thorough.'
'Except, he left out the fact we're only here because Hermione decided Harry wouldn't forgive them otherwise, red haired smiling wonder was all for leaving us.'
'The fact is: we got out.'
'The fact is, we were bloody useless!' Sirius retorted.
There was heavy silence as no one knew how to negate that statement without lying. Finally James stood up,
'Yeah we sucked, but the fact is, we're alive. Yes we need to be better prepared, yes we've been ignoring what awaits us after Hogwarts with our pranks. But now we can say we're aware and we can use it to make sure that when it happens again, we're ready. Now we need to try and figure out Harry because the kid has one messed up history and it's the only way to help him.'
'Maybe he doesn't want his secret out, perhaps we should respect that.'
'But Moony, wouldn't you have said that about your furry little problem? And aren't you now glad we know?' Sirius pointed out, then asked: 'What about Harry's reaction when we met You Know Who? "The wrong one". Remember that? And then he spoke Parseltongue...' Sirius frowned at that. 'Only Salazar Slytherin and You-Know-Who spoke Parseltongue, it's supposed to be one of the darkest Slytherin traits.'
James spoke quietly, 'Harry saved our lives Padfoot.'
Sirius stood up, pacing wildly: 'I'm just saying, do you know what my dear mother would have given for one of her children to be a Parselmouth? That trait is supposed to be extinct since You-Know-Who is-'
'Sirius?' James asked worriedly seeing his friend freeze.
'That's it….it fits everything, the dueling skills, the Parseltongue ability, the secrets...'
'Will you spit it out already?' James leaned forward from his bed.
But Sirius ignored him as he continued, 'And of course, for Dark families, a walk in the dungeon is the least of punishments, considering who he is, we should have expected worse, and - Shit, we've been sleeping in the same- Ow, James, cut it out!'
Sirius glared at James while rubbing his hexed shoulder.
'Well?' Remus asked, curious.
Sirius huffed then exclaimed, 'Harry is Voldemort's son.'
There was absolute silence as his two mates considered the idea. Until, a haughty voice spoke, 'That is absolutely ridiculous Black!' Lily's pale form, closing the door behind herself caused instant pandemonium in the room. A boxer clad Remus dived under the covers, Sirius spun, his wand out while James all together fell off his bed.
'Merlin, Evans, where the hell do you think you are?' Sirius barked.
'Oh shut up Black, Remus get out from under there, I've seen guys shirtless before, you're not upsetting my delicate maidenly sensibilities, and you really should put a privacy charm around when you discuss this kind of stuff. ' She added reprovingly as she waved her wand.
'Who did you see naked?' James asked worriedly as he climbed back on his bed, for once forgetting to ruffle his hair in her presence. Meanwhile, Remus sheepishly crawled out from underneath his bed covers, nevertheless pulling a shirt quickly on.
Lily barely saw a lattice of scars crisscrossing his chest before her attention was snapped, 'I said shirtless Potter, I've seen the guys swimming in the lake every year come Summer. Now, what have I missed?'
Sirius took a few steps forward, shuffling her backwards towards the door: 'You missed absolutely nothing since you're leaving right now.'
Lily smirked, then turned to James giving him a breathtaking smile: 'James, we were in this all together, don't you think I should stay?'
James nodded dazed, while Remus chuckled. 'Do you even know what she asked you mate?' Seeing Sirius' ferocious glare, he added hastily: 'But I think she's right, we were all there, she might remember something we haven't.'
'Fine, what's your take?' Sirius crossed his arms.
Lily took her time, ignoring James poorly hidden eager expression as she sat next to Remus, who moved to make place. 'Well that having him as Volde-' seeing Sirius flinch she changed, 'You-know-who's son is absolutely ridiculous, he was taken with us to the dungeon for Merlin's sake-'
'He's You-Know-Who, my mother used to keep a Boggart in our closet so we would face our worst fears every day.'
'Black, You-kn- Oh for Merlin's sake- Voldemort didn't know Harry, he asked who he was to that Bellatrix woman.'
'Oh yeah…'
'But what else would explain it? The facts don't fit. Harry does not fit.' Remus had stood up and he was now pacing the room himself.
'Maybe he's an ancient immortal who travels the world seeking enjoyment and battles-' James petered out as he saw the looks the other three were giving him. 'Wha-at? Look at the way he duels, his instincts, reflexes, he- he's a fighter. While we just stood there screaming…'
'Oh don't start the self-pity party again P-James-'
'Just how long were you listening at the door Evans?' Sirius growled.
Lily had the decency to blush as she mumbled: 'Long enough. But that's not the point, we need to help Harry.'
'Help Harry, easy to say, but with what? How? He won't be here much longer if his friends have anything to say about it.'
'By figuring out whatever he's hiding, it's driving us apart…'
'But how bad could it be, I mean, fine, tragic or Dark past, does it really matter, we know the Harry of today, it could- '
'That's it! Sirius you're a genius!' Remus finally stopped pacing.
'What! He is You-Know-Who's son? I knew it!'
'That's impossible Black, I already told you-'
'I can't believe we haven't seen it before. Harry is Dumbledore's son!' Remus looked at the dubious faces around him.
'Remus, mate, Professor Dumbledore is like over a hundred.'
'Well, scientifically males do not have an expiry date to father children.'
'Gross, Evans,'
'God, you can be so immature Blac- '
'Whatever, Grandson, then! Come on, think about it! I'm not saying this explains the whole Parseltongue or all of his mysterious past thing he has going on, but think of how he already knows Hogwarts so well! His meeting with Dumbledore at Hogsmeade. It makes sense. He's already been here, just not in an academic sense. Look at how close they were acting, yet still, as strangers… He must have been in hiding, out of the country for a while.'
'Whoa, slow down Moony, why is he stuck here then? Why doesn't he go back wherever he was?'
Remus resumed pacing. 'It must be… out of the country. The only way he can access the International Port Keys would be through the Department of Transportation at the Ministry. And that would defeat the purpose of being in hiding. Can you imagine the media getting a whiff of this!'
'Dumbledore does have a lot of enemies. That would explain the broken Port Key his friends brought… It must be keyed in to the hide out. It would be near impossible to recreate!' Sirius added, warming up to his adapted idea.
'Just wait a second, there isn't only one way to travel, this is- this is- this doesn't explain a multitude of other things.' Lily said weakly.
'They do say Dumbledore was a genius from a young age. It would explain some of the skills Harry has in dueling.' James said cautiously.
'That doesn't prove anything, there's no proof of-'
'Wait, Remus is right, I just remembered, when we were… taken, at one moment, his friend… he said, he called, Harry 'Dumbledore's Heir' – at that moment I didn't pay any attention to it. But now, it all fits, we might not have all the pieces yet but there's no doubt about his heritage. If he grew up in that family, it explains his fearlessness in the face of You-Know-Who.' James' voice was filled with awe, then, he suddenly bounced up and rummaged in his trunk, bringing out a scrunched piece of parchment. 'It also explains the letter we found, at least some of it-'
'What letter?'Lily asked, snatching the parchment. James swallowed dryly as he observed her flashing green eyes scan the words faster than his broom could fly.
'You stole this?' Her cheeks slightly reddened and James could only marvel at her beauty again.
'Hmm yes...What? No, I mean No! He dropped it. I swear.' James replied. Giving him a doubtful look, she nevertheless handed it back, 'I see your point, the way he talks about Hogwarts, the people, it seems like he's at least heard about them before. Fine, okay, we agree, but that still leaves a lot to wonder about his reticence with…well everything, maybe we could talk to him, ask him to trust us, tell him we already know half of it.' Lily said doubtfully.
'Been there done that, he won't open up, horrible idea, it's like Remus all over again,' ignoring the questioning glance Evans was sending him, Sirius continued hastily: 'It'll just drive him away, he'll get defensive like he usually does. What we need to do is annoy it out of him. We have to stick to him like nifflers to gold. He'll break at some point.'
'Now that is the worst idea possible Black, trying to beat it out of him by annoyance is bound to fail. He thrives in adversity, look at- look how he was in the dungeon, the more Bellatrix pushed, the more he resisted. Let me talk to him.'
'Lily, as much as I agree with you, I don't think talking will work on Harry, and no Sirius, we can't annoy him into explaining. Harry is expecting us to push at the moment, he's preparing himself for that, so we have to do something else.'
'So what do we do to gain his trust? Spy on him?' Lily asked indignantly.
'Not spying per say, aah paying attention to what they say, and sticking as close as possible without arising too much suspicion.
They all turned to James, who had not yet said anything, 'I think Remus is right, we can even take turns to make sure he's rarely alone, we'll use the map, the cloak, whatever we need. Harry isn't going to open up to us. We need to find whatever it is on our own.' James said, a determined expression on his face.
'What map?' Lily asked curiously.
James seemed about to answer when he glanced at his glaring best friend and instead gave Lily a wide smirk. 'That, my dear Lily-flower, is for another time, but do feel free to interrupt my sleep any night.'
'Aaand he's back,' Remus muttered to Sirius as James ruffled his hair.
'Ew, okay, my cue to leave, try to get some sleep Potter, you'll be waiting long.' But the usual bite in her words seemed to be absent as she bid them goodnight and left.
'See, I'm growing on her, a whole conversation with no hexing.' James said proudly.
'Whatever you say mate.' Sirius snickered as he leapt onto his bed. 'Right, I'm knackered, and we need to get to breakfast early, observe our targets. Don't forget your diary Remus. Remus?'
'Hm?' the boy answered absentmindedly, 'What theory do you have now?' James sighed.
'Oh, no, nothing, just wondering who Dumbledore's wife was… he must have reproduced first to get Harry's mother or father.'
All three boys turned green at the thought of their quixotic, slightly barmy headmaster reproducing. There was no more talk that night.
For once, Harry knew where he was when he woke up. The heavy astringent smell of the infirmary clued him in before he had even slit his eyes open. The events leading to his location took a while longer when a soft snore made him start. He saw Hermione, dark circles around her eyes, sleeping in a chintz arm chair next to his bed. Right, the unbelievable events were back together. Voldemort Jr….Hermione, George, Merlin even Draco arriving, not being dead. Stuck at Hogwarts 1977. And though it was hardly a happy thought, Harry gave a soft smile; they were alive, everyone was safe for now.
Slowly, he sat up, careful not to wake the raging sleeping dragon. He had felt fine yesterday, emotionally drained and feeling like he was made of flobberworms but physically fine. But between Madam Pomfrey and Hermione, he had been browbeaten into staying in the Hospital Wing. He had immediately pleaded tiredness, to escape everyone's questions, but he knew he would have to face everyone soon. The Marauders and Lily would surely demand explanations and the time travelers had a lot to say to him too, judging from Hermione's thin lips yesterday. He had no clue what to say to everyone. Not the truth, at least not to the Marauders, and as for the others, well, he didn't understand half of what had happened to him since that fateful duel in the Great Hall.
Still staying as silent as possible, Harry dressed himself with the clean robes he found by his bedside. Then gripping his wand, he tiptoed out of the infirmary. Breathing a sigh of relief, he thanked the early hour for the lack of students in the corridors, he set out towards the Great Hall, mostly by his sense of smell. After 24 hours of hospital soups and potions his stomach was craving for something more human, maybe they had treacle ta-
'HARRY JAMES POTTER!'
Harry cringed as a harried looking Hermione came rushing towards him, frazzled and wand spitting angry red sparks.
'You almost died! You are still weak, you couldn't even stand yesterday! What are you doing here?'
His stomach rumbled and he nearly grumbled something about food, but seeing the real panic Hermione had not quite erased from her face yet, he sighed.
'Come here' he said as he took her in his arms. She let herself be held, head borrowed into his shoulder.
'I am fine 'mione. Come to think of it, I feel much better than I should after all that's happened to me.' Feeling a few hot tears damping his robes again, her shoulders slightly shaking, he quickly changed tact: 'Although I shouldn't be happy you're also stuck here, I am glad. I still don't understand anything, my life has always been surreal but to see you and Malfoy teaming up on a rescue mission really showed me life can still bring surprises. You're not dating are you?'
Hermione gave a choked laugh, thumping his chest. Stepping back, she wiped her face.
'Idiot, I don't know why we even bothered.'
'My legendary good looks?' He ruffled his hair in a very Jamesesque way making Hermione giggle but then she said: 'Harry there is a lot we need to clear-' she cut short, frowning, her eyes focusing to his right. Harry turned to see the Marauders, surprisingly with Lily arrested silently. There was a moment of awkward pause and Harry focused on the weird expression on Lily's face as she seemed to search his features.
Finally, Harry swallowed, his mouth dry, 'hey'
Immediately James bounced forward, catching his shoulders in a bear hug. 'Harry! Glad you're up and awake.'
'Yeah, we were planning to liven things up at the infirmary for you, but now, we'll need to adapt that prank to the Great Hall.' Sirius said, a slightly forced smile on his face. Remus just smiled lightly from behind, while Lily approached him and hugged Harry tightly, whispering a thank you in his ear.
'I'm glad you're feeling better.' she said.
Harry smiled uncertainly; his eyes followed Sirius'expression whose own eyes kept darting between a frowning best friend and Hermione. Turning slightly, he saw Hermione's disapproving glance at Lily's hug.
'Right, guys, I think you've already met, but this is Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is James, Sirius, Remus and Lily.'
'Enchanted. Pettigrew not around?' She asked, looking directly at Harry.
'Err… yeah, where is he?'
'Peter's fine, at the Hospital Wing. He'll be there for the day I think. But how do you know Peter?'
'Uh, I talked about you guys in my letters to Hermione.'
'But you're not really from the Salem institute?' Harry cringed and noticed the other Marauders doing the same at Sirius' question.
'No of course not. Now, Harry, where's the Great Hall? I am absolutely starving.'
Taking his hand, Hermione drove forward, dragging Harry and by extension the Marauders forward. Harry sighed inwardly as they arrived in the Great Hall. The sudden silence of the early risers, and then the increased volume of whispering was something he should have been used to by now. Students were the same everywhere, whatever the year. Shoulders slightly hunched, he walked forward to the Gryffindor table. He chuckled though, as he watched Sirius and James lapping up the attention. Next to him, Lily huffed disapprovingly, 'Honestly, I thought this would have matured him a bit at least.'
'It's a good thing they can still laugh and act like they usually do. Would you really want James to turn into a Remus?' Lily looked arrested at that thought.
'Hey I resent that, what's wrong with Remus?' Said person asked, helping himself to scrambled eggs at the same time.
'What is wrong with Moony? Where shall we begin?' Sirius said dramatically.
'Let's start with his studying habits. No normal person would ever spend more time reading than sleeping in the library.' James joked, ignoring the whispers around him now.
Harry exchanged an amused glance with Sirius, before watching Hermione's slightly dazed expression as her eyes flitted from one person to the next. He wondered if he had looked like that the first few days, the surreal quality of the situation getting to him. 'Harry are you going to eat that treacle tart or not?' Sirius asked, eyeing his plate.
'Yes Sirius, I am eating it, get your own, I was just surprised no one's attacked us with questions yet.'
'Oh that's because of Dumbledore last dinner. Apparently he gave a whole speech about leaving us alone. McGonagall even threatened detention if they disobeyed.'
He did not get the chance to comment as a seething blonde crossed the Great Hall's threshold and headed towards the Slytherin table. Harry gave a worried glance to Hermione, but she was already waving her arm: 'Oi, Draco, we're over here!' She called out, stopping the Slytherin in his tracks. Seeing them at the Gryffindor's table, his scowl turned ferocious but he still glided towards them.
'Your cousin doesn't look very happy Hermione...' Lily said hesitantly. Draco seemed to cringe at those words, as he sat opposite Harry.
'Wipe that smirk off your face scar head.'
'Or what ferret face, gonna call your Daddy to help you? Oh, wait you can't.'
'I can always pay you back for that Sectumsempra.'
'That was low Malfoy, at least I've saved your life more than risked-'
'You imbecilic Gryffindor, as usual, clueless of the trouble you cause others.'
'Oh my trouble? Well what are you doing here then? I sure as hell didn't call you.'
'Wow, you can really feel the love here.' James commented. He gulped as both furious faces turned to him.
Hermione cleared her throat, 'You two behave, we'll sort all this out later. Draco, that is not the way you are going to endear yourself to Harry. Harry, stop acting like Ron for a second. Guys, this is Draco Granger, he can be a bit of an ass so feel free to ignore him. Draco, as you already know, this is Remus, Lily, James and Sirius. I think you were supposed to sleep in their dorm last night.
'I can't believe I'm saying this, but I preferred shacking up with the Weasley.'
'So what are you doing here for breakfast so early?'
His expression turned sour, and he mumbled: 'The git kicked me out.'
Hermione and Harry chuckled while the rest observed their prickly new dorm member with interest.
'So, George right? Is he any good as a teacher?' Remus asked cautiously, seeing Harry and Draco were now quiet, engaged in a glare match.'
Hermione gave a heaving sigh, 'If someone had told me two years ago George would end up teaching the cursed spot I'd have thought they'd been confounded.'
Seeing the puzzled looks, Harry added: 'Fred and George were like the James and Sirius of ou- their school, only identical and with cooler prank products.'
'Prankers?' Lily said disapprovingly.
'Fred?' Remus asked, remembering them mentioning him while they had been captured.
Harry resolutely turned to his treacle tart; his eyes downcast as Hermione gave him a worried glance. Finally Draco bit out, 'Twin, he's dead. Don't mention him.'
The damper mood silenced the group until the owls arrived.
Lily gave her owl a corner of her toast as she unrolled the Daily Prophet.
'Why do you buy that stuff?' James asked, unable to refrain his disapproval at the paper, despite the fact it was his precious Lily-flower reading it. 'My dad says the only time they report the correct story is when they make a mistake. It's all just ministry propaganda.'
'Keep your enemies closer, Potter, closer.'
Ignoring the clueless look on his face, she scanned the headlines, 'Well, we didn't make the front page.'
'Hmm,' Remus said over her shoulder, 'Dumbledore must have managed to squash the news. First pages will all be on the Hogsmeade attack. Here, we're still mentioned:
Absentees Lily Evans, Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Harry Infinitus were safely returned today. They had been missing since the attack and a team of Aurors, headed by Harold Potter, Head Auror himself were on the case around the clock to find their trail. A witness to their return at Hogwarts said: 'The students were relatively unharmed from the day's tragedy; there are more important things to address now such as the holes in Hogwarts defense... Bla, bla, bla.'
Sirius glared at the article. 'More important things? We almost died.'
'Must have been a Slytherin quoting.'
'Oh for Heaven's sake, this is a good thing! They've notified our parents already so the less hype there is about this, the less we'll be smothered.' Lily grumbled.
'Smothered? Do you even know my mother? She'll probably send me a Howler wondering why I didn't just do her a favour and die.'
'I'm sure my mother will send enough smothering for two,' James said bracingly.
Harry tuned them out as he looked around the now rapidly filling hall, most of the staff were now at their seats, groggy eyed students coming out of their sleep walking to gossip about the returnees. He looked towards the front of the Hall as Dumbledore stood up. The Marauders started to quiet down from whatever joke they were now recounting. Lily and Hermione were engaged in a fierce debate about something he most certainly didn't want to know about while Draco had his eyes narrowed, in a staring match with…Harry craned his neck to see a young blonde Lucius Malfoy. He reached forward and tapped Malfoy's forehead with his spoon, forcing him to turn his gaze.
'What?' He snapped
'Quit looking at him like that, your features are obvious enough without making yourself stand out even more. Dumbledore should have made you a red head.' Harry whispered.
Draco was forced into silence as Dumbledore spoke up:
'Good Morning, seeing your bleary faces at the return of classes I shall try to make myself brief. The Hogsmeade attack has shaken our peace but it is only more reason to cherish and fight for what we believe in. Thankfully no students were killed, and as you all know, the missing have been found. Unfortunately, one of our own, Professor Rayger died bravely in the attack, protecting the students he taught. Let us have a minute of silence, in his memory.'
He looked gravely at the students, his eyes flashing on Harry's face while the minute ticked.
'Never forget, the price of courage may be high, but it is people like Arnold Rayger that show the ethos this school encourages. Having said that, we have been lucky to have a young brilliant mind agree to remain for the next few months. Please welcome your new Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, George Weasley. There was a smattering of applause, mostly from the Gryffindor table as the doors to the Great Hall opened and George entered. Seeing everyone's eyes on him, he marched forward, a formidable scowl on his face. Harry wondered how Dumbledore timed these things, but his attention was taken by the Slytherins who seemed to share George's malcontent as they whispered the name Weasley. A particularly displeased Slytherin, which James later identified as Pucey, tried to jinx George as he strode past. George didn't even look at him as he flashed his wand blocking the hex. It was only when he had reached the Professors' table that the other students started noticing what had happened.
'Well, he sure knows how to make an entrance.' Remus whistled, while James and Sirius shared disgruntled looks, probably not having forgotten George was all for leaving them in the dungeons.
'And finally,' Dumbledore cleared his throat. Some may have already noticed, we have two new transfer students from the Salem institute.' He waved his hand towards the Gryffindor table. Hermione dragged Malfoy up and nodded vaguely at the staring student population, before sitting back down.
'Mr and Ms Granger have received the top national scores and finished a term early; they have therefore agreed to spend their last term solidifying the bonds between our schools. Thank You.'
The clapping was more enthusiastic for the two students, Harry growing a bit protective at the number of guys eyeing Hermione. Since Hermione had fixed her hair, and with her smaller front teeth, and fitting uniform, she did have a kind gentle beauty. He however cringed as his musings were interrupted by a rather loud giggle and saw Malfoy was receiving as much if not more attention from the female population as he stared straight ahead, his shoulders stiff. James was tentatively trying to get a word in edgewise as Remus and Lily discussed the homework due in for the day, something James most certainly hadn't done. Hermione as usual, had not noticed the attention she was receiving as she engaged in conversation with Sirius. Harry winced again as he realized she was earnestly trying to explain the rights of House Eves as he was determinedly trying to flirt with her. Harry sighed, wondering if he should have a word with Sirius, before Hermione realized he wasn't listening to a word she was saying and hexed him.
A loud quack and snorts of laughter turned everyone's attention to Pucey, where the unfortunate Slytherin was now sporting a duck head, his hand still clutching his contaminated porridge. James and Sirius laughed uproariously as a few Slytherins tried unsuccessfully to help their housemate. Even Lily had a reluctant smile as Harry told her amid the noise:
'Told you, prankers are not all bad.'
Again, not that much action, but a neccessary evil, next chapter: George as a Teacher.
Of course, I might not deserve them, but I still ask for reviews, since I'm unsure about how I should portray George, does he blame Harry for Fred's death? Is he going to be a cool teacher or turn into a Moody? All suggestions are welcome!