Chapter 8 - The Philosopher's Stone
(A/N - As my beta noticed when he saw the title of this chapter, I am using the "correct" terminology. Call me a purist, but "Sorcerer's Stone" always irked me, especially when I heard the reason for the change in the US market. So, I've taken the liberty to change it back to the way I think it should have been all along.)
"Headmaster Dumbledore, sir! Could I have a word with you please?" Miss Puckle's voice was noticeably agitated when Albus heard it in his private quarters.
"Surely, Miss Puckle. Please come in," he said, waving his hand at the door to open it. "I was expecting you this morning, although I must admit, not quite this early." Harmony entered, and it was obvious from her appearance that she had not slept well after the events of the previous evening. "Did you find your quarters acceptable, Miss Puckle? Did you have a good rest last night in preparation for your first day of teaching? Is there something you would like the house elves to do for you to make things more pleasant?" He said these last two questions with more than a trace of irony in his voice.
"No, sir, everything is fine…with my quarters, that is. I never realized how many parts of Hogwarts I don't know about. To think, that the teachers have such nice accommodations set aside for them. I guess I never really thought about it while a student here."
"But, Miss Puckle, I don't know what you are saying. You've never been a student here, now have you?" He gestured slightly at the snoring portraits in the entryway, and she immediately realized her gaffe. "Please, let's come into my private study, where we can discuss what is on your mind."
Harmony followed him into a small room off to the side of the main office, where he quickly closed the door and muttered something under his breath. She immediately noticed that the only portrait in this room was one of - "Isn't that…Godric Gryffindor, sir?
"Yes, Miss Puckle, you are correct. I felt that my ancestor's portrait would be the safest one to put up in this room, where I conduct business of a more private nature. As you may have fathomed, not all the portrait occupants in my outer office are of equal, shall we say - trustworthiness and prudence? Sometimes I think the Muggle saying about 'if the walls could talk…' came about because of rumors associated with the Headmaster's office, not to mention the castle itself. And, before you ask why I don't do something about it, I'll just say that sometimes it is useful to have known 'spies' around. They can be used to spread certain information quickly, for one thing. Don't worry about it, though. You have come here early enough that I am certain that none of my predecessors was awake enough to catch on. Just be careful next time that you are in the entryway. Now, although I am certain I already know the answer to this question, what is it you would like to discuss? Godric, I'm sure, will be very interested in what you have to say."
"Well, that's just it, sir…I mean, Albus" Harmony said with a slightly guilty grin. "I've been up all night thinking about this. Harry is supposed to be in Gryffindor. I mean, he basically IS Gryffindor, at least in the time I am familiar with. During our second year, he was able to pull Godric's sword out of the sorting hat when he was in the Chamber of Secrets, and used it to kill Salazar Slytherin's pet basilisk! Harry told me that you said to him that only a true Gryffindor could do that!" Godric's portrait, who had started to say something at her mention of the chamber and the basilisk, nodded in agreement at this. "But yet, the sorting hat put him in Slytherin! How can that be?"
"Why don't we end our speculation quickly and go directly to the source?" Albus said, reaching for the Sorting Hat on his desk. "Since I was certain we would be having this conversation today, I brought the hat in here last night before I retired. Go ahead, put it on. I am sure he is curious about you, too, and we can address both issues at once."
Harmony put the hat on her head gingerly. "Miss Granger!" the hat said in her ear. Didn't I just sort you into Gryffindor yesterday? I remember, you could have gone into Ravenclaw, but I saw that you ARE braver than you are intelligent, so I put you in Gryffindor instead. What's this…? Strange, you're not a first year any more, are you? Let's see… no, I'd say you have finished your fifth year now, but you look much older than that. Could you tell me what is happening? Let me review your thoughts for a minute, if you don't mind."
Harmony felt something like a hand gently touching her forehead. It was warm and pleasant, and she immediately relaxed. After a few moments, she heard the hat speak once again to her. "Oho…someone has been making some changes, have they, and you've come to march into the battle to right the wrongs! Seems like I was right about you, at least…no, aging potions don't fool me. I can see your mind, you know… Sorry, there's not much I can do about it. The sorting has happened, he's in Slytherin now, and you'll just have to make do. Although, I'm certain that your Mr. Potter was sorted correctly yesterday. Slytherin was…in his head… nearly as strong as I've ever seen it. I remember a few other students that were so obviously Slytherins…Grindelwald, Tom Riddle, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa and Bellatrix Black, and that young Malfoy boy yesterday. Potter was almost of the same mind as…but wait, now that I think about it, I have felt that before…that was Bellatrix's mind I felt yesterday. No wonder I put him in Slytherin!"
The hat fell silent, and Harmony handed it to Dumbledore. "Well, that explains a lot," she said to his expectant face. "Apparently, Bellatrix 'infected' Harry somehow with her mind, at least just enough to make the sorting hat put him in Slytherin. The hat also knows who I am now, although he was confused until he reviewed my thoughts. Sir, I assume that you aren't bothered by the hat knowing our secret, is that correct?"
"Let's just say that I have no problem keeping that information 'under my hat' ", he twinkled. Godric's old hat is probably even more trustworthy than Godric's portrait, simply because the hat only leaves my office once a year and isn't very social the rest of the time. But, back to business. So, it appears that my suppositions were correct, although I wasn't quite sure how they were going to accomplish the switch. As was mentioned in the note you brought with you from the future, Harry has a tendency towards Slytherin House. He is a bit of a rule-breaker, for example, and is also very cunning and ingenious as the need arises. These are all characteristics common to Slytherin. I understand that, in your reality, Harry openly chose Gryffindor when he was sorted. This time, though, with Bellatrix's influence in his head, he did not make the same choice. She must have adjusted his thoughts just enough to have him not fight when the choice of Slytherin was presented to him. Be that as it may, we have to adapt to this situation, and I feel I need to remind you of one thing. Being sorted into Slytherin is, by itself, not a bad thing. While you have personally had bad experiences with members of that house, I assure you that many fine, upstanding witches and wizards have passed through the doors of the Slytherin Common Room, and have been proud to wear the green and silver robes of that house. And, conversely, not all evil wizards came from Slytherin. For example, there was a certain young Marauder from Gryffindor who you are aware of that proves the point. It is, as always, the choices people make that determine who they will be."
Harmony still wasn't too sure about this, regardless of the example of Peter Pettigrew that Albus had just mentioned. Her experiences with Slytherin students during her time at Hogwarts were, on the whole, quite unpleasant. Part of that was caused by her status as a Mudblood, but they seemed to be a rather vicious and cunning lot generally. But, as she thought more, she realized that wasn't completely true. She knew that there were a few Slytherins who were not actively involved in attacking the other houses. Blaise Zabini, for one, seemed to be a quiet, decent fellow the times she had talked to him in the double classes they shared over the years. He always seemed to distance himself from Draco whenever he had the chance, although she knew he probably shared a room with him, being from the same year. <That poor boy,> she thought, <having to share a room with the Ferret, Goyle, Crabbe…and now, with Harry! Hmm, maybe I'll have to get to know Mr. Zabini a little more. He might be a good source of information.>
"Yes, sir," she agreed to what Dumbledore had just said. "In fact, I just realized that we do have a way to keep tabs on Harry. Young Mr. Zabini, who was also sorted into Slytherin yesterday, must be sharing a room with him, am I correct?" Albus nodded, and she continued. "Well, then, when the Slytherin first-years have their first class with me, I'll arrange a meeting with Blaise. In my time, he is a decent fellow, and I'd like to make sure that stays true in this reality, also."
Dumbledore's smile widened. "Very good, …Harmony. You are already starting to see how we can use our unique knowledge to make this work to our advantage. If you think about it, we have another source in Slytherin House to keep an eye on Harry. If we all continue to work together, I'm sure we will have additional opportunities to counteract what has changed. In fact, I have come to the realization that the new assistant professor of charms, Miss Puckle, is in need of a regular meeting with the Headmaster and Assistant Headmistress to assist her in understanding her responsibilities and to develop her teaching skills. This meeting needs to be… shall we say, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, before breakfast? Minerva needs to be involved as soon as possible, so I will notify her and Filius of the schedule change."
"Thanks, Headmaster. That will do nicely. I do have one question for you before I go, though." Harmony had noticed that it was approaching time for the students to come to breakfast, and she wanted to check on Harry's well-being after his first night with the Slytherins.
"What is it, Miss Puckle?" Albus said.
Harmony then asked, "Last night at the feast, you mentioned that the third-floor corridor was no longer off-limits. I assume this means that you have hidden the Philosopher's Stone elsewhere, then?"
"Actually, you are correct, Miss Puckle. I have changed my plans based on what I now know would have been a horrendous turn of events if I didn't. Temporarily, at least, I have put the stone in safekeeping in this office, until such time as I will be able to meet with Nicholas and Pernelle and explain the situation to them. I am confident they will be able to see the danger to the world if the stone were allowed to fall in the wrong hands, and will agree to the necessary actions. Now, Harmony, I want you to listen to me before you finish the line of thinking I can see you are working on. Yes, you are absolutely correct. There was no reason that I could not have had this talk with the Flamels early in the school year in your timeline, and kept the stone safe in my office until then. Harry, Ron, and you would have never needed to go through all of the dangers and threats of your first year if I had acted so then. But, if you think about it, you'll know exactly why I put you through all this, as a trio, mind you. Ah, I see you are starting to understand. What is it you would like to say? I will understand fully if you might be a little upset."
"UPSET… WHY, YOU ALMOST GOT US KILLED! ALL THREE OF US!" she yelled, struggling to regain control. "We barely got past Fluffy with our heads attached to our bodies, and both Ron and Harry almost died in the Devil's snare until Harry reminded me that I could make a fire, and then I had to fly on that broom when I still wasn't all that sure of myself in the air, and then Ron getting attacked by the white queen and knocked out! What if I had miscalculated the Potions puzzle? Would we have actually been poisoned? How could you do that to us…to Harry? I thought you wanted to take care of him!" she cried, her anger barely restrained.
But, as she saw Dumbledore's expression as she listed off the dangers of the challenge, she realized that he was also aware of what he had planned to do…or had done already in her timeline, and why he had made that choice.
She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, and said, "So, you had to give us a test, did you? I remember wondering afterwards why our abilities seemed almost perfectly matched with the seven challenges of those chambers. Harry figured out how to get past Hagrid's Fluffy, and then I, with Harry's help, took care of Professor Sprout's plant. Harry had the Seeker skills to get past Flitwick's charmed keys, and Ron is one of the few students at Hogwarts who could have defeated McGonagall's chessboard. Then, if Quirrell hadn't already been so kind as to take care of it for us, Harry and Ron would have known how to get past his troll based on a little experience on Halloween," she smiled. "I, of course, was able to figure out Snape's potion puzzle, which you had obviously set up so that there was only enough potion for one person to proceed, and you made sure that Harry was aware of the Mirror of Erised's properties well before he faced it." By this time, Hermione's anger had mostly dissipated, having been replaced with a sense of respect for Dumbledore's skills in planning a test of this nature.
"Just one thing, Miss Puckle, which you need to know to ease your mind before you go to breakfast." Dumbledore said as they walked towards the door. "Severus was never going to make any poison for that challenge. Instead, I had asked him to fill those three bottles with a powerful sleeping draught, containing (as you might have guessed) asphodel and wormwood, that would have kept anyone drinking them from proceeding until an antidote was provided. I want you to rest assured, that I DO trust Severus - to always be Severus. In fact, this is another reason that I am confident in the outcome. As I started to mention before, Severus, as head of Slytherin house, will be another way we can monitor and protect Harry's well-being." Hermione's face relaxed quickly from she had first heard Snape's name. "The only real threat to Harry," Albus continued, "would have been what he found in the last chamber, and that would be bad enough, I must admit. Why do you think I planned on having Hagrid accidentally 'let slip' how to get past Fluffy? Remember Hagrid, as big as he is, is much more than he seems. I would trust him with my life, and Harry's, at any time."
Hermione smiled, since she had always had a special place in her heart for Harry's biggest friend. "Thank you, Professor, for explaining what you have this morning. This makes me feel a lot better, especially knowing that a certain person will no longer have a chance to carry out his plans for the Philosopher's Stone. I assume on Wednesday we will be discussing how to deal with that situation?" As he nodded, she said, as she stepped on the spiral staircase, "I'll see you and Professor McGonagall Wednesday morning, then. I'm looking forward to my instruction, sir."
Harmony rushed to the Great Hall, and barely caught herself before she sat at the Gryffindor table. She quickly pretended to have dropped something to cover her blunder, and continued on to her seat at the head table. Fortunately, few students had arrived yet, having not yet adjusted their internal clocks to the Hogwarts dining schedule. She knew that as the year progressed, there would be more early risers trying to get breakfast in before starting a busy day of classes.
She had just sat down to her breakfast, (which, she noticed, was no different than what the students were served - <Well, now I know,> she chuckled, remembering the various theories over the years as to what special food the teachers got to eat,) picked up her free copy of the Daily Prophet, which was personalized across the top with the name "Asst. Professor Puckle", and started in to read and eat. Before long she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, a very sad sight indeed. Coming towards the Gryffindor table was a frightened, bushy-brown-haired little girl with noticeably large front teeth, walking all alone. Her eyes were puffy and still slightly wet, and the sleeves of her robe were damp with tears. As more students were starting to arrive, Miss Puckle noticed that a few fingers were being pointed in her direction, and not only from the Slytherin table. Some of the older Gryffindor girls were whispering to each other, too, as Hermione sat down by herself, her face staring directly into her plate.
<Uh, oh…> Harmony said to herself. <I wonder what I did last night in the Common Room to make everyone treat me this way? Oh, dear, I look quite the sight! I forgot how insecure I was back then. How did I ever survive that first year?>. As she asked the question, she already knew the answer. <Harry and Ron won't be there for me this time, will they? Ron's off with his brothers and Harry is in a different house now. I remember now, that first night away from my parents was terrible, and I was wondering if I would ever fit in. That was when I decided to just buckle down and concentrate on my studies. If I remember right, I was quite the little busybody for a while, trying to keep Harry from getting in trouble during flying practice and with that obvious trap of a wizard's duel where we met Fluffy…what was it I said? 'We could have all been killed - or worse, expelled!'>, she thought with a wry grin on her face. <And then, that Halloween day after Charms when Ron just had to open his big mouth and say out loud the truth that I had been avoiding all along, 'It's no wonder no one can stand her - she's a nightmare, honestly.'> Harmony noticed that she was starting to mist up a little at that memory, which was still quite painful even now. <But, things worked out for the best then, didn't they? As for now, though, I'm going to have to see what I can do for myself.>
Miss Puckle stood up, grabbed what she knew would be her favorite Honeydukes chocolate-covered pastry from the stack at the head table, and walked down towards her younger self at the Gryffindor table. The eyes of the many male students who were already getting into a habit of staring at the pretty professor were joined by those of adults and other students as she sat down next to Miss Granger. "Hello, my dear. Would you like to try one of these? They're my favorite and I just bet you'll like them, too." Harmony smiled her warmest smile as she handed Hermione the treat.
Hermione let out a muffled sob and said, as politely as she could, "Thank you so much, Miss…Puckle, is it? I'm not very hungry right now."
"Oh, tosh!" Harmony said. "Eat it, it will help. I know! Besides, if you aren't hungry, why did you come down to breakfast? Just take a bite, Miss…Granger, is it? You'll be amazed at how much better you feel!"
Hermione, still bravely trying to choke back her tears, reached out, took the pastry, and broke off a piece. Harmony watched as Hermione nibbled on it, and saw the surprise on the little girl's face as the chocolate began to work. "You see," Harmony smiled, "didn't I tell you? I have found that chocolate can do wonders when you are feeling low. Now, why the tears, child? Please, tell me what's wrong while you finish that pastry. This is no way to start your career at Hogwarts!" she said, turning Hermione's shoulders until they were facing each other. "No first-year student of mine will be upset on their first day. They need to wait until there is something to be upset about, which will happen when they get my Charms homework assignments!"
Hermione slowly grinned back at her, as she had just heard something she was familiar with. "Homework? Ooooh! I love studying, Miss Puckle. I'm just so…so…nervous about … all of these new things. Ghosts with nearly-severed heads, and magical ceilings, and people in paintings talking to me, and sharing a room with other girls…I've never had to share a room before, you know, and somebody, I think her name's Lavender, snores so loudly I can't sleep, and they all seem to know each other and I don't know anybody, and…and -" The tears were starting to come back full force again, as Hermione's emotional dam burst.
Harmony reached out and brought the crying girl into a big hug. "Hush, now…I know, it's quite a shock, especially for someone who hasn't grown up in the Wizarding World. I remember quite well what it was like."
Hermione looked up at her, surprise on her face. "Y-y-you mean, you were…are… Muggle-born like me? But, you're so…pret - I mean, you're so…so nice to me and all -"
Harmony looked at her closely. "Has someone been saying something uncomplimentary about your looks, dear?" As Hermione, nodding, let out a small sob, Miss Puckle said "Never you mind about that. I'll have you know that I looked just like you when I was your age, an unknown Muggle-born witch going to a school where no one knew me, and by Christmas of my fourth year I was turning more than a few heads, I assure you! You have your whole, exciting life to look forward to, Hermione. Please don't worry about the things you cannot change, but focus on what you can do and I promise the rest will come in its own time. You will grow up, of that you can be sure."
Hermione took another bite of the chocolate, and between that and the impromptu pep talk from Miss Puckle, she was starting to calm down once again. While they were talking, Hermione's class schedule had appeared at her plate, and Harmony pointed it out to her. "Miss Granger, let's see what classes you are taking. Maybe I can give you a few pointers to help you get started."
When Headmaster Dumbledore entered the room shortly thereafter and sat down, he saw a wonderful sight. At the Gryffindor table, he watched his newest assistant professor and a brown-haired first-year student happily chatting away, discussing classes, schedules, studying strategies, and homework. He muttered to himself, "Very good, Miss Puckle, looks like you're settling in to your assignment quite nicely. Miss Granger will be glad to have you for a friend, I'd wager." To Minerva, who had joined him at the table, he said in a normal voice, "Could you please pass the kippers, Professor? They look particularly delicious today."
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Time passed at Hogwarts pretty much without incident until around Halloween. Miss Puckle did settle in nicely, both as an assistant charms professor and as a friend to the friendless. Filius, for one, noticed a marked improvement in the results from his first charms assignment, especially among his Muggle-born first-year students. The one notable exception was among the students of Slytherin house, who had decided as a group that anyone who was helping Mudbloods wasn't going to be helping them. As a result, Harmony was unable to work as closely as she would have liked with either Blaise Zabini or Harry, although she realized that was probably for the best.
Soon, Harmony received a special assignment from Dumbledore to track all first-year students' progress, especially those who had not been raised among wizards. This gave her a reason to get regular reports from all the faculty members about Harry's schooling, and, as far as she could tell - his well-being.
Severus, as predicted, became a wonderful source of information about his star pupil. During the regular meetings of the Hogwarts faculty, he was quite willing to tell everyone how his new prodigy was doing. One day, early in the term, he said, "Mark my words, Miss Puckle - Potter is a genius at potions. He even does better than young Mister Malfoy, who has been exposed to potion making his entire life! What a team they make! They're going to make Slytherin House proud both this year and on through O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, I am sure. I'd like to enter them as a team in the next All-Europe potion making competition for their age group. I'm sure they will earn top marks!"
<Hmmm,> Harmony thought to herself, <I just knew that Harry had it in him to do well at potions. All it took was for Snape to have him in his house, not threatening him every day, and he doesn't have any problem with the work. Also, since Snape isn't taking points away from him every time he breathes wrong, both Gryffindor and Slytherin are doing much better in the house competition. Just wait until I get back to the right time. I'm going to have to let my version of Dumbledore know about this.>
The younger Miss Granger, too, was settling into her new life at Hogwarts without Ron and Harry in it (although she obviously didn't know what she was missing). The first breakthrough came when Miss Puckle introduced both herself and Miss Granger to Madame Pince, the librarian, and Hermione was quite happy from that point on. Madame Pince, with all her airs of stuffiness and stern behavior, recognized the love of learning and the love of books in the young girl's eyes. She became another close friend for Hermione, although she'd never admit it. Before too long, she had trusted Hermione to help her at the checkout desk and with the critical task of returning books to their proper place on the shelves. Of course, this did nothing to help Hermione's reputation as a bookish snob with no social life, but it did serve the purpose of keeping her both happy and safe as Miss Puckle had been instructed. She had a plan to get her out of the library, also, but it would have to develop over time.
Before anyone could believe it, Halloween morning had come upon them. During their regular pre-breakfast meetings, Albus, Minerva, and Harmony had agreed that they would let the Voldemort/Quirrell symbiosis continue without interference for now. They wanted Voldemort to continue under the assumption that the Philosopher's Stone, while not hidden beneath the trap door as originally planned, was still at Hogwarts. So, Dumbledore had "accidentally" leaked via the portrait network that the stone was possibly hidden in the Astronomy tower, and since everyone was expected to be at the feast that night, Quirrell would have a great opportunity to use his troll diversion. The truth was that Dumbledore had met with the Flamels soon after his first meeting with Hermione, and they had agreed to have the stone destroyed. "Actually," Dumbledore reported, "I think they were relieved when I proposed it to them. They understood how dangerous it would be for anyone, especially a resurrected Lord Voldemort, to have access to the elixir of life."
As a result, they had focused their planning on helping young Hermione survive any threats from a troll that they were expecting to make an appearance that evening. They were hoping to do this without having Voldemort get suspicious that things were not going according to plan. They were not yet sure if he had been told, somehow, of the changes that had happened, but they had to act as if he had been until they could find out.
In their plans for that evening, Miss Puckle was assigned to be the Harry/Ron surrogate if needed, and keep her younger self alive. As Harmony had suspected, Ron had little to no friendship with Hermione in Gryffindor Tower now that Harry was not there to serve as a bridge between the two.
In fact, when Miss Puckle just happened to mention Ron's name in passing during a conversation one day, Hermione was quite vocal in her feelings. "That… that…BOY! He and his twin brothers drive me crazy! They're always disrupting classes and playing pranks on each other. What's worse, though, are Ron's atrocious table manners. He can never stop eating long enough to get out a complete sentence without spraying someone with food crumbs. And, when he's not arguing with someone, all he talks about is some Quidditch team of his, or how he's beaten everyone in the House at Wizard's chess! Not to mention that he always makes rude comments whenever I answer a question in any of our classes. No, Miss Puckle, I don't think he's very nice at all! Percy isn't too bad, being a prefect and all, but I don't want anything to do with the rest of the family. I've heard that they have a younger sister coming here next year. I hope she's nicer than the boys!"
Hermione was even less interested in Harry, if that were possible. "Oh, yes, of course I know who you are talking about. Harry Potter, right? I read about him before I even got to Hogwarts. He's in all the books about modern wizards, now isn't he? 'The Boy Who Lived', you know. I think he's the boy who needs a haircut, more like. I talked to him on the train coming here, but no, I pretty much stay away from him. He spends most of his time with those other Slytherins, like that awful Malfoy boy, and they don't seem to like me much."
That evening, as Quirrell entered the Great Hall with his dramatic announcement of 'a troll in the dungeons', Harmony slipped out the back door. She had already seen Ron do his part in Charms earlier that day by upsetting Hermione after the Wingardium Leviosa incident, so she knew that the young girl had gone off to have a good cry in the bathroom. When the troll shuffled its way into the same room as expected, Miss Puckle was right behind it, hidden with a disillusionment charm. As Hermione started to panic upon seeing the hideous creature coming her way, she heard an eerily familiar voice in her head, as if she were talking to herself. "Hermione, calm down. You know what to do; you just did the spell perfectly today." Hermione raised her wand, performed a textbook "swish and flick", followed by a perfectly enunciated "Wingardium Leviosa!, just as they had practiced together many times in their extra "Muggle-born" classes. As the troll swung his club over his head, he was confused when he brought his hand down and there was nothing in it. He looked up to see his club falling right on his head. Hermione was standing there, wand drawn and quite speechless, as McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell came in, right on cue. Harmony, still hidden under the charm, put a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. <So, I guess I can take care of myself, after all, given a little guidance and encouragement! But, I still wish Harry and Ron would have been here!>
Something else happened then that Harmony wasn't expecting. "Miss Granger, please explain yourself!" Professor McGonagall barked. "What are you doing here, you silly girl! You could have been killed! Why weren't you in your dormitory?"
"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall, I didn't know. I was here in the bathroom and I didn't hear any warning. The troll just came in the door, and I started to panic, but then I remembered the Wingardium Leviosa spell I practiced today with Miss Puckle, and, as you can see, it did the job!"
"Well, Miss Granger, not many first years could take on a full-grown mountain troll by themselves. I'm impressed. I feel that I have no choice but to award 10 points to Gryffindor. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."
*********
Harry, of course, was quite busy with his own life. Since he wasn't allowed to play on the house Quidditch team until his second year, (having never been seen chasing after a Rememberall thrown by Malfoy in a different time) he was quite content to ride the school brooms as much as possible during flying practice. He also got pretty good at wheedling some extra time out of Madam Hooch, especially on weekends. He was as talented as ever with flying, but instead of being 'the youngest seeker in a century', he watched excitedly from the Slytherin grandstands as his team slaughtered Gryffindor 250 -10 in the first match of the year. Gryffindor's seeker, a clumsy third year that Harmony didn't remember, was quite pathetic, unable to keep his broom going in the direction he wanted, much less keep up with Terence Higgs. The score would have been higher in Slytherin's favor, but some of the team was laughing so hard at the ineptitude of the Gryffindor seeker that they couldn't keep their eyes on the Quaffle. This allowed Angelina to score their only goal, and Higgs caught the snitch soon after. Wood had actually blocked as many goal attempts as he let in, but he was unable to stop the tide by himself. George and Fred Weasley, as active as they were hitting bludgers, weren't able to stop the scoring onslaught either.
Snape was nearly unbearable in the next faculty meeting. "Well, Minerva, if today's trend continues, that will be…how many years in a row that Slytherin has won the Quidditch cup? Sometimes I forget…it has been so long, you know! With Higgs leaving after this year, I hear that young Mr. Potter has a lot of potential as either a Seeker or a Beater. I know that Malfoy will probably want to play also, but I'm sure the two of them will work it out before next year. They are such good friends, now - never see one without the other, it seems. Strange, how different Harry is than his father. I would have never guessed it was possible."
The rest of their first year went by, rather uneventfully, except for one major and one minor incident near the end of the second term. First, Professor Quirrell (or what was left of him), who had been suffering from a mysterious, progressively wasting illness, was found dead by Hagrid on a path into the Forbidden Forest after he turned up missing one morning. By the evidence, including a very smelly, shredded, empty turban, it appeared that he had stumbled across Fluffy and come out the loser in the encounter. (Hagrid had released Fluffy into the forest when his services as a guard were no longer needed.)
When Albus, Minerva, and Harmony discussed this turn of events, they felt that it was an appropriate end to Professor Quirrell's torment. "His body would have succumbed eventually to the quite slow and painful decaying process he was undergoing that was caused by Voldemort's possession, so at least this was quicker." Dumbledore said, with a touch of regret in his voice. "The end result will be the same, though. Tom will most likely flee to the forests of Albania to regroup, as you told us he did in your past, Hermione, and will have to find another way to regain his strength."
There was one minor change from Hermione's memories - it was related to the House Cup points totals. Since Harry was no longer losing lots of points for Gryffindor as a result of Snape's bias (or a nighttime excursion associated with a dragon egg that didn't happen this time around) Gryffindor ended up winning the House Cup by a large margin, even after the Quidditch Cup results were factored in. Many of the points over the year were attributed to one Muggle-born, bushy brown-haired witch, who had impressed all of her teachers with her innate abilities in charms, transfiguration, and even potions. As a result, she started to become accepted among her peers in the Gryffindor house, and was seen socializing with them more and more frequently.
Finally, it came time for the students to leave for the trip to Platform 9 3/4 and summer break. "You must come and stay in Wiltshire with me this summer," said Draco Malfoy, "I'll send an owl after my father makes the arrangements. I'll take you to see Stonehenge, and all the other magical sites around our home," he said to Harry as they waited for the guard to let them pass through the barrier.
"Thanks," said Harry. "That would be more fun then staying with my aunt and uncle, that's for sure. I'm not sure I'll be able to come, though. I'll let you know when I hear from you."
Truth be told, Harry felt uneasy at the thought of spending so much time with the Malfoys. True, he was a dorm mate of Draco's, and he was sure that all of Slytherin House thought of them as best mates, Harry wasn't sure that was true any more. He had spent an entire school year getting to know Draco, and wasn't sure he liked what he had discovered. "There's… something different about him, that's for sure. Sometimes he can be quite mean to people, especially the Muggle-born students, for no reason that I can see. I'm sure that's not right. Funny, sometimes I look at 'Little Master Malfoy' and I just want to punch him or something; like we're actually enemies and we've just been pretending all along."
As Harry walked towards the Dursleys and his return to Privet Drive for the summer, he failed to notice that he was being watched by another student being greeted by her dentist parents. Hermione had a bit of a wistful expression on her face as she watched him being yelled at by Uncle Vernon for some thing or another as they walked to the car park. "That poor boy," she observed, "looks like his summer's not going to be very pleasant. I wish there was something I could do for him. He really isn't all that bad of a person the more I have gotten to know him, even if he is in Slytherin. Maybe I'll try to get to know him a little better when I get back to Hogwarts in a few months," she concluded with a smile. "Miss Puckle thought it would be a good idea for me to be friends with students in the other houses instead of spending so much time in the library, so I'll start with him."
*****End of YEAR ONE****