Hello there everyone, I can't thank you all enough for all the kind words you have given me in your reviews. I've tried my best to reply to every review, but I might have missed a few here or there.
This chapter is largely Taylor's, with minor changes made by me.
A special thanks goes out to Jadesabrexiv of Portkey, who volunteered to beta the story for me, and worked on this chapter.
Disclaimer: It's JKR's, not mine. All of the characters, settings, and ideas from the books belong to JK Rowling. I have never, and will never profit from these writings. The only things that are mine are the parts of the plot differing from the books, any original characters, and the characterization of Hermione's parents.
Key: Sentences in italics surrounded by these: { } indicate sign language. {Sort of like this}.
Chapter 7: Monday
Great Hall, Hogwarts Castle - Sunday evening, 2 January, 1994
The hat was silent for another long moment, before it began to speak both aloud and in Harry's mind.
"You will be suited best for…………… GRYFFINDOR!!!"
The entire Gryffindor table erupted into loud cheers. Hermione could hear some chanting: "We've got Potter, we've got Potter!"
As she, too, clapped and cheered, feeling both relieved and excited that Harry would be in the same House as she was, she looked down the table and realized it was the Weasley twins; Fred and George who were leading the chant.
Harry pulled the Sorting Hat from his head, and was greeted by a smiling McGonagall, who took back the Sorting Hat, and gestured toward the cheering Gryffindor table.
He was stunned when he saw it and realized that so many people were so excited just because he was now part of their House. Hermione had told him how the Wizarding world viewed him as some sort of incredible hero, but it hadn't really hit him until now. Looking around, he saw that many from the other Houses were cheering as well.
Harry hopped off the stool and made his way to the Gryffindor table. He was glad to see that the first open spot was next to a clapping, grinning Hermione who sat at the end of the table.
As he sat down, he was almost immediately overwhelmed by others around the table reaching out to shake his hand and introduce themselves. He managed to catch a few names: Katie, Lee, a girl with the last name of Patil, and Kenneth - but for the most part he couldn't catch many of them.
When others from further down the long Gryffindor table began to get up to rush over and introduce themselves, Dumbledore saw how crowded and overwhelmed Harry was beginning to look, and quickly stood.
"Students! Students, please be seated. I know you all want to greet our new student, and you will have plenty of time to socialize later, but I must ask that you all give Mr. Potter some space - this is all very new to him, and we do not want to overwhelm him on his first day."
The students reluctantly settled down, and then Dumbledore waved his hands, and suddenly platters of food appeared on the tables in front of them.
"Before we begin our feast, I have been asked by Minister Fudge to instruct everyone to be move vigilant than ever with Sirius Black on the loose - the Minister says he believes that Black may attempt to attack students at Hogwarts in the coming months, and says that he has had several reported sightings in the area outside of Hogsmeade."
He paused, and his expression became more serious. "The Dementor guard around the castle has been increased by the Minister, so I must ask that all students remain within the castle walls after dusk, unless they have written permission from a Professor to be out in the Castle grounds. I am very serious - even if you are not harmed by the Dementors, you will be severely punished."
His expression lightened drastically as he finally said: "Now, let our feast begin!"
Very soon everyone was busy with the task of eating, which made Harry feel relieved that he would not be bombarded by them, at least for the next little while. As he ate, he slowly looked down the table at the unfamiliar faces, and tried to steel himself for the challenge of beginning school for the first time.
As he was beginning once again to feel overwhelmed just by thinking of what was coming, he saw Hermione glance at him, her smile still on her face, and then he looked up at the staff table to Remus and Emma, and he realized that while it might seem overwhelming, he'd also have their help.
It wasn't something he was used to - he was much more used to relying only on himself, the only exception being the help he had received from Amy - but the more he thought about it, the more comforting it was to him.
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Hogwarts Castle - Sunday evening, 2 January, 1994
As soon as the feast was finished, Remus walked over to the table and asked Harry to come with him. He knew that he'd basically be mobbed otherwise, which was one of his reasons for doing it. As he led Harry out of the Great Hall, while the other students were dismissed from their tables, he pulled Harry to an empty classroom.
He smiled at Harry. "Well, you're a Gryffindor now. Your dad and mum and I were Gryffindors as well."
Harry smiled back. "I was 'opin' I'd be Gryffindor so I'd be in the same 'ouse as Hermione." He paused, "Professor, when I 'ad the Sortin' Hat on, I could hear it. It said it could speak to people through their minds, so I was wonderin'….. could I use the Sortin' Hat, or is there something like it here at school so it's easier t'understand everyone?"
Remus sighed heavily when he saw Harry's slightly hopeful expression. "I'm sorry Harry. The Sorting Hat uses a type of magic called Legilimency, which can be used to both read the minds of others, or to send your own thoughts into their minds."
Harry interrupted, "Sorta like t'lepathy?"
Remus nodded. "Very much like telepathy. But prolonged contact through Legilimency like what you're asking about causes brain damage." He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Harry."
Harry looked up at him, feeling somewhat disappointed. "It's okay. It's just… that was the first time I 'eard anythin' in years, an' I got excited."
"I know, Harry. I'll talk to the Headmaster tonight to see if he can think of anything similar to the Sorting Hat that wouldn't be harmful. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about your housing here at the school. It'll take a day or two to get the Castle to enlarge the Gryffindor boys dormitory, and get a bed set up for you, so for now you can stay in Emma's quarters like you did last night, okay?"
Harry nodded. "Okay. I wanted t' talk to Hermione before ev'ryone goes to bed - I couldn't talk to 'er at dinner."
Remus grinned. "Sure thing, Harry - she's probably saying goodnight to her mum right now, so you better get going before she starts heading off to Gryffindor tower. See you tomorrow night for our first tutoring session. I'll show you where my office is after lunch tomorrow."
"Okay Remus, see you tomorrow!" Harry said quickly, before heading out of the room. Remus saw how his expression lit up when he mentioned the tutoring, and knew already that Harry would have no trouble at all catching up - he had a strong drive to learn; one that he suspected nearly matched Hermione's.
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Entrance Hall, Hogwarts Castle - Sunday evening, 2 January, 1994
Hermione was leaving the Great Hall in the company of Luna and Susan when Harry caught up to her. They were walking shoulder-to-shoulder, discussing something. Luna glanced up and saw him approaching. "Hello, Harry, congratulations on your Sorting," she greeted warmly.
Hermione and Susan both looked up when Luna began talking to Harry. Hermione greeted him with an excited hug. {Oh, Harry, I'm so glad you were sorted into Gryffindor. I'll be able to help you so much better and it will be so much easier for us to do our tutoring sessions.}
Harry smiled at her. "I'm glad I got sorted there too. I asked the 'at to put me in Gryffindor, even though 'e said I could go in any of the 'ouses."
Hermione nodded in understanding. "Yes, I remember reading in Hogwarts, A History, that the Sorting Hat communicates through the mind when it is on your head, instead of through words spoken out loud."
As Hermione was talking, Harry's attention was drawn partially to four boys that walked out of the Great Hall together, spotted him, and came towards them. One was a lanky red head, another was a tall boy with sandy-colored hair, the third was a slightly-round-faced boy with brown hair, and the fourth was the tallest of the three, with dark skin and dark brown eyes.
The four brushed past Hermione to stand in front of him. The redhead, who seemed to sort of be the "leader" of the group, spoke up, the others nodding when their names were mentioned. "Hello there, Harry. I'm Ron Weasley and this is Neville, Seamus, and Dean. I hope we can become good friends. We'll help show you the way things work around here, and teach you who is worth becoming friends with."
Ron extended a hand toward him, but continued talking, which proved to be a large mistake. "You don't have to associate with people like Loony Lovegood, or the Book Freak or their ditzy red-headed friend. Hopefully they haven't given you a bad impression of our school so far."
Harry had begun to reach out to shake Ron's hand, but when Ron continued to speak, several things happened at once. First, he realized that Ron was insulting Hermione, Luna, and Susan. At the same time, he saw a look of sadness, almost of betrayal in Hermione's eyes as she saw him about to accept a friendship with Ron. Finally, images of Vernon's deranged face screaming the word "freak" at him were triggered when Ron called Hermione a "Book freak". He knew immediately what he was going to do.
He grasped Ron's proffered hand, feeling horrible when he saw Hermione's eye fill with tears before she abruptly turned and made as if to walk away, and Susan glaring at him before turning as well. Only Luna did not make a move to go, and merely watched the unfolding scene with a peaceful expression.
Ron's smile vanished rather quickly, however, when Harry grasped more firmly, steadily applying more pressure. Ron's face reddened as the grip soon turned painful. "Bloody hell, Potter, what's your problem? Let go, that hurts!"
Harry saw Susan and Hermione glance back at Ron's outburst. "I'll let go when y'apologize to Hermione an' Susan an' Luna." He squeezed harder. "Say it."
"Alright, alright! I'm sorry for what I said about you three! Now let me go!" Harry released his grip, and Ron staggered back a step, massaging his sore hand.
"I ain't goin' t' tolerate anyone insultin' my friends. An' I certainly don' want t' be friends with a bully like you, Weasley," Harry said, and then his voice became lower, more dangerous, enough to send chills down Hermione's spine when she heard how serious he was, "An' if I ever 'ear you call Hermione a "freak" again, you'll be very, very sorry."
Ron's face screwed up into an expression of dislike, and Neville, Seamus, and Dean moved closer to Ron's side. "You'll be sorry about this, Potter. You won't like being on our bad side."
He turned, and before Seamus turned to follow as well, the sandy-haired boy spoke up. "Have fun befriending these outcasts - no one else here at Hogwarts likes them, so you'll get really unpopular really fast."
Neville settled on merely looking down his nose at the four of them, nodding in agreement to Seamus' statement, saying, "You've chosen the wrong friends," and turning on his heel to follow Ron and Seamus, and Dean, who had just shook his head and left without a word.
Harry didn't pay them much attention - he was more focused on Hermione. He saw her quickly wipe her tears on the sleeve of her robes, and then look at him in awe. "I… I… you just… you defended us."
Harry saw Susan looking at him with an expression of surprise as well, and he felt his cheeks redden. He ran his hand nervously through his hair. "Well o'course I did. We're friends. Didya think I'd drop you for jerks like them?"
It was Hermione's turn to look embarrassed. "For a minute I thought you would. I thought you'd finally seen we aren't worth your time and that there are a lot better people that you could be friends with."
Harry looked at her, shock written over his face. "You're not worth my time? You've 'elped me so much 'ere, even though you didn' even know me, an' you introduced me t'your friends so I'd know a few more people 'ere. If anythin' I ain't worth your time - I'm just a dumb old deaf street kid, who doesn't know anythin' 'bout magic."
Hermione's face became stern. "Harry, don't talk like that. You've been very nice to me since we met, and you just showed what a good friend you are. I think that makes you a much better person than what you described yourself as. And who cares if you don't know much about magic? I didn't know much when I came here and neither did Luna or Susan."
Luna spoke up, her serene expression still on her face. "Thank you for defending me Harry. I'm really quite used to people like Ronald, but it feels nice having someone besides Hermione or Susan standing up for me."
Susan, looking embarrassed, said, "I'm sorry for thinking you'd join up with Ron and them after what they said. I'll be glad and proud to call you my friend."
Harry glanced away, and when he looked back, Hermione could see his eyes were moist. "Thank you. I… thanks." He ended up saying.
A brown haired Ravenclaw girl, wearing a badge that said "Head Girl" on it on her robes, walked up to them. "Headmaster Dumbledore wants everyone to attend breakfast tomorrow, so you'd all better get to your houses and to bed so you aren't tired for the first day of classes." She paused as she noticed Harry, and recognized him. "Hello, you must be Harry Potter. I'm Penelope Clearwater, the Head Girl here at Hogwarts."
"Nice t' meet you, Penelope, what's 'Head Girl' mean?" He asked.
"Oh, the Head Boy and Head Girl of the school are students that are appointed by the Headmaster to help with different duties around the school, like discipline and things like that." Harry nodded, somewhat understanding, but planning on asking Hermione more about it sometime.
"I really must get going. If you ever have any problems, please feel free to come and talk to me." She said warmly, before she turned and strode down the Hall toward the Ravenclaw dormitories.
"Well, see you tomorrow morning, Harry, I'm tired from the train trip here." Susan said, involuntarily yawning.
"I will go to my dormitory as well. If we stay out too late the bat winged Narflers that live in the dungeons will begin their nightly hunt." Luna said.
"Goodnight you two," Hermione said, and Harry chimed in.
Very quickly, it was just Harry and Hermione, standing together in the corridor. "Where are you going to sleep tonight, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Professor Lupin said th'next night or two I'll stay on your mum's couch like I did las' night. 'e said that it'll take a while 'till they've got a bed set up for me in Gryffindor." Harry said.
Hermione nodded, thought about something, and then her expression became worried, and she switched to sign language. {Oh, Harry, that means you'll be in the same dorm as Ronald Weasley and the others, and they'll want to get back at you for rejecting them and standing up for me.}
Harry shrugged. {Don't worry, I think that at least for right now Weasley's scared of me, and besides, I've dealt with worse people out on the streets for years.}
Hermione looked doubtful, but decided to drop it for the moment. {Alright, Harry. I'd better get back too, so goodnight. I'll come over to mum's quarters before breakfast tomorrow, and we can walk to breakfast together.}
Harry smiled. {Okay, see you tomorrow, Hermione.}
Hermione waved back at him as she walked in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Harry took a deep breath, and headed back to Professor Granger's quarters, thinking again about the recent encounter with Ron Weasley, Neville, Dean, and Seamus. He knew he had dealt with much worse people than those three, but it bugged him that he'd have to deal with them everyday as they would all be in the same dorm as him.
"Einstein." He said, as he approached the portrait in front of Emma's quarters. He was startled when Emma started exiting the room at the same time he was entering.
She looked surprised as well. {Oh, Harry. I wasn't expecting you so soon. Remus told me you're staying here for a few days, but he said you were going off to talk to Hermione. Right now I'm headed to the staff meeting.}
{I said goodnight to Hermione, Susan, and Luna. They all said they were going to bed.} Harry signed back to her.
She smiled widely, {So you met Susan and Luna. What did you think of them?}
{They're really nice. I can see why they're Hermione's friends. They said they hope we can be friends too.} Harry signed. He hesitated. {I also met a kid named Ronald Weasley, and three other boys. Seamus, Neville, an' Dean I think}
Emma's expression darkened, knowing that Ron Weasley and those three had been among the worst of Hermione's tormenters that had caused such damage to her self-esteem, and she knew they were still causing trouble for Hermione, as well as Luna and Susan. {How did that go?} She asked.
Harry smiled sheepishly. {Don't think we'll be friends anytime soon. Almost the first thing he did was call Hermione a "book freak", and insulted Susan and Luna too. I made him apologize, and he said I was on his "bad side" now.} Harry signed.
Emma couldn't help a smile, realizing that Ron had unknowingly done probably the most foolish thing he could: insulted one of the first people to befriend Harry. {I thought something like that might happen. There are several people here at this school who have made it horrible for Hermione here, and those four are some of the worst.}
She put her hand on his shoulder. {Thank you for defending Hermione. Now, I have to get going so I'm not late. I'll be back in about an hour, so see you then.}
"Okay," Harry said, and in moments he was alone in the room. He walked over to the couch and sat down. Sirius trotted over in his dog form, first walking over to the door and listening for a moment and then plopping down on the couch next to Harry. He quickly morphed back into his human form.
"Hey, how'd it go today?" He asked, knowing Harry had been worried about confronting Dumbledore.
Harry shrugged. "Alright, I guess. I didn't get really angry like I thought I would. I agreed to sorta start over and give 'im a chance. 'e agreed to stop bein' the person who controls my mum an' dad's will." He paused. "Prof- Remus wants t'get to know me, an' said if I want to, I can live with 'im this summer. I 'ope 'e isn't too disappointed when we clear your name an' I live with you."
Sirius shook his head. "I'm sure he'll understand. Besides, he'll definitely be welcome to live with us."
"You know 'e thinks you killed Pett'grew. 'e told me to look out for you."
Sirius sighed, and passed a hand over his eyes. "We never told him about the switch - we all thought he would betray us. He'll realize the truth once we catch Pettigrew."
Harry nodded thoughtfully, before his expression broke out in a smile. "I'm in Gryffindor!"
Sirius' own expression lit up, and he pulled Harry into a hug. He pulled back and said, "That's great, Harry! Remus, your mum and dad, and I were all in Gryffindor too. Looks like you're continuing a family tradition - I think that every Potter has been in Gryffindor, except one or two that made it into Ravenclaw." He hesitated for a moment. "You're glad you're in Gryffindor, right?"
Harry nodded emphatically. "I asked the Sorting Hat t'put me there, so I'd be in the same house as Hermione."
"Okay, just checking." Sirius said. "So, I heard you telling Hermione's mum you had a run-in with some jerks, and made them apologize to Hermione. Did you use a stunning spell like last time?" He asked, grinning at Harry.
Harry felt heat coloring his cheeks, and could tell Sirius was teasing him - something he could get used to, he thought- and said, "No, I just shook 'is 'and and then squeezed until 'e apologized."
Harry saw Sirius' hand came up to cover his face and he started shaking. Harry was startled, thinking Sirius was crying for some reason.
"W-what's wrong?" He asked, concerned.
Sirius' hand came down, and Harry realized he had been laughing and still was. "Sor..sorry Harry." Sirius said, getting control of himself. "That just reminded me so much of James. When he was dating your mum, one of the Slytherins called your mum a Mudblood, which got James angry. He used some sort of spell to apply pressure to the kids… you know… his bits?... until he swore to apologize to your mum in public."
Harry smiled, although sadly - realizing he'd only ever hear things like this from Sirius and Remus, rather than straight from his parents. He looked at Sirius curiously asked, "What's a 'Mudblood' or whatever you said?"
"It's Mudblood," Sirius said, "and it is a very nasty, hateful term used in the Wizarding world to describe people who have Muggles for parents, and don't come from a Wizard or Witch parent. It would apply to Hermione, your mum, and a lot of other wizards and witches. In the Wizarding world, a lot of importance is placed on blood, especially by those who have a long family history of wizards. Muggle-borns are considered to have 'dirty' blood, which is why the word is 'Mudblood'." He looked down a moment. "My family is one of those. I'm one of the few in the family who would never use such a term, and I really don't care who someone's parents are or if they were wizards or not - I look at that person and their actions before I judge them, not their family tree."
Harry nodded. "I think that's a good way t'look at it. So it's sorta like a slur like what some people say about African people?"
"Yep, it's exactly like that. Now, what's this I heard about two new friends?" Sirius asked, smiling at his godson.
"Oh, well, Hermione introduced me to 'er friends Luna an' Susan. They're both really nice, an' it didn't bother them when they found out I'm deaf. Luna's a bit … different. A lot o'the time she looks like she's daydreamin', but then she'll get real serious an' know things she shouldn't. She knew I was deaf before we told 'er, and…." Harry hesitated, looking a little worried, "she knew somethin' about you. She told me t'not let Remus see you 'til 'the time is right'. Well, she said 'the dog', but I know she meant you."
Sirius' own expression became serious as well. "How would she know about me? I hope she doesn't say anything to anyone else."
Sirius sighed heavily. "Well, there's nothing we can do about that," he said. "By the way, I saw you and Hermione work on that spell this morning. I think you did great."
Harry shrugged. "It was 'arder than I thought it'd be, but it ended up bein' fun."
The two talked some more about the day, but soon Sirius decided to go back to his dog form, as the staff meeting would soon be over. He plopped down next to Harry, who pulled out Introduction to the Magical World, and looked through the index for "Mudblood". He found it under a chapter on "Blood Purity", and began reading the chapter, to learn more about it all.
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Staff Office, Hogwarts Castle - Sunday evening, 2 January, 1994
Dumbledore concluded their meeting by asking every teacher to make sure they help Harry the best they can. Emma had been there to explain to them Dumbledore's request that they make an effort to look toward the class while teaching so Harry could read their lips. She had to explain to several of them not to exaggerate their words while they were speaking, as that would make it even more difficult for Harry to understand, but to instead speak as they normally would.
He had told them that he was planning to announce the fact that Harry was deaf, at breakfast the next morning. Emma found that she agreed with his reasoning - it would be best to be open about it to the students, rather than making Harry hide something that was an integral part of him. She also thought it would increase support by other classmates if they knew right off.
As she left the room with the others, thought back to how wonderfully accepting the others were to Harry's deafness. The only person she though might cause trouble was Severus Snape. 'That damnable man had better not be his usual self to Harry.' She thought to herself. She was comforted in the fact that Remus felt the same way, and would deal very swiftly with him, should Snape step out of line with regards to Harry.
She quietly said goodnight to Minerva when she came to the hallway that her quarters were in. "Einstein." She said, and the portrait/door swung open. She was ready for Harry to greet her, but smiled when she saw he had fallen asleep on the couch. She saw Blackie look up at her, and could have sworn he gave her a look that said "Don't wake him up".
She looked at Harry, who was lying peacefully on his side next to a closed book, and felt a warm surge of affection for him. 'He's such a great kid,' she thought, 'especially with what he's gone through in his life.' She was shocked to realize she was beginning to view him almost as her own child. She knew a lot of it was her maternal instinct, but realized he had very quickly, and unexpectedly, wormed his way into her heart - 'And that's not a bad thing', she thought. She knew she would do her best to protect him just as she would Hermione.
Emma walked over to the couch and took his book and set it on the nearby table. She grabbed one of the blankets from the back of the couch, which he had used the previous night, and spread it out to cover him up, taking care not to wake him up. She leaned down, pressed a kiss to his forehead, and saw him smile in his sleep. She patted Blackie on the head and whispered a "goodnight" to him, before heading off to her own room to get ready for bed.
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Great Hall, Hogwarts Castle - Monday morning, 3 January, 1994
Harry sat down at the table next to Hermione, having survived the mob of people from various houses introducing themselves to him. He glanced up and saw Professor McGonagall walking toward him. She handed him a sheet of paper. "Mr. Potter, this is your timetable for classes. You'll note I also listed the times of the Third year elective classes - Remus told me you'd like to visit each class and see what you like for next year. The professors of the classes have been informed, and you are free to visit whenever you would like. Today, I'd suggest you focus on looking ahead at material that will be covered in the required classes, because for this entire term, you have no classes on Mondays."
She handed him several stacks of parchment. "Each of these is a course syllabus for your classes, so you can look ahead at what the class will be studying." She turned to leave, but stopped and looked back. "I'm very glad to have you in Gryffindor house, and as the Head of Gryffindor, I want you to know if you ever need help, just come talk to me."
Harry nodded to her. "Thanks Professor."
When Harry turned back, he blinked in shock - all throughout the Hall, a veritable flock of owls flew into the Hall, each owl carrying some sort of parcel, a majority of them carrying newspapers, which were delivered to the students and many of the teachers. An owl landed by Hermione, and she dropped a few knuts into the money pouch it carried.
Hermione's eyes narrowed when she unfurled the paper - the Daily Prophet. She skimmed through the front page, her mouth setting in a firm line. She looked nervously around the table where others were reading the paper and beginning to whisper, then up at her mum, who had a similar expression. She glanced at Harry, and finally he asked her: "What's wrong, Hermione?"
Hermione sighed, and then set the paper between them, so Harry could read it. On the front, they had a large picture of him - one that he wondered where they had gotten it from - and the headline:
Harry Potter found - Alive! By Rita Skeeter
He read on:
Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, who many had feared dead after he was abandoned by his Muggle relatives, has been found alive, and has been taken to Hogwarts to begin the education he has missed out on.
Sources from inside Hogwarts tell us, however, that while he is alive, he is definitely not "well". He carries scars from his abuse under the hands of his relatives, and also, apparently, from the years he has spent on the street. We have also found that the Hero of the Wizarding World is completely deaf - apparently from a bout with Wizard's Meningitis. Deafness is rare among us, and is generally curable, but our source says the school nurse has determined that it is not very likely that Wizarding Physicians and Healers will be able to cure his deafness…..
Harry tossed the paper down, feeling queasy at how much they knew, and now, how much the entire Wizarding world knew. Harry looked around and now saw other students whispering to each other, some openly pointing at him, and a few looking at him with distaste. He lowered his gaze to stare at his food. Hermione squeezed his arm under the table, and he managed a very weak smile of thanks to her.
When he glanced up, the girl across from him, the 'Patil' girl he remembered, spoke to him. "Is the paper right?" She asked him.
Harry glanced at Hermione, and reluctantly nodded. Her expression softened. "I'm so sorry, that's terrible!" she exclaimed, "But… how can you understand me?" She asked, realizing that he had answered her question, and not Hermione.
Harry shrugged, uncomfortably aware of all the people around the table listening in and staring at him. "I went deaf 'bout four years ago, so I already knew 'ow to talk, an' I'm really good at readin' lips."
Others around him began asking questions, but they were interrupted when Dumbledore called for silence.
Harry looked up, and saw Emma and Remus, both looking at him with concerned gazes. Harry gave them the same weak smile he had given Hermione.
"Well, I had been planning on informing all of you this morning that young Harry has lost has hearing, but it appears the Daily Prophet has beat me to it." Dumbledore said, looking somewhat angry when he said the name of the newspaper. "Much of the story is true, however. Mr. Potter lost his hearing several years ago, and has adapted to this change very well. He can read lips very excellently, so if you are speaking to him, please show respect by allowing him to see your face. I am also aware that situations like last night and this morning are very difficult for him, with numerous students crowding close to him and speaking at the same time, so please, respect his space. I expect all of you to be respectful and helpful to Harry, so please do not disappoint me."
"I believe Mr. Potter is also quite proficient in sign language, and I encourage all of you to take the initiative to at least attempt to learn it - I have personally begun to do so. I have requested that Madam Pince order several books on the subject, to be made available in the library."
"I believe that is all, so you may all now enjoy your breakfast." Dumbledore said, sitting down to his own meal.
Breakfast passed quickly, and Harry noticed a difference in the students, most of them not crowding him, but he also saw many students still looking at him with distaste, especially the Slytherins. He saw Ron, Neville and Seamus pointedly ignore him as he passed, and he mentally smiled about that.
{Harry, I have to get to class, are you going to be studying?} Hermione asked.
Harry nodded. {Yeah, I think I'll go to the Library and look at what Professor McGonagall gave me.}
{Alright, I'll come by after class and we can go to lunch together.} Hermione signed.
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Great Hall, Hogwarts Castle - Monday afternoon, 3 January, 1994
Lunch had gone by without event, and Hermione had gone off to several more classes, while Harry returned to the Library. Looking through the actual class syllabus of each class, he found Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Transfiguration the most interesting, but he found Potions intriguing as well - he knew that he was talented at cooking - one of the only good things to come out of both his time at the Dursleys, and his time spent on the streets looking through various recipes and imagining what they would taste like, and how hard they would be to make. From what he saw, Potions was very similar, if only a little more exact on how long to stir, and when to add ingredients.
Hermione had returned from classes, and they were walking back to her mum's quarters to drop off Harry's things before they went down for supper. After dropping off his things, they made their way through the relatively crowded hallway, when a boy about Harry's age, with slicked-back platinum blond hair, and two thickset, mean-looking boys shoved Hermione to the side and stopped in front of Harry.
The blond examined Harry snootily, before talking. "Hello, I'm Draco Malfoy. I heard that you were befriending Granger, but I didn't believe it. It appears the rumors are true." The two trollish boys, who seemed to be merely his sidekicks, nodded stupidly in agreement.
"You could do so much better, Harry - get to know me, and I'll teach you how to be a proper member of an Ancient Family. My father has taught me everything about that, and is very proud of me. That includes not mingling with… Mudbloods… like Granger." He said, emphasizing the word "Mudblood", and smirking when Hermione flinched at the word.
Harry nearly lunged at him, but it was only Hermione's hand on his arm, and his remembrance of his discussion with Sirius that kept him from doing so. Instead, his face twisted in a sneer that he usually reserved for people like Stephen, the leader of the gang that had attacked him.
"Well, Malfoy" He said, spitting out the name with contempt, "I really don't care about 'ow clean anyone's blood is, or 'ow clean they like to think it is. I judge 'em on 'ow they act. To me, only thing blood's good for is keepin' you alive - an' I've taken a lot o'blood on the streets."
Draco looked positively speechless, and sputtered for a few moments before finally blurting the first thing that came to his mind: "Well, your mum was a Mudblood, and look where that's got you - deaf!"
Harry closed his eye briefly, and managed to contain his anger, if only for the moment. "Well, at least I'm not an inbred little ditz who needs to impress 'is daddy with 'ow many Muggleborns 'e can insult each day." Harry said, glad he read the chapter on Blood Purity the night before, especially the part about purebloods becoming very intermarried, in many cases pairing close cousins together.
During the entire encounter, Hermione had been trying to pull Harry away from Malfoy, but she quickly fond that if he didn't want to be moved, not much could move him. Her hand tightened on his arm when Malfoy insulted Harry's mother, but she realized, even though she didn't want the confrontation to continue, she was secretly happy to see Malfoy get called on his attacks on Muggleborns.
Draco's face turned red as he became angry. "Well, half-blood, since you think blood had no value, and you saw fit to insult the Malfoy family name, I challenge you to a Wizard's duel - tonight, after dinner."
Hermione gasped, and tried to tell Harry not to accept, knowing that Malfoy had much more experience in magic than Harry, especially with the Dark tones of the Malfoy name. "No, Harry, it isn't worth it." She said, looking him in the eyes.
What she saw there, dashed her hopes - she could see that he had already decided not to back down, and she was pretty sure nothing could change his mind. She lowered her eyes. "At least make him agree to a public duel with Professor Lupin being the referee," she said, knowing that Remus would immediately end the duel before anyone was seriously hurt.
"Okay, I accept th'challenge, if it's like Hermione said."
"Agreed." Malfoy said, reaching out his hand.
Harry gripped it firmly and was surprised when a flare of light came from both his hand and Malfoy's wand. As Malfoy strode off with his two goons in tow, Harry turned to Hermione.
He looked at her with a serious expression, and then asked, "What's a Wizard's duel?"
AN: Well, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Not sure when I'll have time to transfer the next chapter from Taylor's notebook onto my computer, so it could be two weeks or so until I put up the next chapter, as tis next week all my time will be consumed with packing up and heading to college for this coming semester.
Again, thank you for your kind replies.
I've read Book 7, and I've given a "critique" of sorts below, after a "spoiler warning" (for the likely small number of you who haven't already read it).
Next time: Harry's confrontation with Draco continues; first tutoring session with Remus; and first actual classes - Charms and Transfiguration.
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SPOILER ALERT! Spoilers of Book 7 ahead!
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SPOILER ALERT!
Well, I read Deathly Hallows. I was relatively entertained by it, and I thought it much better than HBP (which I thought was a disaster). I'm a Harry/Hermione shipper, like Taylor was (and like this story will be), so I didn't really care for the Harry/Ginny moment, or the Hermione/Ron moments (which seemed so forced it wasn't even funny), and I disliked the epilogue, of course.
I'm sort of glad, though, that JKR DIDN'T write H/Hr, given the way she portrayed the Harry/Ginny and Hr/R relationships - I got the feeling that she's not really that great at portraying romantic relationships (the whole Harry/Ginny in HBP reminds me of a bad Sweet Valley High novel). I'm actually relieved that she didn't massacre the H/Hr relationship like that (in fact, it seemed like the moments between Harry and Hermione were more natural and "shippy" when she didn't try to make them that way than the moments between the "couples" when she DID try to make it "shippy")
My favorite example of the unintentional "shippy moments" happened during the wedding chapter:
Trumpetlike sounds from the back of the marquee told everyone that Hagrid had taken out one of his own
tablecloth-sized handkerchiefs. Hermione turned and beamed at Harry; her eyes too were full of tears.
"…then I declare you bonded for life."
Overall it was a satisfactory read, and an okay end to the series.
I do have some criticisms I'd like to share with you all.
First, I noticed a glaring plothole: In the last book, she stated there were six Horcruxes, plus the fragment still
inside Voldemort. In DH there were eight, not seven.
1) Tom's diary (destroyed in CoS)
2) Marvolo's ring (destroyed by DD offscreen)
3) the RAB locket (destroyed in HP7)
4) Helga Hufflepuff's cup (destroyed in HP7)
5) Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem (destroyed in HP7)
6) Nagini (destroyed by Neville in HP7)
7) Harry (accidental Horcrux, destroyed by Voldemort)
8) Voldemort (destroyed by Voldemort's own actions)
Second, more of a nitpick, in DH it says that Hermione's middle name is JEAN, contrary to Jo's previous statements that it was JANE.
Third, she totally ignored the "power the dark lord knows not". I mean really, the "power" is just some sort of beefed up wand that makes AK work bass-ackwards? That's a big plot-hole that bugged me.
Fourth, I didn't really care for the epilogue itself, not just the shipping part of it - it really didn't do much for me - it seemed like I was reading the ending of a mediocre fanfiction, and in fact I've seen many with the exact same sort of ending.
Finally, I disliked how she had Hermione erase herself from her parent's memories, and then never mentions her parents again. However, I really think that the erasing was one of the parts that showed how strong H/Hr's relationship was - I mean look at what she was willing to give up for Harry!
Overall, however, I am satisfied with the book, even with all of the parts I disliked. It isn't a favorite by any means - it has nothing on PoA, GoF, and OotP, but it is better quality than HBP was.
Well thanks for listening to my rant - I'd also like to hear what you all think of the book.
One last thing - How could you kill off Hedwig, JKR!?
Really, that was the only death in the book that brought tears to my eyes.
[/END SPOILERS]