Hi there. I'm trying once again to write my fan fic which I started working nearly four years ago, about a month after OOTP was released. Yes, it has been a long time in the making. See the A/N after the chapter for more.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Harry Potter & The Power Of Gryffindor: Chapter One - O.W.L Results & Letters
The drought that had plagued the country the previous year had all but passed. "Oh well, this makes up for last year!" was the general lame one-liner that most weathermen were saying. But they did have a point as England was well on track to record their wettest summer on record. Not that Harry Potter had noticed, or cared for that matter.
Right now, it was 6:30 at night and Harry was where he had spent most of his time since coming home from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the summer holidays: in his bedroom at number four Privet Drive with only his snowy owl Hedwig for company. The Dursleys had gone out into town for dinner but this didn't bother Harry at all. It meant that the house was quiet and that's what he liked at the moment.
Harry had only left his room when he really needed to. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and to use the bathroom. That was about it. He had hardly spoken a word to the Dursleys and he had pretty much ignored them. The Dursleys however, knew better than to shout at him, because they knew Harry would let members of the Order of the Phoenix know that he wasn't being treated well. Harry hadn't forgotten the look of horror on Uncle Vernon's face when Mad-Eye Moody had showed him his magical eye.
Harry was sitting at his desk with his Transfiguration books open while writing away on a piece of parchment. He had been working on it all day. He was on his last piece of holiday homework and he had only been away from Hogwarts for just over two weeks. He had found that busying himself with his homework temporarily helped him to take his mind off other, more disturbing thoughts. Harry however, had just finished the Transfiguration essay, and he tried very hard to stop his mind from wondering.
He didn't want to have to relive memories of last year during the day. It was bad enough that he was having almost sleepless nights. Almost every night, horrible memories of that night in the Department of Mysteries filled his dreams: the moment that they were surrounded by Death Eaters, Neville being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange, Ginny with her broken ankle, Ron fighting with the brain as it wrapped around him and Luna flying across the room. But two moments in particular stood out painfully. Dolohov striking down Hermione with his wordless curse, and Sirius disappearing beyond the veil with a look of shock on his face.
Just the thought of Sirius' name brought Harry terrible sadness and overwhelming guilt. Harry still blamed himself. It didn't matter to him that Dumbledore said that it was mostly his fault. Dumbledore hadn't seen Voldemort's mind trick in his head, he hadn't seen Sirius supposedly being tortured. It had felt and looked real, but Harry had fallen for the trap just as Voldemort hoped he would and he had almost got himself and his friends killed. And Sirius had died.
Harry got up from his desk, shook his head roughly as though he was trying to clear it of thoughts, walked over to the window and looked out over the street.
Aside from the fact it was pouring with rain, Privet Drive looked exactly like the suburban street it usually did. Through the rain, Harry recognised Mrs Figg walking under an umbrella carrying a shopping bag. Probably full of cat food Harry thought. He had only talked to Mrs Figg once since he came back. She had again apologised for not telling him the truth about herself and the reason she gave was one that Harry was heartily sick of hearing: because Dumbledore said so.
Harry wasn't quite sure what he would do if he saw Dumbledore at this very moment. One part of him wanted to listen to what he would say, while the other part wanted to keep on yelling at him. His mind travelled back to their meeting in Dumbledore's office. He had talked about his scar, why Voldemort tried to kill him and why he had to go back to Privet Drive every summer. Even though he now understood why he had to go back to Privet Drive each summer, it didn't make him feel any better for it.
The words of the prophecy continually passed through Harry's mind. Just one reminder of the difficult times that are ahead he thought dully.
Harry left the window and sat down on his bed. He didn't know how much longer he would be at Privet Drive. He had completely thrown himself into his studies to keep himself busy. But he was more or less finished and there was still six weeks of the summer holidays left. He thought about what his two best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were doing now.
Ron sounded as though he was keeping himself busy enough helping out Fred and George with Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, which by all reports, was doing very well. Hermione of course, would be just as busy as Harry was with holiday homework.
Harry wasn't quite sure why, but lately just at the thought of Hermione's name his stomach gave some sort of a funny jolt. It had been going on ever since that night at the Ministry. When Dolohov struck down Hermione, Harry froze. He couldn't think of another word to describe it. For those few horrible seconds, he was unable to act at all, temporarily paralysed until Neville informed that Hermione had a pulse. He had never been more relieved in his life when Neville said those words.
Both of them were still at home with their families and as such, they didn't have any news on what members of the Order were doing, especially Hermione, whose parents were Muggles. You thought it was hard getting information out of Mum before, you should try it now Ron had written the previous week. At least this time, Harry knew that they were both really trying to tell him information. They were all keeping in frequent contact, although Harry had noticed that Ron had not written for about a week. Harry was still getting the Daily Prophet delivered, but all that was in it different methods of defending yourselves against Death Eaters and dark creatures. Not that most of the advice they were giving out wasn't common knowledge. Don't leave your house alone. Avoid travelling at night if possible. Just to name a few. Harry only glossed over the paper anyway, as his respect levels for the Daily Prophet were still very low after everything that was written about him over the last year.
Looking back on his behaviour over the last year, Harry felt slightly ashamed. During the last year alone, he had shouted more than he had for the first fourteen years of his life. He had a lot of pent up anger from everything that was being said and written about him and his friends, Hermione in particular, had coped the brunt of it. Throughout last year, Hermione had tried to be the voice of reason, but Harry wasn't a good person to try and reason with last year. Harry remembered back to his argument with Hermione whether or not Sirius was really being tortured. He was so infuriated that he had almost hit her. He was still horrified, that the thought of hitting Hermione, the one person who had always been there for him, had crossed his mind. Not that you've ever told her that, or thanked her he thought miserably.
Harry tried to shake all the negative thoughts out of his head again and tried to focus on something happy. This wasn't easy because there had hardly been a happy moment for him lately. There was one thing however, that had given Harry lots of satisfaction during school last year: Dumbledore's Army.
At the time that she suggested it, Harry thought it was another one of Hermione's wild ideas such as S.P.E.W. But after taking it under consideration, Harry took Ron, Hermione and twenty-five other students under his wing and taught them a wide variety of defence spells. But even that had ended on a sour note, after Cho Chang's friend Marietta Edgecombe sold them out to Professor Umbridge. Under the then Hogwarts High Inquisitor's rules, they would have all been expelled if Dumbledore hadn't taken the fall for them.
Harry looked at his alarm clock on his bedside table. It was now ten o'clock. Suddenly over come by tiredness, Harry fell onto his bed without bothering to change and fell asleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Harry awoke next morning to find that the house was again empty except for himself and Hedwig. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep because of his nightmares, but he knew he would never be able to get back to sleep now that the sun was up. He got up, took a shower, got dressed and went downstairs, where he found the same note that was left for him whenever the Dursleys went out.
Gone out. Back later. Only eat what's been left for you. And don't touch anything else.
Usually whenever they went out, the Dursleys would send Harry to Mrs Figg's or else lock him in his bedroom, seeing that they knew that Harry wasn't allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts. But because of the Order's warning, they didn't do this anymore.
Harry looked at the food that had been left out for him: four slices of bread and butter. 'I think I'll pass', he muttered to himself. He trudged back upstairs but before he could collapse back onto the bed, an owl that Harry didn't recognise was rapping on his window. Harry quickly opened the window where the owl flew in, dropped an envelope on his bed and promptly flew off again.
Harry suddenly realised what it was: his O.W.L results. He had completely forgotten about them. With his hands shaking slightly, he opened up the envelope and read:
Dear Mr Potter,
Your O.W.L examinations have been marked and here are your results.
Charms
Exceeds Expectations (O.W.L)
Transfiguration
Exceeds Expectations (O.W.L)
Herbology
Outstanding (O.W.L)
Defence Against the Dark Arts
Outstanding* (O.W.L)
Potions
Exceeds Expectations (O.W.L)
Care of Magical Creatures
Outstanding (O.W.L)
Astronomy
Acceptable (O.W.L)
Divination
Poor
History of Magic
Poor
Overall Results
Outstanding: Three
Exceeds Expectations: Three
Acceptable: One
Poor: Two
Dreadful: None
Troll: None
Total O.W.Ls: Seven
(* Denotes Extra Credit)
Congratulations on your results
Griselda Marchbanks
Head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority
Harry wasn't surprised to see that he had failed Divination. As for History of Magic, no don't go there… he thought fiercely. The Outstanding Defence Against the Dark Arts grade gave him immense satisfaction. He was also happy with Charms and Transfiguration, but at the same time, a little disappointed. With just a little more hard work, the 'E's' could have been 'O's'. As Harry feared however, Potions looked as though it was his downfall for a career as an Auror. 'E' for Potions, while very good by Harry's standards, wasn't good enough, as Snape only took students into his N.E.W.T class who scored an 'O' at O.W.L level. Overall though, he was fairly happy with his results.
Another owl suddenly swooped into the room, dropped another envelope on Harry's bed and promptly flew out again.
Picking up the very thick envelope, Harry recognised the Hogwarts crest on the back. He opened the envelope and read:
Dear Mr Potter,
Firstly, the new school term will start on September the first as per normal. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross Station, platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock.
Secondly, I would like to congratulate you on your O.W.L results. Considering all the events that took place leading up to the examinations, you exceeded many people's expectations, including mine. With your results in mind, you have been recommended to continue with all of your subjects at N.E.W.T level, except Divination. And before you begin to wonder, Professor Snape has agreed to accept you into his N.E.W.T Potions class if you wish to undertake the subject. Make your subject choices carefully, as you will be undertaking these subjects for your last two years at Hogwarts. Please send back your subject choices in the supplied envelope no later than July 31. Booklists for your chosen subjects will be sent out to you when your subject choices have been returned.
Thirdly, with the removal (Thank Merlin) of Professor Umbridge as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and Hogwarts High Inquisitor, all Educational Decrees passed by her and Cornelius Fudge have been abolished. Your lifetime ban from Quidditch has also been lifted. Your Firebolt will be returned to you at a later date. I would also like to take this opportunity to offer you the captaincy of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Please take time to consider this offer before letting me know.
And finally, you may know this already, but Ronald Weasley has given up his status as a Prefect. After consulting Professor Dumbledore, we have decided that you will be the new Gryffindor Prefect. Your Prefect badge has been enclosed. I am sure Miss Granger will let you know of your duties and responsibilities as a Prefect.
I wish you all the best for the upcoming year.
Yours sincerely,
Professor M. McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Harry had to re-read the letter, as it was full with more shocking information.
Why had Snape accepted Harry into N.E.W.T Potions? Perhaps Dumbledore or McGonagall had bullied him into it. Great Harry thought. If that's the case, Snape is going to be hell this year. Maybe he's just doing it to keep giving me a hard time. Just thinking about Snape was making Harry's blood boil. The two weeks at Privet Drive had done nothing to quell the bitterness Harry harboured towards Snape for his treatment of Sirius.
Pushing all thoughts of Snape out of his head, Harry looked back at the letter. The news of his re-instatement to the Gryffindor Quidditch Team wasn't a surprise, but the offer of the captaincy from McGonagall certainly was. Sure he knew a lot of different tactics, but not the fundamentals of each move. That was one of the good things about being a Seeker. Just stay out of the way of everyone else, the bludgers and grab the Snitch before the other Seeker. He decided to do as McGonagall suggested, and think about it.
The biggest shock of the whole letter however was in the last paragraph. Prefect? What the hell? Harry couldn't understand why Ron would give something like that up. Although he had never openly said it, Ron had always wanted something like that to help his own cause of attempting to outshine his older brothers. Reaching back into the envelope, Harry pulled out a shiny badge with a large 'P' superimposed on the Gryffindor lion.
Harry shook his head, and resolved himself to asking Ron about it as soon as he could.
Before Harry could think anymore however, another owl flew into the room; this one delivering the Daily Prophet. Harry put three Knuts in the owl's small pouch, and the owl flew off.
Harry unrolled the paper and glanced at the front page. His eyes went wide at the headline.
DEATH EATERS ESCAPE AZKABAN, SIX AURORS DEAD
The Ministry of Magic confirmed last night that six Aurors were killed in a breakout at Azkaban prison, in which all of the Death Eaters that were captured at the Department of Mysteries back in June escaped and have again realigned themselves with You-Know-Who. This is a severe blow to the Ministry, which is still under fire for the way they handled You-Know-Who's return.
Many people believe that this was inevitable, as the Dementors no longer guard Azkaban, having defected to the Dark Lord. Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge has warned the Wizarding public to be extra vigilant, but not to try anything rash if any of these people are spotted, as they are extremely dangerous.
Although details are rather sketchy, it is believed that one or two Death Eaters stormed the fortress with a group of Dementors. The six Aurors were all given the Dementor's Kiss trying to keep the prisoners at bay. We hope to have more details on this very soon.
That was all that was written about it. The rest of the page showed a big picture of the Azkaban fortress, with the Dark Mark hovering high above it. Harry put the paper down on his bed, sat down and thought.
He had been expecting this to happen. With no Dementors at Azkaban, the chances of escaping from Azkaban were greatly improved. Harry sighed and shook his head in frustration. Fudge has no one to blame for this but himself he thought bitterly. Harry felt terribly sorry for the families of the six Aurors. Dumbledore had warned Fudge that the Dementors would defect to Voldemort, but Fudge did nothing but deny that Voldemort had even returned in the first place.
Reaching into his trunk, Harry pulled out Flying with the Cannons and started to read, trying to take his mind off the breakout. It seemed to work as well as it was well past one o'clock before he was disturbed by the arrival of yet another owl, but Harry recognised this one. It was Pigwidgeon.
It was difficult work, but Harry finally managed to pluck Pig out of the air. He was slightly surprised that Pig took off back out the window the moment he relieved him of the letter. Harry shrugged and figured that he would just send a reply with Hedwig. He was curious with what Ron had to say.
Dear Harry,
I know it has been a week since I wrote last, and I'm sorry about that. Something happened four days ago, and I just wasn't really sure how to tell you. Should I wait till I see you, or should I just tell you in a letter? But since we got our O.W.L results and Hogwarts letters today, I'm guessing you already know what I'm about to say.
Why did I give up my Prefect status? Well to tell you the truth, I gave it up for two reasons. One, before Professor McGonagall got the chance to take it away from me. Two, I don't think I deserved it in the first place. Let me explain what happened.
As you know, I've been at Diagon Alley for most the holidays helping out Fred and George with the shop. It's been going great. It was great four days ago as well until three o'clock that afternoon. Malfoy came into the shop and started saying all the usual crap that he does. The whole time he had this weird looking smile on his face. Looking back, I think it had to be a knowing smile. If you ask me, I reckon he knew that his Dad was about to be broken out of Azkaban.
Anyhow, Fred and George managed to get him out fairly quickly (them being able to use magic helped there), and I followed him out to make sure that he actually left. It looked like that he was going as well, but he suddenly stopped and turned to face me. With that same smile on his face, he said "Next time you see Potter, tell him Black got what he deserved."
Before I even knew it myself, Malfoy was lying on the ground with blood pouring out of his nose. Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall happened to be right behind me and to say the very least, she wasn't happy. Furious would probably be the better word. Making matters even worse was the fact that there was a school governor across the other side of the street. McGonagall began admonishing me and Malfoy took his chance and ran off like the coward that he is.
McGonagall, the school governor and I sat down in a back room of the shop and I was asked to explain what happened. With the school governor there, I couldn't say anything about Sirius. So I said that Malfoy had insulted me and my family. Needless to say, that certainly wasn't an adequate enough reason. It was made worse by the school governor saying that as a Hogwarts Prefect, my actions were disgraceful. He recommended that I have my Prefect status removed. Being Head of Gryffindor House, it was up to McGonagall.
But I had been thinking ever since we came home, 'Do I really want this?' You probably know this already, but I'm saying it for the first time. I had always wanted something like this to separate myself from my brothers. Last year's school work was hard enough, but throwing Prefect duties into the mix, well you know how behind I was in my homework for most of the year. And to be honest, I really wasn't enjoying it. I feel that you deserved it a hell of a lot more than I ever did.
So here they were talking about taking it away form me and I decided 'If I'm going to lose it, I'm going to lose it on my terms.' So I got up and said "Professor McGonagall, first of all, I want to apologise. No matter what Draco Malfoy said to me, my actions were unacceptable." Before she could respond to that, I went on. "Secondly, I regret to inform you that as of this very moment, I am relinquishing my Prefect status. My actions were a very poor example for everyone who saw what happened. (And there were a lot.) I also think that I did not deserve it in the first place, and I think you know who did Professor." McGonagall was very surprised, but after making sure with me if that is what I wanted, she agreed. She wouldn't tell me who would take over from me, but as far as I'm concerned mate, if its not you, something is seriously wrong.
Anyway I better get going. Shop is fairly busy at the moment. Take care mate. Hope to see you soon.
Ron
Harry couldn't believe what he had just read. He felt incredible anger towards Malfoy. How did he know? How? And Ron! Harry couldn't believe that Ron had written all of that out. He had basically endorsed Harry to take over as a Prefect.
He was still trying to absorb everything, when there was a knock on the front door.
Taking no chances, Harry grabbed his wand and made his cautiously to the front door. He slowly opened the door, and let out a gasp of surprise.
Professor Dumbledore was standing on the doorstep.
A/N: If you remember reading the original, there are only very slight changes. It's my hope that tinkering with this slightly will motivate me to keep going. The first four chapters are done and I'm working on the fifth now. Chapters 2-4 will be up after I've tinkered those to my satisfaction.
Until then, PLEASE tell me what you think, even if you remember reading this the first time. Nothing satisfies an author more than reviews. Cheers.
J R Potter