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Dreams of Home Chapter 20
🕑 Added 2023-05-09 20:34:08 +0000 UTCChapter 20
Harry was spending his Friday evening in the library studying with the Marauders, Lily, Marlene, Frank, and Alice. The study group had been formed by Lily, and she was becoming quite the slave driver in attempting to set up a good study program for her friends so they could do well on their NEWTs. Harry smiled in admiration at the woman as she droned on about a topic they had covered in Ancient Runes that day. The comparisons to Hermione were clearly well-founded as the two both had a tendency to throw themselves into their studies. Particularly if they were trying to distract themselves from a bigger problem.
Harry thought back to a few nights ago when he and Lily had been discussing the pros and cons of the Fidelius charm. Harry could tell the young woman was really feeling down that day, and was doing his best to lift her spirits, but he was mostly unsuccessful. When asked what the matter was she told him about a dream she had been having where Death Eaters attacked her neighborhood. She had been having the dream nearly every night since the attack in Sussex, and she was shaken about what had happened.
It was during this conversation Harry realized that even Lily was not realizing the magnitude of what was happening out there. She spoke of the event as if it was a natural weather disaster that was unavoidable. She wasn’t angry, she was scared. It was a difference that Harry couldn’t quite understand between Lily and Elaina. Elaina was ready to fight as it was. This was only the beginning, and the girl was ready to stand up to these bastards. Lily did not seem there yet. Perhaps it was because it was already personal to Elaina? They had attacked her hometown, and maybe even killed people she knew. It was like Lily was observing a statistic in the Daily Prophet with how casually she spoke of it.
Thinking back on what he knew of his mother in his timeline it was possible that the death of his maternal grandparents, and possibly even friends of hers, is what drove her into action. War always seems so far off until it is at your doorstep.
Thinking of the Muggleborn Slytherin, he realized they hadn’t spoken much since their encounter in the abandoned classroom, but they exchanged respectful nods each time they passed each other. Andromeda had noted that Elaina had come back after curfew that night, and asked Harry about it, but he said nothing. Perhaps Harry would’ve been better off being honest with Andi, because now she was very suspicious of what the two had been up to.
Suddenly he felt the eyes of the table on him, and he frowned as he realized he’d let himself get lost in his thoughts, “Sorry, what?”
James gave him a concerned look while Sirius shook his head, “Mate, we’ve been trying to get your attention. What planet were you on?”
“Sorry.” Harry apologized, “What did I miss?”
Alice answered him with a soft smile, “We were wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade as a group with us tomorrow? We figured since it’s your first time there we could show you around.”
Frank offered him a smile as he squeezed his girlfriend's hand, and the others just looked expectantly at him as he briefly considered his answer, “My parents are supposed to meet me at the Three Broomsticks at noon. I am not sure how long they will want to meet for, but I am sure they would like to visit with James and Sirius before departing. If you all want to gather for lunch there we could spend the rest of the afternoon together showing me around?”
James and Sirius both looked surprised by his answer, and the older Potter asked, “Uncle Charlus and Aunt Dorea will be in Hogsmeade this weekend?”
Harry gave the boy a grin, “We aren’t hiding anymore, Prongs. I think they are planning on watching your Quidditch matches this fall as well.”
Charlus had told Harry that he intended to spend more time around Hogwarts this year. He was hoping his presence would discourage an attack on the school or Hogsmeade, but Harry was uncertain whether that would work, or whether it would provoke the Dark Lord into a confrontation sooner than he did in Harry’s time.
“So there is no truth to the rumor mill that you and Elaina Essex are going together tomorrow?” Marlene asked.
Harry peered over at the girl who looked a little too interested in Harry’s answer for it to be innocent. Marlene was certainly a beautiful girl with her golden blonde hair and stunning blue eyes, but he answered with honesty, “Elaina and I have not spoken of Hogsmeade together. I can honestly say I have no idea where that rumor would’ve come from.”
Alice laughed at his answer, “No surprise there. We heard you two had a sordid encounter in an abandoned classroom in the dungeons. I also heard she saved your life in the Slytherin common room, and you wanted to repay a favor.”
Harry’s look of surprise betrayed him as Sirius shot to his feet, “You did sleep with Essex! I see the guilt on your face.”
Rolling his eyes at Sirius’s words Harry shook his head, “There would be no reason for me to feel guilty even if I did have a…what did Alice call it? A sordid encounter. She shielded me when Avery tried to hex me in the back, so I do owe her one.”
James swore under his breath, “Knew we should’ve pranked those gits with something a little more malicious.”
Lily rolled her eyes at his words, but then shifted a suspicious glance towards Harry, “Why the surprise at the rumor though? I think we could all see it on your face.”
Deciding the truth would make him look the least guilty he tried to explain himself, “Elaina and I did have a duel after curfew the other night in an abandoned classroom near the dungeons. It was the favor she wanted for saving my skin.”
Remus chuckled, “That does sound much more like the Harry we know. It also fits what little we know of Miss Essex.”
Sirius and James both looked a little disappointed at his words, while Marlene now had narrowed eyes, “Did you beat her?”
“She was a very good opponent.” Harry said dismissively, “The best I have encountered at Hogwarts so far.” Pausing for a moment Harry considered what to say next, and his curiosity won out, “What do you know about her?”
Peter offered Harry a grin speaking for the first time, “Interested there, Harry? I don’t think I have to warn you that she is vicious with her wand. I once saw her take three older Slytherins down in our fifth year. She’s fast, and would hex you into oblivion if you took Padfoot’s approach to women.”
This caused the guys to chuckle, and the girls to roll their eyes, while James teased, “Seriously, Harry, what’s the deal?”
Frowning as he considered the question he shrugged, “She saved my skin. She says we are even, and if someone has a go at her I will feel obligated at this point to defend her. Surely you all know something about her? You have spent seven years in class with her.”
Everyone scrunched up their faces at this, and Frank added helpfully, “Before you got here, Harry, most of our interactions with the Slytherins were not very pleasant. We haven’t exactly had tons of opportunities to break bread with any of them.”
Lily nodded, “I tried to befriend her in our first year. It seemed to go well at first, but I think the other Slytherins bullied her for it, and she stepped away from me. She’s never been hostile towards me, but I have seen her try to hex Sirius.”
James laughed, “Padfoot deserved it. What was it you said to her?”
Sirius actually pinkened at his question and Remus patted the boy on the back hard, “He told her she looked quite good on a broomstick, and asked her if she would like to ride his!”
“I was pissed!” Sirius said loudly defending himself as the others laughed, “It was after one of the recreational classes. Prongs had bet I couldn’t make it through the class with liquid courage, and I proved him wrong. I did really well…until I tried to put the moves on Essex.”
Alice grinned, “I don’t think she’s ever dated anyone in our time here, Harry. I’ve never seen her down in Hogsmeade with anyone.”
“What about her family? Being a Muggleborn I guess there isn’t much to know?” Harry asked curiously.
Lily looked sharply at Harry for that comment, “What is that supposed to mean?”
In defense, he raised his hands, “I only meant that being a Muggleborn Slytherin she isn’t likely to go bragging about her parents being dentists or something.”
His words seemed to confuse everyone at the table, and not wanting to stay on the topic any longer he sought to change the topic, “Anyway, I am sure my parents would like to meet my new friends as well. I think it is something they might be pretty anxious about in fact. James has been talking about some of you for years, and in turn, my uncle Monty has talked about you all in turn to my father in their correspondence.”
This made James blush a little when Harry winked at Lily knowingly. It is certainly no secret that the Marauder had a giant crush on his Head Girl counterpart. Lily giggled at the exchange while she said, “It sounds a lot less intimidating than meeting James’ father. Harry’s father isn’t Heir to some ancient family at least.”
Harry and James chuckled at this while James said, “My dad is one of the least intimidating people in the world. Harry’s old man was a war hero. Maybe one of the most powerful people in Britain magically. My aunt is no slouch either, not to mention she is the only woman alive in Britain right now with an Order of Merlin.”
Nodding, Harry said, “Mum is wicked with her wand. She fights with her temper like the other Blacks. It can be terrifying when you upset her. Luckily she can put you back together after she takes you apart.”
Frank chuckled at this, “You have to watch out for those Black witches. I crossed wands with Bellatrix two years ago in the dueling club, and she crushed me like a bug. Spent two days in the hospital wing.”
“Which is how I asked Frank out by the way.” Alice said with a smile.
Interested in the story of how Neville’s parents came together Harry pursued the topic, “Really? This git ends up in the hospital wing, and you felt sorry for him so agreed to go to Hogsmeade with him?”
“Pretty much!” Alice chirped with a sly grin on her face while Frank gave Harry an unamused look.
Sirius guffawed with laughter, “Longbottom had it nearly as bad as Prongs here. He had been shooting pitiful looks at Alice for weeks. Bellatrix was looking for another victim, and had her eyes set on our girl here when Frank volunteered to duel her. Was a hell of a fight, but he didn’t stand a chance against Bella.”
Flashes of Harry’s battles with Bellatrix went through his mind at the mention of the woman. His heart clenched as he realized Frank and Bellatrix would get a rematch in 1981 if things did not change from the course that followed on his timeline. Bellatrix was Voldemort’s most feared lieutenant. Even Harry had never bested the witch, or even been close in his time. She had also killed many of his friends.
Returning to reality, Harry heard Alice defend herself immediately, “Everyone was terrified of Bellatrix. Frank wasn’t standing too far from where I was, and I saw she was about to challenge me. My knight in shining armor beat her to the punch, and challenged her himself. Poor Frank got trounced all for me. I felt bad so I brought apple pie from the kitchen-”
“Which is my favorite.” Frank said happily.
“And asked him if I could make it up to him.” Alice said with a grin.
“The rest is history.” Frank replied.
“Wow.” Harry said with interest, and then jokingly added, “Well I guess I am out of luck in finding a girl Frank’s way because none of you have what it takes to bring me down.”
This caused the group to jeer at him, and he chuckled at their reactions as they all gathered up their stuff to return to their dormitories for the night. All the others in the study group were Gryffindors so Harry offered to walk Marlene back to Ravenclaw tower while the others all said their goodnights.
The two walked back in companionable silence, but Harry could feel a certain tension in the girl beside him. Glancing over at her she was discreetly biting her lip looking a little apprehensive. He knew they had not many interactions, but they had spent enough time in class together at this point that she shouldn’t have been worried about being alone with him, “So I hear you are on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team?”
She seemed grateful for a conversation, and latched onto it, “That’s right. Since my third year. I actually got to play with one of my brothers before he graduated, which was cool.”
“That is cool.” Harry agreed, “I had hoped to get a chance to play with James, but it seems now I will have the task of beating him.”
The blonde grinned at this, “I hope you do. Gryffindor has won every game since my third year. We took them down in my brother’s last year at Hogwarts, and that’s only because he caught the snitch in the first hour of the game. James did his best to put up 150, but my brother was too fast. It was mostly luck. Another hour, and we would’ve been another number in his win percentage. It’s their only loss since James started in his second year. He will likely break the all-time Hogwarts scoring record this year.”
“I hope he does.” Harry said, “He plays around a lot, but he is very serious about Quidditch, and trains hard. Though he will have to put up so many goals that my catching the snitch won’t matter. Unless Black doesn’t let me on the team.”
This made the girl frown, “I had heard you were pretty good, why wouldn’t he let you on the team?”
“I don’t think he liked it when I cursed some of his friends.” Harry said with a grin.
“Prats probably had it coming.” Marlene said, returning his grin.
Arriving at the Ravenclaw entrance Marlene frowned for a second, “How did you know where my common room was?”
Realizing that Harry had indeed led them to the seventh floor he swiftly said, “My cousin is probably the most knowledgeable person in this castle other than the Professors. He made sure I knew my way around when we discussed it over the summer.”
Marlene seemed to accept this as she approached her common room door. Before she could reach for the knocker however she stopped. Harry glanced at the girl he was about to wish goodnight to and asked, “Everything okay, Marlene?”
“I was wondering if you would like to be my date to Hogsmeade tomorrow?” The blonde asked as she stopped, and turned to face him.
Surprised Harry blinked a few times before saying, “I thought we were all going as a group?”
Mustering up her courage Marlene shrugged, “Maybe I wanted a little time with you myself. Have a chance to get to know the man behind the mystery.”
Harry wasn’t sure how he felt about that answer, but offered the girl a smile, “Sure, as long as we get to spend some time with our group. I think James is really looking forward to showing me around.”
Flashing him a bright smile she nodded in acceptance, “Of course. I will be looking forward to it then. Goodnight, Harry.”
“Goodnight, Marlene.” Harry said feeling the smile overtake his features.
Turning in the direction of the dungeons Harry wondered just what the beautiful blonde's interest in him was. They weren’t unfamiliar with one another, but it could hardly be said they were more than passing acquaintances at this point. The only thing he really knew about her was something that Hagrid had told him about her whole family being wiped out by Voldemort. He vaguely recalled a letter his mother had written to Sirius about when they discovered the McKinnons had been killed. That had to have been sometime in 1981.
The thought was more than a fleeting concern as Harry pondered the implications of what his presence had likely already done to this world. He could only hope that it would all be for the better. He knew his real mother and father had been close to Marlene, and if he could spare them the pain of losing her he would.
Marlene had a kind aura about her as well. She had proven to be fairly formidable in their Defense class as well. Her family deserved a chance to live through this war. A cold feeling passed through Harry however as he reminded himself of something that Charlus had told him, ‘Harry, I know you want to save everyone, but you will drive yourself mad trying to do it. Save who you can, protect who you will, but this is war, son. No war is fought without casualties.’
The grave thought sobered the good feeling Harry had by the beautiful witch asking him on a date. Returning to his common room he saw Andromeda, Nate, Pandora, and Elaina all sitting together by the fire. It seemed the common room was busy so close to curfew, but it being the Friday night before the first Hogsmeade visit Harry wasn’t too surprised. Deciding to join his housemates he went over to the only open seat which was on the couch that Elaina was sitting on and greeted the group before taking a seat next to her to see what was being discussed.
Andromeda greeted Harry first, “Big plans for Hogsmeade tomorrow, Harry?”
“Just hanging out with my cousin, the rest of the Marauders, and their friends. Have a little bit of family business to take care of during the visit, but nothing too exciting.” Harry answered easily.
“Three Broomsticks?” Nate inquired, and Harry nodded in answer.
“Well then, maybe we will really stir up the pot tomorrow, and join you all.” Pandora said with a laugh, “Safety in numbers and all that too. My husband was planning on joining me in Hogsmeade tomorrow, so I would appreciate-”
“Of course, you are welcome with us, Pandora.” Harry answered quickly, “We are friends right?”
The girl beamed at him the same way Luna would, and his heart clenched briefly. Elaina seemed to catch his expression, and looked at him questioningly, but he ignored her as Nate said, “I am afraid I will have to pass this time. My father is visiting to speak with me about family business as well. I’m not expecting good news with everything that has been going on.”
This brought a grave silence to the group as they all glanced to a corner of the room that held the other seventh-year Slytherins. The words of whispers and mutiny were hardly whispers at this point. They seemed to want another chance at antagonizing Harry, or setting him up to get him in trouble, and thus far he had not risen to the bait. He wondered at some point if Elaina was going to beat him to the point of cursing one of them, and then claim the protection of House Potter like he had offered to her before. He wouldn’t blame her if she did, in fact, he might even support her.
Andromeda broke the silence next, “I might join you if you can convince your Gryffindor pals to let me join. If we are going to be outcasts we might as well all do it together. Besides, with Sirius there they can’t really fault me for spending time with my cousin, and potential allies in the Wizengamot.”
Grinning at his current favorite Black he turned to Elaina, “Well what do you say, Elaina? Would you like to join us as well?”
This seemed to cast a dark shadow over the group, but the girl ignored it, “I am actually not allowed in Hogsmeade. I was never able to get my family to sign the permission slip.”
Harry frowned at this immediately, “You’ve never been to Hogsmeade before then?”
Trying to appear nonchalant about it the girl nodded, “That’s right. It’s fine really. It sucked the first year, but after that, I didn’t mind the quiet castle. I will find somewhere to practice my magic in peace, or read a book to pass the day.”
Pondering her answer carefully he pulled his wand out and cast a subtle charm using the word, “Muffliato.”
The buzzing sound increased for a moment, and everyone looked surprised at Harry summoning a privacy charm. They were even more surprised when Harry asked, “Do you want to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow?”
The girl frowned at his question, “Harry I just told you that I am not allowed to go. I don’t have my permission slip signed.”
“I can get you out of the castle undetected. I am also quite good at glamor charms, and disguises.” Harry said with a grin, “If you want to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow then nothing is going to stop you except yourself.”
Andromeda made a face at his words, “Harry, it would be impossible to slip her past Filch.”
“I have more than one way to get out of this castle if she wants to go. Assuming none of you rat her out I could change her appearance so much that no one could possibly recognize her.” Harry dismissed easily.
Nate grinned, “There’s the Potter genes we are more familiar with. You know I wouldn’t say anything.”
“Neither would I.” Pandora said, matching the man’s smile.
Elaina stared at her curiously for a long moment before sighing, “You could get in a lot of trouble for helping me escape the castle.”
“I suggest we don’t get caught then.” Harry whispered back in conspiracy, smile in full effect.
Andromeda shook her head, “Are you sure about this, Harry?”
“If we get caught you can say I lured you down there for all I care. I am confident in my plan if you want to play along with me.” Harry answered, “If you are scared then don’t feel pressured. I just thought that with a little Slytherin cunning we could make it work.”
Elaina glanced towards the windows that led out to the Black Lake with a brief look of wonder, “I have always wanted to see what the fuss is about.”
Grinning at the girl's response Harry said, “10 am we escape together then. Andromeda, I just need you to tell James that I will meet them all in Hogsmeade, and meet us outside of Honeydukes so you can take Elaina from me and show her around while I meet with my family for a bit. With some luck, we can all have lunch together at the Three Broomsticks before I bring her back.”
A long pause followed his words and Elaina shook her head, “If we get caught I am going to hex you into the next century.”
This caused Nate and Pandora to chuckle, while Andromeda still looked a little worried, but Harry grabbed the girl's hand feeling his inner Gryffindor come out, “We won’t get caught.”
Harry vividly remembered when Fred and George had given him the keys to the kingdom, and gave him his freedom to escape the castle to join his friends in Hogsmeade, and he didn’t even have glamor charms back then. It was one of the best days he had at Hogwarts. If he could give that to the Muggleborn that saved his neck he would happily escort her out of the castle with no one being the wiser.
Releasing the girl's hand Harry stood up with a smile dispelling his charm with a flick of his wrist, “Well, friends, I will see you all in the morning. Big adventure tomorrow.”
The group were all shaking their heads at his words as he crossed the room, and he could’ve sworn he heard Pandora chuckle, “Maybe he should’ve been sorted into Gryffindor.”
The satisfied smile could’ve been spotted all the way up in Gryffindor's tower, and he wished he could tell his birth father about the mischief he was causing. When he laid in his room that evening he grinned as he turned to face the window leading out to Black Lake whispering, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”
Comments
Beau Brown
This Harry is a lot more beaten down then Canon Harry. He wants blood. In a way he is testing some people to find out if they are trustworthy.
Ronke Kayode
Why can't he just keep he's head down and focus on taking down voldypants
Benjamin Cade higgins
Brilliant
