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Harry Potter Squib Tales Chapter 44
🕑 Added 2024-07-10 17:01:01 +0000 UTCChapter 44: Back to Hogwarts
The night air was starting to become a bit nippy. Not quite cold, but definitely chilly, especially whenever the wind blew. Thankfully, Harry and I were only standing in front of the doors for a couple seconds before it was opened.
“Welcome, Harry! Edward! So glad you could make it!” Mr. Weasley said exuberantly, ushering us inside.
“Thanks for having us over,” I said.
“The food smells great!” Harry chimed in. I couldn’t help but nod in agreement. The smells wafting in from the kitchen were tantalizing. As expected when Mrs. Weasley was cooking, really.
As for why we were here? It was the day before the children had to leave for a new school year at Hogwarts, and we’d been invited over for a farewell feast being thrown by, you guessed it, the Weasleys. They were a lively bunch today, and not even Luna – who’d been invited over with her parents – was exempt from the excitement.
“It certainly does. Why don’t you join Ron and the others? They’re bothering the ghoul in the attic, and maybe you might be able to get them to stop tormenting the poor thing,” Arthur Weasley said.
“Good luck with that,” I snorted as Harry dashed off towards the stairs. Mr. Weasley just sighed before leading me into the living room where the other adults were.
Well, there were only two others, really. Still, I gave my greetings to the Lovegoods, and sat down in a worn but very comfy armchair while Mr. Weasley went to fetch some drinks.
“Doing well, Mr. Lovegood? Haven’t seen you in a while,” I said, nodding towards the eccentric newspaper owner who was sitting with his wife on a couch.
“Quite right. Several years since we last spoke. And I have been well in the interim. The Quibbler has grown quite a bit. I even got an offer to distribute back issue copies in Paris!” Xenophilius said happily. “And please, call me Xeno.”
“Is that right? Impressive!” I said, meaning it. “I was there during the summer, in fact. Lovely city. You and the wife should visit it. You’ll have plenty of time while Luna is at school.”
“Hmm, you’re right. I hadn’t thought about that. It would be a good way to see how my paper would be distributed. And it would be a lovely way to spend our anniversary,” Mr. Lovegood said, quickly adding that last part after spotting his wife gain an annoyed look at his first reason for visiting.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea! You know, the Muggles don’t call Paris the City of Love for no reason,” I said, grinning at the two.
“Ooo! I rather like that name,” Pandora Lovegood said, wrapping an arm around one of Xenophilius’. “And call me Pandora, dear.”
“Sure,” I agreed. Arthur Weasley then returned a moment later with a tray of shot glasses and a bottle of Firewhiskey.
He poured everyone a shot, and we happily enjoyed the drinks, laughing as we spat out smoke and flames after imbibing the enchanted alcohol.
I made sure not to drink too much, though. I wanted a clear head for tonight.
Eventually, Mrs. Weasley called out to that dinner was ready, and I went to fetch the kids.
“Oi! You guys better wash up and get downstairs or else the food will be gone!” I said as I poked my head into the attic. The ghoul in the corner let out a loud sigh of relief as the kids finally left him alone.
“Do I want to know what you did to that poor creature?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I was just asking him questions,” Luna said innocently while Harry, Ron, and Ginny looked away guiltily.
“And we were helping her,” George and Fred said simultaneously.
I shook my head, not believing a word any of them said, but chose to look around for the last member of the group who I hadn’t seen yet.
“Where’s Percy?” I asked.
“In his room,” Fred (or maybe George?) said.
“Polishing his badge,” George (or maybe Fred?) finished with a smirk.
“I’m going to assume you mean his Prefect Badge,” I deadpanned at the twins, who snickered and nodded.
I nodded back, then left the attic, trusting them to be able to come down and wash up on their own while I went to get Percy.
After Charlie had graduated Hogwarts and gotten a job at the Romanian Dragon Preserve, his room had been given over to Percy, meaning Ron didn’t have to share their old room with his older brother. I knocked on the door, hearing my old friend call out, “Come in!”
I opened the door but didn’t step inside. Percy looked up from his desk where he’d been doing some reading, and gained a surprised look on his face when he saw me.
“Edward?” he uttered.
“Hey, Percy,” I said, greeting him.
“You’re here already? I thought…” he trailed off, glancing to the window before wincing. “Ah. It seems I was a bit too distracted to realize how much time had passed.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” I said with a chuckle.
“It does,” he agreed, somewhat stiffly.
“Mrs. Weasley wanted me to tell everyone dinner is ready,” I said, breaking the awkward silence. “Better hurry and use the bathroom before the others get to it.”
Percy grimaced at that before getting up. I stepped back, letting him past. He sent me a look I couldn’t read before heading off to wash up.
Shrugging, I went back down to the dining room and helped Mrs. Weasley set the food out on the table. She didn’t really need the help, but she appreciated it all the same.
Before dinner though, as everyone gathered at the table and sat down, I snuck upstairs, claiming to need to use the bathroom. However, when I left the dining room behind, I didn’t go there right away.
Instead, I snuck into Ron’s room. There, a modestly sized cage containing a certain pudgy brown rat could be seen sitting on his bedside dresser.
The door was unlocked, and I opened the cage. ‘Scabbers’ tensed up, but when he saw it was me, he relaxed.
“Hey little guy,” I crooned softly. “You look hungry. Did Ron forget to feed you?”
I knew he hadn’t. He’d put out a bit of food earlier, but ‘Scabbers’ wouldn’t say no to more, and so made a squeak, begging for food.
I stuck a tiny piece of moistened bread I drew from my pocket into his home. “You’ll like it! It’s been soaked in Mrs. Weasley’s split pea soup. Dunno how that woman makes something green and mushy taste so good. Must be magic!”
‘Scabbers’ paid my bad joke no heed and grabbed the piece of wet bread, gobbling it up. Almost immediately after consuming every crumb, he collapsed, unconscious.
I carefully checked the rat’s pulse and breathing, and when it seemed fine, I grinned madly. “Gotcha, you little bastard!” I hissed, before urgently whispering out, “Inky!”
My loyal House Elf popped in, the wards of the Burrow letting his through. This wasn’t his first time in the Weasley’s lopsided home. He’d come over a few times when I’d been a boy, and playing with the redheads. He was a welcomed guest. And now, he’d be removing an unwanted one.
I gestured to the rat in the cage. “The Draught of Living Death worked. He’s unconscious. Transfer him to the Animagus proof cage.”
Inky nodded, obeying my orders. He vanished with the comatose traitorous wizard, taking him to a hidden cage I’d set up a few days ago.
Calling it ‘Animagus proof’ was bit of a misnomer. It was just a regular cage enchanted to shrink with the contents, so no matter how big or small something inside of it got, it wouldn’t be able to escape. It could get big enough to contain an elephant, or as small as a fruit fly, so I had no worries about Scabbers, or rather, Peter Pettigrew, escaping. Especially not while he was trapped in a magical coma thanks to my potion-soaked bread.
The mission was a success. Step One of my plan to get him tried as the murderer he was had been completed. Now, for Step Two…
‘But that can wait for a bit,’ I thought to myself, walking to the bathroom. I washed up my hands before returning to the dining room to get ride of any lingering stench or traces of fur that might’ve gotten on me.
Tonight was about a fun dinner with friends, and making sure Harry had a wonderful night before he began his Second Year at Hogwarts.
Of course, karma had to be a bitch and balance itself out after my good deed of removing a dangerous fugitive from the Burrow, and less than ten minutes after I returned to the table with washed hands, I found myself completely blindsided when somebody showed up unannounced and out of the blue.
“Good evening, I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Albus ‘Fuck-Mothering’ Dumbledore said as he stepped out of the floo, brushing a bit of soot off his shoulders.
I couldn’t help but stare at him, but when Mrs. Weasley let out a surprised gasp I quickly lowered my eyes, not daring to look directly at his own. I wasn’t confident enough in my Occlumency, even after training with the Flamels, to successfully avoid having my mind probed.
And yes, I knew Legilimancy wasn’t as straightforward as ‘look into eyes, read minds,’ but I wasn’t going to take any chances.
I saw Harry do the same, faster than I had, keeping his gaze focused on his chin, and I mentally applauded his quick reaction.
“Albus! What brings you here?” Mrs. Weasley asked, surprised.
“Please, don’t mind me, Molly. I heard that Harry Potter would be here, and I wanted to speak with him about his aunt and uncle,” the ancient wizard said genially.
‘How the hell did he know that?’ I couldn’t help but wonder. Did Mrs. Weasley blab? She seemed as surprised as the rest of us, but that didn’t mean the Gossip Queen of Ottery St. Catchpole hadn’t let it slip at some point, and just hadn’t expected Dumbledore to show up.
“Well, come in, come in,” Mrs. Weasley said, suddenly all a fluster as she enlarged the table with a wave of her wand, allowing for an extra seat to appear.
Dumbledore sat at the spot opened up for him, smiling at everyone at the table. His appearance had taken everyone aback, but people were calming down. Or doing a good job of hiding it. Though I hadn’t missed the flicker of annoyance that danced through Pandora’s eyes when he’d appeared, nor that she’d put on a fake smile when it was clear Dumbledore was staying.
I was curious about that, but knew better than to bring it up now. Instead, I just kept my head down and enjoy the food.
“I hope you like Beef Wellington,” Mrs. Weasley said, serving the main course to everyone, with floating knives carving the meat.
“Young Harry, have you been enjoying your summer vacation?” Dumbledore inquired.
“It’s been alright,” Harry shrugged. “Can’t wait to go back to Hogwarts, though.”
“That’s good. It’s heartening to hear you’re looking forward to another year of learning,” Dumbledore said with an indulgent smile.
“Yeah. Even though things got… weird at the end with Mr. Quirrell, I’m looking forward to learning more magic!” Harry said, and he didn’t have to fake his enthusiasm for that, at least. He genuinely loved magic, like I did.
“Have you done anything fun these past few months?” Dumbledore wondered.
“Eh, normal stuff, really. Hung out with friends and did my summer homework,” Harry said with a shrug.
“Harry went to Paris!” Ginny said.
“Is that so?” Dumbledore hummed. “I didn’t know the Dursleys went overseas.”
“They didn’t,” Harry replied. “I went with some other friends.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, I went with him,” I said, speaking up so Harry didn’t have to speak to Dumbledore alone.
“Is that so?” he hummed.
“Yes. I used to tutor Harry back at his school. The one he attended before Hogwarts. I went with Harry to Paris as a guardian. Plus, he needed to get out of that stuffy box his aunt calls a house,” I explained.
“A Muggle school?” Dumbledore guessed.
“Correct.”
“You must be Erroneous Hunch’s eldest son, then,” the headmaster realized.
“That’s me,” I said bitterly. I hated being known as that man’s spawn. Why couldn’t Dumbledore have said I was Wisteria Hunch’s child? My mother was a far better parent and person than the waste of space had ever been. I was fine being known as her son.
“Mr. Hunch, correct?” Dumbledore inquired. “You have a brother… Rudolph? In Slytherin?”
“It’s ‘Rose,’ actually,” I said, trying not to sound snippy, but probably failing. “I took my grandmother’s name when I moved to the Muggle world. And yes, Rudy’s my younger brother.”
“I see. Well, Rudolph has been doing well in his classwork, though I do wish he’d try and aim higher in his Charms and Transfiguration lessons. Still, he’s settled in well in Slytherin House.”
“Oh. Good for him,” I said insincerely.
We settled down into a strained silence after that as we tucked into the meal before it got any colder. Small talk continued, and Dumbledore and I chatted with everyone else, but we both didn’t bring up Harry after that brief bit at the beginning.
When dinner was done and the last of the dishes were removed (again, by magic), the headmaster wiped his mouth and then looked over at me.
“May I speak with you before I leave?” Dumbledore inquired.
“Sure,” I said with a nod. He got up from the table, and I followed him from the dining room into the living room.
He didn’t draw his wand, but he didn’t have to, as he showed off his mastery of wandless magic when he made a few gestures in the air and I felt the presence of a ward settle around us. Something to keep eavesdroppers out? The fact he’d been able to do so without a foci was incredible, and only made me more wary.
“Mr. Rose, it’s very important that Harry Potter stays with his aunt during the summer,” Dumbledore told me.
“Why is that?” I asked guilelessly, pretending I didn’t know about his crude blood wards.
“Well, it’s for his own protection,” Dumbledore replied as if it was obvious. “There are people who would want to hurt the poor boy, and the fewer who know of his whereabouts, the better.”
“He wouldn’t have that problem if you’d arrested all of Voldemort’s minions after he bit the dust,” I retorted. “Besides, wouldn’t a house with magical defenses be a whole lot more protected compared to a Muggle home in the middle of Suburbia?”
“I was under the impression the Dursleys lived in Surrey,” Dumbledore mused, amused. “And he is protected. I placed wards around the house and have plenty layers of protection that will keep Young Harry safe.”
“If you say so,” I replied, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.
“I do. Which is why I must ask that you keep your distance from Harry Potter from now on,” Dumbledore continued, as if he hadn’t heard me speak.
“Beg pardon? You want me to do what?” I uttered in disbelief, aghast at his audacity.
“Harry Potter needs to be safe. And it’s for the best if nobody knows where he lives during the summer. I must ask that you allow me to protect Harry Potter. In fact, if you’d submit to a quick Obliviate…”
“No,” I said shortly, glaring at the man. The nerve of him! Asking me to abandon Harry like that! And to threaten me with Obliviation?!
“I must insist,” Dumbledore said, and I tamped down the urge to glare up at him, in case I accidentally glanced into his eyes.
“Then take it up with Nicholas Flamel,” I retorted, catching Dumbledore on the backfoot. “He didn’t seem to have a problem with me being close to Harry.”
“He… I beg your pardon?” he uttered, bewildered.
“Mr. Flamel sought out Harry when he learned he was in Paris,” I said, unable to hide the tiny smirk that crossed my face. “And he was quite impressed by me. By the both of us, really. He praised how Harry handled the situation with that stupid mirror trap of yours. And boy, was he not impressed by how you handled that situation with your rogue Defense teacher. So forgive me if I don’t do as you ask.”
“My boy…” Dumbledore began, but I cut him off.
“I will protect Harry Potter if it comes down to it,” I told him. “Nobody, not even that bald snake, will touch him.”
He stared down at me, and I was tempted to take a peek at his eyes. I wanted to know if they were twinkling like all the stories said they did. To get a glimpse at what kind of emotion danced behind his glasses.
But I kept my gaze focused onto the tip of his nose, not willing to risk my Occlumency against his Legilimancy.
I stood my ground, and the tense silence grew. Eventually Dumbledore broke first, turning away and retreating to the fireplace.
‘What a wanker,’ I thought to myself once he was gone. I had a feeling denying the old man would come back to bite me somehow.
“I’ll just have to prepare for anything,” I muttered to myself. I was not going to let Harry fall into Dumbledore’s web of manipulation. It was time to ramp up potion production, and put my nose to the grindstone regarding my other plans.
Hero or not, Dumbledore was not going to dictate Harry’s life, or mine!
& & & & & *
Harry POV
After dinner last night, Harry had been too tired to take the floo or any sort of magical transportation back to the apartment, and so the evening had turned into a sleepover at the Weasleys.
Although he’d been a bit weirded out by Dumbledore’s unexpected appearance, Edward had assured Harry he wouldn’t be forced to go back to the Dursleys for longer than absolutely necessary to refresh the blood wards that protected him.
Ed had been angry about something, though. He’d tried to hide it, but Harry could read him. A lot better now that the older teen wasn’t suppressing his emotions with Occlumency, admittedly, but even then.
Whatever Dumbledore had said to annoy Ed hadn’t been repeated, but Harry became more determined than before to keep his distance from the headmaster.
But that was something to worry about for another day. Today was back to school day, and the Hogwarts express waited for nobody!
Edward had come back to the Burrow with Harry’s trunk and Hedwig in the morning, and then they all got inside Mr. Weasley’s Ford Anglica. How he got a car in the first place Harry could only guess at, but he’d given it some impressive enchantments to allow everyone to fit, as well as expanded the boot’s storage capacity.
It was still a bit awkward and cramped, ten people not exactly fitting comfortably into the vehicle, even with magic, but it got the group to King’s Cross Station quickly enough. They got there with plenty of time to spare, even though Ron had wasted some time that morning tearing up his room trying to find Scabbers.
In the end, Ron had to leave his pet rat behind. It had snuck out when they’d been sleeping, and probably gotten lost in the garden. Ron seemed put out by that since there wasn’t any time to get a new pet before making it to Hogwarts, but luckily, his parents convinced him to stop making a mess by promising to get him something for Christmas, which had the young redheaded boy perk up, and he was in much better spirits when they reached Platform 9 and 3/4th.
“That is one big train,” Edward hummed as he looked up at the Hogwarts Express, the gleaming steam engine quite an impressive sight in Harry’s opinion.
“It’s really nice inside, too,” Harry told him.
“I’ll bet,” Edward agreed. “Are you ready? Got everything you need?”
“Yup!” Harry nodded, holding up Hedwig’s cage and trunk.
“In that case, take care, Harry,” Edward said, turning down to look at Harry who stood at his side, smiling fondly at the younger boy as he patted his shoulder.
“I will. And you’ll be nice to Dobby, right?” Harry requested.
“Of course! He’ll have plenty of fun with me. And I won’t work him too hard.” Edward then turned to Hedwig. “Take care of Harry, Hedwig. I have a feeling he’s going to get into trouble.”
At that, Harry raised an eyebrow. “Did you use Divination on me?”
Edward simply handed the Boy-Who-Lived a slip of paper. On it, the words ‘Beware of Snakes’ was written onto it.
“I take it this isn’t literal?” Harry wondered. “Or is it referring to Slytherin? Does it have something to do with the Chamber?”
“When I was rolling the bones, ‘snake’ was something I kept getting, and it was definitely dangerous,” Edward said in a low voice. “Mirrors are also going to be important, in a good way.”
“Beware of snakes, and mirrors might be helpful… got it!” Harry said with a nod.
“Well, don’t worry about it too much. If something does happen, do your best. And aside from that, have fun at school, Harry,” Edward said. Harry nodded, then hugged him, which Edward returned.
The Weasleys were wrapping up their farewells, and Edward stepped away to stand beside Mr. Weasley, who’d be driving him back.
Harry went with Ron and the rest of the redheads and boarded the train, finding a compartment for themselves. Hermione and Neville joined them shortly after, and the group took the opportunity to chat and catch up.
The ride to Hogwarts was nice. They met up with the other Gryffindors from their year, and Hannah and Susan greeted the group when the dining cart rolled by.
Even Draco Malfoy passed by their compartment as well at one point, but oddly, at least in Harry opinion, neither Crabbe nor Goyle were with him. The two henchmen had been inseparable from their boss last year, and Harry wondered why Draco didn’t have them with him.
But since the wannabe bully didn’t bother him or anyone else in the compartment, Harry chose to just ignore him. He had other, better, things to do than think about Draco acting weird after all.
The sky was dark when the train pulled up to Hogsmead station, and the students poured out, Ginny and Luna waving goodbye as they went to join Hagrid and the other First Years.
“Where do we go this year?” Ron wondered as Hannah and Susan joined them, the redhead shivering a bit in the cool night air.
“According to Hogwarts, A History, carriages are supposed to take students to the castle,” Hermione helpfully supplied.
“Think those are them?” Harry mused, pointing to a row of carriages that was lined up in the distance near the station’s platform. Curiously, there didn’t appear to be anything pulling them. But then again, the answer to how they moved was probably ‘magic.’ Likely a charm was responsible.
Yet as they got closer, one of them seemed a bit uneasy.
“What’s wrong, Neville?” Hannah asked, watching the boy flinch at the sight of the carriages.
“Y-you don’t see them?” he asked nervously, glancing back and forth.
“See what?” Ron asked.
“Th-the things pulling the carriages!” he exclaimed.
“I don’t… Neville, there’s nothing pulling the carriages,” Hermione said in confusion.
The boy looked confused, and hesitantly approached their transportation up to the castle. When they got closer, Harry curiously reached out to where Neville was staring, and to his shock, felt something boney underneath his hand when he tried to investigate.
“There’s definitely something there,” Harry muttered, to everyone’s surprise.
“Careful, Harry! They’ve got big teeth!” Neville warned him.
“I don’t think they’d have something dangerous pull carriages full of students,” Hermione said, trying to reassure the pudgy boy.
“You sure about that?” Harry asked dryly. “This is the place where teachers thought it would be a good idea to hide an incredibly valuable item within reach of children.”
“Ah, well, I’m sure last year was just a fluke!” Hermione stammered.
“A sickle says she’s wrong and that something will definitely happen this year,” Ron whispered to Hannah and Susan. The two Hufflepuffs looked offended on behalf of Hermione, but also tellingly didn’t take the bet.
“Come on, let’s just get on,” Harry suggested, looking around. They were one of the last groups to not board the carriages, most of the other students having already done so.
That got them moving, and the party on got, squeezing into the carriage which whisked them off to the castle.
Unlike last year, as returning students Harry and the gang were dropped off at the front entrance, and it was quite impressive. The ancient portcullis had been raised, and the gates were open, allowing entry to the foyer.
Here, they were funneled into the Great Hall, with the symbols of the four Houses on display above the tables.
Sitting down at their respective tables, they didn’t have to wait long before the First Years filed in.
“There’s not a lot of ‘em,” an older Gryffindor muttered. Last year, there’d been fifty-one new students. This year, there were only forty, and half were muggleborn. It was a somber reminder of just how much devastation had been caused by Voldemort’s civil war.
Then, before the awe-struck First Year students, the Sorting Hat was brought out by Professor McGonagall, and it began to sing.
Long ago, four folk came together, a dream they all shared.
Four were they that fateful day, who built what none before had dared!
Gryffindor the Brave, with sword sharp and biting.
Slytherin the Cunning, with destiny ill-defined.
Hufflepuff the Welcoming, with tables fit to bursting.
Ravenclaw the Wise, with a restless mind.
And so they created Hogwarts, a place to teach and learn!
A home to all who sought the best of what magic could do!
So here comes a new generation, and one by one in turn
Shall you take your place amongst the most true!
Now I may be just a hat but when I’m worn a mirror I will become,
To reflect your truth and show you the path that you will tread.
So don’t be glum, my dear young chum,
And pop me on your head.
Then you’ll see where you need to be, and what your future is.
The lyrics were odd, and it wasn’t very good. Not to mention Harry’s guard was immediately up when it mentioned mirrors, but nobody else seemed to pay much attention to it.
Then McGonagall whipped out a scroll and began to read out names, and the Sorting began.
Luna ended up in Ravenclaw, while Ginny, somewhat unsurprisingly, was sorted into Gryffindor, along with a boy named Colin Creevy whose eyes were so wide Harry was worried they might fall out.
In the end, the houses got a fairly even spread of First Years, with Hufflepuff ending up with twelve new students, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw each getting ten, and Slytherin with a mere eight.
Dumbledore said some words. He reminded students that the Forbidden Forest was still forbidden, and Filch had made a new list of banned objects.
“And last but not least, I’m happy to introduce our newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor! Please give a warm welcome to Professor Lockhart!” Dumbledore requested, and a wave of cheering and applause broke out as a young man with wavy blond hair stood up and waved at the crowd from his spot on the teacher’s table. The loudest people to welcome the professor were the girls.
“Who’s that?” somebody asked, voice almost lost amongst the torrent of noise.
“He’s a famous author and adventurer!” an older girl gushed.
“And he’s super handsome!” Lavender Brown squealed.
“Hopefully he’s better than Quirrell,” Dean muttered, to which Harry nodded. He’d read the man’s books and hadn’t been that impressed with the prose, while Edward had scoffed loudly after flipping through them. Hopefully he taught better than he wrote.
When the girls were finally finished cheering for Professor Lockhart, Dumbledore summoned the feast. Everybody tucked in, cheerfully enjoying the first day back to school.
Then, when it was time to retire for the evening, Harry grinned as they headed up to the tower where the Gryffindor dorm was.
He might be worried about the situation with Edward’s divination stuff, but he was excited to be back. Magic was truly amazing, and he was eager to learn more.
