Episode 8. Part 2.

Episode 8. Part 2.

Godric Gryffindor's faculty lounge was as quiet as in summer when it was empty, despite the crowds. The students were talking in barely audible whispers, moving quietly on their toes like mice, trying not to rustle their parchments or squeak their chairs, or even their feathers. And in general they behaved very strangely for themselves.

And the reason was that, despite the early evening, at one of the tables a hero of the magical world, the conqueror of the Dark Lord and the new Dark Lord, the famous Boy Who Survived-No-Withstanding-the-School-Stress-and-Slept... was sound asleep over his freshly written essay on runes.

In his third year at Hogwarts it was customary to take additional courses. The choices were Alchemy, Numerology, Care of Magical creatures, Divination, Muggle Studies and Runes. With his eagerness to learn, Potter chose four subjects at once, making sure it was possible to combine them. And he chose the most difficult: Alchemy, because he was fascinated by it thanks to Flamel, Numerology, because it could be used to create new spells and rituals, and also to try to explain some personal abilities, Care of magical creatures, because he liked animals, and Runes. His schedule ended up being brutal, taking him from morning to night except on weekends. And there were extracurricular assignments in every subject, which he also had to find time for. Harold did not complain and coped, but in the first week he envied his cousin, who only took Alchemy and Nursing.

He liked all the subjects very much, and he didn't want to give them up. But the assignments for them had to be done sometimes at night, which deprived Potter of the precious, much needed few hours of sleep for a growing body. That was what eventually took its toll. Potter was irritable and sleepy. And no matter how his pride cringed, the body took its toll, sending Harold to Morpheus right in the living room, right on the rune essay. There was already undried ink imprinted on one of his cheeks, but he turned his head, and so he threatened to wake up handsome...

So why was the living room so quiet? After all, a hero's sleep is no reason to tiptoe around! But they did, because an hour ago, the girls, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, had returned from the divination, where Professor Trelloni had predicted Harold's terrible death. What the girls said to the national hero is not known, but he yelled at them for twenty minutes, accusing them of stupidity, and after that, by random magic, he burned all the parchments in the living room. The girls were hiccupping from their recent tears of fear and resentment to this day. And Harry, on top of that, was also a light sleeper, so whenever anyone made a louder sound, his hands would burst into the familiar fire in which more than one essay had been burned. So the Gryffindors, even the seniors, didn't risk pissing off their own personal Dark Lord...

***

- What? Why do the hippogriffs all bow to Potter, even though he didn't bow to them? - Ronald Weasley exclaimed, not noticing the genuine longing, doom and mute reproach with which the fellow student he named was looking at the hippogriffs, who did bow to him as soon as Professor Hagrid explained the topic of the lesson and he himself approached the corral to complete the teacher's assignment. Hagrid was confused, but scratching the top of his head, he remembered the information from the textbook that he himself had read in the morning before the first class:

- Oh, yes, I completely forgot. This is the generic memory of the species. The fact is that the hippogriffs were bred by the Potters, and therefore the creatures still remember their creators, are grateful to them, and are ready to serve their descendants..." Lightning flashed in the national hero's eyes and he glanced, almost with hatred, at the good-natured half-giant. He would have said something rude and then abandoned the care of the magical creatures forever, except that the proud half-horse, half-falcon, approached the descendant of the creators and pecked at his back with their beaks, rubbing affectionately and begging for attention and affection. Harry admired these creatures at first sight: proud, freedom-loving, demanding special treatment, but still able to take care of themselves without difficulty. So, at the action of the hippogriffs, all extraneous thoughts slipped his mind, except one: he wanted to ask Hagrid to look after these creatures, and maybe even fly them...

No sooner had he thought of it than Professor Hagrid offered him a ride, wrapping one arm around the boy without asking, lifting him effortlessly above the ground and setting him on the croup of one of the hippogriffs. He immediately made a short run around the enclosure and... took off. It was a whole new sensation of flight, not unlike that experienced on a broom, for Potter could feel a strong body beneath him. Still, flying was flying for him, no matter what Harold was flying on. Delightful!

After a short flight around the woods by the lake, the hippogriff returned to the enclosure, and the rest of the lesson passed like a fog for the enthusiastic Potter. He only saw that the proud creatures bowed in response to bows not all of them. One of them never bowed to Ronald Weasley, which angered the latter enormously. Which made him exclaim in anger, and he couldn't help himself:

- "Stupid Hen, bow! - The hippogriff was gravely offended, screamed, stood on his haunches, and slashed at Ronald's arm with his claws. The lesson was disrupted and ended to the wailing of Weasley, being carried off by Hagrid to the Hospital Wing, and his own angry shouts-curses. Ronald was sure that since the "bloody hens" had obeyed Potter, he had ordered them to ignore and then injure him, Ronald Weasley himself. It was stupid, but it was the unexpected beginning of Ron's plan for revenge on the Boy-Who-Rejected-His-Friend. It was the beginning of a one-sided feud...

***

- Isn't that what you're looking for, Professor Lupin? - Harold smirked, playing with Remus's wand. Anyway, he didn't want this man to hurt his godson. He sensed that Lupin didn't believe him and was going to deal with the traitor, not to talk to his old friend. Stealing a wand in the darkness of the tunnel under Rattlesnake Willow, which led to the Squeaky Hut in Hogsmeade, was not difficult even for a werewolf with his instincts. Sirius was waiting in the hut, and he wasn't expecting Avada in the back. Harry made sure he was relatively safe.

- Harry, give me back my wand..." Remus asked, realizing that he had fallen into the schoolboy trap, and he was wrong.

- I know you're apprehensive, but please at least listen to Sirius," Potter sighed. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but once he arrived at Hogwarts, he realized that he'd gotten used to the flighty godfather. - I'd spent a third of my summer together, and, of course, he'd had plenty of opportunities to kill me. But he didn't..." And there was so much sincerity in his voice, which the professor's inner wolf sensed well, that he couldn't help but take the risk.

And he didn't regret it, bringing his friend back, gaining a named nephew, and opening his eyes to the truth...

***

- Harry, aren't you afraid of Black at all? He's after you! - Hugging her friend, Daphne asked. Malfoy immediately smirked, but neither Harold nor Greengrass paid any attention to it. Despite all the banter, they knew for themselves that they were just very good friends. They were comfortable together, that's all. Potter didn't like any of the girls he knew romantically.

They sat in... a semblance of a Mystery Room living room, where, despite expectations, it turned out to be warm, dry, and even bright when the provided magical lights came on. This was only the third time the group had gathered, since everyone was settling into a schedule and getting used to the daily routine. And there were a few problems, such as how to get into the Chamber of Secrets in a crowd without getting caught by teachers, portraits, and ghosts. To solve this issue, the cousins had to explore the secret halls of Slytherin together and find a couple more exits. They went in two groups from different directions. Dudley lied that he had learned how to hiss the word "open" in Parseltongue, and so he easily guided his group, after which they met Harold's group.

The twins were brewing some of their own stuff. The Ravenclaws and the Puffunduys were helping each other with their homework. The others were discussing world events. The boys were just getting used to each other for now, trying to figure out why the Boy Who Survived had made friends with them in the first place.

- The new Dark Lord is a coward to be afraid of the old Lord's sidekick," "Just Harry" replied to his friend, smiling genuinely. He was a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more. Sirius is my godfather. There was a rite of passage to that effect. So he can't hurt me, and he didn't betray my parents, either. We talked over the summer.

- In fact, he's not a bad guy! - Dursle and Nott interjected without taking their eyes off their potions essays. Susan Bones, the niece of the head of the Department of Magical Law and Order, had her ears pricked up. She trusted her friend, and her aunt had told her over the vacations that something was up with the Black case. Now was her chance to find out what. There would be no proof, of course. But there would be a reason to start proceedings. Susan thought Harry wouldn't mind if she wrote her aunt about his godfather. And certainly if Black is really innocent - Amelia Bones will do everything to get him acquitted.

- The Tramp Sirius is a legend! - The twins intervened, also determined to tell the little ones a few of their secrets, such as the Map of the Marauders.

The company had a new topic of discussion, and somewhere in Hogsmeade, two Marauders were sneezing in amazing synchrony, scaring the villagers away from the Squealing Hut (where legend has it that there was the largest gathering of ghosts in England)...

***

- Mr. Potter, Mr. Dursle, since you don't have permission from your guardians, I can't let you go to Hogsmeade," the non-patronizing professor looked at her students with sincere sympathy. She really wanted to let them go, and she might have even done so if Sirius Black hadn't escaped and if the Ministry didn't think he was after Harry.

- Professor McGonagle, you know..." Dudley pleaded, making the most pleading face he could and one that even his stubbornly determined cousin couldn't resist.

- It doesn't change matters. A rule is a rule! And there are no exceptions! - Minerva spoke up sharply. She was, unfortunately, immune to such sad faces, the professor. And the very fact of pleading annoyed her like a proud cat. And besides, she was afraid of succumbing to weakness...

But the cousins had no illusions about her, growing sharply cold to their dean:

- In that case, I apologize," Harold said in an even voice. Cat McGee was greatly surprised:

- For what?

- For losing points to the faculty," Potter replied, turning around and heading for the exit of the professor's office. Minerva, watching as her workplace emptied as the door closed, slowly settled back into her chair: what was the couple up to this time!

***

- It's more boring than I thought it was when Snape dragged us into the castle without even letting us look around," Harry yawned as he sat on the bench, lazily sucking on a lollipop. - There's nothing crafty about Zonko that we couldn't create ourselves. There's good candy in the Sweet Kingdom," and he smacked his lollipop, "but it's just a store. You take it and go. The very sight of Madame Padifoot's cafeteria is making me nauseous. - The cousins jerked in unison at the memory of doves, hearts, and the overarching color pink. - Madame Rosmerta's Pub is a nice place to get warm and cozy over a Creamy Beer, but it's too noisy. The Boar's Head is dirty and reeks of Dumbledore. There's nothing to do at the owl's post office and the writing supply store. The Squealing Shack is... well, you know. - Dudley hummed: they'd been there the night before, by arrangement with Sirius. They'd hoped to ask some questions of the former Aurors, but they'd found two drunken alcoholics. - I would have much rather spent that time at Hogwarts and on the grounds.

- Cousin, you're not being fair! - exclaimed Dursle. - Hogsmeade is an opportunity to get out of the castle grounds, at least," he explained, raising his index finger like a small child. And then, from somewhere on the side, a very, very surprised sound came out:

- Mr. Potter, Mr. Dursle, what are you doing here? How did you get in here?!

- We're losing our native faculty points, Professor McGonagle..." the brothers sighed sincerely, rising to their feet in doom.

However, two hours later, sitting next to Potter's bed in the Hospital Wing, Minerva was also doomed to think that it was easier to let her cousins ignore the prohibitions and rules than to prevent them. When she had demanded that Harry and Dudley return to school with her immediately-and they had resisted, promising to get there the same way they had come-she had insisted on her own way. How was she to know that the Dementors, shuttling around Hogwarts grounds and standing in the gates, had that effect on the Boy Who's Almost Dead again?! McGonagle thought that she would have nightmares about the image of a boy with glazed eyes that had faded from bright green to pale gray, slowly raising his wand to point it at his throat and almost killing himself with the first curse he remembered...

***

- Professor Lupin, can you please tell me how to fight Dementors? - Harold's plea sounded hoarse and barely audible when Remus heard what had happened and rushed over to check on the hero wounded by his own alter ego. The werewolf sighed: he did not think his knowledge was of any use in this case, he doubted that Harry could master the necessary skills in his third year, but he could not refuse the request. And so he began to explain the theory...

***