Harry Gaunt - Chapter 26

Harry tried not to mutter to himself as he walked towards Transfiguration. He felt annoyed at himself, he should have just walked away like he'd done the day before rather than agree to find her.

It was a moment of indecision. Harry blamed the crowds that were still bustling around him, which felt much larger than they ever did during the future.

"Sorry!"

Someone bumped into him.

Harry grunted.

Her bag was enormous, the books stuffed inside all but squeezing out the top as she climbed the staircase. She obviously had through to shrink them, which Harry had done before applying a featherweight charm so it wouldn't pull his pocket down. It didn't really look like anyone else had either as Harry soon arrived at where McGonagall had always taught her classes.

It all looked much the same to Harry, especially the queues as he joined the silver and green one. They paid him no mind, no one dared say a word while they waited.

Except one.

"Hey."

Harry flicked his eyes to the boy just in front. "What?" returned Harry quietly.

The boy swivelled round very slowly, almost cautious as to whom would see him. "Aren't you a seventh-year?" he whispered. "Why are you here?"

This was clearly the sixth-year class.

"You'd have to ask the Headmaster," replied Harry, showing a flash of humour as the boy looked at him. "He did say I was a seventh-year, but I am to attend sixth-year classes for the time being."

Harry saw the 'oh' rather than heard it as the nodded his head. Harry quite agreed, he expected another 'meeting' with the Headmaster would be coming soon too, along with second pseudo-interrogation for whatever questions the man had.

It would be a bore. Harry would skip it if he could.

"Well it's good to have you." The boy offered Harry a nod. "You'll move up in no time."

Then he turned back, his timing spot on as McGonagall swept around the corner. She appeared flustered, her steps a little short and her eyes looking round.

"Are you all right Professor?" asked a concerned Gryffindor from the head of the queue.

"Quite." McGonagall replied in a clipped tone. "Thank you, Ms Frost."

And in a further display of uncharacteristic behaviour, McGonagall entered the classroom without calling them in. Ms Frost seemed to blink where McGonagall had stood, then followed in at a prompt from Lily.

The queues went in, arriving at their seats on either side in their respective houses: one was red, the other green as Harry took his seat at the very back. He proceeded to enlarge his book bag upon the table, retrieving the relevant books before shrinking it again. Everyone else did much the same with their own bags, though only a few had used the shrinking charm.

The boy from before had through, his seat much further up towards the front of the class. He'd skipped ahead soon after coming in.

"Welcome students," said McGonagall from beside her chalkboard, her gaze looking out across the classroom. "I apologise for my shortness earlier, Ms Frost." She nodded to her, she was a sweet girl. "And trust you all enjoyed your holidays."

Her voice dipped towards the end, sinking for a moment before she promptly turned to the chalkboard. "Open your books to page 241, A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration."

She flicked her wand at the chalkboard, where letters now begun to appear in a smooth coloured white.

'The Bird Conjuring Charm'

Harry's mind was assaulted.

"Read till page 243. You have 5 minutes."

He'd used that once to kill two Death Eaters.

"Professor?"

Lily raised her hand delicately into the air from the front row. "If we've already mastered this charm, can we read ahead and practice those we haven't?"

She was sat beside Ms Frost in the front row. Harry could see the tops their heads from his spot back here, each of them girls along with Mary and a few others. It didn't paint the best impression of the boys further back, particularly James and his friends who Harry had been ignored until now. They were somewhere in the middle, slumped so no one would notice them.

"Ms Evans, this isn't about whether you've succeeded already," explained McGonagall tiredly. "I've told you how important it is to follow the curriculum and not skip ahead, so please, refrain from making me repeat myself."

Lily swallowed, taken a back. "Y-yes, Professor." She flicked her eyes down to the pages of her book. "Sorry."

The class became silent, then all at one began flicking through the pages of their books, which on the back row sounded more like…

…silence. The other boys with Harry were already lost in a daydream.

Harry smirked as he nudged the boy beside him, who came to attention with a blink and a look around.

He scowled, then directed it at Harry who had arrived at page 241.

The boy pulled his own book towards him, grumbling while the class begun to read. Harry didn't himself of course, he knew all about the Avis Charm already. It could be used to summon birds in its simplest form, small and bright yellow ones. But with a few tweaks, much like the Serpensortia charm, you could conjure just about any bird you could imagine.

"For those of you who've finished, please ready your wands and await further instruction."

Harry glanced around. It didn't take long to read through two pages.

"Good, now." McGonagall readied her wand, but didn't cast yet. "I want everyone to repeat after me. Avis."

It sounded like Ah-viss. The class repeated it back.

"Avis."

McGonagall said it again.

And the class said it back. "Avis."

McGonagall nodded satisfactorily, then without word summoned a small flock of birds that flew like missiles above the heads of the class.

Many found themselves ducking, then a moment later cringe when the birds disappeared into puffs of feathers against the wall behind Harry.

He looked at the feathers floating down. Something was very wrong.

"Follow the wand movements," continued McGonagall like nothing had happened. "Then say it. Avis."

The class cautiously readied their wands, many of which seemed less enthused after McGonagall's display.

Harry blew away a feather that had drifted towards his desk, he had no memory of McGonagall ever doing something like this before, even on bad days when the first-years were being sick, crying and otherwise causing her grief.

"Avis!" "Avis."

"Avissss!"

Was this the cause of her response to him outside the Great Hall?

"Don't stress the 's' sound," advised Harry, turning slightly to the bulky boy beside him. "Say it like you would speaking to a person, it lets you relax and think clearly."

If people put too much emphasis on the incantation, then that became all they thought about; and not what it was they were trying to achieve.

"I don't need your help."

The boy glanced at Harry, who shrugged in return as the boy tried again. "Avis," he said clearly with a wave of his wand. "Avis!"

Nothing happened.

"It doesn't make any difference," he concluded, huffing as he pulled the book back and read the passage again. "Why don't you try it."

Harry hadn't even shown his wand.

"I can already perform it," explained Harry, looking out across the people he could see and how they were doing. "It just takes time and perseverance. Try again."

Nobody had succeeded so far, even Lily who like him hadn't even retrieved her wand. She was reading through the book while the others continued in vein.

Strange, Harry would have expected the opposite from someone like Lily.

"No, no. It's not working." The boy beside Harry shut his book with a snap. "Ridiculous charm. It should be Flitwick not McGonagall teaching us this." He then crossed his arms, sitting with a sulk. "She's next to useless now anyway."

It was all Dumbledore's fault, the boy felt sure of it.

"Useless?" repeated Harry. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" blinked the boy as he uncrossed his arms. "You don't know?" He looked at Harry curiously. "I'd have thought you would."

The boy knew full well who the man sitting beside him was, or he'd be a fool if he didn't.

"What happened? You can tell me."

Harry moved slightly closer, indicating that whatever was said wouldn't be shared. Perhaps the boy knew something Harry didn't.

"He died," said the boy in barely a whisper. "Her husband. He was a Hit Wizard."

The boy leaned away, appearing indifferent to the fact as he tried the spell again, getting the same results as McGonagall started moving up the aisle. She hadn't heard them, she was just moving through the room giving snappish answers to the students questions.

"How did he die?" whispered Harry back to him. "He was killed?"

The boy nodded, saying no more as McGonagall came ever near. Harry didn't push him for more, he already knew who was responsible and since that was so, he also knew that things were accelerating. A Hit Wizard dying was not news worthy, not yet at least; but it meant Voldemort was becoming bold.

His following must have grown considerably as Harry rubbed his chin.

"Mr Gaunt." McGonagall arrived with a tightness to her smile. "How are you settling in?" Her eyes looking down at the pair's desk.

"Very well Professor," returned Harry pleasantly. "Hogwarts is very welcoming."

Harry didn't count how Mulciber had been.

"I am glad to hear it," replied McGonagall in a tone of surprise, before adding blithely while she looked down the row at the others. "We had been worried."

Her expression didn't change as she greeted a Slytherin further down, giving him a tip as he tried to cast.

The boy beside Harry sent him a look.

"Mr Trimble," came McGonagall's voice as she looked at the boy. "How are you getting on?"

She seemed keen to see him try, the bulky boy was actually quite a talent when he put some effort him.

Mr Trimble picked up his wand. "Avis." He waved it once. "Avis!"

Nothing happened.

"Less emphasis Mr Trimble," advised McGonagall. "The incantation mustn't distract from what you want to happen."

"Wha-"

Mr Trimble began to say something, but then thought better of it as he flicked his eyes to Harry, who couldn't help chuckling at the irony. He had told him.

"Is there something amusing, Mr Gaunt? I can assure you that failure is not something to laugh at." McGonagall stepped away into the aisle slightly, as if to get a better view him on the end of the row. "Please try the spell Mr Gaunt."

She gestured him on with her wand, which many deemed to be rude as Mr Trimble scowled.

"Of course." Harry wouldn't deny her from doing her job as he flicked his wand from his sleeve. "Avis."

He summoned a small flock of birds with brightly coloured wings, far bigger and more akin to parrots as they circled the room in an orderly way. It brought the room to a stop, the attention of every student coming around upon Harry and McGonagall.

They were dispelled by her a moment later when they came back around. "Well done Mr Gaunt." She regarded him closely from her spot within the aisle. "It seems you have already mastered the charm, far beyond it in-fact."

She appeared speculative.

"Much practice, Professor," explained Harry with a subtle nod as he slipped his wand away. "Perhaps you could speak to the Headmaster, put in a good word for me?"

He thought a bit of humour might lighten the mood.

"I wonder then," continued McGonagall as if she hadn't heard, her eyes held upon him. "If you are also proficient with any other summoning charms, for example, Serpensortia?"

She shifted slightly, feeling just in her attempt to reveal and scrutinise who the boy really was. She'd had no choice in the matter when it came to his attendance here.

"As it happens, I am not." Harry returned, not willing a repeat of his second here. "You ask too much of me."

He threw caution to wind and invaded her mind.

Images flashed within his vision, sounds and feelings that arose from the death of her husband. He'd died just weeks ago, and while she didn't blame Harry for his death, she certainly had mixed feelings about whether someone like him should be allowed here.

He'd attacked that Auror for no good reason: and Remus, the Gaunts were well-known for such things.

"A pity."

McGonagall continued to look at. "Your education has clearly been fragmented. And without OWLs too." She shook her head. "Perhaps I will speak to the Headmaster."

It was her opinion that Harry should be disallowed from attending Hogwarts, lest they strengthen an already dangerous criminal.

But as McGonagall stepped away and returned to the front of the class, she was ignorant of what Harry truly thought - and was as he watched her go. She was heartbroken, it hurt Harry to see her this way.

She'd been so kind to him before as Harry closed his eyes.

"Avis!" "Avis." "AVIS!"

The sound of spells starting up helped cover up the tense atmosphere that had settled over everyone, many believing that what McGonagall had said was entirely unjustified.

"Don't listen to her. She's just like all the other Gryffindors," said Mr Trimble with a grunt as he waved his wand. "They're so self-righteous, it makes me sick."

Mr Trimble tried the spell again as Harry opened his eyes, witness to yet another failure. He looked at the other Slytherins he could see as well, many it seemed thought the same as Harry's bulky neighbour.

"Severus?"

Harry stared at the curtain of hair peeking back at him, its sheen just the same as Harry remembered. Severus looked at him, then turned away a moment later. He knew all too well what it was like to be treated this way, and in that very moment Harry realised that it wasn't just out there where the Moody's roamed where things were changing.

Had it affected Hogwarts so soon? Was this why so many students had been driven to the Dark Lord?

Harry didn't know, but he bloody well hoped not.

~

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Lily was beside Mary as they walked through the corridors after class, a small break in-between before the next would be in session. She knew James was behind her, Sirius too as they dogged their steps.

"What?" She turned around and faced them. "Stop following us."

"We're not," defended James. "We have Charms too."

He looked at Sirius, who promptly agreed. "Hi Mary," he said with a smile at the girl herself. "You've lost weight."

His smile turned to a grin, one which Mary didn't appreciate as she put a hand on her hip. "It's still a no Sirius," she said, twitching when at his silly eye-brow wiggle. "No."

"We could go to Hogsmead," he offered. "Or the Hogshead? The Three Broomsticks?"

Mary looked away. He was incorrigible.

"So what was that about?" interjected James before Sirius could try again, his attention on Lily as she held her bag. "McGonagall was acting weird, even before she talked to…" James still didn't like him. "Gaunt."

Sirius rolled his eyes. He didn't agree with James vendetta. "So he picked Slytherin. Big deal," said Sirius flippantly. "Where else should he have gone?"

"That's not the point Sirius," returned James with annoyance. "And he's clearly done something to provoke McGonagall, she doesn't usually go into the Slytherins unless one of them does something."

Which was usually just Lestrange and his lot when she caught them outside. Probably more which they didn't see.

"I don't think he did anything," defended Lily, completely unaware of what the Daily Prophet had said over the holidays. "We spoke to him on the train, he was…"

She looked to Mary.

"He's nice," concluded Marry with a firmness. "It's probably just his name that had McGonagall rattled, maybe she has something against his family."

That seemed the most likely thing to her, since even she'd heard about the infamous Gaunt family despite being Muggleborn.

"Must be," agreed Sirius in an instant. "She probably just doesn't want a Dark Wizard in her classroom." He laughed a bit; the joke being lost somewhat on Lily and Mary. "Because he's Parselmouth."

Sirius looked between them, then at James who seemed to blink as well. "You're kidding. You must know that."

"I thought it was just Slytherin who could speak to snakes," said James. "Not the Gaunts."

"They're his descendants." Sirius stated, wanting to sigh at having to explain this to his Pure-blooded friend. "And since he's Lord Gaunt, it's guaranteed that he's a speaker. It's proof of their heritage!"

Sirius couldn't believe James didn't know.

"He can really speak to snakes?" asked Lily, a touch of wonderment as Sirius nodded. "Amazing."

"It is." Sirius had heard amazing stories about it when growing up. "And it's not just limited to that either, it opens up a whole new branch of magic that only he can do. I think Healing Magic is one of them, along with Warding."

Sirius didn't know all that much about it, it was all that was told to him by Arcturus, who was taking steps to prepare him for the Lordship.

"We better go." James checked the time with a flick of his wand. "I don't like being late for Charms."

He didn't all that much want to hear about Parseltongue or how special Harry Gaunt was.

"Fine," said Lily. "You can walk with us."

They'd just have to suffer their company as the four walked together down the corridor.

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