Chapter 14 Shields Up

Harry's POV

Harry ran down the tunnel and stopped at the exit. He prodded the knot and then ran before the tree unfroze. Since it was a weekday, everyone was in class and no one saw him. He skirted Hagrid's hut and went to the castle. In the Entrance Hall, he stopped and looked around for the first time. He did have to say he was captivated over the fact that they have kept this building standing for over a thousand years, or so Hermione told him. It must be magic.

He did wonder about the wards, and how they operated. He could feel them and could probably replicate them, but were they tied to a stone or to the magic of the students and staff? He was going to have to do a bit of research, because if he could figure out how they were anchored, then he wouldn't have to tie them to himself, which would be a mite draining. He didn't know much about magic but when his dome flared he did feel the pull. He made a mental note to have the flare become brief and heard a very tiny voice say, 'Make it so,' which made his eye twitch.

A large bell toned, letting the children know that class was over. Suddenly the empty hall was filled with noise. Harry moved off to the side and waited for someone he knew to come along. He watched the students file into the Great Hall and wondered if he had known any of them. Most of them stayed away from him, some with fearful looks, and others with looks of contempt. There were only a few that had thoughtful or pitied expressions on their faces. Every now and then, a person would call his name and wave.

Harry nodded his head to the friendly ones, tried to give a reassuring smile to the frightened ones, and flipped off the others, who either gasped at him and then scuttled away, or sneered and returned the favor. He had to wonder if this was the type of treatment he always got. He was supposed to be famous, did all celebrity types get this kind of scorn? Sure, he got entered into that stupid tournament, but from what Hermione had told him he had saved the lives of many of these people. He remembered that they thought he was a liar and a cheat, but damn it certainly made him feel less inclined to save anyone again. 'Tabloids. Right, famous people are always being torn down. Well, I'll just have to keep out of the limelight. I have enough to worry about without this shite,' he thought as he looked for the girls.

As he stood there waiting, he was approached by three adults. He groaned, not wanting to face this trio right now. Didn't they have paperwork to do or something? He was going to have to add a proximity alert to his map to warn him when the adults come in to range. As if he ordered it, there was a warning bell clanging in his head, and the three dots on his map turned red and had a red circle around them. He canceled the noise but made note of it for future reference.

"Mr. Potter, why were you not in class?" McGonagall asked primly as she peered over her reading glasses.

"I am ill, remember? Until I get my memory back, your classes are a waste of my time," he stated just a primly and pulled his glasses down to mimic her, causing her to narrow her eyes and open her mouth to reprimand him.

"Excuse me?" she started to rant. Never had she been so disrespected. Students were to listen and do as they were told. How would they learn if they rebelled? It was her job to make sure they were prepared for the world out there. She would put the poor boy in his place, if only to get him ready for what was to come. "You will…"

"Harry, my boy," Dumbledore said, interrupting whatever his Transfiguration Teacher was going to say, "I will ask that you respect the adults in this castle," he chastised with that damn twinkle in his eyes.

"Stay out of my mind, old man," Harry warned as sirens in his head went off and the words 'Yellow Alert, Shields up' resounded throughout. It was weird, and he wondered if he was going a bit insane, hearing voices in there.

"I assure you I do not intend to enter your mind again. I found there was little I could do to help. Back to the matter at hand, you must attend classes," Dumbledore said in his teacher's voice. "You will not be able to obtain work if you do not receive your OWLs and NEWTS."

"No," was the succinct answer.

"However will you find employment when you leave these hallowed halls?"

"I'm sure I can figure it out, or I believe that I can catch up and take the tests on my own time," Harry said with a negligent wave.

"Then what will you be doing with your time, pray tell?" Snape drawled as he looked over the child to see if there was any indication that he was retaining his memory. He was already in a sour mood from having to coddle the dunderheads in his class. Now he had to pretend that he… cared about the savior.

The teen shrugged and said, "I thought I'd study in the library. I mean, it should have the younger year books, right? So, I'll just look up stuff and see how much I can remember or retain."

"You did not sleep in your bed last night. Why were you on the couch when I did my bed count?" his Head of House asked. She had thought to wake the boy and make him go to his bed but decided to find out the reason he was there in the first place. She had heard that he and the youngest Weasley boy were on the outs, and she speculated on just how far they had separated.

"Right, thanks for reminding me, Headmaster I need you to get the police and a lawyer here soon. I still have to tell them about my amnesia and now I have to report an attempted theft of my belongings, including a family heirloom," Harry said, ignoring the initial question.

"I am sure that Mr. Weasley was simply protecting your items from true pilfering. There is no need to involve the DMLE," Albus stated grandfatherly as he reached to pat Harry on the back.

"Don't fucking touch me, arsehole," the boy snarled as he golden doom flew up, which fell as soon as the man dropped his hand. He was so pissed that the man had the nerve to try and be friendly with him that he didn't even ask how the Headmaster knew who he was talking about. He would soon find out that Hogwarts' rumor mill was very fast, and very little was left private.

"Yes, I can see that you are still quite peeved with me," the old man said a bit sadly, but already going over ways to get the boy to see that he, Albus Dumbledore, was a great man who did not need to be despised so. "Nevertheless, I will let you be excused from classes until you have caught up with self-study. However, you must rest in your assigned bed," he added firmly. Those two must regain their friendship, it was imperative that Harry be surrounded by Light people. He was slipping far into the Grey right before everyone's eyes, and there was little he, Albus, could do about it.

"It will be over his mutilated body that that happens," Harry warned with a sneer and narrow eyes, making everyone who heard gasp at the threat.

This also caused the Supreme Mugwump to cringe internally that his thoughts were seen true. "Nonsense, my boy, where else would you sleep?" he asked, not showing his inner turmoil.

"I'll have one of the house elves make up one of the empty guest rooms for me," the boy hero shrugged as if it were obvious.

"This is not a hotel, Mr. Potter," Snape snapped at the gall of the teen.

"Great, I'll just be leaving then," Harry said jovially and then turned to do just that.

"You are still entered in the Tri-wizard Tournament, and you still have Voldemort to contend with," the old man said quickly, hoping to dissuade the boy from going.

That caused Harry to pause and turn, "Which I'm not participating in, and I beat him once I can do it again." He shrugged and once more turned to leave.

"Wait, Harry, my boy, you…" the old man said, reaching out to grab his shoulder only to be knocked back by the golden dome.

"For the last time, I Am Not Your Boy, and Quit Fucking Touching me!" Harry bellowed in the old man's face as the sirens in his head now screamed 'Red Alert.' There was even a faint whisper of 'I'm given her all I can, Captain,' which made our hero's eye twitch again. He wasn't sure if he wanted an imaginary Scotty running his brain. Not that the guy wasn't a great engineer, but he did have a way of slapping things together and making them work with luck and golly. Now was not the time to have such thoughts, so he shook his head to clear it and glared at his violator.

Albus' face hardened as he stood to his full height, "I will not be spoken to in such a manner, Mr. Potter," he said in his most commanding voice as he let his magic flare, which was actually pretty impressive.

"And I won't be pushed around by you. So, you can look as domineering as you want. I am a free citizen and don't have to remain here," the teen stated snidely. "If you want me to stay, then get the coppers here, let me have my own room and don't force me into your stupid classes and foolish games."

"Listen here, you imbecilic brat, you cannot go around making demands on the headmaster. This is his school, and you are merely a student," Severus said with his usual sneer.

"There's where you're incorrect," Harry said pompously, as if lecturing a lesser man. "I am a paying guest. Hogwarts took my money for the year, as far as I know I've not been expelled and I'm not bound by any rules, since I demanded to leave and was told that I had to stay. Therefore, negating any prior agreement between me and the old codger," he added, glaring at the old man.

"That is not how it works," Severus said harshly, tired of the boy's arrogance.

"That's how I see it, and if you don't like it then I'll just leave," Harry said once more turning towards the stairs, his golden dome falling as he turned. He turned at the Headmaster's next words.

"What do you want, Harry, my…?" Albus asked, trailing off at the piercing look he received.

"Albus, you cannot be thinking of giving in to a child," Minerva stated completely flabbergasted that he would concede to the demands of a student. While she felt pity for the boy, there was no way she felt letting him get his way would be beneficial to anyone.

"Harry?" the Headmaster ignored her.

"The cops, an attorney and you not telling me what to do," were the demands.

"Very well, I will have the DMLE here tomorrow, you will have to arrange your own counsel, and until you regain your memory we will not interfere with your studies," he compromised, leaving quite a bit open.

"Or where I sleep," Harry said quickly.

"Or where you sleep," the Headmaster agreed.

"Oh, and I need someone to take me shopping. Turns out I'm loaded," he said gleefully, and then backtracked, "from what the twins tell me anyway." He hoped they didn't catch his slip.

"Yes, well, there are times allowing students to go to Hogsmeade. A few weekends are set aside for such, you may journey with them at the appropriate time," Albus said with a wave of his old thin hand.

"Wait, so this is a prison and you do regulate free time," the boy hero accused with a gasp.

"No, of course not," the old biddy snapped. "We schedule those days so that we know where the children are. We cannot be expected to keep track of four hundred or so teens unless we know where they are. It is easier to keep them here in the castle then let them run about willy-nilly. It is for their safety," McGonagall explained, affronted that he would say such a thing.

"The next Hogsmeade weekend is scheduled for this coming Saturday, you may attend," the Headmaster said with his grandfatherly smile. He reached his hand to pat the boy's shoulder but dropped it before it got anywhere near the lad.

"Fine, then I'll just be on my way. I see two lovely ladies waiting for me," the teen said with a nod of his head and moved away from the adults, pushing his way through the large crowd that had been watching them. He put his arms around his two female friends and guided them to the Great Hall. It was time to quit hiding.

The whole room's noise lessened when they entered, until Harry barked, "Still not a zoo animal." The other students then went back to what they were doing or started talking about what an arse the Boy-Who-Lived had become, while others mooned over the dreamy rebel teen.

Hermione sighed and steered them to the Gryffindor Table and they sat with their year mates. There was a huge amount of food in front of them and Harry was starved. He had used a lot of energy to fix that broken old house and now needed to refuel, so he piled his plate with roast beef, potatoes, and loads of vegetables. He feel on it until one look down the table at some of the other male students made him slow down, not wanting to look as ill-mannered as they did.

"Harry, I don't think…" Hermione hedged, worrying her lip. "I mean, are you sure you should…?" she trailed off again.

"Don't worry, Hermione, I know what I'm doing," he said, giving her a reassuring smile, glad that she wasn't nagging him about disrespecting adults. He could see from the pinched look on her face that it was hard on her to hold her tongue. "I tell you what, when we're not surrounded, you can yell at me all you want. Heed this, I probably won't listen to you, but I will let you rant."

She gave him a smile, pleased that he understood and then turned to her meal.

"You need to be more careful in what you say to the adults," Luna warned portentously. "Twice you almost gave away how their games have freed you. You're actually lucky you offended the Headmaster into ignoring your slips," she said and then hummed a little tune as she ate her onion soup.

"How did you…? Right, seer," Harry said, leaning over and kissing her cheek in thanks for the warning.

Hermione huffed, she still didn't believe in Divination, nothing controlled her life, except perhaps her parents, and the authorities in the school, and the government; oh bother.

"Hey, Harry, sorry to hear about your amnesia," a pudgy sandy-haired boy said as he reached across the table and held out his hand. "Neville Longbottom."

"Harry Potter, or so I'm told," Harry said with a friendly smile as he grabbed the hand and gave it a shake. "Were we friends?"

"More like acquaintances," the shy boy confessed.

"That doesn't mean we can't be friends now," the dark-haired teen said reassuringly.

"That would be nice," Neville admitted with a small smile. He had been one of those that wanted to be friends with Harry but was thwarted by the other two. He figured they were being overprotective. He felt he would be much the same way, if he were close to the boy that constantly finds trouble.

"Well, Neville, tell me about yourself. I mean we can't be good friends if we don't know each other well," Harry said, picking up some roast on his fork and nodding to the boy to talk.

"Well, there really isn't much to tell," the other teen started and then proceeded to tell him about his childhood — leaving out were his parents were— how his uncle continuously tried to kill him to 'scare the magic out of him,' and then his dreadful years here at Hogwarts. He smiled shyly when he told about how he got the points in their first years. He preened proudly when he talked about his love of plants. However, there was sadness in his voice when he recapped his abysmal use of magic. "Maybe, my uncle was right and I'm all Muggle," he finished sadly.

"I don't believe that for one second, and I'll do all I can to help you be a great wizard," Harry said, fuming over the callous way the boy had been treated growing up. There had been a faint nudge to his memory as he heard someone say, 'beat the magic out of him,' when Neville was talking, but then it was gone.

"There is no way you could help, cheater. If what you say is true and you've lost your mind, then how are you going to teach anyone magic you don't remember?" Ron Weasley asked importantly. "I'll help you, Neville," he added.

Neville chuckled, then snorted, and then bent over in his seat in full-blown laughter.

"What's so funny," Harry asked as he chuckled at his new friend's mirth.

"Well… I don't want to speak badly of anyone, but Ron doesn't do well scholastically," Hermione explained delicately.

"Oi, you take that back," the redheaded stated, angry that Hermione would take Harry's side… again. He didn't do too bad on exams, and he wasn't stupid. He just felt his time was better spent that having his nose in a book. "I do alright."

Harry scoffed, then snorted, then joined Neville in his laughter. After a few minutes the boys got themselves under control, and our hero stated, "Right, I'm not talking to the thief until I speak to my lawyer, so someone tell the idiot his opinion is not needed or wanted."

"I was holding them," Ron snarled, while a few nodded their heads believing that he would do just that.

"Ron, Harry isn't going to speak to you until there is an investigation," Hermione said as she looked at her… friend, ex-friend; oh, she didn't know how she felt.

"We've already written our parents," Fred said, glaring at his little brother, "and we're waiting for an answer. Do you really need to involve the Aurors?" he fretted, not wanting his parent to get in trouble.

"That cloak was a family heirloom. I found out that it's hundreds of years old, so, yes, sorry, I need to report it. If he thinks he can get away with it now, how will he feel when he gets older?" Harry asked maturely, hoping that this didn't ruin the budding friendship he was starting with the lookalikes. He quite enjoyed their company and felt that he could learn loads from them.

"Right," Fred nodded, and put his head together with his twin.

"Well," Luna said as she reached for the sweets that just popped up, "you do know that Ron will only get a smack on the back of his hand, since he is a minor, but his parents might be fined. I know you don't remember this, but they were once like family to you," she finished.

Harry sighed as he scooped up some caramel ice cream. He really didn't want Ron to get away with anything. Perhaps he would ask for leniency. He would talk to the cops, but ask that they scare Ron good and proper, but maybe, just maybe, he won't press charges. It would all depend on how Mr. and Mrs. Weasley reacted.