Hogwarts Again

The rest of the train ride was quite boring for Harry, as the train dragged on and on through the landscape. He sighed as he looked out of the window, even the banter between Ron and Hermione didn't interest him. The rhythmic clatter of the train wheels on the tracks were beginning to annoy him now.

He let out another deep sigh, and looked towards Ron and Hermione who were bantering again on a new topic. He looked towards Artemis, who looked at him with an almost reproachful look, as if to say, Even I'm more entertained than you, and I'm a bird in a cage.

Harry chuckled and pulled out his watch to look at the time, it was only 12:24pm. They had over seven more hours left. This was gonna be more boring than anything. Should he Apparate back to home and play with Abby for a while? But then Ron and Hermione would be left alone. Could he sleep? Yeah he could but he wasn't feeling sleepy. What else was he supposed to do? 

Ron noticed Harry's expression and nudged him. "Hey, mate, you alright? You look like you're about to fall asleep."

"Far from it, Ron" Harry groaned. "I am bored out of my mind and we still have about 8 hours of journey left."

Ron and Hermione both looked at Harry knowing that Harry didn't really look forward to Hogwarts like them. It was understandable considering he already knew all the magic that is being taught in the classes. Apart from Quidditch which is once in a while Harry really didn't have anything else to look up for. 

Then an idea suddenly clicked in Hermione's mind. She smirked as she knew exactly what could get Harry's blood pumping. She turned to Harry with a smirk.

"Harry, have you ever thought about flying without a broom?", Hermione plastered a curious look on her face while asking. Harry looked at Hermione, still not completely convinced. 

"Yeah, once or twice maybe", he replied in a droning voice of boredom. "But I have not experimented on anything like that so far"

Hermione smirked at that as she knew that she was tickling Harry's mental gears slowly. "So, do you think it's possible?"

Harry started thinking, "Is it possible?" he murmured. In his mind, he went through all the spells and rituals he knew of but didn't find anything useful. This was interesting. Could wizards really fly without having a broom or something?

The concept was really very interesting. He sat up slowly with a curious glint in his eyes, "I suppose with the right spell combination the Levitation charm could help you float, but it's not exactly flying..."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "You really think it's doable, mate? Sounds a bit dangerous." He smirked to himself as he added more fuel to the fire.

Harry shrugged, a spark of excitement finally in his eyes. "Everything is, Ron. Until someone finds a way to do it safely, everything is dangerous"

Hermione grinned, pleased with herself that her plan worked. She had successfully relieved Harry of his boredom. "Exactly Harry. If someone can figure it out, its you" 

The boredom was evaporated and replaced by a determination to make it happen. Harry smirked as he thought about it, how could he go about flying without anything. "I guess I better start researching."

With that he Disapparated back to the Dursley Mansion. Ron and Hermione turned white as they didn't know where Harry had gone to. 

"Oh dear... I didn't expect this," Hermione sighed with a pale face. "He won't do something stupid would he?" She asked Ron, who looked equally pale. 

Ron looked at her, "You tell me...He did just Disapparate without a word.""

Hermione bit her lip, her mind racing. "We need to find him. What if he gets hurt or gets caught doing something reckless?"

"But he is Harry...you really think something can hurt him?", Ron asked even though he was pale.

"No but you have seen how reckless he can be...", Hermione replied as Harry's reckless ideas came to her mind. Ron paled even more as he remembered the Quidditch matches.

Unbeknownst to all this, Harry was in the library of the Dursley Mansion which he had expanded to store all the books from the Potter's library as well. He was going through some ancient books to see if there was any mention of flying or anything similar. 

"Well it will take me a lot of time to read through all of this, so....", Harry thought as he looked at all the books in the library. 

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Hours passed by but Harry was still absent. Ron and Hermione had told the twins about it but they said that Harry would be back and must have gone back to his home. Their reassurance did little to nothing for Ron and Hermione. 

Almost ten minutes before the train pulled up to the station, Harry popped back into the compartment with his hair disheveled and his eyes red. He looked around wildly before sighing in relief, 'At least I'm not late."

"Harry!", Hermione exclaimed with relief in her voice. "Where on earth have you been? We were worried sick!"

Ron nodded, his face still a bit pale, "Mate, you can't just disappear like that on us. We thought you were in trouble"

Harry grinned, "Don't worry, I just went back to home for a bit. The library has many books that I haven't read and I thought it might contain a bit of information."

"A bit? It's been hours Harry!", Ron exclaimed. 

Harry smiled sheepishly, "Ah sorry about that, it's just I got too engrossed in reading". Which was a lie. He had recklessly scanned and transferred all the books contained in the library to his brain using the spell he had devised earlier.

Thankfully he didn't pass out and was just having a really bad headache which would go away if he slept for a while. 

"Well the bad news is there are no existing ways with which a wizard can fly regardless of safety", Harry explained. "Good news is that I think I can come up with one" he added with a smirk. 

Ron and Hermione both gawked at him. Then they remembered that it was Harry and decided that they shouldn't be too surprised. Harry stretched and flopped down on the seat. 

"When will we arrive?", he asked a yawn. 

Ron looked at his watch and replied, "In about 5 minutes give or take."

Harry nodded and looked out of the window. Well at least he didn't get bored in the train, although he was not in the train the whole journey but who cares. Now that he remembered he needed to create the advanced version of the marauders map right? Then there is the Moonsbane Elixir too, not to mention bunch of different elixirs. Not to mention guiding Ron and Hermione to the Sorcerer's Stone. 

"Bloody hell, this term will be really boring!", Harry thought. 

As the train pulled up to the station the students changed into their robes and headed out. The first years again were led to the castle via the boats by Hagrid. As the castle came into view, Hermione suddenly turned to Harry and Ron who were sharing the boat with her. 

She whispered to them, "I almost forgot to say, but I figured out what the three headed dog is guarding."

It was Harry's turn to be utterly shocked. She figured it out? How? It could be a million things but she figured it out?

"What is it guarding?", Ron asked curiously. 

"Well, I read about Dumbledore's history and there is this one thing that stood out. He helped Nicholas Flamel in creating the sorcerer stone. It is a magical stone that turns anything to gold and can be used to produce a potion of immortality." Hermione explained. 

Harry was beyond shocked. How did she figure that out? Isn't this cheating? They had not even gotten closer to the hints, but somehow she had landed directly on the answer?

"Hermione, why do you think so?", Harry asked his voice tinged with disbelief.

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath. "I had a strange dream during the holidays," she began. "In the dream, I saw Dumbledore and a stone, and somehow, I just knew that it was the Sorcerer's Stone. It was so vivid, and it felt so real. I can't explain it, but I just knew."

Harry's mind raced. What was happening? Could someone have made Hermione dream the answer? But who? Embera? No, she didn't know it... Then Praesidius? Could it be? Could she have used her power to make Hermione dream about it? He didn't voice these thoughts, deciding to keep his suspicions to himself for now.

But things have changed yet again. Well at least he was free from the job of guiding them towards the stone. But still who could have made Hermione dream about it? If not Praesidius then...

Harry kept away his thoughts for the moment. Ron who was thinking right now suddenly replied, "Yes. Harry do you remember Dumbledore's chocolate frog card? Its written in his card that he contributed greatly to the making of the Sorcerers stone with Nicholas Flamel."

Harry nodded even though he knew about it. It was surprising that Ron remembered it. Maybe the studying is doing him some good after all. The boat ride continued in silence, each of them lost in their thoughts. 

Once they arrived at the shore, they disembarked and joined the rest of the students making their way up to the castle. The bite of the cold air hitting their faces. 

Inside the castle the students quickly headed for the Great Hall for the welcome back feast. The hall was still decorated with garlands and twinkling lights from Christmas festivities. 

Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly found their usual seats at the Gryffindor table and sat down. As they sat their waiting for everyone to arrive, Harry's thoughts went back to Hermione's dream. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something sketchy going on. 

As soon as everyone arrived and settled down, Dumbledore stood up to give his customary welcome back speech. He stood before the podium with his eyes twinkling. "Welcome back to Hogwarts! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are ready for the rest of the school year. Now without further ado, let's dig in before you head back to your dormitories for your much needed rest"

As Dumbledore ended his speech the tables were filled with food. The hungry students starting digging in. But Harry couldn't focus on the meal and was distracted as he was still thinking about Hermione's dream. He knew he had to find out more, but he also knew he needed to be careful.

Ron nudged him. "Mate, you alright? You're not even touching your food."

"Ah yes, Ron just thinking about Hermione's strange dream is all", Harry replied with a smile. 

Hermione, leaned in. "I know it's strange...but let's not think too much about it, Harry"

Harry nodded, "Okay...Let's not". But he knew he was going to do everything but that. The rest of the feast passed pretty quickly with the blur of chatter and laughter from the students. 

After the feast, everyone headed to their own houses. Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way to the Gryffindor common room. The common room seemed to be filled with chatter as the students caught up with their friends after the holidays. Ron said that he is tired and headed off to bed. 

"I think I'll head up to bed too Harry. I mean you should as well we have classes starting tomorrow", Hermione said as she too headed up to her dormitory.

"Yeah I think I will head to bed as well", Harry murmured to himself as he walked up the stairs to the dormitory. Ron seemed to have just flunked on his bed without changing his clothes and was already asleep.

Harry quickly pulled out his trunk from the pouch and set it up against the rear of his bed. He quickly changed into his nightwear and jumped into bed. 

Thinking back to Hermione's weird dream, he really hoped it was Praesidius who showed her that because if it was the entity who is supposed to be the real enemy of Harry, then things would turn much more complicated than usual. 

With that thought he drifted off to sleep. As he drifted into sleep, his mind transported him to the distant past. In his dreams, he saw his mother, Mary Millwright. Her smiling face and her warm loving eyes. 

He was a child again, playing with her in the yard of their old their old house. She laughed as she chased after him, her voice almost a melody to him. It was then he realised that he had almost forgotten her voice. 

The dream suddenly shifted and he was in the Dursley Mansion garden. The sudden change was not something he had expected. He wanted to see his mother again. 

Harry looked around, he could see the mansion in the back and the sea to the side. Why was he here? He wanted to see his mother. Then he saw it, his mother looking at him smiling. She was seated in her favourite chair that she would always sit on back home, near the flowers. 

She was actually there and she was smiling at him. Harry couldn't believe it and called out to her in a shaky voice as he slowly walked towards her. "Mom?"

Mary smiled, "Yes, my baby?"

Harry couldn't hold back his emotions anymore and rushed to hug her. He broke down crying as he enveloped her in a hug, "I am sorry, Mum".

Mary held him tightly, "Shh, it's okay Arthur!", she whispered soothingly. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You are so brave and strong. I'm so proud of you."

Harry was no longer the prodigious wizard or Arthur, CEO of a multimillion dollar company. He was just Arthur, the small child who loved his mother more than anything. He was the child who dreamed of giving his parents a life worthy of royalty but never got the chance.

"I am sorry Mom." Harry continued to cry, his tears soaking her shoulder. "I miss you so much," he choked out between his sobs. "I wish you were here."

Mary stroked his hair gently. "I have always been in your heart, Arthur" She continued, "I saw my baby do all he promised me, he would do. And I couldn't be prouder"

Harry continued to cry, "But I never got to let you and Dad have the life I wanted you to have." His shoulders shaking from the silent sobs, "I never got to show Dad what I built."

Mary kissed Harry's head, "Believe me, he is proud of what you became, Arthur. He saw everything. We both did!"

"But...," Harry was about to start again when Mary shushed him. "Don't...Arthur"

"I love you, Mom", Harry finally saying the words he had always wanted to say to her. "I love you and Dad a lot."

"I love you too, my sweet boy," Mary replied as she kissed his forehead. "Both Dad and I know how much you love us. He loves you too, Arthur."

Harry's sobs gradually subsided, and he pulled back slightly to look at her. "Will I ever see you again, Mom?" He knew it was a stupid question but he wanted to see her again. He wanted to see his Dad again too. He wanted to apologise to his Dad for not being a good son...for not being able to save him...

Mary kissed his cheeks, "We will Arthur. Me and Dad both will see you again. In the future, you will meet us both"

Harry didn't expect that answer. He would see them again? When? Where? How? He had too many question...but he couldn't voice any of them as he saw Mary's form flickering.

He started panicking, "No!" He looked around to see if there was something he could do to stop. 

Then he tried to pull out his wand but Elythral didn't appear in his hand. He tried no wand magic but it didn't work either. "No No No...Don't leave me! Mom, please no..." he begged as his tears started flowing again.

"Don't cry love...I am already gone. We will meet again in the future..." Mary smiled as her form got more translucent. "Keep in mind Harry, neither me nor your father blame you for what happened to us"

Harry's heart raced as she faded more, "I don't want to lose you again," he whispered, tears streaming down his face. He reached out again, his hand moving through the air where she once was.

"You, won't, baby. I am always with you," Mary's voice echoed as her image dissolved into the wind.

Harry stood there, tears streaming down his cheeks. He knew he would see her again but he didn't know when or how. He had seen her after so long he didn't want her to leave. 

As he stood there crying the dream slowly dissolved and Harry woke up to the dark stone ceiling of the dormitory. His cheeks were wet from tears but he felt a little lighter. The weird thing was that Elythral was in his hand, glowing slowly. 

He put away Elythral and it disappeared again. He wiped his tears from his cheeks as he looked at the clock on and it read 3:08 am. Harry sat up and looked around the dormitory. Everyone was still asleep and he was thankful for that.

He got up from his bed as he knew that he wouldn't be getting more sleep. He took a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom for a shower. Harry took a long cold shower, his mind still in his dreams looking at his mother. The cold water helped keep his calm as his mind still reeled from his dream. 

After the shower he changed into his clothes and headed downstairs to the common room. He didn't want to keep thinking about his dream and the only way to do that was to get himself busy with work. He sat down in his favourite chair near the fireplace. The fire was down but the coals were still hot, so Harry just casually flicked his finger towards the fireplace to start the fire. 

With the fire now flickering away, Harry started thinking of ways to get the Marauder's map upgraded. What could he add to it? Maybe have it span across the entire Hogwarts ground? Definitely possible. What else? Maybe having different people come up as different colors based on their houses? Yup that's possible too...

Harry decided to focus on that first. Creating the entire Marauder's Map will possibly take about 2 days since he already knew all the charms and inner workings of the map, but adding all the extra detail could take anywhere from a week to a month. Harry decided to first get the normal Marauder's Map done, so he pulled out a large piece of parchment from his pouch and set it down on the nearby table. 

With a deep breath, he started sketching the the layout of the map. Hours passed by as he worked on the map slowly and accurately bringing out the layout of the Hogwarts castle one on top of the other. It was like 3d-printing but on 2d paper. As the hours melted by students arrived into the common room or headed out for a stroll. Some curious ones came closer to peak at what Harry was doing with such a big parchment. 

Harry was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even realize how many hours had passed by. He occasionally looked up and greeted those who passed by or were looking at him but didn't pay much attention to the time.

At about 7:05 Hermione came downstairs fully dressed in robes with her bag on her side. She noticed that Harry was busy drawing something on the parchment. She moved closer to see what it was but couldn't figure it out as it all seemed like just lines over others and she couldn't even think of what it was. She called out Harry's name but when he didn't seem to have listened she moved closer to his ears and shouted, "Harry!"

Harry is waken up from his task by Hermione's scream. He looked at her in confusion, "Blimey Hermione! Are you trying to burst my ear drums?"

"I called you multiple times but you didn't seem to have heard it", Hermione huffed. "So what is it that you are working on," she asked pointing to the parchment. 

Harry sighed and looked at the clock which read 7:08 am. It was nearly time for their classes after a quick breakfast. "You will have to wait till it's completed."

Hermione wanted to question but something seemed off with Harry so she stopped herself. She couldn't exactly put a finger on it but somehow Harry seemed sad. "Ok, then I'll wait."

"Thanks, now let's wait for Ron so that we can leave for breakfast," Harry replied as he looked at the clock again. In about five minutes, Ron came down, looking groggy but ready for the day. The trio made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Both Ron and Hermione noticed that something seemed off with Harry, but they didn't question him, knowing he would share if he wanted to. After a quick breakfast, they headed to their classes.

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Their first class was History of Magic with Lupin. The students filed in and took their seats as Lupin began his lecture on the Goblin Rebellions. Harry found himself bored. However, when Lupin posed a particularly deep question, Harry perked up.

"Can anyone tell me why the Goblin Rebellions were so persistent despite multiple peace treaties being signed?" Lupin asked, looking around the classroom.

Harry's hand shot up, and Lupin nodded at him to speak.

"It's because the goblins never fully trusted the wizards. Every treaty that was signed didn't address the core issues the goblins had, such as ownership of goblin-made artifacts. Wizards would often break these treaties when it suited them, leading to further distrust and rebellion," Harry explained.

Lupin paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Very insightful, Harry. It's important to understand that history is often about perspective. The goblins' distrust was certainly a significant factor."

As the class continued, Harry's answers to various questions impressed not only his classmates but also Lupin. 

After History of Magic, they headed to the greenhouses for double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Sprout greeted them cheerfully and announced that they would be working with Fanged Geraniums, a plant that could be quite tricky to handle.

"Now, who can tell me the best way to safely prune a Fanged Geranium?" Professor Sprout asked.

Harry's hand was the first in the air. "You need to use a pair of dragon-hide gloves to protect yourself from the bites. It's best to sing to the plant softly to calm it down while you work. Also, pruning in the early morning or late evening is ideal since the plant is less aggressive then."

Professor Sprout beamed. "Excellent, Harry! Those are some very useful tips that not many first-years know. Well done."

Harry smiled softly before working the plant. Despite behaving as normally as he could Hermione and Ron still knew that something was bothering Harry. By the time they were heading back for lunch both Ron and Hermione seemed to be concerned. 

As they sat down for lunch in the Great Hall, Hermione leaned closer to Harry. "Harry, you know you can talk to us about anything, right?"

Harry looked at her, "I know, Hermione. Thanks."

Ron patted Harry on the back. "Yeah, mate. We're here for you."

Harry gave them a small smile, appreciating their support but still keeping his worries to himself. He wasn't ready for anyone to know about his past life yet. Or ever if he thought about it.