Harry Potter 1. The Beginning

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J K Rowling, not me.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Elvira Snape was a gifted seer. Her visions were few and far between but what she saw almost always came to pass. And so, when she foresaw that her newly born child, Harry, would not live to see his second birthday she was devastated. She was also terrified of the reaction of Severus, her husband, who was so proud to have a son to follow in his footsteps and hold in trust the family name. For two solid hours she lay in her bed in the maternity ward at St Mungos and despaired. Then her eyes fell upon the sleeping form of Lily Potter who likewise had a baby boy and, by an unfortunate coincidence had named him Harry also. A glimmer of an idea began to form in her mind. The details quickly followed and Elvira acted before the other witch could wake up and spoil everything. The charms were many and complicated but Elvira was a witch to be reckoned with and she knew what she was doing. When she was finished everything seemed the same as before on the ward. But there was one difference. In the basket beside Lily Potter's bed lay Harry Julius Snape. In the basket beside Elvira Snape's bed lay Harry James Potter. Because of the spells Elvira had cast the boys' physical features had been swapped. No one would ever know that the change had taken place and Severus Snape would not have to suffer the loss of a treasured son.

An event which Elvira Snape had failed to see in advance was her own death. Just three months after giving birth she contracted a severe case of dragonpox. In spite of the efforts of the best healers at St Mungos she died and Severus was left to raise the child alone.

A year later the wizarding world was rocked by the deaths of Lily and Harry Potter. James had been out at the time, trying to help with the aftermath of a Death Eater attack in a small village in the Cotswolds. His wife and son ought to have been perfectly safe, protected by the Fidelius charm. But James's friend Peter who was their secret keeper had betrayed them, telling Lord Voldemort where the Potters' were hiding. James arrived home to find the house wrecked and Lily and Harry lying lifeless in Harry's bedroom. It appeared that Lily had done her best to protect her son's life. A lightning bolt shaped scar on Harry's forehead showed that the killing curse had partially rebounded, stripping Lord Voldemort of his powers. But even the selfless sacrifice of Lily's own life had not been enough to save the life of her precious son.

Wizards across the country celebrated the downfall of "He who must not be named". Harry James Potter went down in history as the innocent babe who gave his life so that the rest of the world might be safe. And a heartbroken James Potter spent a year searching in vain for the traitor who had destroyed his family. After that he took up the post of Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts upon the retiral of Professor McGonagall. The years dulled his grief and he was able to carry on living but he would never again be the carefree young husband and father his friends had known.

After the destruction of Voldemort, Severus Snape took up the post of Potions' master at Hogwarts. One of the Hogwarts house elves moved into his house at Spinners End to look after his young son. Most days he would visit for an hour or so to check on Harry. When the boy grew a little older he would bring him to Hogwarts for special occasions such as quidditch matches and feasts when Harry would delight in the company of the Slytherin students. School holidays were when Snape would spend time intensively tutoring his son in basic skills such as reading and arithmetic, making up for the lack of attention he could give him during the term. He didn't teach him magic, saying that it would be time enough when he started at Hogwarts. Once Harry was reached the age of nine Professor Dumbledore decided that he was old enough to live at Hogwarts during the school year, studying on his own in his father's quarters during lesson times and spending free time with the Slytherin students. This pleased young Harry no end. It was rather a lonely existence at Spinners End and now he would be able to see much more of friends and father.

Among the majority of the Hogwarts population it was thought that Harry Snape was an arrogant young upstart. He looked down his nose at any student not in Slytherin and also at many of the teachers. He seemed to believe that he was better than even those in his father's house; though no Slytherin would ever dare to say a word against their head of house's son. The relationship between Professor Snape himself and Harry appeared to be a fairly formal one, Snape insisting that Harry behave in a dignified manner befitting someone who bore his name. It was clear that they cared for each other though. Sometimes on a sunny afternoon the two would be seen walking together around the lake, identical sneering smiles on their faces as they talked. And when Harry ate at the Slytherin table those passing would often here him start a speech with the proud words, 'My father says,'

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At long last Harry's eleventh birthday arrived. They were sitting down to breakfast in their home when the owl arrived bearing the letter from Hogwarts. Harry took it and opened it calmly. Then without a word he walked over to the small desk at the side of the room, wrote quickly on of piece of parchment, rolled the letter up and tied it to the waiting owl which promptly took off with it.

'I take it you accepted?' asked his father dryly. Harry answered indirectly though he had a big grin on his face.

'Can we go to Diagon Alley today please, Father?'

'Of course,' replied Severus. But remember what I told you about your wand.'

'I know,' said Harry. 'Once I'm sorted you'll let me try all of the old family wands and I can have the one that suits me best. And at Christmas you'll take me to Ollivanders and he'll check it's good enough for me. If he thinks it's not then you'll by me a new one then.' Privately, Harry was hoping to be able to use his great grandmother's wand, a beautiful silver birch containing a dragon heartstring.

'Go and get ready then,' his father told him and Harry obeyed willingly.

Four hours later they returned, laden with all that Harry required for school. In addition Harry was carrying the latest broomstick, a Nimbus 2000. Severus had refused to teach Harry to fly up till now, saying that there were more important things. But as he had said, it wouldn't do for Harry to be a complete novice if he had to share flying lessons with one of the other houses-it was taken for granted that Harry would be in Slytherin. What was more; it solved the problem of what Severus could buy his son for a birthday present.

'But remember you can't take it to school this year,' he warned Harry.

'I know, first years aren't allowed their own brooms.' Harry felt he could reel off every rule of Hogwarts, he had heard them all so often. 'But at least I'll have it for next year when I'm on the team.'

'Don't get your hopes up too much,' said his father sternly. Not many second years even get onto the house teams. And you won't get a lesson this afternoon unless you behave properly at lunch.'

There wasn't a chance of Harry risking missing out on his first flying lesson so he went to put his purchases away before coming down to enjoy the rest of his birthday.

The rest of the summer passed pleasantly enough. The week before school started they packed and moved to Hogwarts to get ready for the start of term. Harry would not travel on the Hogwarts Express but join the rest of the first years just before they entered the Great Hall to be sorted. The week went quickly with Harry dividing his time between helping his father, flying on the school brooms and avoiding Professor Potter for whom he had an especial dislike, inherited from Severus. September the first arrived. When Hagrid brought the new first years into the castle Harry quietly slipped onto the end of the line and thus began the start of his school career proper.

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Author's note: No prizes for guessing where this is heading! Be warned: the Evil Muse is back and those of you who read my last story will realise that this is not good news for Harry. If you like Harry to be happy all the time and life to be good to him then this is not the story for you. Otherwise, read, enjoy and review.


	2. The Sorting Hat Knows

Disclaimer: J K Rowling owns Harry Potter.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 2: The Sorting Hat Knows

Professor Potter led them into a room off the Great Hall where he gave them all a speech welcoming them to Hogwarts and explaining the house system to them. He sounded rather full of himself, thought Harry. Of course, he was depute headmaster now- had been for three years since Professor Vector's predecessor who had taken over the depute headship from McGonagall had retired. Harry caught the eye of the one new pupil whom he knew, Draco Malfoy and grimaced. He'd met Draco a few times when their fathers had visited each other and got along rather well with him. With any luck they'd both be in Slytherin together. His speech over, Professor Potter said grandly, 'Follow me,' and led the first years into the Great Hall.

There was much excited whispering as the new pupils had their first glimpse of the magnificent ceiling, bewitched to look like the sky outside. And more than a few sighs of relief when it transpired that all they had to do was to try on a hat, as became clear when the stupid (in Harry's opinion) piece of headgear sang its song. It appeared one or two idiots had been expecting to wrestle a troll or to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Having attended several sortings as Professor Snape's son, it was nothing new to Harry. Soon Professor Potter was reading the names out and the first year students were getting sorted in alphabetical order. Harry didn't pay much attention to most of it. As expected, Draco was immediately sorted into Slytherin. At long last Harry's own turn came around. There was a distinct tone of dislike in the depute headmaster's voice as he called out 'Harry Snape!' Harry walked disdainfully to the stool and put the hat on his head as he sat down.

'So, where to put you?' A voice spoke in Harry's head and he answered it silently.

'Slytherin, of course you stupid thing. My father's head of house. How could I possibly be in any other?'

'Well, you know,' replied the hat, not at all put out by the rudeness of Harry's thoughts. 'There are other considerations. And I'm not at all sure that Slytherin is the right place for you.'

'JUST PUT ME IN SLYTHERIN!'

Harry practically yelled the thought at the hat and it relented.

'Very well, if you insist. SLYTHERIN!' It shouted the name for all to hear and Harry walked to his house table, looking up to his father where he sat with the staff and smiling. The last few pupils were sorted and then Professor Potter made to pick up the hat and carry it away.

'WAIT!'

A gasp went up around the hall as this demand came from the hat. Such a thing had never happened in all the history of Hogwarts. Before anyone could think what it could possibly want, it spoke up again in clear tones which reached each and every person present.

'One amongst those newly sorted

Bears a name that isn't his.

Harry Potter sits among you, live and well.

Harry Snape has long been dead, I'm sad to tell.'

There was a short silence followed by a low muttering throughout the hall. Harry was confused. The hat was obviously referring to him, but what was all this nonsense about him being dead. After a minute Professor Dumbledore stood up.

'Please enjoy your feast,' he said shortly. 'Professor Snape, Professor Potter, Harry, if you would be so kind as to come along to my office we will investigate the hat's claims.'

Harry stood up apprehensively. Draco said to him,

'Go on, it will be all right. Just some stupid malfunctioning of the hat's spells.'

Harry said nothing but followed the three professors out of the Great Hall. It wasn't long before they arrived in Professor Dumbledore's study. At the headmaster's request Harry sat down in a large squishy armchair. No sooner was he seated then his father started ranting.

'What was all that nonsense the hat was spouting? Perhaps it's time we got rid of it.'

Professor Dumbledore held up his hand to silence him.

'Please, Severus, James. Hear me out. It appears that the hat believes Harry here to be the son of James and Lily rather than you and Elvira, Severus. There is a relatively simple test I can perform using a small sample of blood from each of you which will tell us if the hat is correct in its belief. I trust that the three of you have no objection?'

'Fine, waste your time,' said Harry's father. 'I think I know my own son.'

'Certainly,' snarled James. 'Even though I already know the brat is Snape's child.'

Harry merely shook his head, terrified at the thought that he might have been living with the wrong father for all these years. Dumbledore went to the three of them in turn, touching his wand to their thumb and drawing out a single drop of blood from Professors Potter and Snape and two from Harry and placing them separately on a silver plate. He pointed his wand at the plate, muttering something Harry couldn't make out. Harry's drops of blood then moved, one to his father's and one to Professor Potter's. The one which went to his father's moved away again whereas the other joined with Professor Potter's blood to form a larger drop. Harry didn't realise immediately what this meant but the others in the room evidently had no doubts. Professor Dumbledore sat down heavily on a chair looking very sombre. Harry's "father" looked furious.

'YOU MEAN I'VE SPENT ELEVEN YEARS LOOKING AFTER HIS SON?' He roared out the question but then continued coldly. 'Well no more. He can keep his clothes and school stuff but anything else I've paid for is mine. I will have nothing further to do with him than as a student.'

Professor Potter was apparently no more pleased with the results of the test.

'As far as I'm concerned my son was murdered ten years ago. Do not expect me to suddenly take responsibility for Snape's cast offs.'

There seemed to be a pounding in Harry's head. His father wasn't his father after all. And now he didn't want him. Nor did Professor Potter who was apparently his real father. Professor Dumbledore seemed to be about to speak but Harry found he didn't want to hear anything he had to say. He leapt from his seat and fled the room, running through the corridors without paying heed to where he was going. When he found himself at a side door leading to the grounds he hesitated only a second before wrenching it open and going outside where he wandered around half dazed for half an hour before sitting down under a tree and staring out over the lake. It must have been an hour or so before he was approached by a teacher.

'Harry, you need to come inside and get to bed.' It was the new defence teacher, Professor Lupin. Harry ignored him. During the past week it had become plain to him that Professor Lupin was a good friend of Professor Potter. And a friend of Professor Potter was almost as bad as the man himself. Harry had learnt that a couple of years or so ago when Professor Black had been the defence teacher. He had frequently called him a brat and insulted his father. Or maybe not since Professor Snape wasn't his father now.

'Come on. You're to sleep in the hospital wing tonight since all your room mates should be sleeping already. You can settle into your house tomorrow.'

Harry stood up and allowed himself to be gently guided towards the castle. His house. He'd told the hat he wanted to be in Slytherin. The hat had tried to dissuade him without success. The hat had known but Harry had insisted. Suddenly Harry wasn't sure he wanted to be at Hogwarts any more. But he didn't have anywhere else to go. With the events of the evening spinning around in his head he walked silently beside Professor Lupin until they reached the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse said little to him just clucking sympathetically, and giving him a pair of pyjamas and showing him to a bed. Once he was ready she tucked him in and left him to go to sleep after giving him a small goblet with a potion in.

'Just a little helping hand to put you to sleep,' she said kindly. Harry downed it quickly and put his head on the pillow. The way he was feeling right now, if he didn't wake up for a hundred years it would be too soon.


	3. First Day as Harry Potter

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

A Change of Identity

Chapter 3: First Day as Harry Potter

Harry woke the next morning and felt the comforting warmth of the bedclothes surrounding him. But as he gradually came to full consciousness he remembered the events of the previous night and suddenly he felt cold. He curled up and shut his eyes, hoping in vain that he would fall asleep again and wake up to find it was all a dream. It wasn't to be. Professor Dumbledore spoke from a chair beside the bed.

'Harry, I know that you are awake. Will you please sit up so that we can talk?'

Harry obediently sat up though he wasn't at all sure he wanted to talk with the headmaster- or with anybody else for that matter.

'Harry,' said Dumbledore once the boy was upright. 'I know this has been a great shock to you. It has also been a big shock to Professor Potter and Professor Snape. I am sure that, in the fullness of time, your real father will learn to accept and love you. Until then, I am sure you are aware that there is a fund at Hogwarts to help those who really cannot afford school supplies, so you needn't worry on that account. Of course you are already fully equipped for the coming year. Your things have been moved into the Slytherin dormitories ready for tonight. Except, of course, for your schoolbag and books for today's classes. There is just one more thing.'

Dumbledore seemed to hesitate slightly at this stage before continuing.

'Harry, it is clear that Elvira Snape must have put some powerful charms on you when she took you in place of her own son. Now that the truth is out those charms must be lifted.'

And without warning the headmaster pointed his wand at Harry and said a long and complicated incantation. Harry felt goose bumps all over followed by a strange sensation of parts of his skin stretching and parts shrinking and something peculiar going on with his hair. When the feelings had subsided, Dumbledore spoke again.

'Well, that's you looking the way you ought to. Now, an announcement has been made to the school and so you won't have to answer any awkward questions. You may have to endure a little more attention than you would like but that can't be helped, I'm afraid. After all, this situation has created quite a stir in the wizarding world. History books will need to be rewritten to tell that it was little Harry Snape who sacrificed his life for us all. Now, time is getting on so I will leave you to have some breakfast and go to your classes. And I'm sure if you ask her, Madam Pomfrey will provide you with a mirror so that you can admire your new look.'

So much for the 'we can talk', thought Harry. All he could do was sit there while Dumbledore happily rambled on and then took away his whole identity by removing the charms on him. He dreaded the thought that he might have one or two of Professor Potter's features now. Though perhaps he looked more like his real mother. That wouldn't be so bad. He'd once seen a photograph of Lily Potter and she looked all right. As for his real father learning to accept him- Harry didn't want anything to do with him. He'd looked down on him all his life because he was Snape's son. It would be nothing short of hypocrisy for him to treat Harry as a son after that. At this point in his thoughts Madam Pomfrey arrived with his breakfast and told him to eat up quickly.

Harry suddenly found he wasn't very hungry, even though he hadn't eaten at the feast. He choked down a slice of toast and a small glass of pumpkin juice and then got dressed. Once he was ready Madam Pomfrey appeared pushing a full length mirror on wheels.

'Here you are, Harry. Take a good look at yourself and then you need to get off to class- here's your timetable by the way. I must be getting on with my work so I'll say goodbye.' Saying this, she marched away and left Harry alone to look in the mirror. But when he looked he realised that he could hardly see. He tried rubbing his eyes but it made no difference. He turned away and picked up his schoolbag but as he tried to leave the hospital wing he bumped into a table with a loud thump. Madam Pomfrey came running.

'Oh my poor dear, I quite forgot. James always had terrible eyesight too. Here, try these.' And he handed Harry a pair of glasses. As soon as he put them on Harry found he could see normally again. He walked back to the mirror and was hard pressed not to smash it with his bare hands at what he saw.

He was an almost perfect imitation of a picture he had once seen of Professor Potter when he was at school. Except that he had green eyes instead of hazel. He turned and stormed out of the hospital wing ignoring the concerned noises coming from the nurse. Taking a look at his timetable he saw that his first class was defence so he went off towards the classroom. He knew he was going to be slightly late due to the delay his eyesight had caused but didn't care.

As soon as he opened the classroom door the whole class turned to stare at him. Professor Lupin looked rather shocked but quickly put on a smile, told Harry to sit down and continued with his talk on what they were going to learn that year, recapping what Harry had missed. As soon as the bell rang for the end of the lesson Harry jumped up and ran from the classroom, hoping to avoid having to answer any questions about what had been revealed about him.

By the time he went to bed that night Harry was wondering how he was ever going to cope with the school year. Wherever he went he could here people talking excitedly about the change in history. And he had quickly found out that he was going to be completely friendless. He had arrived in the History of magic classroom before everyone else. When Draco Malfoy had entered Harry had waved to him to come and sit beside him. But Malfoy had just laughed scornfully.

'You don't seriously think that I would fraternise with a Potter, do you?' he'd asked. 'Things have changed. As far as Slytherin House is concerned you don't belong. So don't even try to talk to any of us.'

The trouble was, Harry had been sorted into Slytherin. As far as the rest of the school was concerned, Slytherins were scum. So there wasn't a hope on earth of Harry finding friends outside his own house. Not that he would have been inclined to try anyway. Members of the other three houses had scorned him as long as he could remember. Harry didn't want there friendship now even if they were willing to offer it.

As for the teachers and classes- both Professor Potter and Professor Snape clearly hated him, though he hadn't actually had a Potions lesson yet. But Professor Potter had cruelly called him "Snape" when he called the register. Flitwick had confusedly stuttered 'Harry Sn... no. er. Po...' and went on to the next name. The others had just insensitively called him Mr Potter. Harry had missed the register in Defence but although Professor Lupin had seemed nice enough something about him had made him extremely uneasy, almost frightened, though he wasn't sure what it was.

And he was unable to perform even the easy spells they had been learning in Charms and Transfiguration. Of course, Transfiguration was supposed to be difficult but quite a few of the class had at least been able to make some difference to the matchstick they had to change into a needle. And every other member of the class had been able to perform a simple "Lumos" in charms. Harry had pretended not to care, pointing his wand and disdainfully saying the words of the spells but he couldn't hide the fact that nothing happened. He'd heard the word "squib" muttered sneeringly from Malfoy's direction.

By lunchtime he was feeling hungry but the food seemed to almost choke him. The same thing happened at dinner- there seemed to be an enormous lump in his throat preventing him from swallowing easily. He told himself he wasn't upset and he didn't need anyone's friendship or any family. He told himself he didn't care about being able to do magic anyway. He went to bed early, thankful that the drapes around the beds were charmed to prevent others from opening them if the occupant wanted to be private. By the time he got to sleep he had managed to build a wall around part of his mind to stop the cruel comments he expected to be constantly hearing from hurting him.

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A N: Well I did warn you about the Evil Muse! By the way, a review or two would be quite nice. Thank you to my reviewers so far.

_Willowcharm_


	4. A Different Kind of Boggart

Disclaimer: Who owns Harry Potter? Er, me? No. J K Rowling? Yes.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 4: A Different Kind of Boggart

History of Magic and Astronomy quickly became Harry's favourite subjects due to the fact that there was absolutely no need to use a wand in them. So far Herbology was alright but Harry knew that eventually they would need to use magic to help with the care of some of the plants. Transfiguration and Potions were easily his least liked classes. Professor Snape didn't take points from him, obviously out of regard for Slytherin's standing in the House Cup. But he regularly sneered at Harry's inability to even light the fire under the cauldron for himself. And as for the potions themselves... well, after a few lessons whichever unfortunate student who had drawn the short straw and had to partner Harry would do all the stirring himself and relegate Harry to chopping ingredients and maybe adding them at a stretch. If Harry had anything to do with stirring then the potion would just be a horrible mess.

Professor Potter was equally scathing about Harry's total inability in Transfiguration. Every lesson he would either take a point or two from him or give him extra homework Harry didn't know which of his "fathers" he hated the most. In the end he decided there wasn't anything to choose between them. Though what he really couldn't stand was the fact that a tiny bit of him wanted Professor Snape to come and tell him that the recent revelations didn't matter and he was still his son in everything that mattered. Some hope. Harry knew it wasn't going to happen. He also knew that even if it did he could never again feel the same unconditional love as he had when they had thought they were father and son. His formerly perfect life was over for ever.

In Charms Professor Flitwick treated him sympathetically, trying in vain to help him perform the simple spells. But beyond giving him an occasional extra reading assignment for homework the tiny teacher refrained from harassing him.

Four weeks into term Professor Lupin announced that the next Defence lesson would be a practical one. They had been spending the time so far learning about various dark creatures. It was time they came face to face with one.

'Now,' said Professor Lupin. 'I know that at this stage in your education you are not capable of defeating a Boggart. However, it is not impossible that you may come across one as you poke around the castle as some students do. So next class you will each have the opportunity to stand in front of one. This will confirm what your greatest fear is. Then if you come across that fear unexpectedly in the castle, especially after opening a drawer or cupboard you should realise that it is in fact only a Boggart. Knowing this should help calm your fears enough for you to get away and find someone who can deal with it. So, for homework, I want each of you to think very hard and be able to tell me what you think the Boggart will turn into for you before you take your turn in front of it. I don't want any of you to try facing it having no idea of what is coming.'

That was all very well, but no matter how hard he tried, Harry could not think of anything he was particularly frightened of. He thought of dragons, vampires, banshees, the lot. But whatever he thought of, he couldn't seem to muster any fear for it. When he was younger he'd been terrified of beetles for some reason, but the thought of them didn't bother him at all now. In the end he gave up and arrived for the lesson none the wiser.

Professor Lupin went round the class asking each person what they thought their Boggart would be. As expected, there was a collection of vampires, werewolves, skeletons, and in one case, an elephant. When Harry's turn came he just shrugged. Professor Lupin's eyes narrowed.

'Are you telling me you are unprepared for this class, Harry?' he asked, a slightly steely tone to his voice. Harry just shrugged again, thinking it would sound stupid to say that nothing frightened him. He didn't think that the unease he felt around Professor Lupin counted and anyway, the man himself didn't frighten him. It was the feeling he got around him that did.

'Very well,' said Lupin when it was clear that Harry was going to give no further response. 'You will not face the Boggart this lesson. And I will expect you in my office at seven this evening for detention. When I give homework I expect it to be done, however trivial it may seem to be.'

The professor moved on and completed his questioning of the class before returning to the front and lifting up an old suitcase from under his desk.

'Right,' he said. 'Before I open the suitcase I am going to surround it with an invisible shield which will contain the Boggart but still enable it to sense you. When your name is called you will come out to the front, stand in front of the Boggart and when it has changed into your fear you will return to your seat.'

It went smoothly enough, the Boggart changing in turn to the students' fears as they stood in front of it in turn. Due to the knowledge that there was a shield around it most of the class stayed calm although a couple of the girls screamed when they saw their fears take shape.

As Harry made his way to Professor Lupin's office that evening he reflected on the irony of the fact that it was the teacher who was usually nicest to him who had given him his first detention. He would have expected that honour to have gone to his ex father or to Professor Potter. No doubt it wouldn't be long before one of them found some flimsy excuse to make him do hours of cleaning for Mr Filch the caretaker. Arriving at the office door, he knocked and entered. Professor Lupin was sitting at his desk with the suitcase containing the Boggart in front of him. Harry closed the door and started to approach the desk but before he had taken two steps Professor Lupin drew his wand and opened the suitcase.

As far as Harry could see there was nothing there. But he was suddenly assaulted with an enormous amount of that feeling which caused him unease whenever he was in Lupin's presence. He backed away but the feeling followed him. In seconds Harry was baked up against the door of the office feeling more terrified than he had ever felt before. After about thirty seconds the feeling subsided and Harry saw his teacher struggling to put something large, white and round into the suitcase. Although he knew he shouldn't, Harry quickly opened the door and ran, anxious to get as far away from the room as possible.

Professor Lupin was stunned. His intention had been to confront Harry with his fear and then to sit down and discuss it with him and to discover why he'd been unable to decide what his fear was in time for the lesson. He hadn't particularly wanted to sound so harsh to the boy in class earlier but he knew what Slytherins were like. If he had appeared to let Harry off with not being prepared then there would soon be a spate of homework not being done. He wished now that he had at least warned Harry that he was going to release the Boggart and perhaps asked him if he'd thought any more about what his fear was. He also wished that he'd had the presence of mind to lock the door to prevent Harry's escape but he had been put off by the peculiar form of the boy's Boggart.

When he had released the Boggart, Professor Lupin had been confused to see nothing at all. Then he had felt the most wonderful feeling. By the time he had realised exactly what that feeling was, Harry had opened the door and it was too late to stop him from leaving. The man sat with his head in his hands, wondering what to do. He knew all about Harry of course. Everyone did thanks to the Sorting Hat's grand announcement at the start of term. And more than anything, he wanted to be a part of Harry's life as he would have been if the boy had been raised by James, one of his closest friends whom he loved as a brother. But Harry had been stolen away and Remus Lupin was deprived of the chance to be almost an uncle to him. Now he wanted to take up the position but here were great obstacles to overcome.

One was the fact that James was completely rejecting the poor boy. The other was the Boggart. Because what Harry feared was a prerequisite for any sort of relationship. And Harry had been hurt so badly that he would not want to take the risk of anyone ever treating him like that again. But the only way Harry would find happiness would be to take that risk. In other words, to find happiness, Harry would have to be braver than one could possibly imagine.


	5. A Broomstick and a Wand

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is still not mine.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 5: A Broomstick and a Wand

As if things weren't bad enough, life took a turn for the worse for Harry over the next week. It started with Professor Potter taking twenty points from Slytherin because of Harry's total inability in Transfiguration. That in itself wouldn't have troubled Harry. He couldn't care less if Slytherin won the house cup or not. In fact it was only after the class was over that Harry realised the implications of the points he had lost. He was walking behind Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle going to their next class and heard Draco say gleefully to them,

'Twenty points! Snape's not going to be happy about that.'

Harry's heart sank. It was common knowledge that the main reason Slytherin were always well in the running for the house cup was because Snape came down extremely hard on any of his students who lost a lot of points in one go. Sure enough, Harry found himself spending the whole of the next two evenings cleaning all the boys' toilets in the dungeons under Mr Filch's supervision.

Then on Friday afternoon the Slytherins had their weekly flying lesson which they shared with the Gryffindors. As he had found out on his birthday, Harry had a natural talent for flying and he loved it. But Madam Hooch absolutely forbade them to do anything other than the easy exercises in the air which she told them to do. They bored Harry and so he didn't bother making much of an effort. This week within five minutes of the lesson starting, that stupid fat idiot Longbottom in Gryffindor managed to fall and break his wrist. Madam Hooch ordered the class to remain on the ground while she took him to the hospital wing.

No sooner was she out of sight than Draco jumped onto a broomstick and gave a demonstration of his flying skills. He was pretty good, Harry supposed, but not nearly as good as him and Harry had only started to learn on his birthday whereas Draco had been flying for years. Then Snape came along. Harry waited with grim satisfaction for him to call Draco down and tear into him for disobeying Madam Hooch's orders but it didn't happen. Instead...

'Quite an impressive display, Mr Malfoy,' said Snape silkily as the boy glided down to a halt in front of his head of house. 'I think you and I should find Marcus Flint and discuss you playing seeker on the Slytherin team.'

Great, thought Harry bitterly. As if his former friend wasn't unbearable enough already. Of course, it was made worse by the fact that Harry had been as good as promised a place on the team when he got into second year. In fact Snape had gone so far as to say that Harry would make a very good seeker when he'd given him lessons that summer. Needless to say, Harry didn't think he'd ever be able to get into the Slytherin team now even if he wanted to.

The next morning at breakfast Snape approached the Slytherin table carrying a broomstick.

'Mr Malfoy,' he said. 'While, as a first year you are not allowed to have your own broomstick in school, it is essential that you have a decent model on which to train and play in matches. I have a spare one here which you may borrow. If, as I sincerely hope you will, you acquit yourself well in the team, I will allow you to keep it.'

Harry was hard pressed to keep up his "couldn't care less" face as he left the Great Hall behind a gloating Malfoy and his friends. Unfortunately however, as he was about to descend to the dungeons, Peeves the poltergeist appeared and blocked Malfoy and the others from going outside.

'Ooh!' he said gleefully. 'Darling Draco's got Ex-Snape's birthday broomstick. Ex-Snape's not going to be happy.'

Harry felt something explode inside of him. He'd recognised the broomstick immediately but had hoped no one would ever find out its origins. Now thanks to Peeves the whole school would know. He turned around and made a beeline for the front doors, not sure whether he was planning on killing Peeves or Draco. He didn't get a chance to do either. Someone grabbed him from behind and despite his struggles he was frogmarched up stairs and along corridors until finally he was pushed into an office. As the teacher let him go and went towards his desk Harry turned round and tried to leave but found the door locked.

'Let me out!' he shouted.

'No,' was the calm reply and Harry turned round to face Professor Lupin.

'You've no right to keep me here. I haven't done anything.'

Professor Lupin looked at the boy whose face had now resumed its normal "I'm better than everyone else" look. It was quite probable that the urge to commit murder was gone but he wasn't prepared to take the risk. He spoke firmly.

'I apprehended you as you were about to attack a fellow student. You will stay here until I am satisfied that you have calmed down. Besides, there is the matter of the detention which you left without permission. This seems to be a good opportunity for you to make up the time.'

Harry couldn't argue with that although he had not expected to hear anything more about that detention.

'Fine,' he said. 'What do you want me to do?' He was handed a book on muggle history and told to sit and read it. Professor Lupin said no more but sat at his desk working for the next hour and a half before dismissing Harry. Harry did indeed feel a lot calmer by then but he also felt a renewed sense of rejection by Professor Snape. It was one thing for the man to take back most of the stuff he'd bought for Harry. It was quite another for him to openly give one of the things to another student, especially since it had been one of Harry's favourite possessions. He retreated to the sanctuary of his bed, closed the drapes and stayed there for the rest of the day, spending some of the time completing his homework and the rest staring up at the ceiling.

Hunger forced him to attend meals on Sunday but otherwise he returned to his bed to escape the comments that he was sure people were making about him. But Monday came too soon and he had to go to classes. After another day of pretending not to care about not being able to perform spell work, Harry was not in the best of moods. In Defence, Professor Lupin just had to have picked today to start practical work with them, teaching them the "Expelliarmus" charm. Although not everyone had been completely successful, they'd all managed something. Except Harry. He'd hated the way Lupin had said consolingly to keep practising and he was sure to manage soon. A few more weeks passed and "soon" still hadn't happened.

Things came to a head as he walked along a corridor one day and Draco Malfoy suddenly appeared with a group of other Slytherins walking in the opposite direction and decided to taunt Harry.

'Well, if it isn't Hogwarts' Squib in Training,' he sneered. 'Looking forward to becoming next caretaker, Potter?'

Harry drew his wand even though he knew it wouldn't help him. Grinning evilly, Malfoy stepped up to Harry and grabbed hold of it.

'So what hex is the Great Squib going to use on me?' he jeered. Harry tried to pull his wand away from Malfoy. The other boy held on tightly and it snapped in two. In a fury, Harry wrenched the half back from Malfoy and tried to punch him. Malfoy stepped away, his laughs accompanied by those of his friends. Harry tried to leap on him but suddenly found himself held back once more by the strong arms of Professor Lupin.

'HE BROKE MY WAND!' he screamed but the teacher held Harry fast as he struggled to get to Malfoy.

'Please, Sir, Potter tried to hex me. I was only trying to stop him and the wand snapped. Then he tried to attack me.' Malfoy spoke as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.

'Get out of here, all of you,' Lupin ordered the Slytherins, still restraining Harry. In truth, he'd only seen Harry do anything wrong. Not that he believed Malfoy to be blameless, but he felt the most important thing just now was to deal with Harry. When the Slytherins had gone he took Harry into his office which was only a few yards away and gently prised the pieces of wand from his fingers and examined them. What he saw both puzzled him and explained a lot. He took a seat at his desk and ordered Harry to sit opposite him. He noticed that the boy kept his eyes looking downwards.

'Will you please tell me Harry,' he said, keeping his tone gentle but firm, 'why you have been using an ordinary stick with no magical core as a wand.'

Harry kept staring at the ground, saying nothing but Professor Lupin was having none of it.

'I am waiting for an answer, Harry.' From his tone Harry realised the professor wouldn't give up. He spat out his answer.

'Snape was going to give me one of his precious family heirloom wands after I was sorted. Then the stupid hat...'

'So where did this come from?' asked Lupin, indicating the broken "wand".

'I picked it up in the grounds.'

'Harry,' said Lupin with a sigh. 'We need to tell the headmaster so he can arrange for you to have some money from the fund...'

'No!' interrupted Harry. 'I don't want his charity. I can find another stick. I don't need to do magic.'

It was on the tip of the teacher's tongue to tell the boy to forget his stupid pride. But pride, he realised sadly was about all the poor boy had to hold himself together right now. After a moment he thought of a possible solution. It wasn't ideal. It was possibly even slightly dangerous. But it was the only other way he could think of. He wasn't prepared to let Harry continue to use a fake wand. He opened the drawer in his desk.

'Harry,' he said slowly. I do have an old wand here. It isn't one of Ollivander's, I'm afraid but it should work after a fashion. Now, you can either borrow it for the time being or I tell Professor Dumbledore about your situation. Which is it to be?' He pulled out the wand in question and held it out towards Harry.

Harry looked at the wand he was being offered. It looked very similar to his broken stick and not at all like the highly polished articles the other students had. He put out his hand but then hesitated. He was suddenly sensing the uncomfortable feeling that the Boggart had given him. But the alternative was worse. He didn't want Professor Dumbledore knowing what had been going on. His fingers closed around the wand he was being offered. Professor Lupin released his hold on it.

'Can I go now?' asked Harry anxious to get away from the "Boggart feeling". The teacher nodded, aware of the boy's discomfort and Harry left. Remus Lupin was left alone in his office, hoping that he had not done the wrong thing.

* * *

A N: Thank you to those lovely readers who have reviewed so far. 


	6. Detention With Fear

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J K Rowling, not me.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 6: Detention with Fear

A tentative "Lumos" underneath his bedclothes confirmed to Harry that night that the wand which Professor Lupin had given him did indeed work. But as the faint glow lit up the space Harry felt once again that inexplicable fear. It was for this reason that when he went to classes the next day he didn't try to perform any spells but just waved his wand and mumbled nonsense, whilst keeping a superior look plastered on his face. Since the teachers didn't know about the change of wand they were unaware of the deception. Malfoy made sneering comments to his friends about how pointless it had been for Harry's wand to have been mended. Harry just ignored him.

That tactic worked perfectly for Harry the first day. But the following day they had Defence. Harry could feel the teacher's eyes on him as he pretended to attempt the disarming charm and was not at all surprised to be asked to stay behind after the lesson.

'I presume you have a good reason for saying "expellariarmus" instead of "expelliarmus?" Professor Lupin asked Harry. Harry just shrugged. Professor Lupin regarded him thoughtfully for a minute.

'Very well,' he said. 'You can tell me in detention tonight. Seven o'clock, my office. Go to your next class.'

Harry really didn't want to talk about it, he thought as he made his way to Charms. But he had a feeling that Professor Lupin wasn't going to be put off easily. He also suspected that this would prove to be one of his least favourite detentions. Cleaning toilets might not be pleasant but it was preferable to spending time with someone who frightened you for an unknown reason.

He arrived at Lupin's office that evening and was not surprised to be told to take a seat opposite the professor who was sitting at his desk. He did as he was asked and stared resolutely at the desktop. There was silence for a couple of minutes, then...

'Harry, trust me...'

The words hit Harry with the force of a hurricane and the chair beneath him went flying as he darted to the office door and tried to leave. Unfortunately for Harry, Professor Lupin had been equally quick in his reactions and Harry found the door locked. He sank to the floor and wrapped his arms round his knees, shaking with fear.

Because at the word "trust", Harry had understood. Trust was the feeling the Boggart changed into. And something about Professor Lupin made Harry want to trust him, which in turn caused the fear to well up inside him. Similarly, because Professor Lupin had given him the wand, using it implied a small measure of trust, which again generated fear. And now Harry was locked in the room with the man who was almost a human Boggart to Harry.

Professor Lupin's voice sounded to Harry as if it were coming from far way when he next spoke.

'Harry, I'm going to leave you here for a few minutes while I obtain a calming potion from Madam Pomfrey. We'll talk once you have taken it. All right?' Harry forced himself to give a small nod of his head in acknowledgement and soon heard the professor floo to the hospital wing. It wasn't long before he was back and handing Harry a small vial. Reluctantly, because he still didn't want to talk, Harry took it and drank the contents. Immediately his fear lessened though it was still there. Professor Lupin gently helped him to his feet, led him back to his chair and sat down opposite him once more.

'Harry,' he said firmly. 'Tell me, have you tried properly to do any magic with that wand?' Harry nodded.

'And did it work?' Another nod. Lupin sighed.

'Then why aren't you at least attempting to do the work expected of you in classes?' Harry shrugged.

'What's the point?' he asked dully.

'The point is,' the professor answered sternly, ' that you are at school to learn to be a wizard. By refusing to learn you are wasting your own time and that of your teachers.'

'I don't care.' Harry knew that if it had not been for the calming draught he had taken he would have started shouting at Lupin. As it was he only had energy enough for brief answers though they still showed his feelings clearly enough.

'Well I do care,' replied Lupin. 'You are the son of one of my oldest friends, whether or not either of you is prepared to accept the fact. I am not prepared to sit back and watch you waste your abilities. If I do not find a change in attitude towards learning from you very soon I will not be pleased. Having said that, I want you to know that I am here to help you any time you want.'

'I don't want or need help from anyone,' said Harry coldly. He got up and went to the door, this time finding it unlocked and he left the office. He had trouble sleeping that night, however. He knew he couldn't afford to accept Professor Lupin's friendship; if he did then he would be giving the man the power to reject him. But Harry realised to his fury that the man had already given himself that power. Because he had declared that he was there for Harry and therefore he could withdraw the offer if he so desired. In spite of what he had said, Harry couldn't help wanting to have someone be there for him but the fear of rejection prevented him from taking it when it was offered. In any case, Lupin wouldn't be around for long since defence teachers never lasted more than a year.

In the days that followed Harry began to half heartedly attempt some of the spells in classes, worried that if he made no effort at all he would find himself in another uncomfortable detention with Lupin. This seemed to work although he thought scornfully that Professor Flitwick didn't really need to get so excited when Harry managed to make his feather drift an inch when he said, 'Wingardium Leviosa!' Transfiguration was better. Professor Potter seemed to have given up on Harry and ignored him in class. Harry still made his slight effort though, just in case word got back to Lupin.

This ploy worked well for a few weeks. Then Professor Lupin held him back after class again.

'You're not exactly trying your hardest, Harry, are you?' he asked. Harry said nothing but just stared at his shoes. Lupin proceeded to lecture him about wasting his talents then asked for a promise that Harry would try harder. Harry still refused to answer. This proved to be a mistake as he suddenly found himself scheduled for another detention with Lupin on Saturday morning before being dismissed.

The moment Harry arrived for his detention, Lupin made himself perfectly clear.

'Right, Harry,' he said. 'You are going to perform the spells I have listed here to the best of your ability. You will not be leaving this room until I am satisfied that you have done your best.'

That was one of the worst mornings Harry had spent since the start of term. Lupin was totally inflexible. Starting with the first spell on the list, Lumos, Harry had to pronounce the incantation correctly, and use the correct wand movement. The slightest deviation and he had to start again from the top of the list. Lupin seemed unaffected by Harry's obvious anger at being forced to do magic correctly. On top of the anger, Harry was also feeling the usual fear he associated with the Defence teacher. It was with relief that he left the room three hours later although he was fuming with the knowledge that he would find himself in detention again if his class work failed to improve.

* * *

Remus Lupin watched sadly as Harry stormed out. He knew he'd been a bit hard on the boy even though he'd stuck to the most basic of spells. Even with correct pronunciation and wand movement Harry's magic had not been perfect, probably due to the fact that his heart wasn't in it. And he knew that Harry was uncomfortable in his presence. That was why he'd put in the little effort that he had in class, hoping to avoid a detention such as this one. But Remus wasn't going to be satisfied with the lip service Harry had been paying to his demands, thus this morning's detention. What he really wanted of course was for James Potter to accept that Harry was his son. But James could only see the stuck up mini Snape that Harry had been raised as. And even if he were to acknowledge Harry, the boy was unlikely to jump into his father's arms in a hurry. So Remus was determined to do his best for the boy even though his efforts might not be appreciated. And he would make sure that Harry knew he'd be only an owl away once he was no longer a teacher at Hogwarts- Remus was well aware of the fact that no one lasted more than a year in his job. But what worried Remus was that what he was trying to do for Harry just wouldn't be enough if the boy was otherwise totally deprived of friends or family.

* * *

A N: Another chapter done! Thanks to all reviewers. 


	7. The Core of the Matter

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 7: The Core of the Matter

Christmas came. It was one of those things which Harry had tried to relegate to the farthest corner of his mind but in the two weeks preceding the holiday it was impossible not to notice the excitement which had taken control of the majority of the student populace. Malfoy had just won his first quidditch match for Slytherin and was constantly bragging about how proud his father would be of him when he went home for the break. He also made loud comments, blatantly aimed at Harry about poor children without homes or family to go to. He wasn't the only one either. Ronald Weasley of Gryffindor was staying at Hogwarts since his parents were visiting one of his brothers but he talked loudly in Harry's presence about the home made sweets his mother was bound to send him. Try as he would, Harry could not quell the misery that was building up inside of him. He disguised it by acting in an apathetic manner and stopped his efforts to work properly in class. He knew he was risking another detention from Lupin but decided just to refuse to cooperate. However he was denied the chance to vent his feelings in this way. When he failed to deliver in Defence, Lupin gave him a piercing look, then his eyes softened in sympathy and he said nothing. This served to exacerbate Harry's bad mood- he didn't want anyone feeling sorry for him.

Two days before Christmas those who were going home surged out the front doors of the castle and into the snowy grounds to catch the carriages which would take them to the train station. Harry took refuge in his dormitory which was otherwise deserted since he was the only first year Slytherin boy staying at Hogwarts. He divided his time between reading his schoolbooks and staring up at the ceiling and only venturing out for meals when his hunger became too great. He noticed that most of the teachers had gone home. Only Dumbledore, Hagrid the gamekeeper, Professor Sprout and Professor Snape remained. At least, he thought, he could avoid Snape most of the time during the holiday. He hated the man now but still found it hard not to yearn for the days when they had been father and son.

Christmas morning dawned. To Harry's great surprise he felt something heavy at his feet. Sitting up he saw a single parcel, wrapped in ordinary brown paper. He had expected nothing; in previous years he had often been given small presents from the headmaster and some of the other teachers but on his last birthday Dumbledore had written a note with the box of sweets he had sent Harry. The note had explained that it was strictly forbidden for Hogwarts teachers to give presents to any of the students. Obviously this rule would not have applied to his father, but Snape no longer was his father.

Harry unwrapped his present and found a set of muggle story books and a short letter:

_Dear Harry,_

_I know I'm breaking the rules by giving you these books but as your father's friend I feel I have a right to show you a little Christmas spirit. I thought that you would perhaps like something to occupy your time other than your school books. Happy Christmas,_

_Professor Lupin._

Conflicting emotions fought each other in Harry's head. He was sure that Lupin was pitying him which made him angry. On the other hand, the books would greatly help to ease the boredom he expected to suffer from over the next two weeks. He'd keep them but he wasn't going to waste time thanking Lupin for them. At lunchtime he made his way up to the Great Hall. Two of the house tables had been pushed together in the centre of the room. It looked like Dumbledore was having everyone seated together, as he sometimes did when there weren't too many staying for Christmas. Harry took a seat between a couple of boys he didn't know.

The excitement during the feast irritated Harry. Wizard crackers were constantly being pulled and making ridiculous amounts of noise. One of the boys beside him even offered to pull one with Harry. Harry grabbed the game it contained and the sweets but discarded the pirate hat. Although the food was excellent Harry did not really enjoy it and returned to the dungeons the minute he finished pudding.

The rest of the holiday passed slowly even with Harry's new books. But at long last the rest of the school returned and the new term began. Harry knew he'd have to start trying to do magic properly again. He made an effort, though he had limited success. He knew what the problem was; Snape had once told him that a person's state of mind had great bearing on their ability to do magic. As well as being unhappy, Harry had no particular desire to do magic so it was scarcely surprising that he had the worst results of any first year. Fortunately Professor Lupin seemed to accept that Harry was trying and refrained from giving him more detentions.

One day in mid February there was great excitement amongst the Slytherin seventh years as they came in to dinner. Apparently Professor Flitwick had taught them a charm to determine the nature of the magical core of a wand and they were eager to try it out. Before Harry knew it one of them pointed their wand at Harry's and said the spell. Then the girl screamed.

'A werewolf hair! How disgusting!'

Harry was stunned but had little time to think about the revelation. He was grabbed from behind and marched out of the Great Hall and up to Professor Potter's study and flung inside.

'Where did you get that wand?' demanded the furious man. Harry was silent but someone else answered for him.

'I gave it to him, James.' Professor Lupin had apparently followed them out of the Great Hall.

'Well you can take it back now. I don't know what possessed you to give it to him in the first place.'

Harry didn't know why Professor Potter was so angry about Harry having the wand. But although he had originally been reluctant to accept it and he still felt frightened when he used it, he realised that he didn't want to give it up. Other than his Christmas books, it was the only thing he had that Snape hadn't paid for. He turned his eyes towards Lupin, dreading that he was going to ask for the wand.

'No.' Lupin's voice was firm. 'I promised Harry that he could use that wand for as long as he wanted to. I will not go back on my word.'

Harry felt scared as he saw the two men glare at each other. Finally Professor Potter turned to him.

'Get out of here,' he said. Harry didn't need telling twice. Once outside the office he halted, hoping to hear just what the problem was, but one of the teachers had evidently placed an imperturbable charm on the door.

* * *

'What on earth were you thinking about Remus?' asked James Potter angrily after warding his office door against eavesdroppers.

'He needed a wand, James,' replied Remus. 'And he'd been having a bad enough time without having to ask for charity.'

'But he could have a claim on you now.'

'James,' said Remus. 'Harry has had a claim on me, whether or not he knows or wants it, since the first day of term when the Sorting Hat revealed that he is the son of one of my best friends.'

* * *

In bed that night, Harry pondered on the day's events. He hadn't heard of a werewolf hair being used in a wand before but then he really only knew about Ollivander's wands. And a werewolf was certainly a magical creature. But there seemed to be a secret about this wand that Professors Potter and Lupin shared. Something that made Professor Potter angry about Harry having it. Harry knew that the two teachers were very good friends and that Lupin lived in Professor Potter's house. Harry picked up the wand and scrutinised it. Then it struck him.

The wand looked very similar to the stick Harry had used at the start of term. He knew Ollivander hadn't made it. What if the two men had decided to make a wand while they were at school? But then where would the core come from? Unless...

Every so often the Defence class had had to be cancelled because Professor Lupin was ill. Now Harry thought about it, this seemed to happen about once a month. Could Professor Lupin possibly be a werewolf? If so then it was no wonder that Professor Potter was angry about Harry having a wand containing the hair of one of his best friends. But would Lupin really have given Harry such a wand? Remembering how Lupin had hesitated before offering it to him, Harry decided that he had indeed done so.

Harry knew then that he had to keep this knowledge to himself. If word got out about Lupin being a werewolf then parents were bound to complain and he would be sacked. And though he hated his detentions and his pity, Lupin was the only person in the school who seemed to care for Harry at all. If he left, Harry would be alone. In spite of all his resolve, Harry had grown accustomed to having someone on his side. But of course, that someone just had to be the defence teacher. By the end of the year he would be gone.


	8. Sent Home

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter

A Change of Identity

Chapter 8: Sent Home

Curiosity drove Harry to research wand cores in the library where he found out just exactly what angered Professor Potter so much about him having Lupin's wand:

_In general, once a part of a magical creature has been taken for use in a wand there is no connection between the wand and the creature. The exception to this rule is where a part human magical creature willingly gives a part of him or herself (usually a hair) to a witch or wizard either in a wand or for use in a wand. In this case the recipient has a rightful claim to protection by said creature which may not be refused if invoked._

That could be useful information, Harry thought exultantly. He didn't need to trust Lupin at all because he could be forced to help him if Harry wanted it. And no wonder Professor Potter was worried about the boy he still regarded as a mini Snape having such a hold over his best friend. Well that was too bad. Lupin had made it clear that Harry could have the wand as long as he wanted and there was no way Harry was giving it up now with the knowledge he had just gained. But he would have to watch it. It wouldn't do let on that he knew the power he held over Lupin. So he closed the book calmly, replaced it on its shelf and left the library, determined to act the same as he always did.

Harry carried off his act well, to the extent that just before the Easter holidays he was treated to a lecture from Snape as his head of house about the necessity to pass the first year exams in order to be allowed to continue his Hogwarts education. Harry came away thinking bitterly that his former father seemed to relish the thought that Harry might be leaving the school for ever at the end of June. That was a distinct possibility of course; Harry had yet to make up his mind as to whether or not he would try to pass the exams. The problem was that he had nowhere to go if he was chucked out. No doubt something would be arranged. Actually, he realised, something would have to be arranged soon in any case. The school closed during the summer so Harry would need to have somewhere to go then since Professor Snape was hardly likely to agree to take him.

Then two weeks into the summer term all Hell broke loose at Hogwarts. Lupin was off sick again and Professor Snape took it upon himself to cover for one of his third year classes. Apparently he dropped very big hints about the phase of the moon and then proceeded to teach a lesson on werewolves. It was the Slytherin class and three or four of them put two and two together. By the time Lupin returned the whole school knew about his condition. Professor Dumbledore had been bombarded with owls bearing complaints from parents. Lupin did the only thing he could and resigned. Since there was still so much of the term left, Professor Potter agreed to take all the defence classes for the rest of the year and Professor McGonagall came out of retirement to teach Transfiguration in his place.

These new staffing arrangements made things awkward for Harry. Certainly, Professor Potter treated Harry much the same, ignoring him for the most part. Professor McGonagall was another matter. She seemed rather disbelieving that Harry could not perform a lot better than he did. After two weeks she lost patience with him and said she would speak with his father.

'I don't have a father you old hag!' Not surprisingly, this comment earned Harry a detention. He left the class fuming only to run into a group of Gryffindors as he was on his way to lunch. Harry never was sure afterwards exactly what happened. But it ended with Harry fighting Ronald Weasley and just as Harry was getting the better of it he felt an agonising pain in his finger and when he looked down at it he saw a rat hanging on to it with its teeth. There and then Harry decided that Weasley's pet was dead. His other hand grabbed the offending rodent around the neck and squeezed.

There was quite a crowd around by this time, including Professor Potter and Professor Snape. Professor Potter drew his wand with the intent of rescuing his student's pet from being murdered. The rat, however, either didn't see that rescue was at hand or did not have confidence in Professor Potter's ability to act in time. Suddenly, Harry was no longer attempting to strangle a rat, but a short, balding man with pointy features. The man easily pushed Harry to the ground and turned to go amidst the silence that had descended in the corridor.

He didn't get very far. Both professors stepped up to him, wands drawn.

'You sold my son's life to the Dark Lord, Pettigrew!' snarled Professor Snape, his wand pressed up against the man's neck.

''Rubbish!' countered Professor Potter. 'He was MY son in every way that mattered.'

Every person around had their attention focussed on the two teachers and the wanted criminal. No one paid Harry any attention as he got to his feet and stalked from the scene.

For days afterwards pupils and teachers alike spent every spare moment reading articles in the Daily Prophet about the capture of Peter Pettigrew and discussing them in minute detail. Somehow the newspaper had not found out the name of the boy who had been trying to strangle the rat when it transformed. Not that Harry cared. He was brimming with anger at the way Professors Potter and Snape both claimed parentage of the other boy. He attended his classes but stubbornly refused to do any work in them at all. He soon had a collection of extra homework and detentions which he decided he would not do or go to. The only teacher who hadn't given him a punishment was Professor Potter who kept looking at Harry in a strange manner.

Harry had to be careful moving around the school. Even though Weasley's rat had been one of the wizarding world's most wanted criminals, he seemed to harbour a grudge against Harry for the loss of his pet and was determined to get revenge. Wherever Harry went he kept a sharp lookout for Gryffindors trying to ambush him. Then one day Ron Weasley and Seamus Finnegan managed to corner him near the Defence classroom.

The two Gryffindors should have easily been able to hex Harry as much as they wanted to but they made the mistake of trying to taunt him first. Harry was no fool and took his chance. Putting proper intent into the word for the first time ever he shouted 'Expelliarmus!' and the two boys were blasted backwards as their wands flew from them. Harry quickly followed up with a few choice hexes he could remember hearing about in the days when he had associated with the older Slytherins. In no time Ron and Seamus were unconscious on the floor looking the worse for wear. Harry turned to return to the dungeons only to find himself face to face with a grim faced Professor Potter.

The depute headmaster said nothing as he pushed Harry into his office and onto a chair before leaving him. Harry didn't know if he'd locked the door or not but decided against trying to leave the office. It would only postpone his punishment. Besides, he was rather curious as to what they would come up with. After all, he was already refusing to cooperate with either work or detentions. Almost an hour later, he found out.

Professor Potter returned, bringing with him not only the headmaster, but also Professor Lupin. The former defence teacher was carrying a wooden crate containing all Harry's possessions- Snape hadn't let Harry keep the shiny new trunk they had bought along with his school things.

'You're expelling me?' asked Harry, shocked. 'But...but I haven't got a home to go to.'

'No, Harry,' said Dumbledore softly. I am not expelling you. But it is clear to me and all your teachers that it is not doing you any good to be at Hogwarts at the moment. You are refusing to take advantage of the excellent teaching here and you are not endeavouring to fit in with your fellow students. Now, Professor Potter has just been to the Ministry of Magic and signed the papers legally acknowledging you as his son. Therefore you do have a home, and you will return there for the rest of the term and the summer holidays. As I believe you know, Professor Lupin lives with Professor Potter and he will be responsible for you until the holidays when your father returns. He will be tutoring you intensively so that you can catch up with the work you have been neglecting in order that when you return here for second year you will not be behind.

There is just one more thing Harry. I have learnt from the Sorting Hat that you insisted it put you in Slytherin. Since I am sure that you would have done no such thing had the hat revealed its knowledge sooner, I am going to take the unprecedented step of allowing you to be sorted again when you return. This time, Harry, I hope you will allow the hat to do its job properly. Now, if you and Professor Lupin will take a hold of this matchbox, it is a portkey which will take you home.

Professor Lupin exchanged a brief farewell with Professor Potter who had remained silent all this time. He and Harry then put a finger each on the portkey and they were whisked away.

* * *

A N: Well as you can see, I have not turned Harry out onto the streets for the summer. Now I just need to work out what happens in Harry's second year- so far I only know how it starts off! Thank you to all my lovely reviewers. 


	9. The Potter House

Disclaimer: I own a lot of stuff but Harry Potter is not amongst it.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 9: The Potter House

The first thing Harry noticed was that they were obviously in one of those old wizarding properties that had passed down through the generations. It was quite a contrast to Snape's dilapidated property on the edge of a muggle village. The second thing he noticed was a framed muggle photograph hanging alongside wizarding portraits of past generations of Potters. The picture was of a stunningly beautiful young lady holding a baby boy with a thick messy thatch of black hair. Something inside of Harry seemed to snap as he realised that the lady was his mother holding Snape's son as if he were the most precious burden in the world. He lunged at the photograph, intent on ripping it down from the wall and smashing it. He never made it. Lupin's reactions were fast and he grabbed Harry around the waist before he reached his goal. Harry struggled for about thirty seconds before giving in.

'Fine!' he snapped. 'Let the stupid bitch stay there playing with her precious Son of Snape.'

Lupin said nothing before releasing his hold on Harry and then taking him firmly by the arm and leading him across the entrance hall, down a short corridor and into a room at the end. Harry was surprised to see that it was a small kitchen. He was even more surprised when Lupin propelled Harry to a chair and then went to the cooker and started making hot chocolate using muggle methods except for the concession of using his wand to heat the milk.

'What, don't you have house elves here?' he asked rudely. Lupin was unperturbed by Harry's tone.

'Certainly, there is a house elf here,' he replied calmly. However, sometimes it can be very therapeutic to do things the muggle way.' He poured the contents of his saucepan into two large mugs, handed one to Harry and sat opposite him. 'Harry,' he said seriously. 'There is one thing that you had better get clear. Your mother was a wonderful woman. She cannot be blamed for loving who she thought was her child. I can understand that you feel cheated by having missed out on that love, but neither I nor your father nor your Godfather will put up with you defiling her name. Is that understood?'

'Yes sir,' replied Harry sullenly. 'And who is my Godfather, anyway?'

'Sirius Black,' said Remus. ''You probably remember that he taught Defence at Hogwarts a few years ago. Incidentally, he will be taking over your supervision when I go away during the full moon.'

'Any more good news for me, Professor?' asked Harry sarcastically.

'Finish your drink and then I'll show you around the house,' said Lupin. 'After that you will go to your room and stay there until tomorrow morning. Since you appear to be trying as hard as possible to be unpleasant company, I can only deduce that you wish to be alone. I'll have Tinks send up your supper.'

Harry opened his mouth to give another sharp retort but then met the teacher's eyes and shut it again. Something, he wasn't sure what, told him that this wasn't a battle he was going to win. He finished his hot chocolate and put the mug down. After draining his own mug, Lupin pushed it across to Harry.

'Wash them and put them away please, Harry,' he said.

They could easily have been left for the house elf, thought Harry, but once again a glance at Lupin made him feel it was best to do as he was told. When the mugs were safely on the dresser shelf, Lupin gestured for Harry to follow him.

The house was large, but not excessively so and the layout was such that it was easy to find one's way around. After only twenty minutes Harry had seen all there was to see and he had been abandoned in his bedroom under strict orders not to leave unless to visit the bathroom a few yards down the corridor. He sat on the bed and regarded his new surroundings.

The room was well sized and comfortably furnished. It was probably a guest room, Harry thought, since there didn't ever seem to have been any suggestion of him coming here before today. Not that he had wanted to come. But it was a relief, he admitted to himself, to be away from Hogwarts and the overabundance of people there who disliked him. Most of the teachers still regarded him as thinking too highly of himself and of course, he didn't have a single friend among the students. He wasn't sure if changing houses would really help, either. He'd still be remembered for being Snape's son and if anyone did change their attitude towards him it would probably be to avoid getting in trouble with his "new" father.

But at least he was away from all that for now. He just had Lupin to cope with and he did have a hold over him. That was until the full moon, when his newly discovered Godfather would take over for a couple of days. Harry certainly wasn't looking forward to that meeting. He sighed to himself and looked around the room for something to do. A bookcase held a few books and on investigation they turned out to be rather interesting looking muggle stories. Harry took one, lay on his bed and started to read.

* * *

The boy was his own worse enemy, thought Remus Lupin as he closed the door to Harry's room and headed downstairs. Of course, it wasn't entirely his fault. Snape had brought Harry up in the typical Slytherin pureblood manner. And then every last one of those Slytherin purebloods at Hogwarts had dropped him the moment the Sorting Hat made its grand announcement. It was no wonder that Harry was angry and confused. Reasons, however, were not excuses thought Remus. He was not prepared to allow Harry to continue behaving in the manner he had been; hence Harry's current confinement. With any luck he would be in a better frame of mind come the morning. If not... well, Remus had a shock in store for Harry.

He had known the moment Harry made the decision to make use of the claim he had on him. Just by making the decision he had activated the magical bond and Remus knew that he was bound to protect Harry. And that included doing everything in his power to protect Harry from himself. What Remus was pretty certain Harry didn't know was that by claiming Remus's protection, he was also placing himself under obligation to accept that protection in whatever form it might take, discipline included. And once activated, the bond could not be dissolved unless by mutual agreement. And Remus was not prepared to dissolve the bond until such a time as he felt Harry did not need his protection. In other words, by trying to obtain a hold over Remus Lupin, Harry had in fact handed the man indisputable authority over him, something that his father didn't yet have.

Although James had legally acknowledged Harry as his son, he had clearly yet to show any real paternal feeling for the boy. The one thing he did plainly feel was that he owed Harry a debt since it had been through his actions that the traitor responsible for Lily's death had been caught. It was this debt that had prompted James to sign the papers claiming Harry as his own blood and to arrange for his son to be removed from the environment where he was having so many problems. Also, his unfairness towards Harry would cease. But Harry wouldn't forget the months of rejection in a hurry and a proper father-son relationship between the two looked like being a long way off.

* * *

Harry was woken up by Tinks the house elf, who had brought him his supper the night before. Her voice was a particularly annoying high pitched squeal which sliced through his consciousness like a machete.

'Master Harry,' she said. You is to get washed and dressed and go down to the kitchen where Master Lupin is making you your breakfast. He says that you have ten minutes.' Then, her message delivered, she disappeared with a loud crack. Harry decided it was best to humour Lupin for now and he got ready quickly and went downstairs where he found Lupin just finishing making toast and scrambled eggs. He smiled at Harry and handed him a plateful of food and a glass of pumpkin juice. Harry mumbled his thanks and sat down to eat. It was no surprise to him when Lupin told him to wash the plates and glasses when they were finished, but he couldn't help himself blurting out,

'But why can't we just...' Lupin cut him off.

'Firstly, Harry, because your father does not want you to grow up expecting to be waited on hand and foot all the time. Secondly, he wants you to understand something of your mother's muggle heritage. Talking of which, you are to wear muggle clothes in this house at weekends and during the school holidays. So once you've finished the washing up we'll floo to Diagon Alley and go from there into muggle London to do some shopping. We'll also have a couple of educational visits to places of interest and you can get started on your schoolwork tomorrow.'

Before they left Lupin handed Harry a worn pair of jeans and a shirt which Tinks had dug out from somewhere and told Harry to get changed. Harry eyed the apparel with disgust. Snape had always made it clear that wizards should wear a robe with pride and not lower their dignity by dressing in muggle attire unless absolutely necessary. And he had never thought it necessary to let Harry out into a muggle area. But things were different now and he had the sense not to protest. Ten minutes later they were exiting the Leaky Cauldron and Harry was starting his first ever outing into the muggle world.

* * *

A N: Confession time: I have stolen my daughters friend and donated her to the Potter household as a house elf. Sorry Tinks, but at least you won't have to go to school any longer! Thanks as usual to all who reviewed. 


	10. Aftermath of Shopping

Disclaimer: Harry Potter- Not mine.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 10: Aftermath of Shopping

'Go to your room, put your things away tidily, and then write out two hundred times, "I am too old to throw childish temper tantrums." Bring them down to the kitchen when you're done. And be sure to write neatly.'

Harry opened his mouth to speak but then remembered that he couldn't. He looked at Lupin, scowling, and pointed at his mouth. Lupin was unmoved.

I'll remove the charm when I see your lines,' he said. 'On you go.'

Remus watched Harry stalk up the stairs and round the corner at the top before going to make himself a much needed cup of tea. The day had started off alright but before they were half way through buying everything that Harry required he had begun to grumble about how he had enough already. He'd decided to give the boy a break and brought forward their visit to the London Planetarium which Harry had seemed to genuinely enjoy with its massive dome imitating the night sky. A trip on the Underground had followed which had rather overwhelmed the boy and he'd kept quiet. But then the shopping had resumed and Harry had been determined to annoy Remus as much as possible. He claimed clothes didn't fit. Shoes pinched his feet. A jacket and trousers looked stupid. And so it went on. It had taken twice as long as it should have done to acquire the list of items James had asked Remus to buy for Harry. Finally, they left their purchases behind the bar at the Leaky Cauldron and went into Diagon Alley since Harry was to have two sets of casual robes as he only had his school ones. It was when Remus told him this that Harry had lost his temper and shouted out for the whole street to hear that he was fed up with shopping and wasn't going to set foot in the stupid robe shop. He'd then aimed a punch at Remus who easily caught his arm before it landed.

Since they were in Diagon Alley, Remus had options that weren't available in muggle London. He'd quickly silenced Harry and threatened to stick his hands together behind his back before marching him into Madam Malkins and telling her what was required. Subdued by the look on the professor's face, Harry sat on the stool without fuss while he was being fitted and followed him meekly back to the Leaky Cauldron when they were finished. Remus reclaimed their purchases then apparated the two of them back home since he wasn't prepared to give Harry his voice back yet so he couldn't use the floo.

Once he had made a pot of tea, Remus decided that he could do with some company. He put the pot and two mugs on a tray and carried it through to the drawing room. Five minutes later Sirius Black was sitting in the chair opposite him in front of the fireplace.

'So, had enough of the brat yet?' Sirius asked Remus with a grin. 'What have you done with him, anyway?'

'Don't call him a brat, Sirius. And he's upstairs writing lines.' Sirius guffawed at this reply.

'You just told me you've had to punish him when you've only been in charge of him for a day and you complain about me calling him a brat. What is he then, a wingless angel?' Remus sighed.

'Actually, Sirius, I had to punish him last night as well. But think about the position he's in. How do you think James would have reacted at that age if he had suddenly been told that he wasn't a Potter after all and he was really the son of someone he despised. Would he have been any better?'

'James was a decent kid to begin with,' retorted Sirius. 'That boy upstairs has always been bad news.' Remus sighed.

'James was an arrogant show off at that age and you know it. The difference is that he had decent parents. I can't imagine that Mr and Mrs Potter would have rejected James after raising him as a son for eleven years. Harry's been brought up by Snape. Furthermore, he's been badly hurt. For instance, Snape gave him a broomstick for his last birthday. Not only did he reclaim it when Harry's true parentage was revealed but he then openly gave it to Malfoy not long afterwards. And then James made it quite clear he wasn't interested in Harry. The only reason he's acknowledged him now is because he feels he owes him a debt for exposing Wormtail. Is it really any wonder he behaves like a brat?'

'Is this defence of Harry leading up to something by any chance, Remus?' asked Sirius. His friend laughed.

'Actually, I hadn't intended it like that. But now you come to mention it... it would be nice if you gave him a chance when you take over from me. He is your Godson after all. And I hope that by then he'll have learned to be a bit more civil and you won't have to put up with the attitude he's shown the last couple of days.'

'Fine,' agreed Sirius. 'I'll try not to murder him during your absence. What did he do to incur your wrath, anyway? James told me you were one of the easiest going professors in the school.'

Sirius laughed as Remus described Harry's attitude to shopping and even expressed a little sympathy for the boy. A day spent traipsing round clothes shops wouldn't have enthralled him at that age either. Although he said he would have dealt with him differently.

'Personally I would have turned him over my knee and given him a thorough spanking in the middle of Diagon Alley,' he said.

'Believe me, I was tempted,' said Remus. But I'm hoping my way will teach him to change his attitude. I don't think he appreciates not being able to talk.'

The two soon moved on to talk of other things. When Remus thought that Harry would be just about finishing his lines, Sirius left by floo. Remus returned to the kitchen and cleared away the tea things before settling down at the table to read the newspaper and wait for Harry.

* * *

At long last Harry finished writing his final line. His hand was aching by this time and he decided that he would have to make an effort to avoid annoying Lupin too much in future. Last nights confinement to his room hadn't particularly bothered him but he didn't find written punishments much fun. He gathered up his parchment and headed downstairs where he handed over his work.

Lupin inspected it and once satisfied ended the silencing charm on Harry and told him to sit down. A second later Tinks appeared and asked if they were ready for supper. They were soon served with steaming bowls of thick soup and rolls with a plate of cakes for afterwards. They ate in silence; Harry couldn't think of anything to say and Lupin kept quiet also. Once they were finished Harry made to get up and clear away as he had done at breakfast but Lupin stopped him.

'It's all right Harry,' he told him. 'As a regular rule you will clear away after breakfast and any odd snacks you have during the day. Tinks will take care of things after main meals.' Harry was glad to hear that- he'd been having visions of washing mountains of stuff if they ha any particularly large meals.

'Now,' continued the professor. We'll go over your timetable tonight so that we can get started straight away tomorrow.' He pulled out a parchment and moved his chair round to sit beside Harry so that they could both see it.

It was very similar to his school timetable except that he had set times for when he was to do homework. He also had set times which were to be spent outside. Lupin explained that he could either go flying within the confines of the garden or go for a walk. If he chose to go for a walk he was to change into muggle clothes and be back in time for his next lesson. Harry asked tentatively what would happen if he were to be late. Lupin looked at him steadily.

'I might pass over an occasional accident,' he said. 'But understand that I expect a reasonable standard of behaviour from you. You have already experienced some of the ways I can punish you. I have others also but I would advise you not to try to find out what they are. Now, to continue. You have a lot of work to catch up on so the plan is for you to sit your first year exams near the end of July. That way you will still have just over a month to relax before school starts up again. Also, your father will be able to help with some of your tutoring once Hogwarts breaks up.' Seeing Harry frown at this piece of news he added,

'You're going to have to learn to get along with him, Harry. Don't worry; I think he'll treat you better than he's done in the past.'

'Only because he thinks he owes me,' muttered Harry. He wasn't stupid and he'd guessed why Professor Potter had stopped harassing him after Pettigrew's capture. Lupin looked Harry straight in the eye.

'Harry, I know things can't be fixed in a few weeks after nearly twelve years. But you have to give it a try. Now go on up to bed. It's been a long day and you have schoolwork tomorrow.'

* * *

A N: Not a very exciting chapter, I know. At least half of it was never intended, either! Thanks again to reviewers. A few more of them would be appreciated, though. 


	11. Happy Birthday, Harry

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own it.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 11: Happy Birthday, Harry

Lessons started the next morning and for the next two weeks Harry followed the timetable Lupin had drawn up for him and refrained from causing his tutor any trouble. He stopped short of showing any enthusiasm however. Occasionally Lupin would make a comment such as 'A smile would be nice now and then, Harry,' but Harry refused to oblige. He accepted that he had no choice but to work properly but that didn't mean he had to like it. He also stubbornly refused to go flying during the times he was scheduled to spend outside. Flying had lost its appeal for him the day that Snape had given Malfoy his broomstick. So instead he would change into his despised muggle clothes and go for walks along the country lanes and fields surrounding the house. It was this that ended up landing him in trouble. One day he had wandered further than normal and arrived home ten minutes after he should have resumed work. He received a stern rebuke for this. The next day he deliberately stayed out late hoping to cut a few minutes off Transfiguration which he found tedious when doing theory rather than practical work. This time Lupin said nothing but led Harry straight to the small room they used as a classroom and started the lesson. But Harry found to his dismay that he had not succeeded in his aim. The lesson went on and on; all theory, no wand work at all and it lasted a full half hour longer than normal. Every time that Harry's attention wandered even the slightest Lupin would bring him back to reality by speaking sharply. Finally, when the lesson ended, Harry found himself with a homework essay to do which was twice as long as normal and the knowledge that he would have to spend free time finishing it as it was too much to fit into his ordinary homework time.

Harry's initial reaction was to refuse to do it. He even opened his mouth to tell Lupin where to stuff it, but even as he did so he met the man's eyes and his mouth shut again. Something was telling Harry that he was bound to do the essay. He fumed inwardly, not understanding what was going on, and left the room in silence.

Remus smirked to himself as his young charge took his leave. He felt rather proud of himself for delivering such an effective punishment without having to lecture Harry or even mention the offence. One thing was certain. Harry would think twice before being late again. He had of course expected Harry to try to rebel. The boy was still unhappy and his pride wouldn't allow him to cry or to talk about how he felt. Misbehaviour of some sort was the only other possible outlet and Remus could cope with that.

Two days later Remus informed Harry that Sirius would be arriving the following morning so that he could go away for the full moon. Thinking it wise not to leave anything to chance, he added,

'And I do not expect you to cause any trouble while I am away. Is that understood?' Remus looked hard at Harry until he was satisfied that he felt the compulsion to obey. He was aware that Harry was frustrated by having to behave whether he wanted to or not but Remus didn't want Sirius to have to punish the boy.

Sirius duly arrived the next day after breakfast and Remus left, fairly confident that things would go relatively smoothly in his absence. It came as a shock to him then when he returned two days later to find Sirius sitting alone in the drawing room at a time when he should have been giving Harry a Potions lesson. From the look on his friend's face Remus deduced that something had gone badly wrong and he asked Sirius what it was that had happened.

The first morning had gone without a hitch. Then Sirius had allowed Harry to have half an hour to himself before lunch. When Harry had failed to appear at the table on time Sirius had gone looking for him, intending to give "the brat" a piece of his mind. He had found him in the drawing room staring at a photograph album containing a large collection of pictures of James, Lily and "the other Harry". When Sirius walked in on Harry he threw the album at the wall and fled to his room where he had stayed ever since, refusing to talk or even show any sign of acknowledging Sirius. Sirius had had Tinks take meals to Harry but they had come back barely touched. Remus made his way up to Harry's bedroom where he found him staring blankly out of the window. He turned around when Remus approached and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

'Don't bother telling me everything's going to be fine,' said Harry flatly. 'It was that other boy they cared about it. Professor Potter even said it himself. "He was my son in every way that counted." And Snape said that he was his son too. I'm just the impostor. And don't try saying Professor Black's any different because I can tell he feel's the same as Professor Potter.'

Remus wanted so much to be able to tell Harry that he was mistaken but to do so would be a lie. Instead he said gently,

Things can always change, Harry. In any case, I will not have you starve yourself. Tinks will bring you supper and you are to eat it. And tomorrow I expect you down in the kitchen for breakfast at the proper time and to resume your lessons afterwards.'

'Fine.' The reply was devoid of any emotion whatsoever and Remus left to return to Sirius feeling extremely worried about the boy.

His worries increased over the next few weeks. Harry obediently attended meals and lessons. He caused no trouble even when James came home for the school holidays and took over half of the tutoring. In fact it was the complete lack of trouble which was Remus's main cause for concern. The spark of defiance which had always been present in Harry's demeanour was missing and Remus felt that he was now teaching a soulless puppet.

July came to an end and Harry sat the exams which James had brought home with him and passed, as Remus had expected. A few days later came Harry's birthday. Remus had dissuaded James from buying Harry a broomstick saying that it would be better to wait until he was willing to fly voluntarily again. James concurred and so when Harry came down for breakfast on the 31st of July it was to find two parcels on the table. He ate breakfast and got up to clear away as normal. James stopped him and told him he didn't have to do that today and told him to open his presents. Harry did so with a disinterested air. He said a polite 'Thank you, Sir,' to James after opening the first present which contained a pair of omnioculars and repeated the process with the books from Remus. He then disappeared upstairs as he had been doing every day since his lessons had stopped.

Harry lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling. He knew that any minute now Tinks would appear and tell him that it was lunchtime and that he would once again have to go downstairs and force himself to eat even though he didn't feel in the least bit hungry. He never felt hungry now. He never felt anything much, actually. The hatred he'd felt for Professor Potter had faded into indifference. He knew that somehow his grand plan of demanding Lupin's protection had somehow gone awry but wasn't sure exactly how except that he felt a strong compulsion to obey the man at certain times. It was as if he were living in a bubble where nothing could really reach him.

Lunchtime was even harder than he had expected. His Godfather was there and he had another present for Harry which turned out to be tickets for a quidditch game that afternoon. Even if he'd had the energy to refuse to go he suspected that Lupin would insist and he'd once again have to obey, so three o'clock found the four of them sitting in prime seats watching two of the best teams in the league play each other. Harry listlessly followed the match using his new omnioculars. A year ago, he realised, this would have been a treat beyond his wildest dreams. Now it was almost a chore.

'Well, talk about ungrateful brats,' said Sirius that night when Harry had gone upstairs after a tensely atmosphered birthday tea. 'He could at least have pretended to enjoy himself.'

'I've had it with him,' said James. 'We've made the effort to give him a good time and he doesn't appreciate it. He can just amuse himself in future. Moony, can you take him to get his school stuff tomorrow please? Then he can stay out of our way while he does his reading ready for next term.'

'Certainly, I'll take him,' replied Remus. 'But you might bear in mind that while you gave him presents and a day out you haven't come close to giving him what he really needs.'

'And what's that?' asked James. 'A good kick in the pants?'

'He needs the unconditional love of his father,' said Remus.

'And how in Merlin's name can you expect anyone to love that boy,' asked Sirius. James looked incredulously at Remus, clearly of the same opinion as Sirius.

'He's got you just where he wants you because of that wand,' he said. 'I think you should take him to Olivander's tomorrow.'

'I've told you before James,' replied Remus firmly, 'that he can keep the wand. All Harry's problems stem from the fact that he has been rejected. You cannot expect him to behave in a reasonable manner when he knows that his own father provides for him only out of a sense of duty. He needs unconditional love.'

'Well you obviously care for him,' said Sirius. 'Why won't he behave for you?'

'He is afraid.' Remus sounded sad. 'He is afraid to believe that I will not turn round one day and want nothing more to do with him. And I am not his father. Even if he can learn to accept that I will never desert him he cannot be happy while those whose love he deserves do not give it to him.'

'I'm sorry, Remus,' said James bluntly. 'Maybe you're right and he doesn't deserve the way I feel about him but Harry is just not lovable. I will provide for him and call him my son but do not expect me to feel any love for him.'

There was nothing Remus could say to that. He knew that James was just being honest about the way he felt. At least it was better than pretending to care for Harry and then letting him down at a later date. And Sirius felt just the same about his Godson as James did. But it was Harry who was suffering. It was Harry who had to live with the pain of rejection. And at the moment Remus could not see how things were ever going to get better for the boy.


	12. Back to School

A Change of Identity

Chapter 12: Back to School

Remus duly escorted Harry to Diagon Alley the next day and they acquired all of Harry's supplies for the coming school year. There was a whole set of books to buy for Defence, all by the same author who went by the fancy name of Gilderoy Lockhart. Remus was sorely tempted to tell Harry they were all totally useless but he restrained himself. Harry would discover soon enough that the man was an egotistical fraud. He did however pick out the book he had set for last year's second year and added it to the stack, telling Harry that he could do with some extra reading. There were no tantrums or complaints from Harry this time and less than two hours after they had left home they returned with everything they Harry needed.

The remainder of the summer passed slowly. Harry spent his days in his room doing his summer homework and reading except for mealtimes and when Lupin forced him to go for a walk which happened most days. Tedious as Harry found it however, he was not looking forward to returning to Hogwarts. At least here he could have peace most of the time. Once he was back at school there would be people around almost constantly; people who didn't like Harry. Harry couldn't imagine that if the Sorting Hat put him in another house then the people in that house would suddenly like him. Also, in spite of himself, Harry had grown used to having Professor Lupin around. Lupin was the one person who had never shown animosity towards him. Well, maybe Dumbledore hadn't either but the headmaster had not seemed to want to show much interest in him. The only times in the past year he'd spoken to Harry had been the morning after the sorting ceremony and just before he left the school. Lupin had been the one constant in Harry's life over the past year. A constant pain at times, perhaps, but as the new school year approached, Harry began to wonder if he could cope with it.

The first of September arrived and Sirius Black had been enlisted to escort Harry to Kings Cross Station in London to catch the Hogwarts Express. The approaching full moon prevented Lupin from taking him, and Professor Potter, as Harry still thought of his father, had had to be at Hogwarts several days ago. Black didn't seem at all inclined to hang around to see Harry off; he showed him where the entrance to the platform was, told him how to go through it and left. There was plenty time before the train was due to leave so Harry hefted his new trunk onto a trolley and headed for the newsagents. He'd been given both muggle and wizarding money and he thought he might find himself something to read on the journey. Twenty minutes later he had made a purchase but Harry suddenly realised he was cutting things a bit fine. Even so he should have made it. Unfortunately, Ronald Weasley had also left things a bit late. Just as Harry made to run through the Barrier the red headed boy did the same thing but lost control and crashed his trolley into Harry's, sending them both spinning. By the time the boys had gathered their wits, the station clock was showing one minute past eleven. They had missed the train.

'Well done, Potter!' Harry was snapped out of his apathy by Weasley's remark.

''You're the one who crashed into me,' he retorted. 'And I don't want to go back to Hogwarts anyway. You're the loser here.'

'Oh yeah? Well I don't have a problem. My dad's car's just outside the station and I'm going to fly to school in it.'

Harry knew he'd end up back at school anyway. He thought he might as well hitch a lift rather than hang around a muggle train station for hours.

'Fine,' he said. 'But you can take me since it's all your fault that I missed the train.'

Weasley didn't look as if he liked this idea but made no comment as Harry followed him.

The journey was a disaster. Weasley obviously didn't know the first thing about flying the car and Harry was sure that countless muggles would have spotted them. There was supposedly an invisibility button but it only worked for ten seconds. The sun shone relentlessly into the car sending the temperature soaring. Almost unbearable heat coupled with the company of Weasley soon had Harry wishing he had stayed in London to await rescue. It was almost a relief when Weasley finally crashed the car into a tree in the grounds of the school many hours later. And Harry had no sympathy for Weasley when the tree, evidently upset at being crashed into, raised its branches and whacked Weasley's side of the car, causing him to lurch out of reach, breaking his wand in the process. The car, not liking being attacked by an angry tree, ejected the boys and there luggage and wheeled itself off into the forbidden forest.

Ignoring the other boy, Harry walked up to the castle. Weasley followed, mumbling something about his father killing him for losing the car. The moment they stepped through the doors they were accosted by an extremely angry Professor Potter.

' Weasley, go to my office and wait there.' He then grabbed Harry's shoulder before addressing him. 'You will come and get sorted and I suggest that if you want to live much longer you pray that you are not put into Gryffindor.'

The sorting was more than half way through as Harry's father steered him through the Great Hall to deposit him at the end of the line of first years. Harry paid little attention as one by one the new students were placed in their houses. Finally the last of them, Ginevra Weasley- obviously a sister to all the rest of them judging by her hair colour- was placed in Gryffindor. Then Professor Flitwick who had been presiding over the sorting read out Harry's name.

Harry sat on the stool with the hat over his head just as he had done a year previously. This time he made no attempt to converse with the hated headgear. The hat spoke inside his head only briefly.

'Well, Mr Potter. Last year you insisted on going into Slytherin. This time you will go where you truly belong. Strange though it may seem it happens to be your father's house. GRYFFINDOR!'

As the hat shouted out the last word Harry wrenched it off his head and threw it to the floor. A loud cheer went up from a single small, mousy haired boy sitting near the bottom of the Gryffindor table. It was quickly shushed by those near to him. Evidently most members of Gryffindor House weren't ecstatic about having Harry join their number. It would be a short while before he had to face them though. As soon as he stood up Professor Potter ordered him to his office. Harry walked out of the Great Hall, aware of everyone looking at him, to go and await punishment with Weasley.

'You got into Gryffindor then, or does Daddy just want to hog the pleasure of punishing you,' sneered Weasley the moment Harry entered the office. Harry ignored him and sat down in the empty chair facing the desk. The two boys sat in silence for the next few minutes until the door opened and Professor Potter came in, walked round and sat at his desk facing his students.

'It was Weasley's fault, Sir,' began Harry before his father had even had a chance to ask for an explanation of their activities. He got no further in his attempt to place the blame away from himself. Professor Potter held up his hand.

'Just stop right there,' he said coldly. 'Not one more word out of you until I ask for it.' Harry closed his mouth and watched while his father started writing something on a piece of parchment. When he was finished he passed it across to Harry. Picking it up, Harry read,

'A member of Gryffindor House does not attempt to escape or lessen punishment by placing blame on a fellow student.'

'You will write that out one hundred times and bring it to me here at eight tomorrow morning. Now, Mr Weasley. Explain yourself.'

Harry quietly fumed while Weasley told how they had missed the train and decided to fly the car to Hogwarts. The way he told it, it sounded as if Harry had had an equal share in the whole affair rather than the way it had really happened. It was obvious however that his father didn't want his side of the story. Once Weasley finished speaking the professor lectured them sternly for what seemed like an eternity on the seriousness of their actions before pronouncing sentence.

'You will each receive a detention. Also, you are forbidden to send or receive owls for the whole of this term unless under exceptional circumstances approved by myself, though I will make an exception if your parents send you a howler, Mr Weasley. I will of course be contacting them tonight to inform them of your behaviour. Now, you will eat in here before going straight to your dormitory. The password, by the way, is "wattlebird".'

Professor Potter conjured a plate of sandwiches and watched while they ate in silence. When they had both finished he dismissed them with a curt reminder to Harry about his lines. The boys then made their way to Gryffindor Tower, Weasley leading the way, where Harry would meet the members of his house for the first time since becoming one of them.

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A N: I've had quite a lot of those wonderful things called reviews for the last couple of chapters. Thanks everyone! I won't promise that Harry will suddenly make lots of friends now he's in his nice new house. That's not my style! Improvement in his life might come eventually but you need to be patient. Meanwhile enjoy his second year! 


	13. Thoughts of Revenge

A Change of Identity

Chapter 13: Thoughts of Revenge

The moment the Fat Lady opened up the entrance to the Gryffindor common room Ron was seized by an admiring mob.

'Brilliant!' 'Wish we'd thought of doing that!' 'Awesome, mate!' These were just a few of the many words of praise he got. Ron answered them with fake modesty and lost no time in telling everyone how Harry had tried to blame him for everything- conveniently ignoring the fact that he was completely to blame of course.

'But Professor Potter showed him what's what,' Ron carried on. 'Stopped him in his tracks and gave him lines for tomorrow morning. That'll teach him that Slytherin ways aren't accepted here.' Harry pushed his way through the crowed, ignoring the disapproving mumbles directed at him and went through a door he'd just seen a couple of excited first year boys come through. As he had guessed, it led to the boys' dormitories and he quickly found the second year one. His trunk was at the end of one of the beds and he rummaged around in it until he found parchment and quill. He then closed the curtains around his bed and got to work. It would have been faster and more comfortable to return to the common room and write at one of the desks but he really didn't want to be writing lines in that atmosphere. It was a stupid rule in his opinion. Weasley was the only one to blame and therefore Weasley should have been the only one to be punished.

The resentment was still festering the next morning when Harry grabbed his schoolbag and his lines and stomped along to his father's office. As he had fully expected, another lecture was forthcoming.

'Not exactly a good start to your time in Gryffindor,' Professor Potter said coldly. If you want to get along with people stick to the house customs. Gryffindors stick together. If you want to avoid trouble by telling tales then you should have stayed in Slytherin. Now get out of my sight.'

Harry did so. Gladly. He decided there and then that he could manage without friends if he had to behave in such a ridiculous manner in order to have them. He forgot all about the promise that Lupin had extracted from him two nights previously; that he would try and make the most of the chance of a new start and not to antagonise his father.

Two hours later however Harry's grudge against his father and Gryffindors had melted into insignificance. The first lesson of the day had been Potions, in which Slytherins and Gryffindors were still paired together. Last year Snape had treated Harry abominably but stopped short of taking points from him out of consideration for his own students in Slytherin. This year he didn't have that problem. He insulted Harry and his efforts at brewing liberally until Harry snapped and answered back. Then Snape took fifty points from Gryffindor causing Harry's housemates to glare furiously at their new member. Intense hatred bubbled up inside Harry and he vowed to himself that one day Snape would pay dearly for the way he had abandoned him.

Defence came next and Gilderoy Lockhart was added to the list of Harry's least favourite people. He started off by publicly giving Harry "a few words of advice".

'I know you had a taste of publicity with the sudden change in your identity,' he said jovially. 'But I think you're a bit young to go courting more. Flying cars to Hogwarts really isn't on, you know. Stick to the train next time.' Harry's cheeks burned and he deliberately didn't try to get anything right in the quiz they were then given on the contents of Lockhart's books. In fact after the idiot then released a cage full of Cornish pixies into the classroom Harry left and decided he'd just stick to the extra book Lupin had bought for Defence.

All in all it seemed that life for Harry was not going to be much different this year from first year. One or two Gryffindors made tentative overtures of friendship but Harry wasn't interested. The fist year, Colin Creevy was quite persistent until Weasley told him not to bother with the "disguised Slytherin". Neville Longbottom gave up of his own accord after a couple of rebuttals. The main difference was that Harry's father seemed to be trying not to treat him too badly though it was clear that he didn't think much of Harry's attitude. He gave both Harry and Ron the same detention for the flying car incident- an evening spent in helping Professor Lockhart answer his fan mail. The two boys sat at separate desks addressing envelopes, listening to Lockhart prattle on about his achievements and silently vowing never to earn another detention with the man again.

Then, a few weeks into term things started happening.

Firstly, Hagrid's roosters were killed. The culprit was never found. Most unfairly, Harry thought, his father questioned him as to whether he had anything to do with it. At least, Harry thought, he believed him when he denied it. Honestly, Harry had better things to do with his time than wringing chicken's necks. Like planning his revenge on Snape, for instance. Not that he had got anywhere with that, but he was sure he'd think of something sometime.

The next incident happened at Halloween. Harry had nothing to do with that either but this time there was a more just cause for people to suspect him. Harry hadn't gone to the feast because he hated these happy occasions when everyone was being friendly to each other. Normally he ate his meals when there weren't too many people around and his lack of friends wasn't so obvious. He'd been wandering through corridors, moping, when he'd suddenly slipped on a very wet floor; a girls' toilet had flooded. Then, as he'd got up he'd noticed something hanging on the toilet door- Mrs Norris, Filch's cat was attached there, stiff and frozen and written above her in blood were the words,

'The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies Of The Heir, Beware.'

Before Harry could get away, the corridor was filled with people, including Mr Filch who immediately accused Harry. Soon Dumbledore arrived on the scene and removed Mrs Norris from the door. Lockhart offered the use of his office and Dumbledore requested Mr Filch, Professor Potter and Harry to go there with him. Professor's Lockhart and Snape followed on behind. Once they were all in the office Mr Filch ranted on about how Harry had murdered his cat and he wanted him whipped and tortured and expelled.

'I didn't do it!' insisted Harry.

'You were the only student not at the feast,' said Snape silkily. 'How do you explain how anyone else could have done this?' Harry was silent, having no explanation and knowing more denials would fall on deaf ears. Dumbledore said nothing, but continued the very thorough examination he was giving Mrs Norris. Lockhart talked happily about how he knew what the matter was and how he could have prevented it had he got there in time. Professor Potter said nothing. Finally the headmaster spoke.

'The cat is not dead, Mr Filch,' he said. 'She has merely been petrified and we can remedy that when Professor Sprout's mandrakes mature.'

'I still want that boy punished,' yelled the caretaker.

'Actually, Mr Filch,' said Dumbledore softly, 'I am absolutely certain that Harry did not do this. It would have taken magic of a standard way beyond his present ability to petrify Mrs Norris.'

'He still needs to explain why he wasn't at the feast,' said Snape. 'It is certain that he was up to no good. I would be delighted to supervise a detention or two...'

'I don't think that's necessary,' interrupted Harry's father. 'Harry was in all probability merely exercising his right not to socialise as he tends to do. Hardly an offence.'

'I agree,' said Dumbledore. 'You may go, Harry.'

Harry left feeling slightly stunned that his father had actually defended him even though he clearly didn't approve of his behaviour. His hatred of Snape had increased tenfold however. And Harry now knew exactly what form he would like his revenge to take. He wanted to see Snape stiff and frozen just like Mrs Norris. He wanted Snape petrified- preferably irreversibly- and he was going to do his best to make it happen whatever it took.

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A N: There you are, short and sweet. OK maybe not so sweet! Thanks for the reviews. 


	14. The Heir of Slytherin

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A N: 100 Reviews! And the reward for that is... A New Chapter! Thanks everyone.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 14: The Heir of Slytherin

Harry tried the library in an attempt to find out anything he could about the Chamber of Secrets. Unfortunately the rest of the school seemed to have had the same idea and any books which might have helped had already been taken out. Then Hermione Granger came to the rescue. She was an annoying little know-it-all whom nobody really liked other than Neville Longbottom who was always asking her for help. On this occasion she came in useful however. Granger always wanted to know everything about everything. Having evidently had the same trouble finding information about the chamber in the library as Harry had, she proceeded to do the unheard of and interrupted Professor Binns during their next History of Magic lesson. The ghostly professor had at first refused, saying it was just a legend but after further prodding from Granger told them what he knew.

It was interesting, thought Harry. If the Chamber of Secrets did indeed exist and had been opened fifty years ago as Malfoy had been heard to claim, then perhaps the present Heir of Slytherin was in the school now. Surely he could be of help to Harry in his quest for revenge. He could hardly go around asking people of course but Harry made a resolution to keep his eyes and ears open. In the meantime he would work hard at all his lessons. Salazar Slytherin had been famous for his ambition and Harry was sure that his heir would be more likely to help a student with good marks.

Unfortunately Harry's watchfulness yielded no results. Nothing else untoward happened and life at Hogwarts returned to normal except for Filch who seemed depressed without his beloved fiend of a cat. Quidditch matches took place which Harry didn't bother going to watch. It did cross his mind at one stage that he would make a much better seeker than the hopeless fifth year on the Gryffindor team but he wasn't going to suggest the idea when the whole of the house despised him. He couldn't have cared less if Gryffindor won anyway.

Then two weeks before Christmas Harry was once again the first on the scene after an attack. This time it was that little squirt Colin Creevy who was lying motionless outside the girls' toilet with a camera still clutched in his hands. Harry couldn't help but sneer in the manner he'd picked up from his days as Snape's son. Creevy ha been annoying the whole school ever since his arrival by flashing the stupid muggle contraption at anything that moved and many things that didn't. Harry stepped over his body, and picked up a notebook that was lying in the water which was once again oozing from under the bathroom door. Thinking there might be some sort of clue in it he left the scene and went to his dormitory, leaving Colin for others to discover.

Harry discovered to his disappointment that the notebook was completely unused save for the name written on the cover, T. M. Riddle. He tossed it on his bedside table in disgust and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. It was a long half hour before it struck him. The notebook had been lying in a pool of water. The ink on the cover should have been all smudged yet it had been completely clear and sharp. Harry grabbed a quill and the notebook and opened it up. He wrote his name, Harry Potter and stood up, intending to go to the bathroom and run the writing under the tap. But as he closed the book he saw the writing fade and disappear completely as though it were being sucked into the paper. Within seconds the page was as good as new. Strange, thought Harry and he started to experiment.

An hour later, Harry had a friend; a friend who understood what it was like to be rejected by a father... who understood the desire for revenge...who knew, furthermore just how to extract that revenge. All Harry had to do was be patient and follow a few simple orders and in the fullness of time Tom Riddle would help Harry get his own back on Professor Severus Snape. Harry carefully stashed the notebook in the lining of his robe. At some stage in the future he would have to carefully "lose" it to enable that fool of a girl Ginny Weasley to recover it. That was an essential part of the plan. But in the meantime Harry was to keep it safe and prove to the Heir of Slytherin that he was a worthy ally.

Harry was one of only a handful of students who stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas that year. Most parents, nervous about the attacks in the school wanted their children safely at home. Harry's father was staying at school in his capacity as depute headmaster and so Harry had to stay too- the full moon due to occur during the holiday period put paid to the possibility of Lupin looking after him for the two weeks. Not that Harry minded. He knew that he'd be perfectly safe and he intended to spend most of his time studying. In fact he knew that everyone would be safe since he had orders not to act until February. The one thing he did have to do without fail was write in the notebook every Friday night and at other times if anything of interest happened in the school.

Over the break Harry became aware that the Granger girl was attempting to discover the cause of the mysterious attacks, her attentions mainly focusing on the Slytherins, Draco Malfoy in particular. Indeed, Malfoy did seem rather gleeful and acted as if he did know something but Harry put that down to his normal arrogance. He dutifully reported these things to Riddle and got on with his own affairs. The holiday ended, the rest of the student population returned and lessons resumed. Working properly had its benefits, Harry found. Most of the teachers started praising the standard of his work and told him how much he had improved. Snape was still a git but with the prospect of revenge looming Harry could put up with him.

There was one slight problem for Harry. When the previous term had ended, so had the embargo on him receiving and sending owls. On Christmas morning Harry had got a letter from Lupin full of good advice on how to get on with people and reminding him of his promise. Well, Harry supposed. He wasn't antagonising his father and he was making the most of his new start- just not in the way Lupin had meant. But Harry pushed aside his vague feelings of guilt even though he knew that Lupin would certainly not approve of what he was planning. Snape deserved all he was going to get and Lupin would never know that Harry had anything to do with it. All the same, Harry couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of guilt.

February arrived and with it came Harry's first assignment from Tom Riddle. He carried out his instructions to the letter with the result that the Hufflepuff ghost, The Fat Friar was found motionless in the same area as the previous victims. Naturally, Harry was nowhere near the scene when the attack was discovered. Panic started to seep through the school after that due to the fact that something had actually caused harm to a ghost. Harry still didn't know exactly what it was that had attacked but he was impressed at its effectiveness and he glowed at the few words of praise he received from Riddle. Strict rules were brought into force regarding wandering round corridors alone. Not having friends made it difficult for Harry to keep to them but most of the time he managed by tagging on to the end of a crowd. When necessary he ignored the rules and with a little advice from Riddle escaped detection.

Harry could have gone home at Easter since there was no full moon due over the break but on orders from Riddle he remained at school, telling his father that he wished to study and didn't want the attacker to think he scared him. This earned a rare word of approval from Professor Potter since it was the first real sign Harry had shown of a Gryffindor quality. All to the good, thought Harry. When Snape finally got his comeuppance it would be put down to just another attack by the Heir of Slytherin and Harry would never be suspected. Then once he had got what he wanted, Harry would get rid of the notebook somehow and the attacks would stop since Riddle was stuck in the book and could not act on his own. Harry could return to the normal routine of school, perhaps even making an effort to get on the good side of his housemates. The perfect plan.


	15. The Chamber of Secrets

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A Change of Identity

Chapter 15: The Chamber of Secrets

Hermione Granger was the next victim. Riddle had chosen her because with her persistence and intelligence she might have posed a danger. After her petrified body was discovered Harry conveniently dropped the notebook when Ginny was walking behind him and nobody else was around. All he had to do now, Riddle had assured him, was wait until Ginny disappeared and then follow to the Chamber of Secrets. The entrance in the girls bathroom would be open for him.

Security at the castle was increased tenfold. Students were escorted by teachers to travel between classes and restricted to their houses after dinner was over. Quidditch was cancelled, much to the annoyance of the Slytherin team who had been favourites to win the cup. Hagrid the gamekeeper was taken away by the ministry, apparently accused of the crimes and sent to Azkaban. None of these things bothered Harry who was feeling excited at the thought that his revenge was fast approaching. Then one day in the final week of May, Professor Potter's voice boomed through the castle, ordering all students to their common rooms. Harry knew that his time had come. Instead of returning to Gryffindor Tower he made his way to the girls' toilet where many of the attacks had occurred. This time he entered. Ignoring the wailing schoolgirl ghost, he approached the sinks and saw the gap where two of them had parted. He eased himself into the hole and let go.

It seemed to take forever to slide to the bottom. When he got there he lit his wand to show him the path to the legendary Chamber of Secrets. In a few short minutes he was at the entrance. The doors were open, as if to welcome him and Harry strode in confidently to meet the Heir of Slytherin in the flesh. He was greeted by high pitched laughter.

'So, Harry Potter. You have walked right into my trap. Expelliarmus!'

Professor Lupin's old homemade wand which Harry had grown so attached to flew out of his hand toward the tall dark haired teenage boy standing at the far side of the chamber. The lifeless form of Ginny Weasley lay at his feet.

'What do you mean?' asked Harry nervously. He was beginning to suspect that he had made a horrible mistake. The other boy drew his own wand and wrote the words "Tom Marvolo Riddle" in the air. A quick wave and the letters rearranged themselves to form the words "I am Lord Voldemort". Harry felt a chill creep over him.

'Ginny told me all about you,' said Riddle softly. 'In fact she told me a lot about my future self as well. And I decided that as I failed to kill you at the first attempt because you had switched places with another then I would have to try again and get it right. Your desire to get revenge on your false father proved very useful in luring you here. As if Lord Voldemort would ever share his power! Of course, Snape may die sometime but you won't be around to enjoy it.'

'At least let Ginny go.' The acute sense of betrayal Harry felt at Riddle informing him of the way he'd used him was unbearable and Harry tried to push it to the back of his mind by focusing on the innocent first year on the ground. Riddle just laughed.

'Oh, but I can't do that. You see, every time someone writes in the diary they put a bit of themselves into it. I have saved up the bits from Ginny and taken them for myself, enabling me to came out of the pages as a real person. As you have seen, I can even do magic. Not to mention summon my pet.' Riddle hissed all of a sudden and seconds later an enormous snake light creature slithered into the chamber.

'My basilisk,' explained Riddle. One look and you're petrified. Unfortunately none of my latest victims looked it full in the eye. It was always through water or a mirror or something so they could in theory be revived. But I'm sure that once I get out into the open with him he'll notch up a few deaths. He did get one girl fifty years ago.'

'You... you're evil,' stammered Harry.

'And you're not?' asked Riddle mockingly. 'Nothing wrong in trying to petrify your ex daddy?'

Harry reddened. He hadn't thought he was evil. He'd just been so blinded by anger and hurt that revenge was all he could think of. But faced with the malevolence of the boy before him he knew that he'd been close to becoming just as bad. And now it looked like Riddle was going to terrorise the world with his basilisk. Harry was helpless- he didn't even have his wand. He wished miserably that there was something he could do. Countless people were going to be killed and it was all Harry's fault. But Riddle was speaking to him again.

'My future self must have been a fool, allowing himself to be defeated,' he said. But Lord Voldemort is back now. I will rule the world. Anyone standing in my path will be disposed of. Starting with you, Harry Potter. Avada Kedavra!'

Harry's last conscious thought as the green light rushed toward him was a vague sense of relief that he would not have to face the consequences of what he had done.


	16. Consequences

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 16: Consequences

The intense pain in his head drew Harry's attention to the fact that he was alive. He tried to sit up and the pain magnified to such an extent that he cried out sharply. In an instant a strong arm raised him up and a goblet was pressed to his lips. Harry drank automatically and a second after the potion had slipped down his throat the agony was gone. Then HArry remembered and a cold sickly feeling came over him as he registered the grim face of his father who was now standing over him having set the goblet aside. HE opened his mouth, knowing he should tell about the monster he had helped to terrorise Hogwarts but his voice didn't seem to be working and all that came out was a squeaky sort of noise. Professor Potter already seemed to know, however. In fact he had more up to the minute information than Harry.

'The basilisk is dead,' he said flatly. 'As is the young Lord Voldemort, whom you helped to bring to life from his diary. Now get up. The headmaster is waiting to see you in his office.'

So they knew. Harry stood up and obediently followed his father out of the hospital wing, scarcely registering Madam Pomfrey standing at her desk pouring something from a flask into several goblets. His legs felt wooden as they made their way through the deserted corridors. Nothing that was likely to happen to Harry seemed particularly appealing. Expulsion was the most obvious outcome and the thought of having to live the rest of his life banned from practising magic was unbearable. If he were allowed to remain at Hogwarts then some truly dreadful punishment must be in store for him. That didn't worry Harry so much. He knew he deserved all that was to come to him and was prepared to accept it. But after what he had done he could see no prospect of people ever liking him or wanting to be his friend. His father would probably go back to hating him and he couldn't imagine that even Professor Lupin would be able to forgive Harry's behaviour this time. Maybe he would have been better off if Riddle had killed him. Though why the deadly curse had failed was something that Harry was unable to workout. Or how both Riddle and his monster had met their doom, but Harry didn't dare to ask.

They entered Professor Dumbledore's office and Harry was pushed towards a hard chair facing the desk. Sitting at the side of the room were Ginny Weasley and her parents. Ginny was awake now but very distressed and Harry realised that not very much time could have passed since the events down in the Chamber of Secrets.

'I think that you should take Ginny to the Hospital wing,' said the headmaster kindly to her parents. 'Some hot chocolate and a nice warm bed to sleep in will soon make her feel better. She will not be punished since she has been completely taken in by an evil force that she could not possibly have comprehended.'

The three Weasleys exited, Ginny still sobbing heavily. Harry was left to face Professor Dumbedore, his father and Professor Snape who was standing in a corner of the room. He was well aware that he was not going to be lightly dismissed for hot chocolate and coddling. There was silence for a minute before the headmaster spoke, passing across the familiar notebook to Harry as he did so.

'I would like you to glance through this quickly, Harry,' he said, 'so that you understand that we know exactly what has been happening over the past few months. Then I want you to give us an account of what happened down in the Chamber of Secrets.'

Harry took Riddles diary and was stunned to discover that all the writing that had been sucked into the pages was now visible for all to read. There were Ginny's schoolgirl worries, Riddle's kind and patient replies to her and then all of Harry's conversations with the Heir of Slytherin. When he laid the book down the three teachers looked at him expectantly and he told what had happened finishing at the point when the young Voldemort had fired the deadly killing curse at Harry.

'But I don't understand,' he blurted out when he had finished, unable to stop himself. 'The curse was coming straight for me. How could it miss?'

'It didn't miss,' Dumbledore said softly. 'The curse hit you, but because your mother sacrificed her life for you all those years ago you were protected by her love and thus the curse rebounded, killing both Tom Riddle and the basilisk. Next time you look in the mirror you will notice a new scar on your forehead where the curse hit you.'

'But she didn't die for me,' said Harry bitterly. 'She died for Harry Snape.'

'No, Harry' said the headmaster. 'She died for both of you. You are her own flesh and blood, whom she was thinking of at the time of her death. Even though you were not present at the time, the great love she felt for you as she gave up her own life had the power to give you protection. Unfortunately, because Harry Snape was not of her blood, he did not have the same safeguard and he died; although the curse that killed him partially rebounded and stripped Lord Voldemort of his body. But enough of that for now. We need to discuss your own actions.'

Here, Professor Snape took a hand.

'I don't see that there is any need to discuss anything,' he snapped. 'If the ministry knew what he did he would be in Azkaban by now. The boy should be expelled. Or at very least, soundly caned in front of the whole school. I would be delighted to volunteer for the duty.'

'Severus,' said Dumbledore calmly. 'If I thought for a second that corporal punishment would be a pivotal factor in persuading Harry to follow the path of good rather than evil then I would not hesitate to sanction it. But I do not believe that it would make a difference and I will not allow such a measure to be used as a means for you to take out your anger on him. I would also like to point out to you that your own rejection of Harry has done much to influence his state of mind since he has been at this school.'

Clearly displeased with Dumbldore's stance, Snape snarled and stormed out of the office. Harry was left facing his father and the headmaster. Both men wore extremely serious expressions and Harry knew that whatever his punishment was to be it would not be light. This assessment proved to be an understatement.

'Harry,' began Dumbledore. 'You have spent much of this year planning serious injury or even the death of one of the professors at this school. In doing so you remorselessly assisted attacks on others. You showed no regard for the safety of anyone in your quest for revenge. You are also the cause of an innocent man having to spend time in prison. I do believe from your present demeanour that you regret your actions and wish to do better in future. Nevertheless, I cannot let your actions pass without the severest of punishments. I am neither going to expel you nor take up Professor Snape's suggestion of beating you. However, for the remainder of this term you will remain in complete isolation from the rest of the school. Your wand will be confiscated and you will do only written work. This you will be given at the start of each day and it is to be done to the very best of your ability. You will also receive a written punishment every day to be done along with your other work. In the evenings and on Saturday afternoons you will have detention which will be spent doing manual tasks. Sundays you will have free but you may not leave your room except for a walk outside which you will take escorted by a member of staff. Finally, although you will return to Hogwarts for your third year you will not be permitted to visit Hogsmeade. That is a privilege for which you will have to wait. Now, I know that your father wishes to speak with you. James, you may have half an hour or so while I go to organise Harry's living quarters for the rest of term. After that I must insist that any contact you have with him is in accordance with the terms of his punishment.'

Professor Potter merely nodded and Professor Dumbledore let the room, leaving father and son alone.

Harry's mind reeled at the sheer magnitude of the punishment Dumbledore had outlined. There was over a month left of school and every day other than Sundays would be filled with hard work and unpleasant tasks. All the same, it wasn't that which worried him. He would have gladly accepted the caning which Professor Snape had proposed on top of all the rest if only he could feel someone wanted him. It had given him a slightly warm feeling inside to hear Dumbledore assure him of his mother's love. But she was dead and he wanted the love of someone living. After a minute of silence he heard his father speak.

'Well I had been intending to organise ways of making your summer as unpleasant as possible, but the headmaster seems to have done a pretty thorough job of giving you time to contemplate the error of your ways.' His voice was calm, not harsh as Harry had expected.

'I... I'm really sorry... I didn't mean...' Harry stammered to a halt. The words sounded so inadequate to his ears.

'I just want to say this,' said his father slowly. 'I know you've been treated badly, both by Snape and myself. I lived for almost ten years resenting the fact that you lived while my own son died. When it was discovered that you were in fact my son I could still only see a boy raised by Snape. Even after the Pettigrew incident I only accepted you in name. Perhaps if I'd done things differently you might not have followed the course of action you did. That does not excuse you, however. What you have to do now is consider carefully how you want to live your life. If you insist on seeking revenge then it is certain that you'll end up either dead or in Azkaban and there is nothing I can do for you. If you want to try to become a decent person then I will stand by you and help all I can.'

'What's the point?' asked Harry bleakly. 'Everyone will hate me now.'

'Possibly.' Professor Potter was blunt. 'But I will certainly talk to Gryffindor House and ensure that you are not bullied because of your activities this year. Making friends will be difficult, I admit. You'll just have to do your best to show them you've changed and hope that they'll come round eventually. By the way, we found your wand lying beside Riddle's diary. I'm going to return it to Remus for the time being. It will be up to him whether he is willing to return it to you for the next school year. If not you will have to get one from Ollivander's.'

Harry said nothing. The thought of losing the wand was devastating but he knew he could only wait and hope. But what he dreaded even more was losing Lupin's support. His father must have seen the despair showing on his face because he said,

'Harry, Remus has been sticking up for you and trying to help you ever since you started here. I don't imagine he's going to turn his back on you now unless you give him very good reason. But he may think that you should have a new wand and if he does so I expect you to respect his decision. Now, one more thing. About you and me.'

Here Harry's father paused and looked at him seriously before continuing.

'I can't pretend to love you right now the way a father should love his son. You were taken away from me and raised in a manner of which I strongly disapprove. But you are my real son and I would like to have the chance to get to know you and love you. Once the summer holidays are here and your punishment is over I hope that you will feel the same way. I don't want you to say anything at this time. Just think about it over the next month.'

Harry nodded mutely, slightly overwhelmed by the day's events and the outcome. But he was certain of one thing. He found he craved having the security of people who cared about him. The only problem was that he couldn't quite bring himself to believe that he wouldn't be let down again. But he determined to try to make himself more likeable so that his father and Lupin wouldn't have a reason to reject him.

The return of Dumbledore put an end to Harry's thinking. The headmaster informed him that his room was ready and bade him follow. Professor Potter rose also and once they were in the corridor briefly clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder before walking away in the opposite direction. Harry walked with Dumbledore until they came to a short corridor with only one door opening from it. Dumbledore ushered Harry into the room.

'You'll find all you need for the rest of term in here,' the headmaster told him.' The door in the corner leads to a small bathroom. The house elves will send up your supper and then I suggest you go to bed. Tomorrow morning the elves will bring your work for the day along with your breakfast. I expect the work to be finished by four o'clock. After you have had dinner someone will come to escort you to your detention. Goodnight, Harry.'

With that the Dumbledore left and Harry shuddered slightly as the door shut with an ominous thud, signalling the start of his long and lonely punishment.

* * *

A N: Well done those ( most of you, I think) who realised Harry wasn't going to die! I don't particularly like writing father-son talks so don't complain if you don't like how I've done it. I did the best I could. Don't be surprised if updates slow down a bit- I'm not too sure what happens in third year yet. 


	17. Solitude

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A Change of Identity

Chapter 17: Solitude

Harry was woken up at seven thirty by a house elf who informed him that his breakfast was on the table and his work for the day on the desk. The elf also apologised profusely that Harry would have to keep his room clean and tidy himself and make his own bed because Professor Dumbledore had ordered it. The house elves would only take his plates away after meals and do his laundry. After a few extra words of regret the elf left to let Harry get up.

Having acted on Dumbledore's suggestion the night before that he go to bed immediately, Harry had not taken in his surroundings. Now he noticed that the room was basically furnished: a large table with a wooden chair, his bed, a small night stand, a cupboard and a bookcase and finally an armchair. Before tackling his breakfast Harry read the note that was beside it. It listed the day's tasks, informing him that all the books he would need were in the bookcase. The tasks included some muggle subjects, probably to make sure he had enough to fully occupy himself. There was also a warning that any piece of work found to be unsatisfactory would have to be redone in his free time at the weekend. Also, for each piece of returned work Harry would have to spend fifteen minutes on Saturday morning after breakfast standing facing the wall with his arms folded behind his back. Harry sighed inwardly as he turned to his food. The next few weeks weren't going to be much fun.

By Saturday afternoon Harry felt as though he had already spent weeks in punishment, the time had dragged so much. By four o clock each day his right hand ached from all the writing he had to do. The professors seemed to have gone out of their way to assign essays that were as long and uninteresting as possible to do and his written punishments so far had consisted of a set of one hundred lines- I must always consider the consequences of my actions- and twice copying out a chapter of an extremely boring text book on wizarding morality. That morning, along with his breakfast, he had received two returned essays and the information that someone would be along at nine to oversee his "penalty". Professor Vector had duly arrived, armed with a newspaper and curtly drawn a line a few inches from the wall with her wand, ordered Harry to stand with his toes touching it, arms folded behind him and settled down in the armchair to read the paper. An extremely long half hour had followed during which Harry got to know the small patch of bare wall he could see in front of him very well indeed and the rustle of a page of Professor Vector's newspaper turning had become something of a highlight to look forward to. At long last Harry heard her rise to her feet and tell him that he could come away from the wall. She'd then walked out of the room without anther word to him.

Harry had spent the rest of the morning rewriting his two essays, taking care to rectify the mistakes in them. He'd finished lunch and was now waiting for whoever was taking him for detention, no doubt Filch again. His three evening detentions so far had all been with the caretaker. The first two times Harry had spent on his knees scrubbing floors. The third time Filch had taken him to the Potions classroom where a large quantity of filthy cauldrons had been waiting for HArry to clean. The worst thing about all three of these detentions had been the constant comments from Filch such as, 'this'll teach you, you nasty boy,' and 'You'll not go near my cat in future.'

When the door opened it was not Filch who had arrived to collect him. It was Hagrid, who merely uttered a gruff, 'Come on wi' yer then,' and strode down the corridor, clearly expecting Harry to follow. Harry did so, struggling slightly to keep up. Hagrid said no more until they had neared his wooden hut. Then what he said surprised Harry.

'Yer copin' okay, are yer?' Harry stared dumbly at him. This was the man who had spent weeks in Azkaban because of him and he was acting like he was concerned about Harry. Hagrid seemed to guess at what he was feeling.

'No need ter look at me like I've two heads,' he said. 'What yeh did was wrong an' yeh deserve a good punishment but it don't mean everyone has ter be nasty to yeh all the time. I told Dumbledore I could find plenty hard work fer yeh but he knows I won't be tellin' yeh off all the time yer doin' it. How are yeh supposed ter change yer ways if yeh think everyone hates yeh?'

Harry found it hard to believe someone could be so forgiving. Even now he didn't think he'd ever forgive Snape, even if he'd given up his plans for revenge.

'But how can you not hate me after I got you sent to Azkaban?' he asked.

'Yeah, well I'd probably 'ave ended up there anyhow,' answered Hagrid, surprising Harry again. 'It were Riddle got me expelled fifty years ago fer the same thing. The ministry have long memories an' I bet they'd 'ave come after me again. Maybe if yeh'd spoken up about what yeh knew as yeh should've done I might've got off but there's no use in what iffing. What's done is done. I'm out o' prison an' my names clear. That's good enough fer me. Now, it's time yeh got ter work. My pumpkins need dragon dung diggin' in all around them. I'll show yeh what ter do an' then let yeh get on with it.'

Two hours later Hagrid returned an exhausted and smelly Harry to his room. On their way back he had told Harry that he'd be welcome to visit him anytime next year if he needed someone to talk to or even if he just wanted company. In that one short afternoon Harry's opinion of the half giant had been turned round completely. He had of course learned his original opinion from Snape who had always talked in sneering tones about Hagrid. Consequently Harry had always kept clear of him and looked down on him. Now he'd seen a bit of what the man was really like and couldn't help appreciating his kindness.

It was as well HArry had had that boost on Saturday afternoon because the following week was dreadful. He was bored stiff on Sunday having no work to do and there was only so much time he wanted to spend reading. He'd hoped that his walk in the afternoon would be with his father, or possibly Hagrid but to his dismay it was Professor Snape. Probably wanting to make sure he didn't enjoy himself, Harry thought somewhat bitterly. He'd made Harry walk beside him through the grounds for an hour, keeping to areas unoccupied by other students keeping up a pace too fast to be comfortable and reminding Harry from time to time of how he was lucky to get off as lightly as he did and how he'd better watch his step in future. Harry was glad to get back to the solitude of his room when the walk ended. The rest of the week was worse; five days filled with mostly boring written work and detention every evening with Mr Filch. Harry had hoped to have at least one of his evening detentions with Hagrid but it was not to be. Then on Saturday morning he found he had four returned pieces of work.

After breakfast he sat on the windowsill looking out over the grounds which were littered with students enjoying a sunny Saturday morning. Lost in feeling sorry for himself he failed to hear the door open.

'Come on, I'm afraid you'll be looking at something less interesting for the next hour.' HArry jumped at his fathers words, then turned round and walked obediently towards Professor Vector's line which had stayed stubbornly where it was in spite of Harry's efforts to wash it off. His father drew his wand and in a moment the line was gone.

'I think your brain can just about grasp the concept of standing facing a wall without needing a guide for your feet,' he said lightly. On you go; I'll let you know when your time's up.' Harry got into position, folded his arms behind him and stared at the wall as he had done a week ago.

'Well, that was one of the longest hours I've ever known.' HArry agreed silently as he turned round although the fact that he'd felt the sympathy emanating from his father had helped. His father got up to go but before leaving Harry alone again said,

'I know you're having a rough time but don't forget that you do deserve it. But Hagrid's booked your detention today and walk tomorrow so you'll get a kind word or two from him. And don't worry too much about returned work. No one really expected you to not get at least one a day. So you've actually done alright so far.' With that he went away.

The words of encouragement had come at the right time for Harry who decided to do just one essay that morning and leave the rest for Sunday when he found the time go so slowly. Just maybe, he thought, he could get through this.


	18. Getting Through It

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 18: Getting Through It

Another two weeks passed. Most of his detentions were with Filch; either doing the filthiest cleaning jobs the caretaker could find or doing unpleasant tasks such as scrubbing cauldrons or preparing disgusting ingredients in the Potions classroom. He'd only had three so far with Hagrid, the second two both being spent chopping and stacking firewood, and one helping Professor Sprout with dirty, smelly jobs in the greenhouses. It was only to be expected, Harry supposed, although he had begun to realise that his punishment had not been designed with the sole purpose of making his life as unpleasant as possible. Much of this realisation stemmed from the written punishments he was required to do. Some of these involved researching and writing about various forms of punishments in muggle society. Harry had learned that had he committed an equivalent offence to his own one as a muggle he could have been locked away in something called a Young Offender's Institution for as long as the authorities felt necessary, possibly for the rest of his childhood. From reading the books, magazines and newspapers he had been supplied with, he knew that the living conditions in these places were much more luxurious than his own present ones. Given the choice between living as he was just now for a little over a month and being denied freedom for several years but without the tough detentions and other penalties he knew he would take the former.

Another eye opener had been discovering that the "sound caning" which Snape had seemed to favour as an appropriate punishment was something which, a few decades ago, had been routinely used in many muggle schools for relatively minor offences. Even a few short years ago, a slightly less harsh form of physical punishment such as a couple of strokes on the palm of the hand with a strap or cane was a common occurrence. Nowadays in Britain muggles had dispensed with such measures, saying that they "contravened human rights". Harry wasn't sure he agreed with them although he knew that Dumbledore was right in thinking that in his case Snape's solution would not have stopped Harry from taking the wrong path. It was support that was making him want to change.

Harry was also beginning to think that perhaps the reason for his isolation was more for his benefit rather than punishment. He knew that the whole school would be aware that he had been somehow involved in the events of the year. He'd be out of his mind to expect to live among them right now without them giving him a very hard time. As it was he, he was sheltered from their ire for the time being.

Of course, none of these things meant that his present situation was enjoyable. It wasn't. Day after day was the same routine of breakfast, schoolwork, lunch, schoolwork, dinner, detention. His written punishments, though sometimes extremely instructive, often made him squirm guiltily inside. Even Hagrid's detentions were exhausting and made him ache all over afterwards. And at the end of another week Harry found that he'd been careless and earned himself six returned papers including a set of lines that he'd overlooked. To make matters worse it was Snape who arrived at the allotted time. His former parent had brought a book with him to pass the time but didn't restrict himself to sitting reading after situating Harry by the wall, nose just an inch away. From time to time he would get up and walk around the room lecturing Harry and reminding him that the set of lines was to be written three times since he hadn't even attempted them the first time round. Harry had no choice but to stand still in his uncomfortable position and listen to it all.

That day was the worst one of his punishment, the afternoon detention also being supervised by Snape. But once it was over Harry realised that there was only one week left of term. He spent Sunday ensuring that all of his returned work was properly done and started to look forward to the holidays. On Monday morning he found that he would only receive work up till Wednesday. On Thursday there would be the penalty for returned work from the three days and in the morning that work would be redone and Harry would also have a final written punishment. In the afternoon he would have a meeting with Dumbledore and his father to discuss his progress. The usual detention would take place in the evening and on Friday morning he would be portkeyed home.

The week dragged. But Thursday did come, and with it two returned essays. Harry was secretly amused when the ghostly Professor Binns drifted through the wall and told him to begin his punishment. He found it harder than usual to stay still, excited as he was that it was for the last time. He suppressed the urge to whoop with delight when he was told he could come away and instead went to sit at the table to do his work. Two essays and a copied chapter from "Basic Wizarding Law" later he had finished. Lunch followed and then his father arrived to escort him to the headmaster's office.

Harry was feeling very apprehensive about this meeting as he felt it might involve some very awkward moments. As it turned out he was right. After a few pleasantries Professor Dumbledore said to Harry,

'Now, I would like to be sure you are clear about one or two things. Do you understand why Miss Weasley received no punishment for her actions whereas you were given an extremely comprehensive one?'

This was something Harry did know.

'Ginny was possessed by Riddle and didn't have any control over what she did. I wasn't. I just tried to use him to , er...'

'To carry out your own nasty, evil plans,' suggested James when Harry couldn't seem to find the words. It was blunt, but it was the truth. Harry nodded miserably but Dumbledore carried on calmly.

Do you realise that compared with the punishment you would have received as an adult wizard or a muggle you got off lightly?'

Harry just nodded again. Harsh though his punishment had seemed, his research had shown him that things could easily have been a lot worse.

'How do you feel about Professor Snape now, Harry?'

The question came as a surprise to Harry. He briefly considered not telling his true feelings but a glance at the headmaster convinced him that it would not be a good idea.

'I hate him.' Harry really didn't like the direction this conversation was taking.

'And do you still desire revenge?' Harry hadn't thought about that for the past month but as soon as the question was asked he knew that he did still want revenge. Badly. He nodded again.

'And how do you hope to achieve it?'

'I don't,' replied Harry, his voice cracking. 'I know I can't go looking for revenge now. I just can't help wanting it.' To his astonishment, Dumbledore smiled at him.

'Thank you, Harry,' he said, 'for being so honest. Now I will be equally honest. You must understand that you are only allowed to remain at Hogwarts on condition that you do not commit any more serious offences. Unfortunately the fact that you still desire revenge, even though you do not intend to seek it, means that you may at some point do something you would later regret. This is especially true since you are bound to find life difficult at Hogwarts for some time to come. I intend to take steps to try and prevent this. All the professors will be warned to keep an eye on you and to inform either your father or myself if they feel you are in danger of acting rashly. This may result in some inconvenience for you, but I feel it is preferable to letting you get yourself expelled.

Now, to be more positive. I am very pleased with the way you have handled the past few weeks and I do believe that you truly want to do better in future. I know you've been working very hard and I think that you need a good rest so I've told your father not to let you do any work at all for at least a month after you go home. That should still give you enough time to get your holiday homework done. I suggest, James, that you don't even let Harry see his homework tasks until August. Let him enjoy himself.'

'Don't worry, I intend to,' James told him. Dumbledore smiled and told him to take Harry back to his room. On the way there Harry ventured to grumble,

'I like reading my schoolbooks. I'll be bored without them.' His father laughed.

'Don't worry, we'll keep you out of trouble.' But he didn't enlighten Harry any further. As he ushered Harry back into his room he said,

'Make the most of your detention tonight. It'll be your last till after the summer.'

Harry sincerely hoped that he could avoid any more detentions for a lot longer than that. Although as it happened he quite enjoyed the one that evening. Hagrid had a large crop of vegetables ready for picking and stood at the edge of the patch chatting while Harry did the work which was comparatively easy.

The following morning his father arrived in his room after the rest of the school had left and through Harry a small rubber ball which he instinctively tried to catch. The moment it touched his fingers, Harry was transported to the living room in his father's house where Lupin was standing waiting.

'Welcome home, Harry.'

Somehow these simple words, spoken kindly by his former professor who had always tried to help him, triggered something inside of Harry. A lump formed in his throat and he turned away, intending to go up to his bedroom. But Lupin got to Harry before he was even half way to the door and turned him round to face him. Suddenly Harry found himself crying. It was as though the tears had been building up for almost two years, ever since Harry had found out who he really was. Once started, they wouldn't stop flowing. Lupin said nothing but led Harry to the sofa where he held him as he sobbed.

* * *

When James Potter finally arrived home that evening it was to find his son asleep on the sofa still held closely by Remus.

'You were supposed to be ready to go as soon as I got in, Moony,' he said. Remus smiled at his friend.

'We are,' he stated calmly. 'I sent all the luggage on in advance this morning before Harry got here. All it needs now is us.'

James grinned and in two strides was beside the sofa. He took a pack of cards from his pocket and held it out. Remus gently lifted one of Harry's hands so that it touched it and then placed his own hand on it too. As soon as all three hands were touching it, the portkey activated and they were gone.

* * *

A N: Not the most exciting of chapters again, but having Harry in isolation does tend to restrict his activities. Thanks again to all you wonderful reviewers. 


	19. Summer Holiday

Disclaimer: Harry Potter still belongs to J K Rowling.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 19: Summer Holiday

Harry had never experienced this type of holiday before but after a few days he discovered he quite liked it. Snape's idea of a holiday was to travel by a mixture of portkey, floo and aparition to the most inaccessible places possible in search of rare potions ingredients. When Harry had been living as his son he too had thought that it was the best way to spend holiday time. The concept of lounging around doing little or nothing for long periods was alien to him.

Initially Harry hadn't exactly found it amusing to wake up in the middle of being transported by portkey. A minute later he couldn't even muster up the strength to be angry at his father and Lupin due to the fact that he felt extremely ill. He paid little attention to the apologies of the two men as he was helped up to bed. In spite of having spent most of the day sleeping he was soon dead to the world again.

The following morning he awoke feeling much better and extremely hungry and with a vague memory of being told they were somewhere in Cornwall. The height of the sun which he could see from the window suggested that it was quite well on in the morning so after getting dressed in the lightweight muggle clothes which were laid out he made his way downstairs. Following the voices he tracked his father and Lupin down in the kitchen where the former laid down a few basic rules.

'Right, Harry, we've brought you here to have a break. That means you sleep as long as you like in the mornings. You're not allowed to even mention the word 'schoolwork' let alone try to do any. Now I know you enjoy reading so after you've eaten Remus will escort you to the village where I believe there is a bookshop. We're in a completely muggle area so absolutely no mention of magic outside this cottage. And that's about it.'

The trip to the bookshop took up the whole morning- Harry's father had conveniently omitted the fact that the village was a bit over two miles away. When they arrived Harry realised to his disgust that the bookshop was a secondhand one.

'I'm supposed to find something decent to read in there?' he asked Lupin indignantly.

'Don't use that tone, Harry. I suggest you look around inside before dismissing every one of the hundreds of books in there as useless,' Lupin said sternly. Harry was brought up short. Not so much by the reprimand, which was mild, but the fact that he felt compelled to do as he was told. But that shouldn't be happening, he thought. He had done more research on the bond associated with his wand earlier in the year and had come to understand that it gave Lupin as much control over Harry as Harry had over him. But since Lupin had the wand back now, the bond shouldn't be there any longer unless... Harry's heartbeat quickened. If Lupin regarded the wand as belonging to Harry then the bond would not be broken regardless of the fact that Lupin was in possession of it. And if that was the case then Lupin must be planning on returning it. Harry felt a warm feeling spread through him. He loved that wand. It felt right in his hand and he didn't want to have to get any other. Without further protest he mumbled 'Yes, sir,' and went into the shop. The books might not have been new but they were in reasonable condition and there were plenty that looked interesting. They were cheap too; even after buying several Harry still had most of the wad of muggle money his father had given to him. When he and Lupin returned to the cottage he tried giving it back but was told to keep it.

For the first week Harry did very little but eat, sleep and read. He had to go for a walk every day with his father and Lupin but after being cooped up in one room for most of the past few weeks he welcomed the fresh air and open space. In the evenings he was usually pressed into playing a game of wizards' chess or exploding snap. After a week they were joined by Sirius Black and then every two or three days they would go on an excursion of some sort. Harry particularly enjoyed the Wizarding Tour of Cornwall which took them to see several places associated with Merlin and King Arthur.

At first Harry had been worried that his father was going to expect Harry to behave as though they were the best of friends but fortunately he seemed to have a little more sense than that. Harry was really only just beginning to accept him as his father. He wasn't yet ready for confiding in him. But both his father and Godfather seemed content with just being reasonably friendly and not overbearing. Harry found he was ore relaxed every day as he managed to push the events of the school year to the back of his mind. He was aware of course that his trouble were far from over. He knew that he would be returning to Hogwarts to face hostility amongst his peers. But for now he was able to be free from all that.

They returned home after three weeks but Harry's routine remained much the same- eat, sleep, read, go for walks. At Lupin's suggestion he resumed the light duties he had had the previous summer. By this time Harry thought that he could start doing his holiday homework but his father refused to budge. Dumbledore had said no schoolwork until August and that was that. Harry's birthday came round again and this year they visited a muggle theme park. Privately Harry thought it was more for his father's and Godfather's benefit than his own. They insisted on going on every single ride and seemed to get just a little too much enjoyment from them for grown men. Harry did enjoy them all too but didn't get over excited. And the rollercoasters were a slightly bittersweet experience, bringing back memories of the feeling of flying. He still felt pangs of resentment when he thought about the birthday broomstick of two years ago and the way Snape had given it away.

Lupin gave him his best present after supper. He hadn't wrapped it up but that didn't matter. He gave HArry his wand back.

'Thanks,' Harry managed to choke out. It was surprising how emotional he felt considering how he had been expecting to get it back at some point. Perhaps he hadn't been quite as sure as he had thought.

'Remember you're not allowed to use it during the summer,' Lupin warned him and Harry nodded, just glad to have it back.

Harry's Hogwarts letter arrived the next day with the list of books required for the coming year. He hadn't chosen his extra subjects yet since he'd been in the middle of his punishment when the rest of the year had done it so after breakfast his father discussed it with him. Since Harry liked reading so much he chose the more academic subjects- Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. At his father's suggestion he also agreed to take Muggle Studies to help him learn more about the world his mother came from. Then in the afternoon they went to Diagon Alley to buy Harry's supplies.

The first thing they noticed when they entered Diagon Alley was a crowd in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies. Harry wasn't particularly interested but was forced to hang around while his father admired the new Firebolt broomstick.

'I wish there had been a broom like that in my day,' he said to Harry rather wistfully. HArry rather got the impression that his father would have liked Harry to ask for one but he wasn't going to oblige. His dreams of playing Quidditch had long since been shattered.

On there return home they found Sirius Black sitting with Remus, fingering the Hogwarts envelope.

'I remember getting my third year letter,' he said. I had quite a job getting my father to sign my Hogsmeade permission form. At least your father won't refuse to sign yours, HArry.'

'Sirius, Dumbledore's banned Harry from going this year, remember?' Lupin reminded him quietly. Sirius turned red and started to apologise to Harry for being so tactless. Harry's father cut him off, looking up from the copy of the Evening Prophet he had picked up before coming home.

'As it happens I wouldn't have signed the form anyway,' he said shortly. Pettigrew's escaped from Azkaban.'

* * *

A N: Sorry about the boringness of this chapter but I wanted Harry to have an uneventful summer. Thanks for reviews and apologies to those of you who are so desperate for Harry to get a different wand. I want him to keep Lupin's one and I'm the author. So there! (Sticks tongue out at readers) 


	20. The Dementor

Disclaimer: J K Rowling owns it all.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 20: The Dementor

For the rest of the August Harry was under strict orders not to put so much as one foot outside the grounds unless accompanied by a grown up. Apparently it had been Harry who had been Voldemort's primary target when he had attacked the Potter's house. Harry was stunned to hear that there had been a prophecy about a boy born at the end of July who would be the downfall of the Dark Lord.

'Now that doesn't mean to say that the prophecy definitely meant you,' his father warned him. 'But Voldemort decided he wanted you dead and if Pettigrew could hand you over to him he would be greatly rewarded. Voldemort wasn't completely destroyed, but is still out there somewhere, albeit in a very weak state. Not to mention the fact that Pettigrew will have his own personal grudge against you since you tried to wring his neck. Your mother died trying to protect you, as she thought. It would be an insult to her memory were I not to try to keep you safe. If I hear of you gambling with her sacrifice you will greatly regret it.'

Harry had no inclination to find out just how his father would punish him if he disobeyed. He would have liked the freedom to go where he liked within reason but he could easily survive without it. He had all his schoolbooks now and was able to get on with his homework. And most days someone would take him out for at least a short walk. One day Sirius Black even took him sightseeing in muggle London although Harry had to endure a long lecture on the necessity of absolute obedience and sticking by his Godfather's side at all times before they left. That was a week before term started. The next day Harry's father left for Hogwarts to prepare for the school year. After he had gone Harry began to feel nervous about the coming year. His elders had successfully managed to keep his mind off his worries for most of the holiday but now they returned although he said nothing.

Harry could have sworn time skipped two or three days of that week because September the first arrived much sooner than it should have done. Lupin took Harry to Kings Cross and stuck like glue to him until he was settled in an empty compartment before bidding him farewell. After he was gone Harry stared out the window watching the other students greet their friends enthusiastically. No one joined Harry in his compartment. Several groups and pairs opened the door but closed it as soon as they saw who was sitting there. It was only as the train was leaving the station that anyone joined him.

'Oh, for goodness sake! What do you mean there's nowhere left? There's an almost empty compartment right here. Come on in and sit down. Ronald and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger and Dean Thomas came in reluctantly, closely followed by Professor McGonagall. Harry was surprised to see her although he knew that she had been hired to teach Defence this year. But teachers never travelled on the Hogwarts Express. Still, he wasn't complaining. With her there the others couldn't do anything to him. And at least she'd do a much better job of teaching Defence than Lockhart. Harry had been most amused when his father had told him what had happened to the egotistical teacher in the last week of term. Apparently Granger had finally cottoned on to the fact that Lockhart was a fraud. She'd persuaded Weasley to go with her to his office and confront him. Lockhart had admitted the fact but then disarmed them, dropping his own wand in the process. Undeterred, he'd then tried to use Weasley's wand to obliviate them. Unfortunately for Lockhart, that wand had been steadily deteriorating all year thanks to the incident with the Whomping Willow. It backfired spectacularly, causing extensive memory loss to the wielder. Lockhart was now in St Mungos and likely to remain there for a long time.

The journey was a quiet one. Harry sat in the corner reading and had the distinct impression that his classmates were uncomfortable about behaving normally around McGonagall. They spoke in subdued tones with only the occasional harsh look in Harry's direction to show their dislike of him. Harry tried not to pay attention to the looks. He knew that he could expect things like that for some time to come and he had made promises both to his father and Lupin to try not to react to hostility. Lunch time came round and Harry bought a couple of pumpkin pasties and cauldron cakes from the trolley. He could almost hear Weasley thinking that he'd have expected Harry to buy a stack of sweets with all the money he seemed to have. But Snape had never let Harry have a lot in the way of sweets as a young child and so Harry could easily manage without them and he wouldn't have felt comfortable stuffing his face with them on his own.

Towards late afternoon the train slowed down and stopped. This caused mutterings of surprise from the others. Know-it-all Granger exclaimed loudly that it was nowhere near time for them to have arrived yet.

'Will you all be quiet please!' exclaimed Professor McGonagall as the door to their compartment slid open. Harry felt an inexplicable chill spread through his body as he saw a cloaked figure glide into the enclosed space of the compartment. He heard vague sounds of fear from the other students but they quickly faded to nothing as Harry was drawn into memories of things he's been trying to keep buried. He heard the voice of the Sorting Hat announcing his true parentage and his subsequent despair and misery. He felt anew the hurt caused by Snape giving his beloved broom to Malfoy. And he felt once more the devastation of discovering that Tom Riddle had never intended to kelp Harry get revenge on Snape but had merely used him for his own evil plans. And as he felt once more the sheer terror he'd experienced on seeing the basilisk he lost consciousness.

'Mr Potter, wake up please. It's gone now.'

Professor McGonagall's voice brought Harry back from the blackness he'd succumbed to. McGonagall raised him to a sitting position on the floor where he'd apparently fallen and pressed a large piece of chocolate into his hands and ordered him to eat it. He obeyed mechanically and mumbled thanks as he felt his body warm up once more. He sat back down on his seat and stared out of the window for the remainder of the journey. He'd read about creatures such as the one which had boarded the train. It was one of the dementor's of Azkaban. Harry knew that the Minister of Magic had ordered them to be stationed at near Hogwarts in case Pettigrew showed up in the area but he hadn't expected them to appear on the train. Harry was suddenly glad he wouldn't be visiting Hogsmeade if it meant having to pass them. They could suck all the happiness from a person and force them to relive their worst memories. This year was going to be difficult enough without dealing with Dementors.

When they finally arrived Professor McGonagall insisted upon Harry staying beside her and going up to the school in the same carriage, not leaving him until they were inside the castle itself. Then Harry entered the Great Hall. As he walked to the Gryffindor table he noticed that the Slytherins and indeed some of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were glancing in his direction and sniggering. Malfoy seemed to be doing an impression of someone fainting. Doing his best to ignore them Harry took a seat at the bottom end of the Gryffindor table. His own housemates were not joining in poking fun at Harry but they showed no inclination to talk to him. It was obvious though that Ron Weasley had spread the story of Harry's reaction to the dementor around.

Harry paid little attention to the sorting, concentrating on controlling his urge to hex Weasley. Dumbledore made his announcements before the feast, warning everyone to keep away from the Dementors stationed at the entrance to the grounds and not to try to go to Hogsmeade without permission as they could not be fooled. Then the food appeared which Harry found he had little appetite for, feeling as he did the lack of friendliness from his entire house. After the feast he followed a short distance behind the new first year Gryffindors as they were led to Gryffindor Tower by the newly appointed head boy, Pompous Percy Weasley. Once in his dormitory he went straight to bed, closing his curtains around the four poster. But he was still awake an hour after the others had come upstairs and gone to sleep. It was going to be a long year.


	21. Lonely in a Crowd

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (as you should all realise by now).

A Change of Identity

Chapter 21: Lonely in a Crowd

By the time the term was a month old Harry was thoroughly depressed. He couldn't walk along corridors without hearing snide comments about him from the other students. The Gryffindors were not guilty of it; they evidently had too much sense than to ignore their head of house's warning about bullying Harry. But the other houses, Slytherin in particular had no such qualms. And neither were the Slytherins above casting the odd hex in Harry's direction whenever they could get away with it, which seemed to be quite often. Harry resisted the temptation to retaliate, knowing he would be risking expulsion if he was caught. However, he knew that one of these days he was likely to snap. He was completely friendless since his housemates would only have anything to do with him if absolutely necessary, such as when someone had to partner him in class. He'd gone down to Hagrid's hut one day, with the intention of taking up the gamekeepers offer to come and talk to him if he wanted to. Unfortunately Granger and Weasley were there already and Harry had had to go back to the castle.

Harry knew that Hagrid was distressed over an incident which had happened when he'd been teaching the third year Gryffindors and Slytherins. Malfoy had insulted a hippogriff and the creature had broken his arm. Consequently the said hippogriff was under threat of execution. It seemed that Weasley and Granger had taken it upon themselves to help with Buckbeak's defence and consequently spent large periods of time with Hagrid. Personally Harry didn't care if there was one less hippogriff in the world or not. But a side effect of the incident was that Malfoy was making the most of his injured arm- which Harry was pretty certain Madam Pomfrey had healed immediately. Whenever they were in Potions Malfoy would claim to need help preparing ingredients. Every time he did this, Snape would order Harry to do whatever was needed, even if it meant Harry's own potion was neglected as a result. On three occasions Harry's potion had been completely ruined through no fault of his own and Snape had given him extra homework as a result. Harry was finding it hard to quell the thoughts of revenge which were resurfacing. Normally he was good at potions since he had grown up hearing about them.

Harry's work was suffering too. True, his written work was all good. But he was having trouble with his wand work. He knew what the problem was of course. He was well aware of how a wizard's magic is closely related to his state of mind. And being depressed as he was, was no help to performing magic. Professor Flitwick kept piling extra homework on him, telling Harry that he needed to work harder at the theory in order to do the practical. His father on the other hand had left Harry alone. Harry was sure that he was going to ask Harry about his problems soon and wasn't looking forward to it. Even with Snape he'd never been one for talking about his feelings much and he certainly didn't feel ready to do so with a father who had only recently accepted him as his son.

Harry managed to last until the second week in October before he lost control. He was walking along a corridor after classes on the Friday afternoon when he heard Malfoy behind him talking loudly about the approaching Quidditch season.

'Of course, Slytherin are bound to win the cup again,' he was saying. 'Mind you, perhaps the Gryffindors will be pleased since my broom used to belong to one of them. They'll feel they have a share in the victory.'

'Expelliarmus!'

The thing which really annoyed Harry was that McGonagall had disarmed him before he'd got his curse out. If he was going to be in trouble he at least wanted something to show for it. By the time the defence teacher had marched him to his father's office Harry was fuming. Then he had to stand outside for ten minutes while she gave her report. By the time McGonagall emerged and Harry's father beckoned him into the office he felt as if he just wanted to smash a few things.

'Sit down.' Harry did so, staring defiantly at his father who returned his gaze steadily for a minute before speaking.

'Do you realise, Harry, that had you actually managed to curse Malfoy before Professor McGonagall intervened you might well have been expelled? You do remember the warning the headmaster gave you at the end of last term?'

'Maybe I don't care anymore.' Harry looked down at the desk, aware of a slight tremble to his voice which gave lie to his comment.

'And maybe you do care. I know you are being provoked rather a lot these days. But you cannot afford to lose control of yourself.'

'I've been trying!' Harry snapped back at him.

'I know,' replied his father softly. 'But it doesn't seem to be enough, does it?.'

Harry made no reply to this. He knew he couldn't keep going as he was but he couldn't think that there was anything his father could do about it. There was silence for some time and then Harry became aware that his father seemed to be rummaging in a draw of his desk. After a minute he brought out something and passed it across to Harry.

'Take this,' he said. "This" seemed to be a large piece of silvery cloth. As Harry tentatively took it an end of it covered his left hand. To Harry's astonishment, both his hand and that section of cloth seemed to have disappeared. Suddenly he realised what it was. He looked up at his father, hardly able to believe that he would give him something so valuable as an invisibility cloak.

'It's been in our family for years.' said his father. Normally it gets passed on to the eldest son when he begins Hogwarts. I think its high time you had it. I wouldn't advise you to use it for rule breaking at present, but if you can move around the school without being seen you should have an easier time of things.'

Harry left his father's office hidden by the cloak and managed to make his way back to his dormitory without running into any trouble. Over the next couple of weeks he discovered that if they could not actually see him, the other students didn't bother to talk about him. It seemed that they only did so to annoy him when he was within earshot. But although the cloak gave Harry respite from the constant taunting and, in the Slytherins' case hexing, it did nothing to ease Harry's loneliness. In truth, Harry had felt a lot less isolated during his long punishment. Being surrounded by people, none of whom wanted anything to do with him was far harder to cope with than being segregated.

Harry spent quite a lot of time thinking about his father. He was beginning to think that the man had a fair bit of sense. He wasn't trying to push Harry into confiding in him but was trying to help him out as best he could. But the invisibility cloak meant a lot more to Harry than just a means of hiding. It was a family heirloom. Professor Potter would not have given it to Harry unless he truly thought of him as his son. For the very first time since his identity had changed Harry felt a sense of belonging that mere legalities and pronouncements could not achieve. He might not have a proper father-son relationship yet but he was part of a family. And there was one other point. His father had told him not to use the cloak for rule breaking "at present". It suggested that at some stage he did in fact expect that Harry would use it for just that purpose. That meant that he thought Harry would one day be in a position where he could afford to think about breaking rules. Harry couldn't imagine that time arriving in the near future but he hoped that his father was correct. It would be quite nice to be normal.

Halloween came and lessons were suspended for the day. Almost all the school who were in third year or above queued up to leave the school to go to Hogsmeade. Harry was quite glad not to have to go through that ordeal. First you had to wait while Filch checked his long list of those with permission to go. After that you had to pass the two Dementors stationed outside the front gates. Harry still shivered at the memory of what the dementor had done to him. Instead he spent most of the day in the library. In the evening he decided to skip the feast. He could just about cope at normal mealtimes with cold looks and no one talking to him but he didn't want that experience on what should be an occasion for celebration. Instead he just wandered around the school. Eventually he heard the thundering of hundreds of feet telling him that the feast was over and he went into an empty classroom, standing at the window staring out at nothing, waiting for the corridors to clear again. Suddenly the classroom door opened. This didn't concern Harry. He had his cloak on and there was no reason for anyone to come near his window. But suddenly, at the same moment as he heard a locking spell performed on the door, someone grabbed Harry by the shoulder and the hood of his cloak slipped off his head. Harry turned around and saw the menacing looks. He was in trouble.


	22. New Betrayal

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 22: New Betrayal

'What do you want?' snarled Harry, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt.

'Well you see,' said either Fred or George Weasley

'We don't think,' said the other,

'that you were punished enough for that business last term.'

'So we decided,' 'to finish the job ourselves.' 'And we know you can't fight back' 'because you'll be expelled.'

Harry had always found it irritating the way the twins would share the talking which should have been attributed to a single person. He found it no less so now but the suggestion that what he had gone through during the last weeks of the previous term was not punishment really angered him.

'And what do you know about it?' he snapped. 'Do you even know what my punishment was? Do you know that I had detention six days a week. Do you know that I had a written punishment every day? Do you know that I had to spend fifteen minutes standing staring at the wall for every piece of work that wasn't good enough?'

The more Harry went on with his rant the more he felt like spilling out all of his grudges. Unable to stop himself, he continued.

'You don't have a clue. You don't know what it's like to find out your father isn't your father. You don't know what it's like when your only family wants nothing to do with you. You don't know what it's like when your ex father gives your broomstick and your place in the quidditch team to someone else. Maybe if all that happened to you, you might have tried to petrify Snape too. So go ahead. Hex me. Beat me up. And I hope it makes you happy.'

There was silence for a minute as the twins looked at each other in confusion. Then one of them asked,

'What do you mean, your place in the team? You were never in the Slytherin team.'

'Snape all but promised me I'd be seeker when I got into second year,' Harry told him. He turned away to stare outside. He wanted this to be over and wished they'd hurry up and do whatever they were going to do with him. For a minute or two he heard them conferring in whispers. Then,

'Er, Harry? We have a proposition for you.'

'What?' asked Harry suspiciously.

'Well, Gryffindor are playing Slytherin on Saturday. If you play for us and win us the game we'll forget about finishing your punishment.'

'You already have a seeker.'

'Nah. He only plays because there's no one else. He'd drop out like a shot if we had someone who could play properly.'

'You're not the captain. It's not your choice.' To tell the truth, Harry was not particularly excited by the prospect of playing although he thought it might be preferable to whatever else the twins had originally had in mind for him.

'We'll okay it with Wood. So, have we got a deal?'

'Suppose so,' muttered Harry.

Consequently Saturday morning saw Harry emerging from the changing rooms in borrowed Gryffindor quidditch robes and carrying a school broom as he had not got one of his own. He heard the gasps of surprise from the stands as he was recognised- only the team members had been aware that Harry was going to play. After the usual pre-match formalities Harry was mounting his broom and soaring into the air along with Madam Hooch and the thirteen other players.

Suddenly Harry was enjoying himself. Snape had been right when he had predicted that Harry would make a good seeker. Harry flew the length and breadth of the pitch keeping a sharp lookout for any hint of the golden snitch. Fifteen minutes into the game he spotted it. So did Malfoy. But even though his broom was nowhere near as good as Malfoy's, Harry was faster. In spite of the fact that Malfoy had been closer to the snitch when they started racing for it, it was Harry who got there a foot ahead and caught it. The whistle blew for the end of the match and a roaring cheer rose from the Gryffindor section of the stands. Harry had done it and he descended to the ground, thinking that at last he would be liked by his housemates.

He was detained briefly as he made to follow the other players back to the changing rooms.

'I suppose you'll be wanting a broomstick for Christmas, then?' Harry turned and smiled at his father.

'I wouldn't mind one,' he said.

'I'll see what I can manage then.' His father smiled back at Harry, then added, 'Well done, son. Off you go and celebrate with your team mates.'

By the time Harry got to the changing rooms they were empty. He quickly changed back into his ordinary robes and returned to the common room. As he had expected, there was a riotous party going on. But as people saw Harry had arrived, the common room fell silent.

'What are you doing here?' asked Ron Weasley sourly.

'I thought, er…' Harry trailed off, confused.

'You didn't think that we'd be all over you just because you made an easy catch, surely?' asked one of the twins. 'We told you that we wouldn't do anything to you if you helped us out. That's all. We still don't count you as a proper Gryffindor. Go away.'

Harry felt hurt and rage rise up simultaneously. His anger was directed not only at the other Gryffindors but also at himself. Out there on the quidditch pitch he had allowed himself to feel the joy of flying once again. It had been exhilarating, swooping through the air. And in his excitement he had let himself believe that if he caught the snitch and won the match then his house mates would finally accept him. He had trusted that they would do the right thing. Just how stupid could he be?

Harry stood trembling for about fifteen seconds. Then food started flying everywhere, cream cakes hurling themselves into people's faces. And that wasn't all. Plates flew against the walls and smashed to pieces. Bottles of butterbeer and glasses exploded. Furniture broke to bits. In less than a minute the common room was a scene of utter devastation.

'I'm going to get Dumbledore.'

The head boy's pompous voice penetrated Harry's consciousness and he suddenly realised what he had done with his uncontrolled burst of magic. Not that he cared about the consequences, but he definitely wanted to be somewhere else right now. In fact he never wanted to step foot in Gryffindor tower ever again. He turned and fled.

'What happened here?' asked Dumbledore softly, both he and Professor Potter having had to leave their lunch. Lying to the headmaster was not an option and soon Dumbledore and his second in command knew exactly what had been done to upset Harry Potter to such an extent that he could do so much damage. Professor Potter opened his mouth to tell his students what he thought of them and to put them all in detention for the rest of their lives. Dumbledore, however, got in first.

'Go and find Harry, James,' he ordered in a voice that not even Professor Potter would dream of disobeying. Take him to your living quarters and stay with him.' There was sense in that, James knew, so he regretfully left the headmaster to deal with everything else and went off in search of his son.

He eventually found him on top of the astronomy tower, sitting with his back to the wall, staring blankly.

'I'm never going to trust anyone again, ever.' Harry's words were void of emotion and James's heart ached at the two unspoken words he knew Harry was thinking, "Even you." He made no reply but went over to his son, gently took his arm to pull him up and led him back to his rooms. Once there Harry made it clear that he had no wish to talk by going over to the window and sitting on the wide sill and staring out. James tried two or three times over the next half hour to talk to his son but Harry remained stubbornly dumb. After about half an hour Dumbledore came into the room. He went straight over to Harry.

'Harry,' he began quietly. 'While you have done nothing on this occasion to deserve punishment, I think it would be best if you live here with your father for the time being. You will remain a member of Gryffindor House; I will however ask the teachers to refrain from awarding or deducting points to or from you. I think that Fred and George Weasley and the rest of your peers genuinely regret the way they treated you although I realise that it would be unreasonable at this time to expect you to believe it. When you feel you can forgive them and feel comfortable living amongst them again you may return to the tower and become a full member of the house again.'

Harry merely nodded to show that he had heard and understood the headmaster and continued staring outside. Dumbledore looked at him sadly for a moment before indicating to James that he wished to speak to him alone. They went into James's small kitchen.

'I'm resigning as head of Gryffindor,' James said at once. Dumbledore had evidently been expecting this reaction.

'No, James, I cannot allow that. I will permit you to stand down temporarily until Harry feels he can rejoin the house. Professor McGonagall will cover for you in the meantime. And before you ask, I have not issued any punishment beyond decreeing that the students must repair all the damage to the common room themselves. I do not wish to give them fresh cause to resent Harry. So please try to treat them as you normally do. Now, I'll leave you to sort out a bedroom for Harry. I think that with the help of an enlargement charm there will be room around that window he seems to enjoy the view from.'

James didn't find that joke particularly amusing but he said nothing as the headmaster left and with a few waves of his wand had made Harry a temporary bedroom. As soon as it was done Harry announced that he was tired and flopped down onto the bed. James left him, hoping that he might be willing to talk after a rest. He wasn't too hopeful, though. Once again Harry had been badly hurt and James just prayed that his son wouldn't regress to the vengeful monster he had been the previous year.

* * *

A N: I could probably have managed to get this chapter finished and up yesterday but I thought I'd save you from having to read about an unhappy Harry on Christmas Day! Belated seasons greetings to you all and thank you to all reviewers. I don't know whether I like the reviews which correctly guess what I'm going to do next or the ones which are wildly wrong best. I do love them all, though.

'


	23. The Gryffindors Assist

Disclaimer: As usual, I own none of it.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 23: The Gryffindors Assist

Harry didn't step foot outside his father's rooms until it was time for classes on Monday morning. The house elves sent food up for him which Harry merely picked at. However, when his father came back after his own breakfast on Monday to discover that Harry had eaten virtually nothing once again he acted.

'Harry, if you don't start eating properly I'll ask Remus Lupin to come and have a word with you.'

Harry scowled.

'I wish I'd never taken that stupid wand from him,' he said.

'Fine,' said James calmly. Give it to me and I'll return it to him. I'm sure the headmaster will allow me to take you to Diagon Alley to buy a new one.' He refrained from smirking as Harry stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth and, grabbing his schoolbag, stormed out. The bond caused by the wand which he had originally been so worried about was turning out to have its uses. Not that he had any intention of using threats like that very often. But James was not prepared to watch Harry starve himself and that had seemed the easiest way of stopping him other than force feeding.

Harry quickly realised that the Gryffindors did genuinely seem to regret their actions. When they saw him walk into History of Magic they all looked down at their desks and refrained from the usual whispering that went on in Binns's class. And in Transfiguration they looked positively terrified of doing the slightest thing to annoy Professor Potter. Harry just ignored them all. He did his work as best he could, although his spell work was now worse than ever. Fortunately none of the teachers remarked on it or paid too much attention to him. With one exception.

That exception was Professor Snape. Harry knew he now held a grudge against him because of him winning the quidditch game for Gryffindor; that had been obvious from the murderous look on his face Harry had seen when they had passed in a corridor as Harry had been going to the common room after the match on Saturday. Now Snape seemed determined to make Harry suffer. He made comments about Harry's lack of skill in potion making. Well, it was quite hard to get things right when some Slytherin kept throwing foreign objects into your cauldron, thought Harry. He sneered when Harry had difficulty lighting the fire under his cauldron. He reminded Harry that if he had had his way then he would have been expelled.

If it had just been the one lesson Harry might have managed to put up with it. But on Friday afternoon Snape was tormenting him for the third time that week and he lost it. The moment Snape turned his back after ordering Harry to get rid of the vile green goo in his cauldron, Harry filled a vial with it, took aim and…

…an almighty explosion came from behind him. Neville Longbottom had blown up his cauldron. This was nothing particularly unusual except that the idiot didn't seem quite as upset as he normally did when Snape gave him a double detention. But Harry didn't waste his thoughts on the boy. He suddenly realised that had he thrown that vial at Snape then he would have been reported to the headmaster.

"You must understand that you are only allowed to remain at Hogwarts on condition that you do not commit any more serious offences." That was what Dumbledore had told him last term. And deliberately throwing that ruined potion at Snape would definitely be viewed as a serious offence. Miserable as he was, Harry didn't want to be expelled.

By the time the Christmas holidays were a week away Harry reflected that it was only by a miracle that he was still in school. Every Potions class and whenever they passed in corridors, Snape seemed determined to provoke Harry. Fortunately something always seemed to happen to prevent Harry from self destruction. Sometimes it would be nothing more than a loud sneeze distracting him from throwing something at Snape at the crucial moment. Most of the time Harry used his invisibility cloak to avoid problems in the corridors but once when he had forgotten and Snape approached Harry, clearly with the intention of trying to punish him for an imagined offence, the Weasley twins appeared throwing snowballs at each other and Snape went for them instead. It was only during the last Potions class of the term that Harry realised the truth of the matter. Snape had provoked him once again and Harry had been about to blow up at him.

'Bother!' exclaimed Hermione Granger loudly as her cauldron overflowed and her potion spilled onto the floor. Snape turned to her and took fifty points from Gryffindor before ordering her to clean up and dismissing the class. Harry returned to his father's rooms, thinking furiously. Granger didn't make mistakes. But the only thing that had been achieved by her "accident" was that Harry had refrained from calling Snape the foulest names he could think of. Suddenly everything fell into place. Every time Snape had pushed him to the point of losing his temper some Gryffindor had done something to distract him. Even Percy Weasley had once appeared asking him about an essay. The Gryffindors had collectively prevented his expulsion even though Harry ha made it clear by his attitude that he hated them all and wanted nothing to do with him.

'Something wrong, Harry?' asked his father that night when he came into his quarters after finishing patrolling the corridors for rule breakers. Harry came out of the trance he had been sitting in. Normally he went to his bed before his father arrived back but he had been busy thinking about his situation.

'Er, I was thinking that maybe I should go back to live in the tower after the holidays,' he said hesitantly. His father had told Harry that he would be going home to spend Christmas with Remus, although he himself had to stay at the school.

'I see,' said James slowly. 'Well, if you're sure about it then fair enough. But you can't go chopping and changing between here and there. So unless you are confident that you can live without getting into more serious conflict then you should remain here for a while longer. May I ask you your reasons for wanting to go back?'

Harry hesitated but he knew his father expected an answer. Reluctantly, he told him about Snape and how he seemed to be trying to get Harry expelled. It was no surprise to Harry that his father was annoyed that he hadn't been told before.

'I know you have difficulty trusting people, Harry, but don't you think you should have told me about this before now?' Harry just shrugged and his father sighed. 'Very well. Think about it over the holidays and if you're sure then you can go back to Gryffindor. And next time you have serious problems with a member of staff I expect to be told. Understand?'

'Yes, Sir,' answered Harry. He would have gone to bed then but his father suggested a game of chess and Harry didn't like to refuse. After losing twice he went to his bedroom and made sure his stuff was packed ready for the morning. He would be portkeying home since his father didn't want to risk him meeting Dementors on the train just before Christmas.

As soon as Harry was up and dressed the next morning his father warned him that he was not to set foot outside the grounds of the house due to the continued danger of Pettigrew, gave him the portkey and Harry found himself landing in the kitchen of the Potter household where Professor Lupin was cooking breakfast. He turned away from the frying pan to greet Harry.

'Hello, Harry. How are you?'

'Fine,' answered Harry. It was more or less true. And he had to admit to himself that it felt good to have the prospect of two or three weeks away from school in front of him. He might not want to be expelled and he did want to become a fully qualified wizard but the term which had just ended had been a hard one for Harry to get through. He needed a rest. Lupin seemed to understand this and allowed him to lounge around for the next couple of days without remark. Then it was Christmas Eve and Harry suddenly realised that he hadn't got any presents for his father, Lupin or for Sirius Black who was due to arrive that night to spend Christmas day with Harry and Lupin. He neither wanted to admit to this nor to give nothing so he collected some stones and twigs from the garden and spent the morning in his bedroom with his textbooks and a couple of other books he's found around the house. It was quite an effort to get spells to work after the trouble he'd been having all term, but having the desire to succeed helped a lot. Eventually he managed to produce three passable ornaments, one of which he wrapped up and sent to his father via Lupin's owl. It was only after doing this that he realised what he had been doing.

For the first time since he'd discovered who his real father was he was doing something for someone else. Having people care about him wasn't enough. He wanted to be a proper son and to have the same sort of family relationships that everyone else had. And he wanted to have friends as well. He'd thought for so long that he didn't need them but he knew now that he did. He just wasn't sure if he could bring himself to trust anyone enough to have proper friends. Lupin he knew he could depend on because of his wand. He almost felt that he could trust his father in spite of what he had said to him after the quidditch match. Sirius Black seemed alright but Harry couldn't say that he truly trusted him. His fellow students were another matter altogether. At present Harry didn't feel he could trust them at all. But there was nothing he could do for now anyway. It was Christmas Eve and time to go downstairs for lunch before decorating the eight foot high fir tree that had appeared in the lounge that morning. It was time to enjoy Christmas for the first time in three years.

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A N: It was hard work but I managed to write this chapter without expelling Harry! I hope you're all proud of me. Thanks for all the reviews. 


	24. The Dementors Return

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, I don't own Harry.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 24: The Dementors Return

It was hardly much of a surprise to Harry when he came downstairs on Christmas day to find Sirius Black impatient for him to open the long thin package which lay under the tree. Up until a few days ago Harry had in fact been hoping that his father had decided against giving him a broomstick for Christmas since he'd had no intention of ever flying again. But after discovering the Gryffindors' efforts to help him he knew that he would have to play for them again. He slowly began to unwrap the present fully expecting to see the very latest Nimbus model. He gasped in surprise as the paper fell away to reveal the magnificent Firebolt which his father had so admired in Diagon Alley.

But it was the second, much smaller and much less expensive looking present from his father which brought a lump to Harry's throat. He sat staring at the framed photograph of Lily Potter sitting up in a hospital bed cradling a well wrapped bundle with a black haired head resting in the crook of her arm. A short note that came with the picture read:

_I took this photograph myself minutes after you were born and before Elvira Snape gave birth to the other Harry. Merry Christmas, son._

'Harry, much as I'd enjoy watching you stare at that picture all day long, I'd quite like to see what that Firebolt can do. I know you're a bit restricted in the grounds here but I'm sure you can manage to get it off the ground at least.'

If his father had been there Harry thought he would probably have hugged him, even though he had never been one for showing affection much, even when he'd lived a normal life as Snape's son. But it meant a lot to him to have a picture of himself with his real mother; it was a thing he hadn't imagined existed. He felt unexpectedly tearful and was glad of Sirius's request to see him try out the Firebolt. He took the photograph up to his bedroom and came back down wrapped up against the freezing weather outside.

In spite of the restrictions of the space available Harry was able to demonstrate that the Firebolt was indeed an amazing broom. Harry seemed to have to do little more than think to get it to turn in the required direction. On it he could take sharp hairpin turns at a speed which would have sent completely out of control on one of the school's ancient artefacts. When he landed after twenty minutes he immediately saw the look of longing on his Godfather's face and handed the Firebolt over so that he too could try it out and stood watching with Lupin. After a couple of minutes the older man spoke.

'Your father's not going to be too happy you know, Harry' he said thoughtfully.

'But I haven't done anything!' Harry was indignant and Lupin laughed.

'It's all right, Harry,' he said. 'But he will definitely be extremely jealous that Sirius has had a chance to ride that broomstick before him.' Harry smiled.

'Well he can try it out on the quidditch pitch instead of a cramped garden. That should keep him happy.'

After Harry had gone to bed that night Sirius and Remus talked.

'He's definitely getting more human,' said Sirius.

'He still has his problems though,' answered Remus. 'James tells me his magic still goes completely down the drain when things get tough for him. Somehow he has to overcome that or he could end up very vulnerable. He seems to be a bit of a magnet for trouble. But at least he hasn't tried to do anything outrageous himself this year.'

Sirius laughed.

'I'm not at all sure I blame him for last year, you know,' he said. 'I mean, trying to get old Snivellus petrified. I would have loved the chance to do that when I was his age. Oh, don't worry Moony. I won't breathe a word of my admiration to Harry. I am capable of being the prim and proper Godfather, you know.'

Remus couldn't help but dissolve into near hysterics at the thought of his friend being "prim and proper" and when he had recovered they changed the subject and talked of other matters until they retired for the night.

The holidays continued in a peaceful manner. Harry spent his time flying, reading and doing the homework which had been set. He was due to return to Hogwarts three days before the start of term as the full moon was due then. It had been decided that he would stay in his father's rooms until the night before lessons started so he could spend some time with him. Harry was glad to be able to put off joining his house for as long as possible. Although he was fairly confident that there would not be a repeat of his previous treatment he still felt extremely apprehensive.

He quite enjoyed the final days of the break. Not surprisingly his father insisted on being allowed to try out the Firebolt. If he had had an easier relationship with him, Harry would have accused his father of buying it more for himself than Harry but as yet Harry felt too awkward to make such comments. Indeed, he still called his father "Sir" whenever he spoke to him. "Dad" felt too familiar and he had always called Snape "Father". Fortunately his father didn't seem inclined to push him into calling him anything he didn't want to.

It was with some trepidation that he entered the Gryffindor common room on the night before term started. Ronald Weasley approached him.

'Er, would you like a game of chess?' he asked awkwardly. It seemed as good a way as any of passing the time before bed and Harry agreed. Ron, as it turned out, was quite a bit better than Harry and had beaten him twice by the time Harry decided he wanted to sleep. The other third years all seemed to want to stay up a bit longer so Harry went up to the dormitory alone. It hadn't been too bad, he thought. He didn't want everyone suddenly acting as if Harry were their best friend. That wouldn't have been real. But those who had spoken to him had been polite and had not sounded as if they wished Harry weren't there. With a bit of luck Harry could begin to get to know his housemates and gradually forge a friendship or two in time.

The new term started quietly. Professor Potter resumed his duties as head of Gryffindor much to his students' pleasure- he was much more likely to award house points than McGonagall. Oliver Wood approached Harry and asked if he were willing to play seeker again and Harry agreed. Consequently he was envied by every other player when he turned up for the first practice of the term carrying his Firebolt. Wood was ecstatic about it, especially after he had seen Harry flying.

'That cup's ours for sure this year,' he said jubilantly.

The third Saturday of term saw Gryffindor playing Hufflepuff in some of the stormiest weather imaginable. The fact that Gryffindor were leading eighty points to twenty seemed insignificant to the commentator Lee Jordan who spent the time extolling the virtues of Harry's Firebolt to the crowd. Twenty minutes into the match Harry spotted the snitch. So did the Hufflepuff seeker, Cedric Diggory but Harry was closer, his broom was faster and he was the better flier.

But just as Harry was almost there the crowd started screaming in terror and Harry felt inexplicably cold. Then he glanced down and realised why. Dementors were swarming over the ground below. The cold increased and Harry was again drawn into that dark store of memories he wanted to forget. Instinctively he drew his wand although he knew no spell which might affect the Dementors. At the same time he reached out towards the snitch, just managing to curl his fingers round it before the despair grew too much for him. Just before he lost consciousness he was aware of losing his control over the broom and the wind taking over.

'Wake up, Harry.' Harry opened his eyes at the sound of his father's voice to find himself on some sort of mattress on the ground. His broom lay beside him and in his hand he felt the fluttering snitch.

'Hey, that was pretty considerate of you, catching the snitch before conking out,' said either Fred or George.

'Yeah,' said the other one. 'Come on, you're awake now. Time to go to the common room and celebrate. That is alright, isn't it Professor?' He turned to Harry's father as he asked this.

'Just the thing for him, I'd say,' answered the man with a smile. Suddenly Harry remembered drawing his wand and felt around for it.

'Have you seen my wand?' he asked when his search proved fruitless. Then Dumbledore approached.

'I'm sorry, Harry' he said. I saw you're wand slip from your grip and get blown towards the Whomping Willow. I had to deal with the Dementors first before going to retrieve it. Unfortunately by the time I got to it the tree had done its worst. There's no way to repair it. You will of course be taken to Olllivander's first thing Monday morning to acquire a new one.

'NO! I don't want any other wand!' Extreme anguish lending him strength, Harry grabbed the splintered remains of wand from the headmaster's hand and ran to the castle, heading for his father's rooms and the bedroom which had been left there for him. He was devastated. That wand had meant the world to him. It had forged the bond between himself and Lupin and now it was broken. Over time Harry had come to find it reassuring that Lupin could always keep him in line through it. But no longer. All that remained was a few splinters of wood- the werewolf hair core must have been carried away by the wind. Harry flung himself on the bed and sobbed.

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AN: Well I hope those of you who were so desperate for Harry to get a "proper" wand are happy! You have succeeded in making Harry miserable once more. Everybody else, please remember that Harry's misery is not my fault this time. 


	25. A New Wand

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Harry Potter

A Change of Identity

Chapter 24: A New Wand

James Potter was rapidly losing the last remnants of patience with his son. He had appreciated that Harry was devastated at the loss of his wand and had allowed him to wallow in misery until Saturday evening when he had insisted that Harry eat something and return to his house. He had found Harry outside in the pouring rain on Sunday morning searching vainly in the vicinity of the Whomping Willow for the werewolf hair core of his wand. He'd gently taken Harry back indoors, dried him off and warmed him with a couple of quick charms and told him to meet him in the entrance hall at nine the following morning so they could go to get a new wand.

'I don't want another wand,' Harry had said stubbornly. 'I'd rather do without.'

James had ignored this and merely reminded Harry to meet him. Unfortunately Harry failed to turn up. James had had to go and fetch him from his History of Magic class. Even then he had refrained from expressing his annoyance and portkeyed Harry and himself to Ollivander's. The old man was expecting them and had a stack of wands ready for Harry to try.

'Give it a good wave now,' Ollivander told Harry. James watched on grimly as Harry half heartedly waved each wand he was given a couple of inches. Nothing happened with any of them. It was nearly an hour before a few sparks dropped from a holly and phoenix feather wand.

'Yes, well, I think that's probably the best we're going to get,' said Ollivander. 'I just wonder, though… well, anyway I think it's probably all right.'

James wondered slightly about Ollivander's musings but preferred not to press him in front of Harry. He paid for the wand and portkeyed the two of them back to Hogwarts where he sent Harry off to his class. He next saw him in transfiguration that afternoon where he was interested in seeing how his son would do with the new wand. After leaving the class to practice without interference for ten minutes or so, he started going around correcting wand movements and giving praise where it was due. When he reached Harry he frowned.

'Harry, where is your wand?' he asked, keeping his tone neutral. Harry shrugged.

'In my dormitory.' His voice was deliberately defiant and James had no choice but to punish his son.

'Very well, you can spend the rest of this lesson writing lines. "I must always bring my wand to Transfiguration." Get started.' He watched until Harry had retrieved parchment and quill from his bag and commenced writing before carrying on around the class. At the end of the class he kept Harry back for a minute.

'You will have a detention to make up for missing this afternoon's practical class,' he told him. 'I will however postpone it until you have stopped this nonsense. I suggest you do so very soon unless you want to find yourself in deep trouble with all of your teachers. Now get out of here.'

He watched Harry leave. He had a feeling Harry had no intention of taking his advice and decided to try the one thing which might make a difference. He wasn't at all certain it would work but it was well worth a try. He sat down at his desk and started to write a letter.

Harry arrived at breakfast fairly late the following morning. Once again his wand was up in the dormitory, still in its box. As far as he was concerned it wasn't his wand and he wasn't going to use it. He'd rather do without magic. Halfway through the meagre slice of toast he'd chosen to eat he was annoyed to see his father's owl land before him. Well if his father thought he'd get his way any betterby writing to him he'd better think again. Harry ripped the letter open and stared.

It wasn't his father's writing but Lupin's. Lupin seemed to have pressed down hard with his quill and every letter of the jet black script radiated disapproval. With a sinking heart Harry read:

_**Harry, I must admit I was more than a little disappointed to hear how you've been acting. I know you have been upset but that is no excuse for behaving like a brat. You have a new wand which I am quite sure is just as well suited to you as your old one. Use it. I know you are no longer magically compelled to do my bidding in such matters but I am quite capable of advising your father to send you to spend a weekend with me so I can tell you in person what I think of your behaviour. I promise you that you would not enjoy such an experience. If you don't have the wand on you right now, I suggest you go and get it at once before you forget. And one more thing. It's time you started showing your father the respect he deserves and doing as he tells you. I hope to hear better of you in the very near future.**_

_**Remus Lupin**_

'You alright there, Harry?' It was Oliver wood, the quidditch captain who spoke, drawing Harry's attention away from the letter.

'I'm fine,' he mumbled before stuffing the letter in his bag and leaving the table. Actually he was in a slight state of shock. It may not have been a magical compulsion but Harry felt obliged to do as Lupin had ordered and fetch his wand and not because of the threat the letter contained. The thing that had been upsetting him most about losing his old wand was losing the control Lupin had over him. Now he knew that Lupin still had that control as long as Harry wanted him to have it. And Harry did want it because Lupin had been the one constant support he'd had since first year and he needed that continuity in his life. He wasn't concerned that Lupin was no longer obliged to protect him because he knew that Lupin would do so anyway.

As he reached his dormitory it occurred to Harry that he'd now have to accept fully his father's authority since not doing so would be disobeying Lupin. How inconvenient. Still, he thought as he retrieved his wand, at least he'd escape all the "deep trouble" his father had warned him about.

As he neared the Defence classroom Harry felt a sudden urge to give his wand a proper wave as he should have done in Ollivander's to see what would happen. He did so and a vast shower of red and gold sparks erupted from the end and shot to the ceiling a few yards away before falling in an umbrella formation onto the unfortunate teacher who had come round the corner just in time to get caught. Harry stood stock still for five seconds. Then, when the sparks had cleared he saw his father standing sporting a mop of hair which flashed red and gold. Hoping he hadn't been seen, Harry slipped into his class.

At lunch the talk was all centred on the subject of Professor Potter's hair.

'I asked him why he couldn't just change it back,' said Percy Weasley. He said he "had his reasons".'

'I reckon he knows who did it,' said George. 'He told us that the culprit would get their comeuppance.'

Harry's face went slightly red when he heard this. Hermione Granger noticed.

'Harry?' she asked. 'Was it you?'

'I didn't mean it,' he said. He was nervous now after hearing George's comment. He was already facing a detention with his father. Now his hopes of getting away with this mornings little accident were dashed. Still, he supposed all that could happen was another detention or maybe lines.

How wrong he was.

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AN: That seems like a good place to end the chapter. It's up extra quickly thanks to the number of reviews and the fact that I had a good idea what was going to happen in it. Just don't expect it to happen too often! 


	26. Caught in the Act

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 26: Caught in the Act

Professor Potter stood at his classroom door as the class filed in. His hair was no longer flashing but had faded to a dull red with dabs of yellow here and there and the odd patch of its original black beginning to show through. In short, it looked a mess but he seemed perfectly relaxed as he told the students to settle down.

'Right,' he began once they were all seated. 'I am sure you are all aware that I had a little "mishap" this morning. You may be wondering why I did not repair the damage at once with a simple reversal rather than go around all day looking ridiculous. Well, it so happens that I was planning on teaching you lot about the endurance of different types of spells and magic. As you can see, although it took a relatively weak accident to cause my hair to go haywire the effect has lasted several hours. On the other hand, sometimes a spell which requires much more power behind it will not last nearly so long. Harry, would you oblige me by coming up to my desk please?'

Trying not to appear nervous, Harry left his seat and approached his father. He knew what was going to happen. His father was going to use him to demonstrate his point. Risking a glance at his face he saw that him smiling smugly before raising his wand. The next thing Harry knew his head was much closer to the ground than it had been and he seemed to be standing on all fours.

'Up you come.' His father lifted him and placed him on his desk. To Harry's great embarrassment there was a sudden chorus of 'Ahh, isn't he cute?' from the female population of the class and Dean Thomas shouted out,

'Makes a great puppy, doesn't he?'

That confused Harry. From what he could see of himself he could swear he was some sort of feline. He lifted his head to look at his father but the man's face was unreadable.

'Quieten down now class,' he said. 'You sit down and stay where you are, Harry. Now as you can see, I have performed a rather powerful spell on Harry. But as you shall see, the effects will end quite suddenly after about an hour. This is in sharp contrast to the gradually diminishing effects of…'

Professor Potter spent the lesson lecturing on the subject of spell endurance, quoting various examples and answering the many questions Hermione Granger seemed to come up with. Harry could see his classmates writing furiously in an effort to take down everything their teacher said. He realised he'd have a job remembering it all himself when it came to writing up his own notes and scowled. There was a burst of laughter from the class. Evidently a puppy scowling was quite amusing. At long last the lesson came to an end. Just before the bell rang Harry felt himself change back into a boy. The class gave a round of applause.

'Right, before you go, homework.' There was a collective groan. Professor Potter smiled and went on, 'Research two different spells with different lengths of endurance. Compare them and try and come up with reasons for the difference. No less than sixteen inches please. Miss Granger, would you bring your notes up here a minute please?'

Hermione looked confused but approached the teacher's desk. Professor Potter took her notes, tapped them with his wand and produced a duplicate set and handed the original back.

'Thank you,' he said, handing the copy to Harry. 'Class dismissed. Harry, stay for a moment please.'

Harry's father waited until the last student exited the room before locking the door and casting an imperturbable charm. Then Harry asked the question that had been plaguing him all lesson.

'Why did they think I was a puppy? I thought I was a cat of some kind.'

'A Scottish wildcat, I'd say' said his father calmly. 'I did in fact cast two spells on you. The second was an advanced type of illusory charm which affects neither the caster nor subject.'

'But what was the point?' asked Harry.

'If you think I'm going to answer that, think again. I've spent most of the day with a highly embarrassing hair colour. You have had a mere hour of looking like a puppy to your peers. The rest of your punishment is to be driven mad not knowing why I did what I did.'

'That's not fair. You could have just reversed what I did. It's not as if I meant it.'

Harry's father continued to look at him calmly.

'And you could at least have apologised rather than trying to escape punishment by running away. Any other teacher would have taken points or given you a detention. Think yourself lucky.'

He had a point but Harry was unwilling to concede defeat.

'Suppose I try to find out what you were doing?'

'You are of course free to do that if you can wish.'

The tone clearly implied, 'But I don't believe you can.' Harry decided that he'd do it if he possibly could and turned to go.

'Just a moment, Harry. Talking about detentions, you are still to serve one. I trust you are prepared to cooperate now?'

To be perfectly honest, Harry wasn't in the mood to agree, feeling that his father had been making a fool of him. But remembering Lupin's letter he nodded reluctantly.

'Good.' His father smiled. Seven o' clock tonight then. Off you go.'

Harry went, feeling rather confused by the turn of events. Although his father had technically "punished" Harry he hadn't really acted like a teacher. He'd acted more like, well, a father. It was almost as if he'd been pleased that Harry had caused some trouble that was relatively harmless and was consequently able to treat Harry in a much more familiar manner than previously. Likewise, Harry hadn't felt as awkward with his father as he normally did. Life seemed to be improving.

Or maybe not, he thought as he wearily stumbled through the Fat Lady's portrait late that night. His father had drilled him relentlessly for over four hours in both Charms and Transfiguration. Each time Harry failed to perform a spell adequately his father quizzed him on the theory of it, giving a brief lecture on it if Harry couldn't answer. By the time he was freed Harry was mentally exhausted though at least he knew that his new wand was indeed as good as his old one.

'Ahh, our little puppy dog looks tired.' 'Typical,' thought Harry hearing the Weasley twins' teasing. 'Everyone knows.' But he found he didn't really mind.

'You'd be tired too if you'd spent over four hours with a slave driver,' he said as he disappeared towards his dormitory, ignoring the laughter of those still in the common room.

Actually, as he realised the next day, the story of his father's revenge had remained strictly confined to the Gryffindors. Harry was reminded of something his father had told him, way back at the beginning of second year. Gryffindors stick together. It seemed that it was true and that Harry was now accepted as a true member of the house. That didn't stop him from spending a great deal of time on his own. He did after all have that little private project to get on with. He spent as much of his free time as he could in the library, trying to find out what spell his father could have cast on him that he wouldn't want the others to see the result of. Unfortunately he was none the wiser after nearly two weeks.

It was when he returned to the common room after yet another fruitless research session that he found Hermione Granger in tears and Ron Weasley looking none too happy either. Apparently Hagrid had failed to get a reprieve for his beloved hippogriff and Buckbeak was due to be executed that Saturday.

'Steal him.' Harry looked incredulously at Fred and George.

'It's not that ridiculous an idea,' said George. 'All we need to do is sneak out Friday night, fly Buckbeak up to the astronomy tower and some outsider can take him away to safety.'

'And who are you going to find that's willing and able to do that?' asked Ron.

'Ah well, that's the one minor problem we haven't managed to work out yet,' said Fred. It was clear that they'd spent some time trying to think of a solution.

'I know who might do it if you ask him,' said Harry slowly.

'Who?' This came from both the twins.

'Sirius Black.' Harry remembered when his godfather had been teaching at Hogwarts and Snape had been forever telling Harry how he and Potter had never kept any rules. Harry still didn't know Sirius too well but he knew he liked a bit of mischief. He also knew he didn't like injustice and Buckbeak certainly didn't deserve to die.

The result of this was that Fred and George stealthily stole Buckbeak and delivered him to the astronomy tower at midnight on Friday. Then Sirius Black took over and on Saturday morning Hagrid went out to give his pet a final breakfast to find him gone. Fred and George dragged Harry into an empty classroom.

'We think you deserve a reward for helping rescue a hippogriff in distress,' they told him. 'How about a trip to Hogsmeade?' Harry had known it was another Hogsmeade day but hadn't thought about it much since he couldn't go.

'Dumbledore banned me for this year,' he said.

'Well we know that,' said Fred.

'But with this little artefact and that wonderful cloak of you have, nothing is impossible. George produced an old piece of parchment with a flourish. The twins then proceeded to show Harry how it revealed itself as a map of Hogwarts by tapping it and reciting the words 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good.' Then they drew Harry's attention to a secret passage to Honeydukes which was concealed behind a statue of a one eyed humpbacked witch. It seemed too good an opportunity to waste and Harry decided to go.

He successfully managed to make his way to the sweet shop and made himself known to Fred and George who were only too pleased to make his purchases for him since Harry could hardly buy anything whilst wearing an invisibility cloak. The twins then led him to Zonko's, the joke shop, where Harry spent more of his money. Then Harry went off to explore on his own. He discovered a ruined shack away from other buildings which was boarded up. It seemed to be something of an attraction because Draco Malfoy was there with his friends Crabbe and Goyle. Harry couldn't resist it. He scooped up a handful of mud and flung it, hitting Malfoy squarely in the face. Malfoy screamed and turned and ran, crashing into Professor Potter who seemed to be patrolling the village. Harry heard him start to complain about being attacked by a ghost and decided it was time he went back to the school. He ran as fast as he could, sneaked into the cellar at Honeydukes and scrambled up the passageway as fast as he could manage, intending to get back to Gryffindor tower before anyone knew he'd left the school.

His plan failed. The moment he opened the door to exit the passageway, an arm reached in and dragged him out. The invisibility cloak was pulled off him and he was roughly manhandled along corridors and up and down stairs until he was pushed into Professor Potter's private quarters where, for the first time in his life, Harry was to face full blown parental fury at its very worst.


	27. Retribution

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. Otherwise I would not have to wait until 21st July to know what happens in Book Seven

A Change of Identity

Chapter 27: Retribution

Still holding Harry firmly by the arm, his father summoned the contents of his pockets and sorted through them. He put all the jokes and sweets Harry had purchased with the twins' assistance into a pile and sharply jabbed his wand at it, reducing the lot to a pile of ashes. He stared at the blank piece of parchment that was the secret map for a long moment before banishing both that and the invisibility cloak. He then stashed the remains of Harry's money in his own robe before stuffing what few items remained back into Harry's pocket. He remained silent whilst doing this although Harry could feel the anger radiating from him. Then his father pushed Harry to the armchair and bent him over the back of it.

'Accio slipper!' Harry heard the faint whistling as the item flew swiftly from the bedroom to his father and tried to steel himself for what promised to be an extremely unpleasant experience. But the anticipated assault on his backside failed to materialise. There was a thud as the slipper was flung to the floor and Harry was yanked upright again.

'Get out of my sight before I land you in the hospital wing. Come back here at eight and I'll deal with you and Merlin help you if you so much as dream of putting one toe out of line between now and then.' With that, his father practically threw Harry out of the room and slammed the door.

Harry returned to his common room as quickly as possible. Once there he was pulled into a corner by an extremely contrite pair of twins.

'We're sorry Harry,' said Fred. We shouldn't have persuaded you to go. We should have known you couldn't get away with it.'

'It's not your fault,' replied Harry. 'I had to go and throw that mud.'

'Actually,' said George, 'You were already busted by that time. Your father had seen footprints appear with no one to make them. He'd have collared you in a minute anyway. At least you gave the Slytherins a fright.'

'Anyway,' said Fred. 'We did try to tell your father that it was our fault you snuck out but he wasn't interested. Told us you were the one who broke rules and that you'd have to take the consequences.'

'So to make it up to you we'll do you a favour anytime you want one,' George told Harry. 'Just ask when you need us.'

'What did he do to you when he caught you, anyway?' asked Fred. Harry told them and apologised for not being able to give the map back.

'Don't worry about that,' they said. We were going to let you keep it anyway. Sorry about your cloak though. Come on, we'll play some games with you so you don't have time to worry about your impending doom.'

The twins kept Harry entertained for the rest of the day, accompanying him to both lunch and dinner. He was glad of the distraction since he knew he wouldn't exactly be sitting down to a pleasant chat when he returned to his father that evening. He'd been in trouble with his father plenty of times before but not like this. Back in first year there had been the sheer vindictiveness towards him. There had been the coldness over the car incident at the beginning of second year. And his father had carried out his share of punishing Harry for the Chamber of Secrets business. But this time he was seriously angry with Harry and it was frightening. Harry had messed up and he'd done it big time.

Eight o'clock found Harry knocking softly on his father's door which opened immediately. He entered and stood waiting for his father, who was facing the window, to acknowledge him. After a minute he spoke, still not turning around.

'If it had been mere rule breaking I wouldn't have particularly minded,' he said slowly. 'Even breaking the headmaster's ban I could have tolerated although I would have punished you severely for that.' Now Harry's father did turn around and his voice took on a much harsher tone. 'What I cannot come to terms with is the fact that you disregarded the sacrifice your mother made on your behalf. You not only risked capture by Pettigrew if he had happened to be in the area but you could easily have run into Dementors in Hogsmeade. You know the effect they have on you. Explain to me please why you thought it worth risking your life for a few jokes and sweets and a little bit of excitement.'

Harry felt horrible. He'd realised of course what had made his father so furious but hearing the words spoken aloud really brought it home to him how stupid he'd been. He stared at his feet, not having any answer that seemed worth giving.

'I'm waiting for an explanation Harry,' said his father after a long pause. 'Did you just decide you'd had enough of being restricted to the castle? Did you think you were a match for Deatheaters and Dementors? Answer me!'

'I didn't think of any of that,' said Harry miserably. 'It just seemed like a good idea when, er…' He trailed off, not wanting to sound as if he were blaming the twins for suggesting his outing.

'When Fred and George suggested it?' supplied his father. 'I see. So someone makes a suggestion and you just follow it without a moments thought. You risk your life because you can't take a minute to think for yourself. If Fred and George suggested you jump off the astronomy tower would you do it?'

Harry studied his shoes again. His father's fury seemed to have abated somewhat since earlier on but he was still clearly angry. And he seemed to expect an answer to his question.

'No sir,' said Harry quietly.

'So your stupidity does have its limits.' Harry was feeling about two inches tall by this time. 'Let me make this clear to you. If anything of this nature should ever occur again I will not hesitate to give you a punishment of the kind I refrained from earlier. Is that understood?'

'Yes sir,' said Harry quietly. It was a relief to know he wasn't about to be put back over the armchair. He knew however that he would still be punished. This was confirmed with his father's next words.

'You obviously need to be taught to think next time,' he said. 'As you know, I have already disposed of the purchases you made this morning. I have also confiscated your remaining money. If you require anything at any time this term you will have to come and ask me for it. I will return the invisibility cloak to you only when I feel I can trust you to be more responsible with regard to your own safety. That map I shall have to think about; you will certainly not get it back before the cloak, if at all. I am also giving you two written assignments. Firstly, two hundred lines, "I must not insult my mother's memory by gambling her sacrifice for my own entertainment." Bring them to me here at eight tomorrow evening. Secondly, I want you to write an essay on Dementors and give it to me next Saturday morning. I expect it to be thoroughly researched and of a high standard. Now get back to Gryffindor Tower and stay out of trouble.'

Harry left, thoroughly subdued. At the same time, he felt a lot better than he had done since he'd been dragged from the secret tunnel. He had been secretly terrified that his father would turn round and tell him he wanted nothing more to do with him. He didn't think he could have coped with the rejection at the time when he had only just begun to be on friendlier terms with him. But he hadn't been rejected; just given a well deserved punishment. He could cope with that, thought Harry as he reached the Fat Lady and gave the password. He was greeted on the other side by the twins who were clearly relieved to find their young friend still in one piece. Harry smiled weakly at them and headed up to bed, knowing he had a lot of work to get started on in the morning.


	28. Boggarts Again

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J K Rowling.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 28: Boggarts Again

Harry had known that he'd hate doing his lines. Two hundred of them and each one a gut twisting reminder of how he'd disregarded his mother's sacrifice. What he had been totally unprepared for was the effect that writing the Dementor essay would have on him. The more he researched his topic, the colder he felt inside at the thought of the creatures. Even so, what happened in Defence on Wednesday came as a shock.

Professor McGonagall strode into the room and indicated a cupboard which had not been there before.

'Right,' she said. 'I know that you learnt all about Boggarts in first year with Professor Lupin. Now it is time for you to face one. How many of you know the method?' Everyone raised their hands since it had been the subject of one of Lupin's homework assignments. Then McGonagall told them all to spend five minutes considering how to make their own particular Boggart look ridiculous. When the time was up she said she would call out each student individually for their turn.

The first four had no problems at all, though everyone laughed when a Boggart version of Professor Potter told Hermione she had failed all her exams. Then came Harry's turn. Harry had wondered desperately how to deal with the feeling of trust without finding any solution. He decided just to let the Boggart appear and see what happened. He went to the front of the class. McGonagall opened the cupboard door. Then everyone screamed as a Dementor emerged and Harry found himself drowning in misery and feelings of betrayal before passing out.

He woke up on the classroom floor with McGonagall gently shaking him. She helped him back to his seat before pressing some chocolate into his hands.

'Well I think you scared everyone with your Boggart,' she told him. The rest of the class's Boggarts are going to seem rather tame after that.' And indeed, no one else seemed too bothered when confronted with their worst fear. When the lesson ended Professor McGonagall kept Harry back to speak with him.

'Potter, I don't think you're going to be able to cope with your Boggart this year and I'm not going to let you try again. Now you have nothing to be ashamed of. The Dementor is a particularly foul creature and it takes a strong and experienced witch or wizard to stand a chance against one. But rest assured I shall not penalise you for not being able to defeat a Boggart when it comes to your marks.' Harry left, not feeling particularly comforted by the teacher's assurance. Whatever excuses he might have, he was the only pupil not to have defeated his Boggart and he didn't like the feeling of failure.

A passing remark from Oliver Wood about Quidditch practice resuming the following week worried Harry even more. If the Dementors showed up again during the last match they could easily render Harry useless, allowing the Ravenclaw team to win. It was fear of this happening which made Harry determined to find a solution and he proceeded to spend every free minute he had on his father's punishment essay, hoping to come across something.

He certainly discovered some very interesting information, including the fact that werewolves were immune to the Dementor's Kiss- where the Dementors sucked out a person's soul. But his heart sank when the only defence against the creatures he could find required one to focus upon an extremely happy memory. Most of Harry's happy memories had been spoiled somewhat. All the ones before his identity was changed did nothing for him now.

He took the completed essay to his father at the appointed time on Saturday morning. His father told him to sit down while he looked it over. Harry waited nervously, dreading being told that it wasn't up to standard, in spite of the fact that he'd tried his very hardest.

'Excellent.' Harry's father did not try to hide that he was pleased. Then he grew more serious.

'Professor McGonagall told me about your Boggart,' he said. 'I think I agree that it's not a good idea for you to face it again in the near future. But I will promise to help you with it in time for your OWLS in fifth year. And I'll make you another promise. The Dementors are likely to be stationed in Hogsmeade as long as we don't know the whereabouts or intentions of Pettigrew. If they're still around next year I'll make some arrangement to let you go to Hogsmeade if you want to providing you obey your restrictions for the remainder of this year. Do you think you can do that?'

'Yes Sir,' said Harry. He had no intention of sneaking out again and didn't need any bribes to stop him. All the same, it felt good to hear the offer. It reassured Harry that his father had forgiven him.

Harry spent quite a bit of time over the weekend thinking about the Dementors. He'd been told twice now that there was nothing he could do at present. And he knew from his own research that there was little hope of him being able to produce a Patronus, the charm he'd found out about. But in spite of all this he found himself wanting to try. So on Monday evening he made his way to a disused classroom and tried to concentrate on happy thoughts.

It was difficult. He'd remember something happy like getting the Firebolt and then remember what had happened when he flew it. But after half an hour he managed to keep the downside at bay for two minutes and he tried the spell.

'Expecto Patronum!' A wisp of silver mist came out of the end of his wand.

'Expecto Patronum!' This time Harry managed a small cloud. He tried several more times but that was the best he could manage. Harry knew that it wasn't a proper Patronus. He knew that it would not be able to repel a Dementor. But what about the Boggart? Maybe Harry's weak effort would be sufficient to weaken the Boggart enough to use the standard Ridikkulus. There was just one problem. There was no way he could risk trying it out on his own and he couldn't very well ask a teacher since both his father and McGonagall had declared it unwise for Harry to face his Boggart. Then he remembered. Fred and George owed him a favour. It was time for them to deliver.

'Let's get this straight,' said Fred. 'You want us to find a Boggart and then stand and watch it scare you to death.'

'I thought maybe you two could step in front if it gets too much for me,' said Harry.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' George asked him.

'I'm sure,' replied Harry. He at least wanted to know exactly where he stood. It was all very well for grown ups to say he wasn't ready to face one, but it was quite possible that Harry could come across a Boggart by accident. If there was the slightest chance that Harry could learn to deal with one then he wanted to have it. So on Thursday Fred told Harry that he and George had a Boggart for him and took him to the disused classroom.

It wasn't a total success but neither was it a total failure. Harry could only produce the thin wisp of silver when confronted with the Boggart Dementor and on his first two attempts passed out. But on his third attempt he managed to hold it at bay for about fifteen seconds before George stepped between them.

'That's enough for now,' he said firmly. You can try again at the weekend. And we'll have to make sure your father doesn't see you tonight. You look terrible.' Harry thought that George was probably right but at least he had made a start.

They had three more sessions over the next two weeks and Harry improved to the point that he could always produce enough silver mist to keep the Boggart away for about half a minute. On his very last attempt Harry tried a "Ridikkulus!" and was delighted to see the Boggart explode.

'Well done!' said George. 'Now, how about a little trip to The Three Broomsticks to celebrate?' Harry laughed, knowing that the twins wouldn't dream of taking him out of school after what happened last time. What they really did do though was take him to the kitchens where the house elves fell over themselves to provide butterbeer and cream cakes. It was breaking rules, Harry knew, but he had a feeling his father would approve.


	29. The Quidditch Final

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

A Change of Identity

Chapter29: The Quidditch Final

With his Boggart problem resolved as far as it could be, Harry settled back down to normal school life. He still kept to himself quite a lot- he was by nature a fairly solitary person and his upbringing had enhanced the tendency to like his own company. But now, instead of people calling Harry stuck up because of it they just accepted it as part of him. Except for Fred and George, who lamented the fact that their newest friend was unwilling to join in all their troublemaking.

'For goodness sake!' cried Hermione Granger on one occasion when they had failed yet again to persuade Harry to assist them in their mischief. 'Do you want to get him expelled? He should be keeping his head down this year and staying out of trouble. You two could spoil all his efforts.'

Harry smiled at this. He knew the twins were only teasing him. Unlike Hermione, he wasn't horrified at their constant rule breaking. Just because he didn't want to join in it himself didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the results of some of their jokes. He got up and went to the library. Now that he had more free time he had returned to the question of what spell his father had performed on him that day in Transfiguration. Realising that it must be something pretty advanced, he took out one of the books intended for seventh years; one of the few on really advanced Transfiguration which weren't in the restricted section.

Two hours later, in the last chapter but one, he thought he might have found it. At least, the book didn't give an incantation or wand movement, but it described the effects:

_The animorphmagus charm forces the subject to assume the shape of the creature he or she would become were they to undergo the difficult process of becoming an animagus. It is a dangerous spell if not performed accurately and should only be carried out by a very powerful witch or wizard. The subject will be stuck in their animagus form for roughly an hour and it is important that they be closely monitored during this time since they will not have the full instincts of their creature form as yet._

The only thing was: why would his father do it? He could easily have transfigured Harry into a puppy if he had wanted to. Or there were any number of other spells which would have caused great embarrassment to Harry for an hour. Was it possible that his father wanted to see what Harry would become were he an animagus? That was the only reason he could think of. Harry thought about it. To be honest he had quite liked what he had been able to see of himself. And although he had felt awkward and embarrassed, on another level it had felt strangely natural. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure he had found his father's spell. And he decided that when he was old enough, he would try to become a proper animagus. Then he'd be one up on his father- Harry knew from reading the Ministry of Magic's list of registered animagi that his father wasn't one. He returned to the common room with the feeling of a job well done.

Quidditch practice took up at least one evening a week, sometimes two. The final match wasn't until after Easter but Wood was determined to win the cup. It was his last chance to do so and a win against Ravenclaw would clinch it. Harry assured him that Dementors wouldn't stop him from catching the snitch. He knew he couldn't defeat a real Dementor but he hoped his feeble patronus would at least hold one at bay long enough for someone more competent to deal with it.

Harry stayed at school for the Easter break. It would be too complicated for him to spend it at home with Lupin as the full moon fell in the middle and Sirius wouldn't be available at that particular time to take over. Harry didn't mind. He'd be spending the time working anyway since the teachers had set mountains of homework, citing the upcoming end of year exams as the reason for it all. This was going to be the first time that Harry would sit these exams with the rest of his year and he was determined to make a good showing. Not that he was as obsessive about it as Hermione. She had rashly signed up to study every possible subject and was having a hard time of it. There had been a lot of comments about how she couldn't possibly be attending all of her classes as some of them clashed. Harry kept quiet although he thought he knew what she was doing. Snape had once told him about time turners when he had been about nine. He'd said Percy Weasley had to use one to get to all of his lessons as the arrogant so and so thought he could do everything. He'd also mentioned that the other students were not supposed to know about it. Harry assumed the same was true in Hermione's case so kept his own council.

As soon as the holidays were over, Wood stepped up quidditch practice to three times a week. Then on the third Saturday of term, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw played. Harry flew with confidence, searching immediately for the little golden snitch. There was no sense in delaying in the hope of a big score. Gryffindor needed merely to win and Wood's orders to Harry were to do just that. Ten minutes into the game, Harry spotted it. He also spotted something else. Down on the pitch were two Dementors. HE drew his wand and yelled, 'Expecto Patronum!' Instead of the usual formless silver cloud he saw something huge darting downwards towards his foe but he paid it little attention, opting instead to continue chasing his own quarry which he caught moments later. The Gryffindor section of the stands erupted in deafening cheers. The moment Harry landed he turned excitedly to Fred and George.

'I did it!' he shouted. 'I repelled the Dementors!'

'Er, actually, they weren't real Dementors,' said Fred. 'But your Patronus was pretty cool. And if you follow us you'll see something even better.'

Harry followed the twins to where Professor Potter had just reached the "Dementors", who turned out to be Malfoy and his two half witted sidekicks Crabbe and Goyle, together with the Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint.

'Fifty points each from Slytherin for trying to sabotage the Gryffindor seeker,' Harry's father was saying. 'And a week's detention for all of you.' Harry could hardly stifle his laughter at the sight of the boys struggling to free themselves from the black cloaks they had used for disguise. Unfortunately, Professor Snape arrived on the scene at that moment.

'I am their head of house,' he said menacingly, 'and as such it is my place to punish them. I hardly think what they did merits more than five points each. IF your pathetic son is affected by the sight of a few boys in cloaks then that is his problem. He, however, should be expelled for learning such dangerous magic alone when he is already on probation and I shall be raising the matter with the headmaster.'

Suddenly Harry felt as he did after the first match when he had wrecked the common room with an uncontrolled burst of magic. This time he felt sure that he was going to blow up Snape. But then he felt a grip on both of his arms.

'Calm down Harry,' said George. 'He's not worth it. Just let your dad deal with him. It's time for us to celebrate our victory.'

"Just let your dad deal with him." It was incredible what effect that seemingly simple suggestion had on Harry. For the very first time since he had started at Hogwarts Harry realised that he could do just that. He could walk away from Snape and his insults and attempts to get him into trouble and let his father handle everything. The magical pressure that had been ready to explode from him dissipated with no damage being done. As he walked off with the twins, Harry could hear his father answer Snape.

'While the Patronus charm is extremely advanced magic and I am somewhat surprised that Harry has succeeded in perfecting it, I hardly think it is among the spells pupils are forbidden to learn.'

Harry failed to make out any more as they moved further away although the voices of both teachers grew louder and angrier. But he wasn't worried. He knew he'd done no wrong. And Dumbledore was swiftly approaching his warring members of staff, obviously intent on sorting the situation out. Harry happily headed to the castle with the twins, intent on celebrating winning the cup. Then Fred said something which made Harry feel happier than ever.

'You must be the only person in the world who has a werewolf as a Patronus.'

* * *

A N: Once again, thanks for all the reviews. I must admit, with the knack some of you have for realising what I'm up to, I'm slightly surprised no one suggested the form of Harry's Patronus. And once again, Ive written a happy chapter. I must be losing my touch! Bye for now. 


	30. Into the Forest

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

A Change of Identity

Chapter 30: Into the Forest

Harry sat leaning against a tree, staring out across the lake. It was Saturday afternoon and just one week remained before the school year ended. The exams were over and Harry was confident he'd done well. He was on his own as everyone else was taking advantage of another Hogsmeade trip. Neville Longbottom had offered to stay behind and keep Harry company, but Harry knew he really wanted to go and assured him that he didn't mind being left behind. He was currently reflecting on how his life had taken a turn for the better over the course of the year. He had started off friendless and with only a tentative relationship with his father. Although he still didn't have such close friendships as some, he was accepted by the rest of his house and he was no longer short of company when he wanted it. And though it felt rather awkward, he'd started to call his father "Dad" some of the time. His father had even told Harry that he was proud of him for succeeding in producing a Patronus. Someone who was even prouder was Lupin who had sent Harry an owl gloating over the werewolf form of his Patronus.

As Harry pondered over these things he was mildly surprised to see his father approaching across the grass; he had thought he was patrolling in Hogsmeade. He stood up and went to meet him.

'I've something I want you to see,' said his father. 'Follow me.'

Harry followed his father, hesitating when he took the path leading into the Forbidden Forest.

'It's all right. You're allowed in here with a teacher and nothing's going to hurt you.'

Reassured, Harry followed and the two went down the path and deep into the forest. The trees were getting very close together and it was quite dark although out by the lake there had been bright sunshine. After a while Harry's father stopped and turned round.

'This will do,' he said. 'Goodbye, Harry. I won't be seeing you.'

Harry felt dumbstruck at this. Then he saw his father change and Harry realised that he had been tricked. The man grew shorter, his hair grew thinner and his face became rather pointed. He must have been using Polyjuice. Harry had seen this man only briefly when Ron Weasley's rat had transformed into him to avoid being strangled. But he knew who he was alright. Peter Pettigrew. He drew his wand.

'That won't help you,' said Pettigrew. 'There are about a hundred Dementors coming after us. I doubt you could cope with one, let alone that many.

'They'll get you too,' said Harry, trying not to show that he was scared.

'No they won't.' Pettigrew sounded very sure of himself. 'I'm going to Albania where I believe my master is. And I'll be rewarded beyond measure when he returns to power and finds that I've got rid of you for him. By the time someone finds you, you'll be worse than dead.' With that he transformed into the rat and scuttled away.

Harry was dead. At least, he would be if by any chance he managed to escape the Dementors. If an "innocent" foray into Hogsmeade could produce the fury in his father which it had done, Harry shuddered to imagine how he would react to the situation he had got himself into this time. But he didn't have time to worry about that just now because moments after Pettigrew's departure the air grew cold and Harry felt the familiar sensation of misery threaten to engulf him. He knew what he had to try to do and drew his wand.

'Expecto Patronum!' The wisp of silver mist was pathetic and the Dementors weren't even close yet. He tried again but this time failed to produce even the tiniest fraction of a Patronus. And they were coming nearer. He tried a third time, again with no success.

'Help me!' Harry moaned. He kept his wand out, unwilling to admit defeat but couldn't muster up the strength to try again and slumped to the ground.

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Hundreds of miles away, a werewolf paced in his roomy cellar. Suddenly he felt that someone needed him badly. The feeling was so strong that somehow he managed to ignore the fact that he was unable to apparate whilst in wolf form. He also overcame the fact that both his cellar and the Forbidden forest were protected by anti-apparition spells. He materialised right beside Harry where he was surrounded by a swarm of Dementors, still holding his wand out in front of him. The wolf hesitated only a moment before leaping at Harry and clamping his teeth down firmly on his left arm.

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The pressure on his arm jolted Harry out of the helpless stupor he had succumbed to. 'Great,' he thought. A werewolf as well. But then he noticed something strange. Although the werewolf's grip was firm, he hadn't drawn blood. Why? Werewolves were known to be vicious. Unless… could it be? Harry recalled the fact about Dementors and Werewolves he had learned from doing his punishment for his father. Werewolves are immune to the Dementor's Kiss. If this werewolf were Lupin, could he be holding off biting Harry until it was absolutely certain that he could not escape the Dementors? But what would happen if he did bite Harry in order to save him? At best he'd be sent to Azkaban, the wizards' prison.

The thought gave Harry the strength to try again. He didn't think he could bear his protector being left to rot in a filthy prison cell.

'EXPECTO PATRONUM!'

This time it worked. The huge silver werewolf erupted from Harry's wand and charged at the Dementors. As they retreated, the werewolf softened its grip on Harry's arm although it did not release it completely. Exhausted, Harry lost consciousness, but not before he saw the jet of red light from an approaching wizard strike the werewolf between the eyes, stupefying him.

He woke up in the hospital wing, his father sitting in a chair beside the bed. The moment Harry stirred, his father got up and left, to be replaced moments later by Madam Pomfrey who checked him over briskly.

'Well you seem to be fine, Mr Potter,' she said. As soon as the words left her mouth, his father was back.

'Come on,' he said. 'The headmaster wants to talk to you. And I hope for your own sake that you have a damned good explanation.'

The words were spoken calmly but they held the promise of terrible things to come if he were not satisfied with Harry's excuses. As the full memory of what had happened returned to Harry he shuddered. He wanted to ask about Lupin but one look at his father told him that this was not the time and he got up and followed him meekly. Minutes later he was seated opposite Dumbledore while his father stood to one side. Nervously, he told them everything that had happened.

'I've changed my mind about wanting your explanation to be a good one,' said his father, after Harry had stumbled to a halt. He must have looked as confused as he felt because Dumbledore spoke up to explain.

'What your father means, Harry,' he said gently, 'is that had you merely been breaking rules in the most deplorable manner he could have used his slipper or even a cane in such a manner that it would be quite certain you wouldn't want to repeat the offence. I might add that I would have done nothing to dissuade him. As things are, however, you have done nothing wrong, which makes it rather more difficult to deal with the situation. '

'What about Professor Lupin?' Harry could hold back no longer. He had to know.

'Fortunately,' said Dumbledore, 'I was the first on the scene after it was reported that all the Dementors were swarming into the forest. I stunned him as a precaution and on discovering his identity, portkeyed him home before anyone else saw him. It was just as well since several aurors arrived moments later.'

'But how did he get there, Albus?' asked Harry's father. 'We've made quite sure Remus's cellar is secure. And he doesn't even have the bond with Harry now since the wand was destroyed.'

'Ah, that is where I think you are wrong, James.' Dumbledore spoke slowly, as if he were not completely sure of his facts. 'Sometimes magic works in a way which surprises even me. It seems as though the bond between Harry and Remus has not only survived the destruction of the thing which originated it, but has strengthened to such an extent that when Harry was in danger Remus was compelled to go to his side regardless of any obstructions.'

'Then if Harry gets into danger again Remus will too?' Harry's father sounded worried.

'It seems probable,' replied the headmaster.

'But I don't want him to get hurt because of me!' exclaimed Harry.

'Then you're going to have to be careful in future,' his father told him. He turned to the headmaster. 'Have you finished with him?' Dumbledore nodded. 'Then go to my rooms,' he told Harry. 'I'll be along presently. You may not be in disgrace but we do need to have a serious talk.'

Harry stood looking out of the window as he waited for his father. He couldn't help feeling relieved that he wasn't in trouble but the thought of how he had been tricked made him shiver. It had taken a long time for him to learn to trust his father and now because of that trust he had risked both his own life and Lupin's. One thing he did know. He was going to accept without question any restrictions his father placed on him and he would do anything else that his father might suggest to keep himself safe in future.


	31. End of Term

Harry Potter still belongs to J K Rowling

A Change of Identity

Chapter 31: End of Term

'Well, you appear to have cultivated quite a talent for getting into danger.'

Harry turned round, slightly startled. He'd been so lost in thought that he hadn't heard his father enter the room. Even though he knew he wasn't in trouble he felt nervous. His father went straight to the point.

'I don't intend to try keeping you locked up for the rest of your schooldays Harry. If you can be lured away from safety once, it can happen again.'

'I won't fall for that trick again.' Harry was positive about that. 'I've thought of a way to tell if someone's really who they appear to be.'

'That's all very well,' replied his father, 'but that's only one situation. Another time it is likely that someone will try something else. What I propose is giving you some intensive training so that you are better prepared to get yourself out of trouble.'

'But if I don't go anywhere I'm not supposed to I won't get into trouble,' said Harry. 'I don't want Lupin getting into danger again.'

Harry's father put his hands firmly on Harry's shoulders.

'Harry, Remus knew quite well the risks he was taking when he gave you a wand containing one of his hairs. He would not want you to be deprived of your freedom because of him. Besides, as I have already said, another time you could be in danger through something totally unexpected. If you want to protect Remus then the best thing to do is learn to protect yourself. So be prepared to work hard this summer.'

It made sense, Harry knew. But he could see a snag.

'But I'm not allowed to do magic in the holidays,' he protested.

'There are ways around that rule,' said his father. 'Besides, much of what I have planned requires no use of magic on your part. And don't bother asking me for details at the moment. You'll find out when we start and not before. Now, do you intend to cooperate?' Harry nodded.

'Good. Then you'll be glad to know that both Dumbledore and I will be allowing you to go to Hogsmeade next year.' Harry's father smiled evilly suddenly before continuing. 'Besides, there's a very good reason why you should be allowed to go.'

'What's that?' asked Harry, confused.

'If you don't start off the year with the privilege then I can't take it away from you when I have to punish you. Talking of which, you might find these useful if you want to get up to any "innocent" mischief.' A quick summoning charm later and Harry's father was handing him the invisibility cloak and the old map.

Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower feeling somewhat overwhelmed. Only a short while ago, his father had clearly been itching to wallop him. Now he was actively encouraging Harry in mild mischief. Harry supposed that this was an aspect of his father that he'd just have to learn to live with. Just as his father would have to learn to live with the fact that Harry was not going to become the sort of troublemaker he had been himself at school. Although… Harry supposed that he could ask Fred and George to help him play some sort off joke on his father next term. Just as a token gesture to show his willingness to meet the man halfway.

Reaching the common room he found several people eager to see if Harry was in one piece. Apparently Neville Longbottom had been nearby when Dumbledore had told Professor Potter that he'd found Harry in the forest and the depute headmaster had furiously announced the many ways in which Harry was going to suffer when he got his hands on him. Harry reassured everyone that he was fine and indicated to the twins that he'd like a word with them.

'You're joking,' said Fred when they'd found somewhere private to talk.

'Look, Harry.' added George. 'It's not possible to get one over on your father. We tried two times back in first year. The first time he just gave us a warning so we tried again the following term. Don't ask us for details but he made quite sure that we wouldn't attempt to prank him again. Remember he turned you into a puppy over that hair business? And you said that was only an accident.'

'I'm only asking you to give me some idea of what to do,' said Harry. 'I know I probably won't get away with it but that's the whole point. I'll just tell him he can't punish me because he was the one to encourage me in the first place. I mean he did give me the cloak and map back.'

'Fine. On your own head be it,' said Fred. 'We'll put our minds to the task over the summer. But don't come crying to us when he's hung you out to dry.'

The last days of term passed quickly. As he had expected, Harry came top or nearly top in all his subjects except Potions. He knew Snape had probably marked him down unfairly but he didn't let it bother him. At least he'd stopped provoking Harry so often since his father had heard about it. Hermione Granger created a minor sensation by scoring three hundred percent in Muggle Studies and then calmly announcing that she was dropping the subject.

'I think I took too many subjects,' she explained. I've had to use a time turner all year and it's been just too exhausting. So I'm dropping Muggle Studies because I really do know it all anyway and I'm dropping Divination because it's a load of rubbish. Professor Trelawny keeps telling the class that Harry Potter is in danger. I mean, if she was right even a tenth of the time Harry would be dead by now.'

Well, he had come pretty close to being worse than dead, thought Harry but he kept that little bit of information to himself. The final days of term passed and almost before he knew it, Harry was on the Hogwarts Express for the journey home. It was only his second time on the train and on the last occasion he hadn't enjoyed the trip at all. This time he had companions who were willing to talk to him and the journey was unhindered by Dementors deciding to search the train- Two days previously The Daily Prophet had carried a story about how Peter Pettigrew had been spotted in Albania but had disappeared before anyone could apprehend him. So it seemed that he had indeed gone in search of Lord Voldemort.

Lupin met him at Kings Cross and escorted him through London to The Leaky Cauldron from where they flooed home. Only when they were seated in the kitchen with mugs of hot chocolate did Lupin mention the incident in the forest.

'That was some Patronus you produced Harry,' he told him. 'I must say I was quite relieved when you succeeded. My human mind was in prominence much more than is usual during a full moon and I hated to think of you becoming a werewolf after everything else you've gone through. Unfortunately I had no other means of preventing you from being kissed.'

'I know,' said Harry. 'I might have been able to cope with it. But I couldn't cope with what would have happened to you afterwards. I never knew the bond would act like that.'

'None of us could possibly have guessed that,' said Lupin gently. 'But don't think for one minute that I object to the connection. Just remember what your father will do to you if you take foolish risks.' He laughed as Harry shuddered at the thought and went on. 'Now I'm under strict instructions to make sure you have a nice relaxing evening and go to bed early. Because tomorrow you won't know what's hit you.'

So after dinner and a couple of games of chess Harry went to bed. The following morning he was woken up by Tinks and went down to breakfast where his father was sitting at the table talking to Lupin. When Harry entered he stood up.

'Good, your up,' he said. 'Have your breakfast, clear up afterwards and then come to my study. See that he doesn't linger please, Remus.' He sounded brisk and businesslike but Lupin laughed.

'And good morning, Son?' he prompted his friend. Harry's father gave in and smiled.

'Fine, good morning Harry,' he said. 'And don't worry. I'll be relatively easy on you today. But I am anxious to get started and the sooner you're ready the sooner you'll find out what you'll be doing.' With that he left. Twenty minutes later Harry had finished his breakfast, cleared up and made his way to the study.

'Right,' said his father firmly but not unpleasantly once Harry was seated opposite him. I'll start off by "reading you the riot act". During these lessons you will follow any instructions I give you to the best of your ability. Not doing so could be dangerous so I'll punish any disobedience or lack of effort severely. Do you understand? '

'Yes, sir' said Harry nervously.

'Good. Now, having said that, there will be occasions when you fail to do as I say in spite of trying. Every time this happens you will receive a mildly unpleasant penalty to remind you to stay focussed on the task in hand. It won't mean I'm angry with you. Now, as to what we'll be doing…'

This was what Harry had been dying to learn but rather than telling him plainly, his father asked him a question.

'Did you ever get anywhere with finding out about the spell I used on you in class that day?'

Harry's heart did a flip-flop. Surely his father wasn't planning on teaching him to become an animagus? Hesitantly he told him that he thought it might have been the animorphmagus spell. He was rewarded with a smile.

'Good. Then you'll appreciate the importance of discipline when learning to become an animagus. You see, I thought it would be a useful skill for you to have if you were ever in another tight spot.'

'But don't the ministry need to be told?' asked Harry.

'I see you've done your research well,' answered his father. But did you look up the names of registered animagi while you were at it?'

'Yes,' said Harry, not sure where this was leading.

'And did you notice Peter Pettigrew's name on that list?'

Harry thought back. Come to think of it he hadn't. He shook his head slowly.

'Or mine, for that matter?' Now Harry could only stare open mouthed as his father stood up, stepped to the side of the desk and transform into a magnificent stag. After a minute he changed back.

'You see Harry,' he said, 'the ministry register is not an exhaustive list of every animagus. Were we to register you then anyone could know what you were trying to do and the form you would take. That would make the talent rather less useful. So I'm afraid that to keep things secret from your enemies, you'll have to indulge in a little minor law breaking. Do you have any objection? No? Then let's adjourn to the drawing room and we'll proceed with your first lesson.'

* * *

A N: Sorry for the delay but I find it much harder to find inspiration when things are going well for Harry. Unfortunately Harry and his father were always going to end up getting along in this story so you'll just have to bear with me. 


	32. Animagus Lessons

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

A Change of Identity

Chapter 32: Animagus Lessons

'Right,' said Harry's father. The key to becoming an animagus is being totally in tune with your animal form whilst still retaining your human mind. So, most of your lessons will involve me performing the Animorphmagus charm on you. Each time I will give you certain instructions to try to follow while under the spell. As I said before, I'm going easy on you today. All you have to do is sit on the rug in front of the fire and reflect on what it feels like to be in your animal form. Afterwards I want you to try and tell me what it was like. Got it?' As soon as he had Harry's nod of assent he cast the spell and Harry became a Scottish wildcat for the second time.

During his first few lessons, which took place indoors, Harry had no trouble following his father's instructions which mainly consisted of telling him to be aware of his senses and to stay within set boundaries. Then after several days the lessons moved outside and Harry found it impossible to escape the occasional penalty. Out of doors there were far more distractions and Harry's kittenish instincts sometimes caused him to stray over his set boundaries while chasing a butterfly or a leaf being blown around by the wind. Each time this happened Harry's father would issue the penalty the moment the charm wore off. The penalties proved to be exactly as he had described them; mildly unpleasant. They consisted mostly of short sets of lines or of ten to fifteen minutes of Harry standing in a slightly uncomfortable position while he thought about his mistake. Though on one occasion, when Harry had leapt up and caught a dragonfly in is mouth and swallowed it after expressly being told not to eat anything while in his animal form, he found himself being served a plain and basic lunch while his father and Remus enjoyed much tastier fare. As his father reminded him, the point of the penalties was to focus Harry's attention on his errors.

Three days before Harry's birthday Sirius Black arrived to spend a week with them. By now Harry was well used to spending an hour or occasionally two a day as a Scottish wildcat. He was getting quite good at keeping within his set boundaries and following instructions by this time but on the morning following Sirius's arrival his lesson went badly wrong.

Perhaps it was the excitement of Harry's approaching birthday. Perhaps it was knowing that his Godfather would be seeing his animagus form for the first time. Maybe the glorious summer sun combined with a just the right strength of refreshing breeze had something to do with it. For whatever reason, the moment Harry was transformed, he neglected to keep enough control of his human mind and behaved like a mischievous kitten. Twice he ran over his boundary chasing a butterfly and his father had to race over to him, pick him up and place him where he should be. The third time he darted out from under the hands just before they grabbed him and started to gambol freely around the garden, giving his father no chance to catch him. Then suddenly there was a loud bark. Harry's feline self was frozen to the spot in terror as he saw an enormous bear-like dog approach him. The next moment the dog's jaws clamped firmly around the back of Harry's neck and he was carried over to where his father was waiting and dropped unceremoniously at his feet.

Now Harry's human mind came back to the fore and he trembled, knowing that he was in trouble. His father looked down at him for a minute before bending down, scooping him up and carrying him to a shaded part of the garden. There he put him down, stepped back, waved his wand and Harry found himself imprisoned in an eight foot square cage while his father turned and walked away without a word.

Neither Harry's feline nor human mind liked being caged but there was nothing to be done about it. The cage seemed to repel the butterflies that Harry like to chase and there was nothing for him to do except curl up and wait until he became human again. In due course he did; unfortunately the cage remained and Harry realised that he was stuck until his father decided to release him. Initially Harry indulged in a sulk, telling himself that his father was being a git setting a dog on him and then caging him. After about ten minutes though, he remembered that he would be expected to account for his disastrous lesson and tried to work out what had gone wrong. By the time he had an answer he'd been a boy again for almost half an hour. A few minutes later his father returned and banished the cage. Harry stood but wouldn't meet his father's gaze.

'Look at me please, Harry.' Harry did so and was rather relieved to find no trace of anger in his father's expression.

'Well, can you tell me what happened?' Harry looked down again as he answered.

'I let go of control of my human mind,' he said quietly.

'Exactly. And if you'd done that whilst not under supervision or if you had managed to escape capture you could have been stuck in cat form. Allow that to happen again and I'll give you an afternoon's detention on top of your regular penalty.' Then Harry's father dropped the stern tone. 'Come on, lunchtime. And that was your last lesson for a few days so you're safe from detention for now.'

Remus was already at the table when they entered the kitchen and the large black dog which had retrieved Harry was lying in front of the cooker but there was no sign of Sirius. That was until the food appeared and then the dog transformed into Sirius leaving Harry open mouthed. Remus laughed.

'Surely you could have guessed that if your father was an animagus then Sirius would be one too,' he said.

During lunch Harry learned how his father, Sirius and Pettigrew had become animagi to help Remus during the full moon.

'It took us the greater part of three years,' said his father. 'With intensive teaching I'm hoping you'll be able to manage it by this time next year. So try and remember that when you think I'm being cruel to you. Especially when we start up again and I'm trying to teach you to apparate as well.' Harry choked on his bread at this sudden revelation of his father's plans.

'I thought that you'd be teaching me to defend myself,' he mentioned. His father smiled slightly.

'I want your priority to be getting away from trouble if at all possible,' he said. 'So this summer we're concentrating on that. I know one or two lessons a day doesn't seem very much but it's tiring you out much more than I think you realise. That's one reason why we're stopping for a bit. The other reason- well, you'll find out when the time is right and not before.'

The right time turned out to be on Harry's birthday when he opened an envelope to find tickets for the Quidditch World Cup. The following morning they apparated to the site complete with tent. Ten minutes later they were at their pitch which happened to be beside where the Weasleys were erecting their two tents. Sirius guffawed with laughter at the muddle they had got themselves into. Harry's father laughed too but then said,

'Come on, Remus. You and I can give them a hand. Sirius and Harry can put our tent up, I'm sure.'

The problem was that they weren't supposed to be using magic since the campsite was run by muggles. This didn't seem to bother any of the three adults in Harry's party who all turned out to be perfectly capable of putting up a tent muggle fashion, unlike Arthur Weasley. As they were working on their own task Sirius turned to Harry.

'I should be annoyed with you, you know. You lost me a bet.'

'What?' Harry couldn't think what Sirius could mean by this.

'Shortly after it was revealed who you really were I bet Remus that by the end of your third year James would have walloped you at least once. I thought it was a certainty given what you used to be like.'

Harry had known for some time now that his Godfather could be rather immature at times. He vaguely thought that he ought to be annoyed but found that he didn't mind. He knew quite well that the boy he had been at eleven was just the type that his father and Sirius hated and there was nothing to be gained by resenting the fact. He did however decide to let him know how close he'd been to winning the bet.

'He came pretty close after he'd caught me sneaking to Hogsmeade,' he mentioned casually. 'He put me over a chair and summoned a slipper before he changed his mind.' Sirius groaned.

'Yes, I know. James called me right after throwing you out and ranted about your stupidity and how he couldn't give you your just desserts because he was so angry he'd probably go too far. He didn't know about the bet then of course. And then Dumbledore had to go and stop him laying into you after your little trip into the forest before giving you a chance to explain yourself.'

'Well that wasn't my fault,' said Harry. Sirius grinned.

'No, but it was my last chance. All right, I wouldn't really have wanted to win that way. But now Remus won't let me forget that I lost. Maybe I should offer him a new bet on whether you manage to earn a detention in your animagus lessons.' Now it was Harry's turn to groan.

'You might well win that one.'

'I'm not so sure about that. Your dad's been gloating about how well you've been doing, your last lesson notwithstanding. He seemed pretty certain he wouldn't have to carry out that threat.' Sirius hammered the last peg into the ground. 'What I should have bet on is that we'd finish putting up our tent first. We're done.'

They had indeed finished first. James and Remus had both been hampered by too many people, some of whom hadn't a clue. Although Harry had never done such a thing before he'd worked well with Sirius and helped rather than hindered. The two proceeded to irritate the others by relaxing in front of their tent swigging from bottles of butterbeer while they waited for them. Finally all the tents were up and the real fun could begin.


	33. After the Match

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 33: After the Match

Harry and Remus were seated at the kitchen table back at the Potter house. They had returned rather abruptly sometime after midnight but even though the sky was gradually lightening as dawn approached they made no move to go to bed.

After the tents had all been erected Harry had fallen in with the suggestion that he spend most of the day with the Weasley children and Hermione. It had proved to be a refreshing change from being with grown ups constantly and Harry had enjoyed himself, soaking in the growing atmosphere of excitement as the site filled up with witches and wizards and the match drew closer. He went back to his father, Remus and Sirius in time to take their places just below the top box. The Weasleys were in the top box itself, Arthur Weasley having got the tickets through a contact at the Ministry of Magic, where he worked. The match had been all that Harry could have wished for. Ireland had clearly the better all round team but Bulgaria had the world's best seeker in Victor Krum. Eventually Krum went for the Snitch and caught it after it became clear that his team had no hope of winning and Ireland became world champions.

A few hours after the match had ended everyone was sleeping in their tents when they were awoken by the sound of loud chanting. Looking outside the tent Harry saw a group of cloaked and masked figures, wands raised, levitating the muggle family who owned the campsite in font of them. And that was all Harry had seen. Almost immediately Remus had said,

'I'll take Harry out of here, James. You and Sirius see if you can be of any help. Then he had taken Harry's arm and apparated them home. Part of Harry had felt annoyed at not being able to stay and see what was happening but when he thought about it he realised that Remus had had no choice. He was obliged to keep Harry out of danger if he could and that was exactly what he had done. Since arriving home they had stayed in the kitchen drinking cups of tea and speaking little.

A tap at the window heralded the arrival of the Daily Prophet and it wasn't good news. A photograph covered the entire front page and Harry recognised what it was from stories he had heard from Slytherins in the days when he had associated with them.

The Dark Mark.

He felt cold all over as he watched while Remus read the article inside the paper. He was almost frightened to ask what had happened but Remus passed the paper over to him so he could read it for himself. It didn't seem quite as bad as the picture had suggested. No one knew who had sent the Dark Mark into the sky but there had been no sign of any other sinister activity apart from the levitation of the muggles. Those responsible for that had fled when the Dark Mark had appeared in the sky and the main problem seemed to have been mass panic. Harry had hardly finished reading when his father and Sirius apparated into the kitchen. His father immediately turned to Harry looking extremely serious.

'I'm afraid you'll find that the paper doesn't tell the whole story,' he said.

'What do you mean, James?' asked Remus.

The story's truthful as far as it goes,' was the reply. 'The Mark was set off in the wooded area. We were with a group of ministry officials and were on the scene almost immediately. We cast stupefying hexes but only hit Mr Crouch's house elf. She had a wand in her hand which was shown to have been the one used but it is unthinkable that she was responsible. Also, the wand turned out to belong to Ron Weasley who would also be quite incapable of summoning the Dark Mark, quite apart from the fact that he was with members of his family the whole time. The Deatheaters who were terrorising that poor family made themselves scarce the moment the Mark was sent up, suggesting that they were as frightened as everyone else. Pettigrew is far too much of a coward to have acted on his own in such a gathering. Which leads us to conclude that there is a highly dangerous supporter of Voldemort out there.'

'That's not really much more than is in the paper,' said Harry.

'There's more,' said his father. And fortunately it was Sirius who found it so only the two of us know about it.' He took a sheet of parchment from his pocket and passed it to Harry. The message read:

**HARRY POTTER WILL BE KILLED AND HIS BLOOD WILL ENABLE THE DARK LORD TO RISE AGAIN**

Harry felt a chill spread over his body. He knew of course that Pettigrew might try again but somehow this unknown enemy felt far more frightening. Beside him, Remus read the note for himself and shuddered.

'Maybe you really should lock me up,' said Harry trying not to sound depressed at the thought. His father looked at him for a minute before replying.

'Tempting as the idea is, I don't think it is the best course of action. Instead I'm going to give you some lessons in practical defence on top of your animagus training and teaching you to apparate, starting tomorrow. Right now I think you should get some sleep.

'I don't think I could,' said Harry. His mind was reeling with the thought that his blood was wanted to restore Voldemort to power. His father seemed to think the matter over before saying,

'Very well. Outside with you. Perhaps if you spend an hour chasing butterflies and mice you'll feel like sleeping afterwards. I'll ensure you can't leave the property but apart from that I won't restrict where you go. No killing and definitely no eating- Sirius will go with you to make sure you keep that rule.'

Two minutes later Harry was out in the garden in his wildcat form. Sirius was there with him as the large black dog. It was a wonderful feeling having the full run of the garden. He could chase his butterflies everywhere and try to sniff out mice from the undergrowth without having to worry about being penalised when he turned back into a boy. Once he managed to catch a mouse and was on the point of biting through its neck when Sirius swiped at Harry's head with his paw causing him to let the creature escape.

Fun though it was, by the time half an hour had passed Harry was exhausted and made to curl up in the sun and go to sleep. Sirius promptly resumed human form and picked him up, carried him inside and took him up to his bed, telling him he'd be more comfortable there when the spell wore off.

The next morning Harry was treated to another "reading of the riot act" as his father liked to call it.

'Whilst you are not allowed to practice magic during the summer,' his father explained, 'the ministry cannot actually detect who performs any given spell. So since there are adult wizards in this house any magic you do will go unnoticed. That being said, if I catch you doing magic outside of these lessons you'll be in trouble. Also, since you are supposed to be on holiday, I'm restricting all lessons and training from now on to four days a week. This includes any holiday homework you have still to complete. It won't do for you to be worn out when school starts again. Are you clear about all that?'

Harry nodded and his lessons promptly began. His father stressed that Harry's priority if he were caught should be escaping but he felt he should have the means to defend himself if necessary so he was teaching basic shield charms, counter curses and suchlike. There was no need to threaten Harry with penalties in these lessons; any inattention automatically meant that Harry was subjected to the jinx or curse his father flung at him so he made every effort to learn.

Apparating was hard. Harry had had six lessons before he made any progress whatsoever and then he splinched himself. But finally, after almost three weeks he could do it. As a reward he got another lecture on only using the ability in an emergency since it was illegal and the two of them could be in trouble with the ministry if they knew about it.

'It gets very confusing,' said Harry to his father at dinner that night. One minute you're telling me to follow all your rules and the next you're teaching me stuff illegally.'

'It's perfectly simple,' said Sirius, who had taken to visiting them most evenings. 'If it increases your safety then it's worth breaking ministry laws. But if ignoring some relatively trivial school rule compromises your safety then your father comes down on you like a ton of bricks. What's the problem?'

Put like that, there didn't seem to be one and Harry smiled at his Godfather who reached over and ruffled his hair. Remus laughed.

'You seem to be getting quite fond of Harry considering you were calling him a brat two years ago,' he remarked. Sirius was unperturbed by this comment.

'Yes,' he said, 'but the "brat" grows on you. ' Everyone laughed at this, Harry included.

A week before term started Harry's letter arrived with his booklist and a Hogsmeade permission form. Harry passed it to his father hesitantly but he needn't have worried.

'I'll sign it,' he said. 'Just bear in mind that I reserve the right to withdraw permission if I think it necessary for your safety.'

Harry was happy with that. That afternoon they had an uneventful trip to Diagon Alley to purchase Harry's requirements for the coming term. These seemed to include a set of dress robes; however when Harry asked what they were needed for his father refused to tell him. The following day Harry had his final lessons of the summer and greatly impressed his father by managing to apparate perfectly all over the house and gardens. A final few days of relaxing and the holiday was over. Harry's father returned to Hogwarts the day before term started and Sirius and Remus escorted Harry to Kings Cross on the first of September.

'Well, I know you'll be having a pretty exciting year but I hope you'll find time to write sometimes,' said Sirius once Harry's trunk was safely stowed on the train.

'Actually I thought this year might be a bit quieter,' said Harry.

'Ah, but then I know something you don't know,' Sirius told him with a smirk. Harry immediately looked at Remus who shook his head with a smile.

'Sorry Harry, but you'll just have to wait to find out what he's talking about. He shouldn't really have said anything. Remember to take care of yourself, now.'

Harry nodded. The grown ups had decided that Harry shouldn't really be in much danger of attack at Hogwarts but had impressed on him the need for reporting anything unusual and for sticking to rules regarding his safety. Five minutes later the train pulled out of the station and Harry was once again on his way to Hogwarts.

* * *

Another thanks to all my reviewers. 


	34. The Triwizard Tournament

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 34: The Triwizard Tournament

The entire population of Hogwarts was in a frenzy of excitement and Harry revelled in the atmosphere, blissfully aware that he had nothing whatsoever to do with the cause of it all. Professor Dumbledore had stunned them all at the opening feast by announcing that the Triwizard tournament would be resurrected this year and that Hogwarts would be playing host to the two other participating schools, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Several fourth years had expressed their intention of entering, inspire of the fact that the headmaster had made it clear that the competition was only open to those aged seventeen or over. Ron Weasley in particular seemed highly drawn to the thousand galleon prize money. Harry knew that Ron hated being poor but thought that what he did have more than made up for it and told him so.

'You have a family that loves you. That's better than money any day.'

'It's fine for you to say that,' Ron countered. 'Your father's loaded.'

'I know what it's like to have nothing,' said Harry quietly. 'I lost nearly everything I owned at the start of first year. And back then I didn't have anyone to turn to. I saw you at Christmas wearing a jumper your mother had knitted for you. I'd have given anything to be in your place. And Dad might be all right with me now but I'd still love to be able to remember a mother as well.'

Ron was incredulous.

'What? You were actually jealous of that awful maroon jumper?' Harry laughed.

'Well maybe I'd have liked another colour better.'

'I'd still like to enter,' said Ron. 'No exams for the Hogwarts champion, remember?'

Fred and George also found the prize money attractive. They had grand plans of starting a joke business and the thousand galleons would be just the thing to give it a kick start. Harry happened to be in possession of one of their prototype sweets and shortly into the third week of term decided to try it out. Walking between Defence and Transfiguration with Neville Longbottom he offered him the sweet, popping an ordinary one into his own mouth. Five minutes into Professor Potter's lecture on Cross-Species Switches Neville turned into a large yellow canary.

'I don't recall asking for a demonstration.' The words were spoken mildly but Harry noticed that his father glanced around the class a couple of times before resting his eyes on Harry. Harry was disappointed; he had hoped not to have been detected and wondered just how his father had worked out that he was responsible.

'Stay after class please, Harry.' Again, the words were mild but Harry was far from reassured. Then Neville moulted and returned to normal and the lesson resumed. Harry just hoped he wasn't in too much trouble.

'I'll see you in my quarters at seven for your detention.'

It seemed that his hopes were in vain but Harry tried to wriggle out of it.

'I thought you wanted me to get up to mischief,' he said. His father smiled.

'Not in my class,' he told Harry. 'Seven o'clock sharp, please.' Harry left, thinking that he should have listened to Fred and George when they warned him about playing jokes on his father. The twins came and sat beside him at dinner.

'I hear our canary cream worked then,' said Fred.

'Yes, Ron said Neville looked great,' added George.

'He also said he was glad he wasn't the one responsible,' said Fred. 'Have you been sentenced yet?' Harry groaned.

'Detention tonight in his quarters,' he told them. 'But I don't know what he's going to make me do.'

'Don't worry,' said George in fake reassurance. 'I'm sure you won't enjoy it.'

Harry arrived punctually for his detention. His father wasted no time lecturing him but pointed immediately to a four foot diameter circle he had drawn on the floor.

'Get in there,' he said, 'and if you put so much as one claw or whisker outside I'll pass you on to Filch for another detention.'

It sounded rather boring, thought Harry, spending an hour in his animagus form inside such a small area but he shouldn't have any trouble keeping within the circle. He was soon proved wrong. A minute after his father turned him into the wildcat, several mice materialised on the outside of the circle, running rings round Harry and sometimes crossing the line. All Harry's instincts screamed at him to chase them, but Harry knew that once he started there was little chance of him being able to keep within the circle. Instead, he forced himself to crouch in the centre and vented some of his frustration by growling and hissing at the rodents. The mice, seeing that Harry was making no attempt to catch them grew more daring, sometimes coming within a foot of Harry. Harry resolutely stayed put, though he did swipe a clawed paw when they came too close. His relief was enormous when he returned to boy form. He scowled at his father.

'That was evil,' he said. 'And I still don't think you should have punished me at all.' His father told him to sit down and did so himself after conjuring a couple of bottles of butterbeer and giving one to Harry.

'Tell me Harry,' he said. 'When have you ever known me let a student get away with disrupting my lessons?' Harry thought about it.

'I don't think I remember anyone disrupting your lessons before.'

'There's a reason for that. I know you wouldn't have been there, but all new Gryffindors are given a few helpful hints on their first night by the house prefects. These include information on which teachers do not tolerate classes being disrupted. One of whom happens to be me. The last people to disregard the advice were Fred and George. They soon learned their lesson. And I suspect you've learned yours, too.'

'I still think you were unfair,' complained Harry.' His father laughed.

'Tough. But for the record, I'll admit to being impressed at how well you managed. And since you're here, I've a couple of books I want you to study. They're enchanted to look like ordinary textbooks since I don't want people knowing what they really are.'

The books were one on the habits of the Scottish Wildcat and another on the theory of the animagus transformation.

'Read the first chapter of the animagus book before Sunday evening,' Harry's father told him, 'and I'll go over it with you then. The other you won't need my help with- it's just to give you all the information you need about your form. Off you go now and stay out of trouble.'

'Well? How bad was it?' Harry was not surprised at being waylaid by George the moment he returned to the common room.

'Horrible,' admitted Harry. 'And don't say "I told you so".'

'Why not?' asked Fred. 'We did, after all.' Harry just huffed and went up to bed.

Apart from the Triwizard tournament, the other major talking point was the Defence teacher. Harry knew from overhearing conversations between his father and Remus that he was an ex-auror and very highly regarded by Dumbledore. Apparently Dumbledore wanted someone he could rely on this year. Harry had not known why when he heard this but he now realised it was probably because of the Triwizard Tournament. Personally Harry didn't like him very much. In their first lesson he'd demonstrated the Unforgivable Curses. That didn't bother Harry, but Moody had kept him behind after the class and said something about Harry being the only person ever to have survived the Killing Curse. That meant Dumbledore must have told Moody about the events of second year, something which Harry wanted to forget. Very few people knew the whole truth and Harry didn't like the idea of anyone new learning about it. Then in a subsequent class Harry had almost thrown off the Imperius Curse on his first try and Moody had made him keep trying till he could resist it completely. Much as Harry liked to know he couldn't be controlled, he felt he could do without the special attention.

Everyone else seemed to think Moody the coolest Defence teacher ever. They loved being taught proper ways to defend themselves and took to imitating Moody's catchphrase, "CONSTANT VIGILENCE!" Although a good teacher, Moody was extremely paranoid and thought that someone was always out to get him. He even went to the extreme of always drinking from his own personal flask.

In late October the representatives from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrived in a weird submergible ship and a flying carriage respectively. Many students screamed with excitement when the Bulgarian seeker, Viktor Krum who had caught the snitch at the Quidditch World Cup turned out to be one of the Durmstrang students. After an even more elaborate feast than the usual ones Hogwarts provided on special occasions, Dumbledore announced the arrangements for entering the Triwizard Tournament. A special artefact called The Goblet of Fire would be set up in the entrance hall. Anyone wishing to enter should write his or her name on a slip of parchment and place it in the Goblet. An Age Line would prevent underage wizards from reaching the Goblet and putting their names in. At another feast tomorrow night the Goblet of Fire would eject three names; one champion from each school.

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Everyone had finished eating and the plates and food had vanished from the tables. In addition to the Hogwarts staff and the heads of the visiting schools, Madam Maxime and Professor Karkaroff, the Minister of magic, Mr Crouch and the Head of Magical Sports, Ludo Bagman sat at the top table. In front of the top table was the Goblet of Fire in all its glory, emitting a golden glow of flames. Dumbledore stood up and announced that the goblet was ready to make its decision…

And so the three champions were chosen. First was Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, a popular choice from the level of applause he received. Secondly there was Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons, an extraordinarily beautiful girl who got vast applause from the boys but not nearly so much from the girls. Then came Cedric Diggory, the Hogwarts champion. Harry was disappointed since he was from Hufflepuff and not Gryffindor. Fred and George had tried to enter using an aging potion but Dumbledore's Age Line had been extremely effective, throwing them out of the circle and giving them long white beards. Still, the champions had been chosen and Harry was determined that he was going to enjoy watching the three tasks which made up the competition.

Then, just as Dumbledore was making his closing speech, the Goblet of Fire spat out another slip of parchment. The headmaster automatically reached out, took it and looked at it. Then he read out the name.

_Harry Potter

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_

Well, another chapter done. I have to say that I hadn't intended mirroring the books so much but who am I to argue with the muse? Thanks again to all who reviewed.


	35. Animal Therapy

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is still owned by J K Rowling

A Change of Identity

Chapter 35: Animal Therapy

Almost a week had dragged by since Harry's name had emerged from the Goblet of Fire and he was still fuming. The Minister of Magic, Mr Crouch had insisted that Harry had entered into a binding magical contract and was obliged to participate in the tournament. Harry had argued with him, saying angrily that he hadn't put his name in so he hadn't entered into any contract but Mr Crouch had been adamant. Then Snape had put his oar in, accusing Harry of lying and telling Dumbledore that he should be severely punished. This in turn had enraged Harry's father.

'I'd have thought even you could tell that Harry's speaking the truth when he says he didn't put his name in the Goblet,' he said coldly. Snape had retorted that Harry's father was blinded to the truth and quite a shouting match had ensued until the headmaster had stepped in and sent Harry and the other champions away to celebrate.

Celebrate. That was a joke if ever Harry had heard one. The moment he entered the common room Ron Weasley confronted him.

'So much for you not being interested!' he yelled. 'You spout out all that rubbish about family being more important and then go and enter behind my back. Well you can forget about me becoming a friend of yours after hypocrisy like that.' Harry didn't even bother to argue but stormed off to bed.

Fred and George weren't annoyed with Harry for entering but thought that it was a great joke and kept pestering Harry to tell them how he'd overcome Dumbledore's Age Line. They wouldn't believe in his innocence and Harry ended up telling them to go to Hell and stay there. The school seemed full of people who resented the fact that Harry was in the tournament and wherever he went snide comments followed him. Even the few who believed him were annoying. Hermione Granger, for instance, said

'You know, you can't blame people for thinking you put your own name in, Harry. I mean it's a perfectly natural thing to assume.' Harry had snapped angrily at her and refused to listen to anything else she had to say.

In Transfiguration on Monday Harry had stayed behind and asked his father if were sure that there was no way he could get out of the tournament. His father, although sympathetic told him there was nothing that could be done about it. Harry spent the rest of the week getting more and more annoyed at all the comments directed at him.

The last straw was just as Harry entered his last class on Friday, Transfiguration. Ron muttered loudly to Dean Thomas who was sitting beside him,

'Here comes the Cheating Champion. I still don't understand how the Goblet could have chosen such scum.'

Harry had spent most of a week now trying to resist the impulse to react to comments like this and his supply of self restraint was now exhausted. He drew his wand and angrily shot out several nasty hexes leaving Ron a nasty shade of green and covered in boils and warts. Then a stern voice spoke from behind him.

'Go to my quarters and stay there till I come, Harry.' Harry was still so angry that he didn't care how much trouble he was in and stormed off while his father told Ron to go to the hospital wing.

It was well over an hour by the time his father arrived but Harry had hardly calmed down at all. And he couldn't believe it when his father drew his wand and pointed it at him. It was obvious what he was intending to do and Harry really wasn't in the mood for spending an hour as a wildcat and having to follow whatever instructions he was given.

'I don't want…' But his furious protest was cut off before he had a chance to get into it. His father had calmly ignored him and cast his spell. Harry found though that he was still capable of expressing his opinion. He arched his back and hissed angrily at his father. The man didn't seem to be too bothered by this.

'Well, quite the little spitfire today, aren't you Harry?' He walked over and picked his son up. Harry responded by trying to scratch and bite him but his father seemed prepared for that.

'No you don't Harry,' he said and magically sheathed Harry's claws and prevented his mouth from opening far enough to bite. Now Harry tried to squirm and wriggle out of his fathers grasp but he was held firmly as his father made his way to the armchair and sat down. Still keeping a firm grasp on Harry he started stroking him and talking.

'Come on Spitfire, calm down,' he said soothingly. 'I know you've had a hard week of it but I want you just to try and relax and forget all about it for a while.'

That was a joke, thought Harry. How could he possibly forget about something like that? But his father continued talking softly and petting him, and despite himself, Harry found himself relaxing slightly. After a while he realised that his claws and mouth were no longer restricted but by this time he had lost the urge to fight. A little voice inside him suggested that this was all wrong. He was a wildcat, not some domestic kitten and he wasn't supposed to be lying in a human lap being petted. But, he thought , he was only a young wildcat and even wild animals sometimes needed to be cared for by their parents.

'Now listen carefully to me, Harry.' Harry stuck his ears up when his father's voice lost its soothing tones for a minute though he resumed speaking softly once he had Harry's attention.

'Now Harry,' he said. 'In a few minutes you should be changing back into a boy again. I want you to try and resist the change. Try to forget that you're human. Concentrate on your feline senses. It's a bit like resisting the Imperius Curse which I hear you're pretty good at.'

The almost hypnotic talk continued and at some stage Harry thought he could feel something pulling at him but the sensation soon passed as he tried not to think as a human and submerged himself into his wildcat persona.

'Well done, Spitfire.' Harry realised he'd been christened with a new name for use in his animagus form. Not that he minded. Spitfire was a pretty good name for a wildcat. He found that although he was thinking in a human way again he did not feel as if he were going to turn back into a boy anytime soon. This was soon confirmed.

'Now,' said his father. 'You're stuck like that until I choose to change you back. And I'm not going to do that until Sunday. You've had an extremely miserable week and I want you to spend this weekend forgetting about it all. Just enjoy being in your wildcat form.'

So that was what Harry did. He spent the weekend doing nothing but eating, sleeping, playing with animated stuffed mice and being petted by his father. It was strange at first, not having all the usual restrictions about what he did in his animagus form and knowing that he wasn't about to change back any time soon but he quickly got used to it. And it was absolutely wonderful to be totally cut off from the rest of the student body. It was almost a pity that he couldn't stay like this for ever. Almost. Harry was well aware that he wouldn't really want to spend the rest of his life as a cat. It was just that once his father changed him back he would have to deal with everything again.

But there would be a difference now. Things had changed. Harry now knew something. In his animal form he could sense emotions and there was one in particular which he had sensed from his father that weekend. Love. Harry's father could have told Harry he loved him till he was blue in the face but Harry probably wouldn't have believed it. But there was no way of fooling the senses of an animal and Harry now knew without a doubt that his father loved him and wasn't just acting the part of concerned parent. Harry's father had already risen in Harry's estimation by never for a moment questioning Harry's claim that he didn't put his own name in the Goblet of Fire. Now his son knew for certain that he could trust him completely.

Sunday afternoon came and Harry's father changed him back but told him to stay where he was until Monday morning.

'You might as well have a full weekend of peace,' he said. 'Besides, you have a missed Transfiguration lesson to make up for and your other teachers are going to expect a high standard of homework from you since you've been spending the weekend here with no distractions.'

Harry groaned but he could hardly tell his teachers that he'd been unable to do his homework because he'd been a wildcat for most of the weekend. And he knew better than to complain about having to learn the stuff he'd missed in his father's class. But he still felt that a token protest was in order.

'Can't I at least have some human food first?' he asked.

'You had perfectly good food over the last couple of days, Harry,' his father said. 'Just because it was chopped up and served in a bowl on the floor doesn't mean it was any worse than your usual fare.' But he spoke with laughter in his voice and conjured a plate of sandwiches and a glass of pumpkin juice which Harry devoured as if he hadn't eaten for a week.

'Being an animal for so long makes a person hungry,' he claimed.

'No, not eating properly for a week makes a person hungry.' Harry looked down. He hadn't been skipping meals exactly, but neither had he been eating proper amounts. He hadn't thought his father would notice along as he showed his face at mealtimes. Clearly he was wrong.

'Do I have to get Remus to send you written instructions that you are to look after yourself? Or will you promise me that this habit of not eating every time something goes wrong in your life is going to stop?'

'I'll eat properly in future,' Harry mumbled. He really didn't fancy receiving what he thought of as a "silent howler" from Remus as he had done when he'd been refusing to use his new wand in third year.

By Monday morning Harry felt he was able to face the world again without exploding. His father had given him a letter from Remus sympathising with his predicament but also containing some advice.

_I know people have been accusing you unjustly but I think it would be in your interest to forgive them if at all possible. Keeping friends is well worth sacrificing a little of your pride._

The trouble was that Harry didn't have a lot in the way of friends to start with. But he supposed he could bring himself to forgive Fred and George. Hermione, too. It was after all just her nature to act as a know-it-all. Ron was a different matter. Harry doubted that Ron would be forgiving Harry or believing him in a hurry. But maybe one day he would realise that Harry had had no wish at all to enter the stupid Triwizard Tournament. And when that day came perhaps he'd be able to follow Remus's advice . Until then Harry would just get on with his life as best he could.


	36. The First Task

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J K Rowling

A Change of Identity

Chapter 36: The First Task

A weekend spent as a wildcat couldn't solve all of Harry's problems but at least it had given him some much needed time away from them. Fred and George ceased to pester him.

'We tried to see you over the weekend to apologise,' said Fred.

''But your father refused to let us anywhere near you,' said George. 'We asked him if you'd caught some contagious disease.'

'Or if he'd turned you into a puppy again,' added Fred, 'but he wouldn't say. Just told us to get lost.'

Hermione didn't apologise but she refrained from making anymore irritating comments and Harry didn't rebuff her when she tried to be friendly. Over the weekend most of the house seemed to have decided that it was in fact something to be proud of, having a school Triwizard Champion among their number even if he shouldn't really have been in the competition. The few who still resented Harry, including Ron, kept away from him rather than antagonising him. Harry still had to face hostility from members of the other houses, especially Slytherin and Hufflepuff- after all Hufflepuff felt that Harry was taking some of the glory away from there own champion, Cedric Diggory- but he tried not to let it get to him too much.

There was of course one big question to which Harry would have liked an answer. Who had put his name in the Goblet? He didn't need to ask why. As his father had pointed out on Sunday night, the Triwizard Tournament had been discontinued because of its dangerous nature. Participants had been known to get killed. That was why the age restriction had been put in place. Someone was obviously hoping that the competition would be the death of Harry. Harry's father had reluctantly relayed some information Dumbledore had told him.

'There have been some signs that Voldemort is getting stronger apart from the incident at the World Cup. It could well be that he has found someone capable of infiltrating Hogwarts and entering you for the tournament. I won't tell you not to worry but I do want you just to concentrate on your schoolwork for now. The first task isn't until the end of November and in any case, you won't find out what it is until just before it. When it comes, just try your best.

Ten days before the First Task Harry had to attend a Wand Weighing ceremony where Mr Ollivander checked that all the champions' wands were in good working order. A woman called Rita Skeeter, a reporter for the Daily Prophet was there and tried to get Harry alone for an interview. Harry's father however refused to let her drag Harry away and she was forced to ask her questions in the room where everyone else was. Harry didn't like her much and for the most part gave non-committal answers. When she asked how Harry felt about his change of identity he just kept his mouth firmly shut.

When Ollivander started checking the wands Harry was almost grateful that he no longer had his old one. The aged wand maker commented on the wood and core of each one. Harry certainly didn't fancy Rita Skeeter writing about Harry having a werewolf core in his wand. It was bad enough that Ollivander seemed to be remembering something interesting about his new wand though he didn't say what it was. All in all Harry was relieved when all the wands were declared to be in good working order and he was free to leave.

Saturday was a Hogsmeade day and Harry went down to the village with Fred and George. His father had told him it was probably safe enough but had given Harry strict orders that he was not to be alone for a single second. Harry had told Fred and George this and they had agreed to stick to Harry like glue. The day passed pleasantly enough until they returned to the school to find that Rita Skeeter's article had been published that morning. Somehow she had managed to translate Harry's vague replies into something completely different.

"_Harry Potter is confident he can win the Triwizard Tournament_." "His_ eyes fill with tears at the mention of how he was informed that the man who raised him was not his father." _

Those were just two of the things which were written and which those who liked to torment Harry quoted loudly whenever they thought he could hear them. Harry wondered what the woman would have written if Harry had told her his true feelings.

With the task only a week away Harry began to get nervous about it. His father noticed this and on Monday morning very kindly gave him something to keep his mind of it- a pile of extra homework. Reading the list Harry found he had two essays to write regarding the Animagus Transformation and a collection of Defence spells which he had to learn the names of, find out the incantations for and write a paragraph on what each one did.

'I bet you and Sirius didn't have to do all this when you were learning to become animagi,' he grumbled one Wednesday night when he went to hand his father the essay on The Dangers of the Animagus Transformation.

''No, we didn't,' was the reply. 'We were not however the most responsible of people at that age and we might have got ourselves into a very stick mess. I refuse to have you take those same risks. Besides, we had to do all our own research to find out how to do it. You're getting it all spoon fed to you. It's only right that you have to put some effort into it. And lastly, you need something to keep your mind off Saturday morning, so stop complaining.'

Harry stalked off. He knew his father had a point but he wasn't going to admit it. Somehow he managed to get through the week and Saturday morning after breakfast found himself being escorted by his father to a large tent which had been erected in the grounds. His father, who seemed rather nervous himself by this time briefly wished him luck and walked away, leaving Harry to enter the tent. The other champions were already there, along with Ludo Bagman, the Head of Magical Sports.

'Well, now everyone's here we can start!' exclaimed Mr Bagman happily. 'I have here a bag containing for models, each representing the task you are about to face. Each model is slightly different and each bears a number indicating the order in which you are to attempt the task. Miss Delacour, if you would like to take your pick, please.'

Fleur Delacour stepped forward, put her hand in the proffered bag and withdrew a model of a green dragon with the number two around its neck. Victor Krum was next and he pulled out a red oriental looking dragon with the number three. Cedric Diggory then took out a blueish-grey dragon with the number one. His heart thumping, Harry put his hand in the bag and withdrew the final dragon, an extremely vicious looking one with the number four.

'Right,' said Mr Bagman. 'I'm commentating, so I'll be leaving you now. Go out one at a time in your order when you hear the whistle starting with Mr Diggory. Your task is to collect the Golden Egg. Good luck everyone!' And with that, he left the tent.

The four champions were all silent but nervous as he was, Harry had noticed something. None of the other three had shown the slightest hint of surprise on discovering the dragons. Which meant that they had already known, or at least suspected that they would be facing them, and probably had some idea of how they were going to tackle the situation. Harry, on the other hand, had known nothing. And he had absolutely no idea of how to get anywhere near a dragon without getting himself killed. It looked like whoever had put his name in the Goblet was going to succeed in his aim of getting Harry killed.

One by one the other three went out. Harry was vaguely aware of the excited commentary from Ludo Bagman and the gasps and cheers from the crowd but didn't really take in what was happening. He racked his brain trying to think of some sort of plan but without success. The final whistle blew and Harry exited the tent sure that he was about to meet his doom.

Once out of the tent he walked past some trees and through a gap in a fence to find himself in a large enclosure. Right at the other end, the vicious looking dragon sat on a clutch of eggs. Harry could now see that she had a spiked tail, which meant that if he evaded the flames which the dragon was sure to emit from one end he'd be in deadly peril from the other. And somehow he had to steal an egg from her.

Gradually Harry became aware of jeering from some of the crowd. Slytherins probably, he thought. Not that he could blame them. The other three had clearly all succeeded in getting their eggs and he was just standing here like a dummy. But even if he got anywhere near the dragon, how could he get away quickly enough if it attacked? There was no way he could run fast enough. The only way he could move that fast was if he were on his broom. And he didn't have a broom. And since they were yet to cover summoning charms in class he had no way of getting his broom.

Or did he? A memory suddenly made its way to the surface of Harry's mind. It was a memory he would never in a million years have thought he'd be grateful for since it had involved him being in an extremely awkward and potentially painful position. He was being held down over the back of an armchair and his father was saying 'Accio, slipper!'

Unfortunately Harry had been in no position at the time to see the associated wand movement but it was the only chance he had of avoiding the complete and utter humiliation of not even being able to attempt the task. He drew his wand and pointed it in the direction of the castle, trying as best he could to focus it on his dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. Then he spoke loudly and clearly, willing with all his might.

'ACCIO FIREBOLT!'

The Slytherins were silent for a quarter of a minute until it became apparent that nothing was happening. Then the jeers and laughter resumed. But suddenly there were gasps from elsewhere in the crowd. Looking up, Harry saw something zooming towards him. As it approached he could clearly see that it was a broom. Before he had fully realised that he had really succeeded in summoning it, his Firebolt was hovering beside him waiting to be mounted.

The next few minutes were a blur to Harry. He played a deadly game of cat and mouse with the dragon and at some stage felt the sting as one of the tail's spikes ripped through his robes, grazing his shoulder. But at last he lured the beast away from her nest and swooped down and grabbed the Golden Egg, much as if he were catching a snitch in Quidditch. Only then did he become aware that the crowd were actually cheering him. And not only the staff and Gryffindors but many others too. He felt happier than he'd ever felt before in his life.

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A N: I only realised sometime after posting the last chapter that I seem to have made Mr Crouch the Minister of Magic. And there you all were, thinking it was just another of those changes I make to what happens in the proper books. However, I'm going to leave him where he is- I'm sure I'll work things out somehow! Thanks again to all you wonderful reviewers. 


	37. After the Task

Disclaimer: All of Harry Potter belongs to J K Rowling

A Change of Identity

Chapter 37: After the Task

Harry noticed five people rushing towards him from the stands: his father, Ron, Fred and George Weasley and Hermione. Before any of these people got remotely close enough to talk to him however, he was marched into a tent by Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse. Harry saw that the other champions were all there sporting various injuries.

'I don't know what they were thinking about, allowing students within even a mile of those dragons,' she said angrily. 'Come on; let me see that shoulder of yours.'

A minute later Harry's shoulder felt perfectly fine although Madam Pomfrey insisted that he keep a dressing on it for the next twenty four hours. And she certainly wasn't prepared to stop fussing.

'Now you lot just keep things down if you want to be allowed to talk to Mr Potter here,' she said as the tent was invaded. She appeared to make no distinction between the four students and Harry's father in her command. Harry's father had an odd expression on his face- both grim and proud. He spoke to Harry only briefly before leaving.

'Very well done indeed,' he said. 'I need to have a serious talk with you but it can wait till tomorrow since I suspect your house would appreciate your presence in the common room for a celebratory party after you get your marks from the judges. Come and see me around eleven.'

After he left there was silence for half a minute before Ron spoke. He kept his voice low so that the other champions wouldn't be able to here him.

'How come they all knew what the task was and you didn't?' he asked.

Harry knew that Ron wasn't the type to like to say sorry but the indignant way in which he asked that question was good enough. And although part of him was still angry at Ron he felt he wanted to keep any friends he had rather than risk being a total loner again. He shrugged, not having any answer to give. Then he laughed as Hermione rounded on Ron.

'You see, I keep telling you how you should read ahead in the class work,' she told him. 'Harry could have been dead if he hadn't learnt that summoning charm in advance of Flitwick covering it.'

'Actually I didn't learn it, Hermione,' he said. 'I just remembered my father using it once last year.' That rendered Hermione speechless. The twins smirked and Harry realised they knew just what he was referring to but they didn't embarrass him by mentioning it. Ron said,

'Your dad didn't look all that happy. Do you think he's going to punish you for something tomorrow?' Harry wasn't worried on that account.

'If I was in trouble he'd let me know all about it and wouldn't be telling me to go to a party. I think he just wants to talk about this whole mess that I'm in with this tournament.'

At this point Harry was summoned to go before the judges and receive his marks for the task. Five minutes later he dazedly realised that he was sharing first place with Viktor Krum. He and the other champions were informed that the next task was to take place on February the twenty fourth and that they had to figure out the clue inside the golden egg they had collected in order to prepare for it. Next thing he knew he was in the middle of a riotous party in the Gryffindor common room. Fred and George had visited the kitchens with the result that the house elves had provided so much food that no one needed to attend either lunch or dinner. Hermione fretted slightly over the extra work this made for the elves. When she'd first found out about the existence of these creatures she had been all for trying to free them. Then Harry's father had heard her trying to get people to join a society for the purpose and stepped in. Rather than argue with her he'd given her an essay to write on the subject. As a result of all the research she had to do for it she discovered that it would actually be cruel to free them and gave up her campaign. Now she just tried to tell people not to make to much work for them.

At one point during the evening some bright spark badgered Harry into opening up the golden egg. He was immediately ordered to shut it again when the common room was filled with an extremely loud screechy wailing. Harry wondered how on earth he could be expected to make any sense of it but decided not to worry about it at present- after all it was around three months before the next task.

It was nearing eleven that night before the party had fizzled out and Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys found themselves alone in the common room and able to talk seriously.

'So why were you the only one who didn't have a clue what you were doing?' asked Ron.

'Was it that obvious?' asked Harry.

'Put it this way,' said Fred. 'You stood there for several minutes like a dummy. Then you did that summoning charm and sounded confident enough but looked as if you couldn't believe it when it actually worked.'

'Yeah, well I had to try something,' said Harry. 'But I've no idea how the others found out. I'll see what my father's got to say about it tomorrow. Right now I need to sleep. I'm worn out from laughing at all those first years turning into canaries. I reckon those sweets will be one of your best sellers, George.'

They all laughed. Fred and George had managed to trick every last one of the first year Gryffindors into taking one of their special joke sweets with hilarious results. It looked like the only obstacle to the twins' dream of running a joke business was lack of money. Harry was still smiling as he went to sleep.

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Harry was seated in a throne like chair which seemed far too large for him in a dark and dusty room. He was exceedingly angry.

'He should have been finished off by that dragon,' he hissed. Then you could have easily collected his blood and I would have been reborn.'

'I am sorry master. I had no idea that he would be able to think up a plan on the spur of the moment like that.'

'It appears that the boy is resourceful. He will need to learn however that he is no match for me. We will change the plan and take him alive. Listen well, my faithful servant. But first…CRUCIO!'

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Harry woke with a sharp cry of pain which he quickly muffled. Not quite quickly enough to avoid waking Ron however, who came into Harry's cubicle to see what was wrong.

'It was just a stupid dream,' Harry told him. But the scar on my head suddenly started hurting. It's going away now though.'

'Weird,' said Ron. How did you get that scar, anyway?'

'Second year,' Harry said shortly. It wasn't something he was proud of and didn't particularly wasn't to discuss it. Ron seemed to sense Harry's discomfort and didn't press him.

'Do you think you should tell your father or Dumbledore about it?' he asked instead.

'No,' said Harry. I'm fine now. I think I'll go back to sleep.'

'Yeah, me too,' said Ron and he left Harry to snuggle back under his quilt.

Harry duly went to his father's rooms at eleven the following morning to find the headmaster there too. The fact that there was a tray with tea and biscuits on the table was enough to confirm Harry's assertion of the day before that he was not in trouble. That didn't stop him from feeling a little nervous though. Once he was seated with a cup of tea Dumbledore began.

'Firstly Harry,' he said pleasantly, 'I must congratulate you on your performance yesterday. You should be very proud of yourself. But what we need to discuss is your safety. The fact that the champions from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had prior knowledge of the task does not concern me. Cheating has always taken place in this tournament. However, it was agreed amongst all the Hogwarts staff that none of us would help either Cedric or yourself. Since yesterday I have ascertained that no one broke this agreement. This means that an outside agency must have told Cedric about the dragons.'

Harry said,

'But I don't understand. I mean I know someone might want me dead but what would it matter if something happened to Diggory as well?' His father answered.

'There was no way of knowing the order in which you would all attempt the task. If one of the others had been killed then you might not have been allowed to try. Someone wanted to make sure you got your chance. Fortunately you were more resourceful than they could have expected.'

'Do you think they'll try again for the next task?' asked Harry. Dumbledore shook his head slightly.

'Without giving anything away, the next task isn't quite so dangerous,' he said. Unfortunately we still have no idea who it is who put your name into the Goblet. This means that there is little any of us can do except be extra vigilant. I know that your father insisted that you were never on your own on the last Hogsmeade visit. I think that you should keep to this rule for the other trips this year. I also ask that you do not wander around secluded parts of the grounds on your own and that if you notice anything unusual you tell your father or me.'

'And I'm going to resume the lessons in defending yourself I started in the summer,' said his father, speaking for the first time. You can come here every Friday evening at eight. Then if whoever it is does try something you stand a better chance of surviving.' He spoke lightly but Harry knew that he was genuinely concerned and not at all happy that there was so little he could do about the situation. Harry wondered briefly if he should mention his dream but decided against it. It was only a dream after all; there was no point in giving his father even more to worry about.

Harry didn't tell anyone else about his dream. Ron however told Hermione, annoying Harry greatly because Hermione kept on telling him that he should tell his father about it.

'Look it was just a dream,' he told her. 'People have weird dreams all the time.'

'But suppose it was real?' persisted Hermione. 'Dumbledore might be able to find out for certain.'

Eventually Harry got fed up and said he would tell his father. Not that he had any intention of doing so but it shut Hermione up and enabled him to carry on with the normal school routine in relative peace. Not that things were ever simple. A week or so later Harry's father brought his lesson to an end five minutes early in order to make an announcement.

'As part of the celebrations for the Triwizard Tournament there will be a Yule Ball held at eight o'clock in the Great Hall on Christmas Day. It is open to all fourth years and above although you are allowed to invite a younger student as a partner if you wish. Dress robes should be worn.'

'Do you have to go with a partner?' someone asked.

'No, but I expect most of you would like to.' Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He certainly had no wish to ask any girl to go to a dance with him. Even though he no longer had the problem of everyone hating him he still wasn't the most sociable of people and didn't think he'd bother with joining in any of the dances at the ball.

'Just a minute Harry, I need a word with you.'

Harry turned round and came back into the classroom which he just been exiting. His father waited until the rest of the class were gone before shutting the door and dropping the bombshell.

'Harry, I'm afraid that what I said about not needing a partner doesn't apply to you.'

'What do you mean, Dad?' asked Harry. His father smiled.

'It is tradition that the Triwizard Champions and their partners begin the first dance. You are one of the Champions. Therefore you need a partner. Sorry.'

Great, thought Harry. The only girl he was anywhere near being friends with was Hermione and he didn't want to ask her in case Ron was thinking about it. Then he had an idea and decided to act on it and get it over with.

'Er, Luna?'

'Oh, hello Harry Potter,' replied the rather strange looking third year Ravenclaw girl. Harry only knew her by sight but had heard of her reputation for believing in the most ridiculous things. He also knew that she was a bit of a loner and that no one else was likely to ask her to the ball. If he had to take a partner he felt that he would like to take someone who might not otherwise have a chance. It wasn't so very long ago since he had had no friends after all.'

'I wondered if you might like to go to the Yule Ball with me,' he said.

'Why would you want to go with me?' asked Luna. 'You're a Hogwarts Champion. You could go with anyone.' Harry decided to be honest.

'There's no one I particularly want to go with,' he said. 'But I have to have a partner and I thought I'd ask someone who might not normally be able to go. I mean because you're only third year…'

'And everyone thinks I'm mad,' finished Luna. 'It's all right,' she went on as Harry reddened and mumbled awkwardly. 'I know what people think of me. And yes, thank you. I'd love to go with you.'

As Christmas approached Harry was glad he'd got his partner in good time. Several people including Ron found that the girl's they'd like to go with were already taken. Ron had eventually asked Hermione but she told him she was already going with someone else though she wouldn't say who. He wasn't very impressed when he heard who Harry was going with.

'Why on earth would you want to go with her?' he exclaimed. You could have had anyone. You could even have asked my little sister Ginny. She's only third year too.'

'You don't need to worry about me,' said Ginny herself who overheard this. I'm going with Neville Longbottom. And I think it was very nice of Harry to ask Luna. She's a nice girl and I think it's horrible the way people treat her.'

Harry was glad Neville had asked Ginny. He had briefly considered asking her himself but wasn't sure that Ron would have liked it. Besides, he knew that Ginny was a popular girl and there was a good chance that someone else would ask her. At last, two days before the ball Ron asked Pavarti Patil, one of the girls in their year. She already had a partner but volunteered her twin sister Padma for Ron. With everyone's partners settled they could all relax and look forward to the excitement of the ball.


	38. The Yule Ball

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A Change of Identity

Chapter 38: The Yule Ball

Harry enjoyed the Yule Ball. Because he had been honest from the start about why he'd asked Luna to partner him he was under no pressure to behave in a romantic fashion and could just act normally. He would probably have preferred not to have to make a grand entrance in a procession with the other champions and their partners but his embarrassment was eclipsed by the shock of seeing that the Durmstrang champion Viktor Krum was partnering none other than Hermione. Once they were seated Harry glanced down the hall to where Ron was sitting and noticed his outraged expression. Personally Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with the situation. His father had said that it was probably Karkaroff and Madam Maxime who had told their own students about the dragons. And given Dumbledore's comment about cheating being traditional Harry felt he couldn't blame the other champions.

Instead of the food appearing on large platters in the centre of the round tables at which everyone was seated, there were menus at each place. Dumbledore set an example by perusing his menu and saying clearly to his plate, 'Pork chops!' Everybody quickly followed suit and Harry couldn't help but grin when Luna ordered 'A teensy weensy bit of everything, please.'

'What an excellent idea!' exclaimed Dumbledore with a smile. 'I wish I'd thought of it.' Soon everyone was busy eating and talking. Harry and Luna found themselves discussing the differences between Hogwarts and Durmstrang with Viktor Krum and Hermione. Harry realised that although the Bulgarian seeker looked surly he was in fact very amiable unlike his headmaster who curtly ordered him not to divulge any secrets. At this Dumbledore chipped in.

'Well I know no one will divulge all of the secrets of Hogwarts for the simple reason that I doubt anyone knows them all. Not even my deputy James here and I think that he and his little gang discovered a tremendous amount when they were students here.' Here Harry's father gave a grin which Harry returned. There was indeed a lot of information on the Marauder's Map which was not generally known. Karkaroff scowled at Krum.

'Please refrain from giving out any information which may help outsiders find our school please, Viktor.' Krum just shrugged but he stopped talking about Durmstrang. Soon the meal was finished and a band made its way onto a raised podium in the centre of the hall. Dumbledore stood up.

'Will the Triwizard Champions and their partners please take their places on the floor for the opening waltz.' Harry surreptitiously looked at Cedric as he gallantly offered his arm to the Ravenclaw seeker Cho Chang and led her onto the dance floor and did the same with Luna.

'Er,' he whispered, 'this may not be the best time to tell you but I don't know how to dance.' Luna smiled and answered rather more loudly,

'Don't worry, neither do I.' She didn't seem at all perturbed at the thought of them looking like fools. Well, if she could cope with it then so could he, thought Harry. The band started playing a slow tune and the other three couples started waltzing in perfect time. Luna grinned, grabbed Harry round the waist, took his hand and started whirling around quickly. Harry stumbled but quickly got the idea and soon the two of them were dancing circles around the other three couples. As they passed the various tables Harry was aware of mixed reactions to their antics. Dumbledore was grinning broadly. Harry's father was shaking his head in mock despair. Several girls were giggling. Malfoy looked disdainful and Snape was scowling fiercely. After a few minutes the staff and Ministry guests joined the champions on the dance floor followed soon by the rest of the students. When the band stopped playing Harry and Luna breathlessly returned to their seats.

'That was fun,' said Luna. Harry had to agree and when the band started playing a livelier tune he was quite happy to take Luna onto the dance floor again. After another wild session they were breathless and went off in search of drinks. Once they had supplied themselves with glasses of punch they decided to take a stroll in the grounds to cool off. They kept to the path around the school, laughing at all the couples hiding behind bushes kissing. Then they had to hide behind a tree themselves to avoid bumping into Snape after they came across him and Karkaroff as they were having an argument about something.

'Wish I could have heard just what they were fighting about,' commented Harry. Then they almost ran into Madam Maxime.

'How dear he insult me like that!' she was muttering loudly. 'Half giant indeed! Moi, I just have big bones!'

Standing forlornly a short way off was Hagrid. Evidently he had said the wrong thing to his would be lady friend. Harry and Luna avoided him too, thinking it best he didn't know they were aware of what had happened. Harry knew that Hagrid was half giant and from the size of her it was pretty obvious that the headmistress of Beauxbatons was the same even if she didn't want to admit it.

Re-entering the Great Hall Harry couldn't see any sign of Ron. He guessed that he'd gone off in a sulk. Well there was still plenty of the ball left to enjoy. He and Luna collared Ginny and Neville and they commenced another riotous dance.

Harry was up for breakfast the next day and so was Hermione but there were no other Gryffindors in the Great Hall at the same time as them. Harry's father was there and he came over to them once he had finished his own meal.

'Well I saw that you enjoyed yourselves last night,' he commented. 'The headmaster certainly enjoyed your style of dancing, Harry.' Hermione grinned.

'And I bet it took your mind off that dream you had a while back, Harry' she said.

There was an uncomfortable silence during which Harry kept his eyes firmly fixed on his plate. He could feel Hermione shifting nervously beside him. He could also feel the full force of his father's gaze.

'Tell me Harry,' said his father at last. 'Do you think that the headmaster and I would be at all interested in hearing the details of this dream?' His voice was calm but Harry wasn't fooled into thinking that he wasn't going to be in trouble. He nodded, still not looking up.

'Then if you've finished eating we'll go and see him now.' Harry stood up. He had been intending to have more toast but his appetite had completely disappeared now. The walk to Dumbledore's office was taken in silence apart from one short exchange initiated by his father.

'I don't want to hear so much as a rumour of you giving Hermione a hard time over letting out your little secret,' he said. 'Is that clear?'

'Yes sir,' said Harry. He didn't add that he knew Hermione hadn't done it deliberately suspecting that that would invite a lecture on how she would have been doing the right thing if she had. All too soon they arrived at the stone gargoyles which guarded the entrance to the headmaster's office, Harry's father gave the password (liquorice allsorts) and they gained admittance.

'Well, this is an unexpected pleasure. To what do I owe it?' asked Dumbledore pleasantly. Harry kept his eyes on the floor while his father explained.

'I see,' said Dumbledore gravely when he had heard the story. I think the two of you had better have a seat while Harry tells us what his dream was about. At a wave of the headmaster's wand two chairs appeared in front of his desk. Harry sat down and at a nod from Dumbledore began.

'And I suppose this dream just happened to slip your mind when you were told the next day to report anything unusual to us?' Harry winced at the sarcasm in his father's voice but said nothing. Dumbledore held up his hand to stop him from carrying on his rant.

'We can address the issue of Harry's omission after discussing the relevance of the dream, James,' he said.

'You think that it was real?' asked Harry's father.

'I do,' said Dumbledore. 'I believe that when the young Tom Riddle failed to kill Harry in the chamber of secrets and gave him that scar he forged a bond between them which is only beginning to show itself now that Lord Voldemort is getting a little stronger. Unfortunately we have no way of knowing how he intends to carry out his plan. He might not even know himself yet.'

'But what can we do about it?' asked Harry's father. 'I mean it seems clear that the tournament is central to his plan and Harry is obliged to complete.'

'We can only be as vigilant as possible,' said Dumbledore. 'And share information,' he added, looking pointedly at Harry. 'Perhaps you could tell us now why you chose to keep that dream to yourself.'

Harry wasn't sure he really knew himself and just shrugged. His father wasn't impressed.

'We've had discussions about putting your life at risk before Harry,' he said. 'Surely you realised that not telling us about that dream could have serious consequences?'

'I didn't want to make a fuss,' said Harry. Dumbledore spoke sternly.

'You knew that you should have told us,' he said. Then he looked at Harry's father. 'James,' he said. 'Although Harry has acted in a most irresponsible manner he has not broken any school rules and I have no reason to take any action against him. I have no objection however, if you wish to take him to your own quarters and deal with him in your capacity as his father.'

'I think I will do just that,' replied Harry's father grimly. 'Come on.' He got up to leave and gestured for Harry to follow him. Harry did so, thinking that one of his least favourite pastimes was walking along the endless corridors of Hogwarts on his way to being punished by his father. The moment they entered the room, his father drew his wand and sent all the furniture to one corner and shrank it. He didn't keep Harry waiting to find out what he had in store for him.

'Under the circumstances I think it best if your punishment serves a practical purpose,' he said. 'I'm going to give you a training session and the extent of your punishment will depend entirely on how well you perform. Take your wand out. You may use only blocking and shielding spells. No counterattacking.'

What followed was the most gruelling session Harry had yet had. His father started from the beginning by firing off hexes one after another, barely giving Harry time to draw breath between them. Harry managed to block or dodge the first few successfully before his father started playing dirty. Harry had just successfully shielded himself against a jelly legs jinx when his father made a quick movement with his wand without saying a spell out loud and Harry felt a sudden pain in his backside as though someone had given him an almighty wallop. He now understood what his father had meant by his punishment depending on his performance. If he failed to defend himself adequately he would be very sore by the end of the session.

Harry gathered himself together and resumed defending himself. The next two times his father tried the "walloping hex" as Harry mentally termed it he blocked it. A couple of minutes later he was about to block another when he heard,

'Expelli…'

Uncomfortable though the hex might be it was preferable to losing his wand and thus all protection. Harry quickly blocked the disarming spell. He stumbled slightly as he felt the virtual wallop but he recovered himself quickly and prepared for the next onslaught of spells. For a brief moment his eyes met those of his father and he though he could detect a flash of approval. Then the attack continued.

After about half an hour Harry was exhausted. He'd avoided most of what his father sent his way but it had taken a lot out of him and he'd sustained a few bruises from diving to the floor to avoid some of the spells. His father took advantage of his son's weakened condition and sent off three tickling charms in quick succession. Harry blocked them but fell victim to a silent disarming spell which his father tagged on to the end. His father then sent a final fast flurry of wallops Harry's way before restoring the room to its original state and pocketing his own wand.

'You would have been dead by now if I were a Deatheater,' he said to Harry who was rubbing his behind. 'Think yourself lucky.'

'I would have been attacking as well as defending if you were,' Harry replied hoping he wouldn't be in more trouble for answering back. Fortunately he wasn't. His father smiled.

'I'm glad to hear that you've retained at least some sense in that head of yours,' he told him. Go and curl up by the fire and lick your wounds or whatever. He whipped his wand out and turned Harry into a wildcat. 'And if you can resist the change without all the mollycoddling I gave you last time you can stay like that until this evening.' I'll talk to you again then.

Tired and sore as he was, this seemed like an attractive proposition. Harry did as his father had suggested and gave himself a good wash before settling down in front of the flames. He was almost asleep when he heard his father gently warn him that he was due to change. This time he found it a lot easier to fight and soon the moment was over and he remained in cat form. He settled down to go to sleep properly, vaguely reassured that his father was no longer angry with him and that although he might have a nasty stock of punishments in store for when Harry stepped out of line it didn't in any way lessen the amount he cared about him.

* * *

A N: Yep, I'm still around. You'll just have to bear with me while the muse continues its strike action. If its any consolation I do know exactly how this story is going to end. Thanks again to all reviewers. 


	39. The Second Task

Disclaimer: Harry Potter remains the sole property of J K Rowling

A Change of Identity

Chapter 39: The second Task

James sat contemplating the sleeping feline that was his son. He'd been deliberately tough on him in the session and Harry had done extremely well to keep his punishment to the minimum. What saddened him was the need for it. When James had been that age he'd been forever receiving punishments at school but they were all for deliberate acts of mischief on his part. At fourteen years old Harry shouldn't have to be worrying about evil wizards trying to kill him. But the facts couldn't be escaped and having lost out on so much of Harry's life as it was, James was determined to do everything in his power to keep him alive. If that meant inflicting a certain amount of pain on him then so be it.

When the time came to change Harry back he decided to push him yet again.

'Alright Spitfire,' he said. 'I want you to try and change back yourself this time. It's the same technique as keeping your animagus form- just the other way round.'

Harry concentrated on being human again. Unfortunately he was comfortable as he was and nothing seemed to happen. In a desperate attempt to please his father he tried again and ended up with a cat's head on a boy's body. His father laughed and swiftly corrected the problem.

'Don't worry,' he told Harry. 'I would have been astonished if you'd succeeded completely. Actually I'm astonished that you even managed to change your body back given that you were happy the way you were. Just take it as a warning never to try anything to do with changing either way on your own until you have my permission. Now. Before we go any further, is there anything else you ought to have told me?'

Harry thought hard but he couldn't think of anything. Unless…

'Snape was having an argument with Karkaroff last night,' he said, 'but I don't know what it was about.'

His father appeared to think hard for a minute before responding.

'How much do you know about Karkaroff?' he asked.

'Nothing much,' said Harry. 'Malfoy told me that his father wanted to send him to Durmstrang because they actually taught Dark Arts and not just defence but his mother didn't want him to be so far away.'

'He was a Deatheater,' his father told him shortly. 'He got out of Azkaban because he gave evidence against others.'

Harry thought about this, suddenly remembering things from when he was younger. Things that he had pushed to the back of his mind because he didn't like to think about them.

'What about Snape?' he asked. 'I mean, I used to hear people mutter things about "slimy Deatheater" and "mini slimy scum" when I was little. I thought it was just because they didn't like Snape and me but…' He trailed off awkwardly. His father was silent for a minute before replying slowly.

'Snape was once a Deatheater,' he said. 'Then he changed his mind and agreed to become a spy for Dumbledore against Voldemort. There's no doubt that he did give us a lot of useful information but I still didn't like him. You seemed to be well on your way to becoming a carbon copy of Snape and a lot of people thought you'd probably end up evil.'

'I used to practically worship the ground he walked on,' said Harry bitterly. 'Then he just threw me out as if I were rubbish. If he had any heart he'd have still wanted me even though we weren't related.' Harry looked away, embarrassed that he'd suddenly blurted out feelings that he'd locked away for over three years. His father turned him round to face him.

'Look at me, Harry.' He waited for Harry to comply with the order before continuing. 'He was your father and brought you up as well as he could and he loved you. I might not have liked either of you but it was only natural that you should think he was all that was wonderful. And while he should have still cared for you when he found out you weren't really his son, I don't think things would have been any easier for you if he had.'

'What do you mean?' Surely if Snape had kept him he would have been much happier.

'Because of the enmity between us,' said his father. 'If Snape had insisted on holding on to my son I think I would probably have tried to claim you at once. Not because I really wanted you but I wouldn't have wanted him to have you. Your problems might have been different but they wouldn't have been fewer.'

He was right, thought Harry. The minute the Sorting Hat had spoken his life would have been turned upside down whatever Snape decided. At least things were all right now. Apart from the fact that Voldemort seemed to be out to get him.

'Do you think it was Karkaroff who put my name in the Goblet?' he asked. His father shook his head.

'I doubt it. I'm afraid we'll just have to be as vigilant as possible. Talking of which, I'll try and squeeze in a couple more training sessions with you before school starts again. And I won't be going easy on you.' Harry groaned and his father smiled.

'Don't worry,' he reassured him. 'I don't intend to use my special walloping hex. That's reserved for when you deserve a punishment. Although if I do have to use it again I can put a lot more power into it- so consider yourself warned. Now I suggest you go down for dinner.'

Harry left, determined to try and avoid having to face that particular hex again. Ron and Hermione were already in the Great Hall and they seemed to be arguing.

'You shouldn't have said anything,' Ron was saying. 'Harry can decide for himself what he tells his father.'

'Leave it,' Harry said as he sat down. 'She probably thought he already knew since I'd said I was going to tell him.'

'Have you solved that egg thing yet?' Ron asked, changing the subject. Harry shook his head.

'I'm going to spend some time on it tomorrow and see if I can get anywhere. Right now I'm starving.' To prove his point he filled his plate with an enormous quantity of food and got stuck in.

By the time school started again Harry still hadn't found out how to get anything other than a high pitched wail from the egg. Then a week into term a brown owl delivered a letter to him.

_The golden egg might appreciate a bath._

That was all it said. Mindful of what had happened last time he kept something to himself he went to his father's office after classes were over for the day and showed him the note.

'It doesn't make sense,' he said. First they want the dragon to kill me then someone tries to help. Unless it's a trap of some kind.'

'I don't think it's a trap,' said his father. Remember that in your dream Voldemort was changing his plans. It appears he now wants you to do well.'

'Then I can foil his plans by ignoring this note.' Harry's father shook his head.

'You're obliged to compete in this competition,' he said. And as a Hogwarts Champion you have a duty to try your best. I don't advocate cheating but you cannot simply refuse to try something because you received unsolicited help.'

'But if Voldemort wants me to do well now then I'll just be playing into his hands,' said Harry.

'Sit down,' said his father. Harry did so, with a sinking feeling that he was not going to like what his father had to say.

'When someone places their name in the Goblet of Fire they are immediately placed under a binding magical contract not only to compete but to do so to the best of their ability should they be chosen. I know that someone else put your name in but I am afraid that you are still bound by that contract.'

'So there's nothing I can do to stop this plan, whatever it is?' asked Harry hopelessly.

'Harry,' said his father wearily. 'Voldemort first tried to kill you when you were a baby. Then his sixteen year old self from his diary tried to finish the job. Now his supporters have openly told us that they want you dead and you have seen a vision of the man himself saying he wants you alive. Even if you get through this year safely it is almost certain that you are going to end up facing him or his followers one day. That is why I am doing everything in my power to prepare you for that day whenever it comes.'

'But if it comes soon they'll be much stronger than me,' said Harry. 'I can't possibly get good enough to win against them if they get me.'

'Probably not,' agreed his father. 'But remember that you're not trying to defeat them but to escape. And although I'd rather you didn't rely on luck, there is the fact that you have survived against the odds twice before- once in the Chamber of Secrets and once in the forest.'

Harry suddenly remembered something else his father had once mentioned and decided to ask about it.

'What about that prophecy you said there was? Do you think that has anything to do with it?' His father seemed to think hard before answering.

'Dumbledore told me that when the prophecy was made, the first part of it was overheard by a spy who relayed what he had heard to Voldemort. Although you were not the only one to whom the prophecy could have applied, Voldemort seems to have decided that it did mean you. That decision was the cause of his downfall when he tried to act on it. That is why Dumbledore and I do not want you to know the exact wording of the prophecy or to set any store by it. Not all prophecies are fulfilled. But if you let knowledge of a prophecy affect your actions then you could in fact do more harm than good. For the present, just carry on with the tournament, your schoolwork and of course, your torture sessions with me.'

Harry groaned at the last comment. His defence training with his father left him sore and exhausted even without the walloping hex. His father laughed.

'Off you go. And if you want somewhere private to have a bath, feel free to go to my rooms.'

Harry took up the offer to use his father's bathroom and worked out that he'd have to search in the lake for something that he would greatly miss. At first he'd wondered how on earth he was supposed to hold his breath for that long- he would have an hour to complete the task. Then he remembered something from his life as Snape's son. One holiday he'd found a strange little plant in a pond and Snape had been ecstatic, telling Harry that it was Gillyweed and that among other things it enabled you to breath under water if eaten. It was expensive but that didn't bother Harry. His father was more than generous with Harry's pocket money and he rarely spent much of it anyway. He quickly wrote a note to the apothecary in Diagon Alley and enclosed an ample amount of money asking them to return the change. Then he went to the owlery and commandeered his father's owl for the errand. Now he just had to wait for the task and wonder what the merpeople were going to take from him.

The morning of the task dawned crisp and clear although by eleven o'clock the late winter sun had taken the edge off the cold. Harry stood at the edge of the lake alongside the other champions. When the whistle blew for them to begin he lost no time looking to see what his rivals were doing but stripped off to his swimming trunks and stuffed his handful of gillyweed into his mouth. It was a weird sensation feeling the gills forming and suddenly finding breathing difficult. He dived into the lake and the problem evaporated. He belonged in the water. Confidently, he swam downwards. Making his way through the depths he encountered the odd malevolent little see creature but his training with his father paid off and he easily avoided or repelled them.

It was when he arrived at the merpeople's demesnes he encountered his first problem. There were four people there, fast asleep and bound by ropes to thick posts. That in itself wasn't a problem. It was the fact that one of those four people was Remus Lupin. Harry was suddenly assaulted by a wave of rage that his mentor's safety should have been risked for the sake of a stupid competition. All his instincts urged him to attack the merpeople. Fortunately he hesitated long enough for common sense to kick in. Far better to get him out of here. He drew his wand, released Remus from his bindings and grabbed hold of him. Then Harry hesitated slightly, looking at the other captives. As yet there was no sign of the other champions. But although he still felt angry about Remus, he realised that the even if one of the others failed the prisoners would all be safely returned.

Swimming back with the added burden of Remus was a lot harder than before but Harry slowly returned. On the way he glimpsed Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum but saw no sign of Fleur Delacour until he broke through the surface of the lake and hauled Remus onto dry land. Then he saw the French girl sobbing.

'My sister, she will drown!' Harry approached her.

'No she won't,' he said awkwardly. 'The merpeople will bring her back safely.'

'Are you sure?' she asked desperately.

'I'm sure,' Harry told her. 'They wouldn't kill an innocent child for the tournament.'

Fleur was still crying but she seemed to be trying to stop and appeared to be at least slightly comforted.

'Come on Mr Potter!' Madam Pomfrey was bearing down on him, evidently determined to get him warmed up. Feeling suddenly tired, he meekly followed her to a tent where he saw Remus sitting wrapped in a blanket and drinking hot chocolate. This seemed like an excellent idea and Harry was soon beside him, secure in the knowledge that he would start the final task of the tournament in first place.


	40. Rebellion

Disclaimer: All of Harry Potter belongs to J K Rowling, not me.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 40: Rebellion

Harry had hoped for a bit of a break after the second task. The third and final one wasn't until near the end of June and the champions would be told what it was a month beforehand. That meant that there was nothing Harry could do to prepare for it and so he thought he could relax a bit since he was exempt from the end of year exams. Not that he intended slacking off on his schoolwork but he didn't have the same pressure to revise feverishly as Hermione had already started doing.

It wasn't to be. True, his father didn't call on him for any training or give him extra work in the week immediately following the task. But after that he resumed Harry's education with a vengeance, giving him a defence session three times a week and extra reading after each one. Harry didn't complain but he was starting to feel more than a little resentful. He knew it was for his own good but he couldn't help wondering if it was worth it. No matter how hard he tried, he was no match for his father. And if he couldn't defend himself against his father, what chance would he have against Voldemort, who was one of the most powerful wizards ever known?

'I wonder if I should have mentioned the case when…'

'Hermione, give it a rest,' interrupted Ron. 'Your essays twice as long as mine already. I bet it's even longer than Harry's and he always gets good marks for his homework.'

Hermione stopped fishing in her bag for the homework she'd been intending to add another line or two to and followed Ron into Transfiguration. Harry, just behind, stopped dead. He'd just realised he'd forgotten all about the homework due in today. He thought briefly of skipping the class and pretending to be ill but doubted that he could get away with it. He forced himself to walk into the classroom and take his seat.

'Right, I'll just collect your homework and then we'll get started,' announced his father cheerfully. All around Harry people reached into their bags and withdrew sheets of parchment which they placed on their desks. As was his customary practice, his father took a quick glance around the room to check that there was none missing before drawing his wand to summon them. Only when the separate sheets had flown to his desk and settled themselves into a neat pile did he ask Harry where his was. Suddenly Harry's simmering resentment bubbled over and he gave a defiantly flippant reply.

'One of Hagrid's skrewts ate it.'

Not for nothing did James Potter have a reputation for being one of the professors students least wanted to annoy in class. He'd guessed that Harry's failure to do his homework had been a mere memory lapse and had intended giving him a severe dressing down in front of the class and threatening him with dire consequences if the essay wasn't in his possession by the time classes started the following day. That would have been the end of the matter. But memory lapse or not, Harry's deliberate rudeness had changed matters. He spoke in an icy voice.

'We shall discuss your attitude in my office once classes have finished for the day, Mr Potter. In the meantime, you may move your desk to beside mine, sit facing the wall and spend the lesson writing "I must keep my homework well away from dangerous magical creatures."

James watched silently until Harry had done as instructed and started writing. Then he turned his back on his son and gave full attention to the rest of the class. They were clearly on edge, terrified that a wrong move would bring his wrath down on them. He knew that this wasn't the best frame of mind for absorbing information so he decided to adjust his lesson slightly.

'Right, before we start on something new we'll have a little competition.' He paused in order to conjure a collection of small stones and send one to each desk. 'Turn your pebbles into vases. The best three will get a chocolate frog. You have ten minutes.'

The tension in the room eased as the students turned their attention to the task he had set. James sat down at his desk and leafed through the stack of essays in order to get an idea of how well they were done. A quick glance at Harry confirmed that he was writing steadily, his face flushed with annoyance. James could understand that; not that he had any regrets about the punishment which Harry had only brought upon himself. He did however wonder what it was that had caused Harry to be so upset in the first place. He would have to try and talk to him when he saw him later on.

'Potter, the headmaster would like to have a word with you in his study. Password's Sugar Quill.' Harry turned away from the back of the line waiting to enter the Defence classroom. He wasn't particularly surprised to get the message which Professor Moody had quietly given him. Since his stupid comment about his homework the previous week he didn't think he'd said a civil word to his father. He'd sullenly denied that there was anything wrong when his father had gently asked him when he'd gone to his office after classes and been rewarded with a generous supply of extra work to make up for what he'd missed when writing his lines. Then his father had pointed out that because of that and the outstanding essay Harry had still to write they would have to miss the training session planned for the evening. Harry had said 'Good!' and stormed off. Since then things had only got worse. He'd been rude to his father in class again, resulting in losing several house points and earning a detention for which he had failed to show up: his father had yet to confront him about that small matter.

He didn't really know why he was acting as he was. He knew he should have told his father what was bothering him. But something held him back and the only way he seemed to be able to deal with the situation was by defiance. Now it seemed that his father had gone to Dumbledore. Harry didn't fancy the prospect of facing the headmaster but there was no way of getting out of it. He slowly made his way to where the stone gargoyle stood guarding the entrance.

Entering the study he saw that both his father and Remus were there, seated beside the headmaster. Dumbledore politely asked him to sit and Harry did so, feeling trapped as he faced the three adults. Remus leant forward and spoke to him.

What he said amounted to much the same as his father had said when he'd first tried to find out what Harry's problem was, along with a clear undercurrent of disapproval of his continued defiance though Remus did not specifically mention it. Then, evidently trying to help Harry to open up, he asked if he thought his father was pushing him to much.

'I wouldn't mind if I thought it would do any good!' snapped Harry. His father frowned at his tone but it was Dumbledore who spoke.

'In what way do you think that your father's training would not be of use to you, Harry?' he asked gently. Harry didn't want to answer but he knew he'd be unable to hold out long against Remus, if not the headmaster and his father.

'Dad seems certain that Voldemort's going to get me eventually,' he said sullenly. 'I always come off worse in training. What chance do I have against him?'

'I thought I'd made it clear that your aim is to escape,' began his father, glaring at him. He seemed to have plenty more to say to Harry but Dumbledore stemmed the flow.

'If it was solely a matter of a one on one dual against Voldemort then you would have no chance at all, I would say,' he said. 'There are however other things in your favour. You have your mother's protection running through your veins. You have already faced a younger version of him and survived. And you have proven yourself to be extremely resourceful in the first to tasks of the Triwizard Tournament. By helping teaching you to defend yourself your father may well be giving you the ability to last long enough to use that resourcefulness to survive again.'

'Why did it have to be me?' asked Harry. 'Why can't I have a normal life like everyone else?'

'I can't answer that Harry,' said Dumbledore sadly. 'But at least you have warning of what might lie ahead.'

'And you have people you can come to with your problems,' put in Remus rather sternly. 'You seem to have been forgetting that recently.'

'I didn't want to sound stupid saying I was scared,' mumbled Harry.

'And you've made yourself look so sensible with your attitude this past week, I suppose?'

Harry looked hopefully at the floor but it showed a deplorable lack of inclination to open and swallow him up. After a minute he could still feel Remus's gaze and he felt compelled to look up and answer him with a quiet 'No.' Remus stood up.

'I must go, Harry. In future I want an owl from you before things get so bad that your father feels the need to bring me here to get you to admit to your problems. Is that clear?'

Harry nodded and Remus left. Then Dumbledore spoke to Harry's father.

'I imagine, James, that you have a few things you would like to talk about with Harry on his own. Before I go I would like to address the matter of the detention he failed to attend. I suggest rescheduling it for Saturday and asking Mr Filch to find some suitable employment. Have you any objection to that?'

'No, that will be fine,' said Harry's father. Saturday was a Hogsmeade say and Harry tried not to show his disappointment at missing out on what would have been only his second visit.

'Well then, with that settled I shall leave you,' and the headmaster went, leaving Harry alone with his father who was the first to speak.

'I take it you're prepared to be civil now?'

'Yes Sir,' said Harry quietly. His father smiled.

'Good. I would offer my condolences on you missing out on Hogsmeade on Saturday but you've only yourself to blame. Besides, I doubt that you would have preferred what I had in mind for your punishment.'

'What was that?' asked Harry, his curiosity aroused at the hint of evil pleasure in his father's voice.

'You'll find out if you ever miss another detention of mine again,' was all the reply he got. 'Seriously, I wouldn't advise it.'

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Harry's father spoke again.

'Look Harry,' he said. 'I'm going to give you a break from training for the remainder of term apart from letting you spend an odd evening or so as Spitfire. We'll start up again in the holidays but stick to just a couple of sessions of defence a week. Then perhaps you won't feel under so much pressure and we can avoid a repeat of this past week's misery. I don't particularly enjoy having to punish you even if your "Hagrid's skrewt ate my homework" excuse was rather amusing.'

Harry grinned, albeit rather guiltily.

'Yeah, sorry about that,' he said.

The bell rang just then, signalling the end of the morning's lessons. Harry's father sent him off to lunch and he made his way to the Great Hall, glad that he and his father were on good terms again.


	41. Completing the Transformation

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J K Rowling.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 41:Completing the Transformation

'I'm waiting, Harry.'

His father was standing two feet away from him, tapping his wand impatiently against his hand. Harry wanted nothing more than to run out of the room but he knew that wouldn't be allowed.

'I can't… I'm not ready for it,' he mumbled.

'We've been through this,' said his father sternly. 'And I've already let you put it off once. Summer term starts in two days so you can't waste any more time. Now get on with it.'

Harry looked over to the couch where Remus was sitting watching and looked at him beseechingly. Remus merely shook his head slightly, indicating that he was not going to be of any help. He turned back to face his father.

'On you go, Harry.'

There was no escaping it. He'd known that this day would come of course. He just hadn't thought it would be yet. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. He concentrated, trying desperately to remember everything he had been taught…

Then he was being attacked. He squirmed and struck out but he was powerless against the gigantic dog which had pounced and pinned him down and was now trying to lick every part of Harry it could reach.

'Get off him, Padfoot.' The dog obeyed and Harry's father stooped and picked Harry up.

'Well Spitfire? Still say you're not ready?'

Harry said nothing, intelligible speech being impossible in his animagus form. But he couldn't help purring at the warm pride he heard in his father's voice. The purring grew louder when Remus stood up, came over and stroked Harry's head with a quiet 'Well done.'

* * *

'This isn't Hogwarts.'

'No,' his father told Harry, 'we don't need to be there till this evening. This is a forest about seventy miles away. It's time you got acquainted with your natural habitat.'

'You mean explore it in my wildcat form?' Harry could scarcely believe it. He stood gaping at his father until a loud crack drew his attention. Sirius had apparated to beside them.

That's exactly what I mean,' said his father. It should be safe enough. It's not a magical forest and you're unlikely to come across anything more dangerous than yourself. Even so, Sirius and I will be with you and though we'll let you take the lead I don't want you trying to get away from us. Understand?'

Harry readily agreed and a minute later the three of them had transformed. Harry led the way into the forest, slowly at first, marvelling at the feeling of finally being allowed to make full use of his animagus form. He had none of the desire for kittenish playing that had often caused him problems during his lessons. At first he was wary, making his way forward tentatively. But as he got well into the forest he felt almost at home. This was where he belonged. He pricked his ears, listening to the sounds around him before setting off towards where the trees grew thicker. He could sense the stag and dog following behind but not too closely. They were, Harry knew, giving him his space, allowing him to find his bearings and to experience what it really meant to be a true creature of the wild.

By late afternoon Harry had got more confident and was moving a lot faster through the forest. His concentration had begun to lapse however and suddenly human voices not far in front of him caused him to stop short, crouch low and remain hidden in the undergrowth.

'Look at that!' he heard. 'Isn't it a beauty?'

A flash of a camera and a sudden movement from behind confirmed Harry's fear that they had spotted his father who had evidently run off as a real stag would have done under the circumstances. Harry stayed where he was, even when the two muggles had moved away. Padfoot appeared beside him after a minute and changed into Sirius. Harry changed back too and a minute later his father appeared, he too having returned to human form.

'I'm sorry,' Harry began but his father stopped him from completing his apology.

'Harry, I wasn't expecting you to be absolutely perfect in everything you did today. This is a muggle area, albeit a very isolated one. But there are people who like to walk here and for those who do, it is a highlight of their day if they spot some of the wildlife. Those two men will go home happy with an excellent souvenir of their walk in the shape of my photograph.'

'But supposing they had had guns?'

'Then I could easily have prevented them doing any harm,' said his father impatiently. 'Or do you think that Sirius and I brought you here just so you could lead us all to our doom? Seriously, you did extremely well. I don't want you attempting to change on your own just yet but you're very close to becoming a full animagus. Now let's get you back to school.'

* * *

The break had done Harry good and he started the summer term in good spirits. His father had decided that one special defence lesson a week on Sunday evening would be sufficient and had promised Harry that he would be allowed to change into a wildcat for an hour or two afterwards. Since he had no idea at present what the third task was he could do nothing to prepare for it yet. This meant he had little pressure on him and for a few weeks would be able to exist in as carefree a manner as the rest of his year. In fact he was a lot better off because everyone else was starting to get stressed about the end of year exams from which Harry was exempt. Ron Weasley expressed his jealousy.

'It's not fair! You can just slack off while the rest of us have to slave away over the mountains of homework we're getting. You can scribble any old thing down.'

'Hmm,' said Harry thoughtfully. 'I might just try that. I wonder what my father will say when I hand him sloppy work. And I'm sure Snape will just let Poor Little Harry away with not doing his homework properly. He might have eased off since that business in third year when he was trying to get me expelled and Dumbledore had to have words with him but he's not going to pass over any genuine excuse to land me in detention.'

Ron winced.

'No, on second thoughts I'd rather you did your homework properly,' he said. 'Or at least warn me to put on a warm jumper under my robes before you piss off your dad again. I swear when you gave him that skrewt excuse the temperature dropped ten degrees.'

'And anyway, Harry still needs to know all the stuff for the OWLS next year.' This was Hermione of course.

'Yes, but at least I don't have to worry about remembering every little thing this term,' replied Harry. 'Ron's right that I don't need to work quite as hard as the rest of you. He's just forgetting that once I learn what the next task is I'll have to prepare for that. Then the pressure will be back on again.'

Actually, when the champions were informed of the nature of the third task Harry was quite happy about it. The quidditch pitch was being transformed into a maze and it would be a race to get to the centre and obtain the Triwizard cup. Harry, as the leader would enter first; then Viktor Krum and Cedric Diggory would star together followed by Fleur Delacour. Just to make it interesting the paths would be strewn with obstacles ranging from magical creatures to enchantments and jinxed objects. Preparing for this task would be similar to much of the work he had done with his father. Furthermore, the Weasley twins, Ron, Hermione and Neville Longbottom were all anxious to help him prepare since it would help their own Defence against Dark Arts.

Harry's father told him he was stopping his extra lessons until after the Third Task since otherwise he might be accused of favouritism.

'After all you'll be doing plenty work on defence anyway and you're nearly perfect with your animagus transformation. You could do with more time spent in the wild but with any luck we can do something about that during the summer. Just remember I want a good performance from you in that maze. I don't care if you win or not but I don't want you disgracing Hogwarts. And you'll have to be careful of course.'

'You still think that whoever put my name in the cup is going to try something then?' asked Harry.

'It's their last chance,' said his father seriously. But there will be plenty of people including myself patrolling the outside of the maze. With any luck nothing will happen that shouldn't.'

Harry wasn't convinced although he said nothing. It wasn't that he didn't have confidence in his father or Dumbledore. It was just that he felt that fate held something in store for him and that it was nothing good.

How right he was.

* * *

Yes, I know it's short and I know you've been waiting ages for it. Sorry and thank you for continuing to read and review. 


	42. The Third Task

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs, as always, to J K Rowling.

A Change of Identity

Chapter 42: The Third Task

Just as Harry was finishing breakfast on the morning of the third task, his father approached the Gryffindor table and ordered him to the small room off the Great Hall where the champions had gone after their names were chosen by the Goblet of Fire.

'The champions' families are waiting to meet them there,' he explained.

'Er, excuse me Professor Potter,' said George Weasley, 'but as far as I can see, Harry's father is standing right in front of us.' There were a few sniggers but Harry thought he understood even if he hadn't expected it.

'Remus and Sirius are here already?' he asked. His father nodded and Harry couldn't stand up fast enough. He made a beeline for the room leaving his father to ridicule George by explaining as if to a small child that people don't have to be related by blood to be considered as family. Harry had known that Remus and Sirius were coming to watch the task but had not expected to be able to see them beforehand.

When he entered the room he had to endure a few minutes of polite introductions. Fleur Delacour's parents seemed pleasant enough as did Victor Krum's. Cedric Diggory's father, on the other hand, seemed rather cold.

'Don't worry about him,' whispered Cedric to Harry. 'He's just doesn't like to accept that there's someone who's a better seeker than I am.'

At last Harry was free to escape with Remus and Sirius. They spent the morning strolling through the grounds which were deserted, the rest of the school undergoing the yearly torture known as exams.

'So,' said Sirius with a grin as they passed near Hagrid's cabin. 'Been keeping your homework away from the skrewts lately?'

Harry just laughed. He knew he'd never be allowed to forget that one.

'I've been a model student,' he said pompously. Then he dropped the act and qualified his statement. 'Well, except for losing the odd few points here and there in potions but that doesn't count. Snape just wants to remind me from time to time how much he hates me. At least he isn't trying to get me expelled any longer.'

'I hope your father takes points from Slytherins to make up for it,' said Sirius earning a slight frown from Remus.

'Nah,' said Harry. 'He just gives them to Hermione. Then Snape can't complain since she gets so many points anyway for being a know-it-all.'

When lunchtime came they made their way to Harry's father's rooms to have lunch with him. Only when they had finished was any mention made of what was to come.

'Listen Harry,' said his father. 'I know you've had a serious threat made against you. But there will be several powerful wizards patrolling the outside of the maze. On top of that the proceedings will be clearly seen by everyone in the stands. I really don't see how anything can possibly go wrong. So just get out there and win.'

Then it was time to go. They went down to the entrance hall where the other champions were already waiting; Fleur and Krum with their head teachers and Cedric with his head of house, Professor Sprout. Sirius and Remus wished them all luck and continued out the front doors and down to the quidditch pitch. Five minutes later the sound of a gong filled the air and the champions and their escorts started to march towards the final stage of the Triwizard Tournament. In what seemed like no time at all they had received their final instructions: they were reminded of the order in which they were to enter the maze, if any problems arose they were to send up red sparks and the first one to touch the Triwizard cup which was in the centre of the maze would be the winner. Then Mr Crouch blew his whistle and Harry walked through the single gap in the hedge into the maze.

It was tough. Harry quickly came to the conclusion that having the advantage of starting first by no means made it certain that he would win. He took a minute or two over some obstacles that he suspected his older challengers could have dealt with in seconds. Then suddenly he heard a scream and a shower of red sparks appeared above the hedges about ten yards away from him. Evidently Fleur Delacour had come to grief.

After a while Harry turned a corner only to come face to face with one of Hagrid's dreaded blast ended skrewts. He would have turned and taken another route but he saw that there was a problem at the creature's other end. Viktor Krum was on the ground groaning, his robes scorched and face burnt. Cedric Diggory was standing with his wand pointed at the Bulgarian, evidently protecting him from further injury with a shield charm but unable to do anything more to get out of the situation.

Harry knew that the only solution was to stun it. But he suspected that any spell hitting its armour would bounce off. He studied the creature intently and noticed a patch on its underside which appeared to be soft. Taking careful aim he pointed at the vulnerable area and cried,

'STUPEFY!'

The skrewt keeled over and Harry stepped around it to a very relieved Cedric.

'He needs help,' said the Hufflepuff indicating Krum who seemed to be drifting towards unconsciousness. Send up sparks, do you reckon?'

Harry nodded. Cedric sent up sparks and after an awkward silence he and Harry nodded to each other and went in opposite directions, Cedric to the left and Harry to the right. There were just the two of them left now, thought Harry. A Hogwarts victory was now assured. Harry set off with renewed determination in order to try and secure that victory for Gryffindor. After several more obstacles, including a giant spider and a Sphinx, Harry turned a corner and was confronted with a clearing, in the middle of which was a large tree stump on which stood the Triwizard cup. Then he saw that on the other side of the clearing Cedric had emerged. He sprinted, as did his rival.

The two boys reached out simultaneously to grab the prize but then each jerked their hand back.

'You take it,' said Cedric. 'If you hadn't stopped to help with that skrewt you'd have been here ages ago.'

'But you were only held up because you helped Krum,' objected Harry.

'Yeah,' said Cedric, 'but then the whole point of this tournament is supposed to be international magical cooperation isn't it?'

'Then let's cooperate,' suggested Harry. 'We'll take the cup together and share the glory.'

'Suits me,' smiled Cedric.

So on the count of three they each grabbed a handle of the Triwizard Cup. Harry felt the familiar sensation of being transported by portkey and next thing he knew, he and Cedric had landed in an old graveyard. Before Harry had a chance to do anything he heard a high cold voice call, 'Kill the spare!' There was a flash of green light and Cedric Diggory slumped to the ground lifeless. Harry had no opportunity to put into practice all his training. His wand flew from him and ropes wrapped themselves around him. He was then grabbed and roughly carried to a gravestone and tied to it. Only when he had been secured did he see who his captor was. Peter Pettigrew.

Harry decided not to waste any words on his father's former friend. He said nothing as Pettigrew went over to a large cauldron and lifted in some sort of small creature. He kept silent as Pettigrew pushed up the sleeve of Harry's robe and cut his arm, collecting the blood in a silver goblet. He watched in muted horror as Pettigrew carried his blood over to the cauldron and poured it in, reciting something about "blood of the enemy". Next Pettigrew returned to the gravestone Harry was tied to and summoned a bone from below the ground. This was added to the cauldron as "bone of the father". Finally Pettigrew raised the knife high, held his own right arm over the simmering potion and brought the knife down, chopping off his own arm so that it fell in.

'Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master!'

And up from the cauldron rose the tall form of a man who easily stepped out and commanded

'Robe me!'

Pettigrew stepped forward and draped a black robe around the man who had red eyes and a flat snakelike face.

Lord Voldemort had returned.

Harry's first thought was that he was in trouble. His second was terror in case Remus suddenly appeared as he had that time when Harry had been trapped with the Dementors in the Forbidden Forest. It wasn't that Harry didn't want to be rescued. It was just that he was certain Remus would be killed as swiftly as Cedric had been if he were to show himself here. Desperately he thought to himself,

'I'll be fine. I can get out of this. I don't need rescuing. Don't come here, Remus'

Meanwhile Lord Voldemort had summoned his Deatheaters. There was a series of cracks and Voldemort was in the centre of a circle of his faithful followers. Now Harry paid close attention, noting their names as Voldemort questioned them, punished some of them and rewarded Pettigrew with a brand new silver arm. One of them in particular he would love to denounce if he ever escaped. Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father.

Not surprisingly Voldemort soon turned his attention to Harry, taunting him about how it was only pure chance that he hadn't died along with his mother. Then he said softly,

But chance or not, you must be punished for daring to live when I wanted you dead. Crucio!'

And suddenly Harry was overwhelmed by a pain he could not imagine possible. Every inch of him felt as though it were on fire. He was vaguely aware that he was screaming but his main thought was a wish that he could fall unconscious so as not to feel any more pain. At last the curse was lifted and Harry was left panting and shaking uncontrollably.

'And now it is time to complete the task I set out to do all those years ago,' said Voldemort in his cold high voice. But do not let it be said that I killed a defenceless boy. Untie him, Pettigrew and give him his wand.'

Great. He was going to have to duel Voldemort. Harry didn't think he stood a chance. And turning into his animagus form wouldn't be much use where everyone could see him do it. And Harry was pretty certain that if he tried to apparate away then Voldemort would kill him the second he started to turn. But he wasn't just going to stand there and let himself be killed. If he did that then he was likely to be in serious trouble when his father eventually joined him in the afterlife. No, he would just have to decide on the best spell to use and put all he had into it.

Soon he was untied and facing Lord Voldemort in the centre of the circle of Deatheaters.

'We shall do this properly,' said Lord Voldemort. 'We shall bow to each other and on the count of three we shall duel.' Harry just nodded, his heart thumping wildly.

'Now,' said Voldemort.

Harry bent the upper half of his body though he didn't take his eyes off his enemy. Voldemort did the same. The Voldemort counted,

'One…two…three.'

'AVADA KEDAVRA!'

'EXPELLIARMUS!'

They shouted their spells at the exact same moment. The red light from Harry's wand sped towards the green light from Voldemort's. Then they hit but instead of deflecting, the lights joined together. Harry and Voldemort were suddenly lifted out of the circle of Deatheaters and landed some distance away. Reflexively, Harry held on to his wand as it vibrated powerfully. He noticed that the wands were now connected by a thread of gold light. Suddenly the air was filled with a strange unearthly music, the like of which Harry had never heard before. But it seemed to give him courage and he held on to his wand tighter than ever as golden beads of light appeared on the thread between the wands and started sliding towards Harry. Instinctively, he knew that he didn't want the beads to reach him and he concentrated on willing them in the other direction. He saw a look of shock on Voldemort's face as the beads grew ever closer to him. Then, just as Harry was beginning to think that his concentration must lapse, the bead closest to Voldemort connected with his wand, out of which suddenly flew a smoky grey hand. Then more smoky grey stuff emerged from Voldemort's wand and formed itself into the form of Cedric Diggory.

'Hold on Harry,' said the ghostly Cedric. Another two ghostly figures came out whom Harry didn't recognise. Both of them told him to hold on and not break the connection between the wands. Then a third figure emerged from Voldemort's wand and Harry gasped. He'd seen her only in photographs but he knew who she was. His mother, Lily Potter.

'Listen, Harry,' she said. When the connection between the wands is broken you will have very little time. You must get to the cup which will take you back to Hogwarts.'

'Harry,' pleaded the ghostly Cedric. 'Take my body back with you please.'

'When I say "Now" break the connection Harry,' said his mother. 'We will be able to hold the others back for only a few seconds. And remember that I love you.'

Harry took a deep breath to steady himself. He couldn't afford to break down now. He had to escape.

'NOW!'

At his mother's command he pulled back his wand and ran towards the Triwizard Cup and Cedric's body but he was hampered by his weakened state after Voldemort's cruciatus curse. He was only half way there when his ghostly protectors faded away and the Deatheater's started shooting curses at him.

'Stun him and bring him to me!' shouted Voldemort. 'He is mine to kill.

Harry flung his wand behind him and cast a trip jinx while he continued running. As he reached Cedric's body he fell over and a large gash appeared on his leg where someone had managed to hit him with their curse. Blood spurted out of it and Harry knew he could run no more. And the cup was out of reach. Voldemort had seen his predicament and was now approaching, wand at the ready.

'Accio cup!' cried Harry in desperation. The cup flew towards him and as he grasped it in his outreached hand the last thing he heard was a high pitched scream of "Avada…" before he was jerked away.

* * *

I know, another long wait. I don't particularly like following the book so closely but it seemed to be the best way to proceed. Don't worry, I do have changes coming up. 


	43. Return to Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything to do with Harry Potter

A Change of Identity

Chapter 43: Return to Hogwarts

'There they are!'

Harry heard the shout the moment he fell on the grass at the edge of the maze. It was around ten seconds before someone realised that Cedric was dead. Then it was hard to make out anything in the tumult that arose. He could have sworn he heard something about Mr Crouch trying to run away but that must have been nonsense. A flash from someone's wand seemed to prevent the crowd from trying to approach the place where he had reappeared. Then his father, Sirius, Dumbledore, Professor Moody and a short pompous looking man reached him.

'He needs the hospital wing,' said Sirius, noticing immediately Harry's leg, which still had blood oozing from it.

'In good time,' said Dumbledore firmly. 'I want him to stay here just now.'

Before Harry could question this another cry went up.

'There's Lupin coming back.'

'Arrest him! Don't let him escape!' shouted the pompous looking man. At once he and Sirius and Harry's father all started running towards the gates. Dumbledore followed after touching his wand to Harry's leg and healing the gash. In spite of his exhaustion and injury, Harry made to follow them.

'No you don't laddie,' said Professor Moody. 'If Dumbledore tells you to stay then that's just what you do.' And he pointed his wand at Harry to make it quite clear that he was going to enforce Dumbledore's orders.

Harry could just make out the form of Remus turning and running back towards the gates. Spells shot at him from several directions which he managed to dodge. Then someone ran at Remus from the side and it was clear he would be apprehended.

'Stupefy!'

Harry was horrified to hear his father try to curse Remus. But to his great surprise and relief the spell missed and instead hit the attacker. Remus took full advantage of the situation and ran full speed, disappearing the moment he exited the grounds. The pursuers turned and headed back in Harry's direction. Harry turned Professor Moody, desperate to know why they were trying to arrest Remus. But first he thought he should let someone know that Voldemort had returned.

'Voldemort's back…' he started but Moody didn't let him get any further.

'Very likely,' he said, 'but wait till you're back in the castle. You don't look as if you need to tell your story more than the once. Nice shot by your father, by the way.'

Harry was puzzled but now the others were approaching.

'Pity about that stunner of yours,' the pompous man was saying to Harry's father. 'We'd have had him for certain if you'd just left him to Dawlish.'

'My apologies,' Harry's father replied. 'I was only doing what I thought best.'

Suddenly Harry understood. His father hadn't been trying to capture Remus at all but had helped him get away. But he still wanted to know what had been going on here while he had been away.

'James, Sirius,' said Dumbledore, 'would you please escort Harry to my office? And perhaps you could fill him in on events here while I go and talk to the Diggorys. Cornelius and I will join you presently.'

Harry allowed himself to be helped to the headmaster's study by his father and godfather. He was desperate to know what was going on and why Cornelius Fudge seemed to be taking charge of thing rather than Mr Crouch who was the Minister for Magic, but he knew that he wouldn't get any answers until he was safely inside the castle. Once he was seated in one of Dumbledore's squishy armchairs however, he turned an expectant face to his father. But before either of them could speak the door was flung open and Harry was confronted by an extremely angry Remus.

'Just what the hell were you playing at, stopping me from getting into that graveyard?' he asked.

'What do you mean?' Harry was confused.

'What I mean is that moments after you were whisked away, I was able to follow due to our bond. But I could only get to the boundary of the graveyard and I soon realised that it was you stopping me from getting close enough to help. Do you have any idea how I felt standing watching you go through all that and not being able to lift a finger to help?'

Harry now realised that his desperate hope that Remus would not come to his rescue had produced results. Not that he was at all repentant about it.

'I didn't know I was stopping you,' he said. 'But if I had known it wouldn't have made any difference. Voldemort had just had Pettigrew murder Cedric. I didn't want anyone else walking in to get themselves killed.'

Remus continued to glare at Harry but Sirius changed the subject.

'And just how did you manage to get back here anyway?' he asked. The grounds are crawling with aurors. Or were you so desperate to have it out with Harry that you forgot that might be the case?'

'I apparated to Honeydukes' replied Remus, calming down slightly. 'I took the liberty of summoning the invisibility cloak before coming out of the tunnel. Here Harry,' and he passed the item to Harry.

'But why are they after you?' asked Harry, finally able to get his question out. It was his father who answered him.

'Shortly after you disappeared it became apparent that Mr Crouch was in fact his son, who had been taking polyjuice potion. Barty Crouch junior was a convicted death eater who had apparently died in Azkaban. Under questioning using a truth potion he admitted to swapping places with his dying mother, again using polyjuice, and living with his father who placed him under the imperius curse and made him wear an invisibility cloak at all times. A week before the Quidditch World Cup he overcame the curse and during the event was able to send up the Dark Mark and leave that message about you. Once they were home again he overpowered his father and placed him under the imperius. He then managed to obtain polyjuice and also a draught of living death which he gave his father to prevent any chance of him regaining control. Ever since then our supposed Minister of Magic has been trying to engineer Voldemort's return and your downfall.'

'That doesn't explain why they're after Remus,' objected Harry. Sirius grimaced.

'I'm afraid that's largely the result of prejudice,' he said. 'Everyone saw Remus leave right after you and came to the conclusion that since he is a werewolf, he must be involved. Unfortunately it's likely to prove impossible convincing them otherwise.'

'But what will he do?' asked Harry.

'He will take this portkey and go to the safe house he should have gone to immediately,' came the stern voice of Dumbledore from the doorway. 'Really Remus, you are hardly setting Harry a good example by returning to the place where people want to arrest you. You are lucky that Cornelius has delayed coming to hear Harry's story.'

'And I'm afraid you are just going to have to accept that the bond between you and Harry is a two way thing,' said Harry's father. 'It seems to enable Harry to protect you just as much as it enables you to protect him. I suspect that he would not have been able to keep you out if there had been anything you could do to help him.'

'You're right,' said Remus. 'Sorry Harry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'd better go.' And without another word he took the sweet wrapper Dumbledore was holding and disappeared. It was not a moment too soon, because barely half a minute later Cornelius Fudge entered the room, followed by Snape.

'Well this has been a most unfortunate turn of events,' he said. 'But don't worry. That delusional death eater has now received the Dementor's Kiss and won't be doing anymore harm. We went to his father's house and found the real Minister for Magic dead. Evidently his son was under the impression that he wouldn't need him any longer. Bringing back He Who Must Not Be Named indeed! The man had lost his marbles.'

'But Voldemort is back!' interrupted Harry. 'I saw it happen and I had to duel him.'

'Now, now, Harry,' said Fudge kindly. 'I know you think you have seen these things but it's obvious that that werewolf Lupin has confunded you. And done a good job of it too, I would say. I don't know what his game is but we'll soon catch up with him. He'll be executed of course, under the regulations for control of dangerous magical creatures. Now if you don't mind I must leave. I've been made temporary Minister for Magic and I have work to do.'

There was silence for half a minute from the remaining occupants of Dumbledore's study. Then Harry angrily got to his feet and made as if to storm out of the room after Fudge. But he only managed a single stride before his legs gave way. His father helped him back to his chair. There was a rustle of wings and a large brightly coloured bird flew from its perch and landed on Harry's lap. It emitted a single note of song. As Harry looked up at it he saw a single tear fall from the bird's eye. The moment it landed on him, all Harry's aches and pains vanished.

'It seems that my phoenix, Fawkes has taken a liking to you Harry,' said Dumbledore. Harry had just mad a connection.

'That sound he just made,' he said. 'I heard it when I fought Voldemort. When our wands connected.'

'I have an idea about that,' said Dumbledore. 'But before I explain I think that you had better tell your own story.

So Harry related all that had happened in the graveyard. It was difficult to talk about but at the same time it was a relief to get it all out. Harry would have been happier without Snape standing there grimly but tried to ignore him. When he had finished his father spoke.

'So why do you think the wands connected?' he asked, looking at the headmaster.

'Harry's wand shares a core with Voldemort's,' replied Dumbledore. They both have one of Fawkes's feathers. Olivander wrote to tell me this right after you and Harry left his shop. Brother wands will not work against each other. If forced, one will make the other regurgitate previous spells it has performed.

Now if you will forgive me there is work to be done. Severus, I believe you know what I would like you to do.'

Snape merely nodded and swept out of the room. Dumbledore then turned to Sirius.

'Sirius, I would like you to contact the old crowd. We will also need somewhere for head quarters. I know you don't like the place but I would suggest …'

Sirius interrupted.

'That will be all right,' he said. 'I'll start right away.' And he too left.

'What will happen to Remus?' asked Harry anxiously. 'It's my fault…'

'It is not your fault,' said his father firmly. 'Werewolves have always been looked upon with suspicion. We have been making sure Remus has somewhere safe to go ever since we left school in case the ministry decided to go after him. With Voldemort back they would have decided he was on his side soon enough. Now I think it's time you got some rest.'

'Take him to the hospital wing please, James,' said Dumbledore. I have things I need to discuss with you and whilst Harry should not be left alone right now, I would prefer that he not see the other students until I have spoken to the school. Harry, you have been through a terrible ordeal and survived that which many fully qualified wizards would not have. I believe that we are facing difficult times, but tonight you should take a dose of dreamless sleep potion and be free from worry in order for your body to fully recover.'

Fifteen minutes later Harry was safely in bed, fast asleep. Just before he had taken his potion, Fudge had barged in, much to the annoyance of Madam Pomfrey and thrust a heavy bag at Harry containing the thousand galleon prize money for the tournament. Harry felt sick at the thought of it but had had no chance to refuse as Fudge left as quickly as he entered. He was only to glad to down the contents of the goblet and drift into a dreamless sleep. Tomorrow and its problems would come soon enough.


	44. Grimmauld Place

A Change of Identity

Chapter 44: Grimmauld Place

Harry lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling, fuming at the world in general. Just three days after the Third Task an article had appeared in the Daily Prophet suggesting that Harry had been severely traumatised by his kidnapping and torture at the hands of the werewolf Remus Lupin and that people should not be worried by any "fanciful stories" they might have heard. This had led his father to decide that he should not perform any magic whatsoever during the summer.

'It's not worth the risk,' he had said. 'Fudge would love any further reason to discredit you and he will have people watching the magic being performed in your vicinity very carefully.'

That had been fair enough. Also fair enough was the fact that Dumbledore had reconvened his secret society which he had set up to fight Voldemort during his first rise to power. Harry's father was naturally a prominent member of the Order of the Phoenix and consequently was away a lot though he would not say what it was that he was doing. This led to Harry spending most of his time alone, and because of the threat of Voldemort he was restricted to the house and grounds.

Harry had no idea just what his father was doing for the Order; just that it was something to do with weakening Voldemort.

'Dumbledore is fairly certain that you are the one destined to kill Voldemort according to the prophecy,' his father had told Harry. 'Of course, not all prophecies are fulfilled- in fact only a small proportion is. But if you or anyone else is to have any chance at all of defeating him, then there are things that must be accomplished first. I know that it won't be much fun for you being stuck here by yourself, but this is the house where your mother gave up her life for you and as a result of that there is an extremely strong protection around you while you are here.'

So Harry had accepted his lonely summer without complaint. He did his summer homework, read up on extra defence techniques and spells and flew his broom in the grounds. And it was while he was flying near the boundaries of the grounds six days previously that the trouble had occurred. Even though it was a blisteringly hot afternoon Harry had suddenly felt cold. Looking around he spotted a chilling sight in the lane that ran alongside the back garden. Two Dementors were gliding towards an unsuspecting muggle boy. Harry didn't even think about it. He drew his wand and conjured a patronus which quickly charged at the Dementors which fled away. The boy looked round, obviously feeling rather unsettled but seeing nothing went on his way. Heart racing, Harry returned to the house.

The Ministry owl had arrived scarcely ten minutes afterwards, informing Harry that he had performed underage magic and was to attend a hearing on the twelfth of August. Next came an owl from Professor Moody, ordering Harry to remain indoors at all times. And then nothing.

Harry assumed that his both his father and Sirius were away doing whatever it was that needed doing. Remus was obviously stuck in his safe house. But he would have thought that someone would have come to see him and allow him to recount his side of the story. But no. He was just told to stay indoors and keep out of trouble. That had been a week ago and now it was the end of July, the day before Harry's birthday. He wondered bitterly if anyone would come and see him then.

As if in answer to his thoughts, there was a loud CRACK and Tinks was standing beside his bed.

'Master Harry, there is a wizard come to see you. He is waiting downstairs.'

The wizard proved to be Professor Moody. He went straight to the point.

'Right boy, I've come to get you out of here. The house elf will send your stuff on. Read this and then we can go.

Harry read a short note in Dumbldore's handwriting saying that the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix were at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Then Moody destroyed it, grabbed Harry's arm and apparated them away. They arrived at the top of a short flight of stone steps, right in front of an ancient looking wooden front door. Moody opened it and ushered Harry in.

'Don't make a sound till we're safely in the kitchen,' he growled. Harry obeyed and followed the older wizard through the dingy looking house. On reaching their destination Moody opened the door and announced,

'Got him here safely. No problems.'

Harry didn't know what he had been expecting but it certainly wasn't to find practically the whole Weasley family and Hermione among those crowded around the large table. Hermione jumped up and started speaking at a hundred miles an hour.

'We've all been so worried about you, Harry. We've been staying here since the second week of the holidays. There's been loads of cleaning to do. We thought you were safe at your house. We couldn't believe it when we heard that you had used magic. Of course you don't need to worry about your hearing. I'm sure the Ministry…'

'Now, now, Hermione,' interrupted Mrs Weasley gently. 'Let Harry come in and sit down. I'm sure he's ready for a good meal and…'

Harry's brain seemed to be working in slow motion. It was only when Mrs Weasley was talking that he fully understood that the Weasleys and Hermione had been living here together for most of the summer while he had been stuck with only Tinks the house elf for company most of the time. They however, had had each other for company. Not to mention the fact that most members of Dumbledore's precious Order would have been popping in and out. And Remus was here. For the past week Harry had been stuck indoors on his own , worrying about what was going to happen to him for using magic and all Mrs Weasley could do was suggest a good meal. For goodness sake, didn't she realise that Tinks could cook?

'I'm not hungry,' he snapped at her. 'I've hardly had anything to do except eat for the past week so you can take your meal and stick it…'

'That's enough.'

Harry tirade was brought to an abrupt halt by Remus's quiet yet commanding voice. He was still angry though, and turned to glare at the older wizard who calmly rose from his seat and walked over to Harry, took a firm hold of his arm and silently guided him back out of the kitchen and through the house until they came to a room on the second floor. Once inside Harry jerked his arm out of Remus's grasp and stormed over to the window, where he stood staring at the drab street below. He didn't dare speak. If he did, he knew that he'd just start screaming at Remus and he suspected that he was already in for a lecture concerning his behaviour towards Mrs Weasley. After two or three minutes he managed to calm himself enough to ask a question.

'Why couldn't I have just come here at the start of the summer? It's obviously protected by the Fidelius charm so I'd have been safe.'

Remus motioned for Harry to sit on one of the two beds in the room and then settled himself beside him.

'Dumbledore is afraid that now Lord Voldemort has been restored to a new body, he might become aware of the link between you and try to make use of it. If he gets in to your mind it is possible that he could retrieve information from it. Keeping you at home ensured that you would not learn any secrets which you could unwittingly give away.'

'But I'm here now,' said Harry. Part of him felt resentful that he couldn't be told anything. On the other hand, he knew that the Weasley children and Hermione had probably picked up quite a bit of information and he thought it unlikely that they would not let something slip.

'Don't worry, we've spent a lot of time this past week working on safeguards,' said Remus. 'For a start, anyone still at school has been well warned that they'll be answering to your father if they so much as think of conversing with you about things they shouldn't. We've increased the security round meetings so that they shouldn't be able to eavesdrop. And you won't normally be left alone with the others. You'll be sharing this room with me and during Order meetings you'll be expected to stay in here.'

It seemed good enough as far as it went but Harry remembered something Snape had told him about when he was nine or ten.

'What about occlumency?' he asked. 'If I learned that then even if I knew anything I could stop Voldemort from finding it out.'

'You could,' said Lupin. But there are only two people in the Order capable of teaching you. Dumbledore does not have time and you are not exactly on good terms with the other. And even if you did learn, it would probably be quite some time before you became proficient.'

There was sense in that. Harry couldn't say that he was completely comfortable with the situation but there was nothing to be done about it. He changed the subject to the very thing he had been trying not to think about.

'What about my hearing? How come no one's asked for my side of the story? I didn't just use magic for fun.'

'I know,' replied Remus. 'Even though you were perfectly safe at home, Dumbledore arranged for a member of the Order, a squib to rent a cottage nearby. Mrs Figg saw the Dementors go for that poor boy and your patronus chase them off. She informed us immediately. Unfortunately the ministry officials refuse to discuss the matter at all, saying that you will have your chance to make excuses at your hearing and not before.

'So Voldemort's out to get me and the ministry's out to get me. Great.' Harry couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. He knew everyone was sympathetic regarding his position. He knew everything possible was being done to protect him. But the fact remained that his life sucked. In truth he wanted nothing more than to scream and throw things around. It was all very well, Remus being so patient and understanding. Especially given that the man himself was high on the ministry's wanted list. That just made Harry feel all the more guilty for wanting to vent his rage.

'How about you sped some time as Spitfire?'

'I thought I wasn't to do any magic this summer.'

'Your father's not the only one who can do the spell to change you, Harry,' countered Remus.

'I shouldn't have to use Spitfire to escape from my problems,' said Harry. 'And I'd turn back after an hour anyway.' He wondered why he was making these objections. The thought of spending even as little as an hour in his animagus form was highly tempting. Fortunately Remus seemed to understand perfectly.

'Resisting the change doesn't constitute doing magic. And I think that everyone in the house would be better off without you jumping down their throats as you seem inclined to do just now. I'll change you, go down for dinner and bring you up something to eat when I've finished. You can spend the night in wildcat form and I'll change you back before breakfast.'

'What if someone comes in and sees me' Even to his own ears, Harry's half last excuse sounded half hearted. Remus smiled.

This room is strictly off limits to anyone who doesn't have my express permission to be in it. You won't be disturbed.'

'Fine.' Harry finally gave in. A minute later he was curled up by the fire and Remus left the room.

* * *

A N: Finally! I have not remotely forgotten about this story- I'm just finding it incredibly hard to work out exactly how some of these chapters go. Thank you all for your patience and reviews. 


	45. A Happy Birthday

A Change of Identity

Chapter 45: A Happy Birthday

Harry remembered falling asleep curled up at the foot of Remus's bed. When he woke up he found he had been transferred to someone's lap. That someone was gently scratching the top of his head. Finding his situation to be rather comfortable, Harry made no act of protest but merely started purring contentedly, his feline senses telling him who the owner of the lap was.

'As touching a picture as the two of you make,' came Remus's slightly amused voice, 'I think it about time Harry was made presentable for breakfast.' Harry found himself lifted gently down to the ground and a second later he had been changed back into a boy.

'Happy birthday son,' said his dad.

'Thanks. I didn't think you'd be back.' replied Harry.

'I've missed far too many of your birthdays as it is. I made it quite clear to Dumbledore that I was returning in time for today whether the mission was completed or not.'

'Was it?' asked Harry. Then he remembered that he wasn't supposed to be told anything. 'Sorry, I know…'

His father looked at him thoughtfully.

'You won't be in trouble for asking an innocent question, Harry. I know I can trust you not to deliberately try to learn things you shouldn't. But I think it best if you don't even know if any of the Order's efforts are successful or not. Now let's get down to breakfast.'

Harry happily descended through the house with his father and Remus. It was only after Remus had opened the kitchen door that Harry remembered his rudeness of the previous night. He was rather surprised nothing had been said about it. Not that it made any difference. He was well aware that Remus would not be impressed if Harry didn't apologise, despite being so understanding of the reason behind the behaviour.

'There you are. Happy birthday Harry!' gushed Mrs Weasley. She didn't sound as though she were harbouring any grudges.

'Thanks,' mumbled Harry. 'Mrs Weasley, I'm sorry I was so rude to you last night.'

'Oh, don't you worry about that. I know things must have been hard for you. Now come and sit down and have some breakfast. I know you claimed you weren't hungry last night but you couldn't have found that food Remus took up for you very appetising. You know, he just slopped a few things into a dish and insisted it was all you were going to get. Anyone would have thought he was taking up a few scraps for a cat. He even forgot about cutlery until I reminded him.'

Harry took a seat at the table and became very interested in the plate of bacon and eggs that Mrs Weasley put in front of him. He couldn't trust himself to keep a straight face if he looked either his father or Remus in the eye. Fortunately the Weasley twins changed the subject.

'So, Mum, do we get a day off cleaning in honour of Harry's birthday?'

'Certainly not, Fred. There's still far too much to do. Of course,' Mrs Weasley turned and looked kindly at Harry, 'I don't expect you to clean today.'

'I don't mind helping,' said Harry quickly.

'More fool you then,' came a new voice from the doorway. 'But your dad and I have plans for today and they don't involve you slaving away in my parents' house.'

'This is your house?' Harry asked Sirius who came to the table and accepted a plate of breakfast from Mrs Weasley.

'Unfortunately, yes. I don't normally set foot in it but my ancestors have put it under so much magical protection that it makes the ideal place for Remus to hide out and for the Order to hold their meetings. There is a house elf but he's a foul thing and I don't think he's cleaned so much as a door handle since my mother died. Molly very kindly offered the services of her children and Hermione to help get the place in liveable condition. No doubt she'll co opt you tomorrow but you have a trip to Diagon Alley to occupy you today. We can get most of your school stuff and if you're a very good boy, your dad and I might buy you a birthday present.'

The thought of a trip to Diagon Alley was most appealing to Harry though there was one snag.

'Er, I don't have my book list yet,' he said.

'I know,' said his father. Dumbledore hasn't managed to find a defence teacher yet. But I do know what you need for most of your subjects. Molly can pick up your defence book when she takes her lot near the end of the holidays. But given recent events, I'd rather you only went out under extremely close supervision and that won't be possible with someone who has several children to look after. I think, however, that Sirius and I might just be able to keep you out of trouble between us.'

Harry suddenly thought of another potential problem. Much as he dreaded the answer, he asked,

'Er, can't the ministry get me expelled for doing magic outside of school?'

His father didn't answer him but spoke first to Sirius.

'Meet us in the drawing room in fifteen minutes. Come with me Harry please.'

His father led Harry to a formal looking room on the first floor before speaking.

'It's almost certain that Fudge will try to get you expelled, he said bluntly. But Dumbledore has promised me he'll be there to defend you. I have complete faith in his ability to do so. Though I must warn you that Dumbledore is going to seem rather distant with you and will seem to ignore you. He is worried that Voldemort will try to get to him through you.'

'You mean he might try to possess me?' asked Harry, appalled.

'It is a possibility,' answered his father.

'I wish I could just go out there and kill Voldemort,' said Harry. Then maybe I could have a normal life.'

'Don't even think about trying,' his father said sharply. Then his voice softened. 'Until the Order has done what we need to do you wouldn't stand a chance. In the meantime, you have your OWLS to work for this year. This brings me to another couple of points. Firstly, I won't be at Hogwarts this year. Professor McGonagall will take my place while I continue working for the Order. Secondly, it looks likely that Dumbledore will not manage to find a Defence teacher. In that case the ministry will step in and appoint someone. If that happens you will have to be extremely careful since they will almost certainly try to make your life difficult.'

Harry was silent as he tried to take all of this in. His father put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

'Look, I'm not saying this to try and spoil your birthday,' he said. 'But you have to understand that things will be different this year. You won't have Sirius, Remus or me close at hand keeping you in line. So you'll have to be careful. But if you concentrate on your schoolwork and getting good OWLS you should be fine. And if you do happen to have any more dreams about Voldemort, there are three people you can safely tell. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape. Yes, Snape,' he emphasised as Harry looked slightly incredulous. 'I know you can't stand him. I don't like him myself either. But he is without doubt on our side, so if all else fails, go to him. Understand?'

Harry nodded reluctantly though privately decided that he would never go to the man who had disowned him. Just then Sirius came in to the room.

'Well, are we ready to go?' he asked cheerfully. Harry's father smiled.

'Yes. Lecture's over Harry. Time to enjoy your birthday now. I'll go through first. You follow me and Sirius will come after you, OK?'

They wasted no more time and all three had soon travelled through the floo to the Leaky Cauldron. Then they proceeded to Diagon Alley, where the two elder wizards succeeded in giving Harry a most satisfactory birthday. They collected what they could of Harry's school supplies first and left them behind the bar in the Leaky Cauldron to be collected before they went home. They spent some time in the quidditch shop although there was nothing Harry needed there, his broom still being the best there was. Then they went for an ice cream at Florean Fortescue's before descending on the joke shop. There time there consisted mainly of Harry laughing at his father and Sirius, who kept saying how they wished that such and such had been available when they were at school. Harry did allow them to buy him a couple of things to keep them happy even though he didn't think he'd ever be much of a joker himself. Lunch followed, then a trip to Gringotts. Finally they went to the Magical Menagerie for Harry's birthday present.

Harry wasn't sure if there was much point in him having his own owl. He wouldn't be able to send letters to his father and Sirius while they were continuously going off on Order business. And it had been decided that no owls should be sent to or from Grimmauld place except in an emergency so as not to compromise Remus's safety. So it was the cats he went to look at. But a soft hoot caused him to turn around and he let out an involuntary 'Wow!' at the creature which had made the noise; a magnificent looking owl with feathers of golden brown with black markings. That decided matters, and Harry left the shop carrying Rameses in a cage.

Back at Grimmauld place Mrs Weasley had prepared a birthday tea for Harry. Fred and George Weasley ensured at was not a quit affair by letting off some indoor fireworks, much to their mother's displeasure. However, as no one else seemed to mind she had to let it go. All in all, Harry thought it was one of the best birthdays he had ever had, in spite of the prospect of his hearing and a difficult year ahead hanging over him.


	46. The Result of the Hearing

A Change of Identity

Chapter 46: The Result of the Hearing

In the days following his birthday, Harry was only too glad to help with the seemingly endless task of making 12 Grimmauld Place more habitable. With the prospect of his hearing at the ministry hanging over him he welcomed any activity which took his mind off it. Not that it was very exciting, sorting through mounds of dubious objects acquired by generations of blacks, but it was something to do. Many items were clearly cursed; most of these were thrown into a large magically protected sack. Although Sirius thoughtfully pocketed a large heavy locket on the third day. The next morning Harry thought that the grown ups seemed rather satisfied about something. Of course, not a word about the matter was uttered in the presence of the children.

Harry's father and Sirius left on "Order business" four days after his birthday. Harry supposed he was lucky it had taken Dumbledore that long to send them off again but he still felt the difference keenly. With herself and Remus the only adults left permanently in the house during the daytime, Mrs Weasley made it her personal mission to enforce the rule about Harry never being alone with the other children. Whereas his father had merely ensured that another grown up was always in the room, Mrs Weasley insisted on Harry being her personal helper, making him clean beside her all the time. When it was time to prepare lunch, Harry had to accompany her to the kitchen in spite of Remus's protests that he could keep an eye on everyone. After two and a half days of hardly being allowed even to talk to the others, Harry felt like exploding, especially when Mrs Weasley announced after lunch that she wanted Harry to help her clear out one of the attics while the rest of the household tackled the dining room. Fortunately help was at hand.

'Actually Molly, if you don't mind, I'd like to steal Harry this afternoon,' said Remus mildly. I promised James that I'd check he's done all his summer assignments properly.'

Once they were safely in the room they shared, Harry turned to Remus.

'Doesn't Dad even trust me to do my homework?' He asked. Remus smiled.

'He didn't trust Molly not to smother you with an over zealous desire to keep to the rules we set down,' he replied. 'He wanted me to have a valid excuse for rescuing you should it become necessary. So hand over your homework, young man.'

Harry rummaged around in his trunk and produced a stack of parchment.

'I don't see why she has to have me beside her all the time,' grumbled Harry. The others aren't likely to try talking about stuff with both you and her in the room. Especially when they know they'll have Dad to answer to if they do.'

'Some mother's are like that I'm afraid,' said Remus consolingly. 'How about spending the time as Spitfire while I look over this?'

Harry didn't even attempt to protest and spent the next hour curled up on his bed. He would have liked to have transformed himself but as that wasn't allowed, settled for submitting himself to Remus's spell. When he changed back, Remus pronounced himself satisfied with Harry's homework.

'Not that yourfather expected anything else,' said Remus with a chuckle.

'Yes, but now you won't have an excuse to drag me away next time,' countered Harry.

'I'll have a word with her tonight,' promised Remus. 'We can't have you dying of suffocation while your father's away.'

Remus was as good as his word, and in the days that followed, Harry was able to interact more or less normally with Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny. But as the day of his hearing drew closer, he found he didn't feel much like talking to anyone. He did his share of the cleaning vigorously and was quite content to read through his new schoolbooks when he was shut away on his own during Order meetings. It was almost a relief when the morning of his hearing dawned. It would soon be over.

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Even with Arthur Weasley guiding him, Harry didn't know how he had managed to make it back from the Ministry using muggle transport. His head was reeling with what had happened and the moment he was in the door he stumbled upstairs to his shared room and flung himself face down on his bed. He vaguely noticed Dumbledore in the hallway and realised that he must have apparated in order to get back before them and inform the rest of the household of the outcome of the hearing. At least he wouldn't have to tell everyone himself.

Harry hadn't had a chance from the outset, he now knew. Instead of the expected informal chat in an office with a couple of officials, the hearing had taken place in the largest of the courtrooms in front of the whole Wizengamot, the wizard's court. As promised, Dumbledore had defended Harry fully, explaining that he had only acted to protect the muggle boy. He had also produced the squib, Mrs Figg who had witnessed the event and confirmed it. But Cornelius Fudge, the new minister, poured scorn on the idea that dementors had been on the loose and brought up the fact that Harry had a record of dubious behaviour in school- the events of his second year and entering the Triwizard tournament underage. A toad like witch joined him, asking Dumbledore if he were accusing the ministry of sending dementors to where Harry lived. A vote was taken, and although a fair number of people voted to clear Harry, there was a clear majority who found him guilty. The only reason Harry wasn't expelled was because Dumbledore had pointed out that as the headmaster, he was the one who had the final say on the expulsion of students. Instead, Harry was fined a hundred galleons and given a criminal record.

Harry didn't care about the fine; his father was wealthy enough. But no doubt the Daily Prophet would have a field day reporting that Harry Potter had been found guilty of underage magic and had thought up yet another ridiculous story to try and escape the consequences. He punched his pillow in frustration but it wasn't nearly sufficient to dispel the feelings boiling up inside him.

The door opened and Harry knew without looking that it would be Remus.

'I'd have been better off getting expelled,' he muttered. 'At least then I wouldn't have to face everyone at school.'

He felt the mattress sag as Remus sat down and placed a hand on his shoulder. He appreciated the fact that the older man made no attempt to reason with him or suggest that everything would be fine. After a few minutes of soaking up the silent sympathy, Harry turned over and pushed himself into a sitting position.

'I don't suppose Dad would agree to me leaving school and having you teach me here,' he said.

'No he wouldn't,' Remus answered him. 'And I doubt you'd be happy if he did. At least at Hogwarts you'll be able to get some fresh air and exercise. And you'll have quidditch again this year. Now I know you probably don't feel much like facing everyone right now Harry, but Molly will have lunch ready and I think you should come down for it. Remember, there isn't a single person in this house who isn't behind you. If you can't find the courage to face them, then I hate to think how you'll cope at school.'

He certainly had a point there, thought Harry. And the complete absence of bitterness in Remus's voice when he spoke about fresh air and exercise made Harry feel slightly guilty since Remus was in a far worse situation than himself. He stood up and allowed the werewolf to escort him downstairs.

No one spoke much during lunch. Mrs Weasley seemed on the verge of tears and the others all looked rather shell shocked. Knowing that it was on his behalf that they were all so upset gave Harry a slightly warm feeling. Remus was right. He had plenty of people behind him.

It took a couple of days for things to return to relative normality. By then Hermione was fretting because the book lists hadn't come and she was desperate to read through them all before the start of term. Harry appeased her slightly by lending her his. Fortunately Fred, George and Ginny weren't so concerned about knowing the year's work before they returned since it was only the fifth year books of which Harry's father had been given advanced knowledge. It wasn't until two days before they were due to go back that the Hogwarts Letters came. Hermione ripped hers open and screamed. Looking over at her, Harry saw the cause of her excitement and smiled. It was hardly a surprise that she had received a prefect badge.

'No way!'

Harry heard Ron's exclamation of disbelief. Then there was a scream from his mother and deep groans from Fred and George. Evidently Ron had also been given a prefect badge.

'I don't believe it', Ron said for the twentieth time. 'I thought you'd be sure to get it, Harry. I mean, Professor Potter is your dad and…'

'And you think that I'd show favouritism towards him?' came a severe voice from the doorway. 'Even worse, you think that I'd put my own son in a position of authority which a significant proportion of the school would fail to respect?'

Ron's face turned scarlet and Harry noticed that he shuddered as his head of house approached the table. But Harry's father paid the new prefect no more attention and came straight to Harry.

'Dumbledore's told me all about the hearing.' he said, 'Right now fighting Voldemort has to take priority, but once he's out of the picture, I will not rest until both you and Remus have your records wiped clean and have unequivocal apologies from the minister himself.'

Harry willingly allowed himself to be drawn into a fierce hug. He'd been secretly hoping that his father would return before the start of term. The school year was likely to be difficult enough without Harry having to leave for it without saying goodbye.

The next morning Mrs Weasley took her children and Hermione to Diagon Alley for their school supplies, promising to pick up a copy of the defence book for Harry. When they returned, Harry's father glanced through it and gave an exclamation of disgust. Sirius, who had also returned looked at it and promptly went upstairs, returning in a few minutes.

'Here,' he said, handing a rather battered old book to Harry. 'Study this in your free time. It's the book your dad and I had in fifth year and it'll teach you a hundred times more than that rag someone's seen fit to prescribe for you.'

That evening Mrs Weasley cooked a small feast in honour of the new prefects. Several order members stayed on for it after the meeting and it turned into quite a party. Harry was sorry when they were all shoed to bed. The holidays were over and tomorrow he would be starting what he suspected would be the most difficult year yet of his school career. And given the way his first four years had gone, that was really saying something.

A N: Sorry for another overdue update but when the muse is on a go slow there's not much that I can do about it. Many thanks to all of you wonderful reviewers.


	47. Returning to School Again

_A Change of Identity_

Chapter 47: Returning to School Again

_Dolores Umbridge Appointed to Dual Post of Defence Teacher and High Inquisitor at Hogwarts_

Harry stared at the headline in the copy of the Daily Prophet which some random Order member had kindly brought to Grimmauld Place. Sirius had read the article out loud and it hadn't it hadn't made for pleasant hearing. "Professor" Umbridge would be inspecting all the other teachers and would have the power to dismiss them if she found them to be unsatisfactory. Additionally, she would have "supreme authority" over all punishments and could alter those given out by other teachers if she thought it appropriate.

'Fudge wasn't at all happy at Dumbledore pointing out that the ministry had no power to expel students from Hogwarts,' said Arthur Weasley. After Harry's hearing he managed to push through a couple of special educational decrees in order to have input into what happens in the school through his man, or rather, woman, on the inside.'

'More like toad,' growled Harry, recognising the picture of Umbridge as the witch who had spoken at his hearing. 'And now she'll just expel me anyway,' he added.

'Nah,' said Fred jokingly. 'She'll keep you in school so she can make your life a misery.'

'Kindly keep your mouth shut if you can't say anything sensible,' said Harry's father sharply, glaring at Fred.

There was an awkward silence. James Potter was usually one to laugh at a joke, even in such grave circumstances. Then Harry saw a look of understanding dawn on Fred's face.

'You mean…' but he couldn't complete his sentence. Not that there was any need. It was plain that his attempted joke was likely to be nothing other than the truth.

'Well I think it's time we were setting off for the station,' said Mrs Weasley, attemping to sound cheerful. Go and bring your trunks downstairs, all of you.

Harry stood up with the other children but his father motioned for him to sit down.

'Sirius will fetch yours,' he said. I want a quick word.'

Mr and Mrs Weasley tactfully left the room and Harry was left with his father and Remus. James Potter went straight to the point.

'I want you to promise me something Harry,' he said.

'I know, try to stay out of trouble…' but his father held up his hand to silence Harry.

'No,' he said. 'I don't doubt that you'll do your best to keep from Umbridge's notice. Unfortunately it is probable that she'll find reason to punish you anyway. What I want is a promise that you'll try to keep control of yourself when she does.'

'I'll try,' promised Harry. Remus stood and came over to Harry.

'And try to have a little fun if you can,' he said. 'If you can do that then it will be easier to bear anything that is unfair.'

Harry nodded. A couple of quick hugs later he was outside with everyone else piling into muggle taxis for the ride to the station.

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Harry was relieved when he was finally seated with the rest of Gryffindor in the Great Hall, awaiting the sorting of the new first years. The moment he had arrived on Platform 9 ¾ he had been aware of people whispering about him and pointing at him. When they boarded the train Ron nd Hermione went up front to the prefects' carriage. Harry's father had propelled him in the direction of a carriage which was empty apart from Professor McGonagall. To Harry's relief they were soon joined by Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. The journey passed quietly without any of the hassel Harry had feared. Harry wasn't fooled. She might have given them some lame excuse about her presence, but Professor McGonagall had been on the Hogwarts Express to prevent any problems between Harry and those who might taunt him about the newspaper articles denouncing him as a liar. Not that he was complaining; he was only to willing to postpone problems of that sort for as long as possible.

The sorting started. The hat's song was slightly different this year, urging the houses to put aside their differences and work together. The first years were sorted and the feast began. After the feast Dumbledore stood up and proceeded to make his usual start of year speech only to be interrupted by Professor Umbridge. After a couple of minutes Harry stopped listening to her. Her speech boiled down to what he already knew; that the Ministry were interfering at Hogwarts. At last it was over. Dumbledore stood up again and reminded the students about the usual rules and Mr Filch's list of banned articles and dismissed them.

As new prefects, it was Hermione and Ron's job to escort the new first years to Gryffindor Tower. Harry made to go with them but changed his mind on seeing them shoot terrified glances at him. The Dailly Prophet had done it's work well, thought Harry bitterly as he made his own way towards his house.

'Don't worry, Hermione put them straight about you,' Ron told him when he joined Harry in their dormitory fifteen minutes later. Harry didn't reply. He had a feeling that a few first years being scared of him would be the least of his problems.

As it turned out, whatever the rest of the school thought, the whole of Gryffindor was behind Harry. Seamus Finnegan admitted that his mother had tried to stop him coming back to Hogwarts after reading what the Prophet said about Harry, but proclaimed that he had refused point blank to stay at home. Buoyed up by the show of support, it was an optimistic Harry who showed up for went down to breakfast the following morning. Fred and George were already there and handed Harry ,Ron and Hermione a small sheet of parchment each.

'Timetables,' said Fred.

'McGonagall came and gave them to us five minutes ago,' added George.

'And warned us that she wouldn't stand for any of our nonsense,' said Fred.

'Defence first thing,' said Ron. I wonder what she's like.

'Horrible,' replied Harry shortly. But he was actually rather relieved that he didn't have to wait long to face "The Toad", as he had begun to think of Professor Umbridge.

Surprisingly, it was Hermione who started the disruption in Umbridge's class. Everyone was seated in good time. Professor Umbridge walked into the room, flicked her wand at the blackboard to show the course aims and told everyone to put their wands away and to read the first chapter of their book. Almost immediately Hermione raised her hand. After several minutes of ignoring her, the teacher asked her if she had a problem. Hermione then pointed out that the course aims failed to include practising defensive magic.

Harry kept well out of the ensuing argument but it did him no good. After five minutes of various people trying to say that they needed to be able to defend themselves, Umbridge tapped her wand sharply on her desk.

'Silence!' she snapped. Then she seemed to pull herself together and spoke in a sickly sweet voice.

'It seems to me that this class has spent entirely to much time listening to the lies told by Mr Potter. He Who Must Not Be Named has not returned from the dead and there is no need for any of you to be using dangerous spells in my class. Mr Potter, you will report to my office for detention at six o'clock for a week starting from tomorrow night. Perhaps that will teach you to keep your nasty lies to yourself and remind others not to listen to you.'

That effectively silenced the whole class and they resumed reading. Harry stared blankly at the pages. Despite his father's warnings, he hadn't expected trouble so soon. When the lesson ended he deliberately hurried to transfiguration ahead of everyone else. He desperately wanted to vent his feelings but knew that doing so could land him in even more trouble. He was better off on his own for now. He noticed Professor McGonagall glance sharply at him when he flung himself into a seat in her room and was relieved that she didn't question him. Nor did she pay him any particular attention during the lesson, a large chunk of which consisted of a lecture on how important it was to study hard for the OWLS at the end of the year. By the time the hour was up he had calmed sufficiently to allow Ron and Hermione to accompany him to lunch. Hermione immediately started to apologise to him.

'Forget it,' Harry told her. 'She was going to put me in detention soon enough anyway.'

'I wonder what she'll make you do,' said Ron. Harry shrugged.

'I'll let you know tomorrow night,' said Harry. 'Then you can get yourself your own detention with her if you're jealous of me.'

'How can you joke about it Harry?' asked Hermione.

'Because I'll go mad otherwise,' replied Harry. 'I haven't even lasted one lesson before she's started on me. There's no way I'm going to survive a year of her if I let her get to me. How about talking about something else.? We don't have defence tomorrow so I am declaring myself a toad free zone until my detention tomorrow.' Laughing, the three went into the Great Hall for their lunch.


	48. A Taste of Revenge

A Change of Identity

_This chapter is dedicated to Tinks in honour of her birthday_

Chapter 48: A Taste of Revenge

Strangely, it wasn't the fact that he was sitting writing lines with a quill which carved the words "I must not tell lies" onto the back of his hand that was making Harry's blood boil. It was the china plates which adorned the walls of Umbridge's office. Each plate held a different picture but they were all of fluffy kittens wearing brightly covered bow ties. They were utterly disgusting in Harry's opinion and he dearly longed to change into his animagus form and show that simpering toad of a woman what a REAL CAT was like. It was out of the question of course. Instead he wrote steadily until Umbridge decided that he had done enough for the night.

Harry knew he had to keep the details of this punishment to himself. Dumbledore might be the headmaster but Umbridge had the ultimate power. If Harry complained he had no doubt that most of the staff would be on his side but if they tried to help him they could be sacked and Harry had no wish to provide openings for the ministry to plant any more of their stooges inside Hogwarts. Even if he hadn't been warned against sending letters he wouldn't have. His father and Sirius would no doubt be doing whatever it was they had to do. And sensible as Remus was, the knowledge of how Umbridge was punishing Harry might just be enough to make him do something stupid and Harry was not about to be the cause of his mentor being captured and sent to Azkaban or even executed. So when Ron asked him about his detention he merely shrugged and said that he had just had to do lines.

The week passed by with no other problems. Harry dutifully reported for his nightly detentions. At midnight on Sunday Professor Umbridge inspected Harry's hand and seemed extremely satisfied with what she saw.

'Well, I think I have made a suitable impression on you Mr Potter,' she said smugly. But remember that if I here word of you spreading any more lies I will not hesitate to bring you back here. Is that clear?'

'Yes Professor,' Harry replied dully and left after a curt dismissal from Umbridge. As he made his way back to Gryffindor Tower he came across Ron, carrying his broom and looking extremely damp and rather self conscious. Harry thought he could guess at what was going on.

'Thinking about trying out for Keeper?' he asked. Angelina Johnson had announced that morning that she was the new quidditch captain and that she would be holding tryouts for the vacant keeper position on Friday evening.

'Yeah, well I probably don't have much chance but… well, you never know…'

'I hope you do get it,' Harry told him. 'Just hope I'll be there to see it.'

'She can't give you more detention!' burst out Ron.

'She can do what she likes,' retorted Harry. 'Including giving me detention whether or not I've done anything. But I'm going to pay her back one of these days. And I'll do it without landing myself in all the trouble I did last time I tried getting revenge.'

Harry's statement that Umbridge could do what she liked proved all too true on Friday when she saw Harry carrying his Firebolt down to the quidditch pitch accompanied by Fred and George.

'Oh, I don't think so Mr Potter,' she said sweetly. 'Nasty little liars and criminals can't be allowed such privileges as playing Quidditch. So I'll just lock that broom of yours away to make sure there's no chance of you going against your ban.'

Harry was inwardly fuming but he had the presence of mind to surreptitiously kick Fred and nudge George to stop them interfering. It wouldn't do for them to be banned from playing as well. He grudgingly surrendered his broom and retraced his steps to the castle, thinking about how he had vowed to get revenge. Unfortunately he could think of nothing that would not land himself in extremely deep water. It would have to wait for now.

Ron did manage to obtain the position of Keeper, although Angelina privately told Harry that it was more a case of him being the best of a bad lot. She did however say that Ginny had got the replacement seeker position even though she had only come to the tryouts to watch originally.

'But of course we had to find a seeker as well and she tried out on the spur of the moment. Not a patch on you of course, but she wasn't at all bad.'

'That's good,' replied Harry. He made some sort of excuse and escaped to the dormitory. He wasn't really in the mood for talking.

The following week saw the start of the inspections of all the teachers. Harry was delighted to see Umbridge put firmly in her place by McGonagall. But when he looked out of a window and saw her heading for Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures lesson his heart fell. On the spur of the moment he slipped into an empty classroom, put on his invisibility cloak and rushed down to the clearing where Hagrid held his lessons. As Harry had half expected, Hagrid was no match for Umbridge, especially when the Slytherins were only too eager to point out disasters such as the hippogriph incident. Harry made a quick decision. He went behind Hagrid's hut, stashed his cloak under the dustbin and transformed, then stealthily returned to the lesson and kept out of sight behind a clump of bushes. As Umbridge triumphantly marched away from the class, Spitfire struck. He sprang out from his hiding place and within three seconds had caught up with his prey, leapt up and dragged his right claws down one side of her face. Before Umbridge could even think about drawing her wand, her attacker had fled.

'You should have seen it Harry,' Ron told him gleefully at lunchtime. 'Dumbledore came down and Umbridge wanted Hagrid sacked for keeping a dangerous magical creature but Dumbledore pointed out that it was just an ordinary wild animal and we'd probably never see it again. Wish we did see it again though. Reckon it deserves a dish of salmon for what it did to that toad. Hagrid's on probation now but that was going to happen anyway. And apparently that cat or whatever it was must have had something wrong with it because Madam Pomfrey hasn't been able to heal Umbridge properly. The cuts are closed alright but she's all scarred down the side of her face. Looks horrible.

Harry didn't exactly regret his impulsive act but he grew rather apprehensive as the story flew around the school, becoming more exaggerated with each telling. He had a feeling that the story would reach his father's ear sooner or later and that he'd be in trouble when it did. The rule about not transforming on his own or without permission except in dire emergency was non negotiable. Of course, his father could hardly come rushing up to the school to deal with Harry but he wasn't likely to ignore the deed even if it meant waiting until Christmas.

Harry didn't have to wait nearly that long. A few days after the event, he was detained after Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall handed Harry a sealed roll of parchment.

'I saw your father the other day,' she told Harry, 'and he asked me to give you this since it's not a good idea to use owls these days. He said that you'll take a while to reply so you can hand me your letter a week today and I'll see it gets to him. Hurry along to your next class now please.

Harry stashed the letter away in his bag, knowing he'd have to wait until he was alone before reading it. McGonagall showed no sign that she thought the letter anything other than normal but Harry knew otherwise. He had broken a strict rule and James Potter was going to make his son pay the penalty whether or not he could be there in person.


	49. Hary's Reply

Yes, I know it's short but I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter. I do have every intention of finishing this fic. I know exactly where it's going- it's just writing it down that's the problem.

Chapter 49: Harry's Answer

_Dear Harry,_

_Firstly, you should count yourself extremely lucky that I was not around when you pulled that little stunt of yours. If I had been then I wouldn't have wasted time with training sessions and walloping hexes but gone straight for my slipper. After I'd calmed down a little I thought of giving you a hefty written punishment but on reflection have decided against it. It seems to me that the time is past when problems like this can be solved by me coming down on you like a ton of bricks. If you can't already understand the risks you ran with your impulsiveness then I doubt that anything I do to you will stop it from happening again, especially since you probably don't feel in the least bit guilty. I would however like to point out to you a small detail you probably haven't realised. I'm sure you are aware that Umbridge's scratches aren't healing properly. Although the word has been put around that the wildcat had some nasty infection, Madam Pomfrey has confided to Professor McGonagall that it is in fact due to some strong accidental magic, presumably from one of the students in Hagrid's class. Of course, they have no idea about your involvement or they would realise that you were the one to lose control._

_On to another matter now, Professor McGonagall tells me that she overheard you telling Ron that you just had to write lines during your recent detentions. Nice try, but you are forgetting about your bond with Remus. He is certain that you are being physically harmed in some manner. Assuming that you are telling at least a partial truth about the lines, Sirius thinks that Umbridge is making you use a special type of quill which uses your own blood instead of ink. Considering this, along with your Quidditch ban and the fact that you seem to have rather less self control than I had hoped, I have to wonder if it would be best if I pulled you out of Hogwarts. If I do that you will of course be stuck here , possibly with the ministry wanting to arrest you, so you need think long and hard about it._

_I am leaving the decision up to you. You may choose whether or not to tell me the reasons for your choice but I do ask one thing. If you decide to remain at Hogwarts you must be absolutely certain that you can control yourself in future. I can give you one small piece of information which may help you. _

_If you go to the seventh floor , opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, there is a secret room called the Room of Requirement. It only appears if a person has real need of it. Walk in front of the wall two or three times, thinking about the room you need and it should appear. If things get too much for you then I am giving you permission to go there to spend some time as Spitfire. I think that you are competent enough to change without supervision but there are to be no more reckless acts. _

_Don't rush your reply- you have a week to think things over. There is no right or wrong decision but you must be as sure as you can that you are doing what is best for you. Professor McGonagall will bring me you answer next week._

_Love,_

_Your Dad_

The relief that Harry felt was incredible. It wasn't the fact that he had escaped punishment but the knowledge that he could leave Hogwarts and all of Umbridge's persecution behind. Not that he'd be taking up his father on that offer. Harry was astonished by the realisation that he had made that decision almost without considering. But this wasn't just about him. Umbridge was spoiling Hogwarts for everyone and although Harry was the main focus for her spite he didn't want to walk away and leave everyone else to deal with the repercussions.

_There are to be no more reckless acts_

It was almost as if his father knew what Harry's decision would be. And Harry knew that this time he would have to stay in control of himself. It wouldn't be easy. Although he had his father's permission to spend time in his animagus form he would have to use the privilege sparingly. But he could do it, Harry decided.

A week later James accepted Harry's written reply from Professor McGonagall. As soon as she left Grimmauld Place he opened it and quickly read the contents before passing it across to Remus.

'I can't say that I'm surprised,' said Remus.

'Nor me,' replied James. 'I just wish that things were different and I could have carried on teaching this year instead of gallivanting off on these blasted trips for Dumbledore.'

'I know its hard for you not being able to be there for Harry,' said Remus softly. 'But someone has to go and you and Sirius are the best people for the job.'

James was silent. He knew that Remus was right. He would just have to hope that Harry would be able to curb his impetuousness.


End file.
