Harry Potter and the Wizards of Narhassa

Chapter 5: Startling Revelations

"Who's Tom Marvolo Riddle?" asked Sean, almost immediately, not giving Harry Ron and Hermione a chance to properly gawk. "Sounds like the name of a used car dealer."

Sean's vain attempt to break the thick cloud triangle of fear between his three friends was in vain.

"Harry," said Ron slowly, finally breaking the tension. "I know we are all on edge right now. But, eh..."

Hermione sighed as well, "It must be a coincidence... perhaps You-Know-Who, wherever he is, looked at a picture of you and felt a seething hatred at the same time Seth Redetyor's name was called... that would have explained the pain in your head."

This unnerved Harry a great deal. Hermione was usually not one to downplay any possible crisis, and if anything, it would have been more of Harry's role to suggest such an idea, in order to stop Hermione from racing to the library for three weeks to find out all she could about Youth Potions and Wizard Plastic Surgery.

"Hermione," said Harry forcefully. "He looked right into my eyes and smiled, and then I felt it!"

Hermione shook her head. "There is simply no way Dumbledore would have invited Voldemort to the school. You know it and I know it."

Sean shrugged, completely in the dark. "Have you tried some Aspirin? Maybe you are just dehydrated."

Harry's first temptation was to smack Sean, until he realized that the small boy was completely ignorant as to whom Voldemort even was.

"No," said Harry, mustering as much control as possible. "It's something else."

The rest of the Sorting Ceremony finished up, and finally, Dumbledore stood in place of Professor McGonagall, who walked with a wooden hand to her brow and a lightheaded look upon her face.

"Please welcome the new students of all Houses as well as the Founders of House Narhassa!"

While the hall was filled with applause, it seemed as though it should have been MUCH louder. The Slytherins, all watching Seth shiftily, gave up very little praise, while most of the Muggles sitting at the Narhassa felt too shy to put much enthusiasm into the clap.

Thus was the tension when the Great Feast began.

"And now, let us eat!" said Dumbledore, waving his hands into the air.

All at once, a roast beef appeared upon the table, with countless bowls of rice, carrots, salad and mash potatoes. Harry looked over to see Sean's eyes wide with surprise.

"If you need anything, just ask for it," said Harry kindly. "Pumpkin Juice!"

Out of the blue, a small goblet appeared in front of Harry, filled with the sweet liquid.

"Um," said Sean, scratching his head. "Coke!"

Ron looked as if he had been slapped as his eyes shot up from his plate at Sean.

"Is that some kind of sick joke, man?" asked Ron, his brows arched.

Nothing had appeared in front of Sean, causing Seamus Finnegan to look at him with a dubious expression.

"Are you a druggie, Sean?"

Sean's face flushed red with embarrassment, while Hermione shook her head.

"He doesn't mean cocaine, you two prats! He's talking about Coca-Cola; it's a Muggle drink that's popular in America."

"Oh," said Seamus and Ron, at the same time. With a shrug, Ron resumed his meal while Seamus went back to conversing with Dean and Neville.

Sean scratched his soft, ruddy hair and held up his hand. "Coca-Cola?"

Still, nothing appeared in front of him.

"I don't think the house elves know how to make it," said Hermione, leaning over and looking across Harry to Sean. "Talk to Dumbledore about it. He can probably show them how to do it. Try lemonade, or pumpkin juice."

Ron looked at Hermione strangely. "Isn't that against your house elf rights policy?"

Hermione gave Ron a rather bland "you-are-just-trying-to-provoke-me" look.

"You know as well as I do that the house elves will love the fact he made a personal request."

Sean nodded with a confused smile. "That's... that's... cool. But, what's a house elf?"

Harry remained silent the entire time. Perhaps his friends were not taking him seriously at the moment; heck, he wasn't even sure he took himself completely seriously. Yet, sitting just one table away, dressed as a Hogwarts student and complete with his own evil aura was the Dark Lord himself! He had looked at Harry, grinned, and suddenly caused a surge of pain to shoot through his head. Somehow, Voldemort had found a way to make himself young and human looking again... and now was attending Hogwarts as a sixth year Slytherin!

As crazy as this seems, Dumbledore will have to know, deduced Harry. Something, however, was preventing him from screaming out in protest right then and there, however. Certainly, Dumbledore would have remembered how Tom Riddle looked; wouldn't he? If it was REALLY Tom Marvolo Riddle, was there any chance Dumbledore would have not known and accepted him?

That brought a flutter of doubt the Harry's mind.

"As you all know," continued Dumbledore. "The Forbidden Forest is, well, quite forbidden. This means no student is to enter, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!"

Harry jumped slightly from his contemplations as Dumbledore, for the first time he could remember, spoke loud enough for his voice to reverberate off the walls with amazing force.

"Reasonable enough," said Hermione knowingly. "For all we know, Voldemort could be lurking right outside now."

Or inside, thought Harry as he shot another weary glance to Seth, who was sitting at the Slytherin table.

"Also, all students are reminded that a strict curfew has been enforced. No one is to be outside of their Common Rooms after sunset," continued Dumbledore, his unusually grave voice commanding respect from even Fred and George Weasley, who were always quick to throw in quips. "This condition is not negotiable!"

"But, Professor," called a voice from the Ravenclaw table. "What about Quidditch practice?"

"Not negotiable," repeated Dumbledore, neither more aggressively nor less forcefully.

Dumbledore hardly ever took such a powerful stance on something, so when he did, it was widely respected by the student body. While the news was disturbing at best and devastating at worst, Harry accepted it as gospel.

Dumbledore deserved that for all the times he had helped him.

"Finally," said Dumbledore, seeming to act his age for one of the first times as weary lines formed in his face. "If anyone notices anything out of the normal, do not hesitate to speak to the heads of your house."

Harry raised a brow to that. It seemed that very little in ever appeared IN the normal at Hogwarts. He wondered how many reports of strange sightings he would get from the first years...

Dumbledore continued. "For as long as I have been alive, I have always endeavored to be honest. I was as forthcoming as I dared to be last year, speaking to you the truth about Cedric Diggory. I will continue to put such trust in you and hope you return it to me."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, and despite the several hundred people sitting in close quarters, it was so quiet that Harry would have been able to distinguish a fly passing gas from across the hall should the event transpire.

"We are all living in perilous times. With Lord Voldemort having risen from the ashes of death and his followers returning to his side, we must do what we can to protect ourselves. As a result..." said Dumbledore sternly. "... I have searched high and low for a fitting Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor. I have searched through ponderous lists of Aurors as well as other wizards of more unsavory backgrounds and have come up with but one name that appeals to me. Despite his past career at Hogwarts coming to an end by his own choice, I have pleaded with him to return."

Harry's eyes widened and a joyous smile broke out upon his face.

"I know many of your parents will not agree and question my judgment concerning my role of entrusting a werewolf to teach my students, but he has been, hands down, the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we have had in decades. If there is one wizard on the face of this planet who can prepare you for the potentially dark times ahead, there is no better choice. Please give a warm welcome to my friend and colleague, Professor R. J. Lupin."

Harry was not the only one who leapt out of his chair, hollering and applauding with exuberance as the sandy-haired, pale-faced man entered the Great Hall. For the moment, he cast aside all thoughts about Seth Redetyor as he watched Lupin wave sheepishly to all the applauding students. He was dressed as shabbily as ever, wearing dirty brown robes with off color patches. Nearly the entire Gryffindor table from years three to seven roared with approval, while just shy the same number of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students were on their feet cheering. And while the Slytherins, as expected, seemed disdainful, nearly half of their ranks applauded respectfully. Draco Malfoy looked beside himself, glaring coldly at Professor Lupin and Dumbledore.

Professor Lupin walked down the isle between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables, shaking hands with some of his former students. Harry was quick to offer his hand to Lupin as he walked by.

"Alright, Professor!" exclaimed Harry, his bright smile reflecting the light of the candles above him as he clasped Lupin's hand firmly.

"It is great to see you again, Harry," said Lupin with a weak, but sincere smile. "How does the Patronus look?

Harry's green eyes added a glow to his countenance that brought out a joyous quality to his demeanor.

"Summoned it during the Triwizard Tournament against a boggart, thinking it was a dementor," he said coyly. "It looked good."

Lupin nodded and smirked faintly as he continued past Harry, shaking Hermione and Ron's hands, accepting their welcomes as well. After nearly a minute, Professor Lupin made it to the faculty table and stood before the final, empty seat between a dire looking Snape and a delighted look Flitwick. The entire hall went quiet as Lupin turned to look over all of the student body. It was customary for a new teacher to make a short speech, and everyone quieted up for the event.

"It is with a heavy heart that I return to you," began Lupin, with a sad tone. This caught Harry a bit off guard. "I am sorry that you all must live through these extremely harsh times. Yet, I am both honored to return by invitation of Professor Dumbledore, and relieved to receive such a warm welcome from many of my students, two years ago." Lupin lowered his eyes for a moment, as the calmly put his hands onto the table in front of him. "I will understand that the thought of a werewolf teacher, showing you how to protect yourselves against dark arts and evil, may serve to be unsettling. However, I promise to fulfill my end and teach everyone how to be that much stronger if faced with an unpleasant situation. All that I ask for in return is a chance to earn your trust."

Lupin ran his hand through his dirty-blonde hair and shrugged weakly. "That is all."

Once again, applause filled the entire hall.

"We love you, Professor!" shouted Fred loudly over the crowd, drawing laughs from nearly all of the tables in the room.

Lupin's usually reserved expression cracked into a rare smile at that comment. It was clear that Lupin had not expected such a positive ensemble of students to welcome him back. Why this was, Harry could only guess. If being a werewolf bothered the average student twice as much as it bothered Harry, they would still willingly eat out of his hand and hang on every word of his lessons.

Harry felt a slight tapping upon his shoulder. He looked to see Sean looking at him, with his green eyes filled with concern.

"He's really a werewolf?" asked Sean slowly, his hand shaking a bit.

The raven-haired boy shook his head firmly. "No, he is a human being who goes into seclusion for few days a month because of an unfortunate accident that befell him when he was a boy."

Sean quickly caught onto Harry's meaning and lowered his head. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Harry pat Sean upon the back. "No hard ones. You did not know."

"Well said, Professor," said Dumbledore as Lupin sat down. "Professor Lupin has also accepted the job of Head of House Narhassa, and will be very accessible to those students as they settle all settle in for their first year at Hogwarts."

The student body again clapped, showing their approval.

"And with that, I bid you all good evening. Prefects, lead your students to their common rooms. Professor Lupin, if you would take your house to their common room and return for a staff meeting, I would be in your debt."

Lupin nodded and smiled faintly as he rose, and with a dim murmur of footfalls and whispers, every student left the hall marching calmly.

The three Gryffindor prefects, Seamus Finnegan, a sixth year girl named Moressia Holden and Katie Bell, the seventh year chaser on the Quidditch team, lead their house up the stairwell leading toward the Gryffindor common room.

"Oh yes," Seamus began to say as he instinctively overstepped the fourth stair. "Watch out for trick steps," he said. "It was a precaution implanted shortly after Sirius Black assaulted some students in the Gryffindor tower two years back."

Yet, it was too late. Harry was distracted by a yelp of shock as Sean grabbed the back of his leg and tripped him. Sean had fallen up to his waist into the adhesive fake step and, in panic, had grabbed for the closest tangible object. With a grunt, Harry fell to his knees and shrugged off a slight bruising pain as his knee banged into a step. Harry pushed himself off the steps, as Ron and Hermione each grabbed one of Sean's arms and pulled him up.

"Err, sorry," said Sean, as nearly every wizard in House Gryffindor turned their head toward him. Sean pointed to the step he was just freed from. "Trick step... got it."

Hermione smiled shortly, and pat Sean on the back. "You'll get the hang of it, Sean." With her free hand, she dusted Sean's leg off kindly.

Ron snorted slightly, putting his hands to his hips at Hermione's show of affection to Sean.

"Doubtful. He is not exactly the smartest of sorts," he said softly, so only Harry could hear.

Harry looked to Ron with a puzzled expression as they continued up the stairs. There was only one time Harry could remember seeing Ron act unjustifiably mean like this to another person. This was last year, when Victor Krum and Hermione were formally together. Why doesn't he give her some sort of clue that he wants her instead of being a jealous pillock?

This made Harry sigh.

Finally, they made their way to the portrait of the Fat Lady, waiting eagerly for them.

"Password?" she asked, looking up from her typewriter.

"Wizard's Chess," said Seamus. "Remember that everyone."

"If you say so," replied the Fat Lady, as she swung open, revealing the all too familiar Gryffindor Common Room.

The extremely cozy lounge consisted of about a dozen round tables and four times that many marooned cushioned chairs. In the far back wall, a sofa and a few lazy-boy recliners were positioned strategically around a warm, crackling fireplace. Harry took a breath of the air within this room, smelling the deep clean scent of burning wood.

Harry was home.

Seamus explained to all the new students where their dormitories were and reinforced the sundown policy. Without much further delay, most people trudged up the stairs to the dormitories, having had long enough of a day. The six Gryffindor 5^th year boys clambered up to their room and opened the wooden door tiredly.

It never ceased to amaze Harry how magical of a castle Hogwarts really was. Their room had mysteriously increased in size by a fraction to accommodate a sixth four-posture bed with velvet maroon curtains for Sean. The new boy was simply amazed to find that all his luggage was right on the side of his bed, and his clothes were already unpacked and in his own dresser.

"Tight!" exclaimed Sean as he changed out of his robe and into his pajamas.

It was old news to the other Gryffindor boys as they stoically changed from their robes to their pajamas. Seamus cast a quick Cleaning Charm upon his toothbrush and sat lazily in his bed while the toothbrush went to work in his mouth.

"Let me get this right," said Sean as he removed from his backpack a small bag. "House elves do our chores and cook our food... are their any hobbits to do our homework for us?"

Seamus was too busy being lazy by casting spells on his toothbrush as well as his facecloth to give Sean much of a response. His washcloth rose from his drawer and flew out of the room, returning wet a moment later.

"No, you actually have to do that yourself, if you can," said Ron with a snort as he flopped into bed, pulling his curtains tight.

Neville seemed to have already barricaded himself off in his bed and not heard him.

Sean and Harry both looked to Ron's bed.

"Was it something I said?" Sean murmured.

Harry offered Sean a shrug. "It'll take awhile to win him over, I think," he whispered softly.

"He doesn't like me?" asked Sean with a quiet tone dripping with naiveté©.

The raven-haired boy sat down upon his bed while Sean stared at him in his light blue pajamas. Harry beckoned him over lazily. Without questioning him, Sean moved over to Harry and cocked an ear in his direction.

"You didn't hear this from me," said Harry in an extremely quiet whisper. "But, we all suspect he fancies Hermione. We also suspect that Hermione fancies you. That is making Ron a bit cold toward you."

Even in the dark, Harry could see Sean blush slightly. "Well... I like Hermione too," he said shifting his weight uneasily. "I'm sorry about Ron, though."

Harry waved the comment aside. "He has always had a soft spot where Hermione is concerned," he explained quietly. "Once he gets used to the idea, I think he'll start warming up to you."

"That's cool," replied Sean, with a calm and easy tone. "He seems like a nice guy. Just sort of angry, that's all."

Harry nodded and backed away just about the same time as Seamus put away his toothbrush and closed his curtains.

"Anyway, I'm going to bed," said Harry. "Good morrow."

Sean looked a bit puzzled, but went back to his own bed for the night.