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+--- Thread: Fanfic: Harry Potter and A Memory of Light (/showthread.php?tid=8373)
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chapter 2 part 6 - murmur - 02-08-2013
[*]
The
Gryffindor House table in the Great Hall greeted him warmly when he came down
to breakfast. Fred and George Weasley,
Ron’s older twin brothers, each gave him a heart pat on the back, while Seamus
Finnigan and Dean Thomas, two of Harry’s dorm mates, told him how good he
looked. They had all apparently seen him
being carried to the hospital wing by Professor Lupin, and been worried.
Oliver
Wood, the Quidditch team captain, wasted little time with pleasantries. “So you’re feeling alright?”
“Yes,
Oliver,” said Harry.
“Good,
because I mean to win the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor this year, and I need
you on as our seeker. We’ll be holding
practice soon, so don’t go messing about with Dementors again, alright?” With that, Oliver went back to his bench. In his first year, Harry had been recruited
to play seeker for the Gryffindor House Quidditch team. Though Harry was seen as one of the greatest
seekers Gryffindor has had in years, the House had yet to win a Quidditch
Cup. Oliver, never one for either
half-measures or perspective, had become increasingly obsessed with winning.
“That
Oliver,” said Katie Bell, a Gryffindor fourth year and a chaser in the Quidditch
team, “he certainly has his priorities straight. Never mind that you nearly died, so long as
you can play Quidditch.”
“Well,
it is important,” said Harry fairly.
Katie merely gave him an old, slightly disgusted look, then she too
walked away.
It
wasn’t all well-wishing and congratulations on his recovery that morning,
however. The Slytherin House table,
across the Hall from the Gryffindor table, had started laughing at Harry as
soon as he’d turned up. One of them, a
blonde boy with a pointed chin, shouted at him from within a gathering of
friends, “Hey, Potter. Is it true you
fainted when you saw a Dementor?” The
blonde boy pantomimed fainting, though the effect was hindered as one of his
arms was in a sling. Still his friends
laughed with the blonde boy.
“Little
git,” growled Fred. “You should have
seen him during the train ride. He came
running into our compartment when the Dementors were coming through. Looked like he was going to wet himself.”
“That’s
just Malfoy,” said Harry, though inside he burned with the need to push
back. Draco Malfoy had been a pain in
his arse since their first year, starting and spreading rumors about him,
mocking him at every turn, and insulting his friends. His father, Lucius Malfoy, had been the one
who had slipped Tom Riddle’s diary into Ginny Weasley’s possession, causing the
whole basilisk situation last year. The
Malfoys were supporters of Voldemort, and Draco was a Dark Wizard in training,
as were many Slytherins.
Harry
sat next to Ron and Hermione, who were both glad to see him up and about. When Hermione asked him about his homework,
he ignored her. Instead, he was caught
up with Ron’s accounts of yesterday’s classes.
Harry so thoroughly enjoyed Ron lampooning Professor Trelawney the
Diviniation teacher, that he forgot about the fact that he had no idea what he
should be doing.
“She’s
a terrible fraud,” muttered Hermione darkly.
“I’m sorry that I decided to take Divination.”
“How
are you taking all those classes?” Ron asked Hermione. He then turned to Harry. “You should have seen Hermione’s
timetable. She has ten classes, some of
them at the same time.”
“I told
you, Ron, I’ve worked it out with Professor McGonnagal,” said Hermione breezily
but with finality. “In any case, we have
to talk about Hagrid.”
“What
about Hagrid?” asked Harry.
“It’s
brilliant,” said Ron. “Hagrid’s the new
Care of Magical Creatures Professor.”
Harry
felt instantly elated. Hagrid had been
the one who had introduced him to the wizarding world, forcing Uncle Vernon to
let Harry go to Hogwarts after finding them in a lonely cabin that the Durlseys
had run away to, and giving Dudley a pig’s tail. He was one of the warmest, most generous
people that Harry had ever met. He knew
just how much Hagrid loved being the gamekeeper at Hogwarts, and could not
imagine how much more he would love being a Professor at the school that had
been his home for decades. Harry beamed
with inner pride at Hagrid’s accomplishment.
But his joy dampened slightly upon seeing Hermione’s dour expression.
“So
what happened?” Harry asked cautiously.
“We
were studying hippogriffs—and it was actually a very interesting lesson,
really,” said Hermione. “But, well,
hippogriffs are a bit tempermental and . . . Malfoy . . . .”
“It was
all Malfoy’s fault,” said Ron darkly, glaring at the Slyerthin table’s
direction. “He should have listened to
Hagrid and just bowed properly at the hippogriff. Then he wouldn’t have been attacked, would
he? Besides, he’s faking most of it.”
“I
wonder why I didn’t see him in the hospital wing,” said Harry.
“Oh,
Madame Pomfrey came down and patched him up right there. She said he’d need to keep the sling on for a
bit, but that he’s otherwise fine,” said Ron airily.
“Hagrid
seemed terribly upset by it all,” said Hermione. “We went to see him before we came to see you
last night. He’s worried that he might
get sacked.”
“Dumbledore’d
never sack Hagrid,” said Ron. “Hagrid’s
done loads of stupid things before, and he’s never been sacked. Remember Norbert the illegal dragon? Fluffy?
Aragog?”
“He
might not have a choice,” said Hermione.
“Draco will complain to his father, and his father will put pressure on
the school’s governors.”
“It
won’t come to that,” said Ron, though with less confidence than before.
chapter 2 part 7 - murmur - 02-08-2013
[*]
As it
was a Friday, there were only three classes.
The first, Potions, was taught by Professor Snape. He was a tall man, with a long nose, and
long, greasy black hair. Whenever he
wasn’t sneering, he was scowling in anger.
He was, by far, Harry’s least favorite teacher.
Unusually,
Snape did not start his first lesson with Harry by insulting him. It seemed that almost dying on his first day
had gotten him a reprieve from Snape’s snide comments about ‘Famous Harry
Potter’ and his arrogance and undeserved good fortune. Instead, Snape took his usual bad temper and
focused it on Neville Longbottom, who was terrified of Snape, and any other
random student who messed up under Snape’s disdainful gaze.
It was
strange being in Snape’s class after all the memories of that other Harry
Potter were crammed into his head. Just
before his death, the other Harry learned that his Snape wasn’t an evil man,
one who had betrayed and murdered Professor Dumbledore at the orders of his
true master Voldemort. Rather, he had
been working for Dumbledore all along, and had been spying on Voldemort for
Dumbledore. Snape had even murdered
Dumbledore at Dumbledore’s own command.
Snape, or rather that other Harry’s Snape, had done all this because he
loved other Harry’s mother and had since they were kids.
Was it
true for this Snape as well?
Probably. If so, then despite the
fact that he was an absolute sneering, greasy git, Snape was also one of the
bravest men in the world. Harry could
not imagine being in Voldemort’s presence all of the time, all the while
working to undermine him while convincing him that he was on his side. And if Voldemort rose again this time, Snape
would be Dumbledore’s spy once more.
It with
this thought of knowing secrets that he should not know which followed Harry
from his second class, Charms, and then to his third and last class of the day,
Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Apparently
Harry had missed an exciting lesson in Defense Against the Dark Arts yesterday,
when Professor Lupin had made them face off against a Boggart—a creature that
could transform into your worst fear.
Harry had vague memories of the other Harry going through that lesson,
but the details were lost to him. He had
an image of . . . Snape in a dress? That
couldn’t be right.
The
day’s lesson was not as exciting, mostly a lecture on non-beings, a category of
dark creatures that included Boggarts, Dementors and, surprisingly enough,
poltergeists.
“But
Peeves isn’t evil,” said Dean Thomas, referring to Hogwarts own
poltergeist. “He’s annoying, but he
wouldn’t really hurt anyone.”
Professor
Lupin smiled gently. The last time Harry
had seen him, Professor Lupin had looked years older than his age, worn down
and tired. Now, in this class, he looked
happy and contented; and in that happiness had come a lightness of spirit that
rejuvenated him. Harry felt so happy for
Lupin’s happiness, but also knew that it could not last. There was a reason why Lupin was the third
Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Harry had had in three years.
“Peeves
is not evil,” agreed Lupin. “Indeed, I
would go so far as to say that no poltergeist is evil. However, questions of good and evil are
somewhat beyond this class. But we refer
to dark creatures, not for their evil nature, but rather their capacity and
willingness to do harm. Poltergeists are
spirits of chaos, born from and attracted to chaotic places. And so, obviously, a school is a perfect
place for a poltergeist like Peeves.
“But
just as poltergeists are created from chaotic places, so too are Boggarts
created from fearful places and Dementors from painful, miserable places. They are not born, but they are generated by
the negative emotions within all of us. This
is why laughter is so effective against Boggarts, as you may remember from
yesterday’s lesson.” Here, he thumped
the wardrobe that held the Boggart from yesterday’s lesson. It thumped and rattled in response.
Here,
people laughed in recollection. Ron
wriggled in his chair a bit, as if dancing and slipping, and Hermione snorted. Lupin smiled briefly at his class, before
regaining his more serious mien. “Let us
turn to page 82 of our text.”
The
rest of the class passed in note-taking, as they wrote down the way to
recognize the signs of a Boggart infestation and the characteristics of various
famous Boggarts and their capture. With
half his mind on his studies, Harry came to one conclusion: though he was lost
in a confusion of memories and problems, he knew that he had to talk with Ron
and Hermione. It was not likely that
they would know what to do, exactly, but they were his friends and talking to
them would make the problems seem less insurmountable. They deserved to know what was going on in
his head as his friends. Also, all of
the plans, schemes and adventures they had had over the years were the result
of all three of them coming together.
Sometimes they did not work quite like they were supposed to, but the
ones that worked, worked because all three of them cooperated and planned
together. Maybe between the three of
them, they would be able to come up with some idea of what he—they—should be
doing next.
“Meet
me in the Common Room. I have to talk
with Professor Lupin for a bit,” said Harry, as soon as class ended. Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement and left
with the rest of the class. As the
classroom emptied, Harry was left alone with Professor Lupin, who was cleaning
up the chalkboard and tidying away his notes.
“Urm,
Professor?” said Harry, nervously. “I
wanted to thank you for your help with the Dementors and that.”
“No
need, Harry,” said Lupin, with his same gentle smile. “It was really more Madame Pomfrey than me.”
“Still,”
said Harry. “Also, Professor? I was
hoping to learn that charm against Boggarts from you. Is that alright?”
Lupin
looked at Harry for a long moment, then at the wardrobe. “You have very real, very concrete things to
fear in your life, Harry. And it has
been a life filled with fearful things.
Are you sure that you want to confront them, here?”
“Yes,”
said Harry simply. Lupin nodded in
response. He then demonstrated the
simple wand-movements and the charm, ‘Riddikulus.’
“But
remember, Harry. It is the thoughts
behind the charm that matter most. Boggarts
are creatures of fear. Take away the
fear, and you take away their power,” said Lupin. After seeing Harry go through the charm a few
times, Lupin nodded in satisfaction.
Without a word, he opened the wardrobe doors.
However,
instead of a Dementor, as Harry was expecting, or Voldemort, or even Uncle
Vernon telling him that he was going to prison, nothing came out. Instead, there was an absence in the world,
there at the center of the wardrobe. It
was darkness beyond darkness, as if no light had ever touched it. But inside of that absence there radiated out
cruelty and malice. There was a need
there, a hunger, to take all the good things in the world and make it as wrong
as the absence itself. It was as if the
thing in the wardrobe could not stand for anyone to be anything other than dark
and wrong. It was a void, and it was
looking right at Harry.
SOON,
said the absence in the world. No words
were spoken, only imprinted upon the minds of the listeners by a terrible
will. It made Harry’s head ache with it,
and he felt nauseous.
A black
fire arose around the darkness, which caused the wardrobe to go up in
flames. The fire that consumed the
wardrobe was almost light and cheerful in comparison to the black flames of the
void. Lupin, who had been frozen, sprang
into action. Jets of water streamed out
from the end of his wand, causing steam to fill the room. Angry hissing came from the fire as it
died. But when the smoke and the steam
cleared, the wardrobe was a charred, sodden mess; its top half burned up and
destroyed from the intensity of the flames.
Of the Boggart, there was no sign.
Harry
ran from the room.
- Jorlem - 02-08-2013
Quote:So, in conclusion, and anyway, and let’s ignore kissing girls and stop it, Harry very well may be the reincarnation of Harry Potter, but he was not Harry Potter.Is this Harry's thoughts, or a narrator, or something? For this one paragraph, you jump into present tense, which, along with the sheer number of commas, makes this sentence rather hard to follow.
Quote:HarryThis just sounds unnatural.
gave a low groan that mixed frustration and misery. He had far too much on his plate in the
immediate future to have to deal with this Voldemort nonsense. Quidditch season was coming up. He was too busy to plan to die.
Also, why have the bios for Dumbledore and McGonnagal? It's a sudden, unneeded, infodump.
Edit:
Just saw the rest of the stuff posted.
Quote:In trapping the Dark One and the Forsaken in the hole in reality that was his trapThis makes it sound as if the trap belonged to the Dark One.
Quote:Though Harry was seen as one of the greatest seekers Gryffindor has had in years, the House had yet to win a Quidditch CupTense slippage here. That should be "Gryffindor had had in years". I think I saw a few other times where similar slippage happened.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
Thanks for the reply - murmur - 02-12-2013
As is the case for most of the Harry Potter books--with the exception to the first chapter in the last few--the story is a pretty close third person personal POV from Harry's perspective. I guess I should change that first sentence you mentioned, as it is very unlike the rest and breaks up the narrative flow.
As for the Dumbledore and McGonnagal infodumps . . . this chapter was where I put a lot of my infodumps. I always hated that fanfics just expected you to know everything about everyone, without bothering to introduce characters and settings and ideas. I should go back and make the information come out more naturally . . . but I wanted to get this chapter out.
Also, will be on the lookout for tense slippages. Hate those. Hate, hate those.
Thanks for the read!
-Murmur
- Silverex - 02-12-2013
I enjoyed this and am looking forward to reading more.
~~Silverex
- classicdrogn - 02-15-2013
So no handy faux-dementors for Harry to practice his patronus charm on. Did you have that bit about them being misery elementals from the beginning, or did I manage to prompt it with the discussion in the cliches thread? Anway, yay! Either I made an accurate prediction, or a useful contribution.
It's probably for the best if Harry's emotional maturity mostly matches his physical age - while experience is certainly a factor it's true that that is as much or more an issue of biochemistry and brain
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
- classicdrogn - 02-15-2013
development, and this way he still fits in with his freinds. Even so, he does have that experience to draw on, and even the slackingest canonpuppet Harry would at least try to see if some of the cool things he remembers doing are possible in this life.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
Thanks for the encouragement - murmur - 02-19-2013
I really appreciate the response I've been getting, both positive and critical.
As for the Dementors: that they're "misery elementals" is something I got from the Harry Potter wikia. It states that Dementors are created from unhappiness, while Boggarts are created from fear (which makes you wonder why one was in the teacher's lounge) and poltergeists are chaos spirits.
I'll be making this more explicit in the chapter I'm writing now, but Harry very much separates himself from the people that he saw in his visions, even "other" Harry Potter. You can see that by the way that he is pretty careful, for the most part (he slips up every once in a while), of calling the Harry Potter who died in the Forbidden Forest "Other Harry Potter" or "other Harry." How he rationalizes and explains this will be shown in a conversation he has with Hermione and Ron.
As a consequence of this separation, Harry is still the easy-going kid with a nascent hot temper and a "saving people" complex as he was in Book 3. Original Flavor Harry, you might call him. He has to deal with a lot of weird things, like visions of dead people in his head, but then he was going to be dealing with that anyway.
Chapter 3 is coming soon.
-Murmur
- Jorlem - 02-19-2013
Where does the wikia say that about Dementors? I can't find anything to that effect on the Dementor page, just a bit from an interview with Rowling where she said that Dementors don't breed, but grow like a fungus where there is decay.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
Look up the entry on "non-beings" - murmur - 02-19-2013
It's there that it states that non-beings are created from and feed upon emotions.
Which makes sense, given that it's the "opposite" emotion which wards off the boggart and the dementor (fear vs. laughter, happiness vs. misery). But what's interesting is that poltergeists are also part of these emotional creatures. However, it's quite difficult to imagine conjuring up emotions of "order" as poltergeists are apparently creatures of chaos. Maybe you're supposed to meditate at them? Chant "all hail the jewel of the lotus"? Maybe Peeves will be driven away by a particularly vigorous zumba class.
Anyway, boggarts and dementors are not nice, and we saw *something* strange and non-canon happen with both of those creatures. I do have plans to address, if not why, at least what happens because of the dementor attack on Harry on the Hogwarts Express. If not next chapter, at least soon.
-Murmur
- Jorlem - 02-19-2013
Ok, so it's from Pottermore, then, not from any of the books.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
- classicdrogn - 02-19-2013
Sonds like they release spores to me - maybe that's what the miasma around them is.
... Do dementors come from Yuggoth?
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows