Snakes and Spells: The Dark Storms Early Years

IV

The summer Harry turned twelve went considerably better than most other summers he'd spent at the Dursleys. The Dursleys never bothered him with chores after he told them that his godfather was the deranged murderer who had escaped from prison earlier that year.

He spent much of his time sending letters back and forth with his godfather and ex-professor and asking them all sorts of questions.

What were his parents' favorite colors? What flowers did his mother like best? How did they get together? Were they truly good people and not worthless drunks?

He also ended up learning a lot from them as well. He learned lots of prank spells from Sirius and got to know how passionate Remus was about Ancient Runes. Harry even learned more about himself and his family history, like how he was related to Sirius through his grandmother, and apparently an English lord.

That year, when school started again, he was sad to have to leave and spend his time on things other than talking to his family.

~

Harry would later be immensely grateful for the chance to have such a peaceful summer before being sent off to the war that Hogwarts would become that year.

The year started okay, aside from the ministry choosing the new defense teacher. Apparently, after discovering Dumbledore had hired a werewolf for a teacher, the ministry found it apt to send a ministry official to Hogwarts to 'teach' defense.

Except, her teaching methods included reading out-of-date, frankly cult-like books and torturing the students who asked questions about her methods.

Harry sent Remus a letter asking for his lesson plans from last year, the second he finished his first class with the toad. He already had plans to put together a study group.

Then, on top of the horrid defense teacher, they decided to host the bloody Triwizard tournament that year; Harry thought he would get off with just having a trash teacher and watching the events.

That was until the goblet, unprovoked, rather discourteously decided to spit out his name. He should've known he'd never be able to get a regular year.

~

It wasn't long before Harry got a reply from Remus. He was sitting at breakfast when he got the letter with all of Remus' plans for the first through seventh years and a list of things they could expect to be on each year's end-of-year exams.

Harry turned and asked Hermione who she thought should be in the study group with them, figuring anyone who wanted to come deserved a chance to learn. Many Gryffindors and students at other tables who overheard hurriedly asked if they could join.

Before Harry knew it, they couldn't host their study sessions in the library anymore, and Hermione was handing out enchanted Galleons to let people know when they should go to the Room of Requirement.

~

When Harry found out that the first task was dragons, he was excited. It had been so long since he'd helped deliver Norbeta to Charlie that he was ecstatic to be able to talk to another dragon.

Norberta was a baby, but there's no telling how old dragons could get; maybe some had even been around during the Greek and Roman legends.

Every free period he could, he snuck away to talk to the dragons under his invisibility cloak. He tried not to disappear outside of class time because Harry didn't want too many questions about where he was, but Harry cherished every moment he could listen to their wise words.

One of the dragons, the Hungarian Horntail, had many stories to tell and even claimed that her grandmother had been one of Helios' dragons helping to pull the sun chariot during the reign of the Titans before Apollo took over.

Harry spent countless hours engaged in the mother dragons' stories of times long since passed and was disappointed when they left.

~

One day, Harry looked out at everyone in the DaDA, short for Defense and Defecting Authorities, meeting hanging on to his every word and realized that despite there being plenty of Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors, even several Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students, there wasn't a single Slytherin in the room.

When the session ended, he asked Neville and the few others hanging back in the room why they weren't there. He was shocked to learn they hadn't been invited because he hadn't explicitly invited them, and nobody knew if he wanted them there.

He let them know that he felt everyone deserved a chance to learn, and before Harry knew it, he was spending his History of Magic classes planning lessons for all the students (and guests) of Hogwarts, no matter the year or house, and Harry did a hell of a good job too. Every person he taught that year got at least an Exceeds Expectations on their end-of-year test.

Years later, if you asked anyone who had been at Hogwarts in the 2007-2008 school year who had taught defense that year, they would tell you it had been Harry Potter without hesitation.

~

The school year was passed in a blur of planning lessons, learning complicated magic, and talking to merpeople and dragons. Before he knew it, Harry was entering the maze for the third task, ready to face whatever happened.

He made it past many obstacles before reaching the cup; alone, Harry quickly snatched it off the pillar, only to be caught off guard by the sudden and nauseating sensation of unexpected portkey travel.

Harry was in a graveyard, though he didn't get much time to look around before being held down and forced to participate in some creepy dark ritual to bring the dark lord back to life. Then he was made to fight for his life, and he blacked out for a while after being hit by a crucio.

Harry fought against the pain and forced himself to get up and make a run for it; he figured he'd see if, hopefully, the cup was a two-way portkey. He was almost there, wand in hand, as Harry fervently dodged spells running in a zigzag. At the last second, he saw the snake going to cut him off and block him.

He shot off a cutting curse and watched the snake blow up, cringing and reminded of Meg. Harry forced himself to keep going and just barely managed to grab the cup before a killing curse could hit him in the leg.

~

Harry woke up days later in the hospital wing. Dumbledore and Sirius were there, and Dumbledore finally told Harry about the prophecy and the Horcruxes.

Now, as a mere twelve-year-old, Harry faced the reality of war. He was forced to prepare to fight for his life for months on end. He didn't go to the Dursleys that summer; he instead spent the summer conspiring with Dumbledore to figure out where and what the rest of Tom's Horcruxes could be.