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Tanya’s Hogwarts Adventures (Youjo Senki, Harry Potter)
- Thread starter Half_Baked_cat
- Start date
Jubjub3000
Versed in the lewd.
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Honestly thought he would have a safe place to store it for the inspection, he would be inspecting his house that day not his friends house or some spot in the middle of the woods where he could have buried it and placed a couple wards of concealment over.
Terrabull
Entertained
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Lucy sells the Horcrux book, but will Tanya come across it when she gets back?
Can Tanya subvert the Spirit due to Anti Interrogation techniques? Does Young Voldemort like being put in his place and have someone else in charge?
Can Tanya subvert the Spirit due to Anti Interrogation techniques? Does Young Voldemort like being put in his place and have someone else in charge?
Aigloss
Experienced.
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I doubt anyone will approach such high var, and be so tested like Visha. And i doubt her coffe is up to par.
But she can fulfill similar role, even if Tanya whines internally about coffee
Thomas Bennett
Nonrandom
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Thanks for the chapter. Tanya dealing with Lily could be a whole book. Lily is great, and the way you write her makes the reader see her
Dissimilate
Not too sore, are you?
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Thanks for the chapter!!
Unosuke
Reader, not contributor
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*Thinks about digital library of every Ace Attorney game but the Professor Layton crossover, including a translated rom of Gyakuten Kenji 2*
Is this a trick question?
Fable of the Unspoken Word
Possibly Insane
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Great chapter there's just one thing
what's this mean?
Half_Baked_cat
Not too sore, are you?
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Majorca. Lily misheard it.
Fable of the Unspoken Word
Possibly Insane
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shouldn't it be in quotes then? it comes off as jarring
Solusandra
Foxes are Fantastic
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Please for the love of god, tell me I'm wrong in thinking it's...THIS monstrosity.
that's a relief... I think? depends on if I was right...
what's the new doo?
sooo... what about Dumbledore saying Quirrell would have died soon anyway? And what about the stone? I mean, its good Tom didn't get it, despite the crew not being there to stop him, but does that mean it's given back to Flamell? Or is it going to stay there for Tanya to pick up later? Or just be another forgotten mystery in the bowls of Hogwarts? HOPE it doesn't get destroyed yet again... Total waste of an item.
Half_Baked_cat
Not too sore, are you?
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That is about right.
I don't think I ever really determined it. The fact that Tanya is willing to mess with her hairstyle was more prominent to my mind than what she is changing it to.
Dumbledore can and does lie for various reasons. Also, he is basically dying. It is just a slow death.
Stick around and maybe, eventually, that question will be answered.
Solusandra
Foxes are Fantastic
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generally true, but quirell agreed at the mirror fight he was specifically drinking the unicorn blood because being possessed by Tom was killing him and he needed the cursed vitality in order to slow it down enough they could get the stone.
I suppose with enough blood maybe you could extend that another year, but everyone made it seem more dire in the book.
I don't think I've disliked any of your stories, so, so long as you post that far out... I'll be there
Pictures
Half_Baked_cat
Not too sore, are you?
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Someone, DRKSHDOW, commissioned a group piece. My Hogwarts Tanya is in there in the green sweater Molly made her.
From Left to Right, the authors of each Tanya is:
Requiem Jeer https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/psychoprotective-youjo-senki-psychonauts.1040559/
DrkShdow https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/holo-archive-of-a-young-warlords-empire.1090779/
General Max https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/long-live-the-empire-youjo-senki-star-wars.1131007/
L4 of the West https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-saga-of-the-runt-youjo-senki-wh30k.987151/
Myself https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TanyasHogwartsAdventure
BrettFire https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14106928/1/Rising-Heroine-Tanya
Swiss Chocolate https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-saga-of-slime-and-devil-youjo-senki-tensura.1111834/
At least, those are the identities I know the authors by.
For now, these are the links I either already had or were given to me for each author's story. Will update this as I get more.
DrkShadow was the commissioner of the piece, Yoshikage was the artist.
Visit https://twitter.com/a_yoshikage for more art by the artist. Be warned, they are NSFW artist.
And by the same artist, but commissioned as a gift from myself to L4 of the WEST
These vagabond shoes are longing to stray
Half_Baked_cat
Not too sore, are you?
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Tanya Degurechaff
It was really nice of the Moons to invite me to join them on vacation to Majorca. In many ways, I was reminded of my retirement at the end of my last life in Florida. Palm trees, warm weather, and salt in the breeze.
Only now my body is young enough to enjoy the beach and the little shops scattered around. My body was able to keep up with the youthful energy Lily had, so I was mostly letting her set our pace when her parents allowed us to explore on our own.
I was confident that I could handle anything the locals could send our way, from simple scams meant to bilk tourists of their money to possible kidnappers looking for some English girls to use as either drug mules or 'personal servants', but I would respect Mr. and Mrs. Moon's desire to keep their daughter safe from trouble. A perfectly healthy concern considering Lily's powerful imagination.
I could see where she got that from as her father was a fiction author that dabbled in multiple genres under several pen names. Her mother worked for a small upscale shop in London to stay busy. Mr. Moon apparently made enough on his stories that they don't need the extra income, particularly with how cheap Magical Britain could be to live in if you were smart about it, but she didn't like being idle and the housework didn't build up enough to keep her busy. Especially now that Lily is going to a boarding school most of the year.
Loving, caring parents worried for their child and their child's future. Mr. Moon had admitted that they weren't sure about letting Lily go to Hogwarts so soon. Her birthday was August 31, the literal cutoff age for students going to Hogwarts, and she was a premature birth. That certainly helped explain her difficulties in class to a degree, but my efforts had gotten her to pass, proving she had been ready… with a little help. And if tutoring her got me tropical vacations, I was not going to complain about the compensation package at all.
Despite her issues in class, I was half convinced that Lily only acted stupid because there were times she would say something profoundly correct. She mentioned how I didn't look at historical relics with awe, but with nostalgia, as though seeing something again after a long time.
She was right in a lot of ways. The historical locations and museums we visited were not unfamiliar to me. They were not the same as my last life, but they were close enough that I only saw the similarities and not the differences.
She was a silly, energetic girl, but hidden somewhere in that head of hers was a mind capable of seeing things others could not. If only I could pull out that potential, she could be someone amazing.
"Wooow!" Lily cried out as we reached the top of the hill and got a good view of the city, the beaches, and the sea in a gorgeous panoramic scene. Skies only lightly dusted with whisps of clouds in the clear blue skies.
"Wow indeed," I said, smiling. It was beautiful and I was able to enjoy the moment in a way I haven't in decades. Maybe ever. I had no aches and pains, no worries or concerns. Just a future of potential and a… friend by my side.
—-
Quirinus Quirrell
New York was a disgusting hive of people. Full of muggles going through their worthless lives, buildings meant to hold them in such tight capacity that it was a wonder they weren't cannibalizing each other, and their various metal contraptions they use to get around clogging the streets.
A mess that deserves to be wiped out like the plague they are.
But not yet. Master Voldemort would begin cleansing the world of Muggle filth soon enough, but for now they needed to get him a new body and off the back of his head.
Getting to America was not difficult for the pair as there were ships constantly moving between England and America, though a lot more seemed to be traveling to and from China for some unfathomable reason. A couple of charms and they were on one of the ships. It was not luxurious or comfortable, but those would have brought potential scrutiny they could not afford.
No, they would be traveling in secrecy. While there was no Dumbledore in America to watch their movements, the old codger had allies everywhere. He likely was unaware that Quirinus was attempting to resurrect Voldemort, but would have noticed the attempt on the stone. It would have been best if they had managed to claim the Philosopher's Stone to resurrect Voldemort with as it would have had the least complications.
Returning a spirit back to the world of the living was not a simple or easy process with multiple rituals and methods around the world with a variety of requirements and reagents. In Voldemort's life, he had done research into a multitude of these rituals and methods and created a bit of a list of which ones he found most beneficial for himself should he ever need them. The topmost option was a potion made with the elixir of life as there would be nearly no downside to using that method.
With some potential downsides, there were rumors of methods for a spirit to return to life using a ritual deep in the southern swamps of the Colonies. Having to travel all the way to this backwater cesspit of simpletons and find a local Dark Magic practitioner both able and willing to aid in Voldemort's return were certainly a pair of indignities Voldemort would have preferred to do without.
For now, Quirinus had imperiused a server into giving him a meal that he paired with a vial of unicorn blood. With the preservation charms on the vials and the amount of blood he had managed to collect, Quirinus estimated with careful rationing he could perhaps extend how long he had before Voldemort's presence in his body would kill him to about a year. Unicorn blood could extend a person's life, especially if they had some form of illness, significantly, but at a cost. Already Quirinus was noticing a paleness coming to his skin.
Quirinus was already in too deep to back out now. Accepting Lord Voldemort into his body was already going to be a death sentence if they did not get him a new body, but the riches would surely be worth all the pain and effort as Quirinus proved his loyalty and worth.
Their destination was south on the coast of a large gulf. While a magical means of travel would be preferable, there was too much risk of being detected by the Magical Congress. No, they would need to walk. A look at a map showed that most of the journey could be made along the coastline with minimal hurdles until they got to the peninsula of the Colonies where cutting across from the ocean coast to the gulf coast would be quick and easy to traverse.
A long journey in front of them, but one that will prove Voldemort's immortality to all.
—
Harry Potter
The party was great, getting to spend time with friends he had made over the school year, meeting their parents, and having fun and good food with them all. He really could not think of a better birthday.
After almost everyone went home, Harry had thanked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for doing this for him, only to be told Hermione was the one to come up with the plan and arrange for everyone to show up. They had simply played hosts.
Harry then thanked Hermione, even giving her a hug, causing the bushy haired girl to smile before she handed her gift to him, a leather wand holster so that Harry could stop walking around with his wand stuck in his pants.
The Grangers left soon after, leaving Harry and the Weasleys to clean up and relax. Molly told Harry he did not need to help clean, as he was a guest, but Harry was fascinated with the magical ways of cleaning up after a party. The swift and effortless disposal of trash, disappearing into thin air with a simple wave of a hand. No more need for bulky rubbish bins or tedious trips to the curb. And the rags, seemingly animated by some invisible force, glided over surfaces with precision and efficiency, leaving them sparkling clean without any human touch needed. It was like living in a world straight out of a dream, where mundane tasks were magically taken care of without any effort on our part.
It was simply magical the way witches and wizards kept a tidy home.
Soon enough, Harry found himself in Ron's room getting ready for bed. A room covered in orange with posters of the Chudley Cannons, Ron's favorite Quidditch team. Ron was insistent that they had a shot this year. Harry didn't really know enough about professional Quidditch to dispute anything Ron said, so he simply agreed with his friend.
The next two weeks were a blur of helping with the chores, having fun with the youngest three Weasley boys, occasionally seeing their sister peeking at him around a corner before hiding, and sending letters to his friends.
The greatest birthday turned into the greatest summer ever for Harry. And it was one bright, sunny morning that he and Ron came down for breakfast that they were reminded that they would soon be seeing more of their friends, along with their teachers. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley along with Ginny were sitting around the kitchen table already. Ginny stuck her elbow into her bowl of porridge as soon as she saw Harry come down, which he pretended to not notice as she hurriedly cleaned her elbow up with cheeks glowing like the sun setting over the hill behind the Burrow.
"Letters from Hogwarts," Mr. Weasley said, passing the envelopes of yellowish parchment addressed in green ink as Mrs. Weasley handed out toast to the boys. Fred and George came down as the letters were getting passed out, still in their pajamas. "You two've got them too," Mr. Weasley added.
For a moment, everything was silent except for the crunch of toast and riffling of pages as the children at the table looked over the letters and Mr. Weasley looked over the morning paper.
The Hogwarts Express would be leaving on September 1st from King's Cross Station, as usual. The list of most of the equipment seemed to be the same as last year. It was only once Harry got to the book list that something unusual became apparent.
'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2' was expected. Having seven books from a single author was a bit odd to Harry. Seven books from someone named Gilderoy Lockhart.
Harry could feel the tension in the air as everyone began discussing how expensive the books would be. Mrs. Weasley had been so kind to him for the past two weeks, being far more of a mother than Aunt Petunia ever was to the orphaned boy. He bit his lip as he thought about the situation, and how he was lucky enough to be able to spend time with this loving family.
Hedwig swooped into the kitchen carrying a letter. Hedwig, his first real birthday present. A gift from Hagrid.
"I could help with the books," Harry offered as he took the letter from Hedwig, seeing it was from Tanya.
"No dear, you don't need to do that," Mrs. Weasley started.
"It is not a problem. You all have been so nice to me, letting me stay with you for so much of the summer," Harry said, looking around. "It is the least I can do to pay you all back. At the very least, I can buy Ron's," Harry paused for a moment as he looked at Ginny and gave a soft smile, "and Ginny's copies of these Lockhart books."
Nearly everyone still seemed tense as they wrestled with what Harry was offering. "Thank you Harry," Mr. Weasley said. "As long as you are sure you can afford it and the rest of your schooling."
The tension in everyone's shoulders left them as Harry nodded. "I'm sure."
Percy came down as Harry read the letter from Tanya.
She was back in the UK and had briefly stopped by the orphanage she had grown up in and was still supposed to be during the summer. Apparently orphanages were being phased out entirely and it was only through a single, large donation that the orphanage she was part of would be able to stay open long enough for all the children currently in residence to either be adopted or to age out of the care. A mix of bad and good news for everyone there. For now though, Tanya was spending her remaining weeks with the Moons and they planned to visit Diagon Alley soon. She hoped Harry and his friends could join, as they had missed celebrating his birthday together.
"Why don't you go tell them we would be happy to?" Mrs. Weasley said with a smile. "Would be a perfectly fine day to get all of your school things."
"Sure," Harry said with a smile. "I'll do that before we head up to that paddock."
The paddock was on a small hill surrounded by trees that the boys were planning on using to play quidditch. Well, more tossing apples at each other while they flew low, but it was close enough to quidditch for the three members and the Captain-in-Training of the Gryffindor Team.
But first, Harry wrote a letter to who he quietly thought of as his oddest friend, but the one he felt the strongest connection to, Tanya Degurechaff.
---
AN: Thank you to everyone that has helped with editing/beta. I now have a Kofi as a one-off way to tip if you want to as well as a Patreon for monthly support. I am hoping Kofi will let me replace some of the broken image links that were originally attached to Patreon or Discord, but I otherwise have no current plans for offering any benefits for Kofi supporters. Patreon supporters are why this chapter is released now, otherwise I would likely have written another chapter or two of my Pokémon trainer Tanya story instead as they get to vote in a monthly poll on what story I should make sure to focus on for the month. This month's poll still has a couple of days left and by a narrow margin it looks like next month will be another Hogwarts Adventure chapter. Next month poll drops in less than a week so you can influence what I write for May.
Thank you for reading.
Probably should also start dropping a link to what I'm referencing in the Chapter Titles.
It was really nice of the Moons to invite me to join them on vacation to Majorca. In many ways, I was reminded of my retirement at the end of my last life in Florida. Palm trees, warm weather, and salt in the breeze.
Only now my body is young enough to enjoy the beach and the little shops scattered around. My body was able to keep up with the youthful energy Lily had, so I was mostly letting her set our pace when her parents allowed us to explore on our own.
I was confident that I could handle anything the locals could send our way, from simple scams meant to bilk tourists of their money to possible kidnappers looking for some English girls to use as either drug mules or 'personal servants', but I would respect Mr. and Mrs. Moon's desire to keep their daughter safe from trouble. A perfectly healthy concern considering Lily's powerful imagination.
I could see where she got that from as her father was a fiction author that dabbled in multiple genres under several pen names. Her mother worked for a small upscale shop in London to stay busy. Mr. Moon apparently made enough on his stories that they don't need the extra income, particularly with how cheap Magical Britain could be to live in if you were smart about it, but she didn't like being idle and the housework didn't build up enough to keep her busy. Especially now that Lily is going to a boarding school most of the year.
Loving, caring parents worried for their child and their child's future. Mr. Moon had admitted that they weren't sure about letting Lily go to Hogwarts so soon. Her birthday was August 31, the literal cutoff age for students going to Hogwarts, and she was a premature birth. That certainly helped explain her difficulties in class to a degree, but my efforts had gotten her to pass, proving she had been ready… with a little help. And if tutoring her got me tropical vacations, I was not going to complain about the compensation package at all.
Despite her issues in class, I was half convinced that Lily only acted stupid because there were times she would say something profoundly correct. She mentioned how I didn't look at historical relics with awe, but with nostalgia, as though seeing something again after a long time.
She was right in a lot of ways. The historical locations and museums we visited were not unfamiliar to me. They were not the same as my last life, but they were close enough that I only saw the similarities and not the differences.
She was a silly, energetic girl, but hidden somewhere in that head of hers was a mind capable of seeing things others could not. If only I could pull out that potential, she could be someone amazing.
"Wooow!" Lily cried out as we reached the top of the hill and got a good view of the city, the beaches, and the sea in a gorgeous panoramic scene. Skies only lightly dusted with whisps of clouds in the clear blue skies.
"Wow indeed," I said, smiling. It was beautiful and I was able to enjoy the moment in a way I haven't in decades. Maybe ever. I had no aches and pains, no worries or concerns. Just a future of potential and a… friend by my side.
—-
Quirinus Quirrell
New York was a disgusting hive of people. Full of muggles going through their worthless lives, buildings meant to hold them in such tight capacity that it was a wonder they weren't cannibalizing each other, and their various metal contraptions they use to get around clogging the streets.
A mess that deserves to be wiped out like the plague they are.
But not yet. Master Voldemort would begin cleansing the world of Muggle filth soon enough, but for now they needed to get him a new body and off the back of his head.
Getting to America was not difficult for the pair as there were ships constantly moving between England and America, though a lot more seemed to be traveling to and from China for some unfathomable reason. A couple of charms and they were on one of the ships. It was not luxurious or comfortable, but those would have brought potential scrutiny they could not afford.
No, they would be traveling in secrecy. While there was no Dumbledore in America to watch their movements, the old codger had allies everywhere. He likely was unaware that Quirinus was attempting to resurrect Voldemort, but would have noticed the attempt on the stone. It would have been best if they had managed to claim the Philosopher's Stone to resurrect Voldemort with as it would have had the least complications.
Returning a spirit back to the world of the living was not a simple or easy process with multiple rituals and methods around the world with a variety of requirements and reagents. In Voldemort's life, he had done research into a multitude of these rituals and methods and created a bit of a list of which ones he found most beneficial for himself should he ever need them. The topmost option was a potion made with the elixir of life as there would be nearly no downside to using that method.
With some potential downsides, there were rumors of methods for a spirit to return to life using a ritual deep in the southern swamps of the Colonies. Having to travel all the way to this backwater cesspit of simpletons and find a local Dark Magic practitioner both able and willing to aid in Voldemort's return were certainly a pair of indignities Voldemort would have preferred to do without.
For now, Quirinus had imperiused a server into giving him a meal that he paired with a vial of unicorn blood. With the preservation charms on the vials and the amount of blood he had managed to collect, Quirinus estimated with careful rationing he could perhaps extend how long he had before Voldemort's presence in his body would kill him to about a year. Unicorn blood could extend a person's life, especially if they had some form of illness, significantly, but at a cost. Already Quirinus was noticing a paleness coming to his skin.
Quirinus was already in too deep to back out now. Accepting Lord Voldemort into his body was already going to be a death sentence if they did not get him a new body, but the riches would surely be worth all the pain and effort as Quirinus proved his loyalty and worth.
Their destination was south on the coast of a large gulf. While a magical means of travel would be preferable, there was too much risk of being detected by the Magical Congress. No, they would need to walk. A look at a map showed that most of the journey could be made along the coastline with minimal hurdles until they got to the peninsula of the Colonies where cutting across from the ocean coast to the gulf coast would be quick and easy to traverse.
A long journey in front of them, but one that will prove Voldemort's immortality to all.
—
Harry Potter
The party was great, getting to spend time with friends he had made over the school year, meeting their parents, and having fun and good food with them all. He really could not think of a better birthday.
After almost everyone went home, Harry had thanked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for doing this for him, only to be told Hermione was the one to come up with the plan and arrange for everyone to show up. They had simply played hosts.
Harry then thanked Hermione, even giving her a hug, causing the bushy haired girl to smile before she handed her gift to him, a leather wand holster so that Harry could stop walking around with his wand stuck in his pants.
The Grangers left soon after, leaving Harry and the Weasleys to clean up and relax. Molly told Harry he did not need to help clean, as he was a guest, but Harry was fascinated with the magical ways of cleaning up after a party. The swift and effortless disposal of trash, disappearing into thin air with a simple wave of a hand. No more need for bulky rubbish bins or tedious trips to the curb. And the rags, seemingly animated by some invisible force, glided over surfaces with precision and efficiency, leaving them sparkling clean without any human touch needed. It was like living in a world straight out of a dream, where mundane tasks were magically taken care of without any effort on our part.
It was simply magical the way witches and wizards kept a tidy home.
Soon enough, Harry found himself in Ron's room getting ready for bed. A room covered in orange with posters of the Chudley Cannons, Ron's favorite Quidditch team. Ron was insistent that they had a shot this year. Harry didn't really know enough about professional Quidditch to dispute anything Ron said, so he simply agreed with his friend.
The next two weeks were a blur of helping with the chores, having fun with the youngest three Weasley boys, occasionally seeing their sister peeking at him around a corner before hiding, and sending letters to his friends.
The greatest birthday turned into the greatest summer ever for Harry. And it was one bright, sunny morning that he and Ron came down for breakfast that they were reminded that they would soon be seeing more of their friends, along with their teachers. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley along with Ginny were sitting around the kitchen table already. Ginny stuck her elbow into her bowl of porridge as soon as she saw Harry come down, which he pretended to not notice as she hurriedly cleaned her elbow up with cheeks glowing like the sun setting over the hill behind the Burrow.
"Letters from Hogwarts," Mr. Weasley said, passing the envelopes of yellowish parchment addressed in green ink as Mrs. Weasley handed out toast to the boys. Fred and George came down as the letters were getting passed out, still in their pajamas. "You two've got them too," Mr. Weasley added.
For a moment, everything was silent except for the crunch of toast and riffling of pages as the children at the table looked over the letters and Mr. Weasley looked over the morning paper.
The Hogwarts Express would be leaving on September 1st from King's Cross Station, as usual. The list of most of the equipment seemed to be the same as last year. It was only once Harry got to the book list that something unusual became apparent.
'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2' was expected. Having seven books from a single author was a bit odd to Harry. Seven books from someone named Gilderoy Lockhart.
Harry could feel the tension in the air as everyone began discussing how expensive the books would be. Mrs. Weasley had been so kind to him for the past two weeks, being far more of a mother than Aunt Petunia ever was to the orphaned boy. He bit his lip as he thought about the situation, and how he was lucky enough to be able to spend time with this loving family.
Hedwig swooped into the kitchen carrying a letter. Hedwig, his first real birthday present. A gift from Hagrid.
"I could help with the books," Harry offered as he took the letter from Hedwig, seeing it was from Tanya.
"No dear, you don't need to do that," Mrs. Weasley started.
"It is not a problem. You all have been so nice to me, letting me stay with you for so much of the summer," Harry said, looking around. "It is the least I can do to pay you all back. At the very least, I can buy Ron's," Harry paused for a moment as he looked at Ginny and gave a soft smile, "and Ginny's copies of these Lockhart books."
Nearly everyone still seemed tense as they wrestled with what Harry was offering. "Thank you Harry," Mr. Weasley said. "As long as you are sure you can afford it and the rest of your schooling."
The tension in everyone's shoulders left them as Harry nodded. "I'm sure."
Percy came down as Harry read the letter from Tanya.
She was back in the UK and had briefly stopped by the orphanage she had grown up in and was still supposed to be during the summer. Apparently orphanages were being phased out entirely and it was only through a single, large donation that the orphanage she was part of would be able to stay open long enough for all the children currently in residence to either be adopted or to age out of the care. A mix of bad and good news for everyone there. For now though, Tanya was spending her remaining weeks with the Moons and they planned to visit Diagon Alley soon. She hoped Harry and his friends could join, as they had missed celebrating his birthday together.
"Why don't you go tell them we would be happy to?" Mrs. Weasley said with a smile. "Would be a perfectly fine day to get all of your school things."
"Sure," Harry said with a smile. "I'll do that before we head up to that paddock."
The paddock was on a small hill surrounded by trees that the boys were planning on using to play quidditch. Well, more tossing apples at each other while they flew low, but it was close enough to quidditch for the three members and the Captain-in-Training of the Gryffindor Team.
But first, Harry wrote a letter to who he quietly thought of as his oddest friend, but the one he felt the strongest connection to, Tanya Degurechaff.
---
AN: Thank you to everyone that has helped with editing/beta. I now have a Kofi as a one-off way to tip if you want to as well as a Patreon for monthly support. I am hoping Kofi will let me replace some of the broken image links that were originally attached to Patreon or Discord, but I otherwise have no current plans for offering any benefits for Kofi supporters. Patreon supporters are why this chapter is released now, otherwise I would likely have written another chapter or two of my Pokémon trainer Tanya story instead as they get to vote in a monthly poll on what story I should make sure to focus on for the month. This month's poll still has a couple of days left and by a narrow margin it looks like next month will be another Hogwarts Adventure chapter. Next month poll drops in less than a week so you can influence what I write for May.
Thank you for reading.
Probably should also start dropping a link to what I'm referencing in the Chapter Titles.
Thomas Bennett
Nonrandom
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Thanks for the chapter. Lily best girl.
SnappingTurt3ls2
Versed in the lewd.
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Thanks for the chapter!
Solusandra
Foxes are Fantastic
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funny thing is she'd have been happier if Malfoy had adopted her rather than dropping that gold.
Pity its closing down though. Orphanages are in a weird position, being far better than either the street ar the modern foster system that replaced them, but still full of some pretty horrible abuses. Tanya seems to have had a good two in a row. Coincidence? or planning by Being X?
WastelandGrunt
Know what you're doing yet?
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Poor Quierlmort, going into the dark bayous of Lousiana, only to meet thight that will laugh at his pathetic attempts of immoriality.
Solusandra
Foxes are Fantastic
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Oh, and thanks for all the reqs.
Half_Baked_cat
Not too sore, are you?
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The only one I can really recommend is Jeer's. 3 of them I haven't read. Two of them I tried reading, but I wasn't that interested in the crossover and ended up dropping. Jeer's is the only one I kept up with. But have fun.
Childe Roland
I use math. Roll for SAN damage
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I'll wear your granddad's clothes. I look incredible.
Half_Baked_cat
Not too sore, are you?
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Harry Potter
Mrs. Weasley woke up the whole house early the following Wednesday, including the ghoul that lived in the attic over Ron's room. The ghoul quieted down quickly as a breakfast of bacon sandwiches was eaten. With bellies full, Mrs. Weasley pulled a flowerpot off the mantel and looked into it.
"We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today... Ah, well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"
Harry looked at the pot before staring at the family looking at him.
"Uh, what do I do?" Harry asked.
"Oh! Right, sorry, Harry," Ron said. "I forgot you never traveled by Floo Powder before."
"Never? How did you get to Diagon Alley last year?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"I went on the Underground-"
"Really?" Mr. Weasley interrupted eagerly. "Were there escapators? How-"
"Not now, Dear," Mrs. Weasley shushed her husband, "Floo powder is a lot quicker, dear. But goodness me, if you've never used it before…"
"He'll be alright, Mum," Fred said after she trailed off with a large grin. "Harry, watch us first."
Fred reached into the flower pot and grabbed a pinch of a green, glittering powder. He threw it into the fireplace, causing an emerald-colored flame to shoot up taller than he was before he confidently strolled into the flame. "Diagon Alley." With a strong voice, Fred was whipped away, vanishing into the flames.
What followed was a barrage of advice from Ron and Mrs. Weasley as George and Mr. Weasley took pinches of powder, giving Harry encouraging words that he would be fine. Harry took a deep breath and remembered Tanya's lessons on how to memorize information. The key points seemed to be to stay calm, watch for the correct fireplace to come out of, and speak clearly where you want to go when you step into the fire.
With that in mind, Harry took a pinch of the Floo Powder and scattered it into the fireplace. Seeing the green flames, he stepped in, turned towards the room, opened his mouth to take a deep breath, and state his destination. As he began speaking, ash got into his mouth, causing Harry to hack as he felt the magic take effect. It was a sucking feeling, as though he was being pulled through the drain pipes, spinning around. He pulled his arms in as he coughed, the whirling flames and flashes of fireplaces made him feel a bit nauseous. His breakfast was churning roughly inside of him.
And then… it was over. Painfully as he was tossed roughly out of a fireplace, landing hard on the ground. His glasses fell off and broke at the bridge of the nose.
Squinting around, Harry saw that he was in some sort of shop.
"One moment, Mundungus," an oily voice said as a stooped figure came around a shelf. "And who do we have here?"
"I'm sorry, sir," Harry said, grabbing his broken glasses and wiping his forehead before holding the frames up to his face to see the old man with oily hair looking at him with a toothy grin.
"Ah, it would appear Mr. Potter decided to visit my shop."
"Uh, sorry sir, but I don't know where I am," Harry said, seeing the shop was filled with… items that gave Harry an uncomfortable feeling. "I was using Floo for the first time and, uh…"
"Ended up in the wrong place," the man said, returning to the shop counter. "Well, I suppose I can help you, though I do hope you will think of ole Borgin next time you are looking for some… products."
Harry nodded in agreement, though looking at the items in stock, especially a necklace that seemed to proudly declare that it had killed nineteen muggles, he would not be making any purchases here.
The man, Mr. Borgin, as he seemed to introduce himself, reached under the counter, pulling out an old black book and a gnarled old wand. "Three galleons and two sickles, and you can take this with you. And I'll throw in an extra sickle if you get rid of this for me," Mr. Borgin told the other man in the store, a short, bow-legged man who looked like he hadn't seen a bar of soap in at least two weeks.
"Deal," the man said.
"As for you, Mr. Potter," Mr. Borgin turned to Harry with that wide, toothy grin and pointed his want right at Harry. Without another word, Harry felt his glasses jump together and fix themselves up. "There, all fixed up. I'm sure you got some school things to purchase, so why don't you run along? But do remember me in the future. I am sure I have something you will want."
There was a spark of greed in Mr. Borgin's eye that made Harry think that what he was doing was not out of the kindness of his heart, and he expected to be compensated later for his 'kindness'. For a brief moment, Harry could almost see Tanya having the same look, but he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind as Tanya had never shown such a look in the past year he had known her.
"Thank you, Mr. Borgin," Harry said, putting on a smile. "Just, uh, which way should I go?"
"Go left, follow the street until you see Gringotts. I'm sure you can find your way from there."
Harry's smile became more genuine at the instructions being easy to follow. "Thank you. If I ever find myself this way, I'll be sure to stop in," Harry politely said before leaving and hurrying along the path given. The street he was on was so dark, with many disturbing things. A shop full of shrunken heads, an old, bent-over woman with a tray of what looked like fingers. Harry did not dally and quickly found himself looking at the white marble of Gringotts.
—
Tanya Degurechaff
While the vacation in Majorca was lovely, and I would enjoy going again, it was nice to return to the UK. One of the first stops was the orphanage, where I was greeted by the site of the postcards I sent back pinned up on the wall at the entrance. The second thing I noticed was that the kids were wearing nicer clothing.
When I asked about it, I was told that the orphanage was being closed down, but a rather generous soul had made a sizeable enough donation that while the orphanage wasn't going to be saved, it would be able to care for all the current children under its roof until they reached the age of majority. This even included new clothes for all the children.
New clothes that I had to very politely accept despite them being little better than school uniforms, knee-length skirts in a dark gray with a matching vest and plain white blouses. Not a single pair of pants or pocket to be found.
The second-hand clothes from last year still fit and are in good enough condition. I purposely got clothes that were a bit baggy to give me room to grow into them. So, I would still have some good clothes to wear outside of classes and while visiting with friends over the summer.
Friends like Lily, whose family was still willing to host me so we could purchase our school supplies together and get to the train on time.
Speaking of school supplies, after a trip through the London Underground with Mr. Moon, we arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, where there was a bit of a commotion with the Weasley family.
"Where's Harry?" Lily asked, looking around as we approached.
"We don't know," Ron said, coming over to greet us, but looked concerned. "We were using the Floo Network, but Harry started coughing as he tried to say the destination."
I didn't have time to figure out what a Floo Network was, but considering they were gathered near a fireplace, I had to assume it had something to do with a chimney flue. I only somewhat knew the flue was part of the chimney, but, if that is correct, then it was reasonable that the Floo Network was some sort of fireplace-based transportation system.
This seems rather dangerous considering how often a fire would be going, but that is tangential.
"What was his destination?" I asked.
"Diagon Alley," Ron said.
I groaned and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Alright!" I barked out, straightened up, and gathered everyone's attention. "If Harry's destination was Diagon Alley, he could be anywhere in the Alley. We will want to spread out to cover more ground as we look for him."
I looked at the clock on the wall briefly. "Gringotts is a good central location to reconvene in thirty minutes. Lily, stick with your dad. Harry would not recognize him, but together, you should be able to point him out if you two spot him," I started instructing different groups on where to go and how to split the groups off, using similar logic for keeping Hermione and her parents together, Fred and George as a team, Percy and Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and lastly was Ron and myself. As the one who devised the plan, I would be heading straight for Gringotts. If Harry came up and stumbled upon our rendezvous spot, we could keep him from getting lost looking for us.
Ideally, he would stay in one place when lost, as taught in many survival basics. The likelihood that Harry learned any basic survival lessons was shallow, so someone else would need to stay in one place. To that same logic, Percy and Ginny would be sticking near the passage between the back of the Leaky Cauldron and the start of Diagon Alley.
With a plan in place and complaints about the plan quashed under the simple logic of no one else coming up with anything to resolve the situation, we moved out.
"You're scary, you know that?" Ron said as we headed straight to Gringotts.
"I am a confident woman," I corrected. "Many people mistake being intimidated by a confident woman with being scared of her."
I briefly looked at Ron, who fell silent and gave me a look before shaking his head and muttering something under his breath.
As we hit the white marble of the stairs up the primary wizarding bank, I couldn't help holding back the smirk at seeing Harry coming around the corner of an alley down the bank's side.
"Harry!" I yelled, waving at him.
"Huh? Where?" Ron looked around before spotting Harry as well. "Harry!"
Harry heard us and turned towards us before rushing up to us. "Tanya! Ron! I'm glad I found you!" Harry looked around a bit. "Where is everyone else?"
"Looking for you. They should be here," I started before looking up at a nearby clock, "in about twenty-five minutes."
"Where did you go, Harry?" Ron asked.
"Some creepy shop," Harry said with a shiver. "The owner helped me, but…"
"But what?" I asked, looking at Harry closer. He had a bit of dirt on him but looked uninjured. And he had not been gone long enough for anything… untoward to happen.
"I don't know. Just something about him bothered me." Harry shook his head. He then put on a smile. "Anyways, you went to Majorca. I got your cards, but tell me how it was."
The change in conversation was clumsy, but I allowed it as Harry did seem genuinely alright. As we talked about my trip, the rest of our rather large group filtered over, everyone relieved that Harry was fine, with Percy and Ginny being the last to show up.
Ginny was a lot more subdued and red-faced at seeing Harry than the brief amount of time when I met her briefly in the Leaky Cauldron.
Childish crushes were no concern of mine, so I put them out of mind as we entered the bank and got into several lines. The Grangers and myself in one for counter-only service and the rest of the group in line for Vault services. Exchanging muggle money for wizarding coinage and the wooden key for an orphan school supply stipend was finished up well before the group going to their vaults were finished up.
While waiting for the rest of our group, I spotted Draco and his father and led Hermione and her parents over.
"Mr. Malfoy. Draco. It is good to see the two of you," I say, bowing politely to the elder of the pair.
"Ah, Ms. Degurechaff," Mr. Malfoy said with a thin smile as he looked at us. "And company."
As the adults introduced themselves, Hermione and I got caught up with how Draco's summer had been going.
According to Draco, it had been spent chiefly relaxing at home.
"Draco," Mr. Malfoy said, "you can spend time with your friends while I gather your supplies. Be at Flourish & Blotts in three hours."
Draco was handed a small bag of coins as Mr. Malfoy stepped away. A scowl briefly showed as his eyes passed over the Weasley family coming up from the back of the bank. Mr. Weasley had a similarly strained look as he saw the senior Malfoy.
Whatever tensions the two may have between themselves was not my concern as long as they kept a tight lid on it.
With the group gathered back together, budgets were established, warnings not to leave the alley given, and a timetable set for a meeting to get everyone's books as the last thing of the day. Everyone split off into groups. Mr. Weasley took Mr. Moon and the Grangers to hang out at the Leaky Cauldron, Mrs. Weasley was taking Ginny with her, Fred and George were going off on their own, having seen Lee Jordan, and Percy going off on his own.
That left Lily, Hermione, Draco, Ron, Harry, and myself to get school supplies and hang out together.
There were only a few school supplies we needed besides the books, as most of what we needed was bought last year. Just a refresh of potion ingredients, extra parchment, ink, and spare quills. After ensuring we got what we needed, we wandered around looking at the different stores and their wares.
A few items caught my eye, but I didn't even bother with price tags. The book list was long enough and textbooks expensive enough that I would likely have only a tiny amount left over.
Draco was confused when I explained why I was not getting anything as we window-shopped. The boy was so used to money just always being there that he could not comprehend not being able to purchase anything you wanted. Lily and Hermione tried being understanding, but I suspect they never went without because of financial concerns. Harry and Ron truly got it, as they've dealt with not having.
I was likely the only one here who knows what it is like to have grown up both financially stable and in a household where a single emergency would require significant belt tightening to handle. Not that I could explain that to anyone.
I was not concerned about being captured for experiments or being declared mentally incompetent from insanity for talking about having lived multiple lives. Still, it was a life experience that no one else could genuinely relate to. Not unless they also remembered past lives.
It was with such thoughts that, in a little junk and knickknack shop, that a brooch caught my eye. A rectangular gem of red set in silver. For a brief moment, I thought it was a computation orb till I came back to the present and saw that the jewelry I was holding had none of the clockwork of early orbs or the circuitry of the ones coming out near the end of my life, mostly obscured by the jewel.
I set the piece back down. I had died and that world was gone. All I had was memories that were fleeting away from me. Spending a chunk of money, possibly not being able to afford my school books, all for a facsimile of something I once used was a foolish way to try and hold onto a piece of my history.
With window shopping done and plenty of time before we needed to be at Flourish and Blotts, our group found ourselves at the ice cream shop getting a few scoops. Half the group opted for peanut butter and strawberry of all things, Lily got chocolate chili, and Draco got me and himself Earl Gray Lavender.
A very interesting variety of flavors compared to what I was used to, but it was very well made. Cold, creamy with a floral punch combined with the citrusy bergamot and rich, almost toasty black tea. Small crispy bits that may have been tea used to make the ice cream added a delightful textural contrast.
"Here," Draco said, sliding something to me as we ate.
Picking it up, I saw it was the brooch I had been looking at earlier. My thumb ran over the gem as I thought back to those mages who had once been under my command. Men and women who jumped at my command, were trained into the perfect fighting force. Blank faces as time erased the specifics from my memories. Only the feelings of what they meant to me remained.
"Thank you."
"You were looking at it pretty intensely, so I thought you wanted it," Draco explained.
It was a very obvious and boyish ploy of a boy trying to impress a girl. His little crush on me was cute in a way, but I would have to squash it. Later. For now, I pinned the brooch close to my neck as though it was a computation orb.
"Pretty!" Lily said, leaning over to look at the brooch closer.
Hermione, thankfully, came to my rescue and moved the conversation away from Draco's gift as we worked our way through our icy treats.
With bellies full of ice cream, we went to the crowded bookstore. There was a sign outfront I had not paid attention to when we had passed by earlier.
'GILDEROY LOCKHART
will be signing copies of his autobiography
MAGICAL ME
today 12:30 P.m. to 4:30 P.m.'
"We can actually meet him!" Hermione excitedly said. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"
"Yes, yes," I said drolly. "How exciting it will be."
"Don't be like that," Lily admonished me. "He must be doing something right if he has as many books published. Daddy has told me all about how hard it was to get his stories published when he was starting out. I think it'll be nice to meet someone like my Daddy that isn't Daddy."
I kept the feeling to roll my eyes to myself. No need to dampen the mood of those around me.
The line for the book signing was mostly a bunch of middle-aged ladies who would fit in perfectly at a book club that meets Tuesday nights at the rec center talking about the latest romance tripe and nearly wrapped all the way around to the next store.
Slipping into the store to grab copies of 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade two', it became clear that in addition to his autobiography, all the other books he had written were roped off near the table set for him, and we would have to get in line and wait our turns.
A rather unfortunate oversight if you asked me, as the books were on the school book list and there would be people, such as myself, who do not care about getting signed copies of things. Even if it does increase the resale value by some amount, I prefer to keep books for reference materials over selling them later or donating them to a library and getting a tax deduction for my charity.
Regardless, we got in line with the rest of the Weasley family, the Grangers, and Mr. Moon, allowing us to skip a chunk of the line. Draco separated from us to join his father a bit behind our group, looking as miffed about waiting in this line to get school books as I felt.
Slowly, the line moved forward until we could get a good look at the man, surrounded by a sea of his own face plastered on the covers of books, grinning with extremely white, straight teeth. While British dental care was good, the focus here was on health rather than looks, so I would not be surprised if Lockhart had taken a trip to America, where teeth appearance was of greater importance, and had some work done.
The man himself looked like a self-important ponce with his blonde locks carefully coiffed and his blue robes cut in a very fashionable manner. He was either a master of hiding his feelings or was loving all the fawning the middle-aged women were giving him as he had a huge, dopey grin.
A short man with what I could only assume was a magical camera, considering the purple smoke puffing out as he took pictures of the whole thing, was recklessly jumping around.
"Watch where you are going," I tell the man, grabbing him before he runs himself into Ron.
"Don't touch me," he says, pulling out of my grip. "I work for the Daily Prophet."
"And I am sure they would love getting sued for you harming a child in your recklessness. You nearly knocked over and stepped all over my friend. Can you imagine how much trouble you would be in if you had harmed him?" I stepped up to the man who was not that much taller than me and glared at him.
The man gulped but Lockhart stepped in to calm the situation.
"Now, now, Weatherby here meant no harm," he said, giving me his best smile. "And is that Harry Potter!"
Lockhart attempted to reach for Harry, but my hand snapped out to grab his arm. I gave it a warning squeeze. "You know, Mr. Lockhart, it is generally frowned upon in polite society for a grown man to be trying to touch a boy without getting permission first."
I let go of his arm and moved to stand in front of Harry, daring the man to try anything. I do not care if he was the King of England, he would respect that Harry was a CHILD while I was around, no matter what kind of fame Harry may have gotten from his parent's deaths.
"My apologies. A picture of myself and Harry would have been worthy of the front page of the prophet, I dare say," Lockhart said, still smiling, though it looked a lot more put on now than it did a moment ago.
"Then you can wait till after Harry is an adult and able to decide for himself if he wants to be a public figure. For now, he is a boy and a student who is focusing on his studies."
"Right, of course," Lockhart said, fixing up his robes before beginning to project his voice. "And that is a good point to make a rather important announcement I've been sitting on for some time."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, when Harry and his friend stepped into this store, they merely wished to purchase my autobiography, which I will be happy to give them now, free of charge, that they would be getting more than my book, Magical Me. They and their classmates will be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
The crowd applauded at the announcement. I could only hope that he would be as good at teaching as he was at public relations. As annoyed at the situation as I was, he was able to smooth over the ruffled feathers his faux pas could have been and the snafu the cameraman could have caused.
The fact that I found myself weighed down with copies of his books and did not need to purchase any of them myself earned him a bit of grace in my book. A bad first impression was no reason to remain upset with someone you would need to deal with long term.
"Thank you," Harry quietly said to me after we got our books, him dumping the copies he got onto Ginny to purchase his own copy. It was a noble sentiment that I was not financially comfortable enough to follow myself.
"Not a problem," I told him, giving him a smile. I would like to think I would have done it for any child in that situation, and not just one I was personally acquainted with.
Something that would have been tested shortly after the Malfoys left and our group began making our way to the Leaky Cauldron when a drunkard tripped over a kid, causing all their school supplies to spill across the street.
"Watch where yous goin'!" The man said, shaking his dirty hand as he stumbled away.
By the time I was about to help the kid, a first-year going by the number of things they had, several people had already gathered around helping to gather the things up while complaining loudly about the drunk. Apparently, a well known nuisance called Mundungus.
With that situation clearly handled, we went to the Leaky Cauldron, said our farewells to the Weasleys and Harry before the Grangers, Lily, and Mr. Moon took a booth to have some supper before we went home ourselves.
AN:
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Mrs. Weasley woke up the whole house early the following Wednesday, including the ghoul that lived in the attic over Ron's room. The ghoul quieted down quickly as a breakfast of bacon sandwiches was eaten. With bellies full, Mrs. Weasley pulled a flowerpot off the mantel and looked into it.
"We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today... Ah, well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"
Harry looked at the pot before staring at the family looking at him.
"Uh, what do I do?" Harry asked.
"Oh! Right, sorry, Harry," Ron said. "I forgot you never traveled by Floo Powder before."
"Never? How did you get to Diagon Alley last year?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"I went on the Underground-"
"Really?" Mr. Weasley interrupted eagerly. "Were there escapators? How-"
"Not now, Dear," Mrs. Weasley shushed her husband, "Floo powder is a lot quicker, dear. But goodness me, if you've never used it before…"
"He'll be alright, Mum," Fred said after she trailed off with a large grin. "Harry, watch us first."
Fred reached into the flower pot and grabbed a pinch of a green, glittering powder. He threw it into the fireplace, causing an emerald-colored flame to shoot up taller than he was before he confidently strolled into the flame. "Diagon Alley." With a strong voice, Fred was whipped away, vanishing into the flames.
What followed was a barrage of advice from Ron and Mrs. Weasley as George and Mr. Weasley took pinches of powder, giving Harry encouraging words that he would be fine. Harry took a deep breath and remembered Tanya's lessons on how to memorize information. The key points seemed to be to stay calm, watch for the correct fireplace to come out of, and speak clearly where you want to go when you step into the fire.
With that in mind, Harry took a pinch of the Floo Powder and scattered it into the fireplace. Seeing the green flames, he stepped in, turned towards the room, opened his mouth to take a deep breath, and state his destination. As he began speaking, ash got into his mouth, causing Harry to hack as he felt the magic take effect. It was a sucking feeling, as though he was being pulled through the drain pipes, spinning around. He pulled his arms in as he coughed, the whirling flames and flashes of fireplaces made him feel a bit nauseous. His breakfast was churning roughly inside of him.
And then… it was over. Painfully as he was tossed roughly out of a fireplace, landing hard on the ground. His glasses fell off and broke at the bridge of the nose.
Squinting around, Harry saw that he was in some sort of shop.
"One moment, Mundungus," an oily voice said as a stooped figure came around a shelf. "And who do we have here?"
"I'm sorry, sir," Harry said, grabbing his broken glasses and wiping his forehead before holding the frames up to his face to see the old man with oily hair looking at him with a toothy grin.
"Ah, it would appear Mr. Potter decided to visit my shop."
"Uh, sorry sir, but I don't know where I am," Harry said, seeing the shop was filled with… items that gave Harry an uncomfortable feeling. "I was using Floo for the first time and, uh…"
"Ended up in the wrong place," the man said, returning to the shop counter. "Well, I suppose I can help you, though I do hope you will think of ole Borgin next time you are looking for some… products."
Harry nodded in agreement, though looking at the items in stock, especially a necklace that seemed to proudly declare that it had killed nineteen muggles, he would not be making any purchases here.
The man, Mr. Borgin, as he seemed to introduce himself, reached under the counter, pulling out an old black book and a gnarled old wand. "Three galleons and two sickles, and you can take this with you. And I'll throw in an extra sickle if you get rid of this for me," Mr. Borgin told the other man in the store, a short, bow-legged man who looked like he hadn't seen a bar of soap in at least two weeks.
"Deal," the man said.
"As for you, Mr. Potter," Mr. Borgin turned to Harry with that wide, toothy grin and pointed his want right at Harry. Without another word, Harry felt his glasses jump together and fix themselves up. "There, all fixed up. I'm sure you got some school things to purchase, so why don't you run along? But do remember me in the future. I am sure I have something you will want."
There was a spark of greed in Mr. Borgin's eye that made Harry think that what he was doing was not out of the kindness of his heart, and he expected to be compensated later for his 'kindness'. For a brief moment, Harry could almost see Tanya having the same look, but he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind as Tanya had never shown such a look in the past year he had known her.
"Thank you, Mr. Borgin," Harry said, putting on a smile. "Just, uh, which way should I go?"
"Go left, follow the street until you see Gringotts. I'm sure you can find your way from there."
Harry's smile became more genuine at the instructions being easy to follow. "Thank you. If I ever find myself this way, I'll be sure to stop in," Harry politely said before leaving and hurrying along the path given. The street he was on was so dark, with many disturbing things. A shop full of shrunken heads, an old, bent-over woman with a tray of what looked like fingers. Harry did not dally and quickly found himself looking at the white marble of Gringotts.
—
Tanya Degurechaff
While the vacation in Majorca was lovely, and I would enjoy going again, it was nice to return to the UK. One of the first stops was the orphanage, where I was greeted by the site of the postcards I sent back pinned up on the wall at the entrance. The second thing I noticed was that the kids were wearing nicer clothing.
When I asked about it, I was told that the orphanage was being closed down, but a rather generous soul had made a sizeable enough donation that while the orphanage wasn't going to be saved, it would be able to care for all the current children under its roof until they reached the age of majority. This even included new clothes for all the children.
New clothes that I had to very politely accept despite them being little better than school uniforms, knee-length skirts in a dark gray with a matching vest and plain white blouses. Not a single pair of pants or pocket to be found.
The second-hand clothes from last year still fit and are in good enough condition. I purposely got clothes that were a bit baggy to give me room to grow into them. So, I would still have some good clothes to wear outside of classes and while visiting with friends over the summer.
Friends like Lily, whose family was still willing to host me so we could purchase our school supplies together and get to the train on time.
Speaking of school supplies, after a trip through the London Underground with Mr. Moon, we arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, where there was a bit of a commotion with the Weasley family.
"Where's Harry?" Lily asked, looking around as we approached.
"We don't know," Ron said, coming over to greet us, but looked concerned. "We were using the Floo Network, but Harry started coughing as he tried to say the destination."
I didn't have time to figure out what a Floo Network was, but considering they were gathered near a fireplace, I had to assume it had something to do with a chimney flue. I only somewhat knew the flue was part of the chimney, but, if that is correct, then it was reasonable that the Floo Network was some sort of fireplace-based transportation system.
This seems rather dangerous considering how often a fire would be going, but that is tangential.
"What was his destination?" I asked.
"Diagon Alley," Ron said.
I groaned and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Alright!" I barked out, straightened up, and gathered everyone's attention. "If Harry's destination was Diagon Alley, he could be anywhere in the Alley. We will want to spread out to cover more ground as we look for him."
I looked at the clock on the wall briefly. "Gringotts is a good central location to reconvene in thirty minutes. Lily, stick with your dad. Harry would not recognize him, but together, you should be able to point him out if you two spot him," I started instructing different groups on where to go and how to split the groups off, using similar logic for keeping Hermione and her parents together, Fred and George as a team, Percy and Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and lastly was Ron and myself. As the one who devised the plan, I would be heading straight for Gringotts. If Harry came up and stumbled upon our rendezvous spot, we could keep him from getting lost looking for us.
Ideally, he would stay in one place when lost, as taught in many survival basics. The likelihood that Harry learned any basic survival lessons was shallow, so someone else would need to stay in one place. To that same logic, Percy and Ginny would be sticking near the passage between the back of the Leaky Cauldron and the start of Diagon Alley.
With a plan in place and complaints about the plan quashed under the simple logic of no one else coming up with anything to resolve the situation, we moved out.
"You're scary, you know that?" Ron said as we headed straight to Gringotts.
"I am a confident woman," I corrected. "Many people mistake being intimidated by a confident woman with being scared of her."
I briefly looked at Ron, who fell silent and gave me a look before shaking his head and muttering something under his breath.
As we hit the white marble of the stairs up the primary wizarding bank, I couldn't help holding back the smirk at seeing Harry coming around the corner of an alley down the bank's side.
"Harry!" I yelled, waving at him.
"Huh? Where?" Ron looked around before spotting Harry as well. "Harry!"
Harry heard us and turned towards us before rushing up to us. "Tanya! Ron! I'm glad I found you!" Harry looked around a bit. "Where is everyone else?"
"Looking for you. They should be here," I started before looking up at a nearby clock, "in about twenty-five minutes."
"Where did you go, Harry?" Ron asked.
"Some creepy shop," Harry said with a shiver. "The owner helped me, but…"
"But what?" I asked, looking at Harry closer. He had a bit of dirt on him but looked uninjured. And he had not been gone long enough for anything… untoward to happen.
"I don't know. Just something about him bothered me." Harry shook his head. He then put on a smile. "Anyways, you went to Majorca. I got your cards, but tell me how it was."
The change in conversation was clumsy, but I allowed it as Harry did seem genuinely alright. As we talked about my trip, the rest of our rather large group filtered over, everyone relieved that Harry was fine, with Percy and Ginny being the last to show up.
Ginny was a lot more subdued and red-faced at seeing Harry than the brief amount of time when I met her briefly in the Leaky Cauldron.
Childish crushes were no concern of mine, so I put them out of mind as we entered the bank and got into several lines. The Grangers and myself in one for counter-only service and the rest of the group in line for Vault services. Exchanging muggle money for wizarding coinage and the wooden key for an orphan school supply stipend was finished up well before the group going to their vaults were finished up.
While waiting for the rest of our group, I spotted Draco and his father and led Hermione and her parents over.
"Mr. Malfoy. Draco. It is good to see the two of you," I say, bowing politely to the elder of the pair.
"Ah, Ms. Degurechaff," Mr. Malfoy said with a thin smile as he looked at us. "And company."
As the adults introduced themselves, Hermione and I got caught up with how Draco's summer had been going.
According to Draco, it had been spent chiefly relaxing at home.
"Draco," Mr. Malfoy said, "you can spend time with your friends while I gather your supplies. Be at Flourish & Blotts in three hours."
Draco was handed a small bag of coins as Mr. Malfoy stepped away. A scowl briefly showed as his eyes passed over the Weasley family coming up from the back of the bank. Mr. Weasley had a similarly strained look as he saw the senior Malfoy.
Whatever tensions the two may have between themselves was not my concern as long as they kept a tight lid on it.
With the group gathered back together, budgets were established, warnings not to leave the alley given, and a timetable set for a meeting to get everyone's books as the last thing of the day. Everyone split off into groups. Mr. Weasley took Mr. Moon and the Grangers to hang out at the Leaky Cauldron, Mrs. Weasley was taking Ginny with her, Fred and George were going off on their own, having seen Lee Jordan, and Percy going off on his own.
That left Lily, Hermione, Draco, Ron, Harry, and myself to get school supplies and hang out together.
There were only a few school supplies we needed besides the books, as most of what we needed was bought last year. Just a refresh of potion ingredients, extra parchment, ink, and spare quills. After ensuring we got what we needed, we wandered around looking at the different stores and their wares.
A few items caught my eye, but I didn't even bother with price tags. The book list was long enough and textbooks expensive enough that I would likely have only a tiny amount left over.
Draco was confused when I explained why I was not getting anything as we window-shopped. The boy was so used to money just always being there that he could not comprehend not being able to purchase anything you wanted. Lily and Hermione tried being understanding, but I suspect they never went without because of financial concerns. Harry and Ron truly got it, as they've dealt with not having.
I was likely the only one here who knows what it is like to have grown up both financially stable and in a household where a single emergency would require significant belt tightening to handle. Not that I could explain that to anyone.
I was not concerned about being captured for experiments or being declared mentally incompetent from insanity for talking about having lived multiple lives. Still, it was a life experience that no one else could genuinely relate to. Not unless they also remembered past lives.
It was with such thoughts that, in a little junk and knickknack shop, that a brooch caught my eye. A rectangular gem of red set in silver. For a brief moment, I thought it was a computation orb till I came back to the present and saw that the jewelry I was holding had none of the clockwork of early orbs or the circuitry of the ones coming out near the end of my life, mostly obscured by the jewel.
I set the piece back down. I had died and that world was gone. All I had was memories that were fleeting away from me. Spending a chunk of money, possibly not being able to afford my school books, all for a facsimile of something I once used was a foolish way to try and hold onto a piece of my history.
With window shopping done and plenty of time before we needed to be at Flourish and Blotts, our group found ourselves at the ice cream shop getting a few scoops. Half the group opted for peanut butter and strawberry of all things, Lily got chocolate chili, and Draco got me and himself Earl Gray Lavender.
A very interesting variety of flavors compared to what I was used to, but it was very well made. Cold, creamy with a floral punch combined with the citrusy bergamot and rich, almost toasty black tea. Small crispy bits that may have been tea used to make the ice cream added a delightful textural contrast.
"Here," Draco said, sliding something to me as we ate.
Picking it up, I saw it was the brooch I had been looking at earlier. My thumb ran over the gem as I thought back to those mages who had once been under my command. Men and women who jumped at my command, were trained into the perfect fighting force. Blank faces as time erased the specifics from my memories. Only the feelings of what they meant to me remained.
"Thank you."
"You were looking at it pretty intensely, so I thought you wanted it," Draco explained.
It was a very obvious and boyish ploy of a boy trying to impress a girl. His little crush on me was cute in a way, but I would have to squash it. Later. For now, I pinned the brooch close to my neck as though it was a computation orb.
"Pretty!" Lily said, leaning over to look at the brooch closer.
Hermione, thankfully, came to my rescue and moved the conversation away from Draco's gift as we worked our way through our icy treats.
With bellies full of ice cream, we went to the crowded bookstore. There was a sign outfront I had not paid attention to when we had passed by earlier.
'GILDEROY LOCKHART
will be signing copies of his autobiography
MAGICAL ME
today 12:30 P.m. to 4:30 P.m.'
"We can actually meet him!" Hermione excitedly said. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"
"Yes, yes," I said drolly. "How exciting it will be."
"Don't be like that," Lily admonished me. "He must be doing something right if he has as many books published. Daddy has told me all about how hard it was to get his stories published when he was starting out. I think it'll be nice to meet someone like my Daddy that isn't Daddy."
I kept the feeling to roll my eyes to myself. No need to dampen the mood of those around me.
The line for the book signing was mostly a bunch of middle-aged ladies who would fit in perfectly at a book club that meets Tuesday nights at the rec center talking about the latest romance tripe and nearly wrapped all the way around to the next store.
Slipping into the store to grab copies of 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade two', it became clear that in addition to his autobiography, all the other books he had written were roped off near the table set for him, and we would have to get in line and wait our turns.
A rather unfortunate oversight if you asked me, as the books were on the school book list and there would be people, such as myself, who do not care about getting signed copies of things. Even if it does increase the resale value by some amount, I prefer to keep books for reference materials over selling them later or donating them to a library and getting a tax deduction for my charity.
Regardless, we got in line with the rest of the Weasley family, the Grangers, and Mr. Moon, allowing us to skip a chunk of the line. Draco separated from us to join his father a bit behind our group, looking as miffed about waiting in this line to get school books as I felt.
Slowly, the line moved forward until we could get a good look at the man, surrounded by a sea of his own face plastered on the covers of books, grinning with extremely white, straight teeth. While British dental care was good, the focus here was on health rather than looks, so I would not be surprised if Lockhart had taken a trip to America, where teeth appearance was of greater importance, and had some work done.
The man himself looked like a self-important ponce with his blonde locks carefully coiffed and his blue robes cut in a very fashionable manner. He was either a master of hiding his feelings or was loving all the fawning the middle-aged women were giving him as he had a huge, dopey grin.
A short man with what I could only assume was a magical camera, considering the purple smoke puffing out as he took pictures of the whole thing, was recklessly jumping around.
"Watch where you are going," I tell the man, grabbing him before he runs himself into Ron.
"Don't touch me," he says, pulling out of my grip. "I work for the Daily Prophet."
"And I am sure they would love getting sued for you harming a child in your recklessness. You nearly knocked over and stepped all over my friend. Can you imagine how much trouble you would be in if you had harmed him?" I stepped up to the man who was not that much taller than me and glared at him.
The man gulped but Lockhart stepped in to calm the situation.
"Now, now, Weatherby here meant no harm," he said, giving me his best smile. "And is that Harry Potter!"
Lockhart attempted to reach for Harry, but my hand snapped out to grab his arm. I gave it a warning squeeze. "You know, Mr. Lockhart, it is generally frowned upon in polite society for a grown man to be trying to touch a boy without getting permission first."
I let go of his arm and moved to stand in front of Harry, daring the man to try anything. I do not care if he was the King of England, he would respect that Harry was a CHILD while I was around, no matter what kind of fame Harry may have gotten from his parent's deaths.
"My apologies. A picture of myself and Harry would have been worthy of the front page of the prophet, I dare say," Lockhart said, still smiling, though it looked a lot more put on now than it did a moment ago.
"Then you can wait till after Harry is an adult and able to decide for himself if he wants to be a public figure. For now, he is a boy and a student who is focusing on his studies."
"Right, of course," Lockhart said, fixing up his robes before beginning to project his voice. "And that is a good point to make a rather important announcement I've been sitting on for some time."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, when Harry and his friend stepped into this store, they merely wished to purchase my autobiography, which I will be happy to give them now, free of charge, that they would be getting more than my book, Magical Me. They and their classmates will be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
The crowd applauded at the announcement. I could only hope that he would be as good at teaching as he was at public relations. As annoyed at the situation as I was, he was able to smooth over the ruffled feathers his faux pas could have been and the snafu the cameraman could have caused.
The fact that I found myself weighed down with copies of his books and did not need to purchase any of them myself earned him a bit of grace in my book. A bad first impression was no reason to remain upset with someone you would need to deal with long term.
"Thank you," Harry quietly said to me after we got our books, him dumping the copies he got onto Ginny to purchase his own copy. It was a noble sentiment that I was not financially comfortable enough to follow myself.
"Not a problem," I told him, giving him a smile. I would like to think I would have done it for any child in that situation, and not just one I was personally acquainted with.
Something that would have been tested shortly after the Malfoys left and our group began making our way to the Leaky Cauldron when a drunkard tripped over a kid, causing all their school supplies to spill across the street.
"Watch where yous goin'!" The man said, shaking his dirty hand as he stumbled away.
By the time I was about to help the kid, a first-year going by the number of things they had, several people had already gathered around helping to gather the things up while complaining loudly about the drunk. Apparently, a well known nuisance called Mundungus.
With that situation clearly handled, we went to the Leaky Cauldron, said our farewells to the Weasleys and Harry before the Grangers, Lily, and Mr. Moon took a booth to have some supper before we went home ourselves.
AN:
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auraofcalm
neow
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One of the dark artifacts Dung was buying got in that kid's supplies, calling it right now.
Bear witness.
Bear witness.
SnappingTurt3ls2
Versed in the lewd.
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Thanks for the chapter!
Chrisleech
Experienced.
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It was that one that he was told to get rid of.One of the dark artifacts Dung was buying got in that kid's supplies, calling it right now.
Bear witness.
EternalPonderer
Know what you're doing yet?
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I'm pretty sure it was the diary, actually. The Diary Horcrux that Lucius decided to sell off, probably to Borgin/Burke.One of the dark artifacts Dung was buying got in that kid's supplies, calling it right now.
Bear witness.