I'd been wondering if Bioshock 2 lived up to its predecessor... guess that answers that. I'm gonna see about getting it myself in the next couple of days.


I only recently came back to this fic - read it some time ago and I'd enjoyed it immensely at first but then, like a few of your other reviewers, found it had slowed too much for my tastes. Now though, I'm getting back in the swing of things and overall I've got to say you've done a great job. I especially enjoyed Voldemort in Albania, it wasn't something people usually go into detail on.

That being said, there's still a few things I'm trying to wrap my head around.

The memory thing for one. Considering the pacing I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised but I can't for the life of me see how the set up you've got planned is going to be at all efficient. I feel like Sylvia and Crowley are trying something akin to giving Harry back the ocean through an IV with this weekly lock-combination thing they've got going on.
Considering Harry remembers nothing of his childhood it could take nearly a decade at this rate for him to have back all of his memories- time I'm certain Harry just doesn't have. Unless of course you intend for Harry to unlock only key memories I don't see this being easy to work.

I guess I was also expecting a bit more from Harry's first unlocked memory given what preceded it. I don't quite understand how the small glimpse of completely non-traumatic memory Harry was given warrants a week's break or any mind rest at all considering what he'd been made to see in the pensieve and the kind of stuff he's been through. I would have thought that his numerous experiences & encounters (post mystery childhood), his rising to the occasion nearly every time and his superb mental abilities would merit him a bit of faith and consideration.

Or maybe its the desperate hope of a man who just wants to know now. Did i mention I'm a representative of 2k games and I'm willing to give you an early release of bioshock 3 in exchange for the rest of this fic.

Yeah.... so back to the review. Not much else to say at the moment- anything else that bugged me is minor enough that I've already mostly forgotten. I expect Harry to be far more mistrustful of Dumbledore now though, same should go for the Flamels really. I haven't had a taste for Dumbledore bashing since '06 so believe me when I saw that's not the angle I'm coming from- its just that though the Flamels are all wizened and old and had sound reasoning in that this Dumbledore hadn't actually done anything, they're still human and I expected a bit more lingering resentment. Its going to be doubly so for Harry as he's a child, albeit a fairly mature one. He's had his trust trampled on a few times and not only was Dumbledore almost sinfully apathetic towards the whole thing, he's taken no pains to hide the fact that his actions would almost completely mirror his counterpart had Harry not been kidnapped- even in light of the consequences. Perenelle's shown only minor resentment at such callousness and there's nothing to be said for Nicholas. Dumbledore's done his fair share to erode Harry's trust in him over the past year so Harry rightly (and somewhat childishly) should be holding quite a considerable grudge.

I wish you the best of luck and Bioshock 3 will be with you as soon as I get the rest of this fic. All of it

 

I still think that the Flamels are acting too normal.
You could replace them in this fic with 60 year olds and nothing would seem out of place.
In canon it seems like the older the wizard is, the stranger he acts, the more oddities he has, etc.
I don't want them to be crazy old coots, but a noticeable different outlook on life and a different concept on what is normal, that would be nice.
Though it's probably too late now to change this.

I also thought that the pensieve vision of what-would-have-been was a cheap way to establish Sirius' innocence. That part reminded me of all those "The Marauders read the Harry Potter books!" monstrosities.

 

Eighteenth Movement posted on FF.net

Greywizard-dumblemort:

It's not quite as good as the first one, not enough original ideas as the first game, but it's worth playing. Surprisingly easy on hard.

Harry will only be unlocking key memories, the ones that truly shaped his childhood.

The criticism that the first memory was underwhelming is fair. but they had to start off with relatively tame matters before things got a bit more...heavy.

Really, Bioshock 3?

/considering

Harry will be holding a grudge towards Dumbledore. He will not easily forget the things he saw in the memory.

...but I want Bioshock 3 nowwwwww....

Thanks for the words.

Ayreon:

Eh, I didn't want to go overboard with Flamel eccentricity. Perhaps I leaned too far in the opposite direction.

Gah, being compared to those awful Marauder fics goaded me into saying otherwise. The memory suggested that Sirius was innocent, but that wasn't the point of it. No, it's main point was....something different.

 

Updated.

@voice of the nephilim: How long do you think this story is going to be? You have written about 270k words and we're just at the middle of the second year. Most stories finish up in less than that kind of word count. From what I understand you intend do a seven year AU. That means at the very least that there is going to be more than a million words. I don't want to sound discouraging or anything. It's just that stories that span that long rarely get completed. Of course, you do update your chapters quite fast.

Also, you said that this was going to be an AU. And I've seen some very intriguing ideas and plots within the story, but till now it is still following the basic canon prsmise. Quirrel's possession in Harry's first year and someone being possessed by the Diary in his second (I assume; I could be wrong, of course). I do hope that you intend to change the plot completely from canon. As reading the same plot with an intelligent and capable Harry will eventually become rather boring even if you insert interesting side plots into the story.

 

My rough estimate is that the first part of the story, which will end during the summer of fourth year, concludes at around 600k words. Second part, beginning fall of fourth year will be...longer.

Rather ambitious, I know. This is nothing that will be finished quickly. I once spent five years on a single quake level back when I mapped. A long-term commitment to a project is nothing new to me.

As the story progresses, the AU ripples will become more pronounced. I do promise that third-year will be hugely different from canon third year.

 

This is a great story! I really enjoyed the way the action was written. Also, I appreciated how well-rounded all the (important) characters were, with people like Ronald given a second chance and Draco, though he turned out to be rotten, have his actions examined. Nobody in the story is flat out wonderful or horrid, which makes it much more realistic. Also, the artsy way you did chapter titles--like music--was very creative

I feel like the story is a little lacking in Harry's interactions with people his age. There are lots of conflicts (Draco.), but there's not much where he works with his friends. I'm not saying the story should be all fluffy and loving and joy, but unless you're going for Independent!Harry (sort-of) maybe you could include Tracey/Millicent/Neville/Hermione more in his activities.

Keep up the good work, and thanks for a good read.

 

Well, this story has devoured a day of my time; I was simply unable to stop reading. Your writing quickly engaged me and drew me in, and my inability to easily discern your plot was a welcome change from the parade of predictable stories I've read recently.

It is a testament to your fantastic writing that I only have one nitpick, and that I can't decide what my favorite part was.

The nitpick: The relationship between Harry and his friends seems shallow. Of course, you can't devote a great deal of time to meaningful talks between Harry and each individual friend, indeed, that would feel stilted and rushed. However, I do think that it is something you should keep in mind while writing, so that you take advantage of natural character development moments.

4.5/5 as it is not finished, and left me high and dry after one glorious day of immersion. However, I'll rate it as a 5, since I'm reasonably sure that you will not be abandoning this anytime soon, after reading your comments on the subject.

 

Hey Voice,

This is coming along excellently. Your Flint is one of the best OOC's I've ever come across. I see a lot of influence from other fics here also, in good ways.

The only downsides were in the first third of the book - after reaching the Flamels' house, it became a little saccharine and stagnant, and when he goes back for holidays it's still very lovey-lovey, which doesn't contrast well with the slightly more gritty and pragmatic main story arc - but it has for the most part developed excellently. As I said somewhere else, you write conflict a lot better than sentiment. As always, I love a well thought out plot.

You also have a very easy confidence with how you understand and express the mechanics of HP magic; you don't feel the need to overexplain everything, nor to reiterate how spell A has effect B, and so on. You're also managing to create some interesting and original spells.

My only language criticism is the use of the word 'Fall' in place of 'Autumn', but that's predominently nit-picking and I've yet to come across an author from the US who gets that one right when writing about British subjects.

So - a very comfortable 4.5/5, and I am eagerly awaiting your updates.

 

Just uploaded the new chapter to FF.net, which weighs in at 15k words.

Pomegranate:
Thanks for the kind words.

I got the idea for the chapter titles from Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt. In an interview, when answering a question people complaining about their song lengths (usually in the 8 - 13 minute range), he answered that he really doesn't consider them songs, but movements. The idea stuck.

Striking a balance between plot velocity and character interaction is something I struggle with every chapter.

Ashaya:
Thanks.

I do believe I'm doing some things that haven't really been done before in FF, which is something I find important, and I'm glad you enjoy that.

Yeah, character interaction is something I struggle with. Hopefully with time I get better at it.

Progress is slow, but I do think about this story every day, and usually have at least one new idea a day. More than anything, it's frustrating that I can't skip straight to the year two finale. The stuff I have planned for it...if it comes out right, it's going to be something a lot of people are going to like.

Grinning Lizard:
Thanks. Flint is fun to work with, one of the characters I have the easiest time writing.

I'm working on getting better with sunshine, but conflict has always been my forte.

Might be a while until the next update. I'd really like to make an effort to get the next chapter of 'The Unforgiving Minute' finished up before I continue with this, but as always, time shall tell.

 

Hmm why the long time between finishing the chapter in WBA and posting it on FF net?

Anyways, I just noticed this thread has 4/5 stars instead of the 5/5 it deserves. That's criminal.

5/5

 

You tease! Stop thinking and just get to writing.

I really need to drop you a full review some time, but for now I'll leave it at great story man, can't wait to see more.

 

The year two finale of Sitra Ahra has been posted. Almost 24k words in length, it's a beast.

Most of you have probably already caught this in the WbA, but for those who haven't, enjoy.

 

23,683, now that's a proper chapter lenght :awesome

I just skiped over it and this one probably needs a fix, though on a second thought it is Neville, but still his casting did produce result, so it should be a typo

 

So after dropping this at chapter 20 for some bizarre reason I can't remember anymore, I went and finished this today. "Stupedy", lol. Can't wait for the resolution.

The only thing that bugged me was

Spoiler

Ron's reaction - he seemed far too coherent after everything that had happened.

Also, it may just be me but it seems that the quality of your writing is much higher in your other works than it is here. Sole Survivor, Ouroborus, and the super-duper secret thingy all have much stronger prose, better characterizations and interactions, sharper descriptions, etc.

 

Well, just read the entire thing in under 2 days, I think that that should be an indication of how much I enjoyed it. The beginning was a bit slow admittedly, but it was also laid a great ground work for the rest of the story. I also thought that once Hogwarts started up it really got to the point where I couldn't stop reading.

You're gradual characterization of Harry becoming less sure of magic is spot on. I also think that you did an admirable job of believably describing what it might be like for him in Slytherin and the trials he would have to deal with. Flint is awesome.

My biggest concern really would have to be the update rates and how long the story is. It's 300k words and year two just ended. I really enjoy all the detail that goes into it, but it is a bit worrying for how long it could take to complete it. Overall a fantastic job though, 5/5

 

Clearly VotN is going to finish in five years or so.

cough cough

In all seriousness, elvin has a point. I don't begrudge you working on your other projects at all, as they're all fabulous as well, but you may want to speed the pace up a bit. There aren't exactly any extraneous scenes in your writing, but I feel like you devote certain scenes exclusively to one objective, whether it's character development, interpersonal relationship development, advancing the plot, etc. If you perhaps integrate some of them together in the future, you could ramp up the speed a little. There's nothing wrong with having a long story (or even a long-running one - see CR, lol) but leaving a masterpiece like this unfinished would be unfortunate

 

To be fair, Unforgiving Minute looks like it's in the closing stages now, which will give Voice more time to put his writing elves into overdrive on Sitra Ahra (it's the only way he can be producing so much so often, I swear).

 

I liked the story, but it had many flaws in my opinion. I'd rate it 3/5. It was good enough to finish, but holy hell was it long and bland. It took me two attempts to actually get through it all. The first time was some 6 months ago, and I got bored a chapter or two before Harry started Hogwarts. The second time, I finished it, but it took me around two weeks.

It's a very polarized fic. Everything is done to the extremes, and overdone in most cases. This story has some of the most violent and hateful pre-teens i've ever seen, I was almost repulsed by how some of the characters could even think and act in the way they did.

There are many things I liked in the fic, but it's usually more helpful to point out the things I didn't like.

Firstly; The whole 'fireborn' and secret vatican society and the people who trained Harry and locked his memories up... it just bogs the story down, and I honestly think if the whole idea was cut that the story would be a whole lot better. Slytherin!Harry is a good enough idea on it's own, and you are a talented author. It just seems like an arbitrary idea to make a super!Harry (as if living with the Flamels wasn't enough). And, I don't know if it's coincidence or not, but this is one of those fics with actually categorization of 'Light' and 'Dark' magic, and I'm not a huge fan of that. Magic's magic. Hell, it took 20 chapters just for someone to mention that there are other ways to kill than with dark magic. I guess the inner school light/dark conflict is suppose to parallel the vatican/cult conflict, but to be honest, I think they're both pretty pointless, same with the idea of dark and light families. There is enough interesting conflict without it. There is a point to where their is too much going on, we are 300k+ words and only just finishing book 2.

You also had the bad habit of giving away the ending to the conflicts before they reached their logical conclusion. This happened a lot during the first year, especially with the Voldemort interlude. That interlude really should have happened during the summer and it would have been a lot more interesting, but as it is, we essentially knew the outcome of book one with it, and were just reading about Harry figuring it out, which really wasn't all that exciting. You telegraphed way too many actions, and set up a lot of scenes way too easily (Hermione conveniently being sick when Quirrel goes to the infirmary? And Hermione conveniently forgetting her book, going back for it, and getting taken down into the chamber.) And that extends to actions during dialogue as well. Their was no suspense through the first year.

And on the topic of the first year... Damn, you can write some very heedlessly violent characters. I'm glad Draco and friends were out of the picture for at least a year, because reading about them was tedious. They were rabid, as was everyone else gunning for Harry.

Year two was slightly better, with pretty much the same theme. Instead of trying to figure out Quirrel, we were trying to figure out Lockhart. I did like the conclusion of both though. I liked Snape fighting Voldemort, and I liked Harry nearly killed Lockhart. I sighed in relief when you didn't have Harry get obliviated. Its frustrating to read when that happens (Mira Mirth's story), so I'm glad it didn't.

The conflict with Cormac + Ron was shown too early I feel, at the end of the first year. You essentially just replaced Draco with Ron, and it wasn't real enjoyable to read. You have a knack for writing needlessly violent and vindictive characters. I will admit though, that I had forgotten about the Diary until the Myrtle scene, but my thought was then if the whole thing was a charade, and by everyone focusing on Harry, no one was focused on the bigger picture, and that's the CoS and Riddle.

On top of all this, the political stuff is some of the worst I've ever read, none of it made sense, even in the illogical state of the wizarding world. You could have thought some of it through to make it seemed more reasonable and realistic. Somehow, with the politics as your wrote them, their world hasn't fallen apart yet. It just shouldn't work with the way its written. How anything gets done, and how no one every gets their shit called out on is beyond me. And what's even worse is knowing that the political stuff isn't over with, with the brief mentions of Sirius Black. Uhg. I am curious if there is another parallel between the warden hating traitors and Ron from the last chapter hating traitors, and where exactly that fits in with vatican group

My favorite character is probably Flint. I guess that goes to show how little I thought of the other characters. Harry is not very consistent, and his actions and thought processes didn't seem very reasonable, and felt more forced with trying to fit into the conflicts you want him to face.

A lot of the story elements were just way too convenient. Such as the whole seer visiting Harry thing, and showing him what would have happened, it just seemed like a cheap trick to separate Harry from Dumbledore, but as a reader, I don't really see a reason why Harry shouldn't trust him. You've written Harry as if he hasn't learned from his mistakes, as if he can't just think things through. He saw what happened first hand when he doesn't get help; People die. It happens a few times in y2, and at the end, some illogical reasoning prevents them from telling Snape about the Basilisk. I don't buy the convenience of 'they didn't do nothing that they can be blamed for' I just call bullshit on that. I mean, you've got Lockhart talking about medusas, Harrying being a parselmouth, a mystery monster of Slytherin's petrifying people, it's not that hard to go out on a limb and just talk with the guy instead of just bending over for everyone and not having an independent thought. You've laid all the pieces out already, and just waiting for Harry to figure it out is not all the exciting. Just getting the irrational hatred and violence to stop would be a lot more fulfilling as a reader than figuring out the petrifications with the way its been portrayed, and that may very well have been done on purpose.

And a small note; the swearing. I get why its there, but it's out of place most of the time. Sure, Flint yelling obscenities every other words makes sense and fits with the character you made for him, but it doesn't make sense for Harry who was raised decently by the Flamels. It doesn't really make the story more grittier.

So yeah, I'm sort of dissapointed with the story. It could have been a lot better, and I know you've got the talent for it, along with a heap of people helping you.

One suggestion is that the story doesn't have to be bulky to be good. There's a lot of excess in the story that don't serve a purpose, and don't really drive the plot. You had a whole chapter dedicated to Dean informing Harry about a polyjuice incident, but nothing came from it. It was frustrating to read.

Also, you tend to go the to very extremes with descriptions and actions. You've gone to great lengths to describe a lot, but then you come up with random throw away characters that just don't fit in. Like the Slytherins at the Quidditch trials, how do those 'hopefuls' really exist in the bloodthirsty house you cultivated extremely carefully? also, those two random first years that no one recognized, being taunted by Cormac... really? three months into the semester, and Cormac messing with snakes, that just waves a red flag all over the place. A lot of it just doesn't make sense. Sure, it Cormac could have been possessed by the diary and talking to the snakes, and the two first years were actually polyjuiced, but thats still pointless

I still liked the story, don't get me wrong. If I didn't like it I wouldn't have finished it. There's just a lot of work that could be done to make it a lot better. The plot needs more consistency, less polarizing actions, and more suspense. And most of all, it just needs to make sense, and a lot of it just boggles the mind. A lot of the actions/reactions don't match what's actually written. At least I managed to go the whole way without using the words cliche or contrivances, because even without blatant usages of both, this story had a lot going against it.

I think the second year was definitive the better of the two. It kept the reader guessing more than the first, the actions scenes in the last chapter were great, and you brought together a lot of the minor details from earlier, such as the spells he learned from Nick seeing use in the basilisk fight. I didn't mind Hermione dying, as I thought it was fairly obvious that it was going to happen eventually with the way her luck was going (but having her not actually die was a let down). The actual conclusion wasn't as surprising as I thought. The butterbeer thing was fairly obvious, because you made it a point to point it out. It wasn't disguised enough. And it is somewhat welcoming that my guess about the mindslave potion I wrote in the ffn review turned out to be right. It's good that you use elements from past chapters to wrap the story up, and its the small details like that that I like to read about. Predicting a story is fun when its not to obvious, and the second year fared better in that regards. You did it well, but following Harry on his adventure was frustrating most of the time.

Regardless of my inane and probably incoherent ramblings, I'm looking forward to the next chapter. I hope this review came out exactly what it is; my opinion. It may have been a bit spiteful or hateful, but I tried to be constructive, and I do like a lot of your other works. A massively long story requires a massively long review.

 

The Twenty-Seventh Movement has been posted. Would a moderator care to un-label the story as 'Abandoned'?

I'm also re posting the chapter-by-chapter summary here, so if non-members want to see it, they'll have access. Answers to people's questions at the way bottom.


-

Sitra Ahra Summarization

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Preludium: October 31, 1981

On a seemingly idyllic Halloween night, the Fidelius Charm protecting the Potter residence is compromised. The Potters try to escape, but every method of magical travel has been shut off to them, imprisoning them in their home, which is being assaulted by Voldemort.

James Potter does his best, but it not skilled enough to defeat the Dark Lord. He is able to buy a few minutes for his wife, Lily, to run upstairs with their child, Harry, grasped in her arms. After a short duel, Voldemort kills James and heads upstairs to finish the remaining Potters.

Using her bought time, Lily locked herself in Harry’s bedroom, activating its wards. This provides her enough time to perform a vaguely described ritual involving ancient runes drawn in blood. Upon completion, Voldemort hammers down the wards and murders Lily, before approaching Harry’s crib. He casts another killing curse at Harry, only to have the curse absorbed, as unintelligible whispers emit from empty air. Voldemort, in fear, tries to flee, but the killing curse is rebounded back at him, magnified tenfold, destroying him.

Wormtail, waiting outside, sees half of the upper floor of the home destroyed, just as waves of agony emit from the Dark Mark, which is an angry crimson. He deduces that Voldemort is dead, and flees the property. As he does, he spies mysterious cloaked figures approaching the home.

At the Leaky Cauldron, Sirius receives Lily’s desperate call for help. As quickly as he can he makes it to Godric’s Hollow, to find both of the elder Potters dead, and Harry missing.

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Arc I: The Child, the Ring and the Wand

First Movement: February 10, 1990 – August 20, 1990

On a quiet, lonely road running through the Bedfordshire county, a muggle police officer happens upon a catatonic child walking along the shoulder. His clothes are smudged with smoke, as if he’s escaped from a burning house. A lightning-bolt scar adorns his forehead. The policeman calls to see if there’s any reports of fires, but there are none. Unable to get a response from the young boy, he puts him in his police cruiser and drives away.

Nymphodora Tonks, following graduation from Hogwarts, interviews for an internship position with the Department of Muggleborn Education. Using information provided by the DMLE, they track underage, muggleborn witches and wizards exhibiting signs of accidental magic. Tonks is offered the job on the spot, which she accepts.

In the Headmaster’s office at Hogwarts, Snape reveals to Dumbledore that after nearly ten years of silence, the Dark Mark has awakened. Snape promises to find out how, before taking his leave. Processing the information, Dumbledore wonders if it connects at all to Harry Potter, who is still missing, yet alive, since the Potter vaults are still sealed.

Tonks arrives at a muggle orphanage, which the DMLE claims is housing a muggleborn magical child using large amount of accidental magic. She is shocked to find that the child is Harry Potter. Before alerting anyone, she goes upstairs to his room to meet him. Their seemingly innocuous meeting takes a change for the worse when Harry attacks her. With surprise on his side, the young child scalps, and then kills her.

It is revealed that Harry is not in control, but under the influence of the shade of Voldemort’s soul contained within Slytherin’s ring. Using Tonks’ murder, he creates another Horcrux.

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Second Movement: October 29, 1981 – August 27, 1990

Three days prior to Halloween’s events at Godric’s Hollow, Voldemort concludes a meeting of his Inner Circle within Malfoy Manor, after which he has a private audience with Lucius. The Dark Lord hands him the Riddle diary, then reveals Pettigrew as one of his servants, and makes him the binder as Lucius is coerced into an Unbreakable Vow. Voldemort has a contingency plan in the event of his failure to destroy the Potters.

Nine years later, Lucius Malfoy sits in his study. He has tried to claim the Potter vaults, through distant lineage, but failed. This leads him to believe Harry Potter is still alive, and thus must act. He goes down into his secret Dark Artifacts trove, and withdraws Voldemort’s letter, which gives him instructions of how to obtain Slytherin’s ring from the Gaunt cottage, and to send the ring to Harry Potter, as it will kill him. Lucius, though apprehensive, does as bidden.

At the muggle orphanage, Harry Potter is delivered the ring by owl. Thinking it’s a family heirloom, he puts it on.

Simultaneous to Tonks’ murder, Harry wakes up in his own mind. He has ‘shaped’ his mind, locking part of himself in his mind, protecting him from being completely consumed by Gaunt’s ring. The creation of the Horcrux wakes him up. He has sensory links to the outside world, and sees himself carving runic symbols into stone, within the room at the orphanage.

A week later, a figure uses Polyjuice and bits of Tonks’ hair to disguise themselves, Flooing to Dumbledore’s office. ‘Tonks’ alerts Dumbledore she’s found Harry Potter at a muggle orphanage. Dumbledore takes his leave to pursue Harry, while ‘Tonks’ is revealed to be Narcissa Malfoy, who prepares herself for one more task.

Using this information, Dumbledore makes his way to the orphanage, meeting Harry Potter. The Headmaster is dismayed when the meeting occurs in the exact same fashion his first encounter with Tom Riddle went. At this point, Voldemort reveals himself, saying that he hasn’t been able to consume Harry’s soul, but it’s only a matter of time.
Thus begins their duel.

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Third Movement: August 27, 1990 – August 28, 1990

Dumbledore and ‘Harry’, under the control of the soul fragment encased in Slytherin’s ring, duel. Using ward-based attacks comprised of Parseltongue runes and the unfortunate arrival of an innocent bystander used as a hostage, Voldemort gains the upper hand, disarming Dumbledore. As Voldemort sets up for the kill, the dark green, merciless eyes change in shade, and the wand is lowered.

Harry comes forward and temporarily regains control of his body, giving Dumbledore his wand back and explaining how the ring possessed him. However, the soul fragment follows Harry into his mind, and takes physical form, demanding to know how and why Voldemort’s killing curse failed to kill him as a child. Harry knows, but the memories are locked behind impenetrable doors, the code to the doors locked in a vault. With nothing left to gain, the soul fragment begins to torch the landscape within Harry’s mind.

Dumbledore recognizes the ring as once belonging to Tom Riddle, and begins to understand that the ring is probably a Horcrux. He tries to pry it off, but is concerned that the ring might try to kill Harry if he takes it off. As Harry’s mind begins to be torched by the fragment, Dumbledore acts and rips the finger off his hand, causing Harry to pass out.

After bringing Harry to St. Mungo’s, Dumbledore sits down with the head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones. Explains the situation to her, and how they’ve finally found Harry Potter. They deduce that the Horcrux would have needed accomplices, if nothing else for the raw materials it used to try to kill Dumbledore. It appears that Death Eaters are once again active.

Octavius Pepper, a Wizarding banker, is enjoying a drink at the Leaky Cauldron. He strikes up conversation with a witch, sharing a few drinks, before getting a room. Inside, the woman is revealed to be Narcissa Malfoy, before she places Octavius under the Imperius Curse.

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Fourth Movement: August 9, 1990 – August 31, 1990

Prior to the duel at the Orphanage, Harry, under control of the Horcrux, makes a visit to Malfoy Manor. He orders the Malfoys to set a few actions in motion, which includes falsified paperwork attesting to Accidental Magic usage at Stonewall Orphanage and ensuring the most incompetent worker in Muggleborn Education is assigned to the case. ‘Harry’ says he will kill the agent, and take her hair. Narcissa will use Polyjuice and the assumed identity of the worker to alert Dumbledore that Harry Potter has been found, to infiltrate the DMLE, securing Voldemort’s old wand, and to kill Amelia Bones.

Dumbledore goes to see his old friends, Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel, at their estate. He drops off the Horcrux for safekeeping, and they speak of with Voldemort’s soul-fragment destroyed, they now have a chance to destroy the Dark Lord. They also agree to provide a quiet haven for Harry to heal once he is released from St. Mungo’s.

In the burning remnants of his mind’s landscape, Harry slowly begins to gain his sense of self back.

Octavius Pepper, under Narcissa’s Imperious Curse, while in disguise as Tonks, break into the DMLE. Octavius botches the plan from the start, forcing them to kill their DMLE mole, William Flint. They then enter the DMLE Artifact Storage, torturing the location of Voldemort’s wand from the clerk.

Amelia Bones, in her office, questions Charlotte Lewis, the head of Muggleborn Education, whether she played any role in the plot to kill Dumbledore. Once she is freed from suspicion, through conversation, Amelia figures out that it was Tonks that was the source of the leak. She calls Aurors into their office, preparing to storm Artifact Storage.

Narcissa finds the wand and is able to fight her way out of the Ministry, though just barely. She escapes with Voldemort’s wand, though Octavius is left behind, the Imperius Curse having broken down.

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Arc II: Isle of the Immortals

Fifth Movement: September 1, 1990 – September 15, 1990

Harry is within his mind, cut off from any sensory feedback from the world. All the knowledge that he once held is gone, locked away in the vault. He hid it to prevent Voldemort from taking it, but now has no way to access it. While he decides his next step, he hears the song of the phoenix, which helps him make the decision to leave the confines of his mind.

He awakes to morning sunlight, with the phoenix that called him back sitting on the windowsill. Harry gets up from the bed and meets Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel, and discovers that he in their manor, off the northern coast of France. His body is still tired from the ordeal, however, and he goes back to sleep.

The next time Harry awakes it is night. He knows that if staying with the Flamels’ is going to be a temporary measure, he has to act normal, as if most of his memories had not just vanished As dawn breaks, the Flamels show him to what is going to be his room during his stay at their home. He then has breakfast with them, before Nicolas brings him to his personal Potions lab.

Nicolas describes a great deal of the Wizarding world, including Hogwarts and its classes, the Ministry and that the Flamels have always dedicated themselves to the Light. A good deal of this Harry already knows, though he cannot say where he learned it. Starting from the basics, Nicolas begins to teach Harry about potions and the art of brewing.

Later that day, they receive an owl from Dumbledore, requesting a meeting. Harry agrees to it, but wants to do as soon as possible, which is granted. He is fascinate by the wizard, and shares a certain amount of guilt for the Horcrux possessing him almost killing Dumbledore.

Harry meets with Dumbledore. At first he tries to hide the fact that he has knowledge of magic, but his ruse is seen through quickly. Harry explains that he has to trust in himself in the huge decision that was made. That if doctors tried to look into his mind, something bad could happen. Dumbledore assures him that no one will look into his mind, and offers to let him watch as he and Nicolas destroy the Horcrux.

Dumbledore and Nicolas set up the destruction of the ring, using basilisk venom. It is explained that with an anchor to this world, Voldemort is able to linger in spirit form, perhaps able to possess people, as the Horcrux did, but once it’s gone, Voldemort will be vulnerable. When the ring is destroyed, hideous screams echo out, splitting through Harry’s head…though he is the only one that can hear them.

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Interludium I

An inter-departmental DMLE report, from 1997, details the findings of an unregistered magical dwelling in Somerset County, where a neglected runic configuration has exploded, nearing burning the cabin down. The cabin is deserted, the only item of interest being a scrapbook filled with articles about Undesirable #1, Harry Potter, spanning from early 1990 to the tragic events of late spring, 1992.

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Sixth Movement: January 10, 1991

An unnamed assailant upon a broom breaks through the wards surrounding the Flamel Estate.

Harry has found that he cannot get more than four hours of sleep per night, no matter how tired. In the middle of the night, he rises to raid the library for material. As he does, he hears the intruder enter. Limey, the house-elf, tries to subdue the intruder, but is killed in the process. Harry tries to duel the intruder, but is overmatched. Moments away from defeat, Nicolas arrives, saves Harry and stuns the intruder.

With Dumbledore present, Nicolas interrogates the would-be thief with Veritaserum. It is discovered the intruder is a drone, his memory wiped clean, molded into a servant. He doesn’t know his Master’s name; only that he needed to steal of Sorcerer’s Stone. While Dumbledore examines the thief, the Flamels reveal that while the Sorcerer’s Stone has allowed for long life, it also made them sterile. Dumbledore then reveals that the magic used on the thief bears Voldemort’s mark. He’s back.

The next day, Nicolas theorizes that while Voldemort may not be able to take physical form, he may be able to influence people, and would use the Elixir of Life to restore his body. The Stone is to be moved away from Flamel Manor, but Harry is not convinced of his safety, saying he needs to be able to fight. The Flamels then agree to help train him, though they warn that if he shows up to Hogwarts with such a high skill level, it may give some legitimacy to the rumors that he may be a budding Dark Lord.

Nicolas takes Harry to ‘The Shrine’, which houses the wands of wizards long-departed, and of enemies defeated. Harry begins to test wands, and finds one with high compatibility.

Within the dueling room, Nicolas teaches Harry about magic, which in unformed, chaotic, beyond definition. It is only one’s mind that can be ordered. Also speaks to why most spells are spoken in Latin, why wand movements are important, and magical cores. Harry has no trouble with simple spells or transfiguration, meaning that he has performed magic before. A lot of it, a fact he should endeavor to hide when attending Hogwarts.

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Seventh Movement: April 29, 1991 – August 1, 1991

Harry is being taught the shield charm by Nicolas, who put forth the theory that it is better to have mastery of five spells than minimal knowledge of thirty. Harry is progressing quickly, mastering spells far more quickly that Nicolas would have expected.

The Delacour family visits Flamel Manor, meets Harry. Despite Fleur’s obvious lack of enthusiasm, she is made to accompany Harry as he makes a tour of the grounds. She uses her Veela charm on him, to try to make him go away, but Harry calls her out, and they exchange a few spells. Harry comes out on top, earning a modicum of respect from the young teenage girl. He wants to duel her, to prove his skill, but she dismisses the notion, saying she will not cross wands with a little boy.

Dumbledore and the Flamels have convened for Harry’s birthday. They discuss how he is going to Hogwarts, and how he will claim he grew up in the Muggle world to avoid questions about his past. Harry is gifted with his father’s invisibility cloak, along with a Nimbus 1500. He is then taught how to fly, which he picks up on immediately.

Harry travels to Diagon Alley for his Hogwarts shopping trip. It is known that the Ministry is hunting him, so the stops will be kept to a minimum. The first stop is Ollivander’s, where when he finds the holly and phoenix wand, fire erupts from the tip. He then goes to Eeyclops and buys Hedwig. On his way out, he sees a tall, blonde witch who recognizes him, freezing in her tracks. Perenelle quickly apparates him out of Diagon Alley. When asked who she was, Harry has no idea.

News of Harry’s reappearance quickly spreads across Britain. Dumbledore reveals that the woman was Narcissa Malfoy, and through contacts in Gringotts, he discovered that Lucius tried to claim the Potter vaults. It was most likely him that sent Harry Slytherin’s ring. Also, the Ministry might try to foster him with a British Wizarding family. To combat this, Harry will become a citizen of France, and the Flamels will become his legal guardians. If Hogwarts bans him, he will attend Beauxbatons.

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Arc III: The Curse of Knowlege

Eighth Movement: September 1, 1991

Knowing that the entrance to Platform 9 ¾ will be watched by the Ministry Militia, Harry and the Flamels dress in muggle attire and feign ignorance with the invisible entrance. This act gets them past the lookout without being seen.

Harry says his goodbyes to the Flamels and boards the train, taking a compartment at the back and undoing the glamours. Tracey Davis, a muggleborn witch, is the first to share his cabin, Neville and Hermione. Tracey seems to have apprehension about the magical world, mentioning how it doesn’t seem to really want Muggleborns there. After the sweets cart comes, Malfoy makes his scheduled appearance, generally making an ass of himself before storming off with Crabbe and Goyle in tow.

Upon arriving at Hogwarts, Hagrid leads the first-years across the lake and up to the entrance to the main hall, where McGonagall takes over. She leads the first-years into the Great Hall, where the Sorting begins. When the Sorting Hat speaks mentally to Harry, its jovial nature turns to horror when it sees what lies buried deep within Harry’s mind. It wonders aloud if he’s one of the Fireborn, and says he needs to be tough as possible to survive what is coming, so therefore he is sorted into Slytherin. As one final parting, it warns Harry to never open the vault. Harry joins Tracey at the Slytherin table, drawing glares of dislike from Gryffindor.

During the feast, Harry notices several professors staring intently at him, and a brief flame of pain from his scar. After, Dumbledore announces Quirrell, a sharly dressed wizard with short brown hair, introduced as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. After the feast is dismissed, the Slytherin prefect assigned with leading the first years speeds off. Harry and Tracey almost get left behind, to the general delight of the other Slytherins, save Millicent and a quiet boy, who seem separate from the rest.

In the Slytherin Common Room, Terrence Higgs, a prefect, gives the first years a callous overview of what is expected from them. Not impressed, Harry goes to the first year male dormitory, where he is mocked by Blaise Zabini. Ignoring it, he hears female screams from the Common Room. Running back out, he sees Tracey and Pansy engaged in an argument. Pansy has dragged Tracey’s trunk out, claiming she won’t share a room with a Mudblood. With a crowd growing around them, Tracey punches Pansy. Draco tries to intervene, and him and Harry start arguing back and forth. When a hand roughly grabs Harry from behind, he moves without thinking, taking Higgs to the ground, embarrassing the Prefect, ending the confrontation. As the crowd disperses, Tracey mentions it’s nice to have a friend here.

At night, Harry dreams of a disembodied voice, mocking him about the knowledge he ran from, locking it deep inside his head. When he awakes, there are tear stains on his pillow, though he cannot recall why.

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Ninth Movement: September 2, 1991

Unable to sleep more than a few hours, Harry ventures into the common room, finding Tracey there. Harry correctly guesses that her problems with purebloods started before Hogwarts. She confirms this, saying a Ministry official paid her a visit after she started practicing magic in her room. Her father, a muggle police officer, disarmed the wizard and placed him in handcuffs, before pitching him off the front stoop.

After breakfast, Snape hands them their schedules, during which Harry notices the Potions Professor doesn’t like him much. They make formal introduction to Millicent Bulstrode, before exploring the school before their first class, Magical Ethics. They run into Hermione and Neville, and find a secret passage, running into the Weasley Twins, who do not share the ire Ron Weasley seems to possess towards Slytherin.

Magical Ethics turns out to be a joke, not even treated seriously by their teacher, Professor Charity Burbage. She makes them read from their books, and doesn’t seem to care when people stop reading. The book is little more than Ministry propaganda. Millicent proves herself in direct opposition to Draco, laughing loudly when Tracey makes fun of him.

Defense Against the Dark Arts proves to be far more interesting, where the stern, captivating Professor Quirrell questions the class about the Dark Arts, mentioning that Rowena Ravenclaw was a Dark witch, but not evil. The danger of the Dark Arts is the potential for corruption, thus one must learn to walk the thin line, using proper discipline.

Before Potions class there is an argument between Gryffindor and Slytherin, during which Ron makes the claim that Harry is preparing to take You-Know-Who’s place. Snape then arrives, quelling the argument and taking points from Gryffindor. Harry and Tracey partner up and receive their assigned potion. Harry completes it quickly, but is chastised by Snape for straying from the instructions, and forced to start over, though loses no points. After, Harry offers to give Neville flying lessons.

At breakfast on Saturday, Harry receives a letter from Quirrell inviting him to ‘a unique opportunity’ next Wednesday. Tracey and Millicent also receive a letter.

On Monday, Madam Hooch gives the first-years flying lessons. Neville doesn’t embarrass himself, due to the lesson Harry gave on Saturday. Harry and Tracey verbally spar with Malfoy during the lesson, until he loses his cool and flings a stinging hex at Tracey. Harry is quick with a shield, redirecting it back into his face. Draco runs off, and Nott covers for Harry, claiming Draco hit himself in the face while trying to curse Harry.

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Tenth Movement: September 10, 1991 – October 18, 1991

Harry knows that Draco will be seeking revenge at some point, so he sleeps with wand in hand. Tuesday night, in the dead of night, he hears their whispers. It’s on. He hears them cast a night vision spell. Harry reacts with a simple light spell, blinding his would-be assailants. He kicks Draco a few times, saying this is his last warning, before leaving the dormitory behind.

At breakfast the next morning, Harry approaches the Slytherin Quidditch Captain, Marcus Flint, about tryouts. Flint says he doesn’t care if Harry wants to tryout, and then tells him the time.

On Wednesday night Harry and Tracey go to Quirrell’s the DADA classroom. Students from several other Houses are they, save for Gryffindor. Daphne and Blaise are also in attendance. The meeting is to gauge interest in an Advanced DADA class, for students ahead of the curve. To demonstrate, he casts the Silencing Spell on Harry, at which he feels slight pain. Quirrell allows Harry to do the same for him, and then the entire class practices the spell. On their way back from the class, prefect Percy Weasley accosts them. Harry talks back, and the prefect says he’s going to have his eyes on Harry.

At Slytherin Quidditch tryouts, Flint chooses his Beaters by inflicting physical violence. The two left standing, Derrick and Bole, win the spots. For the Seeker tryouts, Flint has the hopefuls line up in the air, and try to catch a snitch while the rest of them team is launching bludgers at them. After Harry wins the snitch, Flint declares him captain. Draco, sporting a broken foot, claims he and Flint had a deal. Flint spits and says fuck your deal. Draco then promises vengenance against Harry for stealing his spot.

Having conceded History of Magic as a waste of time, Harry and Tracey spend the class in the back, working on other materials. Millicent joins in as Harry successfully casts a Privacy Charm.

Brief overview of the next month. Despite the odd, occasional pain in his scar when Quirrell raised a wand against him, the DADA professor was proving to be the most popular, and interesting, among the first-years.

In a mid-October Potions class, Snape chastises him for talking during class, and forces him to switch partners, pairing him with Ron Weasley. The Gryffindor is not pleased and is hostile at first, but as the class progresses, Ron slowly becomes more civil, actually questioning whether the Daily Prophet’s claims of Harry being a potential Dark Lord had any merit. Out of the corner of his eyes he sees Draco working a Levitation Charm. Too late he sees something drop into his cauldron. It ignites, splattering Harry and eliciting painful boils. Harry suspects Snape played a role in the attack, and storms off towards the Infirmary.

After visiting the Infirmary, Harry goes to Dumbledore’s office. The Headmaster refutes his claim that Snape helped, saying it far more likely that Draco was merely biding his time. He goes on to explain that after the incident with Draco at the flying lesson, Lucius Malfoy pushes the Hogwarts Board of Governors to suspend Harry. Harry admits to what he did, but says he was protecting Tracey. Dumbledore suspected that may have been the case, which is why he defended Harry. With the new information, he should be able to make Lucius’ claim disappear.

Dumbledore goes on to say that the Ministry was supporting Lucius’ claim. He says the Minister Fudge has been adamant about extracting Harry for questioning. The Headmaster claims that Fudge is a vain, ruthless opponent, who has succeeded in building a corrupt Ministry fiercely loyal to him. At that point, one of the portraits comes to life, saying to seventh-year students have broken into the third-floor corridor. Dumbledore excuses himself to see to the unexplained problem, leaving Harry alone with the Sorting Hat. Harry tries to get the combination to the vault from the Sorting Hat, but it refuses, saying the knowledge locked within could drive Harry insane. It urges Harry to let it go, who refuses, saying he cannot.

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Eleventh Movement: October 25, 1991 – December 23, 1991

Studying in the Slytherin Common Room with Tracey, Harry leaves for his scheduled detention with Snape. Once there, he is given a barrel of toads to disembowel. Being sorted into Slytherin has not endeared the Potions Master to Harry at all.

Unable to sleep, Harry roams the school at night, using a footstep tracking spell to find the Hogwarts kitchens. He runs into the Weasley twins down there, who find the rumors about him amusing. He warns them that Flint might be looking to hurt people during the match.

The day of the match. Despite his warning to the Weasley twins, the Gryffindor quidditch team is unprepared for the brutality of their tactics. Slightly embarrassed to be on the same team, Harry catches the snitch before too much blood is spilt.

During the next advanced DADA class, Harry teaches Zacharias Smith the mechanics behind the Stunner, goes into a little magical theory. After the class is dismissed, Harry stays back to talk to Quirrell. They talk in his office, which is barren, showing no signs of personality. Harry asks why he’s hosting the extra class, and Quirrell says that Britain is seeing a slow decline in Wizarding skills due to Ministry-approved curriculum frustrating the growth of wizards. Quirrell says he wants students to achieve greatness. As Harry leaves the office, he is hit by a slight dizziness, but it passes quickly. On the way back to the Slytherin dormitories, Percy catches him out. Harry has a note, but it says the class ended at nine, and it is ten now. Harry is missing forty-five minutes.

Harry and his friends are studying in the library. Tracey mentions maybe Quirrell did something to Harry to cause his dizziness, which Hermione is opposed to. Harry doesn’t believe it either, saying Quirrell is on his side. Without warning an explosion rings outside the library. Harry and his friends go to investigate, to see Quirrell and Burbage levitating two stunned seventh-years to the Infirmary. Quirrell’s hand is bandaged heavily.

The explosion was described as two seventh-year students using an empty classroom as a potions lab, but Harry doesn’t buy it. He remembers what he heard in the Headmaster’s Office, and realizes Dumbledore is hiding something on the third-floor corridor. Could it be the Sorcerer’s Stone?

Back at Platform 9 ¾ Harry says goodbye to his friends, before looking for Perenelle. As he does, he notices Ministry Militia members converging on him, wands drawn. Harry runs down an alley, and into an abandoned building, where the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, is waiting for him. He tries to convince Harry that Dumbledore and the Flamels are working at the behest of the French government, and that the Ministry had nothing to do with the smear campaign waged by the Prophet. He then lets Harry go, saying that Harry will always have a place in Britain, and will help him as much as he needs.

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Twelfth Movement: December 23, 1991 – December 26, 1991

Harry and Perenelle apparate to the Flamel vacation home, in southeast France. Nicolas in incensed to learn that the Minister cornered Harry, especially after receiving assurances from Dumbledore that would not happen. Harry expresses interest in Warding, and Perenelle informs him that learning a second language is the first step. He can start with French

After presents and Christmas Day breakfast, the Flamels involve Harry in a Light, Flamel family ritual, where the youngest member of the family plants a new oak tree in a grove thousands of years old.

Dumbledore arrives to the Flamel vacation home Christmas night, speaking of the rift between himself and Minister Fudge, which eventually led to expanding the Ministry’s power base, the creation of the Ministry Militia and aligning himself with the Pureblooded aristocracy. If the Ministry had gotten their way, Harry most likely would have been fostered with the Malfoys. Snape is revealed as Death Eater. When Harry mentions his dizziness after meeting with Quirrell, Dumbledore immediately recognizes it as a poorly cast Memory Charm. Dumbledore rushes back to Hogwarts.

The next day it is revealed Charity Burbage committed suicide after failing to break through the last of the Stone’s protections. Quirrell claims he was under the Imperius Curse, and while under it stole the location of the Stone from Harry’s mind, giving it to Burbage. Unable to verify the tale, he will have two house-elves trailing Harry at all times. If Quirrell makes a move, Dumbledore will know immediately.

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Interludium II: October 31, 1981 – December 4, 1991

Voldemort, in wraith form, flees the ruins of Godric’s Hollow, unable to conceive how his Killing Curse could have backfired. He flees Britain, hiding in the shadows by day, ever moving east. He eventually arrives in Albania, entering a decaying stone temple surrounded by bones.

After seven years in the temple, Voldemort emerges and terrorizes a family, killing the youngest daughter, then using her liquefied brains as a base for the Mindslave Potion, and sends the son to drop it into the village well. The wife is a squib, and which allows him to cast weak magic when possessing her.

Quirrell enters Dumbledore’s office and resigns his post as Muggle Relations Professor to travel the world, in a bid to gain enough experience to apply for the DADA job. When discovering that Quirrell plans to travel to Albania, Dumbledore urges against it. Wizards seem to unexpectedly disappear there, and there are rumors even the Unspeakables fear the place.

After two months of searching, Quirrell thinks he has found the place, a deserted Muggle village. He spends the night as an empty hostel, plagued my deep nightmares. At night muggles ensnared by the Mindslave Potion attack and overwhelm him, before carrying him into the woods. As he is moved, he sees the town’s population moving and placing large black monoliths. Eventually he is dropped before a crumbling stone temple, out from which walks a woman with crimson, glowing eyes.

Two years later, wearing Quirrell like a skin, Voldemort inspects the newly-built outer temple, which is his part of a ‘bargain’. Then using the squib mother as a Secret-Keeper, he places the entire village under the Fidelius Charm.

Back in England, Quirrell discovers the ring has been taken from the Gaunt Cottage. He realizes that the world is changing, so that he may have to expand his recruiting to involve half-bloods.

In the DADA classroom, Quirrell enters Harry’s mind and is stunned to find his mind ‘shaped’. Potter is even more talented than he thought. Digging through the memories, he finds the location of the Stone, the destruction of Slytherin’s ring and a few other items. Before leaving, he begins to make plans for Potter, thinking he can be turned into a powerful servant.

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Thirteenth Movement: January 5, 1992 – March 20, 1992

On the train back to Hogwarts, Hermione reveals how hard she was hit by Burbage’s death. She also begins to suspect Quirrell plays a role, and swears to help if she can do anything.

At dinner Dumbledore makes a eulogy After, Tracey, Draco and Pansy have a minor confrontation. The Prefect Higgs tries to blame Harry, but Flint quells him, protecting his Seeker. Almost like an unofficial, psychotic bodyguard.

After the next DADA class, Harry is asked to stay back, but his friends won’t leave him alone with Quirrell. The professor is surprisingly pleased by that, saying he’s glad. They should not trust him; it was his responsibility to protect himself, and he failed.

Following a cold Quidditch practice, Harry takes a long shower, being the last to leave. On his way out, he is attacked by individuals in masks and dark cloaks. One of them is Malfoy, who runs away when things start to get too violent. Harry almost fights them off, but loses at the end. After several of his fingers are broken, Flint comes back and starts to clean house, nearly killing Higgs and chasing Pucey away as Harry passes out.

Harry wakes up in the Infirmary, his wounds healing. Flint and Higgs are suspended for the rest of the year. Malfoy was the one who warned Flint, supposedly on his way to find Snape. Harry has his doubts about the story.

When released, he has a talk with Draco, who admits to planning the entire attacks. Higgs just wanted in to share in the glory. In response Harry plays a really stupid, idiotically conceived prank. I’d be embarrassed to mention it here again.

Harry finds himself in attendance while the Weasley twins prank Percy, changing his hair color. Percy screams about Potter being responsible. The twins come to the conclusion Percy has a bit of a fixation.

Draco is plotting something. Harry deduces this and plans to turn the tables. Refusing the help of his friends, he enters the Slytherin Common Room, hoping to turn the tables on Draco’s impending prank.

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Fourteenth Movement: March 20, 1992 – June 1, 1992

Draco has all of Slytherin gathered in the Common Room when he attacks Harry, using a pendant that shields spells. He has also learned how to break shields. None of this enough, as Harry beats him soundly, before getting him to promise to leave Harry alone for the rest of the term…right as Snape walks in.

Dumbleore doesn’t think Harry dealt with the situation correctly, but says he will significantly decrease the number of detentions if he makes some sort of effort to reconcile with Draco.

As a gesture of goodwill, Harry returns the pendant to Draco, though the act seems to score him no points.

There is a small hearing about the situation in the Common Room, conducted by Algernon Longbottom and Edlyn Edgecombe, two people on the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Harry is cleared of any wrong-doing, but is clearly on Edgecombe’s bad side.

While studying in the library, Harry discovers one of the plants Perenelle was said to be growing for Dumbledore’s protections on the stone. Its weakness is an acid in the small intestine. Jokingly they say to be on the lookout for someone without guts.

Harry takes lead in the Slytherin-Hufflepuff game, winning a large victory. This earns him the respect of some of the other Slytherins.

Hermione, catching a cold from watching the game, goes to the Infirmary. There she overhears Quirrell claiming an overzealous student hit him with a cutting curse, slashing deep into his stomach. This confirms her suspicious about Quirrell wanting to get the Stone. She then runs off to tell Harry.

Harry is told. He makes the decision to go stall Quirrell, while his friends go alert Dumbledore of what’s about to happen.

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Fifteenth Movement: June 1, 1992

Harry runs to the DADA classroom, under the cloak. He thinks Quirrell in his office, so tries to seal him in there. When a spell hits him from behind, his failure is immediately clear.

Hermione and Neville, on their way to Dumbledore’s office, are ambushed by Draco and three of his Slytherin cronies. They disarm both of them, well short of reaching Dumbledore.

Tracey and Millicent go to the Potions classroom. They find Snape there, and tell him Quirrell is going after the Stone, and Harry is going to stall him. Snape orders the two girls to go to Dumbledore’s Office, before firing off a silver spell that disappears. As he runs off, the girls begin to make their way to the Headmaster’s Office.

Harry is bound to a chair. It was Percy who cursed him, believing he was playing a prank on Quirrell. Harry desperately tries to appeal to Percy for help, and even begins to sway his opinion, before Quirrell enters the room, and dismisses the Prefect. Percy starts to leave, but he instead decides to stay, saying it’s a Prefect’s responsibility. Harry even urges him along, but he won’t go, even when ordered by Quirrell. Making his decision, Quirrell murders the two house-evles shadowing Harry, before killing Percy. Harry tries to escape, but is hurt in the process. Oddly, Quirrell heals his wound. Harry thinks it’s because he is about to be used as a hostage to retrieve the Stone.

Tracey and Millicent run afoul of Malfoy and his crew, who are tormenting Hermione by conjuring mud upon her. A small battle breaks out, with Tracey eventually victorious, subduing all of Malfoy’s crew. Hermione, sick with the flu, passes out at the end and Millicent takes her to the Infirmary.

Quirrell forces Harry along, to the third-floor corridor. He breaks through the protections Dumbledore placed, gaining access to the room holding the Stone. Quirrell occasionally lapses into third person, suggesting someone else is in control. He reveals that he killed Burbage, using her to test the defenses. The final room is circular, with a dais in the center of a pool of water, which Quirrell cannot figure out how to cross. For some reason he takes Harry’s wand and throws it at the mirror in the center, but nothing happens.

Snape finds Percy’s body, draping a sheet over it, before going to the chamber holding the Stone. He duels Quirrell, defeating him, and black smoke pours from his body. As Quirrell loses, he becomes panicked, confused, wondering what’s going on. Harry stuns Snape before he can kill Quirrell, then uses the Stone to save Quirrell’s life. As Harry searches for an exit, the smoke goes into Snape and possesses him, trying to take the Stone back from Harry. Dumbledore arrives at this point, and defeats Snape. When the smoke goes after Dumbledore, leaving Snape’s body, he repels it. Dumbledore claims with his Horcrux gone, he will not risk destruction. Voldemort will be gone for the foreseeable future.

Harry wakes up in the Infirmary, the Flamels there to greet him. Due to Harry’s efforts, Quirrell survives. After thanking him for his effort, Harry goes to the Headmaster’s Office, where he finds out that Draco and his cronies have all been expelled for their attack upon Hermione. Also, despite the Sorting Hat’s wishes, they are going to go into Harry’s mind to check out the vault.

With the combination, Harry and Dumbledore enter the vault within his mind. Within is the black door from his nightmares, though it is locked. All the is available is a letter addressed to him, saying that when he wants answers, send out a letter bearing the symbol on the back of this one. Needless to say, Harry is disappointed.

Later the day, atop the Owlery, Harry arrives at the decision to send the letter. Despite the horrors that may lie within his mind, he needs to know.

In the final scene, Sylvia and Crowley, two unknown characters, receive Harry’s letter at their cabin.

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Arc IV: Corruption

Sixteenth Movement: June 24, 1992 – June 2, 1992

Dumbledore meets with Lucius Malfoy within the Headmaster’s Office, trying to use his political clout to prevent Draco from being expelled. Very quickly Lucius discovers, despite his explicit orders, his son has been feuding with Harry Potter all year, and has been given many chances by Dumbledore. The Headmaster refuses to overturn the expulsions, and recommends Draco attends Durmstrang, along with the three other Slytherin first-year students which will be expelled along with Draco.

Harry, back at the Flamel Estate, is brewing potions. He enjoys the craft, and it helps him to keep his mind off of Percy’s final moments, which have haunted his nightmares since leaving Hogwarts behind.

At breakfast the next morning, Harry receives a letter from Dumbledore, informing him of the four expulsions. Seeing that Dumbledore is attempting to make things better for Hermione, and to show that cruelty will not be tolerated, he decides that indeed he is going back to Hogwarts for his second year. He just has to convince the Flamels to let him.

Harry talks to the Flamels, making the case that with Voldemort and Draco both gone, Hogwarts is safer than ever. Besides, Dumbledore has woven new wards into Hogwarts, which should make it impossible for Voldemort to enter in wraith form. The Flamels eventually consent, with the condition that he tells them when something goes wrong.

During a dueling session with Nicolas, Harry tried to learn Summoners, though he doesn’t cast it the first try. Harry finds it odd, but Nicolas does not, saying that he is beginning to leave amateur-level magic behind, and is progressing upwards.

Quick look at a portion of the second-year Diagon Alley shopping trip, at Flourish and Blotts. When the reporters gathered at Gilderoy Lockhart’s press conference see Harry, they swarm him with questions. Lockhart talks to the bookstore manager, and has them leave. Harry suspects it was because Lockhart wanted all the press when he announced himself as a new Hogwarts professor.

A few days later Harry finally receives his reply, with a meeting place in mind. He’s finally going to learn about his past.

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Seventeenth Movement: August 24, 1992

In a rented room within the Leaky Cauldron, Harry, the Flamels and Dumbledore wait for the arrival of the people from his past. They turn out to be Sylvia and Crowley (the two people from the final scene of Arc III). Crowley is a wizard, specializing in the mental arts, while Sylvia is a squib, but possesses the Sight, which she cryptically labels as not just seeing the future. Hoping to help them understand, they view one of Sylvia’s memories in Dumbledore’s pensieve.

Sylvia, within the memory, says that she can see the ghosts of futures never to come. It is revealed that she has taken them to Godric’s Hollow, on the night the Potters were killed. The memory follows the canonical timeline, from Sirius finding Harry, to being handed over to Hagrid, to the doorstep of the Dursleys. The scenes flash by; Harry under the stairs during Dudley’s birthday parts; Harry watching Dudley open presents at Christmas; Harry being chased up a tree by an angry, murderous dog as Dudley and Vernon laughed. On and on they go, until Sylvia states they could not leave him to that.

Sylvia and Crowley and a group of unnamed others raised Harry for eight years. They say that he is special, more so than he could ever know; marked. Until they were attacked by a fringe Vatican group, the Legion of Christ. They say that changing the nature of reality, as in rescuing Harry, brought the ire of the Vatican down on them. It just took eight years. Knowing that he would eventually reach Hogwarts, they allowed for the Sorting Hat to see the code, giving time for pressure from the Legion to decrease until they revealed themselves. His memories will be available, one-by-one, as to not damage his mind from the strain. With that, Sylvia and Crowley leave.

Harry wonders if perhaps Sirius is innocent. Is the wrong man in Azkaban? Dumbledore says that it is difficult to get the Ministry to admit to making a mistake, but he will pursue the matter. The Headmaster also says that he does not understand his alternate self’s reasoning with placement in the Dursley household. Dumbledore does confirm, though, that Crowley was telling the truth about everything, at least in his observation.

During their next meeting, Nicolas used veritaserum to prove whether Sylvia or Crowley mean harm to Harry. It is proven that they do not. They reiterate their claim that the knowledge must be revealed slowly. When Harry chafes, Crowley mentions the thing behind the black door. Briefly mentions the Sitra Ahra, before Sylvia stops him, saying they’d take it slow. The arrangement worked out is every week, Crowley will take out an ad in the Quibbler, containing the combination, which will slowly allow access to all the memories, one at a time. Sylvia and Crowley then say that they have to go back into hiding, but will see him again.

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Eighteenth Movement: September 1, 1992

Harry says his farewells to the Flamels at Platform 9 ¾, before boarding the Hogwarts Express. He takes one of the rear compartments, as Hermione and Tracey arrives, arguing about Lockhart. Neville and Millicent then arrives, and they lock the compartment door from the inside, to hopefully keep anyone from bothering them.

Hearing a knock at the door, they open it, to see Luna there, who thought their door was the bathroom or some stupid fucking thing. Fuck. Shit. Whatever. Luna leaves.

They arrive at Hogsmeade. Being a second-year, they board the carriages instead of taking the boats. Harry sees thestrals for the first time, and finds out the Theodore Nott can seem them as well. When arriving at the Great Hall, Flint greets Harry enthusiastically, though the Gryffindors send him death glares. They even boo when students are sorted into Slytherin, displeasing McGonagall vastly. The Weasleys seem understandably subdued, considering they are probably still grieving for Percy.

Harry shows up early for the first breakfast of the term, intent on offering his condolences to the Weasleys. He sees the twins first, and talks to them. They are not themselves, but accept them. Seamus then accuses Harry of killing Percy, and Dumbledore of covering it up. This pisses Fred off, who tells Seamus off. Harry then enquires about Ron, but the twins say he’s not handling things well, and Harry should hold off.

During the first class with Lockhart, Harry’s opinion of him plummets further. When receiving the quiz, he writes intentionally dumb answers. Worse, Lockhart reads them aloud, embarrassing himself. He holds Harry back after class, offering to help with the rumors circulating around Wizarding Britain.

In Charms class, Harry is paired with Ernie Macmillan, who claims that Harry is a killer. Sick of hearing about that, he snaps back at Ernie. Zacharias steps in, and offers to switch partners. He explains the Macmillans are a Light family, and believe the rumors that Harry killed Percy, and is a Dark wizard.

In the first Potions class, Harry is told to partner up with Nott. Harry wonders why, and Nott answers that Snape can feel the animosity in the air, and wants to make it easier to diffuse any situation. At the point, Ron’s potion explodes. Right after, Snape snaps his wand, and a lit rocket arcing towards Harry’s cauldron, thrown by Seamus, stops in midair. Livid, Snape dismisses the class.

Harry finds three Gryffindor first-years girls picking on Luna for defending Harry. Ginny claims that Ron is spreading the word that Harry is a Dark Wizard. The next morning, Ron confronts Harry in the Great Hall, telling him to leave his sister alone. Harry can almost feel the hate radiating from Ron before McGonagall orders him back to his table.

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Nineteenth Movement: September 7, 1992

In Herbology class, Harry talks to some of the Ravenclaw girls, to see that most of them don’t hold vitriol towards him. He talks privately with Padma, telling her that Luna could use a friend, someone to look after her. Padma says that she’s had to defend him to Parvati, who said the same things Seamus did about Harry killing Percy. Harry muses that on each day Ron’s crusade gains a new member.

Flint is running Quidditch practice by alternating between launching spells and bludgers at his players. When it’s over, Flint talks of victory, and how the game means more than the final score. Harry finds himself agreeing. With the rising, escalating malice between the houses, the game is growing in significance.

The next Potions class is a fiasco. Lavender trips Nott, causing a vial to break in his hands when he falls, cutting them open. Tracey spills a hair-dissolving spell on Lavender in response. Parvati then throws a vial at Daphne, striking her in the head. Snape dismisses the class, taking points and giving detentions, before holding back Harry and his friends. He warns them that someone may be goading the Gryffindors into stupidity, and to be careful.

Harry tells Neville and Hermione about Snape’s words, which they disagree with. They think it’s someone in Gryffindor, but can’t tell since they’ve been ostracized from the rest of the House. Sometimes they are scared to be in their own Common Room.

Deciding to use Lockhart to win favor in the court of public opinion, Harry goes to an appointment in the DADA classroom. He hears two voices speaking, about him. Lockhart says that he doesn’t know about this, but the other, unknown voice, says that he will pose as a mentor to Harry, become known as the man that turned Potter away from the Dark path. When Lockhart has reservations, the other person notes that he knows about Katelyn Wellington, which squashes Lockahrt’s resistance. The other party then leaves via the Floo Network, going to the Ministry of Magic. When the meeting starts proper, Lockhart says he Harry needs to change his image. They’ll start by Lockhart teaching him the finer point of Quidditch this weekend.

The ‘flying lesson’ is just as embarrassing and terrible as imagined. Lockhart has gathered the press for it as well. Harry takes it all, until Lockhart refers to himself as a ‘father figure’. At his limit, Harry casts a vomiting spell on himself, and takes his leave. He runs into Filch on the way back, who cannot find Mrs. Norris. The caretaker is distraught, and seems to be babbling.

Neville is in the Infirmary. After being locked out of his dormitory, he blew a hole in the door, to retrieve his Charms book. He recalls seeing the other second-year boys gathered around a cauldron, but nothing after that. Apparently he fell down the stairs and broke his arm.

Harry, Tracey and Millicent wait on the path of Gryffindor Tower, waiting for Ron. They meet, and Ron boasts about hurting a traitor, who supported a ‘killer’. When Harry says he didn’t kill Percy, Ron punches him. A full-out duel between the two breaks out, accelerated by more arriving Gryffindors. Oliver Wood and the Weasley twins eventually break it up, urging Harry and his friends to leave.

Harry talks about the incident in the Common Room. Other Slytherins chime in, saying how they’ve noticed the increased animosity from Gryffindor as well. Some of the older Slytherins talk to escalation and vengeance. Harry argues against it, saying it stems from one person. He just needs to figure out how to deal with him.

Harry has a meeting with Lockhart, asking if the part about him mentoring Harry can be left out of the upcoming Daily Prophet article. Lockhart agrees. On the way back from the meeting, Harry hears then basilisk’s whispers, then finds Filch dead.

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Twentieth Movement: September 24, 1992

Nott seems interested in the details of Filch’s death, which Dumbledore announces as a heart-attack. Harry, however, has his doubts, after hearing the voices. Was there a killer at Hogwarts?

The next morning, the Prophet article comes out. It has no mention of the Flamels, insinuates usage of the Dark Arts, and says Lockhart has become a father figure to him. Harry, pissed off, resolves to get Lockhart fired.

After taking his post-practice shower, Flint brings Harry to a secluded classroom, saying how if the Gryffindors keeps coming, Harry has to be able to defend himself. Inside, a girl starts to curse him. One of her spells passes through his shield, striking Harry and knocking him out. Harry is then awoken, and introduced to Regina Yaxley, who is going to teach him to duel offensively, instead of his usual defensive tactics.

Neville takes Harry to see his uncle, Algernon, who’s on the Board of Governors. They try to see if they can get Lockhart fired. Algernon says probably not, though it seems strange he has been hired, without the proper qualifications and interview process. Harry mentions the voice conversing with Lockhart, and Katelyn Wellington, neither which sound familiar.

The Potions class before the big Gryffindor / Slytherin match, Snape keeps out of the students from his house after class. He explains that Gryffindor stupidity is at fever pitch, so from now until the match, no Slytherins travel alone, and they return immediately to the Common Room following classes. Snape then dismisses everyone, save Harry. He asks for the real story of when he found Filch. Harry admits he heard whispering.

Slytherin vs. Gryffindor Quidditch match. A fight breaks out in the stands, Harry goes to break it up, and gets sucked into it. The situation escalates until Dumbledore ends it.

Dumbledore begins to week with each of the Slytherin / Gryffindor years, to determine the cause of the conflict. Seamus throws the accusation that Harry killed Percy, which Dumbledore refutes. Everyone is dismissed. On the way out, Dean threatens Harry, while putting a note in his pocket, with a time and meeting place.

Harry meets with Dean in the Owlery. He reveals that Ron is the ringleader, and has rallied a third of Gryffindor to his cause. He’s teaching them everything. He’s also planning something…they’ve been brewing Polyjuice. Something is going to happen, soon.

As Dean leaves, Millicent and Tracey come out from under the cloak, before leaving the Owlery. Harry hears the whispers again, and follows them. He comes upon Ernie petrified, with the Heir of Slytherin warning painted on the wall. Ron then arrives on the scene, and blames Harry for what happened to Ernie.

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Twenty-First Movement: November 8, 1992

Ron attacks Harry. They wrestle in the water, before stunning the red-haired boy. Millicent runs off to get Dumbledore, while Harry and Tracey drag Ron to Myrtle’s bathroom in order to hide the fact that they fought. Myrtle is nowhere to be found, apparently having been scared off. Dumbledore then arrives, and declare that Ernie is not dead, but petrified by unknown means.

Snape leads the three Slytherins back to the Potions classroom, questioning them. He doesn’t buy their story, forcing them to admit they stunned Ron and hid him. Snape surprisingly is pleased by this, before dismissing them.

In History of Magic, Harry tries to learn more about the Chamber of Secrets from Professor Binns, who dismisses it as legend, though revealing that the legend speaks of a beast within the Chamber. He also reveals that a girl did die fifty years ago, supposedly when the Chamber was last opened.

Harry and Millicent try to find out if Myrtle saw anything. She reveals that Ron Weasley tried to throw a book through her head, and she fled the bathroom, flooding it. Harry wonders if that act was intentional. Could Ron have some sort of involvement in the attack of Ernie?

Harry and Regina Yaxley duel. She compliments his style, but says that he needs to broaden his spell lexicon, and learn some Dark spells. He is reluctant, but she convinces him, contingent upon doing him a favor.

In Potions, Snape takes points from Dean for dropping his flask, breaking it. It’s the exact signal Dean agreed to send Harry on the day of the attack. It was going to happen tonight.

Harry and his friends, with the help of the older Slytherins, set up a counter-trap, prepared for the attack. However, it never comes. Had Dean been lying to them?

The next day Harry, Tracey and Millicent come across Cormac McLaggen tormenting two Slytherin first-years with snakes. Harry unwittingly learns he’s a Parselmouth, to his surprise, as does the rest of the school, via Cormac.

The dinner before they are set to leave Hogwarts for the holidays, Padma requests a private audience. She throws her support behind Harry, lightening his heart.

Aboard the Hogwarts Express, Harry manages to isolate Dean, and ask him what happened. Dean says he doesn’t have time to explain what happened, but to meet him on the first night of next term, and all will be revealed.

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Twenty-Second Movement: December 21, 1992

Back at the Flamels’ vacation home, Nicolas and Perenelle mention how it looks like he’ had a difficult term. Harry admits it, but says he wants to stick it out at Hogwarts.

Harry plants an oak tree in the Grove. Harry admits to using a few Dark curses in learning to duel better. Nicolas offers at accelerate the difficulty of his dueling training.
During the first session, Nicolas teaches him the ‘Light Hammer’, while teaching him more about the art itself, like never forgetting about one’s environment.

At Azkaban, Sirius Black is beaten by ‘The Warden’, before being dragged to a new section of Azkaban, where he meets another prisoner, Octavius Pepper. The new prisoner says the place they’re in now is even worse than Azkaban.

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Twenty-Third Movement: January 3, 1993

On the way back to Hogwarts, Harry and his friends debate the merits of the Dark Arts.

Harry has his meeting with Dean, who turns on him, surprising him with a body-bind. Dean and Cormac toss his wand out the window, before setting fire to his possessions and saying that he’ll face far worse if he’s not gone by the end of the month. They then flee.

Tracey and Millicent help find his wand, so then he goes to Defense class. Within, Lockhart makes the claim that the creature guarding the Chamber is a medusa. Harry voices his dissatisfaction with this theory, prompting Lockhart to mention his Parselmouth ability. Harry takes exception to this.

Harry and Neville meet with Algernon, who reveals that Lockhart’s records are sealed. Someone on the Hogwarts Board of Governors is protecting him. An off-the-record source also told Algernon that Lockhart was one of the only Hogwarts students to never received an OWL. Katelyn Wellington turns out to be student one year behind Lockhart, who never finished her fifth year. A muggleborn, she’s been in a catatonic state for twenty years.

On his way back from Algernon’s office, Harry hears the whispers again. Runs into a horde of spiders as he tries to find the source of the voice. He comes across Cormac, petrified like Ernie had been. Harry muses at least it was someone who somewhat deserved it.

Harry goes straight to Dumbledore, tells him what he saw. Dumbledore reveals that though he avoided the blame, it was Tom Riddle who opened the Chamber of Secrets, which begs the question of who opened it this time. Dumbledore expresses confidence that it is not Voldemort, since the ward additions would prevent his wraith form from entering Hogwarts.

The flames of hatred fan higher. Even some of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are joining in on the widespread dislike of Harry. On his way to the Slytherin dorms, five Gryffindors corner him, asking for his answer. Harry defeats them all, telling Dean to tell Ron he’s not going anywhere.

Harry runs into the Weasley twins. They don’t hold the hate their brother does, but they warn him something is going to happen in February. They also say that they don’t know Ron anymore. He gives speeches, teaches, sermonizes…he is not their brother anymore.

Slytherin wins in Quidditch against Ravenclaw. Afterwards, Harry runs into Neville and Hermione, who are leaving Gryffindor Tower, where the Gryffindors are drowning their sorrows at Slytherins victory with butterbeer. The news then breaks that Hagrid has been arrested. It was him who took the fall for Tom Riddle.

One month from the issued ultimatum, the day is quiet until Defense class, where a subdued and worn Lockhart just has the students read. He dismisses the class early, retreating into his office. As Harry decides what to do next, Dean and Seamus storm the room. Harry, Tracey and Millicent easily handle them, but Lockhart exits his office at an inopportune time, assigning Harry a detention.

Harry reports to the detention, where Lockhart reveals he knows Harry is trying to get him fired. Harry tries to flee, but finds the office door locked. He tries to stun Lockhart, but the Defense Professor reveals he used a Dark artifact, which protects him from personal attack. That’s how he stole the stories of far more skilled witches and wizards. Harry eventually just banishes the desk at Lockhart, before destroying the artifact. The sphere explodes, tearing most Lockhart’s face off.

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Twenty-Fourth Movement: February 4, 1993

Fawkes transports Harry to the Infirmary, where Lockhart already is. Dumbledore had to transport him down, as Fawkes refuses. Under the strain of what just happened, and his injuries, Harry passes out.

Harry awakes to find the Flamels there, who tell him the Lockhart will survive his wounds. They wish to pull him from Hogwarts, but Algernon, who is also there, tells them that will be impossible. Harry has to stand trial, by the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Once released, he returns to the Slytherin Common Room, one of the few places he can find support at the school.

In the next Charms class, the depth of the tide against Harry becomes more clear. All of Gryffindor, even reportedly the Weasley twins, have turned against him, and have half the school convinced Harry is a Dark wizard.

Harry comes across Marietta Edgecombe and Michael Corner berating Luna for proclaiming Harry’s innocence. Harry tells them off, before Luna bids Millicent and Tracey to watch out for Harry.

The trial is presided over by Edgecombe, Algernon and Dumbledore. Edgecombe is harsh, dredging up all sorts of unpleasant memories. At its conclusion, Harry goes into a secret tunnel, on the verge to tears. He is beset by the Weasley twins, who have turned against him and goad him into attack. Harry kicks their ass, wielding Dark magic, he is tempted to kill them. Flees instead.

Harry opens in envelope at breakfast the next day, which contains a burning powder which eats at his hands. In pain he is brought to the Infirmary, while the twins mock him.

At a study session in the library, Hermione reveals she’s found the entrance to the Chamber, reaching for a book, which turns out to not be there. Swearing she put it in, she runs back to Gryffindor Tower to get it. Soonafter, Harry is summoned to Dumbledore’s Office.

Dumbledore tells Harry he has been cleared of all charges. Even Lucius voted to exonerate him, despite him and Edgecombe pushing for the trial in the first place. They are interrupted by Fudge, Edgecombe and Lucius. Fudge has Hermione’s book bag, who has been taken in the Chamber. They sack Dumbledore, and prepare to evacuate the school. When Lucius finally speaks, Harry realizes he was the talking with Lockhart at the start of the year.

Harry, taking Hermione’s book bag with him, goes back to the library to relay the news. As he does, he opens the book inside, revealing Myrtle’s obituary tucked into the pages. The entrance is in her bathroom. Harry says they’re going to rescue Hermione.

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Twenty-Fifth Movement: March 31, 1993

In groups, students are transferred to the Great Hall from the Slytherin dormitories. Tracey sets up a fight between two first-years during the walk, leaving Harry the chance to cast a Confundus Charm on Edgecombe, who is leading the line. This allows Harry and Tracey to sneak away.

Neville is in a similar procession heading down to the Great Hall, when the second-year students take out their Prefect with a hail of Stunners. Neville tries to fight, but they are too many. They try to get Harry’s location, but Neville won’t give it up. The Weasley twins then pull out the Marauder’s Map.

Hermione awakes, alone, in the Chamber. She cannot find a way out, and is surrounded by basilisk skin.

Millicent, beneath Harry’s cloak, runs through the halls of Hogwarts, to the Great Hall. She takes the cloak off their, and tries to sneak off. She’s caught, but claims she’s going to Myrtle’s bathroom, which doesn’t have a long line. The Slytherin Prefect lets her go.

Neville is thrown into the bathroom, followed by the rest of the Gryffindors. Harry and Tracey take them on, holding their own for a while, before they’re pinned down by spell-fire. Millicent bails them out, but Ron escapes, diving into the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, which is already open. Millicent reveals all the roosters are dead, leaving them without their best weapon against the basilisk. Harry chooses to go down anyway, as do Tracey and Millicent. They make their was the Chamber, where Hermione is tied up, at wand-point. Before Harry can do anything, Ron hits Hermione with what looks and sounds like a killing curse.

Harry goes mad, claiming Weasley as his own. He quickly defeats him, then starts to beat him senseless. Before he can kill him, Millicent drags him off. Tracey urges him to kill Ron, while Millicent argues against it. Even Ron goads him on, but Harry ultimately chooses mercy. Ron then speaks in Parseltongue, summoning the basilisk.

In the Great Hall, Flint notices Harry is missing. Melody, the Slytherin Prefect, notes Millicent went to Myrtle’s bathroom. Flint realizes then that Harry is trying to save Hermione. He gathers Regina and they go after Harry, forcing Melody to join them.

Ron flees the Chamber and seals the entrance behind him as the basilisk emerges. Harry orders everyone under his invisibility cloak, and cast solar flares to keep its eyes closed. Eventually, though, it begins to hunt by scent, so they conjure oil and begin to burn everything in sight to confuse its sense of smell. They then destroy its eyes, and pepper away with spells. Eventually one of Harry’s Light Hammer decapitates it, but not before Millicent’s legs are crushed. Trying to find an exit, the entrance opens back up. Ron walks in, not feeling the pain of his broken face, smiling, and extinguishes all the fires with a single wave of his wand. Ron then reveals that he is Voldemort, and has been controlling Ron and all the Gryffindors, using the Mindslave Potion. While possessing Quirrell, Voldemort saw the potential for greatness within Harry. Together they could change the world. He even offers to bring Hermione back to life. Harry denies the offer and goes on the offensive, though is quickly overwhelmed. Ron severs one of Tracey’s arms, before launching a killing curse straight at Harry.

Regina and Flint levitate Harry out of the way, before attacking Ron. They drive him back for a moment, but Ron blows out Flint’s stomach, before killing Regina and Millicent. He then turns his wand on Harry to do the same, but the wand detonates in his hand. Ron studies it, saying he’s never seen that before. Harry uses the time to go to Tracey’s prone form and take her wand, using it to stun Ron. As he falls, black smoke pours from his body, and streaks towards Harry.

Fawkes appears, repelling Voldemort, who disappears into the darkness. Fawkes then transports Flint and Tracey to the Infirmary. Hermione then awakes, as it turns out the killing curse cast by Ron was a fake. They take Ron up, who has seen the entire thing, but was powerless to stop it. Ron reveals the Lucius Malfoy helped Voldemort it, and was manipulating Lockhart the entire time. When Fawkes returns, Harry has the phoenix take him, Ron and Hermione to Lucius’ office.

They arrive as Lucius is sending off a letter. He tries to flee via Floo, but Harry destroys the fireplace. Malfoy then fights his way out of the office, fleeing the school on foot. Hermione is taken out by a stunner, but Harry and Ron resume the chase, to the gates of Hogwarts. There, Lucius cast a killing curse at Ron. Harry knocks him out of the way, launching a Dark cutter. Lucius, who is breaking his cane over his knees, takes the cutter in the throat. As he dies, black smoke pours from the crane, before fleeing from sight. Somewhat in shock, Harry turns, to see Ron with his wand out. He casts a body-bind, which strikes Harry.

Down on the ground, Ron begins to talk. Says how even though Harry did the right thing, no one would ever believe it, due to all the rumors circulating about him being a Dark wizard. Ron then takes the blame for killing Lucius. Unable to protest, he is brought to the Infirmary.

Harry is partially treated in the Infirmary, where he learns Tracey will certainly live, while Flint’s fate is still uncertain. Snape then brings him to the Headmaster’s Office. Harry tells Dumbledore some of what has happened, and goes into a rage, breaking things in the office, and near cursing Dumbledore. The Headmaster apologizes for failing Harry again, before having Fawkes transport Harry back to France, as the Aurors are at the door.

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Twenty-Sixth Movement: April 5, 1993

At Flamel Manor, Harry grapples with the guilt of playing a role in Millicent and Regina’s death. He receives a note from Madam Pomfrey, which says Tracey is on the road to recovery. He decides that it’s time to stop hiding, and return to Hogwarts, at least to check on Tracey.

Harry and the Flamels arrive in Hogsmeade, before walking to Hogwarts. Both are under intense security from Aurors. He makes it to the Infirmary, visiting with Tracey for a short while. At her urging, he goes to the Great Hall. Almost all of Gryffindors is there, being treated by Healers for damage done by the Mindslave Potion. Most are in restraints, like wild animals.

Harry then goes to the Headmaster’s Office, talking with Dumbledore about what’s to come, and whether he’s coming back. Quirrell and Moody make an appearance, saying they’re going to track down Voldemort.

Harry ultimately decides to return to Hogwarts. Since Voldemort would have never have caused such mayhem without him, it is up to him to try to heal what’s been done.

Harry and his friends attend Millicent’s funeral. He pays his final respects to his friends, before speaking with Reginald Yaxley, Regina’s father. He is still loyal to the Dark Lord, and denies Harry’s claims that Voldemort killed her.

At Malfoy Manor, Dark wizards and witches pay their respects to Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. They reaffirm their dedication to Voldemort’s cause, and set out to pave the way for his return, while Draco swears vengeance against Harry.

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T3t: The quality is much lower here, as I was still learning to write. I still am, but at least I'm further along now.

Mage: Your concerns were more than justified. Hopefully things are more on track now.

T3t: If I ever abandon Sitra Ahra, I'll post my long term plan. Even in my two year hiatus, I still thought about the story often, I just couldn't work on it. I always knew I'd come back.

shinysavage: Ha, so much for my reputation. Maybe this is the year I turn it around.

Anarchy: So much...thanks though. Yes, yes it does have flaws. Many.

The cultist thing is among my biggest regrets with this story. It comes back in a huge, huge way...but not until year four. And I didn't plan Harry's backstory well enough, so I fucked up a lot of the details and I'm still deciding how to fix it. I'm leaning towards on one giant interlude chapter early in Arc Six dealing with it all.

Year one was a case of not planning well enough. I think I did it better in year two.

Snape fought Voldemort in year one.

Politics. I'll be trying to fix that in year three.

I cringe at some of the Harry / Dumbledore stuff I've done.

Fuck shit fuck. I don't know. My characters swear a lot less than I did at that age. Maybe that says something about me.

Hopefully year three works better as a whole. We shall see.