Peter Pan Fan Fiction / Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Always ❯ Chapter Two – Return to Hogwarts ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two - Return to Hogwarts

“And that, Harry, is how humans procreate. Any questions?” Remus asked, barely containing his amusement. Harry, who now resembled a tomato, shook his head furiously in the negative.

“Well, now that we've embarrassed Harry, and me,” Sirius said, coughing the last part slightly, “let's get back to the reason we needed to talk. Tell me, do your relatives really treat you alright?”

Harry's face went from red to white. “Yes, Sirius. They treat me fine.”

“Harry, please don't lie to me,” Sirius said quietly. “Don't you think I've noticed how you're smaller than most boys? Or that you're definitely skinnier than how you were before you left Hogwarts last year? Are you eating alright? And what's with your uncle calling you a `freak'?”

Harry sighed and absentmindedly rubbed his scar, an act that did not go unnoticed by the former Marauders. “The Dursleys hate magic,” Harry mumbled quietly. “They hate magic and wizards and don't want anything to do with our kind. They don't really mistreat me, Sirius. Normally, they just give me a list of chores to complete and lock me in my room. The Dursleys would rather ignore me and not feed me than anything else.”

“And how long have they been calling you a freak?” Remus questioned gently.

“For as long as I can remember. There were times when I had accidental magic. I didn't know I was a wizard or that magic even existed, so weird things were happening around me. One time, I accidently turned my teacher's hairpiece blue. Another time, aunt Petunia cut off all of my hair except for my bangs. It grew back overnight. She also tried to make me wear this ugly brown sweater with orange puff balls. It shrunk to the size of puppet clothes before she could put it on me. And another time, I remember being chased by Dudley and his gang. They were going to catch me when I suddenly ended up on top of the school kitchens.”

Sirius and Remus exchanged looks before Sirius kneeled in front of the brunet. “Harry, you know you're not a freak, right? The Dursleys, they just don't understand how special you are. And accidental magic happens to every magical child; it's perfectly normal.”

“Harry, how're you holding up? With what happened last year?” Remus asked quietly.

“Fine,” Harry replied, his face bowed down. “I'm doing alright.”

Remus gently grabbed Harry's chin and lifted his head up, revealing the tears that started to gather. “You know it wasn't your fault, right?”

“Yes it was,” Harry cried out, standing up abruptly. Hot tears flowed down his face in rivulets. “It is my fault! If I hadn't told Cedric to grab the cup with me, he would still be here! Or, if I had been stronger, he wouldn't have died!”

“Harry, you couldn't have known Voldemort would try to kill you,” Sirius tried to comfort. Harry shook his head vehemently.

“Yes, I could have!” he sobbed. “I kept on having those strange dreams and even though I told you about them, I should've tried harder to figure out what they meant!”

Sirius stood up and pulled Harry into a hug, letting the Gryffindor sob into his chest. Harry's body shook from the force of his sobs and he clutched onto Sirius' shirt like it was a lifeline. Sirius rubbed soothing circles on the small of his back until Harry calmed down. Embarrassed, Harry pulled away and gratefully accepted the tissue Remus handed to him.

“I'm sorry,” he apologized softly.

“It's fine, Harry. You can't keep your emotions locked up all the time. You need an outlet,” Remus told him gently. “It's not healthy to just bottle everything up and let it fester.”

“I know,” Harry sniffled. “Can I ask you both something?”

“Of course, Harry. Anything,” Sirius responded immediately.

“Can you help me control my emotions? I keep on having bouts of accidental magic because I can't control my anger or something. And that's another thing. I just feel so angry all the time now,” Harry confessed.

Sirius and Remus shared a look. “Harry, accidental magic stops happening around the time a witch or wizard starts school. Only in cases of extreme emotional distress does accidental magic occur. How often and how extreme are these bouts of accidental magic?”

Harry fidgeted slightly. “Well, when I'm mad at the smallest of things, my magic makes everything shake. I dunno. And I've been feeling so angry all the time now. Are you disappointed in me?”

“Oh, Harry. I'm disappointed, yes, but not in you. Never in you,” Sirius said softly. “I'm disappointed because we weren't able to be there for you. Remus and I weren't able to take care of you and watch you grow like we wanted. And here you are, only fifteen, with the weight of the world on your shoulders and you can admit when you need help. Not a lot of adults can do that.”

Harry wiped away the tears that threatened to fall. “It's not either of your faults. You were in Azkaban and the Ministry is corrupt.”

Remus smiled and gave Harry a one-armed hug. “I think I know a way to control your emotions.”

“How?”

“Meditation. 221;

“Meditation? How is that going to help me?”

“Well, for starters, it'll help you clear your mind,” Sirius said. “And if you have a clear mind, you can control what you're feeling.”

Harry nodded his head to show he understood. “Great. When do we start?”

“Harry, are you sure you're okay? You keep spacing out,” Hermione said worriedly. Harry immediately blinked back to reality.

“I'm fine, `Mione. Just excited to go back to school, for once,” Harry replied brightly. “I feel like something exciting is going to happen.”

“Duh! Something exciting always happens at Hogwarts,” Ron interjected before he stuffed his face with sweets he had gotten from the trolley. Hermione's face scrunched up in disgust.

“Ugh, Ron, chew with your mouth closed! Honestly, you eat like a pig!” she exclaimed. Harry, sensing an argument coming up, quickly stood.

“I'm going to go for a walk. See you guys later,” he said as he left the compartment. His best friends paid him no mind as they started to bicker like an old married couple.

Harry walked down the halls of the Hogwarts Express, looking for an empty compartment. At the moment, he wanted to be alone. His thoughts were scrambled and a couple of breathing exercises he had learned from Remus and Sirius could really help. Quickly walking into a compartment, Harry went to sit down when he realized somebody was already in the compartment.

“Oh! I'm sorry, I thought this…was…empty…” Harry trailed off, looking at the person with wide eyes. His breath caught in his throat and he swallowed thickly. “Peter?”

Peter smiled widely at Harry. “Hello, Harry. Fancy meeting you here,” he replied.

“When…? How…? Huh…?” Harry stuttered, sitting across from Peter.

“Right after I took you back to your relatives' house,” Peter said softly to the half-spoken question. “I decided it was time to grow up, so I left Neverland.”

“That's…wow…I meant,” Harry stammered. “I'm so happy! I had a feeling I'd see you again, but after five years I was starting to lose hope.”

Peter grinned. “Now, Harry, you couldn't get rid of me even if you tried.”

Harry flushed. “Um, where are Tinker Bell, Winter Chime, and Summer Chime?”

“Sleeping in my pocket.”

“Great! Not to be rude or anything, but how did you get into Hogwarts? I mean, I know you were supposed to go a long time ago, but why now?”

“Well,” Peter started, “I had a chat with the Headmaster three years ago. He was surprised to see that a Pan still existed. I wasn't ready to go to Hogwarts quite yet, but he did give me the curriculum so I could get the textbooks and study myself. Every summer I'd go to Hogwarts and he'd test my skill. We decided this year would be a good year to join.”

“Interesting,” Harry mumbled. “I wonder what House you'll be in.”

“Does it really matter?”

“Not really, although wherever you end up may effect how others treat you,” Harry said carefully.

Peter cocked an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Well, there's a lot of prejudice between the Houses, especially between Gryffindor and Slytherin. You do know all the Houses, right?”

“Yeah, the Headmaster told me their names and that you're sorted based upon your character. He wouldn't tell me how we get sorted, though.”

Harry smiled. “Well, Gryffindor is for people who are brave and courageous, Slytherin is for people who are cunning and ambitious, Ravenclaw is for people who are academically ambitious, and Hufflepuff is for people who are extremely loyal. Now, people tend to think that only Dark wizards belong in Slytherin, braniacs go in Ravenclaw, brave people go in Gryffindor, and people who don't belong anywhere go in Hufflepuff. That's not quite true. You see, my parents were betrayed by their friend, who was in Gryffindor. He was also a Death Eater. My friend Hermione is also a Gryffindor and she's one hell of a braniac.”

“Death Eater?” Peter asked curiously.

“Remember Voldemort?”

“Yeah. That's the wizard that Hook followed. And the one that wanted me to become his Potions Master,” Peter replied, his eyebrows scrunched together. “Rather stupid, expecting me to just leave to learn to do something I had no desire to do. Why else would I have left the real world in the first place?”

“Well, nobody calls him that. It's either the Dark Lord, You-Know-Who, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”

“Oh!” Peter exclaimed. “I remember reading about somebody named You-Know-Who. It irritated me because I actually didn't know who. And now I found out that I actually did know who.”

Harry chuckled slightly. “Everybody's too scared to say his name; I think its codswallop. You shouldn't be afraid to say a name. But, not everybody has those views. When my parents were still alive, they went up against Voldemort, and they were killed because of it.”

“Is that why you had to go to those horrid relatives of yours?” Peter asked softly.

Harry nodded his head. “Well, he tried to kill me when he killed them, but the Killing Curse rebounded somehow and ended up banishing him from his body. I'm known as the Boy-Who-lived, which is a pretty stupid name if you ask me. What'll they call me when I'm old and wrinkly?”

“I remember reading about you in the same book. The Rise and Fall of the Dark, I think it was called. Something like that.”

“Really? Interesting,” Harry murmured. “Anyway, Voldemort's followers are known as Death Eaters. Now, because of what happened last year, Voldemort's back and nobody believes me.”

Peter, sensing the sadness in Harry's voice, pulled the smaller boy into a hug. Harry sighed contentedly and returned the hug, flushing slightly. This action was so familiar and he felt his nerves calm down. Peter rubbed soothing circles on the small of his back and he smiled slightly.

“You can tell me about what happened whenever you're comfortable,” Peter whispered against Harry's neck, causing him to shiver as the little hairs stood on end.

“Alright. Thank you,” Harry whispered back. They stood in a comfortable silence before Harry abruptly pulled away. “Come, you have to meet my friends!”

Peter grinned and allowed Harry to pull him out of the compartment. They walked quickly and Peter let himself be pulled into another compartment filled with two other people.

“Harry, there you are! Where've you been? And who's he?” Hermione asked, looking at Peter curiously.

“Hermione, Ron, I want you to meet my very good friend Peter. Peter, these are my best friends Ron and Hermione. They're prefects this year,” Harry introduced happily, remembering the shiny badges Hermione and Ron adored. Peter nodded in greeting to both of the Gryffindors and took a seat next to Harry across from the other two.

“It's nice to meet you, Peter,” Hermione said, offering him a smile. “If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you and Harry meet?”

“Well, we met five years ago. You see, I used to take daily walks around his neighborhood and I'd see him gardening. Eventually, we became friends,” Peter explained. Harry's face gave nothing away but on the inside he was surprised at how well Peter had lied. After all, they couldn't really tell people about Neverland.

“Really? Wow! So, why are you coming to Hogwarts this year?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Previously, I've been home-schooled and the Headmaster and I agreed that it'd be best for me to come to Hogwarts this year; to try to make friends with people my age.”

“You and the Headmaster? Why not your parents?” Ron asked, his confusion apparent.

“His parents passed away a long time ago. Peter's emancipated,” Harry responded before Peter could say anything. Peter flashed him a tiny grin and he returned it.

“Oh, I'm so sorry,” Hermione said, looking and feeling very guilty.

“It's fine,” Peter said quietly. “They died a long time ago.” An uncomfortable silence filled the air.

“Hopefully you'll be in Gryffindor,” Ron said cheerfully.

“I don't think I'm brave or courageous enough to go into Gryffindor,” Peter responded, shrugging.

“Well, neither is Neville but he's with us lions.”

“Ron!” Harry cried out, aiming a slight glare at his friend. “That's very rude of you to say, especially since Neville's so nice!”

“Harry's right, Ron,” agreed Hermione, frowning disapprovingly at the redhead, who blushed to his neck.

“Besides,” Harry continued, ignoring the look Ron had sent him, “it won't really matter what House Peter's in.”

“Are you kidding me?” Ron asked incredulously.

Hermione beamed at Harry. “Exactly! Oh, I'm so glad you've matured, Harry!”

“But what if he ends up in Slytherin? You know all Slytherins can't be trusted! They're Death Eaters, for Merlin's sake!”

“You forget Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor and he betrayed my parents to Voldemort,” Harry responded quietly, watching Ron flinch at the name and statement. “And what does it matter anyways? Peter was my very first friend and I'm not going to allow something petty like house rivalries get in the way of that.”

“Peter would never hurt Harry in any way and he'd also appreciate it if he wasn't talked about as if he isn't here in this compartment,” Peter said softly. Ron and Harry blushed in embarrassment.

Heads turned as the door to the compartment opened.

“Well, well, if isn't Potter along with the ever-faithful sidekicks Weasel and the Mudblood,” came the taunting voice. “Oh, wait, the Weasel isn't very faithful, is he? When push came to shove, he left wee little Potter all by his lonesome last year.”

Ron stood up and glared. “Get out of here before I hex you, Malfoy!”

“Oh, I'm shaking,” Malfoy sneered. He noticed Harry's face flushed with anger and a strange boy next to him. “Who are you? I haven't seen you around before.”

“You wouldn't have. After all, I am new to Hogwarts,” Peter responded, cocking an eyebrow at the arrogant blond.

Malfoy stared at him before he sniffed disdainfully. “Whatever.”

“Just leave already,” Ron snarled, his wand withdrawn.

“Ron, he isn't worth it,” Hermione said, standing up and placing her hand on his shoulder.

“That's right, Weasel, listen to your Mudblood,” Malfoy jeered, his lips curled in disgust.

Harry also stood up, his eyes narrowed at the blond. “Malfoy, kindly remove yourself from our compartment or I'll remove you myself.”

A blond eyebrow rose elegantly. “Oh really? And how do you expect to do that?”

Harry glared at him furiously before he let out a loud cry, startling the blond. He jumped forward and Malfoy jerked away, leaving the compartment before Harry could pounce on him. Satisfied, Harry stretched his back languidly and flashed a grin to his friends.

“You just planned on scaring him, didn't you?” Hermione asked, her lips tugging into a smile.

Harry chuckled. “Maybe. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go change into my robes. We should be close to Hogwarts by now.”

And he was right. No longer than ten minutes after each of the teenagers put on their robes, a magically amplified voice sounded throughout the train, “We will be arriving at Hogwarts in three minutes. Please leave your things on the train as they will be taken to the school after you arrive. Thank you.”

When the train reached a full stop, Harry and the others stood in unison. They walked out of the compartment and waited for the hallway to be cleared some before they stepped off the train. Harry frowned slightly as he noticed Hagrid was not calling for the first-years like he had always done. Where was he and who was this lady that looked so familiar?

“Peter Pan!” the lady bellowed, searching the crowd for the boy.

“I think you need to go to the first-years so you can be sorted,” Hermione said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Oh, alright,” Peter said, looking at the teacher nervously.

“We'll see you after the sorting, alright?” Harry said, reading Peter's look perfectly.

“Yeah, see you then.”

Harry watched as Peter walked away and bit his lip. He really hoped Peter would end up in Gryffindor with him. Then they'd be around each other all the time, like they used to be before they left Neverland. Harry mentally smacked himself. He'd completely forgotten to ask about the Lost Boys! And he still hadn't seen Tinker Bell, Winter Chime, and Summer Chime! Grr!

“Come on, Harry. We have to go or we'll miss a carriage,” Hermione said, tugging slightly on his arm.

Harry nearly stumbled in shock when he noticed the carriages that he thought pulled by themselves were actually being pulled by black, horse-like things. How could he not have noticed that before? Harry quietly and cautiously walked over to one of the things and hesitantly reached out to touch it.

“Harry, mate, what are you doing?” Ron asked, looking at Harry as if he'd lost his mind.

“What are they?” Harry continued to stroke the thing, looking at it curiously.

“There's nothing there, Harry,” Hermione said, looking at him worriedly.

“Of course there is,” a dreamy voice replied, causing Ron to shriek in surprise. They all turned to look at a blonde with long, wavy hair and light blue eyes. “They're called thestrals.”

“Thestrals? How come I couldn't see them before? And how come nobody else can see them?”

“I can see them,” the blonde said, smiling wistfully at Harry.

“Thestrals can only be seen by somebody who's witnessed death,” Hermione said quietly. Harry nearly flinched and immediately stopped petting the thing. “Um, everybody, this is Loony—er, Luna Lovegood.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you all,” Luna said, reading a copy of The Quibbler. “Have any of you seen the Snarklepot Beetle? They're supposed to bring good luck and fertility.”

“Um, no, we haven't,” Harry said, looking at her weirdly as he got in the carriage. Just as the carriage was about to take off, Neville quickly jumped in.

“Hi guys,” he said nervously. “Do you mind if I stay here? This is the last carriage.”

“It's no problem, Neville,” Harry replied brightly, offering the shy boy a smile.

Neville smiled, relived. “Thanks, Harry. I was afraid I'd have to swim across the Black Lake to get to school.”

Before he knew it, Harry was stepping out of the carriage and walking with his friends to the Great Hall. They sat at the Gryffindor table and watched as everyone started piling into their respective tables. The doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall was walking in with a line of nervous first-years trailing behind her. At the very end of the line was Peter. His eyes met Harry's and he winked. Harry flushed slightly and rolled his eyes, trying to stop the smile that wanted to burst forth. His eyes narrowed when he heard the hushed whispers that spread throughout the hall.

“That guy looks too big to be a first-year.”

“Wow, he's so cute!”

“Let's hope he's in our house!”

“What's he doing here?”

Frowning, Harry tried to pay attention to the Sorting. Hermione noticed his actions but didn't say anything, opting to be a silent observer instead. Soon, after all the first-years were sorted, it was Peter's turn.

“Pan, Peter!”

Whispers once again broke throughout the hall.

“Did she say Pan?”

“I thought the Pans died out a long time ago!”

“He must be the last living Pan left!”

“You think he has a girlfriend?”

The hat was placed on Peter's head and the hall fell into an expectant silence. Peter's expression was one of indifference as he sat on the stool. The sorting went on for at least a total of six minutes—the second longest time to place one person. The first longest time to be sorted belonged to Harry himself with a total of almost fifteen minutes.

“SLYTHERIN!”

Harry's heart plummeted.

A/N: OK, how many of you were expecting Peter to be in Slytherin? It was kind of obvious. (Or painfully so, as my friend informed me.) Sorry, but I needed some conflict to be stirred and I've been planning for him to be in Slytherin since I started Never. Tinker Bell, Winter Chime, and Summer Chime will most definitely be in the next chapter. Also, you'll find out what happened to the Lost Boys. Updates after this will be weekly or bi-weekly. I want to get a lot of chapters pre-written, but I couldn't resist posting this.

What do you guys think of a Summer Chime/fairy animagus!Ginny pairing?