Chapter Text
It was the first official day of the Tri-Wizard tournament. All three schools were enjoying breakfast, eager to see who the goblet would pick as champions that afternoon.
Then it happened. The noise caused everyone to look at the front table. Three of the Hogwarts houses thought the scene was hilarious. The fourth one, on the other hand…
"Is he ok, Poppy?" Albus asked, looking over at where Snape sat...face first in his oatmeal.
“Aside from getting concussed by a stack of books..." The school mediwitch started.
"WAFFLES!" He suddenly sat up and bellowed, before falling back into his breakfast with a wet slap.
"...he'll be fine"
“Here’s what hit him, Headmaster.” Hagrid offered, setting a stack of seven rather thick-looking books on the table in front of him. Wherever they come from, the strong sticking charm keeping them together meant they were all to come there.
“Thank you, Hagrid.” Dumbledore cast a few diagnostic spells over the stack, except for the charm, there seemed to be no other trace of magic. The note attached to the top book, though seemed highly enchanted, though nothing harmful was indicated. “Perhaps this will -” He quickly drew his hand back when it suddenly jumped up the second he touched it.
“Is…is that a howler?” Sprout asked when it folded itself into a mouth. She quickly got her answer when it began to speak.
" Ok, first off: I hope my aim was good, that greasebag bastard deserves a migraine! ”
“No arguments from me.” Harry said.
“Harry!” Hermione chided him, only to be ignored.
“ Anyway, it’s a safe bet that you’re all wondering what the deal is. Well, the truth is...YOU'RE ALL IDIOTS! Seriously, you pride yourself on being the best magic school around, but you've done some of the stupidest shit! "
Several teachers and students looked understandably insulted. “Now see here!” McGonagall snapped.
“ No, YOU see here!” The howler suddenly flew into her face. “You want to know what you lot did? I don't know; how about the hundred and fifty points you took off? For helping Hagrid! ”
“They were out after curfew!” She tried to defend her decision.
" Oh, and that warrants losing 50 points each - making them social pariahs among the entire school - and two hours of detention after bedtime for their first infraction! Automatically assuming they did it as some sort of prank? And how many times did you catch Fred and George Weasley out? How many points did THEY lose each time!?”
McGonagall started to retort, but faltered. “They…”
“ And I thought Snape was guilty of treating Harry like James 2.0! The twenty you took from the ferret seems to say so. "
“Twenty!?” Sprout yelled. “Malfoy had committed the same deed! Were you drinking that night, Minerva!?”
She snapped back, looking like she’d just been slapped.
“ Not to mention them trying to warn you about a certain stone, only for you to not even listen.” It inched closer, the voice shifting to disappointment. “ And you wonder why Harry doesn’t come to you, his own head of house, for help anymore. ”
Minerva’s expression turned heartbroken at that. She quickly turned to search the Gryffindor table for Harry, only to wilt when he refused to even look at her.
It then turned its fury on the four tables. “ You lot are no better! Second year ring a bell!? ”
“What bollocks is it talking about!?” Malfoy demanded.
“Use what little brains you have, Malfoy!” Blaise snapped at him. “The dueling club, remember?”
“ Ding ding! We have a winner! So, he says one. ONE Sentence in parselmouth, and you idiots all assume ‘ooh Potter’s evil, lets treat him like he’s got the plague!’”
“You-know-who spoke it!” Cormac MClaggen shouted, then screamed when the howler was suddenly in his face.
“ And Grindelwald spoke German! That mean someone’s dark if they speak it!? NEWS FLASH, you twat! He’s got a muggleborn and ‘blood-traitor’ as friends; two people somebody like Voldy HATES!”
Mclaggen just sat there frowning, but others around him began looking less than pleased with themselves.
“ Gears starting to turn? Hmm? ” It then turned back to the teachers. “ Brilliant job on nipping the rumors in the bud, you lot. Top notch. ”
“I beg your pardon?” Flitwick looked slightly affronted. “Attempt to control student gossip? If I'd said anything beyond what had been asked, it would only have made students more convinced of the truth, especially considering all the talk that had been happening before of 'coddling' Mr. Potter or giving him 'special privileges' for being the Boy-Who-Lived. As he wasn't in my House, I couldn't do anything beyond convincing any of my Eagles who asked me that the rumors were faulty. I'd assumed that if Mr. Potter was truly having a problem, that he would turn to his own...Head of...House…” He quickly glanced over to McGonagall, who was looking even more crushed than before. “...oh dear”.
There was a groan off to the side. “Nnnhh…when I get my hands on whoever…”
“ Ah, the bastard awakens. That reminds me.” The howler moved in front of him. “ Message for one Severus Snape!”
The man sneered. Who’d dare to send HIM a how-
“ GROW THE FUCK UP! ”
The small shockwave sent even Hagrid’s hair blowing back. Snape paled hard and both Headmaster and Deputy winced at the voice.
“I-”
“ SHUT IT! You don’t get to talk here!”
“Now I’m sure we can…” Dumbledore said, hoping to mediate
“Butt out!” It snapped, not even facing him “This whole ‘poor me, I’m the victim’ bullshit is pathetic! Sure James Potter and his friends picked on you, but you were no better!” The voice hissed. “Marline McKinnon ring a bell?”
Snape just sat there, eyes wide and jaw shaking like he was trying hard to regain his voice
“
And that brings us to Third year!
” It swiveled to Dumbledore. “
Here's a lovely bit of idiocy! A supposed convicted criminal escapes from a prison guarded by monsters that snack on people’s souls...and you think letting the Minister stick those monsters at a school full of ideal prey will help catch the guy who already evaded them? Great decision there, White Hat!
” It flew over to him. “
Seriously, if Black was able to slip past them to begin with, what made you think using them to try to catch him would work!?
”
Dumbledore seemed to be as stunned as the rest before palming his face. “Why in Merlin’s ear hair didn’t I think of that when Fudge brought it up ?”
“Eh, he’s as useful as a kickstand on a horse. Anyway, that’s just the tip of the iceberg as to why these are here.” The howler hovered above the stack of books. “These are going to give you all a nice little reality check upside the skull. But first, a couple of rules. You’re gonna read these in order, starting with the top one.”
Noticing the sticking charm had ended, Dumbledore picked up the first one. “Harry Potter? And The Philosopher's Stone?”
“You know about this, mate?” Ron asked, before he saw Harry’s own dumbfounded look.
“No! Who…when the bloody…!?” The boy in question stammered, trying to work out what was going on.
“Figures, with his ego-” Snape started, coming out of his shock enough to sneer.
“Yeah, you can have a nice tall glass of shut your damn yap!” The howler barked at him. “God, you’re like a broken record! While we’re at it, second rule. No one gets punished for what’s already happened. What’s done is done. If you feel like an apology is warranted, that’s it.”
“Understandable…” Sprout replied. “Should we get started?”
“ Sure…oh, wait. Before we do. Harry .” It floated over to him. “ Go ahead and drop the look…it’s time to let them see the real Harry Potter.”
“What? Wh-what’re you…?”
“They’re going to find out anyway…this way you can make it clear you're not playing anymore.”
Harry looked like he was going to deny whatever the howler was referring to, but stopped and sighed. With a brief exhale, his expression shifted a little. He seemed more relaxed...but there was an underlying hint of something akin to tranquil rage.
Hermione let out an uncharacteristically nervous gulp the moment she saw his new expression.
"What's with you?" Ron and Ginny asked in unison, seeing her reaction.
"That's how he looked when he wanted 'a word' with me over the Firebolt..." She whimpered. He'd verbally tore her up one side and down the other for going to McGonagall behind his back.
“You’ll all figure it out while you read!” The howler spoke up, putting a halt to the questions and everything that was about to pop up.
“In that case, shall I take care of the first chapter?” Flitwick offered, taking the book from Dumbledore.