He didn't mention that Mad-Eye's magical eye would be useful for undermining Lucius' current plot and hunting for the Chamber of Secrets as well as spying on Mr. Potter. Peter's actions had given him a chance to reinforce the school, and he was going to take it.
...
Plus the public couldn't say that he was being indecisive. With a squad of Aurors under the command of the legendary Mad-Eye Moody, how could they? Plus, the Aurors could be used as backup teachers for the DADA position if need be, since he was getting a feeling the curse was going to strike again this year.
"Minerva," he said, getting the Deputy Headmistress's attention, "James was an Animagus, and so is Sirius Black. I believe Sirius is a dog Animagus, from what Remus was telling me," he revealed, unsettling his Deputy even more that she had missed so much, and it explained why Sirius was always causing her problems.
"Then why didn't Harry say that Sirius was one? Why hide that?"
"Simple. Sirius is an illegal Animagus, and the fine is so small for being caught that for a person in Sirius' position, it's better kept a secret. No doubt Harry himself will be learning the skill in a couple of years, or has already started, since he said it's 'personal' with far too much emotion for someone who never studied it would have."
"You think Harry is studying to be an Animagus already? The boy is good at Transfiguration, but there's no way he could achieve a form being so young. His form hasn't set; his mind is yet to be defined," the local Hogwarts Animagus argued.
"Maybe," Albus admitted, acknowledging her expertise in the subject area, but he wasn't convinced. Mentally, the boy was beyond his years, and his magical understanding was developing rapidly, if the continuous 'O's he got from his homework assignments were anything to go by, or the 97% average score he got across his end-of-year exams.
Then again, first and second-year material was comparatively easy, so he would have to wait a bit. Then the boy was also learning Mind Arts, which was another sign of the boy being more than capable of getting the mental focus necessary for achieving his form—as long as he had one. "Well, I need to get on with some work, as well as make a press statement about the whole incident. I'm sure you have your own duties to perform," he declared, dismissing the cat Animagus.
...
Walking into the Hufflepuff Common Room with his escort in tow, no sooner had he got through the door than he was wrapped in a tight hug.
"Harry! Are you alright?" she exclaimed, ignoring the rest of the Common Room, who were either giggling or watching with some concern from their comfortable chairs.
Wiggling his way out of the hug, he soothed, "I'm fine, cousin. Do you think I'd be walking about if I wasn't?" Harry absently wondered how long it would take before the entire school knew what happened. "I may have to visit the hospital wing for cracked ribs."
"Stop kidding about. Someone tried to kill you!" Tonks scolded, while her parents looked on with amusement.
"Yes, I know. I was there," he joked with a hint of sarcasm.
She gave him a scolding look. "Harry."
"I'm fine. I just came here to show you I'm fine, so you don't have to worry. After all, you know how much rumors get hyped up," he said, entirely serious. "Now, I believe your mother wants to talk to you."
Before suddenly adding, "Don't worry, there's going to be several Aurors stationed at school for a while. I'll be fine." He assured her before leaving the Common Room.
"That was short," his bodyguard stated.
He shrugged indifferently. "Didn't fancy having a conversation with the whole population of a House watching and listening to what's going on," he said, scanning the corners as he made his way back to his common room, still on high alert. "What House were you in? Or did you go somewhere else for schooling?" he asked, noticing the Auror's eyes jumping all over the place.
"Durmstrang," Alexander replied simply.
"Ah. And what do you think? Does Hogwarts live up to its reputation?" he asked curiously, having never considered going somewhere else to learn, even if he had issues against the staff of his current school. Maybe he would consider a transfer if things got worse.
"Don't know, though I admit, it's certainly more homely. Durmstrang is run more like a military barracks than a place of learning at times. Plus, the snow is nice at first but becomes a pain after a while," Alexander admitted. "It's always cold."
"Interesting. What do you learn there?" he asked, taking the steps casually as he made his way up a staircase, unlike the Auror who looked outright nervous as he looked down at his feet.
"Well, mainly the practical side of magic, rather than theoretical," Alexander said.
"I can see the appeal of that," the last Potter replied, seeing the advantages of that type of course scheme.
Answering the riddle at the door, Harry stepped inside and found almost his entire House staring at him.
"Yeah, I'm not dead, though someone did try to make that declaration false," he announced before heading over to his friends. "What's up, you guys?" he greeted, causing them to snap out of their daze.
"We thought you were dead! The paintings were saying you'd been murdered!" Terry explained hurriedly as Padma lunged at him, wrapping him in a tight hug, dried tear marks easily visible. "Only Penny believed otherwise."
The girl in question was sporting a smug expression.
Smiling, Harry said, "Nice to see someone has some faith in me. Besides, all of you should know better than to trust the paintings to give accurate recounting—they love to gossip," he scolded the group, still comforted by the evidence that they cared. He gently worked his way out of Padma's hug. "I'm fine, Padma."
"I told them the same thing," Penny said from her armchair.
"Well, I need to write a letter to my godfather now. We can talk more in the morning," he said before turning to the rest of the Common Room. "What are you waiting for? An assassin to appear out of smoke and shadow?" he scolded, wondering why everyone was always listening to his business, before heading up to his dorm.
"Mr. Potter, I need to check your room for anything dangerous," his bodyguard said suddenly.
Moving to one side to grant the Auror access, he nodded. "Sure, go ahead, but I doubt you'll find anything." A couple of minutes passed before he was finally allowed access to his own room.
Finally alone, he activated his charmed mirror before throwing a silencing charm on the door so he wasn't overheard. A minute ticked by before the surface rippled like liquid metal.
"Hey Pup, what's up?" his godfather asked cheerfully as his face appeared.
"Hey," he greeted back, wondering how to tell his godfather without causing him to rush back from his long-overdue vacation. "Well, I'll keep this short: someone just tried to kill me."
It took less than a dozen heartbeats for his godfather to recover. "Serious? No joke."
"Serious, Sirius. The Tonks are acting as my guardian in your place. I was ambushed in a corridor today on my way back to the common room. I think it was Peter," he said before explaining the night's events. He had to calm his godfather down, as expected, but Sirius promised not to come rushing back as Harry assured him he had everything under control.
...
( Next Day, Breakfast )
The whole school was gawking at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. No, I haven't died yet, no matter how much some of you may want me to," he smirked, sending a look at the Slytherin table. "So why don't you go back to your breakfast rather than staring at me? Haven't your parents told you how rude it is to stare?" he scolded them like children before sitting down next to Padma.
"Well, someone's in a cheerful mood," Terry said, breaking the ice.
"Sorry, it's just annoying," he offered for his bad mood.
"Know who tried to off you then?" another Ravenclaw probed, clearly seeking some gossip.
"Peter Pettigrew is the most likely suspect," he said to the table, since all of them were listening—some just more discreetly than others—as he grabbed some fruit from the table, not feeling like cereal today. "The thing that annoys me is that for the foreseeable future, I'm going to have a guard following me around. I kind of like my privacy," he said, more for Padma's benefit.
"Hopefully whatever Auror is assigned to guard me will be cool. I'd rather not have them hovering around while I bathe or shower. That would just be plain creepy," he said, getting a series of chuckles and giggles at the image he just made.
"Never know, you could get a hot blonde," one of the older boys said from up the other end of the table.
"Doubt I'll be that lucky," he said, getting a playful twat on the shoulder from Padma.
"What! Just trying to look on the bright side of the situation, rather than dwell on the negative, Padma," he said in his defense.
"Nah, you got Mad-Eye Moody by the looks of it," his cousin announced, taking a seat next to him, pushing Terry away, who tried to protest but was ignored by the Metamorph. "At least you'll be safe. He's put more dark wizards behind bars than anyone in Ministry history. How are you coping?" she asked, grabbing some toast.
"I'm fine, Tonks," he answered seriously. "How do you know it's Mad-Eye and not some Ministry grunt?" he asked, wondering what his dad's old mentor would be like.
"Saw him talking to the Headmaster, along with a good dozen Aurors."
"I feel sorry for Peter then. Mad-Eye will have an axe to grind. My dad was his partner for a bit during the war, and Mad-Eye knew Peter and probably considered the turncoat a friend. I can't imagine how much Mad-Eye would want to gut the traitorous rat," he explained, wondering how the recent Aurors being deployed around school would affect Lucius' plot. Would it be called off?
...
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