Tanya Degurechaff’s Hogwarts Adventure

Tanya Degurechaff

It was really nice of the Moons to invite me to join them on vacation to Majorca. In many ways, I was reminded of my retirement at the end of my last life in Florida. Palm trees, warm weather, and salt in the breeze.

Only now my body is young enough to enjoy the beach and the little shops scattered around. My body was able to keep up with the youthful energy Lily had, so I was mostly letting her set our pace when her parents allowed us to explore on our own.

I was confident that I could handle anything the locals could send our way, from simple scams meant to bilk tourists of their money to possible kidnappers looking for some English girls to use as either drug mules or 'personal servants', but I would respect Mr. and Mrs. Moon's desire to keep their daughter safe from trouble. A perfectly healthy concern considering Lily's powerful imagination.

I could see where she got that from as her father was a fiction author that dabbled in multiple genres under several pen names. Her mother worked for a small upscale shop in London to stay busy. Mr. Moon apparently made enough on his stories that they don't need the extra income, particularly with how cheap Magical Britain could be to live in if you were smart about it, but she didn't like being idle and the housework didn't build up enough to keep her busy. Especially now that Lily is going to a boarding school most of the year.

Loving, caring parents worried for their child and their child's future. Mr. Moon had admitted that they weren't sure about letting Lily go to Hogwarts so soon. Her birthday was August 31, the literal cutoff age for students going to Hogwarts, and she was a premature birth. That certainly helped explain her difficulties in class to a degree, but my efforts had gotten her to pass, proving she had been ready… with a little help. And if tutoring her got me tropical vacations, I was not going to complain about the compensation package at all.

Despite her issues in class, I was half convinced that Lily only acted stupid because there were times she would say something profoundly correct. She mentioned how I didn't look at historical relics with awe, but with nostalgia, as though seeing something again after a long time.

She was right in a lot of ways. The historical locations and museums we visited were not unfamiliar to me. They were not the same as my last life, but they were close enough that I only saw the similarities and not the differences.

She was a silly, energetic girl, but hidden somewhere in that head of hers was a mind capable of seeing things others could not. If only I could pull out that potential, she could be someone amazing.

"Wooow!" Lily cried out as we reached the top of the hill and got a good view of the city, the beaches, and the sea in a gorgeous panoramic scene. Skies only lightly dusted with whisps of clouds in the clear blue skies.

"Wow indeed," I said, smiling. It was beautiful and I was able to enjoy the moment in a way I haven't in decades. Maybe ever. I had no aches and pains, no worries or concerns. Just a future of potential and a… friend by my side.

—-

Quirinus Quirrell

New York was a disgusting hive of people. Full of muggles going through their worthless lives, buildings meant to hold them in such tight capacity that it was a wonder they weren't cannibalizing each other, and their various metal contraptions they use to get around clogging the streets.

A mess that deserves to be wiped out like the plague they are.

But not yet. Master Voldemort would begin cleansing the world of Muggle filth soon enough, but for now they needed to get him a new body and off the back of his head.

Getting to America was not difficult for the pair as there were ships constantly moving between England and America, though a lot more seemed to be traveling to and from China for some unfathomable reason. A couple of charms and they were on one of the ships. It was not luxurious or comfortable, but those would have brought potential scrutiny they could not afford.

No, they would be traveling in secrecy. While there was no Dumbledore in America to watch their movements, the old codger had allies everywhere. He likely was unaware that Quirinus was attempting to resurrect Voldemort, but would have noticed the attempt on the stone. It would have been best if they had managed to claim the Philosopher's Stone to resurrect Voldemort with as it would have had the least complications.

Returning a spirit back to the world of the living was not a simple or easy process with multiple rituals and methods around the world with a variety of requirements and reagents. In Voldemort's life, he had done research into a multitude of these rituals and methods and created a bit of a list of which ones he found most beneficial for himself should he ever need them. The topmost option was a potion made with the elixir of life as there would be nearly no downside to using that method.

With some potential downsides, there were rumors of methods for a spirit to return to life using a ritual deep in the southern swamps of the Colonies. Having to travel all the way to this backwater cesspit of simpletons and find a local Dark Magic practitioner both able and willing to aid in Voldemort's return were certainly a pair of indignities Voldemort would have preferred to do without.

For now, Quirinus had imperiused a server into giving him a meal that he paired with a vial of unicorn blood. With the preservation charms on the vials and the amount of blood he had managed to collect, Quirinus estimated with careful rationing he could perhaps extend how long he had before Voldemort's presence in his body would kill him to about a year. Unicorn blood could extend a person's life, especially if they had some form of illness, significantly, but at a cost. Already Quirinus was noticing a paleness coming to his skin.

Quirinus was already in too deep to back out now. Accepting Lord Voldemort into his body was already going to be a death sentence if they did not get him a new body, but the riches would surely be worth all the pain and effort as Quirinus proved his loyalty and worth.

Their destination was south on the coast of a large gulf. While a magical means of travel would be preferable, there was too much risk of being detected by the Magical Congress. No, they would need to walk. A look at a map showed that most of the journey could be made along the coastline with minimal hurdles until they got to the peninsula of the Colonies where cutting across from the ocean coast to the gulf coast would be quick and easy to traverse.

A long journey in front of them, but one that will prove Voldemort's immortality to all.

—

Harry Potter

The party was great, getting to spend time with friends he had made over the school year, meeting their parents, and having fun and good food with them all. He really could not think of a better birthday.

After almost everyone went home, Harry had thanked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for doing this for him, only to be told Hermione was the one to come up with the plan and arrange for everyone to show up. They had simply played hosts.

Harry then thanked Hermione, even giving her a hug, causing the bushy haired girl to smile before she handed her gift to him, a leather wand holster so that Harry could stop walking around with his wand stuck in his pants.

The Grangers left soon after, leaving Harry and the Weasleys to clean up and relax. Molly told Harry he did not need to help clean, as he was a guest, but Harry was fascinated with the magical ways of cleaning up after a party. The swift and effortless disposal of trash, disappearing into thin air with a simple wave of a hand. No more need for bulky rubbish bins or tedious trips to the curb. And the rags, seemingly animated by some invisible force, glided over surfaces with precision and efficiency, leaving them sparkling clean without any human touch needed. It was like living in a world straight out of a dream, where mundane tasks were magically taken care of without any effort on our part.

It was simply magical the way witches and wizards kept a tidy home.

Soon enough, Harry found himself in Ron's room getting ready for bed. A room covered in orange with posters of the Chudley Cannons, Ron's favorite Quidditch team. Ron was insistent that they had a shot this year. Harry didn't really know enough about professional Quidditch to dispute anything Ron said, so he simply agreed with his friend.

The next two weeks were a blur of helping with the chores, having fun with the youngest three Weasley boys, occasionally seeing their sister peeking at him around a corner before hiding, and sending letters to his friends.

The greatest birthday turned into the greatest summer ever for Harry. And it was one bright, sunny morning that he and Ron came down for breakfast that they were reminded that they would soon be seeing more of their friends, along with their teachers. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley along with Ginny were sitting around the kitchen table already. Ginny stuck her elbow into her bowl of porridge as soon as she saw Harry come down, which he pretended to not notice as she hurriedly cleaned her elbow up with cheeks glowing like the sun setting over the hill behind the Burrow.

"Letters from Hogwarts," Mr. Weasley said, passing the envelopes of yellowish parchment addressed in green ink as Mrs. Weasley handed out toast to the boys. Fred and George came down as the letters were getting passed out, still in their pajamas. "You two've got them too," Mr. Weasley added.

For a moment, everything was silent except for the crunch of toast and riffling of pages as the children at the table looked over the letters and Mr. Weasley looked over the morning paper.

The Hogwarts Express would be leaving on September 1st from King's Cross Station, as usual. The list of most of the equipment seemed to be the same as last year. It was only once Harry got to the book list that something unusual became apparent.

'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2' was expected. Having seven books from a single author was a bit odd to Harry. Seven books from someone named Gilderoy Lockhart.

Harry could feel the tension in the air as everyone began discussing how expensive the books would be. Mrs. Weasley had been so kind to him for the past two weeks, being far more of a mother than Aunt Petunia ever was to the orphaned boy. He bit his lip as he thought about the situation, and how he was lucky enough to be able to spend time with this loving family.

Hedwig swooped into the kitchen carrying a letter. Hedwig, his first real birthday present. A gift from Hagrid.

"I could help with the books," Harry offered as he took the letter from Hedwig, seeing it was from Tanya.

"No dear, you don't need to do that," Mrs. Weasley started.

"It is not a problem. You all have been so nice to me, letting me stay with you for so much of the summer," Harry said, looking around. "It is the least I can do to pay you all back. At the very least, I can buy Ron's," Harry paused for a moment as he looked at Ginny and gave a soft smile, "and Ginny's copies of these Lockhart books."

Nearly everyone still seemed tense as they wrestled with what Harry was offering. "Thank you Harry," Mr. Weasley said. "As long as you are sure you can afford it and the rest of your schooling."

The tension in everyone's shoulders left them as Harry nodded. "I'm sure."

Percy came down as Harry read the letter from Tanya.

She was back in the UK and had briefly stopped by the orphanage she had grown up in and was still supposed to be during the summer. Apparently orphanages were being phased out entirely and it was only through a single, large donation that the orphanage she was part of would be able to stay open long enough for all the children currently in residence to either be adopted or to age out of the care. A mix of bad and good news for everyone there. For now though, Tanya was spending her remaining weeks with the Moons and they planned to visit Diagon Alley soon. She hoped Harry and his friends could join, as they had missed celebrating his birthday together.

"Why don't you go tell them we would be happy to?" Mrs. Weasley said with a smile. "Would be a perfectly fine day to get all of your school things."

"Sure," Harry said with a smile. "I'll do that before we head up to that paddock."

The paddock was on a small hill surrounded by trees that the boys were planning on using to play quidditch. Well, more tossing apples at each other while they flew low, but it was close enough to quidditch for the three members and the Captain-in-Training of the Gryffindor Team.

But first, Harry wrote a letter to who he quietly thought of as his oddest friend, but the one he felt the strongest connection to, Tanya Degurechaff.