Harry Potter and the Godric's Curse

Harry Potter has many problems. He wears glasses, he's hunted by Voldemort, he has bad grades, and he has more enemies than he should want. Oh, yeah…that, and Neville has misaimed yet another spell…at him. In the time of Chamber of Secrets. Definitely not compatible with the books.

I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER, THE CHARACTERS, OR HOGWARTS. ALL I OWN IS THE PLOT OF THIS STORY. THIS IS MY DESCLAIMER FOR THER ENTIRE STORY.

***

Chapter One

***

Harry Potter sighed. It was a crisp, autumn morning at Hogwarts. He sat in his bed in the magical castle where magic was taught to underage wizards and witches. School had begun on September first, but now it was October twelfth. Second year classes were more advanced than first year, but the second year trio was prepared for any challenge the teachers could throw at them. Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and harry Potter were a trio from the moment Ron and Harry saved her from a mountain troll the year prior on Halloween.

Harry heard the floor creak. He looked over in the direction of Dean Thomas, and the young boy was getting out of his bed. Hogwarts was an old school, so it obviously had many creaks. Its stairways also moved, but that was another matter.

Harry stared out of the window, just as the sun was beginning to rise. It was quarter of seven, and breakfast began at quarter after seven. There was no point in trying to sleep now. Harry shuffled out of bed, his eyes half-closed. He pulled the sheets up and tidied his bed, pulling the blankets over the sheets and folding them back. He fluffed his pillow as well. When done, he rested his arm on the bed-stand and sighed, exhausted. Now all he had to do was prepare for his classes. He leaned down and brought his trunk from under his bed. Grabbing his robes, books, and wand, he securely locked the trunk and shoved it under his bed. He, as quietly as possible, walked over to the entrance of the room, opened the door, and stepped out. Shutting the door behind him as quietly as he could, Harry tiptoed down to the common room, where Hermione Granger sat on the sofa, reading a book.

"Good morning, Harry," she said brightly, looking up from Animagi and Aura; Book Three.

"Morning, 'Mione," Harry mumbled, breaking off into a yawn. Hermione frowned in sympathy.

"No luck sleeping tonight, either?" she asked. Harry shook his head. "Well, you can always ask Professor Snape for a sleeping potion."

Harry scowled in disapproval. "Hermione," he said in a low voice, "The only thing that man will ever give me is sleeping poison. I don't trust him."

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. Sticking her nose back into her book, she left Harry to head into the boys' lavatory where he quickly got dressed and ready for the day. He came back out with his long black robes on and his books under his left arm. His right hand held his wand that he had purchased from Ollivander's Wand Shop last year: holly and phoenix feather, with a core that was the brother to Tom Marvello Riddle's wand. Tom, who was a Hogwarts student fifty years prior, was also known by the name of Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard who gave Harry his lightning-bolt scar and made him famous in the wizarding world for being the only person having survived the killing curse.

By the time Harry was out of the lavatory, Ron Weasley was downstairs, fully dressed, and arguing with Hermione about a Transfiguration project. Harry decided to ignore this one, and grabbed them by the arms to drag them to the Great Hall, where the bickering ended when Ron laid eyes on the food.

Harry's schedule was packed: wake up, breakfast, Transfiguration, Potions, and History of magic, lunch, Charms, Defense against the Dark Arts, dinner, Quidditch practice, and then sleep.

Breakfast was simple enough; Harry just ate the usual of eggs and toast, and took off to Transfiguration with Ron and Hermione. Hermione was starting the argument once more, so Harry quickened his pace, not wanting to be sucked in.

He turned a corner quickly, pushing through the wave of students. He collided into his friend and roommate, Neville Longbottom.

"Hello, Harry!" Neville greeted, his face lighting up. "I thought you were Malfoy or something."

"There is no way I'm anything like Malfoy," Harry confirmed, picking up his wand. It had fallen onto the ground during the collision.

"Where's Ron?" Neville questioned, now following Harry to Transfiguration. "And Hermione?"

Harry jerked a thumb behind him. "Arguing," he muttered, "Not listening."

Neville nodded, understanding. "Ah."

-----

(Sorry. I really want to get to the good part. So…this first chapter is not going to be very exciting, detail-wise and slow writing-wise.)

-----

"Now, pair up," Professor McGonagall was saying. It turns out Hermione was right- Professor McGonagall was testing them on their spell memorization skills. Each student had to pair up with another and perform the spells at small objects.

Immediately, Harry flew to grab Ron as his partner, but Seamus had already claimed him. Dean and Hermione were paired up, as well. Harry groaned inwardly. Both of his best friends weren't options.

Harry looked around rapidly. Students were pairing up left and right. Even the Slytherins were all paired up. Harry looked over to a table to see Neville Longbottom sitting alone. Harry felt bad for groaning inwardly at Neville, but that boy was not the best at performing spells perfectly, or right in any way. Neville brightened as he saw Harry striding over.

"Harry!" he said, smiling and sitting up straighter. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to go alone."

"Me neither," Harry agreed, nodding. Neville rose to his feet and took his wand from his desk. "Ready?" Harry asked.

Neville gave a worried look, but nodded. Professor McGonagall had levitated ten objects onto each desk. Five for each student. Neville had a fretting look on his face, so Harry worked first. "Feraverto!" he cried, pointing his wand at a glass. Light poured out of his wand's tip, and it engulfed the glass. It began changing shape, and metal began to form. A metal key was now in place of the glass. The first task was done for Harry.

Neville gulped. "Wow."

"Your turn," harry said, motioning to the second glass. Neville raised his wand slowly and shakily.

"Fere…fereverto!"

Light sprung from Neville's wand and onto the glass. Neville gasped in shock and pulled his wand away, stopping the spell. The glass was now a metal cup, not yet fully a key. Neville's ears turned pink. He glanced at Harry.

"Sorry," he mumbled. He shifted his feet in anxiety.

"It's all right Neville, Transfiguration's tough," Harry assured. He felt guilty as he easily finished the second task- changing a paper clip into a ladybug- while Neville couldn't aim it right and burnt Harry's ladybug to a crisp.

"Er…Let's do the third task, instead," Harry said quickly, as Neville aimed his wand at the paper clip once more. Neville agreed, nodding.

The third task was the hardest of the five tasks: changing a lamp. Even a fifth year would have difficulty with that! But Professor McGonagall wanted to see how advanced her class was, and how fast she could move in her lessons.

"Neville, I'll go second," Harry said. "You can go first."

"Are you sure?" Neville asked. "I mean, maybe if I saw it first…"

"It's the same spell," Harry assured. "Just go ahead." Harry drummed the table with his fingertips. He picked up his wand and walked behind the table. Neville was in front of it, pointing his wand at the lamp. His expression frozen, Neville didn't make a move. He looked like a colored statue.

Harry wondered if Neville had fainted on two feet. His eyes didn't move. It looked as though he was hardly breathing.

"Neville?" Harry asked eventually. "Any day, now."

Neville looked up. "What? Oh, right. The spell…" His nose twitched. His voice a bit off, he said, "Hold on…I've got to…got to…" He held his head high s though about to sneeze. A moment later, he shook his head and pointed his wand at the lamp. "False alarm," he confirmed, not taking his eyes off of the lamp.

Neville narrowed his eyes, concentrating. He muttered something under his breath. He took a deep breath, and then…

"Fer…fera…Furave-e-echooo!"

A blinding bright light illuminated the classroom. Harry saw Neville fly backwards before the light engulfed him- missing the lamp entirely. Harry saw white light in front of him, and fell backwards, not feeling his head smack against the ground…because it didn't. He landed softly, as though the fall was much smaller now, not that high. His head merely landed against the ground with a dull thud. Harry heard a giggle, a shout, and a scream before his senses faded entirely.

*****

Hours passed. Hermione and Ron waited, in the Hospital Wing, for any news. Neville waited with them, his head hung with guilt.

"It wasn't your fault, Neville," Hermione said quietly. "You sneezed. It happens to everybody."

"She's right," Ron confirmed. "Harry will be fine. Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey will fix him up in no time."

"But what if they don't?" Neville fretted, looking up with his eyes wide. "What if he's like-like-like…I don't know, stuck?"

Hermione and Ron exchanged a worried look, unable to answer.

A door opened with a creak. Ron, Hermione, and Neville leaped to their feet, their eyes wide with anxiety.

"Harry!" Ron shouted.

"How is he?" Hermione pressed. "Will he be okay?"

"Was he fixed?" Neville asked, his fists clenching.

Without waiting for an answer, the three second years rushed passed professor McGonagall.

"Wait!" she called, whipping around and putting out an arm. "You need to be warned-"

They students took no notice and ran into the Hospital Wing. A woman dressed in white stopped them as she collided with them. "No running!" she snapped, more grumpy than usual. "Minerva, please hold your students back! They're your House, after all."

Professor McGonagall came up behind the students and laid a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "They're very loyal to their friend, Poppy," she reminded her. "They're anxious to see him. But…" McGonagall's face darkened. "We must tell them what has happened. And then I will fetch Albus."

Madame Pomfrey sighed. "No, Minerva," she said. "I'll fetch him…you explain, please. You have more experience with…bad news."

Hermione tensed beneath McGonagall's hand. Ron's eye widened and Neville let out a shaky breath. The professor noticed their surprised reactions and soothingly said, "Go on, Poppy. It's alright."

Madame Pomfrey pressed past without another word.

The students whipped around to face their teacher. "Professor, please!" Hermione begged. "Let us see Harry!"

"Come on, Professor!" Ron added, "We've seen bunches of injuries; one of Neville's haywire spells can' possibly-"

"Mr. Weasley, I believe none of you have ever heard of such a situation as this," Professor McGonagall said coldly. Ron was surprised by her bitter tone. He shook his head. "Well. The thing is, neither have we."

Hermione gasped. "You mean…you can't fix him?" she squeaked.

Professor McGonagall's expression softened. "We've done everything," she said softly. "Every spell, medicine, and reversal. Nothing had worked. We're calling upon professor Dumbledore for one spell that we haven't the strength to summon."

The trio remained silent. Surprisingly, Neville was the one to break the silence eventually. Raising his head, he asked, "Can we see Harry? We don't care what's happened, we want to see him."

Professor McGonagall smiled lightly. "I see no harm in that," she said. "He's still unconscious, be aware. He won't wake up for some time. Please do be careful…Mr. Longbottom."

Neville's face grew dark red before he followed Hermione and Ron into the white room. Every bed was empty.

Then, there was Harry's bed.

*****

Harry heard voices. They were saying his name, over and over…not right after another, though. It was regular speech in which Harry could only identify his first name. The voices were familiar, yet vague. He knew he knew them…but his memories were fuzzy.

There was another voice now…also familiar…it was someone Harry looked up to. He groaned silently as he felt himself being lifted with magic. A cold sensation flooded through him, like cold water had drenched his entire body. He was gently lowered…and then his eyes snapped open. Cold water would jerk anybody awake!

"Harry!"

That was three voices. Memories suddenly weaved into Harry's brain. Hermione, Ron, Neville! "Ron…Hermione…Neville."

Harry could hardly form the words. His eyelids were drooping as he spoke. He rested his head against the pillow and closed his eyes once more, exhausted.

"I wouldn't do that, Mr. Potter. Unless you need us to wake you once more?"

Harry's eyes snapped open, fully awake. Dumbledore. That was the voice, the later voice. The one who had woken him with the cold spell.

Harry sat up. He saw the faces of Hermione, Ron, Neville, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Madame Pomfrey. …But he wasn't wearing any glasses! Harry realized how clearly he could see without them now.

The first of Neville's spell to actually improve something, Harry joked to himself, wanting to thank Neville. Then he saw the guilty look on Neville's face and decided against it. The boy was clearly upset.

"Harry!" Hermione cried, her eyes wet with tears. "Are you okay? Feeling alright?"

"Never better," harry sighed, nodding.

"You gave us a scare, mate," Ron said uneasily. "Still are."

"How?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance.

Harry shrugged it off. "Neville, are you okay?" he asked, turning to the round boy. Neville bit his lip.

"I'm sorry, Harry!" he blurted out. "I didn't mean to hit you!" He hung his head. "It was an accident; I sneezed! I'm sorry; I didn't know that it made a spell!"

Harry chuckled. "Neville, Neville, calm down!" he said. "It's okay! Everything's fine."

Ron was taken aback. "You mean…you don't care?" he asked.

"Care about what?" Harry asked. "I can see perfectly, now. Neville fixed my sight."

"That's not all he did," Hermione said, looking away.

Harry turned his head to the side. "What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked. "What happened?"

Neville looked down at his shoes. Ron blinked, not wanting to speak. Hermione shook her head and sighed. Before a teacher could move, she took something out of her book bag. It was a tiny mirror.

"We're sorry, Harry," she said quietly. "We tried everything. Everything we could think of."

Harry's heart sank. What could be so terrible that they were so apologetic? Hermione flashed the mirror at Harry face…

Harry's furry, cat face.

Silence. All was still for a few moments.

"NEVILLE, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Harry roared, his new fur bristling with fury. Answering his own question, he bellowed, "You turned me into a cat, Neville! How could you have possibly-!" Harry wanted to say, how could you have possibly used a powerful curse for the first time ever, and use it on me?! But somehow, Harry wasn't that mad, and could force himself to say it. Neville already looked guilty, and seeing Harry's reaction, Neville was bright red with shame. Harry instantly felt sorry for what he'd done. He shook his head.

Staring back into Hermione's mirror, Harry recognized himself as a gray tomcat. He had a white lightning shaped mark on his forehead.

Great. Even as a cat, I'm still the lightning-head.

Harry then noticed his eyes. He had worried they had changed…thank goodness they hadn't. He still had his mother's green eyes. Harry smiled a very un-catlike smile. At least that remained.

Harry turned to face Neville. "Neville," he said calmly, "I'm sorry. I hope you don't feel bad about this."

Neville looked up, his face still red. "I turned you into a cat," he reminded Harry, as though surprised Harry was letting this go.

Harry nodded. "I noticed," he said dryly. "But my sight's better!"

Neville sniffled. "That's true," he said thoughtfully.

"If I may interrupt," Professor McGonagall said, "Professor Dumbledore would like to say something."

"Thank-you, Minerva," Dumbledore said. He stepped closer to Harry. "This is quite the predicament. What to do with you, Mr. Potter?"

A thought struck Harry. "Professor, please, don't send me away to the Dursley's to be a Muggle cat…or send me to a shelter!"

Ron seemed shocked at this idea, and said, "Professor, don't!"

Dumbledore held up a hand. "Thank you, Mr. Weasley," he said. "But I have no intentions of send you away, Harry. That would be rude to abandon you." His eyes twinkled. "I do, indeed, have a better idea."

Harry brightened. "Yes, sir?"

Dumbledore looked around at the group. "I want Harry to continue his studies at Hogwarts as a student."

Everybody's jaw dropped.

"Professor, how-"

"Albus, I don't understand-"

"Have you lost your mind, Albus?"

"But how-"

Dumbledore raised a hand. "I know it seems impossible. But, Harry no longer needs to use a wand. Magic runs through his entire body now. Any motion could cast a spell. His tail could be his wand."

Harry flinched at the words, his tail. It was still so strange, so foreign. Then, he waved his tail, and he felt like laughing at it.

"His eyes. He could control something with them, and just speak the words," Dumbledore continued. "He could use his classmates' books, and sleep in his dormitory. I see no difference, besides species."

Hermione had a puzzled expression on her face. "But what about eating?" she asked, looking at Harry's thin figure. Harry heard his stomach growl and could see his ribs showing. He looked like a groomed feral cat!

"Mrs. Norris may give Harry lessons on being a cat," Dumbledore replied, "and that includes hunting."

"Hunting?" Harry prompted. "As in, mice?" The idea horrified him.

"If you'd prefer, you may eat the Great Hall's meat,' Dumbledore suggested. Harry nodded vigorously. "Yet you still need lessons from Mrs. Norris. She knows about being a cat, obviously."

Harry nodded, understanding. "And…what about the holidays?" he asked.

Dumbledore held up a hand. "That bridge will be crossed later," he announced. "For now, never take off that collar."

Collar?

Harry pressed a paw to his neck and felt a tug. Sure enough, he was wearing a collar. It had a gemstone where a tag would be.

"That allows you to speak human tongue," Dumbledore explained. "Without that, you'd literally be at a loss for words."

Harry nodded. "Understood," he mumbled.

"Well, then…off to dinner with you all!"

-----

Please review!