Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling. I merely own the plot.
I am new to writing and have read many fics over the past 7 years or so, so my sincerest apologies if the plot line seems slightly familiar. Please tell me constructively and I will make adjustments as needed! It is not my intention to use another's idea!!!
Thanks :D Please tell me what you think! And sorry for it being so short but it was 4 pages on word! I will endeavor to create longer chapters in the future.
Welome back
Silence was not what one would associate with the Great Hall on the first morning back to Hogwarts, yet that was what reigned as one Harry Potter stepped in through the gilded doors that morning. He was met with stares of suspicion, awe, hatred, adoration, indifference, confusion and most of all fear, all underlined with varying degrees of lust.
Sighing inwardly, yet outwardly portraying calm, he turned towards his table only to watch as almost all of the students moved to cover up any free spaces available. Neville, Ginny and Hermione were the only ones who made any effort to keep a space for him and were rather loudly removed from the table for doing so.
As they made their way towards him, Hermione's face telling him to let it go, he felt a muscle in his jaw tick in his annoyance. He let his gaze encompass the entire hall and saw the interest on the faces of the other three houses at their predicament. The staff also sat watching, waiting for their next move.
Ignoring Hermione's warning look, he strode confidently towards Gryffindor table, the other three trailing unsurely behind him. Ron and Seamus, the new 'Leaders of Gryffindor', rose to meet him along with half of their posse. Scowling furiously, Ronald Weasley displayed his family's famous temper.
"What the hell do you want Potter?! Can't you see that you and your little cohorts aren't wanted here?" It was said with a sneer worthy of a Slytherin and looked out of place on the normally friendly boy's face. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw several of the teachers draw their wands and hold them at the ready. He also saw and heard the newest generation enquire as to this whole-house rejection of the Savior of the Wizarding World and his friends.
A fifth year whispered loudly down the table, "It's because he's a freak! He defeated a dark lord that even Albus Dumbledore couldn't destroy and came out of it all completely unscathed! Plus he won't tell us how he did it and there's evidence that he's not even human!!!" The first years looked at Harry with varying emotions now, the foremost one being fear, the same as their seniors.
One brave soul dared to ask about the other three outcasts. This time it was Ron Weasley who answered; his malicious tone and cruel smirk would have made Snape proud had he been any other person.
"Those traitors have decided to side with the freak. I'm pretty sure Longbottom isn't as human as he'd like us all to believe either!"
"But Ron what about your sister?" This from one of the braver third years, who shook slightly as a dark glare was sent his way.
"We gave her a chance, tried to prove to her how dangerous he was but she wouldn't listen. From here on Ginerva Abigail Weasley is no sister of mine!" There was a brilliant flash of light and the feeling of active magic permeated the air. When they could all see again it was to see Ron's look of shock as well as Ginny's pained expression as she held her hand to her chest. Clearly, he hadn't realized the permanent and powerful effect of his words.
Professor McGonagall was somehow directly in front of the trembling red head, screaming about the consequences of his actions into his shocked face. The Gryffindors behind him, who had been standing to show their support against Harry, sat back down quickly and turned their faces away. Many others, from all houses, stared unabashedly at the commotion caused by the brash Weasley, Ginny's heart wrenching sobs getting to a lot of them.
As Madam Pomfrey began to escort the shocked and depressed teen out of the hall, with Luna, Hermione and Neville at her side, Harry stopped as Ron's voice reached him.
"This is your entire fault Potter!" That once again brought about total silence. Total deadly silence. Even Professors McGonagall and Snape (who had moved to aid her with the foolish boy) were struck speechless by his sheer audacity. When Harry spoke, his voice was soft, just barely above a whisper, and all the more dangerous for it.
"I will accept responsibility for the death of the supposed Dark Lord Voldemort, as well as six of his inner circle," There was a large intake of breath at the newly revealed information, "I will even admit that I embraced my creature inheritance in order to defeat them. I have accepted all that you have thrown my way in regards to this, despite the fact I had never wanted to battle him. I hadn't even known I was a wizard until I received my acceptance into Hogwarts, far less that I had supposedly defeated some great wizard from before I could even remember. I became the weapon that you all demanded I be, and won the battle that you all demanded I win, and now at the end of it all I am condemned for it, and still I accept it quietly. It is out of respect for my true friends that I will not make a big deal about you ostracizing them for being true Gryffindors, and standing up for what they believe is right.
But I cannot and will not accept responsibility for your utter stupidity and irresponsibility in regards to this attack against Ginny. The blame for this rests solely upon your shoulders. I merely hope for your sake that the rest of your family agrees with your point of view when this gets out. Ginny has family with me and mine, and does not need a bigoted pig like you in her life."
He made to leave after that but paused as he heard an unintelligible screech as Ron threw himself at him. He saw Neville move and there was a gurgling sound behind him. Turning he smirked lightly, completely ignoring the gasps of fear at Neville's display of power. Ronald Weasley was turning an interesting shade of purple as his air supply rapidly dwindled. The cause? An eighteen foot poison ivy had appeared out of nowhere, the vines strangling him as they held him suspended by his neck.
"Mr. Longbottom, as amusing as this may be, please release Weasley now, we cannot afford to have student deaths on Hogwarts grounds." Ahh you've got to love Snape.
"No, I don't think I will." There were shocked gasps and even Snape could not contain his look of sheer incredulousness at Neville's response. As they watched, the seemingly timid boy's face took on a malicious taint that rivaled anything his Potions' Professor had ever sent him. Then suddenly Ronald Weasley was being lifted higher into the air before he was slammed rather viciously into the ground before being lifted higher once again, the vine never releasing its grip on his throat.
"Mr. Longbottom, stop this at once!" Professor McGonagall looked torn between horror and disbelief at the behavior of the members of her house. The boy turned cold, uncaring eyes on her for but a moment before the body of his classmate was once again sent flying towards the earth.
"Stop this Neville." Harry's voice was soft but commanding, and the rest of the student body could only watch in disbelieving awe as the vine abruptly pulled up, Weasley making a horrible gagging sound from the rough treatment even as a loud snap was heard as his legs hit the ground instead of his head. There was a collective wince at the sound, then he was ignored almost completely as all attention was turned to what seemed to be a developing conflict between The-Boy-Who-Lived-To-Defeat-Voldemort and one of his most faithful friends.
Neville was shaking with barely suppressed rage, his eyes narrowed to slits and his fists clenched so tightly Harry could smell the blood beneath his nails. "Put him down, Nev." The shaking increased nearly tenfold and suddenly in his fit of anger several more giant plants burst through the floor of the Great Hall, and Ronald Weasley remained strung up like a skinned rabbit.
"Why?" His voice was so soft that even in the severe silence that had encompassed them for nearly the entire evening the other occupants of Hogwarts had to strain to hear him. Then suddenly he exploded in a passionate rant, "Why do you still defend him after all he has done to you?! To you, to me, to 'Mione and Ginny and even Luna?! Why do you merely ignore his antics? Why will you not fight back, why will you never defend yourself against him and those supporting him?! Why do you defend him even now?!"
Harry considered Neville carefully, taking in the strain in his voice, the green and brown swirls in the whites of his eyes – a sure sign of just how close his creature blood was to the surface – the tears of anger and frustration coursing their way down his cheeks, and Harry sighed. Looking to his other friends and even to the rest of the student body he noticed those very same questions in all their eyes and the sorrow in the eyes of his most faithful. Returning his attention to the brunette at his side he felt his gaze soften as he decided on how best to answer.
Neville's eyes widened in shock as he felt Harry's hand come up to caress his left cheek, his look just as tender as his touch and his voice more so than either, startling the other inhabitants at the sudden change in his persona. "You mistake me, dear one. I am not defending him in any form; the object of my defense is you." He continued quickly before the other boy could object, "If you were to kill him, you would be sent to Azkaban for murder, and then what sort of trouble would I have to go to, to rescue you?" There was mild amusement in his voice near the end, though he could tell Neville was not satisfied with his answer.
"And I do not retaliate to his taunting for two reasons. One: I will not lower myself to his level, and therefore neither should you, and two: I battled and won against one of the most powerful dark lords we have seen for nearly two millennia. I am hardly about to let my hard earned self control be lost because some child," and here he sneered the word, "has decided that he wants to play grown-ups. He is hardly worth the effort of hating not to mention actually spending energy responding to his whines. Therefore drop him and ignore him from now on."
He could see the reluctance in the brown eyes, the barely veiled hatred as he looked at the red head and sought to reassure the boy, "If I think anything he does worthy of retribution then I will do so in my own way, you need not defend me against Ronald Weasley."
Neville suddenly slumped, looking defeated, then a malicious intent entered his eyes as he took Harry's words at face value. He dropped the barely conscious boy. From nearly 25 feet up in the air. He was thoroughly disappointed when the Headmaster caught the foolish boy about a foot off the ground. Then Snape stepped forward, a strange light in his eyes as he looked over Harry's group in silent appraisal.
"Mr. Longbottom, 10 points from Gryffindor for directly disobeying two Professors, and another 20 for endangering the life of another student." Again there were shocked gasps, and again it was in complete disbelief, but this time it was over how few points the Potions Master had just taken from one of his most hated students. "Mr. Potter," they all inched forward in anticipation at what was to come, "20 points . . . to Gryffindor for preventing the death of another student." And the hall was gob smacked.