Harry shut the door behind him and went to sit beside Ron. Even though Harry had a lot to do with his new alliances and adjusting to the new world, he and Ron had kept their friendship and seeing him pale and unconscious in the Hospital Wing made Harry unhappy.
Somehow it felt like it was his fault, even if he hadn't been anywhere near the incident. Hermione had been chastising Ron for making a tasteless and highly offensive joke at dinner when a Ravenclaw upperclassman heard and, he was told, made a derogatory sound and comment. At that time Harry had been in the dungeons escorting Neville to his Potions tutoring with Blaise Zabini. When he returned to the Common Room he'd heard what had happened, and that Ron had ended up defending Hermione and being cursed.
Harry sighed and sat on the edge of Ron's bed. The sleeping boy stirred and blinked at him.
"…Harry?"
"How'd you know?" asked Harry, smiling half heartedly.
"The glasses on your shine…I mean…" Ron's mouth opened wide and he yawned lordly. "Sorry, mate. 'M really tired."
"I heard you were cursed," Harry said quietly. Ron blinked.
"Only with a mild sleeping hex. Fell face first into my plate, good thing it was empty. I'll be fine …*yawn*…by morning."
Some of the tension left Harry's body. He smiled again. "That's good. You'll miss Neville in his first Potions class after he started tutoring if you sleep too late," he said, and some of the tension eased from the atmosphere as well. Ron frowned sleepily.
"Oh, Potions," he spat. Then he sighed. "Alright, Harry, I'll be there. Only for you and Neville, of course."
Harry's smile widened.
"Of course. Not like you want to see the look on Snape's face when he sees Neville not melt a cauldron."
"Petty vengeance? Not my…*yawn…not my style," mumbled Ron, eyes closing. Harry patted his leg and stood, smiling.
"'Night, Ron," he whispered. Ron made a noise that vaguely resembled a farewell and slipped back into slumber.
Harry left the Hospital Wing much happier. Ron was okay, Dean was over his cold, Hermione was safely out of her funk, and Neville was going to kick Potions arse tomorrow morning, thanks to Draco and Blaise.
It had surprised him that Gryffindors and Slytherins could get along so well, given what Hagrid said. Pansy and Lavender had shuffled a bit, but then Ron had caved and told them about the Agreement, as one of the Gryffindors of the time had seen it. He talked about how his brother told him that after Halloween, nobody wanted the prejudices anymore, and nobody wanted people walking about that were weak from oppression. It was easy enough, he said, to spread the idea around the isolated school, but the hundreds of older wizards set in their ways would be impossible to convince. Then he shrugged and said that that was alright because immediately wasn't important and it was that generation that had mattered, anyway. He sobered and mentioned that things had changed a lot and there was more competition, too.
Contemplative silence had fallen, and the impromptu meeting had disbanded in the thoughtful quiet.
Now Harry saw it everywhere. The upperclassmen saw the firsties as easy prey, weaker and unaware of the dynamic. But he knew what it would take for him to be taken seriously in Gryffindor.
He had to get stronger. Much stronger.
:-:
When Harry first approached the youngest Lions with his idea, Lavender had been skeptical. All she had heard was "more work."
Then Ron blinked rapidly and said, "You know how we can be respected even though we're first years?"
After that she was all ears.
They had all been. Even impatient Seamus had listened eagerly as Harry paced the boy's dorm—which had become their meeting place shortly after the alliance was formed—and explained his plan.
Firstly, they would all make sure to study and work hard in their classes. There was no use, he said, in looking into higher level spells when they might have missed something basic due to carelessness.
Secondly, they had to eat healthy meals. Desserts were okay, but protein and calcium were important. Of course, he had to explain what both of those things were, but then they were ready to listen again.
"Maybe we can make lists of things we hear about or read about that seem interesting," Harry said, finally standing still, "but we shouldn't try anything above our level until we've finished this year's material."
Hermione sat up straighter, eyes blazing.
"Lets be the best group of Gryffindors Hogwarts has ever seen! The smartest, the hardest working! When they look in the records book, lets make sure our year stands out as the best!"
"That won't make us respected," Lavender pointed out.
"But it works to the same end," Dean said. "If we learn fast and work hard, the professors will give us access to harder stuff, and we can get stronger."
Hermione frowned. "Well, that's one way to look at it, I suppose."
"I think it's a great idea," Parvati said loyally. Lavender nodded.
"It's practically guaranteed to get results," she added.
Harry looked around the room, at the children sitting on beds or on the floor, and smiled. "We're agreed, then?"
The response was unanimous and loud, though quickly shushed by a scolding Hermione.
:-:
The first time Lisa saw a boy in Slytherin colors sitting with two Gryffindor boys, she passed him off as an oddity. But because she was a Ravenclaw, the incident made her notice things.
A Slytherin walking with Ron Weasley to Charms, and the two of them chatting in low voices.
Hermione Granger lecturing the Gryffindor girls and two Slytherins for bickering.
Draco Malfoy snickering at Harry Potter, and the latter simply rolling his eyes.
When Lisa saw a group of mixed Slytherin and Gryffindor first years in the library for the second time, she walked to their table and crossed her arms.
"I want to know what is going on, and I want to know now."
They looked at each other.
"What makes you think something is going on?" asked the Gryffindor.
"Firstly, Gryffindors and Slytherins never, ever get along. My parents and all the books I've read tell horror stories about arguments between your Houses. Secondly, its extremely rare to see anyone but Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws in the library, much less in groups of three. So what's going on?"
Another look was exchanged, and one of the Slytherins started to speak.
"An Agreement?" Lisa murmured when he was done. "That's…certainly something. How do you know?"
"Ron Weasley's older brother was in the year that perpetrated it," said the Gryffindor. One of the Slytherins nodded along. "Alongside that, Hermione Granger figured it out using the last twenty-something volumes of Hogwarts, A History."
Lisa blinked. "That's a lot of reading time."
"She had a long summer," said a Slytherin dryly. Lisa rolled her eyes at him and then narrowed her eyes at the group.
"Why aren't Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff involved? You're withholding vital information, you know."
One of the Slytherins scoffed. "Nobody is supposed to know until second year, at least. That way the hierarchy establishes with subtle influences from older students, not by the year group's preferences."
"Bloody snake," muttered the Gryffindor. He got kicked under the table.
Lisa stood straight. "I'm going to talk to my House, and Hufflepuff. Meet here this Saturday after breakfast."
She walked away.
Another piece fell into place...
A/N:
So the second chapter is up now, hooray. Please tell me if my writing style is disgustingly vague.
Anyway, so we're getting into the story now! That's a lie, actually; were you fooled? I'm still expositioning here (is that a word? No?). Introducing important characters, etc. It should get more exciting later. Maybe.
Jeez, I had an idea and now I have no idea what's going on with it. What a pain.
Please review, tell me what you think!
