Chapter 4 For Me: karma bites back!
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Once the trio got through breakfast it was time for double potions. Ron let out a groan as Hermione hefted her bag getting ready for the lessons. Harry however sat rooted to his seat and his friends turned to him in puzzlement. "Harry aren't you coming to class?" Hermione asked turning in surprise. Harry went still and he said calmly "No Hermione, I am not. There is no point in coming, only to get ridiculed. I am going to the library to look up the potions and also make arrangements to practice on my own. You go ahead. Don't wait for me" he said pushing Hermione towards the door.
"Oh Harry!" Hermione exclaimed in distress but she understood his point. Reluctantly she waved a small goodbye and walked to the entrance tugging Ron along. "I wish I could go with him" Ron said under his breath and he was surprised when Hermione concurred "Yes Ron, me too. He needs us" she said simply.
Once his friends left, Harry wasted no time in gathering his own bag and leaving for the library. He did not glance anywhere, not at his classmates who were looking at him curiously or at the staff table. Had he looked, he would have seen Dumbledore's curious and speculative expression as well as the sadness that flitted across Snape's visage.
He made his way swiftly to the library where he read through many potion texts and made notes on how to brew the last lesson taught which the draught of living death. As he went through the notes, he realized that without Snape's forbidding presence or Ron's distractions he understood the subject much better. The burning interest that he had had on his first day of Hogwarts was once again rearing it's head. Sadly, he wished that Snape had been a better teacher for, it was truly an interesting subject after all.
He quickly jotted down the relevant points and decided that he would take his cauldron and set up his potions practice in the disused second floor girl's lavatory. Worst come to worst he could always go down to the chamber even, he thought with a wry chuckle.
Once he was done taking notes, he was startled to find that the hour had almost flown past without him even realizing it. Had he been really that engrossed in the potions text? he wondered marveling at the fact.
Working fast, he gathered his things and made his way to the transfiguration classroom where he knew he would be joined by his friends soon. For the first time since he came to Hogwarts, he had been at peace with potions and his idea of looking up the memory removal spell if he had the time did not even materialize. It just meant one more trip to the library which he could possibly do the next day during potions lessons where in addition to the spell, he had also to find out Durmstrang's address. How else would he be able to send the letter? He mused.
Pondering over the situation he soon realized that he had reached the transfiguration classroom ahead of his friends. He waited for them and was soon rewarded with the sound of his friend's voices unsurprisingly raised in an argument.
"You saw how he was Ron…maybe he is changing" Hermione spoke fervently as Ron shook his head equally vehemently "In a day? Hermione…in a day?" his voice held pure disbelief. He shook his head again "No Mione you are wrong…the man is evil. You will see, come tomorrow and he will be the same git that he was all these years".
"What are you guys arguing about?" Harry asked curiously breaking into his friend's argument. "You should have seen Professor Snape today Harry…he was different" Hermione said animatedly. "Different? How?"Harry questioned looking to the both of them for an explanation.
"I don't know mate…he was just a lot quieter, almost like he was lost in thought or something. He did not even favor Malfoy or take points from Gryffindor, can you believe that?" Ron asked, his voice still reflecting disbelief before adding "He did ask why you are not in class though".
"Oh! He probably wanted to take points…anyway what did you say?" Harry asked as Hermione piped in "I don't know Harry…he might not have. He just seemed calmer, quieter. Do you think he regrets what he does to you? And, by the way because we don't have a cover story we said that you were not feeling too well. It was the only thing that we could come up with at the spur of the moment " she said helplessly flailing her hand.
"I doubt that he regrets anything Mione... I am just not that important to him. Must be something order related and honestly, I don't really care what excuse you guys give for my absence" Harry shrugged nonchalantly while entering the classroom and taking a seat. Hermione and Ron exchanged a worried look before following him.
With no time for further conversation they prepared themselves for McGonagall's class where they spent the better part of an hour trying to turn a cushion into a cat. At the end of the hour Hermione and surprisingly Harry had managed to produce some form of a cat, even if Hermione's was the only one that managed to meow.
It almost seemed that once Harry had made the decision, something had become calm inside of him. As the prospect of leaving the castle loomed imminently, he seemed to want to leave some good memories behind. He felt a new found determination to do well in the few days that he would remain and he owed it to McGonagall to do his best.
As lunch rolled around, Harry discussed the prospect of getting the letter to Durmstrang. He nudged Hermione aside as he said "Mione, I am going to look up Durmstrang's address in the library. In the event that it is not accessible what do we do?" he put forward quietly.
Hermione bit her lower lip in thought before she looked up. "This is going to sound a bit mad …but it might be worth a shot" she said hesitantly. Harry looked at her enquiringly as she explained "Harry, in case we don't find Durmstrang's address we could approach Malfoy".
Harry and Ron looked at her in shock as she continued… "you know how he always went on about how he wanted to go to Durmstrang and instead landed up here, he might actually know something about the place " she said and waited for the axe to fall.
"Mione that's mad…Malfoy? What makes you think he will help us?" Ron burst out but Harry had a contemplative look in his eyes. "That's bloody brilliant Mione" he said as Hermione preened "I mean who else in this whole school will be happy to see me go? And you ask if he will help? He will probably jump at the chance!"he exclaimed.
"Harry, are you sure that this is what you want to do? And you really want to ask Malfoy?" Ron asked in a quiet voice not voicing the "of all people" that hung in the air.
"As it is it's going to be weird without you being here...I mean we will never get to battle trolls, or go into secret chambers or….battle dementors again…or…." He continued in a voice tinged with laughter as Harry playfully punched him and said "yeah yeah…you will have to get used to a regular lifestyle and I know that your mum will be very happy with that" settling the matter for now, even though Ron would come up with it again in the coming days.
Once they got through lunch where Harry once again avoided looking at the speculative glance of Snape, they dispersed once again for the rest of the sessions. Harry could not wait to finish his classes and get to the library and look up the hidden institute. As he planned out the steps to be taken in his new quest, he was getting even more reconciled with his decision and now he had started feeling the slight beginnings of excitement. Finally, he would have some say in his own life and he was very definitely looking forward to that.
So once the classes were done, the three of them hurried to the library at Harry's behest where they searched for any and all information on Durmstrang. However their search did not yield the required information. "Bloody hell! How can an institute exist without an address?" Ron fumed as the other two sank back into their chairs. Harry sighed "I want to move fast Mione…I can't avoid going to potions class forever and when Dumbledore calls me I want to have an answer ready" he said.
"Perhaps you can ask Dumbledore for the address mate" Ron joked but Harry smiled as he said "believe me I am not above that" slyly. Hermione however got up and started gathering the books that they had spread out "guys let's head back to the tower. I need to finish the homework before we can think about the next plan".
Harry and Ron got up too, gathering their share of the books "I am going to ask Malfoy to meet me" Harry suddenly declared. "And what if he doesn't come?" Hermione questioned. Harry shrugged his shoulders and replied "well I will owl him first and see. If that doesn't work I will just have to work out a different plan". Hermione sighed and looked at him sadly "you have really made up your mind, haven't you?" she asked.
"I have Mione, now it is no more a question of just getting away, I want to do this. You won't believe this, but I learnt more in the library today than I have ever learnt in Snape's class. This is important Mione…it might just save my life" Harry replied earnestly.
"Well, you can mail Malfoy but on one condition" Ron interrupted "I will be there when you meet Malfoy. I don't trust the ferret, and I don't like the idea of you meeting him alone." Harry nodded knowing that there was no swaying Ron on this issue "sure, I will owl him tonight and let you know what he says" he said.
Much later, Harry found himself sitting with a parchment in front of him thinking about what to say to Draco Malfoy, his arch rival of five years, thorn in his side and prat extraordinaire. He looked at what he had written and sighed…what do you say to someone with whom you have never conversed…only fought? This was even more difficult than writing to Durmstrang. God knew! from the bunch of discarded parchment sitting in the bin. He read through what he had written one more time. This was what he had arrived at after innumerable drafts and he hoped that it would suffice.
Malfoy,
I know that you and I have never seen eye to eye on any issue but the fact is that I need your help. Could you meet me in the girl's lavatory on the second floor….the one that no one uses you know, at 7p.m tomorrow? In return I believe that I might be able to give you something that will make you very happy.
Harry Potter.
Well that was that….it was not the best way to say things but he really could not think of better phrasing. Well there is nothing to be done I guess, he thought and he just hoped that Malfoy's curiosity was strong enough for him to meet him the next day. With this thought in mind, he got into bed with a deep sense of satisfaction that he was finally doing something constructive instead of just stringing along in his life.
Life was strange enough he mused…and it was now coming full circle. Malfoy had extended his hand in friendship back when he had joined Hogwarts. Harry had turned down the offer then, but five years later he was in the reverse position and he desperately hoped that Malfoy would not turn him down now. Karma was indeed vicious!
Author notes: As ever, I am indebted to each one of my readers for the amazing support you have given this fic. Stay tuned for some Severus Pov as well as some other developments in the next chapter. Thank you once again and please do remember that it is hearing from you that spurs me onto further writing. So please do read and review!
