Chapter 7
D/C: Let me say it in simple English: me no own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. It's as simple as that.
The beauty of a soft September morn (subsequent to a restless night of wandering the castle floors) was not lost on the "The-Boy-Who-Lived." It was a beautiful morning, rivaled only by the splendorous sight of sprawling forests, clear water ways, and the snowcapped mountains beyond and below. Harry Potter surveyed the sweeping landscape, drinking in the sumptuous views - all from the shingled rooftop of the castle's Astronomy Tower.
It was well past the hours of dawn, and the sun blushed forth with gold radiant hues. It was a nice day to be out and about - just the sort of day to relax, kick back, and watch the clouds cavort with the sun.
"Perhaps another time," The boy mused. "'Sides, I really ought to be heading back."
A doleful bark and a squeak from his left shoulder answered back in reply.
"You know exactly why I can't stay," He said, raising an arm against the errant winds, "Can't have people wondering where I've been all this time, and besides there are classes I must attend to. Which reminds me..."
Harry rummaged through the book bag slung across his chest and produced an elegantly scripted piece of parchment. Written across the front of the page were several times tables, each one marked for a particular day. He perused the document distractedly while Hedwig the owl leaned from her roost on his shoulder, peering curiously as if to take a good look.
"It's my schedule of classes," He said for the sole benefit of his owl. "And I'm starting my first official day of class with History of Magic. It's a double period...As are most of my classes this semester. Seems I won't be attending some of my subjects more than once a week. I imagine the teachers will do everything in their power to keep us on our toes to make up for that..."
"Preyk?" Hedwig ventured uncertainly.
"I'm talking about homework and reading assignments - not that you should worry about that my friend," Harry responded to his owl's look. "Even if I have to pull an all-nighter to complete it all, I'll always remember to come visit you...But not every single night, you understand?"
"Preyk," Hedwig affirmed, clicking her beak.
"Good. Now, as for the rest of my schedule...Tuesday's Herbology followed by Charms...Wednesday starts with flying lessons and ends with Astronomy...Thursday looks promising - Defense in the morning and Transfiguration in the afternoon. And the last class I've got is Potions on Friday..."
Harry's musings were cut short by the great toll from the clock tower bell. Surprised by the clangorous sound, the boy hastily drew out his watch.
"Fifteen minutes until class - not much time for breakfast," He muttered, frowning at the clock display, "Looks like I'll be cutting it close." Turning abruptly on his owl he asked, "Would you like to come down for a bit? The kitchens are a lot closer from here than the Great Hall..."
"Gaw," The snowy white owl declined with a lazy shake of her head.
"Your loss, my friend," He said with a shrug.
After exchanging goodbyes (Hedwig gently nipped his fingers as he stroked the feathers across her back), the two friends parted ways. Hedwig flew to the owlery while Harry clambered down the roof ledge to the Astronomy Tower's window. Once he'd straightened his wind tousled robes, the boy took the spiraling staircase down to the second hall corridor down below. From there he proceeded past several colorful paintings into a torch ensconced hall, and there he stopped before a giant painting of a large silver fruit bowl. Copying the motions of a prefect he'd caught sneaking in from his adventures the night before, Harry reached out to tickle the underside of a painted green pear. The bulbous fruit squirmed and giggled at his touch, and obediently popped open to reveal the concealed kitchen door.
Forgetting to conceal himself, Harry dove straight in.
The kitchen was as large as the Great Hall, with near exact dimensions. It was a spacious brick and tile room filled with kitchen islands, mounds of pots and pans, and great big fire place far back against the wall. It'd been void of attendants the night before - now it was filled to capacity. A great number of curious little creatures (all dressed in tea towels) milled around the kitchen area as busy as bees, working merrily away at their own rate. Their protuberant green eyes shifted distractedly from their duties as the boy froze halfway through the door.
"...Pardon me," Harry calmly began.
He was dragged inside before he could even think of making good his escape.
The next thing he knew, he was surrounded by a sea of inquisitive long nosed faces. Harry wasn't sure how to respond so he did what came naturally to him - he greeted them with a polite bow.
"...Hello."
"Good morning, young sir," One of the smiling creatures squeaked. This one stood out from the others, as it wore a pink apron and small chef's hat. "I is Twitchy, Twitchy the House-Elf."
Harry unthinkingly stuck out his hand.
"I," The boy shifted uncomfortably under a hundred glinting eyes, "I'm Harry Po - Er, just Harry."
Twitchy stared shocked at the gesture. Recovering with a watery smile, she shook it.
"Just Harry sir has good manners," The House elf remarked.
"Thank you. So do you."
Twitchy and her companions beamed.
"Allow us to welcome youse to the Hogwart's kitchens, young sir."
Somewhere in the vicinity of a hundred elves bowed and curtsied at the slightly bemused boy. It was a little unnerving - here he was, caught red handed sneaking into the kitchen, surrounded on all sides by the peculiar looking elves - and instead of berating him they embraced him as a welcoming presence. He was glad that that they took no offense at his obvious intrusion, but he was admittedly abashed by the elves' unexpectedly chipper response.
"Is there anything you'll be wanting, sir?" An elf asked balancing a dish of pancakes on his head.
"Would you like a bit of tea?" Another volunteered, hurriedly brewing a fresh pot of tea.
"Perhaps young sir would like something else?" A third, a fourth, and a fifth voice chorused eagerly. Others piped in, and soon all the elves in the room were speaking at once.
The boy held his hands up, politely gesturing for a moment of silence.
"Not that I'm ungrateful to you all, but don't any of you find it a little strange that I just tried to sneak in?" Harry finally managed to ask.
A hundred bat wing ears flapped in the air as the elves shook their heads.
"Hogwarts kitchen be a secret, but most everyone eventually finds out," Twitchy stated to a round of sagacious nods. "We House-Elves don't mind. Students dropping by are most welcome! We is always happy to serve - you have only to ask. Surely, young sir is in need of assistance...?"
The boy swiftly sought for time. He blanched at how many minutes had ticked away.
"I'm in a bit of a hurry," Harry admitted, pocketing his watch. "I lost track of time watching the sun rise by the Astronomy Tower..."
"Nipped over to the kitchens 'cause youse missed breakfast, has you?" Twitchy asked.
The young master gave an affirmative nod.
"Say no more," The House-Elf said.
Given the shortage of time, Twitchy and her cronies zipped straight to work. They scampered in blurs around the kitchens, bundling baked goods into a basket made from an abnormally large tea cozy. Stuffing it fit to burst with sweet breads, ham rolls, and the odd pig-in-a-blanket, the elves tied off the lot with twine and presented the bundle to the secretly impressed boy.
"Thanks," Harry said, meaning it, "Really thanks. But this...," He stared at the bundle, "Really is a bit much."
"Youse could always share with friends," Twitchy stated proudly/dismissively.
"...But this is too much for two people," The boy protested under his breath.
The House-Elves looked on in pride as the boy struggled to stuff the bulging bundle into his book bag.
"Young sir should go now," The elves squeaked as they ushered him to the door, "Last bell about to sound - classes soon to begin."
True to their word, the second bell tolled.
With another hasty bow of gratitude, Harry cannoned out of the kitchens and ran pell-mell down the brightly lit hall. In the wake of his footsteps came the squeaks of his well wishing friends.
"Have a good day, young sir!"
"Come back real soon!" Another elf sprightly cheered.
"Feel free to invite your friends!" Twitchy chirped.
"It's a short list," Harry said as he threw back a tapestry at the end of the hall. His voice echoed down the corridor as he vanished through yet another the false wall, "But I'll do that!"
Two floors down, in History of Magic...
The ghostly Professor Binns didn't seem fazed by the lack of feedback from his audience, and it showed. Half of his students were asleep, and those who were not were fighting a losing battle to stay awake. Three Hufflepuffs in the front row had no difficulty fending off sleep, but it wasn't because they were enrapt by the subject matter - no, they didn't care much for the history lesson at all. Rather, they were wide awake because they were bickering amongst themselves.
"I can't believe I'm in the same House as you guys!" Hannah Abbot scowled.
"What I can't believe is that you are taking to her side!" Her seatmate retorted back. "Fifty points from Hufflepuff and detention with Professor Sprout, a day before the school term had even begun...Really, what was our Susan thinking, going off on a fit like that?"
"Clearly, she wasn't thinking straight," The stout blond boy on the other side of Hannah whispered back. "But then, that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, now, should it?"
"What do you mean by that?" His tall skinny housemate asked.
"You have heard the rumors, haven't you?"
"What rumors?" The tall Hufflepuff sharply asked. Unnoticed by him, Hannah's scowl grew even worse.
"Well," The stout fellow began importantly, "I heard our little Susan has a crush on The-Boy-Who-Lived..."
"What?!" The tall blond hissed.
"I know," The stout Hufflepuff nodded indignantly, "Took me completely by surprise too. You think you know a person, and then - Oof!"
Two pairs of watery eyes regarded the pig tailed blonde, whose elbows were still lodged right into their ribs.
"You guys," Hannah scoffed, "Are simply the worst! I could never have imagined you two to act like this! We've been friends with Susan since childhood, for Merlin's sake - I thought you would know better than to believe every word that comes out of the grapevine!"
"So she doesn't have a crush, right?" Demanded Zacharias Smith.
A burble of incredulous laughter nearly escaped the blonde girl's lips.
"Why are we even having this conversation? We should be paying attention to the class!"
"Because this is important and there's nothing better to do," Zach lazily drawled. "This lecture," His head jerked towards the front of the classroom, "Is a joke; the students are nodding in their seats; and the History Professor doesn't look as if he could care what the bloody hell we do."
"Zacharias Smith-"
The boy pressed onward even as Hannah tried to head him off.
"Seriously, what do we care about some forgotten historical figure known as Oddball the Evil? And what does Professor Binns care for it? He doesn't seem very thrilled with his subject, and we've been chatting for the last five minutes nonstop through his lecture. Does he do a thing to stop us? No, he hasn't - and there he goes again on Emeric the Oddball or whatever his name is! He's like a broken record saying the same thing over and over again! It's distracting...And speaking of which, you still haven't answered my question."
"What does it matter?" Hannah replied. "Even if she did have a crush, why would that be of our concern?"
"Because he's a Slytherin!" Ernie Macmillan hissed (Zach nodded his firm and resolute support.) "Or did you forget what our parents taught us? 'There's not a witch nor wizard who didn't go bad who wasn't in Slytherin.' He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was a Slytherin-"
"Of all the people in this classroom, I think Susan's aware of that more than anyone else," Hannah retorted in an uncharacteristically cold tone. "Or did you forget that our dear friend lost her family to You-Know-Who's forces, some of whose children are probably attending this school this very day?"
"If she knew that then why is she consorting with him?!" Zacharias growled.
"Harry might be in Slytherin, Zach, but I highly doubt he'd rush to the defense of You-Know-Who. Would you even consider joining him if he'd killed your parents, and then tried to kill you?"
"No...," Ernie muttered under his breath. As expected, Zach refused to reply.
"And you do remember that it was The-Boy-Who-Lived who vanquished You-Know-Who?"
"Of course we remember!" Zacharias replied unrepentantly, "But that doesn't change the fact that he's in it with the snakes!"
"You are hopeless! Zach, this is exactly the reason why we're sitting up front and why Susan chose to sit alone at the back," Sighed Hannah with steadily declining patience. "You guys just don't get it! Hasn't it occurred to you that she might trust him? That she's known Harry since before they even set foot in this school?"
"And pray tell me how could that have come to be?" The tall blond inquired.
"Indeed," The stout blond agreed. "You know how her Aunt Amelia's like - she's so overprotective that she hardly ever let's Susan go unattended outdoors. The only people Susan's ever met are the ones her aunt invites to her home - family friends like us. I think it's safe to say we would've heard if The-Boy-Who-Lived had happened to drop by the Bones Manor. Why, it would've made the first page in the Daily Prophet! You know how elusive that boy is..."
"You can believe whatever you want," Hannah quietly said. "I'm telling you - they. Are. Friends!"
Zacharias' eyes widened with dawning realization.
"Let me get this straight. You knew...?"
"Since last night," Hannah flippantly decreed. "She probably would've told you this morning if you had all been a little nice."
Zacharias colored slightly from the obvious barb.
"If you know so much, tell us - when did she meet him, then? What else has she told you?"
Hannah gave a snort.
"I'm sorry, Zach," She said, not bothering to hide the fact that she wasn't the least bit sorry at all, "But I'm not about to tell any of you. All the Hufflepuffs had their chance at breakfast this morning, and somehow you all blew it. What was my House thinking, confronting her about this? Doubt any of you noticed that afterwards she didn't have a bite to eat. Now she's hungry, fed-up, and confused - little wonder why she doesn't want to talk to any of us," She added miserably. "You guys just couldn't let it go, could you...?"
"And we don't intend to," Zacharias shot back. "He's a bad influence on her, and as Hufflepuffs we won't let that stand."
"You are unbelievable!" The girl hissed.
Anyone who didn't already have their head down on their desk were watching the enfolding argument with wide eyed interest. It was far more stimulating than anything the History Professor had to say, and it was hands down far more enthralling than the subject matter. Professor Binns breezed monotonously through his lecture as Hannah, Ernie, and Zach argued heedlessly on...
Inadvertently drawing attention away from the door swinging open at the back.
A hand quickly stilled the door as a pair of green eyes scanned the History Classroom from front to back. Deeming it safe to move (as the students "seemed" immersed in their studies), the young master proceeded to slink to the empty desk closest to his corner of the room. The boy hesitated as he eyed a familiar plait of auburn just two desks down. Double-checking his surroundings, Harry snuck behind several occupied seats and slid stealthily next to a shockingly disheveled Susan Bones.
At a distinct disadvantage (and at a total loss of words), the boy tentatively reached out a hand out to his friend.
"Hey," He greeted, gently rubbing her shoulder.
Susan did not acknowledge him at first, perhaps because her head lay cradled in her hands. The perfect plait across her back was partially undone - the little bow at the very end was the only thing keeping the braid in place. And when she finally did look up, her face was creased worry, tension, and uncertainty - made all the more clearer with the appearance of a watery smile.
"Oh. Hey you," She returned with a hint of renewed cheer. "Didn't catch you at breakfast..."
"Didn't make it down to the Great Hall," He shrugged. "I was...Preoccupied with things."
"Not by other students, I hope," She eyed him fervently.
"No, nothing of that sort." His gaze flickering with sudden understanding, he asked, "They've been giving you a hard time, haven't they?"
"It's nothing I can't handle," The redhead moved to reassure (and it did, despite his reservations - Susan was a strong willed girl) "It's just...Irritating, I guess. A bit of a disappointment too. Looks like Weasley wasn't the only one who wanted to make a statement. My friends, my housemates, people I don't even know - you've made quite a name for yourself."
"I really wouldn't say that," Harry said with a wry half smile.
"Apparently, so have I, for standing up for you," Susan mused, playing with a strand of her hair. "But I think the older members of my house were angrier that I lost them so much points early on, rather than for me being friends with you. Can't say the same for the Gryffindors, of course. I'm not sure who they're more outraged at - you for 'abandoning' the lions for the snakes, or me for silencing Ron Weasley - it's a tough call," She quipped.
"Nevertheless, I'm grateful to you all the same. That was an impressive bit of wand casting, by the way. Should I...," He hesitated, "Have already known how to do all that? I'm not sure I read any of those spells in the book..."
Susan twirled her wand expertly around her fingers.
"Oh, Aunt Amelia might've taught me an extra trick or two."
"Oh. Could you teach me?"
"We'll see," She winked.
"That's all I can hope for. So, did I miss much?"
The redhead followed the lazy arch of his hand to where he was indicating the chalkboard.
"From the history lecture? No, nothing at all. When did you decide to drop in, by the way?"
"Several minutes ago. I snuck in from the back. It was unerringly easy."
His proud accomplishment was somewhat dashed by Susan's amused laugh.
"I bet it was. You didn't have to sneak in - I don't think Professor Binns would have seen the difference had you stomped your way in."
"No?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Nuh-uh," The redhead waggled a finger of her hand. "Besides, didn't you notice all the sleeping students when you snuck around the classroom? They're not bowing their heads to study better..."
"Oh," He said, ducking his head. "I thought they were staring hard at their assignments..."
"And anyone who is still awake are probably eavesdropping on my arguing friends."
Harry glanced briefly at the furious trio whispering in the front row.
"Don't ask," She implored beseechingly, "Not now, maybe later. I don't feel like it now."
"All right," The boy agreed, turning his gaze upon their ethereal instructor. "So it wasn't just a joke. Professor Binns is really a ghost?"
"That he is."
"I see," Harry nodded understandingly. He took a quick flurry of notes from Binns' lecture, loftily remarking, "He's just...Repeating himself, I'm sure you noticed..."
"Oh, it's not that bad," Susan demurred, "Think of this as a free study period, where we can just talk or do whatever we want."
"Whatever we want, eh...?" Harry mused, glancing around. Rubbing his hands together, the boy began to sort through the belongings of his bag.
"What are you...?"
"Breakfast," He intoned, pulling out a bulging tea cozy from his bag. Susan glanced over his shoulder as he untied the string of twine, and grinned stupidly at the bounty of baked goods therein. Drawing in the sweet buttery scents, the girl breathed a long and happy sigh.
"I know you've had breakfast already," Harry continued, oblivious to the way his friend was licking her lips, "But would you-?"
"Don't mind if I do," The redhead chirruped. She began stockpiling on rolls and sweets with apparent gusto, taking what was being offered with a pleased smile.
"I would've brought more had I'd known you liked it that much," He whistled softly. Selecting a pig-in-a-blanket from the makeshift basket, Harry took a generous bite and settled down to eat.
"Say, Harry?" Susan asked after a moment of contemplative thought.
"Mmmrph?" He inquired from around a mouthful of sausage and bread.
"If you didn't go down to the Great Hall for breakfast this morning, how did you manage to come by this spread?"
It was Harry's turn to wink.
"Have patience," He enthused. "Rather than tell you about it, I think I'll just show you. Where we'll end up isn't too big of a secret - it still is, mind you - but the ways to get there most certainly are. One thing I can say for certain - you won't find any of this in Hogwarts: A History. It's something I just happened to stumble upon just the night before..."
A/N: This was a long time coming. Going to be a busy summer for me. Between school graduation, job searching, and the interviews, it's been a little taxing on the mind. Still is, actually...
But don't worry. I'm not running out of ideas - in fact, I've already imagined through most of my tale in my head. It's only a matter of putting the chapters into words.
More set up for the future to come - I don't think I have to tell you what it means for Harry to teach Susan the secrets of the castle...Zach and Ernie were difficult to write! Not much material to go by in the books...Had to keep editing their conversation with Hannah over and over again. On the other hand it was easier (and I liked) doing the bit on the kitchen and the house-elves. That was fun.
Anywho, you know what to do. Review, review, review!
