It's My Birthday! YAY! So as a gift to you wonderful people I am uploading a chapter. I was going to do two chapters but then I remembered 10 wasn't finished (oops) and I tried to write it before I uploaded but it was not coming together at all (truthfully it sucked lol) So I will work on it later today and hopefully you will have a chapter 10 to read! Thanks again to all who have reviewed and listed this to your favorites or have subscribed I really appreciate it! Now the story! Happy Reading!

Chapter Nine

When Snape told Harry that they would start his training tomorrow, Harry thought Snape was going to do some insane thing like wake him up at the crack of dawn in the worst way possible. But that morning when Harry arrived at the Professor's door, Snape had just told him to go to breakfast. As Harry entered the Great Hall and headed over to the Gryffindor table, he became aware of two very angry glares being shot his way. He'd barely sat down when-

"Where have you been? We haven't seen or heard from you since that meeting in Dumbledore's office-"

"Yeah and then you go and start hanging around Slytherines! What were you doing sitting at their table? What-"

"And why haven't you been in the common room?"

Harry's head moved as if following a tennis match. He then realized that with all that had happen in the past few days, he had barely talked to Ron and Hermione.

"Hermione, you have seen me. We have almost the same classes! And Ron, you heard Dumbledore, I'm under Snape's supervision."

Harry hoped that this explanation would be good enough, but of course it wasn't considering who his best friends were.

"That doesn't mean that you had to sit with them at meals or not visit us in the common room. I mean you haven't even invited us to see your new rooms. Unless…"

Harry waited for Hermione to finish her sentence but all she did was glance at Ron and it looked like they were having a silent conversation. Great. Now they've been speculating and probably thinking the worse. Harry quickly got fed up with being left out of a conversation that so obviously involved him.

"Unless what?"

"Mate, has Snape been…uh….fair to you?"

Harry looked at Ron with confusion. It just wasn't like Ron to participate in these kinds of conversations and admittedly it was weird. He was used to Hermione doing all of the worrying and Ron doing the brooding.

"What do you mean?"

"Well Snape hasn't been making you do things you wouldn't normally do?"

"Uh….no not really"

When he saw how Ron's face closed off after his statement, he realized what Ron had done and what he had admitted.

"Oh so you were sitting at the Slytherin table on your own and probably hanging out with them in your free time. I guess you were right Mione, Snape "wouldn't take advantage of his position of power""

"What free time? It's only been a few days! Am I to report to you every day about every little thing that happens in my life? And what's with the air quotes?"

"Ron! Harry! Calm down. Now I'm sure Harry has a good explanation for being with the Slytherins, Right Harry?"

Though Hermione was trying to break through the tension, Harry and Ron continued to glare at each other. Harry had never heard Ron speak to him with such frost and it instantly put him on edge. Ron was his best mate but sometimes Harry couldn't get over how little his friend has grown. Here they were, in their seventh year of school and Ron still got raging mad at the thought of Slytherin. How long will our friendship last once Ron notices the changes within me? When he realizes that I am not the same boy that entered this world believing everything I hear at face value? Though Harry would never admit it out loud, he often thought about his first train ride to Hogwarts and the interaction between Ron, Malfoy and himself. What would his life have been like had he accepted Malfoy's friendship and allowed the hat to sort him into Slytherin? And who is to say that he couldn't have had both of their friendships therefore appeasing both sides of him? What ifs will get you no where Potter.

"Harry? Harry, do you have a reason?" Harry heard Hermione ask.

"He obviously doesn't Hermione, he isn't even paying attention!" Ron answered before Harry could speak.

"I'm in this situation for the rest of the year, a year that has barely even started, and I figured that I shouldn't make it any harder on myself by fighting it. The reason I haven't invited you guys down is because I share the rooms with Malfoy and didn't really want to be put in that situation."

Harry had no intention of telling them about what he had requested the Slytherins teach him. After their reaction from just him sitting at their table, he did not want to have another argument so soon. Harry speculated that in the coming months, he would be withholding a lot of information from the two people he used to be able to tell everything to.

After a few minutes of silence where the trio were either eating or staring into space, Hermione broke the silence.

"Well since we won't be going to your rooms, not that I blame you, how about you come to the common room this evening and we can get started on all of the essays we have to complete?"

"I can't tonight but maybe this weekend we can do homework and catch up?" Harry replied.

He felt bad about refusing her offer but he needed to keep his schedule tonight open. He had a feeling that Snape was planning on an extensive training session tonight since they didn't meet this morning but hoped that his offer of spending the weekend together would appease her. He saw Hermione start to shake her head when Ron's bitter voice was added to their conversation.

"Why can't you come tonight? Got plans with your new Slytherin friends?"

Harry looked up into the eyes of the red head and just shook his head; it was like he could see the tendrils of their friendship just slowly unraveling.

"You know what Ron? Grow up and get over your animosity with the Slytherins. It's been seven years." And with that Harry got up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall.

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