Happy Veteran's Day. Someday I will make up the chapters for the two days I skipped, but today is not that day. Thanks for reviewing, readingaddict24!
Malfoy didn't smile, but a look of relief came into his eyes. "You seem to be under the impression that you need to block every attack physically and verbally, but it would really be better to prevent them preemptively."
"How?" Harry frowned. He would have thought Malfoy would be happy to have him fight with words like a politician, but then again, Malfoy had just told him that his verbal attacks sucked, basically. Harry supposed Malfoy would know when a person's speech-making skills were weak enough to be totally ineffective.
"Show the world that you care about the welfare of the younger Slytherins by being around them. No one will attack them with you there, and it should also send the message that you care about them. That should cause people to readjust their own opinions. After it stops being a scandal, anyway," he added, almost as an afterthought.
Harry noted how Malfoy had specified that he should hang out with only the younger Slytherins. He didn't seem to be asking for Harry to protect the older Slytherins such as Malfoy himself. Harry supposed that they could probably look after themselves, but it was more likely that Malfoy thought he wouldn't care about the safety of the Slytherins who had been Death Eaters and could not claim to be without blame for the war.
Harry decided that he would have to make it clear that he would be protecting the older Slytherins as well, and his train of thought moved on to what Malfoy was asking him to do. He wasn't really too psyched about spending time with Slytherins, but he had to admit to himself that it would work. And since the other students needed to witness his approval via his physical presence, presumably, the hanging out would occur in public. So it wasn't like he'd have to be alone with any of them.
He realized Malfoy was staring at him, as if expecting him to announce that he'd changed his mind. "Okay," Harry said resolutely. "So when do we hang out?"
Malfoy's expression cleared, even though he hadn't been frowning. The lack of his usual smirk seemed more surreal than the civil discussion, Harry thought, then focused on as Malfoy opened his mouth. "In the hallways, between classes mostly. I can give you some schedules so you can figure out where and when to meet them, when you can." Harry noticed with a mixture of amusement and disapproval that despite his use of the word "we", Malfoy was continuing to refer to "them" as the Slytherins Harry was to hang out with. Apparently he still didn't think Harry would, or should, extend his influence to benefit him as well.
Harry continued to use inclusive pronouns as they discussed when a good time would be for Malfoy to give him the schedules, and by their last exchange, Malfoy was too. Harry smiled inside at the progress, despite his uneasiness at the prospect of being with Slytherins.
They parted, but Harry stopped. A thought had just occurred to him. Turning around, he called, "Hey, Malfoy!"
Draco turned, and Harry continued. "That day that the Ravenclaws attacked… you were the only seventh year there. Why was that?"
Looking Harry straight in the eyes, Malfoy replied, "I seem to recall that you were there too."
"Yeah, but I hadn't planned on it, it was just a coincidence." Harry shrugged. "But I got the impression that you had been planning to be there."
As he said it out loud, Harry realized the truth of it. Malfoy had been there deliberately for the second years. He'd been expecting the attack. Malfoy just looked at him as if he could see his thought processes, then turned away.
"Whatever you say, Potter."
"You're going to what?"
"Hang out with the Slytherins," Harry repeated. "Well, I say hang out. I'll really just be at the same area as them at the same time."
"That would be hanging out," Hermione said. Her eyes narrowed. "Harry, I don't know what you think you're accomplishing here, but you can't trust them. They-"
"Come on, first and second years?" Harry said easily, despite his own internal misgivings. "And really, we don't even know anyone that's not in our year, I hardly think we can judge how evil they are."
"But, Harry, they're Slytherins," Ron whined. "They're all the same. Next you'll be helping them win the House Cup, I suppose."
Harry scoffed. "Hardly. This has nothing to do with me liking them. But like them or not, they're humans, and they deserve to be treated as such." Glancing at the clock, his eyes grew wide and he sprang up. "AND I sort of have to go right now, so, see you later? Bye!"
Harry dashed off, hoping his friends weren't really angry.
Harry met up with a group of fourth year Slytherins. They were accompanied by Draco Malfoy, who nodded at him. Harry had no idea what to say, but luckily for him, the crowded hallway made talking impossible. He just walked along with them and did his best to appear casual and comfortable with his company. He got plenty of strange looks, but no one threw any hexes.
He supposed he should have been concerned about his image, and Malfoy's prediction of a scandal, but the looming threat of a scandal seemed something to look forward to. Nearly everything Harry had ever done had resulted in a scandal, and the idea that this might too solidified his belief that he was doing the right thing. His strides became more confident, and he found that he was smiling at the shocked looks he was receiving.
At the door of Defense against the Dark Arts, Harry and Malfoy stood by as the fourth years filed into the classroom. Most of them looked at Harry as they passed and nodded, a few plucking up the courage to mouth a quiet thank you.
Harry hadn't really expected that, but he was gratified. He was also rather appalled. These kids were nowhere near being monsters, and felt the need to thank him just for walking with them. The world was really messed up.
As the last of them entered the classroom, Malfoy nodded at Harry. "You can make the trip with the first years?" he asked abruptly.
"Yes," Harry said. "Er- Are they real first years, or repeat first years?"
Malfoy raised an eyebrow, but if it was a sign of amusement, Harry couldn't tell. "Real first years," he confirmed. "Pansy will be there too." They looked at each other for a moment until Malfoy sighed. "Potter, don't you have Charms?"
"Right," Harry said hastily, walking away. He'd gotten used to his relaxed schedule. It was time for him to readjust.
The trip with the first years went through hallways that weren't quite as crowded. This meant Harry noticed more hands twitching toward wands. He felt a surge of anger; why would anyone want to attack children they had never even met before?
The decrease of students in the hallways also meant that the noise level was down and students could talk to each other without shouting. Harry was sure this would be awkward for all of them, as he still had no idea what to say, but the first years had no such problems.
"What was the war like?"
Wow. He hadn't been asked directly about that since he'd been at the mercy of the press. He tried to give a sincere answer that wouldn't offend any families, but he didn't get more than two sentences out before he was interrupted.
"What's your favorite animal?"
Harry was very aware that he couldn't say snakes or lions. "Owls?" he offered.
He spotted some satisfied nodding. "Is Draco your best friend?"
"No," Harry said.
Draco happened to be passing and yelled out, "You don't have to sound so horrified, you know!" before he was swept away.
Was he being playful? Harry wondered, but he had no time to think about this before the onslaught of questions continued.
Harry met a group of Slytherin second years coming out of Transfiguration to walk them back to their dorm. This time, he had no senior Slytherin co-chaperoning with him. It would have been awkward, since the second years were a bit more reserved in their questioning, but Harry had grown more confident since the morning and his apparent ease around them led them to become comfortable around him.
They were chatting about Quidditch as they neared the dungeons. Other Slytherins returning to their common room joined their group and the conversation. A second year had to ask if Quidditch was even happening that year.
Harry shrugged. "I don't know, but I think I'll go crazy if they don't have it."
There was a murmur of agreement as Harry rounded the corner ahead of them. It suddenly stopped.
Looking back, Harry said, "What?" They were all looking at him.
"How do you know the way to the Slytherin dorms?"
Harry really didn't want to get into that. "I'll just go then," he said, raising his hands in the air in mock surrender and hoping that the levity of their conversation wasn't fake.
There was an instant clamor of protest. Harry didn't get all of it, but he heard several second years asking if he could stay, and a first year who'd joined them minutes ago asking him to play Gobstones with her.
"But I'd lose, I told you I'm not very good," Harry said.
She grinned. "Exactly!"
Well. Awkward. Not the first year, but how could he hang out in the Slytherin common room? Being in public was one thing, but in their common room there was no way he could say it was just to change the public opinion. He looked at the seventh years that had joined them, but they were smiling.
"You're welcome to stay for a bit," Nott told him.
He wasn't sure he really wanted to be alone with them on their territory, but there had been no non-Slytherin around for several minutes and he was still safe. Well, the whole reason he was doing this was to prove that they could be trusted, right? "Okay," he said. "Just for one game of Gobstones, then I have to go."
They cheered, and made a big fuss over making him covering his ears while they whispered the password to the wall. The younger children especially seemed to find it hilarious that if they asked him not to eavesdrop on their password, he would respect that and not. He supposed not many commanded the Boy-Who-Lived.
As a twelve-year-old the Slytherin common room had seemed oppressing and dim. Now, he found himself appreciating the calm underwater light, and noticed the armchairs more than the iron grating of the fireplace.
His one game of Gobstones turned into two as every first year wanted to play him. He wasn't being attacked, and he found that he genuinely enjoyed their company. Eventually, though, there was no denying the time, and he had to go.
Harry was in cheerful spirits as he entered Gryffindor Tower. Ron and Hermione were waiting for him.
"Hey guys," he said, then immediately remembered their earlier disapproval of Slytherin. "Look, I'm sorry about-"
"Where have you been?" Hermione demanded. "You barely got in before curfew, and you look as though you've been running the whole way!"
"Yeah, I sort of lost track of time…" Harry scratched his head.
"Doing what, exactly?" Ron asked.
Harry took a deep breath. These were his friends, he reminded himself, and he had just proven that Slytherins weren't all a bunch of back-stabbing Death Eaters by being alone with them for a long period of time.
"I was in the Slytherin common room, and-"
"WHAT?"
The exclamation came from Parvati Patil. Looking around, Harry realized that everyone in the common room had heard his admission that he'd been in the Slytherin common room.
"Look, it's not-"
"I'll tell you what it's not," Ron said furiously. "It's not you being a Gryffindor. We don't hang out with Slytherins, and then abandon our friends all day to go suck up to them! Well, I hope you guys live happily ever after because you're lucky enough that we're not going to curse you in your sleep!" He stormed off upstairs.
Harry swallowed. That didn't sound too lucky, or anything he should be grateful for, but Seamus was eyeing him in disgust. "Aye, those Slytherins won't be as kind as us. I hope you change your mind soon, Harry." He too left.
Everyone remaining in the common room also left. He stared at Hermione, silently beseeching her, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. Alone, Harry wondered where he'd gone wrong.
Chapter word count: 2124
Total word count: 15504
Could you guys send me some Slytherin names? They don't have to be ones mentioned in canon, but feel free to send me those, or throw in some Pureblood surnames. Usually I would do my own research and scour the books for every kid ever sorted into Slytherin, but I don't have the time and it's more fun if you send me names in a... REVIEW!
