Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Foreword: I know, it's been more than a month since I last updated. I don't know why this was such a difficult piece to write, but sometimes reality has a way of taking away your muse. Once again, I'm grateful for the reviews left behind. I'm attempting to run parallels between the Marauders Era and the present, and I'm glad most of you understood that. Best of all, a lot responded positively to my rendition of Snape. That made me happy.
Chapter IX
Tug of War
Boys were annoying.
In the aftermath of Potions lesson, Henry Potter had been thoroughly embarrassed by Hermione after having been called a dunderhead by her. He made his displeasure known in the common room later that night. To say that they had a row would be an understatement. Not even the prefects could stop their fighting! In any case, the conclusion of their verbal battle resulted in the splintering of the first-year Gryffindors.
The first-year Gryffindor boys sided with Henry and argued that Hermione was betraying the House by stopping Henry's barrage of vindictive insults towards Professor Snape. To be honest, Hermione was terrified that she had ruined any chance of friendship within her own House! Fortunately, the other girls supported Hermione's actions and stated that Henry lost them the points they had earned during the first week – the time when the professors were most generous with giving away points.
Thankfully, none of the older students wanted to be part of the entire thing. Percy Weasley, the red-haired prefect and one of Ron's older brothers, commended her for her choice of stopping Henry's blatant display of disrespect. Speaking of Weasleys, the twins, Fred and George, had simply laughed over the entire thing and proclaimed Hermione a hero for earning points from the "dreaded, greasy bat". Hermione really didn't know what to make of that.
Still, for the next several days, Henry, Ron, Neville, and the other boys continually harassed her with cutting remarks and snide comments. It hadn't bothered her at first, but their constant presence just to passively insult her became grating when she was unable to study or read properly. Fortunately, it had all stopped when Henry's – as well as Harry's – father came to Hogwarts and had a meeting with him, Professor McGonagall, and Headmaster Dumbledore. When he came back to the common room later that night, Henry was subdued. No doubt that he had a thorough dressing down by his father!
Nevertheless, the entire thing made her realize a few things about boys. To repeat, boys were annoying.
As she stood beside her broom listening to Madam Hooch's lecture on broom safety and waiting for further instructions, Hermione's eyes glided over to the person opposite of where she was standing. Harry was beside his own broom, between Tracey and Daphne. He soon noticed Hermione and directed a small smile towards her. He waved at her while mouthing a greeting.
I take that back, not all boys are annoying. Hermione giggled.
"Now, stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"
"UP!" everyone shouted.
Instantly, her broom shot up and barreled right into her grip. Hermione was pleasantly surprised and looked around to see if others had succeeded. Henry, Ron, and Neville were grinning from ear to ear as they held up their brooms triumphantly. Across from her, she caught Harry's broom shooting up to his hand at once and she felt happy that her friend was just as successful as she was on her first try.
The prospect of learning to fly excited her. Unlike some of the other first-years that had been around magic for most of their lives, flying on a broomstick was not what she perceived as a daily occurrence considering she was a muggle-born. She overheard Henry retelling his experiences on a broom and how his father taught him how to fly, exaggerating that he had nearly crashed into an airplane. Ron and Neville spoke of how they were once flying together on one Ron's older brother's old brooms and had nearly crashed onto the side of a house shaped like a rook. Even Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, whom she both saw as the most girly of all the girls in her dorm, spent some time excitedly talking about how their mothers flew with them from time to time.
As nervous as she was that she would eventually be lifted up into the air with nothing but a magical stick underneath her, Hermione embraced the exciting challenge that awaited her. She even read some books that gave her tips on flying in order to prepare herself for the whole experience! If anything, Hermione was confident that she would excel in the physical sport just as she excelled in her academics.
Madam Hooch proceeded with the lesson by showing them all how to properly mount a broom and the correct form while remaining on one. Hermione inwardly laughed when Madam Hooch came to Henry's group and told them that their form was slack and lazy. They deserved a kick to their egos. It was made much better when Madam Hooch came to her and praised her for her form.
"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three – two – one."
Madam Hooch brought the whistle to her lips and blew.
Hermione kicked off the ground as hard as she could. A large grin split across her face she quickly levitated upward. Her eyes looked downward and found herself floating atop of the broom with nothing touching the earth. However, instead of stopping at the altitude Madam Hooch had instructed, Hermione found herself rising higher and higher. Before Hermione knew it, she was fifteen feet in the air!
"Help!" She screamed in a panicked voice, fear gripping her.
She reached out to her broom and wrapped her arms around it. That was a mistake. Instead of providing her the feeling of comfort she had thought, the broom stopped and jerked forward. Caught off guard, Hermione lost her grip on the broom and was sent keeling forward. Hermione closed her eyes as she braced for impact,
"HERMIONE!" "GRANGER!" yelled two voices simultaneously.
Then, everything went silent. Hermione couldn't feel pain erupting from her body as she thought she would have had. Maybe she had died painlessly?
"Black, let go of her!" cried out the familiar voice of Henry, his voice rising in irritation.
She heard Harry scoff and replied – oddly calm, Hermione noted – drawly, "Hermione is my best friend. You two don't even like each other. You let go."
Finally, Hermione opened her eyes and looked around her. Her left arm was being held by Harry with both of his arms and Henry was in a similar position with her right arm. She looked down and gasped in fright. They were still several feet up the air! She was being held up in the air by two eleven-year-old boys!
"So what? We're in Gryffindor! We stick together! Besides, how can a snake like you be friends with her? Let go, Black! I have it all under control!"
"Hermione was right to call you a dunderhead. It's obvious I have the better grip here. It would be better if you let go so I can bring her back down to safety."
"What? You let go! I'm stronger and I'm a better flyer!"
Hermione had enough of their arguing.
"No! Neither of you let go!" She yelled at them disparagingly. "Honestly, boys! You both can bring me down."
Harry and Henry were silent for a moment before they both murmured in agreement. Slowly, their brooms began hovering downward at a slow and steady pace. Hermione let out a sigh of relief as both boys stopped their stupid argument long enough for her soles to touch the grass. Never before in all her years did she so enjoy the feeling of anything underneath her feet.
She looked up to find Madam Hooch storming her way over to where she, Harry, and Henry were. Her falcon-like eyes had a storm residing in them that made Hermione nervous. She could have died, but it also could have been worse. What if Madam Hooch was taking her to the headmaster's office to expel her!
"Black! Potter!" Madam Hooch hissed angrily. "That was the most reckless stunt ever committed by first years! Twenty points from you each!"
The young, bushy-haired witch opened her mouth to argue that everything had been her fault and that she shouldn't punish them for her mistake when, unexpectedly, Madam Hooch continued further.
"However, in all my years as a professor here in Hogwarts, I have never seen two first years risk their lives to save a classmate. Thirty points each."
Hermione felt herself smiling that Madam Hooch rewarded her saviors. She turned to Harry to find his green eyes sparkling with worry and relief. There was no doubt that Harry would later lecture how worried he had been. Next, Hermione turned to Henry and found him smirking at her reassuringly as if he thought she was seeking out comfort. But underneath the confidence he exuded, Hermione could see that he was satisfied she was safe.
Maybe boys weren't annoying after all.
After Hermione's fall, Madam Hooch ended flying lessons early after making sure Hermione was alright. By noon, word had spread that the Boy Who Lived and a member of the infamous Black family heroically saved a muggle-born first year from certain death. At least that was what Tracey heard from the other students. She felt it was her duty to relay everything that was being circulated about Harry as they walked to the Great Hall for dinner.
"Is there anything you can't do, Black?" Tracey asked playfully.
Harry turned his head slightly to her as they walked and raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well," She purred in amusement, "you were a natural flyer out there with Potter! You two did moves that the rest of us couldn't hope to do in a million years. You both dove in and caught her just before she hit the ground! If that isn't impressive, I don't know what is!"
He rolled his eyes at her exaggeration and replied, "Hardly. I just did what I had to do to help Hermione. I promised I would protect her. She's my best friend."
"Still, Black, what you did was impressive! And today was your first time flying, right?"
Harry nodded.
"See! You're amazing!"
He didn't feel amazing but he left his retort remain unsaid as he knew there was no arguing with Tracey. Truthfully, Harry felt guilty over what happened to Hermione. It was an incident caused by Hermione's eagerness to excel at everything she set her mind to, but that itself wasn't what gave him guilt. Rather, it was the way he had handled her "rescue". His incessant squabbling with Henry as they held on to Hermione for dear life had been a risk.
Harry had to make it up to Hermione somehow. Fortunately, her birthday was coming up and he had already picked out a present for her. It was good that Hedwig didn't mind the secret correspondence he had with Hermione's parents. He wanted to surprise her with what he planned to give her.
"Hey Black, there's Potter." Tracey pointed out as she tugged at his sleeve.
True to her word, Harry spotted Henry waiting for one of the moving staircases to connect with the one he was standing on. Strangely, Harry didn't see Ron or Neville by Henry's side. In the instances he saw one of the three the other two wouldn't be far. As much as he wanted to avoid talking to his twin brother, there was really no choice in the matter.
"Hello Potter." Harry greeted the boy cordially.
Henry turned and spotted the two Slytherins, grimacing as they approached.
"Wonderful."
The sarcasm dripping in his tone was not lost on Harry. He didn't say anything about it considering he was already accustomed to the boy's prejudice against his house. Draco's continued attempts to insult and belittle Henry and his friends at every turn didn't help matters in dissuading the Gryffindor's misconceptions about Slytherin. However, it was Tracey that decided to take matters into her own hands.
Tracey placed both hands on her hips as she glared at Henry, asking him, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Great. This isn't boding well. Harry thought as he took a step to the side to observe the confrontation.
"The two of you won't bring me down!" Henry suddenly shouted. "So you can tell Malfoy to sod off."
"Oh, I would love to." Tracey grinned in amusement.
Henry narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously and then glanced at Harry. A smug smirk formed.
"Hey Black. It's too bad the greasy bat can't appreciate talent like Professor McGonagall."
Harry was taken aback by that statement. It was not that he had been offended, but rather he was slightly put-off by the absurdity by it. He had no idea what brought on Henry's statement, leaving Harry speechless as he stared at him incredulously. Before either he or Tracey could retort, the stairwell connected and Henry was off towards the direction of the Great Hall. Harry and Tracey trailed after him, but kept their distance from the boy to avoid another conversation.
"What was that about?" Tracey asked with a puzzled expression.
He shrugged.
"I have no idea. I tend to not dwell on him."
"But can you believe what he said? He thought we were part of Malfoy's circle! Ugh, so this is what it feels like to be associated with Malfoy. I feel… icky."
Harry gave her a small, amused smile, the only indication of his mirth. "Icky?"
Tracey stuck her tongue out at him and primly hastened her pace. The young Black shook his head at the antics of his friend and quickened his own steps. The one thing that made being apart from Hermione bearable was his friendship with Tracey. She simply knew how to have fun and could stand up for herself if she had to. She had to be considering Greengrass had such a strong presence of her own.
They arrived in the Great Hall a few minutes later. The older students that had later classes than first years hadn't poured in yet, leaving plenty of unclaimed spots at the Slytherin table to sit at. Greengrass sat in the middle of the long table, a little ways off from the other first and second years that had already arrived. Tracey sat next to her friend while Harry sat in the seat across from them.
"I was wondering when you two would arrive. Your company is more agreeable than that of Malfoy and his two brutes. He looked like he was just about ready to socialize." Greengrass greeted them without looking up.
"Sorry," Tracey apologized, "I shouldn't have forgotten my book in the classroom."
Harry nodded and added his own comment, "I can't say I blame you. The constant smell of garlic would hurry anyone wanting to leave."
Tracey murmured her agreement. She had shared with him that she had a sensitive nose. Time spent in Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom always made her nauseous by the end of the lesson.
"I have been meaning to ask, Black, but would you assist me on my Potions assignment later? I consulted my textbook, but I still feel unfamiliar with the subject and I would like have a second opinion."
Greengrass was beginning to ease her pointed remarks against him. While she was still able to give him a quick tongue-lashing whenever she was irritated, Harry suspected she was coming to see him as a friend. Nevertheless, their tentative relationship was still somewhat vitriolic, but it was progress. He no longer found her half as annoying as he had thought when they first met. In fact, they began helping each other in their studies during the evening.
The brunette next to the blonde beamed.
"Can you help me too, Black?"
"Are you actually going to do your own work or are you going to simply copy our assignments like before?" Harry questioned her, sending Tracey a wary look.
"Yeah… I'll do my work… maybe…" Tracey replied, chuckling sheepishly.
Harry rolled his eyes, having known that he wouldn't receive a positive answer from her. He then changed the subject from their class work to something more exciting. Harry asked Tracey and Greengrass about music. Since learning to play the guitar for Hermione's birthday last year, Harry found the hobby a relaxing pastime. He had been happy to learn that his trunk was able to fit Nathan's guitar, a birthday gift from Hermione's father. Since coming to Hogwarts, Harry had been curious about what music magical society offered. Harry was surprised to learn that Greengrass knew a lot more about music in the wizarding world than her more tomboyish best friend. Her favorite band was a group called the Weird Sisters.
Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Draco. Out of the corner of his eye, He spotted the Malfoy scion slid from where he sat to the unoccupied space next to Harry. He cast a suspicious glance at Draco but carefully hid it from view.
"Cousin, I need to talk to you." Draco solemnly told Harry.
He found Draco's behavior to be odd. Since coming to Hogwarts, he had only seen Draco act pompously in front of everyone and bragging about his family's influence and fortune. To see him serious was unusual. Harry spotted Tracey and Greengrass watching with bated breath, they were no more curious than he was about what Draco needed to talk about.
Taking his silence as an invitation to continue, Draco wasted no time.
"The older students have been talking about you." Draco began with a grimace. "They're calling you a blood traitor for spending too much time with people that are below you. You're a Black, you're above the filth! You have to watch out who you associate with!"
His words infuriated Harry. He found the entire ideology of pureblood supremacy to be rubbish. He had read up on various individuals both past and present that had been muggle-borns and half-bloods that contributed greatly to magical society. Nevertheless, Harry stilled his anger and looked at Draco directly in the eye, saying, "I don't care, Draco. It is my business whom I spend my time with. Besides, the point of schooling besides an education is to create relationships with people that may benefit you in the future."
Draco frowned.
"But you're not talking to the right sort. Don't worry, we're family. I can help you there."
Harry fully arched an eyebrow inquiringly and asked, "Pray tell, who is considered the right sort?"
"Pure-bloods, of course! True ones, anyway. None of those blood-traitors."
"Now, that is the difference between the two of us, Draco. You limit yourself to a certain group of people who, may I add, are only a small fraction of the entire population."
"Who cares about the others?" Suddenly, Draco's voice dropped to a quiet whisper. "The Dark Lord will get rid of them and will reward us few."
This time, Harry was unable to control the frown that escaped his grip. It was as he feared. He knew about the reputation about Draco's father, Lucius, having been under suspicion that he had been a Death Eater, but Harry was willing to pass it off as paranoia because of the family's known bigotry. Nevertheless, while he had thought Draco to be arrogant and narcissistic, he never thought the boy was capable of harm. If he admired Lord Voldemort, then Harry wasn't sure how he could deal with an individual who wouldn't blink seeing his best friend executed.
"Draco, I don't need your help and I don't need you to tell me who I should talk." Harry coldly stated.
Draco stared at him with surprise and confusion.
"What?"
"I'm telling you to I will talk to blood traitors, half-bloods, and muggle-borns if I want to. Your opinion will be noted and then promptly ignored. Now leave me alone."
The venom laced in his tone not only surprised Harry, but several others that had overheard from their startled expressions. Tracey stared at him with her mouth gaping open and even Greengrass was showing emotion with her widened eyes. The other first years had heard, but Harry didn't care to take note of them. Several of the other students had also witnessed what occurred but wisely looked away when Harry inspected his surroundings.
Draco was struck speechless by Harry's biting statement and rather than reply to him, he quickly retreated back to where he previously sat without looking back. Harry, however, remained strangely composed. His face that had once slipped into a frown returned back to its usual aloof demeanor. It was if he had never said anything at all.
Harry's roaming eyes settled on his two female companions. Casually, he asked, "What?"
"You're brilliant." Tracey automatically said. Realizing what she had said, Tracey blushed and continued. "I mean… you're brilliant, but scary! Very scary!"
Greengrass chuckled – a rarity for her – and smiled – another rarity – at Harry.
"I agree with Tracey. You can be very intimidating when you can be. And here I thought I was the only one who could scare Malfoy away with a single look."
"What I said was correct. He has no business in my social life. Besides, he's exaggerating. We Slytherins may have a fierce rivalry with Gryffindor, but we're not all bigots. Unlike Draco who thinks he knows everything, I noticed a majority of our older students don't even care about the concept of pure-blood supremacy."
"Really? Huh. I always felt like I was struggling in the House because I was a half-blood." Tracey commented, habitually scratching her cheek in thought.
Harry shook his head and replied, "Well, unlike you, I'm not shy about talking to someone older than me."
Tracey's cheeks turned red.
"I don't have a crush on Adrian Pucey! Who told you that nonsense? Was it you, Daphne?"
He stared at her, laughter dancing in his eyes. Teasingly, he remarked, "Tracey, I never said anything about Adrian Pucey."
Daphne threw in her own comment, "Black is right. Besides, I never told a soul. You brought this on yourself, Tracey."
Tracey turned even redder than before. She collapsed onto the table groaning as her two friends began chuckling heartily at her expense. Harry now understood why Hermione enjoyed teasing him days ago. It was a lot of fun.
It was Sunday and Hedwig, being the lovely owl that she was, dropped off a parcel at the Slytherin table early morning. After feeding her some bits of his breakfast, he sent her off back to the owlery. The package from the Grangers had finally arrived and he couldn't help but pat himself on the back with how careful he had been in obtaining it. Harry had deliberately told Hermione's parents to not send off Hedwig until Saturday evening, allowing the owl to arrive by morning the next day. He knew Hermione slept in on Sundays and would not discover that he finally had her present that he would give her in four days time.
However, he wasn't the only one that had woken up early and was presently sitting at the Slytherin table. Greengrass peered at him from across the table, eyeing the package curiously behind her passive face.
"What do you have there?" she asked.
"It's my present for Hermione. It's her birthday on the nineteenth." Harry answered elatedly.
Greengrass frowned at him.
"I did not know it was her birthday soon."
Harry was surprised by the revelation but did not show it. He inquired, "You mean Hermione never told you?"
"No. If she had made it known, I would have gotten her a present."
It still surprised him how well Hermione and Greengrass got along, but then again, their intellectual curiosity was on the same level and often he would catch the two talking about magical concepts he hadn't even read yet. Harry wondered if Greengrass was a bookworm as well. He would ask Tracey about that later.
"Ah. Well, Hermione can be a little shy. I think she was afraid if she brought it up, you would think she was expecting something from you." Harry offered as an explanation.
"How do you know so much about her?"
His eyes twinkled warmly, a small grin tugging at his lips as he said, "I know Hermione better than she knows herself and I'm willing to wager that she shares the same sentiment towards me."
That earned a wry smile from the typically icy girl. Their conversation died from there to resume eating their breakfast. Greengrass ate quicker and excused herself from the table. She said something about wanting to look over her assignments one last time before tomorrow. It was not long until he finished his breakfast as well and began hurriedly walking back to his dorm.
As Harry stepped out into the atrium, he came face to face with Theodore Nott. He had never talked to the sickly looking boy before, but from what Tracey had told him, he enjoyed learning like he did but not to the point of being fanatical like Hermione and, presumably, Greengrass.
Harry greeted him politely, "Good morning Theodore."
"Good morning, Black." His voice was shy and low.
"How are you doing in your classes?" Harry kindly asked, allowing himself to smile to ease the nervousness that he saw in Theodore.
"I'm doing well. Thank you for asking." Theodore replied reservedly. "What about yourself?"
"The material is interesting, that's certain. It has me rapt in attention. I believe I have a knack for brewing potions, but I have to say my most favorite aspect is learning all the new spells."
"Me too! Herbology and Astronomy is boring, but I like Charms. Professor Flitwick teaches us a lot of spells. I'm happy he doesn't lecture us all the time like with Professor McGonagall. I don't like Professor Quirrell's teaching. He stutters too much and all he talks about are dark creatures. I want to know more about the spells you use to duel!"
Harry was taken aback by Theodore's sudden eagerness. Theodore also realized that he had lost his calm tone and had been replaced by his energetic tirade. He nervously looked away and spoke again, "Sorry. Actually, I'm here to tell you that Professor Snape is looking for you. He wants to see you in his office."
Before Harry could reply, Theodore walked around him and entered the Great Hall. Left standing alone in the atrium, Harry's thoughts were on Theodore. His enthusiasm was compelling and he wondered why Theodore felt the need to hide his passion for spellwork? It was something Harry had to wonder about as he walked back to Slytherin common room in the dungeons.
Immediately after arriving to his dormitory, Harry placed the package in his trunk and made sure it was locked. There was no such thing as being too careful and Harry wanted to make sure Hermione received her gift on her birthday. Once it was secure, Harry proceeded to Professor Snape's office. He found the door slightly ajar and found it peculiar that a person like him would be so careless.
As he raised his fist to knock on the door, Harry began hearing voices from inside.
"Flint, the sole reason I have chosen you as captain of the team is because Higgs turned down the position. Do not forget that." He heard the even-toned voice of his Head of House.
Flint, the boy with the Professor and had probably left the door ajar, half-shouted indignantly, "I understand, sir. But what you're suggesting is completely preposterous! Terrence wouldn't have it!"
"I assure you Higgs would rather play his position as chaser rather than the role you placed him in."
"No one else has experience playing seeker! The other flyers on Saturday were terrible!"
"Then what makes you so opposed to my suggestion? What is there to lose?"
"At least with Terrence, we have a chance of winning!"
It was at that moment that Harry made himself known. He pushed the door open, its hinges creaking. The noise stopped the conversation as the two participants turned their heads to the entrance. Harry remained reserved, as if he hadn't heard the conversation at all.
"Excuse me, professor, but Theodore Nott told me you needed to see me?" It was good to remain polite.
Flint glared at Harry, an intimidating gesture considering his height completely dwarfed Harry. Turning away from the older boy, his eyes settled on Professor Snape. His Head of House smirked as he gestured him to come in. Harry was thankful he hadn't remarked on his entering without knocking as he was sure the professor would have.
"Black," Harry noticed that Professor Snape returned to calling him by his last name rather than his first name when others are present, "I would like you to introduce you to someone."
"I'm Marcus Flint, captain of the Quidditch team." Flint said gruffly, not even bothering to offer a handshake.
Harry was puzzled. What reason would the professor introduce him to Slytherin's Quidditch captain? He glanced from Flint to Professor Snape and asked, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what this means."
Professor Snape chuckled.
"It means you will be playing Quidditch this year."
Afterword: I promise the next update won't take a month to release. I must have read the first book hundreds of times already with the amount of research I'm doing for this particular story. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time!