Chapter Twelve:
The Ministry Ball
Harry Potter had paid several visits to Madam Malkin's during his Hogwarts years. Most vividly he could remember his visits before his two first years, because it was then that all his measurements had to be taken from scratch. In the following years, only slight changes had to be made to the robes; lengthening or broadening. There hadn't been much fuss anymore, and he quite liked it.
Therefore, it was absolute torture to be standing in the shop, next to his brother, looking for dressrobes. No more pre-decided fabric and color, but an overwhelming amount of choice, and the fact that money wasn't an issue for the Potters made the choice even harder.
Now, why would two young boys be needing dressrobes when Hogwarts didn't hold any balls? Well that was easy… wanting to lift the spirits of its employees, it was the ministry who had chosen to hold the ball. For all the Heads of Departments, outstanding, and influential people. And Charlus was even an honored guest because, not only was he a Head, but he was Head of the Aurors, one of the Ministry's most important departments now that it was war-time. The whole family was invited, and Dorea wanted everyone to look their absolute best considering all the attention the Aurors would be getting.
Since Charlus would be wearing his official red Auror robes, Dorea, James and Harry's robes had to match it. James gave his father a jealous look as the man was sitting quite comfortably, reading an outdated issue of 'Transfiguration Today' while Dorea was bustling around, trying to find the right colors.
"Oh Harry, this would look just lovely with your eyes," she said admiringly as she held an emerald green fabric to him. Harry looked in the mirror and quite agreed with her.
"Harry shouldn't wear Slytherin colors, he's better than that." James commented as he turned before the mirror, looking over his own navy blue robes.
"I like it too, Dorea," Harry said softly, pretending he hadn't heard his brother's comment. "Have you decided on a color yet?"
"Mmm, well, I like these silver robes, they look very classy." Indeed they did, they were very simple-looking but were made of an expensive, flowing material that enhanced the whole aura of the robe.
"It looks beautiful, I bet everyone will be watching you if you wear this." Harry said truthfully.
Beaming, Dorea said, "You're so sweet Harry." Harry blushed and James gave a quiet snort.
"Have you decided on your robes yet, James?" Harry asked.
Giving a dramatic sigh, he turned, "Just sod it, these robes will do fine." He said, pointing at the navy robes he was still wearing.
"Are you sure dear? Maybe a tad lighter blue would make you shine a bit more…"
"Mum, these will do just fine, really!" James hurriedly said, desperate to escape his mother's precision when to came to dressrobes.
"Alright alright! It's good that we've gotten the colors sorted now, though, cause we'll have to start on what color thread the trimming will be…"
James and Harry shared horrified looks.
About an hour later, the four left the store with three new dress robes, an excited Dorea, a rather neutral Charlus, a heavily disgruntled James, and an exhausted Harry. Dorea had stayed with her silver robed and silver trimming on the cuffs, hem and neck line. James had his navy blue robes and had chosen gold trimming, which he shared with Harry who had taken the emerald green robes.
Harry still had trouble with what to call Charlus and Dorea. They had assured him, when he had confessed his dilemma, that they didn't mind what Harry called them as long as he was comfortable with it. Harry didn't have a big problem calling Charlus 'dad', but calling Dorea 'mum' felt like he was betraying Caroline, and he felt he couldn't call Charlus 'dad' and still refer to Dorea by 'Dorea'. He guessed that in time he would learn to call her 'mum', and if he didn't, it wasn't that big a deal either.
Harry looked up as he heard James make a funny noise, something sounding like laughter but without actually opening his mouth. They were sitting in the living room and James was reading a letter with a smirk on his face, and Harry wondered who it was from. He voiced his question.
"From Sirius."
"Aha," Harry said, wondering why he'd even bothered to ask.
"Remember when we won the House Cup last year?" James asked. Really, how could Harry forget? Partially thanks to all the points he'd won for Gryffindor in classes, they'd won the cup for the first time again since five years. They would have won it the year before too, if it hadn't been for James and Sirius' talent for losing points. They'd still lost a lot last year too, but luckily not enough to lose Gryffindor the House Cup. The House had gone wild, celebrating well into the night.
"Well, Sirius made out with this Ravenclaw girl, and he says they're dating. But he makes it a point to mention she is no way near as clingy as Hanna. I bet that's why he chose to date someone from another house too; it increases his chances at being able to eat dinner normally." James finished, smirking, and Harry joined him.
"It was very amusing to see them together."
James scrunched up his nose, "But not when we won something, then they were just disgusting." He said and Harry agreed. He never liked having his own relationships on display like that, but Sirius liked attention so he shouldn't even be surprised.
"Are they coming over again this summer?" Harry asked.
"We haven't talked about it yet, but we'll definitely meet up." He said vaguely.
Charlus was still working full days at the ministry and Dorea kept pretty busy with her organizations as well. James and Harry managed to amuse themselves just fine, and soon the Harry's birthday and the ball arrived. Both were on July 31st, and Harry groaned at the thought of not only having to attend it (he wasn't particularly fond of balls), but that of all days, it had to be on his birthday!
Dorea had went up to get ready about three hours before departure time, and the three men an hour prior. In the bathroom James and Harry shared they took showers in turns and threw on their robes, both tried what they could with their hair, but with unsuccessful results. They went down and played a game of exploding snap while waiting for Charlus and Dorea. When they came down James and Harry goggled at them.
"Mum… you look so, feminine!" James exclaimed, wide eyed.
Harry was a bit more graceful in his compliment, "Wow Dorea, I don't think I've ever seen you looking prettier." Dorea, who had been looking concernedly at her son, smiled warmly at him.
"Thank you darlings, that's so sweet." She smiled at them.
"You look very nice too, dad," James said, and Harry nodded his agreement.
"Thank you boys," Charlus said in his deep, assuring voice, "and don't you two look handsome."
Where James puffed out his chest in pride, Harry dipped his head and gave an embarrassed smile.
"Now let's get going shall we? We'll be travelling by Portkey, and when we arrive we'll enter the ballroom and our names will be announced. I expect you both to be on your best behavior," here he looked sternly at James, "this is not a time to be fooling around."
"Don't worry dad, I want to be an Auror too, I won't ruin my chances. I'll simply dazzle them with my awesomeness." He said confidently, and Harry hid his sniggers behind his hand. He wasn't able to hide them well enough, though, as James huffed and pretended to be all offended as he stomped out of the house.
The Portkey took them to a fancy looking room that seemed surrounded by drapings, and at the far end two of them separated to form a sort of exit. A man was standing there in official looking robes, though he looked almost bored. Harry and James followed Charlus and Dorea as they headed in the man's direction.
"Have you ever been to something like this?" Harry whispered to James, his own nerves kicking in. He'd attended balls in his previous universe, but he was the Chosen One there, whatever manners he had (or lacked) it didn't matter, he could do no wrong in the eyes of the Wizarding World. Here, though, he would be heavily embarrassing Charlus, Head of the Aurors, if he did something wrong.
"Yea, but I was like six or seven. It's no big deal, just follow my lead." James reassured him and Harry walked slightly closer to his brother.
Charlus whispered something to the man standing by the exit, who nodded, and then turned towards the exit, where – Harry only now noticed, to his horror – was a large marble staircase leading a grand, fancy ballroom, where several beautiful and aristocratic people were already mingling around.
"I give you Head Auror Charlus Potter, his wife, Dorea, and his sons, James and Harry."
Harry blushed as many heads swiveled up to look at them. Charlus and Dorea walked in and Harry went to walk next to Charlus, but James held him back discreetly, and after a second started walking with Harry, so that they were a slight ways behind Charlus and Dorea. Harry realized this showed their respect towards their parents and was the formal way of entrance. He kept his head down and minded his feet and the rest of the staircase. Bloody nice it would be if he tripped and rolled down the stairs; he could already imagine it.
He breathed a sigh of relief as they reached the last step and finally dared to look up. Many wizards and witches were looking at them and whispering, and Harry remembered the Auror department's increased popularity during the war. To his horror though, some people were also pointing at him and talking with confused looks on their faces. He quickly turned his head away and followed his family over to their table, which they actually shared with the Minister.
Millicent Bagnold gave a welcoming smile as they approached, and got up to greet Charlus and Dorea. James, his own Pureblood training kicking in, bent down slightly and kissed her hand in a very gentleman-like way. Harry made to follow the example. Millicent looked amused at them.
"It's good to see you boys again. My, you've certainly grown since last year." Eyeing them both, she gave them a smile which Harry returned, while James grinned familiarly.
"A year certainly is too long, Minister. Why, you're beauty grows with each day, I might not even recognize you after another twelve months!" He said charmingly. Millicent laughed heartedly (though in a dignified way), Charlus chuckling as well, Dorea shooting her son a warning glance, and Harry looked at his brother in disbelief at his comment. Surely, that did not qualify as proper ball etiquette.
He quickly took his seat next to James, and their table was joined by the Head of Department of International Magical Cooperation and the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, and their families. As Harry predicted, it was mostly boring. They had a five-course dinner which took a good three hours, and in the meantime the only occupation was political talk and dancing. Since Harry couldn't dance to save his life, and he wasn't knowledgeable about politics (nor was it expected of him at thirteen years old), it was rather boring for him. He took to looking around and started studying other people.
Merlin, there sure were a lot of future Death Eaters present. These were some of the influential people in the Wizarding World so that's why they were invited. Harry saw the Lestranges, including Rodolphus and Bellatrix (were they married already?), he could see the Malfoys, Notts, and… the Blacks… Harry saw Sirius with a blank Pureblood expression on his face, but his whole body language screamed disgust. Regulus looked quite at home as he was chatting formally with someone Harry didn't recognize. Harry looked on further.
Suddenly, his eyes flashed back to someone whose face he'd skimmed over. He squinted his eyes, wondering who the man was, when suddenly it hit him: Crouch! Blinking owlishly, he realized he was staring at a younger version of Crouch. He look to Crouch's right and saw his wife, and to her right was seated a little boy, who looked bored but arrogant. Harry blinked again. Crouch Jr. But he seemed familiar, as if he'd seen the kid's face before.
"Hey James," he said quietly.
"Yea?"
"That kid, over there at the table under the left chandelier, doesn't he go to Hogwarts? I think I've seen him before…"
James squinted like Harry had done. "Oh him, yea he'll be going into second year now. That's Bartemius Crouch Junior, his dad's a quick rising star in the Ministry."
Harry peeked another glance at the boy, trying not to stare because he didn't want to draw any attention to himself. So the kid was a year younger than him, and he'd be going to Azkaban in a few years. The thought made him look back at Sirius, who still looked disgruntled. He didn't want his friend going to Azkaban in this universe. He'd never wanted Sirius to go there; but now he had a chance to prevent it. He looked down at his plate, suddenly having lost his appetite. He would have to find a way to prevent Sirius being chucked in there.
The party dragged on, and Harry had long lost count of the amount of people coming up to Charlus to talk Auror strategies with him. He was proud of his uncle that, despite the flattery, he didn't give away any sensitive information. Harry started as he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"I thought I'd never get to see you." Sirius said, plopping down in an empty chair next to James.
"Sirius!" he said, surprised, "I thought the same, didn't think your family would let you."
"They wouldn't; I slipped away. I'll probably be locked up in my room tonight as punishment, though why they think it will discipline is beyond me. Drive me crazy, perhaps, but develop obedience?" Sirius snorted.
"How have you been?"
"Do I even need to tell you?" Sirius said grumpily.
"No, you're right. Were you guys here long before we came? I saw you sitting when we entered."
"Yea, we got here 'bout half an hour before you did. You should have seen my family's faces when they announced Harry as Charlus' son, they immediately bent their heads together to discuss everything they knew about Harry's ancestry and the adoption." Sirius grinned at Harry. "And happy birthday to you, Harry. Well, as happy as it can be seeing the circumstances." Sirius grinned, waving his hand around.
"Thanks, Sirius," Harry beamed.
"It was the best part of the evening though, I'd say, you guys' entrance. Seeing my family confronted with a surprise. Better than the rest of the conversations anyway."
"What were they about?" Harry asked.
"Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix's engagement. She's my cousin, and the family is bragging to everyone who will listen, or simply can't escape, what a lovely respectable marriage it is."
Harry involuntarily turned his head towards the Lestranges, remembering their fate in his own world. He studied Bellatrix's face, one which he despised, and Rodolphus', whom he actually didn't know very well. He was vaguely aware of James and Sirius continuing the conversation. His eyes fell on the third Lestrange, Rabastan, and he started, realizing Lestrange had been staring at him too. They held eye contact for a moment, Harry frozen, and Lestrange looking interested. He suddenly got a glint in his eyes Harry couldn't identify, and a smirk slowly formed on his face. Feeling nervous and, for some reason, nauseated, Harry quickly turned back to his brother and Sirius' conversation, unable to get the twisted face of Rabastan Lestrange off of his mind.
XXXXXX
"Just admit it James, I won fair and square!" Harry said triumphantly, as the boys made their way back to the Manor.
"You didn't, you just don't want to admit your winning streak has been broken by your own brother."
"That's rubbish, everyone knows which Potter is best when it comes to the Snitch."
"Only because no one has ever seen me catch the Snitch! And I won't show them either, because then they'll be begging me to be Seeker and you'll be thrown off the team." James said cockily.
They had just been playing another Quidditch match, this time both of them competing to find the Snitch. Needless to say, both were convinced that they had won; they had grabbed hold of it at the same time and yanked so hard that the wing Harry had been holding split with the rest of the Snitch and both boys had ended up with part of it. Because James had the larger part he was convinced he had won; and Harry was convinced that he had grabbed hold of it just a tad earlier and James had taken it from him by force.
"Whatever, I could beat you without having my glasses on."
They entered the living room and Dorea looked up. "Who's won this time, boys?"
"Me!" Both James and Harry yelled, before giving each other playful glares. Dorea sighed, but smiled.
"What with you two on the team, I doubt Gryffindor will lose a match till you both graduate!" She said proudly. This seemed to enlarge James' already inflated ego as he got a cocky stance.
Dorea sighed again, wistfully. "I can't believe you're going back to Hogwarts next week already! Where does the time go?"
"Aww mum, you know we miss you. No-one matches your self-made cookie-dough pudding, not even Hogwarts' Houselves." James said charmingly. Dorea smiled affectionately and Harry grinned, fully agreeing with his brother.
"I can't believe Remus though, the traitor." James said once they had cleaned up a bit from their game. "A prefect, I mean, honestly. Have we taught him nothing at all?" He said, shaking his head.
Harry smirked. "Well one of you four had to become prefect. I agree with Dumbledore; Remus was the best choice."
"You wouldn't even pick you own brother?" James said, faking a hurt look. Harry threw him an exasperated look.
"Really? You'd just use it as an excuse to take points off of other Houses and hex people cause they don't refer to you right."
James looked contemplative. "You're right. But you say it like it's a bad thing!"
Harry simply rolled his eyes and threw a pillow into James' face.
One week later found Dorea, James and Harry on Platform 9¾. They'd already put their trunks aboard the Hogwarts express and were now looking around for their friends. Harry spotted the Blacks: Mr. Black and Mrs. Black were accompanying their sons. Harry had never seen Mr. Black before, he looked strict and uninvolved as he walked boredly beside his wife. He had a walking cane like Lucius Malfoy, but instead of the serpent's head on top of it, there was a dog's head. It looked very vicious; a bulldog in the middle of a crazy threatening bark. Mrs. Black's face was neutral, but even she couldn't hide her disgust as she looked disapprovingly at her eldest son. Regulus walked calmly, but Harry knew better; he was walking on eggshells around his mother and Sirius. Harry wondered if Sirius ever even realized how much his behavior and only thinking of himself had affected Regulus' childhood too. He certainly didn't give his Slytherin brother enough credit, for Regulus did look up to his brother in a twisted way (which he would never admit, but Harry could still see), and forgave him every time Sirius did something stupid.
Sirius spotted them quickly, said a quick and cold 'goodbye' to his parents, and without waiting for a reply, made his way over to the Potters. Harry saw Regulus give Sirius a grim look, but when he looked at Harry, he gave a small smile, which Harry discreetly returned. As soon as Sirius got to them he started complaining about his family, and that's when Harry tuned him out. He spotted Noah and gave a wave, which his fellow Gryffindor excitedly returned. He looked over the platform and saw more familiar faces; Conner and Mia, some Huffelpuffs and Ravenclaws from his year, and some upper years he recognized. The smile was wiped off his face, however, as he caught sight of Rabastan Lestrange, looking haughty and proud. Was he still in school? Harry had thought he'd have left last year. But he was definitely in seventh year now; there was a gleaming Head Boy badge on his robes. Harry quickly turned away before the Slytherin could catch his eye again.
The train's whistle blew, signaling it's departure and Harry jumped on after giving Dorea a quick hug, followed by James and Sirius. They quickly went into their compartment and waved from behind the window as the Hogwarts Express pulled up.
Moments later they were joined by Peter, who was wheezing about not being able to find them and was dramatically hysteric at the prospect of spending the ride alone. Harry had to refrain from rolling his eyes and snapping at the rat.
"Don't tell me you're scared of those slimy Slytherins, Peter." Sirius said, mirroring Harry's desire to roll his eyes, though for a totally different reason.
"No, of course not! They're nothing but slimy, good-for-nothing-"
"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you, Peter," Harry growled, "In case you've forgotten, I have friends in that House."
The air in the compartment suddenly became uncomfortable, but Harry wasn't going to sit and pretend he was fine with their insults, and he especially wasn't going to take crap from Peter. He'd turn for the Slytherins' help quicker than a swish of a wand if it were beneficial to him.
"So, did you manage to survive at your place, Sirius?" James asked, obviously eager for a switch of subject.
"I just ignore my mother, once she gets started… And they call that a respectable Pureblood." Sirius snorted. "I'm moving out as soon as I come of age, I'm already counting off the time. Just one more summer to go."
"Well if you ever need anything, you know you're always welcome at our place." James said loyally and Sirius grinned.
"Thanks mate. So what were you up to this last week?"
Harry decided to butt in there, "James was getting a lesson in deflating his ego. After all, we all know who the better Seeker is here."
"I resent that! It was clear that I won the match, you're just too stubborn to admit it."
Harry rolled his eyes and smirked, "Look who's talking," he teased. James grinned too.
"No, you're wrong. I'm what people call headstrong, while you're just plain stubborn."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "And I think most people would say that's the same thing." Sirius sniggered.
"It is not. Headstrong is when you know you're right and you stick to what you're saying, while stubborn means that you're actually wrong but refuse to give in, and keep arguing."
Sirius and Peter roared with laughter and Harry felt his lips twitch, while James gave him an amused, cocky grin.
"You're impossible!" Harry said dramatically and he threw his hands up into the air, which caused Sirius to laugh even louder.
Remus chose that exact moment to enter, but remained still at the sight of James and Sirius laughing hysterically, the latter almost falling from his seat, Peter laughing in a breathy way, and Harry trying and failing to look stern and insulted.
"Don't tell me Harry; you were practicing Cheering Charms on the fearsome trio?" Remus drawled.
"No," Harry huffed, "they're just making fun of me." Remus' lips twitched and he took a seat next to Harry, for which he was thankful since it put something between Peter and him.
"Why are you so late Remus?" Peter said, the remains of laughing still sounding in his voice.
"Prefect meeting; we got to meet the other prefects and were assigned our duties." He answered, while James and Sirius made 'Duh-uh' sounds.
"Who are the other prefects Remus?" Harry asked.
"Well Lily is the other one for Gryffindor," (here James gave a look of trepidation), "Davy Gudgeon and Annalie Stebbins for Huffelpuff, Reg Cattermole and Teresa Bellum for Ravenclaw, and… Evan Rosier and Elena Max for Slytherin."
"Rosier!" Sirius exclaimed, "That foul git's gonna be taking points off for no reason!"
"We were told we always need a legitimate reason-"
"Like the Slytherins will keep to that, they'll worm their way out around it and still be able to take off points." James scoffed.
"What kind of duties will you have, Remus?" Harry asked.
Remus shrugged, "Just the boring stuff; patrolling and making sure the first years get around ok." Here he gave a pointed look at Sirius and James, who were suddenly very angel-like looking.
"Aww Remy, we would never dream about it! Those poor innocent firsties; why, I bet they're peeing in their pants already and we haven't even laid a finger on them." Sirius grinned evilly.
"But we better watch out Sirius, I mean, with Remus hot on our tails…"
"Yea, I knew his love for books and rules was going to get us into trouble some day." Sirius conspired along.
"I do not have a love for rules!" Remus spluttered.
"Yea, he's right Sirius, we've already knocked that out of him. One down, just the books to go."
"He's too studious for his own good."
Harry had to hide his laughter at Remus' feeble attempts to justify his studiousness.
It was already dark as the train pulled into Hogsmeade, and the five boys changed into their robes. Harry took the carriage with Noah, Conner and Mia, and when they entered the Great Hall the four breathed a sigh of relief. It was very windy outside so they were relieved to get into the warm castle. When they made their way to the table, Harry caught a fleeting glance of Sirius who was kissing with a brown haired Ravenclaw, and Harry remembered James telling him about Sirius' new girlfriend. Harry smirked as he remembered poor Sirius' previous one.
Since Harry had worked through a lot of the third year material during last year, classes were a breeze for him. Still, whenever he was awarded points for Gryffindor because of his on-the-spot knowledge, he couldn't help but smile. It certainly did give a good feeling. During Potions class he got a surprise though…
He was just leaving the class with Regulus, talking animatedly about an article in Potion Pioneers, which described a new potion in theory, which makes you fly, when Slughorn called him back.
"Harry, could you stay back for a moment? I'd like a word my boy." Shrugging, Harry waved goodbye to Regulus and went back into class.
"Sure professor, what is it?"
Slughorn seemed to contemplate him for a moment. "My dear boy, I hear your doing exceptionally well in classes. Why, I can't go through a week without hearing your name being mentioned at least once!" His mustache quivered as he smiled in what Harry guessed he thought was a fatherly way.
"Thank you sir, that's very kind." He said politely, wondering where this was going.
"And humble too! No wonder, no wonder… I spoke to Millicent recently, you know, the Minister, and she says Charlus has gotten very fond of you. It is not hard to figure out why!" Harry could only smile, feeling embarrassed by all the fuss.
"As you undoubtedly know, I have little get-togethers with some promising students every now and then, to get to know each other better. I trust your brother will have told you about these? He's been attending for some time as well now."
"Sorry sir, he hasn't mentioned them as far as I remember."
"Oh, well, it must be overwhelming for someone so young, meeting all kinds of famous people, he wouldn't know how to deal with it!"
Harry thought this was a bit far-fetched, considering they were talking about James Potter, but he smiled and nodded anyway.
"I was planning on holding another one soon, and such a model student like yourself certainly shouldn't miss out on it! Would you be interested in coming Harry?"
No, he wouldn't. But he felt there was no answer to give other than, "It would be my pleasure sir, I am honored you think highly enough of me to invite me."
Slughorn's mustache quivered again, "My, my, such manners! You will make it far Harry, trust me on that, with my help you will come very far." With a wink, he added, "I haven't been wrong about a student yet."
The hairs on Harry's neck stood up at the familiar sentence; he remembered Slughorn saying that same sentence to a certain Slytherin years before.
That same night the Gryffindor Quidditch team trudged back to Hogwarts, feeling pleased with their efforts for training. Though muddy, cold and completely windswept, the seven teens felt confident for the upcoming Quidditch match against Slytherin. Since it was Andy's last year at Hogwarts, he was adamant about winning the Quidditch Cup for a third year in a row, something the rest of the team heartedly agreed with. The match was only weeks away, and with Slytherin just as determined to win it (to regain their honor over Gryffindor), tempers between the two houses were rising high. Harry admired his brother, who had so far been able to keep his promise about not hexing Slytherins. However, he had heard it did cause James some strain, for just the other day someone had insulted Gryffindor and after a harsh internal debate (at least, that's what it looked like to everyone else) James had walked away.
XXXXXX
As the first few weeks passed, Harry soon found himself in the back of the library again, in the company of one Severus Snape.
"You're serious? You really think you almost got it?" Harry's eyes were wide and round as he looked at Severus, whose eyes were glittering. He seemed to enjoy Harry's disbelief and admiration.
"Yes, just a little more practice, and I think I'll have got it. It's like you almost feel it click inside of you; it's maddening to be so close and not have reached it yet." He said.
"So what does it feel like?" Harry said excitedly, "Connecting the word Muffliato to the actual magic that makes people hear the buzzing sounds?"
Severus hesitated, "It's like a lock and key concept. Except the lock is very small and has an even smaller keyhole, and every time you push the key forth you miss the lock by a miniscule amount. It's a constant try and fail, and it's extremely frustrating to attempt to point the key just right so that it enters the lock. However, once it will enter the lock and lock and key become one, I'm convinced you'll get a feeling that it's impossible to separate the two again. Merlin, I am so looking forward to that feeling." He finished wistfully.
Harry sat thinking about what his friend had said. He now wanted to experience that feeling too. "The next time we find a good match for word and magic, I want to try to connect it." He said firmly. Severus looked at him in amusement.
"You're only a third year; you'll probably not be strong enough." He said with an almost gently touch to his voice.
"You were thirteen when you started researching and experimenting too! Just watch me, I'll do it. Even if it takes me all year." He said decidedly. His eyes locked with Severus' obsidian ones, and there was something there… some sort of cold appraisal? Or as if he was just seeing Harry for the first time?
Severus seemed to contemplate him once more. "Then we'd best get to researching a new spell we can invent." He said quietly.
Harry looked at him in surprise. Coming from the Slytherin, that meant something akin to 'I believe you can do this, you are capable of it'. As Severus turned back to his Latin dictionary, a small smile creeped onto Harry's face while he studied the other boy. Really, who would have ever thought Snape could be a pleasant person? If anyone had told him before that he could be good friends with him, Harry would have laughed in their faces and asked if they'd had too much to drink. But getting to know the teen Snape had changed every opinion Harry had ever had of the man.
Sure, he was less bitter and downtrodden towards others, but Harry had also gotten to know a whole new side of Severus. He also experienced the same thing he'd done with Regulus: at first sight Slytherins are mean, uncaring, and arrogant; but once you get to know then they can act just like Gryffindors. They are just more selective of whom they show this personal side.
Harry felt he had obviously gained Severus' friendship and was showed this side, who had ever thought Snape and a Potter could get along? Sometimes Severus still complained about James, and there wasn't much Harry could do in his brother's defense, knowing Severus was generally right. However, it wasn't like he was betraying James either, because if he felt Severus got too mouthy he jumped to his brother's defense. Though Severus didn't mention it, Harry suspected he did admire this loyalty about Harry.
Their meetings were still very enjoyable, as they were now actually working on inventing spells. Muffliato was the first, and Harry was trying his best to remember others the 'Half-Blood Prince' had invented besides Levicorpus, Liberacorpus, and Sectumsempra. He didn't remember a lot, except the langlock jinx (which glues to person's tongue to their mouth palate), which also seemed like an innocent enough hex to start out with.
They stayed in the library till a quarter to nine, for it would close at nine o'clock. Harry left first, and a good couple of minutes later Severus would leave. It was an extra precaution they took to make sure people didn't find out about their ambitious study sessions. Harry was still juggling these once-a-week meetings together with his homework and Quidditch, and he was very happy to have worked ahead last year so that he could still get Outstanding grades without too much effort. He did his best to stay ahead and look at some fourth year material, but since he kept going up a year the study material wasn't as much of a breeze anymore (though not a challenge yet either).
Meanwhile they were already into October, and the Quidditch match was approaching. The Marauders hadn't vent off their energy in any pranks or hexing of others, and quite frankly Harry was getting worried. From experience he knew the foursome (well, mostly James and Sirius) needed mischief to keep them from becoming bored and start bullying people.
"Well, we've just sort of grown out of pranks" Said James, when Harry voiced his thoughts to him on their way to the match.
Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"
"It's not that bad, we're still really funny and everything. But we've decided to put our creativity to, ah… other uses." James said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"And is that good, or bad?" Harry asked unsurely.
"Harry you wound me!" Sirius butted in. "Nothing, I repeat, nothing the Marauders get up to can be classified as bad. That's what Slytherins are for," he said with a wrinkled nose.
"But then what is it you guys are doing, if not pranking or hexing?" He said, generally curious.
"We've just got a couple of projects running that need to be top priority right now." James winked. Harry raised his eyebrows, perfectly aware what they were talking about but not letting it show.
"Which is what?"
"Now Harry, you should know the Marauders better than that," Sirius teased, "Ask us no questions, and we shall tell you no lies." Sirius wiggled his eyebrows and Harry had to stop himself from giving Sirius a very pointed glare.
"You mean you won't even tell your own brother?" He said in a hurt voice, and he clung to James' arm, staring up at him with wide eyes. To his satisfaction, James looked uncomfortable. Sirius gasped dramatically.
"Why you evil little bugger! Manipulating a fellow Gryffindor like that. Tut, tut." He shook his head, and this time Harry didn't stop himself from glaring, and for good measure stuck out his tongue too. Sirius looked momentarily stunned, before letting out a bark-like laugh and thumping Harry on his back.
"Way to go kiddo, that's the spirit." Sirius kept laughing and Harry huffed. Really, sometimes he thought Sirius saw him as a five-year old, what with his 'Harrykins' and 'kiddo' nicknames. Sometimes he wondered if Sirius even took him seriously.
"So where's Adelaide, Sirius? I thought she said she'd come wish you luck before the match?" Momentarily, Harry wondered who 'Adelaide' was, until he remembered Sirius' Ravenclaw girlfriend.
Sirius looked slightly uncomfortable at being confronted with this question. "I broke up with her yesterday night."
James, surprised, raised his eyebrows, "Why?"
"I dunno, I was just done with her. It's like, after a few weeks it's all just the same things you're doing and it gets boring. Maybe I just need someone else; someone a bit more exciting. Ravenclaws are kind of bookish, after all."
James snorted. "Well, whenever you two went to the library, I doubted it was studying you were doing there."
"Mm, I don't know. I guess there are many different things that can be, err… studied."
James sniggered, but the way Sirius said it and with that look on his face made Harry blush, and he vehemently tried to block out the mental image. Suddenly James gave a dramatic gasp, like Sirius had done minutes before, and covered Harry's ears. It was an awkward position, as he had to get his other arm around Harry to clamp both his ears shut, while Harry resisted and with a yell of "James!" tried to get his brother off him.
"OI! You lot, we have a match starting soon you know!" Andy looked ready to burst as James, Sirius and Harry were laughing and fooling around. Apparently, he preferred it when everyone was dead nervous and too afraid to speak. James and Sirius immediately took a saluting stance, leaving Harry in the middle of a position of resistance, looking very foolish. He scowled, but followed his brother and friend into the locker rooms.
Half an hour later found Harry up in the air, once again looking for the Snitch. Slytherin had certainly kept to what they had bragged about in the hallway: they really had gotten better.
Harry flew around, keeping out of the game as much as possible, looking for the Snitch. Every now and then he heard the commentator mention a score; a lot was courtesy to James.
"And Potter scores again! 50-40 with Gryffindor in the lead. Fervus takes possession, passes to McDoughel – nice evasion there, and he continues towards Gryffindor goalposts, passes to Baddock, who passes back- he shoots, and, ah! Stimpson stops the Quaffel, excellent move she made there. Potter's quickly caught the Quaffel, and is now flying back to Slytherin's side, skillfully evading his opponents…"
Harry tuned him out as his eyes darted around the stands. He kept a close eye on Vaisey, who seemed more determined than ever to beat Harry. His face was scrunched up in such concentration it seemed to pain him. Harry decided to have a bit of fun and started tailing him. His annoyed look as he noticed Harry caused him to search even harder and Harry to smirk. Slytherins were so easy, and sometimes so fun, to piss off.
Harry got bored with the current situation and he left Vaisey's tail in favor darting through the game unexpectedly. He was so unexpected, that as he passed right before McDoughel, the boy gave a yelp in surprise and actually dropped the Quaffel, which Andy caught, grinning appreciatively at Harry.
Suddenly, his eyes fell on Sirius, who also had a look of deep concentration on his face. He made a move to hit the Bludger, and Harry followed the direction in which he was sending it before-
BAM
"Merlin! An excellent aim from Black knocked Slytherin Beater Cameron right off his broom! Ouch, this doesn't look too good folks. Cameron is being levitated onto a stretcher and taken from the field; it seems Slytherin will be a Beater short this match." The Slytherin captain, Harper, looked murderously at Sirius, who looked smug, but very handsomely so. Harry continued looking for the Snitch, but he couldn't even get into it properly before another BAM caused the game to be put on halt.
Sirius had taken another aim, and had now knocked Fervus off his broom: Slytherin was now a Beater and Chaser short! James and Sirius didn't look sorry at all, instead looking pleased and unconcerned as a second player, within a span of five minutes, was taken up to the hospital wing. Many Slytherins in the audience were yelling abuse at Sirius; Harry even saw some people making threatening gestures and some had taken out their wands, using all their willpower to stop themselves from hexing the Marauder. Gritting his teeth, Harry decided to end it quickly. As soon as they were allowed back into the air, Harry fervently began his search. His eyes darted from side to side and he kept an ear out for the commentator, who would surely say something if Vaisey saw the Snitch… He was cricling the Slytherin side of the Pitch, Vaisey being near the Gryffindors, when his hear suddenly felt up in his throat – there, by the sidelines near the Gryffindor goalpoasts, was that glint of gold he was so longing to see. But if he moved too quickly, Vaisey would catch him and it there was no question on who would reach it first then.
Slowly, as if just doing his round of seeking, he made his way to the side of the Pitch. Then his heart dropped. Vaisey had spotted it as well and was now diving for it. Harry left out all caution as he sped into the same direction.
"C'mon, c'mon," Vaisey had a head start already and Harry urged his broom to go faster. Vaisey had his arm stretched out, and Harry kept hurtling towards the ground at full speed. He was almost there- but then, just feet away from his prize, he saw Vaisey's fingers close around the Snitch, the triumphant smirk crossing his features, and every fibre in Harry's being screamed 'No!'. Being so caught up with the Snitch, he noticed the ground too late and crashed head-first.
Wow… Just, wow, that's all I can say. You guys are simply AMAZING! Last chapter got 52 wonderful reviews, I actually squealed very girlish while reading some of them. All I can say is, Keep It Up! I'm in love with your reviews as you are with the story, and it's great hearing from so many people that they love it! As a special treat, I made this chapter extra long (more than 7200 words) and lots of Harry-James and Harry-Marauders, which I'm sure you all like to read!
As another treat, there were some questions asked that I really wanted to answer:
- When will HPSB start? It will start before Sirius is out of Hogwarts. Right now Sirius is too immature and he needs to grow up first, and really I find them too young for a serious (no pun intended) relationship right now anyway. But I'm just as eager to get there as you are, so don't worry, I'll do my best to get there soon!
- Is Harry merging with the other Harry? Yes, in a way. Although I am want to stick to canon Harry's values and spirit as much as possible, there are a few things I've changed – he's a bit more humble and soft in his behavior, less judgmental, more studious, and very neutral which makes everyone like him. In the last part in chapter 11, where Harry mentioned himself being bullied when he was young, this was taken from the other Harry's memories, which are merging with his own. However, Harry can relate to the bullying himself as well, seeing as he grew up with the Dursleys .
- Harry's father is also in canon, so he is a "real" person. He's not a time-traveler or anything weird like Harry, he's a normal character. And yes, Harry WILL find out who he is, though like I said, it might take some time. You'll be getting some clues along the way – I refer to next chapter.
- James' conceitedness. Yes, James is a rather arrogant person who takes a lot of things for granted and does see himself as better than some – certain – people. But we can also see that he's a very caring person, who will do anything to keep those he cares about safe and happy. Just like with canon James, I think the conceitedness is, to a certain extent, just a phase, and the caring and protective James Harry knows is the real and future James. And yes, James is very protective of Harry, which will surely influence more plotlines in this story… More reason's for James' dislike of Slytherins and Snape will be given later on in the story…
- Harry will officially find out about Remus soon
- If I know similar stories as this one which are good? Mmm, I must confess I don't read a lot of stories like mine, which makes some of my plotlines unique (not trying to brag here, or anything), but I got the main idea for this story from "ripples in time" by padfootsrevenger, which I can really advise reading - although it hasn't been updated recently.
- Last, BUT NOT LEAST, I wanted to clarify that just because Harry has study sessions in the library with Severus, does NOT mean he is turning into a Hermione! Yes, he's a bit more studious due to the merging, but the library was the only place I could think of where a Gryffindor and a Slytherin could secretly have study sessions for which, obviously, they need BOOKS. Of course they take measures to ensure no one sees them together, which until now no-one has done (which is why the Marauders don't know about it). This is where YOUR INPUT is greatly appreciated, because a change in study place would be more interesting and exciting. Any suggestions? Just no Room of Requirement please, I don't really see Harry actually showing that room to a Slytherin he is only just beginning to trust…
Next chapter… Will James be able to keep his promise? How will Harry react? And most nail-biting of all… Will James find out about Harry and Severus' study sessions?
Until then, I'd LOVE to hear from you in the REVIEWS! What did you think of the pictures I put up on my profile? And are my Author's Notes too long?
