Hello, my lovelies! Thanks to your lovely and overwhelming support, I decided to update a couple of days sooner than usual!

Also, people keep asking for me to post a list of people's names and their meanings in here – I've already done that! If you're having any confusion, I update the list and meanings in order of their appearance on my profile page in the bio, every time I post a new chapter. So if you need help keeping it straight as you go along, just open up a new tab with my profile and you can go back and forth between that and the chapter you're reading any time you're confused.

Warning: darker chapter with a lot more angst than normal, but there is some redemption. Possible trigger warnings.

Hope you enjoy!

…

Draco Malfoy had not been having a good week.

After hearing in the middle of last year how Harry Potter was a Parselmouth, his father had instructed him to gain the boy's allegiance. He hadn't been too pleased about it, and he didn't know why his father was so sure that the golden boy would form an allegiance with the Malfoys, after having lived with his mother's despicable cousin for several months. But he'd been obedient, and it had completely backfired.

First, no one had realized that he was already friends with the mudblood know-it-all, and wouldn't take kindly to the truth being spoken to her face. So of course he hadn't bothered to hold back as far as that went. It then ended in his being attacked by that awful creature Potter kept as a pet, and put him off the entire train ride. The conductor was useless, and could only cast a spell to slow the poison, so he'd had to wait till the Feast to see the bitch in the Hospital Wing that could give him the necessary potions.

Then, the Potter idiot had been Sorted into the House of the Duffs, and he'd not even cared when he made it clear that he loathed him. He hadn't even seemed to notice. He'd completely ignored him, as though he was beneath him! As if!

He'd been sure that his father would get that awful snake put down for its transgression – Draco had hoped Potter would be made to watch. See how the pompous brat liked that! He wouldn't be strutting about the castle anymore – that was for sure.

But then Potter had actually bitten his father – as though he was an animal! He'd been sure that that would just put the final nail into the coffin, and Draco could go about making fun of him for weeks afterward…but nothing had happened. Black, that filthy blood traitor, had made his own threats, and though Draco would never admit it, he knew that what the jerk had said was true. Potter had more pull, due to being the only heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, which had eleven generations more in its family than the Noble House of Malfoy. Add to that that he was the bloody Boy-Who-Lived, and he was practically untouchable.

(Of course, now that the Black House was headed by Sirius Black, they had Lighter leanings – firmly in Dumbledore's camp, obviously. And Malfoys weren't afraid of bribing people for their own gains, as well as playing dirty.)

Potter had been missing all weekend also, so he couldn't even make his displeasure known then, when there was less chance of a professor walking by to catch him cursing out the filth. Then on Monday, when Slytherin had shared three class periods with Hufflepuff, the egotistical idiot hadn't even looked his way – not once.

He'd stewed in his anger (not self-pity, he kept repeating) all day long, and into the next day. Seeing the filthy mudblood looking quite cheerful that morning during free period had been the straw that broke the camel's back, and he'd let spells fly without a second thought. Seeing her with the face and hooves of a donkey had helped him ease his slighted feelings, and when the bitch ran to the nearest bathroom, he'd gathered several passing Slytherins to jeer at her outside the locked bathroom door.

Then they'd been pelted with dungbombs, which Malfoy was sure was the result of the wretched Weasley twins. He'd bolted off to his dorms to wash out the smell, washing himself three times before he was satisfied no one would notice the revolting fumes.

He'd just exited the Slytherin common room, walking up to the Great Hall for lunch alone, when he was accosted by the very person he'd been mentally stewing over.

Harry felt his rage grow exponentially when he saw the poncy Slytherin making his way down the corridor. Before his brain caught up to him, he'd already let fly with a spell that hit the filthy boy in the chest, burning through his clothes and a layer of skin and sent him flying into the nearest wall. He was only glad that no one was watching so that he could let his rage unfold as much as he wanted.

"I thought you would've learned your lesson after Sadi bit you," Harry said lowly, drawing closer to the slightly moaning boy with an unmistakably predatory step. "I suppose I was wrong… But I won't let you make that same mistake again."

He let off with the first spell he thought of – one of the nasty ones he had seen in that book just a couple of days before.

There was a loud crack, and Sully let out a choked scream as his leg snapped. Harry's eyes seemed to glow, glad to have induced this reaction from the bully. He bent down to stare directly into his face, knowing that from this angle, Sully would be able to see nothing else but him.

"You stay away from Hermione Granger," he said darkly, staring into dimmed grey eyes. "You hurt her again, you say something derogatory about her, you even look at her with anything more than apathy, and I will break every bone in your body just as easily as I broke your leg. Understand?"

The boy moaned painfully, but didn't say anything. Harry reached over and pushed his fingers against the break in the bone, keeping his eyes on the blonde's face while it screwed up in pain. A muffled scream echoed through the hall, only held back by the lips pressed so tightly together they were no longer visible.

"Do you understand?" he repeated threateningly.

"Yes," the boy moaned. "Please…please don't hurt me."

Suddenly something inside Harry shifted, and without any change in his facial expression, he stared down at the boy underneath him. He felt repulsion wave its way through him at what he'd done – not for the action itself, but that he enjoyed it. He was reveling in the boy's pain – was he really so much better than the bullies he so hated?

"Stay away from Hermione and you won't have to worry about it," Harry said after a moment, outwardly glaring threateningly but inwardly cringing in disgust with himself. But if there was one thing he'd learned it was don't falter halfway through. The only way to keep Sully away from Zuri was to strike fear into him – to make him believe that he would do this again, given a reason.

He pushed away from him, and walked calmly down the corridor. But, as soon as he was out of sight from the blonde Slytherin, he ran to the nearest bathroom and emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet.

…

Harry knew that many people realized, or at least suspected, that something was off about him. In one hour, he got four different people asking him if he was alright, and in Herbology, Professor Sprout figured out that it was because Hermione was in the Hospital Wing. He hadn't elaborated on the reason why she was there, but after being assured that he didn't need anything, the Head of House allowed him to go about his business how he pleased.

Harry went to the Hospital Wing after Herbology, deciding to skip DADA so that he could check on Zuri. She was in a different room from the rest of the Wing; Sully had been brought in, probably by some other Slytherins, and Zuri said it was better to pretend that she wasn't there, or Sully would get smug about the reason why – not to mention seeing her slow morph back to her normal appearance. She was curious how he'd broken his leg, but Harry decided not to tell her. He wished no one had been there to see what he'd done – not even Sully. He felt too ashamed with himself – especially when the blonde noticeably flinched when he noticed him walk by.

He left soon after that, wandering the halls before going down to the Hufflepuff Common Room. No one was in there, seeing as it was still in the middle of classes, so Harry sat down on the large black couch sitting in front of the fire. Feeling suddenly very alone, he curled up, pulling his knees up and pushing his face into them.

Why am I even here? He thought despairingly. I wanted to protect Zuri…but I'm not doing any good. I'm only becoming just like those bullies I've hated all my life. What if I started bullying her? I don't want to…but I was so gleeful when I was hurting Sully. What if I turn out just like him?

After several minutes, he brushed his eyes of the tears he hadn't realized he'd shed, and quickly rose to his feet, attempting to pull himself back together. Knowing that people would start filtering into the Common Room soon, he made his way to his dorm and tried to immerse himself in his books again.

But they just couldn't hold his attention. He felt the nausea rising up in him again, and forcefully pushed it back down, trying to focus on the illustration of the wand movement for Finite Incantatem.

He was startled suddenly when he heard his name being called as though from a far distance, and involuntarily dropped the book into his lap. The voice came again, and he recognized it as coming from Sirius. There was only one way he'd be hearing his voice right now; he pulled out the mirror from under his pillow but then hesitated to answer it. Sirius was sure to see that something was wrong, and would no doubt pester him about it.

When his name was called a third time though, he finally decided to answer it. After making a conscious effort to make his expression neutral, he tapped the glass to answer it.

"Harry!" Sirius beamed at him. "I was feeling bored, and missing you of course, so – hey, what's wrong?" Instantly his expression changed from cheerful happiness to concern.

"I'm – nothing," Harry tried saying. "Why – do I look different?"

"Don't try it, Harry – I know something is bothering you," Sirius lightly scolded him, though still with that same worried look. "What happened?"

Harry was quiet a minute, sitting back against the headboard and chewing his lip in thought.

"Have you ever worried that you're going to turn out just like the people you try so hard not to be?" he finally asked.

Sirius' expression shifted to one of confusion as well as thoughtfulness. "Of course I have," he answered. "I've told you about my family – the crazy Blacks all Sorted into Slytherin. When I was younger I was always scared that I'd turn out just like them. Even after being Sorted into Gryffindor I didn't know how much I may have been like them, and that terrified me." He smiled softly. "Of course, whenever I suggested it, James would tell me how ridiculous I was being and whacked me over the head until I agreed with him."

"But did you ever do anything that might have proven you were just like them?" Harry pressed.

Sirius frowned to himself, looking very guilty. "Yes, a few times," he admitted. "I – in my sixth year, I…told a boy in our year about Remus' – condition. Dared him to go to the place he'd transformed in. All because I was tired of him bothering us and wanted him out of the way."

"But wouldn't Salim have attacked him, then?" Harry questioned. Sending someone to their death was not the godfather that Harry knew and loved, but if he understood right, that was exactly what he did. "Wouldn't that turn the other boy into a werewolf – or kill him?"

"Yes," Sirius sighed. "And while he was definitely a git, no one deserved that. I was just being stupid. Remus was upset with me for a long time, too – took him a long time to forgive me. His worst fear is attacking someone in his wolf form while he is unable to stop it."

Harry was quiet for several moments after that. If Sirius or Salim or Zuri found out what he'd done to Sully…would they have a hard time forgiving him, also? Would they be upset with him for a very long time?

"What's going on, Harry?" Sirius' concerned voice finally penetrated the silence.

Distantly Harry heard people entering the Common Room, chatting amicably with their friends. He swallowed and looked away from his godfather so that he didn't have to see him when he finally admitted, "I hurt someone today."

Sirius was quiet, waiting for Harry to elaborate on what he meant. Finally Harry said, "I don't regret hurting him, but – I – I liked…" he choked, unable to continue, turning his face away in shame.

"Did he hurt a friend?" Sirius asked him without inflection.

Harry nodded, and an angry glint appeared in his eyes. "He was bullying Zuri," he said, fire in his voice. "He made her look like a donkey and then kept her trapped in a bathroom with a bunch of other Slytherins making fun of her so she was too humiliated to come out. When I saw her crying and how she acted in the Hospital Wing, I just got so angry." He shook his head. "I knew the teachers weren't going to do anything – they haven't before, so why should they now? And I didn't want Sully doing that to Zuri again, so I – I hurt him." The look of shame was back.

"Harry, what exactly did you do?" Sirius finally asked. "Should I expect to be called about suspension?"

"I don't think they hang up people as punishment here," Harry said confusedly, not understanding.

"It means you have to come home from school for some time, if you've done something drastic or dangerous," Sirius explained, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh," Harry said, then shook his head. "It wasn't what I did that was bad – it was that I was glad to hear him in pain. And that's just like what a bully does. And I don't want to be a bully."

"Harry," Sirius sighed, dropping his hand and looking back up at him. "Just tell me what you did."

"I cast the spell that blasted him into the wall first," Harry remembered. "It burned a line through his clothes and some of his skin. Then after I had his attention I snapped his leg in half. I pushed on the break until he acknowledged that he understood I would hurt him worse if he hurt Zuri again."

"Not that bad," Sirius repeated in a disbelieved mutter to himself while he mentally pictured the scene that must have occurred, before speaking up for Harry's benefit. "Harry, it's good that you were defending Hermione from bullying, but next time try to tone it back a bit. At least allow him to walk to the Hospital Wing on his own." It was clear that Harry disagreed with him on that, but Sirius didn't allow him to speak up in protest. "And I can't know exactly what happened with the Malfoy kid, but yes – I think you did cross the line into bullying." He saw Harry's face crumple with guilt, and felt guilty himself for putting that expression onto his godson's face, but he knew the words needed to be said.

"But on the other hand, I think that in this instance, your actions were okay."

"Bullying is never okay," Harry cut him off in a harsh voice, though still filled with guilt.

"Alright, then asserting dominance," Sirius acceded. "I saw what Malfoy was like in Dumbledore's office. The only way he would back down is if someone proved that they were more powerful than him – just telling him wasn't enough. So, in this case, the only way you could have gotten through to him was by showing you would hurt him, and that you are relentless.

"Normally however, you can't just go off and hurt someone when they bully or even hurt the feelings of someone you love. And I think the only part about your hurting Malfoy that is an issue was when you pressed on the break. You'd already hurt him; he was still in pain. It was the worsening of that pain in order to get the answer that you wanted that was the bullying part that was absolutely not okay."

"I was glad to see him hurting," Harry admitted softly.

"That's normal, Harry – you're only human. Sort of. He hurt your best friend – of course you want to see that pain magnified in him."

"I don't want to be a bully," Harry's voice broke. "I can't."

"Harry, the best way to stop yourself from getting on more with this is to remember this guilt you feel right now. When you want to hurt someone, remember right now, and ask yourself if it's really worth this sick feeling to go through with your impulse. If you don't want to become a bully, you won't. I know you, Harry, and I know you'll fight against it. Alright?"

Harry sniffed, rubbing a stray tear from his eye. "Alright," he agreed with a nod. And he believed him.

…

The next day, Harry was much more cheerful at seeing Zuri out of the Hospital Wing, completely back to normal. She smiled a bit at him at first, but after seeing his true joy at seeing her, she opened up once again just how she had been before the bullying incident.

Sadi was happy to see Zuri again as well, and after hearing how she had been attacked while Sadi had been hunting, she had threatened to bite Sully six thousand times, just to be sure she killed him. After Harry had told her what he had done to the blonde boy, she had hissed in nothing but enjoyment. She had been sticking with Zuri ever since, whom he'd elected not to tell about his actions. (She probably knew anyway, considering that she had heard when Crabbe and Goyle had brought him into the Hospital Wing with a broken leg and a burn across his chest so soon after Harry had left.)

Professor Sprout was glad to see him looking back to normal, and correctly deduced that it was due to Hermione Granger being next to him during the double period. She smiled openly, glad to see the two with such great friends in each other – and that quiet Gryffindor Neville Longbottom, who was once again a part of their group.

They again spent lunch together, though this time they sat at the Gryffindor table with Xylon. He was happy enough to chat with them, and Harry was glad that the news of Zuri's being transfigured the day before hadn't made it around the school. Xylon, at least, seemed ignorant of it. Boipelo was studiously ignoring him several seats down while he stuffed his mouth with food, and Harry had a feeling that he would have said something about it if he'd known, regardless of Harry's threats at the opening feast. He hadn't spoken to him since then.

In Charms, Harry paired with Troi once more, who seemed to be becoming friendlier the more they spoke. Harry thought they might even be actual friends now – though he would have to wait and see, because when they were in the hallways or in the Great Hall, he acted like he wasn't there. Harry still had yet to ascertain why, but he was glad that they could work together in class.

Sully was in Charms as well, though Harry merely gave the boy a bland look when he flinched. He wasn't sorry for what he'd done to him, but he was glad that at least for now he was staying away from Zuri.

Charms let out several minutes early, and while the Slytherins made their way outside for Herbology, Harry waited at the end of the hall for Zuri to come out of her class so that they could go to History of Magic together.

While he leaned against the wall, the corridor emptying of students, Harry suddenly saw the redheaded twins cross the corridor at the other end of the hall. With a sudden thought of realization, he pushed himself up to a standing position and darted after them.

"Pirros!" he called after them.

He caught up to them easily enough, and they both looked at him with not a little bit of surprise.

"Harry!" one of them said in astonishment.

"I…" Harry suddenly realized that he didn't know how to start. He didn't think he'd ever really apologized before, and so he wasn't sure how to go about it. "Erm…you helped Zuri." He finally settled on.

"Hm…don't know a 'Zuri'…" the second twin mused. Harry noticed a faint scar on his jaw, near his ear, that the other one didn't have. "Fred?"

"Hermione," he clarified after a moment, realizing that they had no idea who he was talking about. "Uh – you helped Hermione yesterday."

"Right…" the scarred twin drew out the word slowly in confusion. "We saw she needed some help after what the Slytherins did to her."

"Only the decent thing to do, really." The other twin added.

"Yes, I – I know," Harry nodded, trying to think of what to say so he could adequately explain his thoughts. "And…and I know you aren't friends with her, because she didn't have any friends before I came, and she's never talked about you two. But – but you helped her anyway."

"Don't have to know someone to realize they're upset," the non-scarred twin said with a shrug.

"I know," Harry said, beginning to get frustrated that he couldn't explain properly. "I mean – I mean that you didn't know me, either. And even though I still don't think it was the right way to go about it, I don't think you took me from the forest with the intention of hurting me. You helped Zuri even though you're not friends with her, so that means you're not bullies like I thought you were in the beginning when you used the red light to make me go to sleep. So – so as far as I'm concerned, you two are okay."

"Are you saying we should be friends, then?" the scarred one said with a mischievous, though still honestly happy grin.

"Well – at least not enemies," Harry decided.

"Good enough for us," the two chorused, a light sparking in their eyes that hadn't been there since Harry had chewed them out that first day of classes.

"We'll show you though – you'll be begging to be friends with us by year's end," one of them said jovially.

"I suppose," Harry said doubtfully. He'd never begged before – he didn't think becoming a human would change that.

"We ought to be getting on to class now, snake boy," the other one said. "We'll be seeing you!"

And with that, they ran off happily, waving to him simultaneously as they turned a corner.

Harry stood there for a moment, staring after them, until he suddenly became aware of a presence at his side. He turned and saw Zuri. Surprised, he looked behind him and saw that the Transfiguration class had let out already, and students were milling about the corridors on the way to their next class.

"I saw you being civil with the Weasley twins," Zuri said with a proud little smile. "You decided that being friends with them wouldn't be so bad after all?"

Harry shrugged and turned to walk to History of Magic with his best friend. "I suppose time will tell. But I think they'll turn out good."

…

Harry wandered with Troi again during free period the next morning. He was glad that Troi had agreed to come with him – otherwise he would have been wishing for class in his boredom. He really didn't know what to do with his extra time, and Sadi was with Zuri again. She had been very protective of the girl ever since she'd found out about the incident with Sully, and while Harry was glad that they enjoyed each others' company, he also had a hard time being alone. He could hardly recall any time he'd been alone in his life. Even when Sadi hadn't been hatched yet, he had still been able to feel her presence (which he now knew was due to magic), and so had never felt like he was truly alone.

He also learned a lot from Troi that he hadn't ever expected. Slytherin politics was one of them, and he found them fascinating, if a bit strict and at times unfair.

He thought it was hilarious, however, that Slytherins didn't show their emotions, because apparently that was how Salazar Slytherin, the founder of their House was. They seemed to almost worship the man, which made no sense to Harry, because what was it that really made the man special? He could talk to snakes, and he'd helped open a prestigious school. Harry could talk to snakes, so he was already halfway there. Did that mean some day he would be worshipped much like Salazar Slytherin was? Of course, he had no intention of helping to open a school, but none of the other Houses' students worshipped their founder.

Troi didn't see the reason for his humor, but he wasn't offended. After a certain amount of time with Harry Potter, one had to accept that he saw things much differently than anyone else. And honestly at times his naïve view on things was refreshing to someone who had grown up learning something completely different.

"What?" Harry stopped laughing suddenly and looked sharply at Troi.

"What?" Troi echoed, not knowing why his new friend was suddenly so serious.

"What did you say?" Harry demanded.

"I didn't say anything," Troi shook his head.

Harry was quiet for several moments, both of them just standing there silently, before he finally, uneasily, began to walk on. He was sure he had heard something, but it had been unclear through the sound of his own laughter. It hadn't been in a friendly tone either, which made him nervous.

"So, why do people in the same families usually get Sorted into the same House?" Harry questioned. "Take the Weasleys. I heard that they've all been in Gryffindor through four generations. And they have a lot of offspring in those generations. I know that Boipelo is different from Atsu and Zesiro. Even Atsu and Zesiro have their differences, and they're twins. So why haven't some of them gone to different Houses?"

Troi shrugged. "They probably told the Hat that they wanted to go to Gryffindor, to live up to their family's expectations."

"But that means that the Hat isn't fair!" Harry protested. "It's supposed to Sort someone based on who they are – not what they're unfairly expected to be! Someone's House Sorting can shape their whole life, and the Hat is letting itself be convinced that, even though it can read your thoughts, that a child is better at figuring out where they should go than it does!"

Troi shrugged once more. "No arguments there. But sometimes someone is Sorted into a House not because they have a particular trait, but because the House will help shape a particular trait. If someone really wanted to, they could flourish in any House."

Harry scowled. "That's not what Zuri told me," he grumbled. "She told me I needed to let the Hat Sort me, regardless that I wanted to go to Gryffindor."

Troi snorted. "Well, she is a stickler for the rules," he observed. "Besides, you can't tell me you don't like Hufflepuff."

"Well, I do," Harry admitted grudgingly. "But I wanted to be in Zuri's House. Then I could protect her."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but Granger's not exactly helpless. And trying to protect someone is hardly an excuse to be Sorted into a House that isn't best suited to you. Trust me – you're a Hufflepuff through and through."

"I suppose," Harry allowed. "But the Hat did say that I would be suitable for any of the Houses. It put me in Hufflepuff so that I could have longtime, true friends. I almost went to Gryffindor, though."

"I'm surprised you didn't go to Slytherin, honestly," Troi admitted.

:Rip, tear, kill…hungry…so hungry!:

Harry halted in his tracks, shocked at the Parseltongue-spoken words that seemed to emanate from the very walls. "WHAT?" he called loudly.

…

Hm…short chapter…but I think it's best to cut it off there. And there has been a lot to happen in this chapter.

I may have lost a few people because of how Harry went about threatening Draco, but I hope most of you weren't too bothered. It was a difficult scene to write, but I think what people need to understand – that I keep trying to explain – is that this is not your typical canon Harry. He is a bit Grey, because of how he grew up. And no one said Hufflepuffs couldn't be vengeful badasses.

What happens now? I know a lot of people were excited for the basilisk's appearance…you'll have to wait another week to see their interaction. Think it'll be hostile? Friendly?

Atsu – second-born twin

Zesiro – firstborn twin

Pirro – flaming hair (I just added the 's' to make it plural to refer to both of them. Sounds better than just shouting 'twins' after them.)

Thanks for reading!