A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back to The Guarder Snake and apologies for taking an extra week, I hope a 13k word update makes up for it!
Thank you all so much for the continuous support for this story and with this parts release, I'd like to announce that updates for this as well as Saviour's Pariah will now be staggered; by that I mean Guarder will get two parts next month and Pariah will only get one chapter release that month.
For those of you interested in my other works, I've got a wealth of oneshots available as well as two other fics in progress! Tomorrow's release will be about a 4k~ update for The Saviour's Pariah, followed by a Power of Love update on Sunday, and a Harry/Corene short will be released Monday!
A big thanks to my Beta's and Discord Staff - Alec, Alpple, CalamityXx, Champ, DorianGray, O'Neill, Seventh Son, SinisterFox and Xevier!
Feel free to join my Discord for updates and information, link on my profile. Without any more rambling from me, I hope you enjoy the story!
(Sorry if you don't like the chapter!)
August 31, 1992
Monday Evening
Harry laid in his king-sized bed wearing pyjamas made of Acromantula silk while covered by sheets made of the same material; he took one last look around the room he'd been given upon his moving in with the Avery Family, thinking of it with sadness at the forefront of his mind.
They'd given him everything he needed, all that he'd wanted and even more in the two-month span that made up the summer break. From an all-new wardrobe made of the finest materials to a wizards chess set and finally, a new companion House-Elf named Linxy — Harry was told to call the diminutive creature whenever he needed something, regardless of how minute he thought it to be.
Cora had whispered to him while away from her parents view, that he could call her if it made him feel more comfortable. That wasn't all she'd done for him across the eight weeks of time he had to adjust to his new 'normal'... he'd have to live with them another year or two before he could determine the truth of this.
June 26, 1992
Friday Afternoon
He hated apparating.
Cora had taken him over to her parents right off their disembarking from the train and rather than the couple saying much of anything to him, the Avery Patriarch had appraised him for one fleeting moment before looking away while motioning towards his wife. Harry looked away just as he'd seen the man do, feeling embarrassed flushing coming to the surface as the woman nodded in response to her husband.
"Cora if you'd be so kind, my love." Harry heard Cora's mother say, her voice being something he could only compare to that of an angel on one of the sappy romance shows his aunt had watched.
"Yes, Mother — hold on tight Harry and don't let go regardless of how much you may want to." Cora then pulled him flush against the front of her body. Not a second after she'd said that, Harry then felt her grasp one of his hands as her mother grasped the other from both of them.
The last thing he'd see before the feeling of being squeezed through a tube overloaded his senses was a comforting smile on Cora's mothers face. Cora's father had walked away only just prior to their apparating.
Once the feeling finally went away, he tentatively took in the surroundings of where they'd ended up.
It was a large and open front room with a set of twin staircases tucked against the leftmost and rightmost walls; between the two of those was a fountain that sprinkled water via three figures with a stone pillar behind it that led to the twenty-foot or so high ceiling.
At the highest peak of the room and written within the stone that one could see upon their entrance were the same words Cora had written for him to say in the letter she'd given him in the hospital ward.
'Sem'ya, Chistota, Pobeda'.
He wasn't given a chance to finish his looking around when he felt the body that'd been pressed against his back pull away while the person to which it belonged spoke.
"Welcome to your new home, Harry." Cora's small smile and cautious look made him aware that she didn't quite know what to say, but it didn't stop her from continuing as she gestured around the absolutely huge opening room to an indescribably large home, "Should you wish for me to bring you on a tour, we can do so. If you'd rather I escort you to the wing in which you'll be taking residence, I can do that too… don't feel the need to rush either, take everything at a pace that'll make you feel comfortable."
A soft hand running through his hair alerted him to the other woman that was still in the room but had been silent since her… apparation? It was something like that, the word had sounded complex when he'd heard it for the first time.
"Yes, do listen to Cora dear, we're all here to support you in any manner," Cora's mother told him that while she continued running a hand through his hair, the feeling brought a duality of feelings to the surface of his young mind.
On the one hand, he'd only shared moments of affection with Cora and very rarely — they made him feel warm, tingly and altogether incredibly pleasant.
Opposing the feelings the woman was causing in him were the unnatural instincts that'd been beaten into him across nearly a decade of life. Bad, they screamed, Adults can't be trusted, they hurt you, came next.
"Mother," Cora's voice reached his ears as his breathing quickened.
Her motions throughout his hair ceased, as did the presence of her hand once another few seconds had passed.
"Oh, I," Avery's mother cough daintily while moving a few feet from the two children in the room, "I see, my dear — Harry, you're more than welcome to call me Ashtyn, Auntie or whatever else feels natural, Lady Avery is all that I'd ask you avoid calling me."
Harry calmed down enough to respond, saying automatically, "Yes Aunt Ashtyn."
Aunt Ashtyn smiled at him, dipped her head and held her arms out towards Cora; the girl he was familiar with being not at all outgoing or outwardly affectionate took quicker than normal steps as she reached her mother's arms. He spied them whispering during the embrace and again after they'd let go of one another, whatever was said was lost on him.
Once they were done with their moment, the older woman left after bidding a warm farewell to the duo.
Cora didn't waste a minute and held out her hand for him once Aunt Ashtyn vanished through a doorway; he took it without hesitation, feeling comfortable touching the older Slytherin girl above anybody else he'd met in his brief life.
"What've you decided on? A tour or your portion of the Manor alone?"
Looking up at the taller girl who he'd always noted as having a mostly blank expression on her face, he was surprised to see a smile as warm as her mother's as she slowly pulled him up against the side of her body. Her size being so much larger than him almost made him vanish in the robes she was wearing… it made him feel safer than he'd recalled in a long time, it also explained the response he gave to the girl.
"J-Just my portion of the M-Manor, please." his first stutter was caused by nerves, the second was by the word itself — he had a portion all to himself within the manor?
Cora kissed the top of his head and looked back into his eyes after doing so, "I'm glad you're here Harry, we all are."
He doubted that based on the way her father had left their presence without speaking a word to him and clearly his unspoken words were worn on his face as Cora stroked the back of his hand with her thumb as she responded to it.
"Give Father some time, he's…" she struggled to find the right words or at least ones that he'd understand being at such a young age, "He's thinking about people who meant a lot to him, people who had to go away for a while."
Harry nodded in understanding and asked her a question that made him feel like a child though he couldn't find it within himself to care overly much about it.
"Would you stay with me after the tour? For an hour, maybe? I swear I won't take up too much of your time."
Cora's response was exactly what he'd needed.
"I'll stay with you as long as you need."
June 30, 1992
Tuesday Afternoon
"Good afternoon Harry, come down for some lunch?" Aunt Ashtyn asked him with a warm smile on her face, the woman seated at the head of the table due to Cora's father not being present.
"Yeah… that's okay, right?" Harry still wasn't sure when the family usually ate lunch, considering Dudley would usually demand something whenever he'd felt hungry rather than adhering to a strict schedule as they seemed to.
"Of course it is!" Aunt Ashtyn said as she put down the copy of the Daily Prophet she'd been reading while waving behind him — turning around as she did so, Harry saw Cora walking towards the table with a book tucked under her arm.
"Hi Mother, Harry." Cora greeted, the two returning the gesture while the girl took her spot beside Harry, "You don't need to ask either Harry, our home is yours as long as you want it to be."
He looked from Cora to Aunt Ashtyn after the former had said that, looking for validation which was quickly given by the older woman.
"Cora's exactly right Harry; while I don't want you eating like the Crabbe or Goyle boys, you're still allowed to come down whenever you're feeling hungry."
Harry smiled at his Aunt's words, his look getting brighter when the house-elves that cooked popped in with two large plates of food for him and Cora.
"I hope you don't mind too terribly dear, but I've been wanting to have you try different cuisine than you're used to," His Aunt spoke softly, explaining why every meal he'd eaten was vastly different than the one that followed.
"I don't mind!" He said hastily, not wanting his family to think he wasn't grateful for everything they'd done for him in the time he'd been with them.
Aunt Ashtyn picked up on it too, tilting her head knowingly all the while still smiling.
"While I don't doubt your sincerity, if you ever find something that disagrees with you, tell the house-elves or myself. Whatever ensures your stay is as comfortable as possible."
Harry turned away from the older woman, a warm feeling flushing through his body that made him feel uncomfortable but also weirdly happy. His hand being grasped by Cora under the table only seemed to make the duality of feelings battle harder.
When he finally looked back — that being after he'd eaten his food at the behest of Cora — he saw his Aunt was firmly entrenched in the Prophet.
Knowing better than to interrupt an adult reading the paper, he turned in his seat to whisper to Cora, the older girl still enjoying her lunch at a leisurely pace.
"Where's the kitchen?" he asked.
Cora shifted her eyes rather than turn towards him, whispering back a question of her own.
"Through the door in the back left of the room and then take a right, why?"
Harry swallowed, committing the path to memory and responding that he'd like to do the dishes so as to show appreciation for everything they'd done thus far for him. Especially when considering they hadn't even charged him for taking him in while knowing full well he had a lot of money in his trust vault.
Aunt Ashtyn responded before Cora could do so, not bothering to look up from her paper nor trying to hide the wide smile on her face.
"You'll not be having any chores to do around the house like some peasant, Harry — you're a member of House Avery in every meaning of the word. Should that be too easy for you, however, Cora could give you additional work to do over the summer so you can exceed all expectations for the coming year."
Looking dumbfoundedly at his smiling aunt and a smirking Cora, one thought took his mind by storm.
How could he be so lucky?
July 3, 1992
Friday Morning
Adjusting to a life where he'd eaten his fill at every meal, wasn't responsible for a majority of the maintenance of the home and didn't get beaten regardless of his actions or lack thereof was a process he didn't think he'd ever finish.
He wasn't sure if Cora had pieced together more of his home life other than what he'd told her, but he knew for certain that she'd shared everything he'd said to her with both parents. It was made abundantly clear with how they'd acted around him — or in the case of her father, when he'd finally met Harry after waiting nearly a full week.
Cora never changed though, even if she did seem a bit friendlier than he'd remembered she'd still been strict as ever… just with a smile on her face rather than no look at all.
She was pretty when she smiled too, like one of the Princesses in a muggle television show.
"Harry, Father is ready for you," Cora said from the doorway of the Avery Patriarch's office, a brow raised as she saw his shyness when he initially looked towards her.
"Will you, uh, will you stay too? I-I want you to."
Cora smiled and nodded once. "I told you on the first day you'd come here; I'll stay with you as long as you need."
Harry stood up from his seat and walked to the girl, his little legs carrying him over until he stood in front of her. She placed one hand on his shoulder and used her other to grasp one of his hands. She then led him over to a chair meant for grownups that had itself positioned in front of her father's desk; the man himself was seated behind his imposingly large workspace with a torch on either pillar beside it.
None of the three occupants of the room spoke, Cora and Harry waited for Lord Avery while the man seemed to be collecting himself — Harry could see clear as day how the man was constantly swallowing nothing, or adjusting the collar to his shirt, he did other trivial things too, all they did was make Harry more nervous as the silence dragged on.
Eventually, Cora coughed in a way that didn't sound too believable while her hand was doing a familiar thing of stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. That served the purpose he imagined she wanted it to when Lord Avery finally cleared his throat while gazing out the window to his left.
For whatever reason, when he spoke, he wouldn't at all glance in Harry's general direction.
"Harry Potter," the man began, "I want to offer my apology in person, I…" he trailed off, swallowing the saliva in his throat again, "I promised your parents towards the end that I'd look after you, and I failed them. They trusted me, you counted on me, but I couldn't deliver. I realize you know practically nothing about my family, but during the time you've been here, I've put together a few things for you; I know they'll never be enough to make up for the… conditions, you were raised in, no day will ever again go by in which I can feel satisfied with how I've handled the last twelve years." Finally, the man looked at Harry and his voice sounded hoarse. "Allow me to begin repentance towards you and House Potter as a whole."
Harry didn't know what to say.
For a start, he wasn't sure he fully understood what repentance meant, nor was he sure with how the man felt that he'd let him down. Avery's parents had gotten him away from the Dursleys after all! More than that, he had a bed, clothes that weren't hand-me-downs and all the food he could ever want!
"Sir," Harry started, watching as the man glanced away the moment he'd said his first word to him, "Lord Avery sir, you took me away from the Dursleys, you gave me all I could want to eat and allowed me to spend time with Cora! I can't speak for my parents really, but I can say that you've done more for me than anyone ever has!"
Cora's grip on him tightened as he heard the older girl shift a bit in her seat; her Father's response was completely different.
Lord Avery stood up from his seat and moved over to the window while at the same time flicking his wand until a few boxes were on his desk. Without turning around or even speaking, he motioned to Cora with a gesture Harry didn't understand but she somehow did.
"I'll levitate the boxes after us, Harry," Cora said as she got to her feet while reaching for her wand, "Be the gentleman I know you are and get the door for me?" She'd winked at him after saying that, likely doing so as a means to alleviate the tension that'd been made visible throughout his body after the emotional outburst from the man who'd been silent for days.
His response was a childlike nodding, that meaning his hair shook with the forcefulness of the movement until he slid off the end of the seat and onto his feet.
Before he listened to exactly what Cora told him, he looked towards the man who wouldn't do the same and said softly, "Thank you again, sir… for allowing me to have a family, I've always wondered what it'd be like."
Harry turned away a second too soon, not witnessing the way in which Lord Avery's shoulders shook; that action didn't make him miss out on the feelings of the room, for while he'd missed one Avery's response, he got to witness the others.
Cora.
Her levitation of the objects faltered for a split-second, matching the exact moment her body went rigid; Cora being Cora, she'd seamlessly recovered with her masterful mask back in its place, but Harry knew enough about her personality to know the girl was bugged by something.
That's what happens when you come to spend so much time with a pretty older girl who's rarely expressive, you look for the rare moments in which she is and take hold of them, cherishing the moments your friend smiled.
His small legs carried him over to the door and he opened it without a second glance back, stepping through it before Cora to close it behind her.
He knew about 'ladies first', Dudley had been told about it more than a few times within earshot of him, but Harry was too nervous to be in the room with Cora's father for another second… Silence scared him, it's why he always filled the gaps with talking when he'd been at Hogwarts.
"Thank you, Harry," Cora told him as she passed him, her doing so prompting him to close the door immediately afterwards.
"You're welcome!" he chirped up, happy to be acknowledged.
Cora smiled again before ruffling his hair and motioning towards the two boxes that were floating a few feet away from them, "How about we go and find out what Father gave you? We could get some hot chocolate after."
Harry nodded emphatically while grabbing the older girl's hands.
"Y-Yes please!" he stuttered, the thought of having another sweet treat with the helpful snake something that he very much looked forward to.
Cora patted him on the head again, smirking at his excitement and having to pull on the hand he'd captured to slow him down. Only begrudgingly did he stop the incessant pulling on her hand, that action earning him another side hug while she maintained partial focus on the levitation charm holding up his goods.
That was another reason he'd come to love living with the Avery's in only a week; all the extra affection Cora showed him which was mimicked by her mom — never before had he ever been hugged, kissed or snuggled with and now here he was, getting all the attention he could want.
It was practically heaven!
When the two finally reached their end goal of Harry's room, Cora had him open the door while she levitated the boxes over his bed, gently laying them down only seconds before Harry sprinted beside them.
Seeing his impatience, Cora made a hand gesture for him to open them as she casually made her way behind him.
Harry enjoyed opening the first large box while his friend rubbed his shoulders. He enjoyed it, even more, when he saw the contents of it.
Photos… the wizarding kind that moved.
"These are my parents," he said in awe — recognizing the younger versions of two faces he'd looked at thousands of times.
Cora's head came to rest on his, her breath tickling his head while the girl picked through the box until she pulled out a whole book with dozens of wizarding photos tucked within. When she opened it to the first page, he saw a picture of a young red-haired witch in a Hogwarts uniform smiling at the camera with unimpeded joy.
Mum.
She was pretty like Cora was.
"Can we open the other one too?" he asked while pointing his eyes towards the top of his head, the action only barely letting him see pools of Cora's hair from her resting spot.
Cora's response was an affirmative humming while she pulled the box closer without any words or wand movement; he'd have to learn that from her.
Opening the new box, he saw a plethora of papers with the Gringotts logos centred at the top, a few Ministry ones around them and finally, a few random ones that lacked any official stamp.
"Do you want me to tell you what they are?" Cora asked as she finally moved from out behind him and onto the edge of his bed.
He nodded again and jumped up beside her, cuddling into her baggy clothes while the girl instinctively wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
"Very well," her face went serious as she gestured to various articles while speaking, "As always, save any questions for when I'm finished speaking — A majority of those Gringotts papers are for the account my father set up for your usage, I suspect the contents are somewhere within as well as a sister pouch to the one we'd given you over Christmas. Speaking of that, it strikes me as odd that you'd failed to ask me about it," she tutted when his face flushed but went on with her motioning, "While I said a majority of those Gringotts papers were for your account with us, some of them are concerning the Potter vaults; when my father got custody of you a few weeks prior to the start of the break, he was granted minor rights to view or interact with possessions of House Potter."
Harry raised a hand and Cora glanced at it, her expression betraying the strictness she'd usually have with him until she finally nodded once for him to speak.
"Does that m-mean you can access the vaults?" he hoped he didn't sound rude in asking that, he only wanted to make sure that there wasn't any chance of them using him like most people seemed to back in the Muggle world.
Cora shook her head, "I'm happy that you asked that instead of blindly believing in us, caution is good, Harry," he smiled at the praise, "but, no, my father can't access your family's vaults nor can he manage your investments. All he can do is keep an eye on the contents until you come of age."
Harry was paying the utmost attention to Cora's words, the information just told to him registering as very important.
"Thank you, Cora."
She gave a sideways smile in response before she pointed out the Ministry papers and the few that lacked an obvious author.
"These Ministry papers are for your documentation of House Avery's adoption of you; they contain the proceedings which led up to an eventual Wizengamot vote, the other families that made a bid for you, the multiple stalling attempts and a personal letter from the Minister's office. Read them at your luxury, everything's been handled for you by Father's legal team."
Wizengamot vote? Other families that wanted him? A letter from the Minister?!
Harry felt overwhelmed, with Cora telling him that all was handled only vaguely registering in his mind.
From the furthest corners of his mind, Harry felt Cora pull him into her lap while she awkwardly made circles on his back, whispering that 'there was no rush' and 'everything's handled for you', her words didn't help so much as the closeness did.
Eventually, he'd broken free from the grasp of the feelings that'd overwhelmed him and just in time too.
Cora had two cups of hot chocolate on the table beside his bed.
July 15, 1992
Wednesday Evening
"Thank you Aunt Ashtyn!" Harry said for the second time in the last minute, only now breaking the hug she'd enveloped him in.
Looking at him fondly and with a degree of amusement, the older woman responded.
"You're welcome, Harry — as I've told you before though, you don't need to thank me after every meal."
He smiled and shifted his weight from foot to foot, how could he not thank the woman who always sat with him for every meal? She didn't do just that either, she planned every meal that he'd eaten since his arrival, minus the few she'd given him free reign on and thanks to that, he'd begun to reach a healthier weight for a boy his age.
Aunt Ashtyn even told him that he'd likely hit his growth spurt soon and catch up to the boys in his year too!
Harry smiled as he made his exit from the room, the sense of embarrassment from offering nothing in return almost completely gone now that he'd spent so much time eating with the family… except for Lord Avery.
Cora's father would only come down for dinner, and during those meals he'd rarely talk at all, choosing to shovel his food similar to Ron as he made a hasty exit with a weird looking smile. Speaking of dinner, this evening had only been him and Aunt Ashtyn. When he asked why that was, the woman had said Lord Avery and Cora were going over one of the various businesses that House Avery held a controlling interest in.
He didn't know what that really meant, but he'd shrugged and started up a conversation about the wizarding world with his aunt. Sometimes it wasn't very interesting, but they'd stressed to him how important it was that he knew the culture he'd missed out on from his father's side.
Especially if he were to take over House Potter once he reached the age of maturity, that was something else they'd begun introducing the idea to him for.
Shaking himself from his thinking of politics and Lord Avery's weirdness, Harry turned a corner at the end of the main hallway… and ran straight into Lord Avery.
As if the man had been summoned, they'd both turned the same corner; Cora was with them too, having been speaking with her father when they'd come face to face.
"Hi Harry." she said politely for the both of them, her father having taken a few steps back as soon as he'd seen that Harry hadn't fallen over.
"Uh, Hi, Cora." Harry responded, shuffling backwards and towards where he'd come from.
"Were you finishing up dinner with Mother?" Cora asked while slowly coming to stand in front of him.
Harry nodded his head.
"Would you care to join me for some tea before retiring for the evening? After I've eaten, of course."
Again, Harry nodded — Lord Avery took the opportunity that Cora had presented to whisper something to her and make an exit, only nodding to Harry once with a lukewarm smile as he made his escape.
As soon as he'd gone, Harry let out a breath and reached for his rock; Cora.
She let him grasp her hand as soon as she'd felt him going for it and in response to the comfort he seeked, she ran a hand through his hair while saying, "Father will come around Harry, I promise."
Harry didn't have any reason to doubt the girl who'd always been truthful with him, but that didn't stop him from thinking there was a chance he wasn't as welcome as they'd told him. There'd always be a small portion in the back of his mind that wouldn't let him forget how much of a freak he was.
Freak.
He shook at the word he'd called himself and grasped Cora's hand tighter.
"Could I come with you for dinner? Aunt Ashtyn should still be there." He loved the feeling being in her presence gave him even if he didn't fully understand it.
Cora's response was tickling his weak spot, causing him to dash off towards where he'd come from with her hot on his trail.
July 31, 1992
Friday Morning
"Happy birthday, Harry," Cora said upon the opening of his bedroom door, the girl having woken him up earlier than she normally did.
Still rubbing the sleep that was in his eyes, he responded in a tired tone.
"Thank you Cor-" he yawned abruptly, his hand not coming up quickly enough to stifle it and only once it'd run its course did he finish his response somewhat embarrassed, "-a… why are we up so early?"
"It's your birthday."
He shrugged, "So?"
Cora rolled her eyes and pushed past where he'd been standing in the door. Multiple house-elves followed her entrance, all of them with great trays floating around them or wrapped presents with his name firmly at the top.
"What, uh, are th-" he was cut off with a yelp that came from his mouth, the reason behind that being that he'd been whisked away through the air and all the way back to his bed beside a seated Cora who looked smug.
"Breakfast, all your favourites and some of mine too — your gifts from me can be opened after we eat, my parents' presents can wait until they're up in an hour or so. If I'm not mistaken, they have quite the set of events planned for the day," Cora shook her head at the way he perked up, he'd never been one for patience, nor was he overly happy with surprises or the unknown, "As adorable as you look when you're put out or trying to pout, I won't be spoiling the surprise they've planned."
Harry shrugged again, the gesture being something he'd picked up ever since their first meeting. His laughing from the tickling charm she'd cast at him wasn't something he'd picked up from her, evidently.
"S-stop it, C-Cora!" he squealed out from between the giggle fits that were taking him over.
"I think I'd like to hear your laughter after being given two shrugs on the morning of your birthday," to emphasize her point, she'd started twirling her wand in one hand while the other settled at her hip; her gaze was focused solely on his convulsing figure as the laughter emanating from it threatened to deafen the room.
"P-Please!" He begged, the laughter starting to cramp his muscles and only then did Cora relent her tickling; she followed it up by conjuring a table right in front of him on the bed and without needing to speak, the house-elves began depositing dish after dish of food.
Eggs, Sausages, Tomatoes, Bacon, Treacle Tart, Toa- "Treacle Tart?!" he exclaimed while looking at Cora with wide eyes — her family had allowed him to eat whatever he'd wanted for the first few days, it'd been heaven! After those three days had been up, so was the time of enjoying anything at his pleasure.
Aunt Ashtyn had started giving him a set of potions weekly while at the same time, she'd begun monitoring the food he ate while planning out carefully that he wouldn't overindulge himself. Cora experienced much of the same treatment, the girl clued him in that it was for physical health, though in her case it was also for as pleasing a marriage that she could get.
In her words so that he'd understand, 'a prettier witch gets to be happier'. He didn't quite get how it worked, but she'd not lied to him yet.
"Yes, don't tell mother about this or I'll be very cross with you." Her glare made him cringe until he saw the edges of her lips fighting to cease their upwards movement.
He wrapped his arms around the older girl, his hands almost able to connect around her stomach.
"Thank you!"
She patted his head and raised her nose as he'd seen Malfoy do before; her voice when she spoke was more snobbish than he'd ever heard before.
"I'll not have it be said that your first birthday with us was anything short of perfect."
Looking at the food assembled, he'd already call it the best birthday he'd ever had. All the gifts that'd been neatly stacked a few feet from his private bathroom only added to the feeling and when the duo finished their overindulging of the assorted foods, he'd all but ran over to the pile of items.
"Are there any more bo-" He started to ask, and Cora knowing exactly what he was thinking cut him off with a singular nod before verbally responding.
"Yes — seeing as you've progressed quicker than I'd anticipated, I've included a few books here from my personal collection back from when I was only slightly younger than you are now," she paused, looking contemplative and ever so slightly annoyed, "I dare say by the time we've finished the remaining four weeks you'll be very close to on schedule with the routine I'd set for myself."
"All thanks to you! I didn't think I'd ever do so well, I can't wait to show my friends back in Gryffindor!" His saying that also brought him to something he'd nearly forgotten, "Can we be seen together now or… or are you still not my friend in public?"
He'd be lying if he said that having to conceal their friendship was easy or enjoyable.
Cora shook her head, a small smirk settling on her face while her eyes looked distant, "We can spend as much time together as we'd like to, the problematic Seventh Years are entirely gone and you've been formally adopted by House Avery — in simpler terms, you're stuck with me until I'm done with Hogwarts after next year."
"I don't want you to leave."
He didn't try to stop the words coming out; Cora was his best friend!
In response to his words, she took a few steps closer to him and ruffled his hair, "Don't think about that. Instead, think of the gifts you're about to open," she stepped away and plucked one from the pile, settling it in his hands before pulling him against her again, "Starting with this one."
Harry smiled and tore into the present with childlike excitement; something that was befitting of a boy his age.
When he'd torn enough of the wrapping paper off, he saw a small box that was likely home to a ring or necklace and upon an encouraging look from Cora, he lifted the lid. Nestled in the very centre of the package was a signet ring with the Potter crest, Cora didn't need to tell him what it was considering he'd seen a ring very similar to this on her hand.
It belonged to the Heir or Heiress of a family and gave them access towards, vaults and other magical barriers to which they were keyed.
"I thought I couldn't access the Potter holdings?"
"You still can't — not until you're married or of age," he began closing the lid of the box for the next present, but Cora stopped him from doing so when she grasped his hand that'd been in motion, "It still provides you with access to the properties along with having a feature we've added onto it, you still remember the phrase on that letter I gave you in case we couldn't board the train right?"
He nodded, the pronunciation of the words she'd given him still in his mind but the meaning nowhere close to understandable.
"Very good, speak them while wearing that ring only in the most dangerous of situations…" her stern expression softened and she plucked another from the pile. "This one next, we've got another half-dozen to get through and not very much time before mother wakes."
Harry sped along with his openings, making a mental list of the items he'd received from his best friend; more books as she'd promised with spells that were decidedly less friendly, two large boxes filled with top of the line clothing for casual wear around the house or at Hogwarts, a container filled with sweets in which she'd immediately tucked away under his bed, a new potions knife that came from a master Goblin smith and to top it all off — a personal house-elf, this one being named Blinksy.
Thank Merlin that the creature had popped up with a bow around its neck rather than having been hidden away in a box, it'd have given him a heart attack!
As soon as he'd finished opening all the gifts, he'd flung his arms around Cora while saying repeatedly how thankful he was. He'd never been given so much attention, thought or care and it was bizarre to think that it'd finally come because of a Slytherin girl!
Ron had told him how bad they were and Hagrid had said the same, but they were both wrong!
Cora put on a hard front at school and occasionally at home, but all the hugs she'd given him and the smiles too were proof enough that she liked him as much as he liked her.
"You have to let me go now, Harry," Cora said while trying to pry his arms from around her waist, the extremely thankful boy presenting a problem that he'd rarely ever had, that being listening.
"Harry."
He still embraced her while mumbling his thanks.
Finally, a splash of water struck his feet and legs while she'd side-stepped, the shock of it bringing his attention back to where it belonged, to Cora. She'd taken advantage of the moment to get out from his grasp, standing a few feet from him with her hands on her hips with a semi-disapproving expression.
"You've thanked me enough. Let's get going to the parlour room where Mother and Father are most certainly waiting with their gifts for you."
Harry looked at his feet and back to Cora, the latter sighed before flourishing her wand while speaking yet another spell he wasn't familiar with. A moment later, the dampness from his clothing was gone as was the cold feeling he'd thought would be left behind — in its place was a warm, soothing feeling.
He smiled wide, his dimples showing to the girl who merely sighed again while holding out her arm.
"Escort me, Mister Potter."
"Happy birthday, Harry."
"Happy birthday."
Aunt Ashtyn had greeted him first while Cora's father went second; the man's tone was warmer than he'd heard before but Harry still felt apprehensive while in his company. Whether that be from the abuse he'd been subjected to from Vernon or the man's oddities, who knew.
"Thank you Aunt Ashtyn, Lord Avery," Harry replied with his best attempt at manners, worrying that he'd gotten it wrong when the man exhaled more than normal.
"Uncle Celtsean will suffice, Harry — my most sincere apologies for taking so long to say so," Lord Avery told him.
Harry didn't fail to notice the way Lord Avery gripped his wife's hand that he'd been holding.
"Yes Uncle Celtsean," Harry replied before being pulled by Cora over to the loveseat near her parents. As soon as she'd settled him in the seat, Cora had one of his presents zooming over to her outstretched hands while a moment after that it was nestled in his lap. He'd never fail to be impressed by the simplicity in which she made everything look.
Looking to the adults in the room for approval on opening the gift that'd very accurately fallen into his lap and seeing their encouraging looks, Harry tore the wrapping paper around the first of his three presents from them.
When he'd done so enough to see the gift they'd gotten him, he was confused, as the object was something he'd never seen in his short life.
It was a short, cylinder-like object with a swirling of four different colours within; the simplicity of the object served to mesmerize him while he only vaguely registered the words from Cora's mother.
"...erves the purpose of showing our physical well-being as well as location within Great Britain, and when tapped while saying the activation words, the world as a whole. Cora can give you the words before you're off to bed tonight." the older woman then gently took the gift from his hands while settling another, much larger one in its place.
He needn't guess at the object, the distinct broom shape giving it away the moment his eyes settled on it.
"Go on," Aunt Ashtyn encouraged, her smile as warm as ever while she eagerly waited for him to open the gift; her excitement added to his and with much less caution than with the prior gift, Harry tore into the wrapping until the broom was fully visible.
Reading the name 'Nimbus 2002' aloud, Harry looked to Cora so she could tell him more about it. While not uninformed enough to think the broom was anything short of amazing, he still didn't know just where it fell in terms of competition nor the specifications of it.
Cora seemed to though, the scowl on her face sent in the direction of her mother had him worrying — as soon as she noticed his attention, her face shifted to an endearing smile as she provided a bit of information about the object in his grasp.
"Father knows a man towards the top of the Nimbus Broom Company, because of that, he's able to get early access to new models before they're released to the public," she motioned to the one in his hands, "That isn't available until shortly before Yule as an enticement for parents to spend money on their children. If my memory serves me right that specific model is meant to be ever-so-slightly slower than the prior release but with significant improvements in handling."
Harry looked at the girl in awe, he'd only heard Ron say go into such detail about Quidditch, even despite the talks his Quidditch Captain would so often get into — truth be told Harry found them hard to follow considering how advanced they often were.
Cora didn't answer his unasked question from the awe-filled gaze and motioned to her father, the man leaning forward in his seat while flicking his wrist; a wand appeared in it right after doing so.
Wicked, Harry's young mind thought of the quickness she'd shown. His attempts at using the wand holster he'd been given usually resulted in him jabbing his palm or gripping it at the wrong time.
His amazement only grew as the man drew an intricate pattern in the air, revealing a door in the opposite wall that hadn't been there during Harry's entire time in the manor — he was sure of that.
Turning back to Harry, Lord Avery looked stern, nervous and somewhat eager; Harry didn't understand why the range of emotions were so varied until the room's holdings were revealed to him.
"Inside that room is the Avery Family library, the private portion with spells that only the direct line would usually know. Some of the contents date back centuries... I hope you understand that the spells within were crafted during darker times and as such, should be used only under direct supervision," Harry nodded emphatically at Lo- Uncle Celtsean's words which seemed to ease some of the tension that'd been on the older man's face, "Wonderful, the knowledge is yours to take in."
Looking between his Uncle, his Aunt and Cora with one of the largest smiles he'd ever had, Harry knew that this was undoubtedly the best day of his life.
August 31, 1992
Monday Morning
"Oh you're finally awake, and here I was thinking I'd have to wake you up once I finished this muffin," Cora accentuated her point by taking a dainty bite from the freshly baked blueberry muffin.
Harry took his glasses off once he slid into the seat next to her, rubbing the sleep from his eyes for the second time before putting them back on to answer.
"Sorry, I was ti-" a yawn interrupted him, his hand successfully covering his mouth before it fully took hold, "-red, practising with you was hard last night."
Cora laughed and messed with his already poorly kept morning hair, "You wanted us to go so late, need I remind you of the words you said?"
"No, I remember!" he answered without hesitation, the words about beating Malfoy if the boy tried anything this year still fresh in his mind.
"Good," Cora took another bite from her morning treat, speaking again only once she'd swallowed it and took a sip from her water, "As much of a disappointment as this will be for you, we'll not be doing any lessons today," she stopped speaking and began to raise her hand on instinct, Harry usually being so outgoing that he'd forget the courtesy of not interrupting the person speaking — whether he was tired or had learned better, her stop was for nothing as he hadn't made to speak. Smirking at him while shaking her head, she continued once her bearing was back, "It's our last day, you've progressed incredibly well and I'd prefer to spend this day lounging by the fireplace while reading."
"Okay… can I join you?" Harry hadn't been allowed to watch what he wanted on the television when he'd lived with the Dursleys, so the idea of it no longer existing with his first real family wasn't very problematic for him. What was, however, was the extreme lack of stories that fit into the fantasy or adventure genre that weren't glorifying some weird Lockhart man.
"Yes, I'll grab something for you once I finish breakfast — we'll meet in the parlour room after you've had your morning shower."
Harry smiled at his friend and dug into the large breakfast the house-elves had made; yet another set of perks he'd still not been fully accustomed to.
Not having to cook and being able to eat what he wanted so long as it wasn't overly unhealthy, though with today being what it was, that second rule wasn't as strictly enforced based on the absolute feast that'd been set out for Harry and Cora.
Cora departed the dining room roughly five minutes after his arrival, the girl letting her singular muffin drag on while she casually sipped tea, allowing the both of them some minor companionship for the morning. Another ten minutes after she'd left, Harry finished his breakfast, thanked the elves and made his way to the wing in which he'd been given sole residence — his bedroom had a wonderfully large bathroom attached where he took care of all his daily needs.
Freshly showered and dressed in comfortable clothing like Cora had been wearing, he walked his way to the parlour room on almost the opposite side of the manor.
During that walk, he took in the various magical portraits, non-magical tapestries and even the occasional bust of a long-dead Avery ancestor. While the furniture and decor were a bit much for his taste, he certainly appreciated the beauty of the home they had.
It helped that the general feel of the place was very reminiscent of Hogwarts.
Once he'd finished his longer than necessary trip and entered the room, he was greeted with Cora sitting near the fireplace while rain battered against the ancient-looking windows with an occasional lightning strike. All of the sounds, from the crackling of burning wood to the battering of the water against class made him feel as if this was the perfect day to spend reading — if there hadn't been a storm out, he'd rather spend it flying on the broom he'd been gifted, but this would do nicely.
Especially since Cora loved reading and sitting in the room too.
"Your book's on the seat beside mine," was all she'd said to him when he'd entered, though he saw the small smile on her face as he edged closer to the aforementioned chair.
Once he'd set himself down in it and picked up the book, hours passed with the two simply enjoying one another's company. Neither spoke nor distracted themselves in any other manner, the ambience of the storm raging on and the warmth generated by the fire within a few feet relaxing them while their minds took them on adventures from the plots they were reading.
He'd been especially enraptured by the fantasy book she'd given him — it was Muggle made (which came as an incredible surprise considering her usual disinterest and borderline disliking of Muggles) and dealt with a world not too different than their own. Elves, Goblins and Trolls existed, as did many other species; magic was real too! Maybe this Tolkien bloke made other stories in addition to the one in his hands, he'd have to find out from someone who still lived in the Muggle world.
Finally and after another few hours had passed, Cora set down the book she'd been reading, looking to him not too long after.
"You're only an hour away from curfew."
Harry shrugged at her from behind his book, his eyes staying firmly where they were on the page he'd been reading.
"You'll be tired if you stay up too late, don't forget that we'll be arriving at the Hogwarts Express earlier than most," Cora'd told him how her friend group liked to arrive early and catch up well before most of the other students arrived. She said it gave them more privacy and time together, something that they didn't have too often.
Harry knew for a fact that the last bit was true, not one friend had visited all summer while only a couple had written; Clara Carrow, the girl Cora was closest to and had helped them throughout last year had replied in one of her letters that she'd be willing to tutor him too if it lightened the load on Cora. For some reason, that offer seemed to irritate her rather than excite her as it'd done Harry — he didn't press for why that was.
"Harry?" Cora asked him, her hand suddenly gone from her side and extended out towards him.
"Sorry! This book is just really good, thank you, Cora!" He took her hand, allowing himself to be pulled up and using the forward momentum to envelop the older girl in a hug.
She patted his back once before pulling away, "Don't tell anyone where you got it, especially Clara," her words were said with a slightly comedic undertone, though it went completely at odds with the serious expression she wore.
"I won't!" he promised back to her, getting his hair messed in the process before she'd led them to the entrance of his wing, letting him go with a kiss on the top of his hair with a quietly bid 'Goodnight'.
Harry watched her turn the corner at the far end of the hall and sighed, he didn't feel tired in the slightest! All the laying around and lounging only worsened the growing nerves of going back to school for another year — he could practically feel his heart ripping itself from his chest at the thought of attending Hogwarts again!
Agitated with the feeling of restlessness coursing through him, Harry went about quietly walking through the halls while hoping that the energy would work itself out if he did it for the remaining hour he had.
It was when he reached the thirty-minute mark of doing this that he heard voices speaking without care; that didn't happen too often and it made him nervous. In response to the commotion, Harry tiptoed his way over to the portion where his Aunt and Uncle stayed. Peeking in the only slightly ajar door, he saw the couple seated by a fireplace that looked familiar to that of the one in the parlour room.
Each of them were holding a glass of what he assumed to be wine based on the multiple bottles that were on the table between them.
He'd arrived at the end of Uncle Celtsean speaking too, for it was Aunt Ashtyn who spoke next and in a way that he knew he'd missed something.
"Why not? You want to keep him safe, we all do, what better way is there than that in which I suggested?"
Uncle Celtsean glared at Aunt Ashtyn, "I'll not make a boy enter into an agreement complete with legal proceedings when he'd not even know what he's losing out on."
"By refusing to make an agreement at the very least, you're all but sending him out as prey to those families without our good graces," Aunt Ashtyn sounded bitter.
His Uncle waved away his wife's remarks, "I'll not hear anymore on the subject, my decision is final, Ashtyn."
"You're making a mistake on this, Sean — we both know it."
No sooner had she finished speaking than his uncle raised his voice, "James wouldn't want this, we both know it." The man used his wife's words against her and continued without giving her a chance to say anything, "He's young, anything he'd sign wouldn't be official lacking my signature and don't forget our daughter will be watching over his every move this year; more so than last if what you've been telling me is true."
His Aunt sighed and rubbed at her temples, causing his Uncle to move towards her after putting his glass down.
Harry didn't stay any longer than necessary once they'd started 'snogging' as he'd heard it called.
That led him back to where he'd started the recounting from; the warmth of his bed. Last on his mind before sleep took him were thoughts about the train ride tomorrow along with the seeing of many of his friends he'd gotten to know but failed to keep up with.
He hoped they'd forgive his failure to write to them, his summer hadn't at all gone as he'd thought.
September 1, 1992
Monday Morning
Harry and Cora had arrived early to the train station as the latter had wanted to, so early in fact, that they were among the first dozen of students who'd assembled for their next year of schooling. Now similar to the circumstances of Harry and Cora's arrival, the parents of those who'd already arrived had gone off.
It was likely that like Cora's parents, they weren't feeling the same need as a majority did to grind out every last second with their children before they went back to school. Harry shrugged to himself, the urge of wanting to know something for the sake of not being left out nagging at him, regardless of how unimportant it was.
"Good morning, Heiress Avery," a taller and much older boy greeted from his spot a few feet from them on Cora's left.
Cora turned from where she'd been standing so she could respond respectfully. By her doing that, it allowed Harry to get a better view of the boy who'd been blocked by his friend's body.
He had shortly cropped dark brown hair that faded into slightly darker facial hair, olive skin and a quiet demeanour… though the last bit was based on the one interaction Harry was having with the other boy.
"Good morning to you too, Heir Glastonbury, I trust your summer was pleasant?"
While he'd never personally witnessed the two speak, Cora greeted the boy with some degree of familiarity. Harry knew it wasn't Cora being a smooth-talker, as the look was returned by Heir Glastonbury.
"Very pleasant — we went to visit relatives in New Brunswick before heading to Sicily for the remainder," Finally Heir Glastonbury turned his attention to Harry while still speaking with Cora, "I'd heard your family got up to a fair few things while mine was away…" The boy then bowed and extended his hand towards Harry, the younger boy taking in how Cora tensed ever so slightly at Heir Glastonbury's words, "Heir Elijas Glastonbury, at your service."
Despite the look, Cora had given the boy when he mentioned 'things' her family had gotten up to, she nodded at Harry to return the greeting in the way she'd shown him at home… Merlin, he loved being able to call the place he stayed home.
Shaking himself internally so as to avoid missing Avery's manor and the Avery's within, Harry shook the older boy's hand while introducing himself.
"Heir Harry Potter, it's very good to meet you." He followed those words up by bowing at the older boy; he was worried it hadn't been done correctly with the slight downtick of Elijas lips, that was until he saw the smallest of smirks on Cora's face.
"Very good indeed…" Elijas returned before bowing again, both at Harry and Cora, "As much as I'd enjoy catching up with you, Heiress Avery, and in your case Heir Potter, getting to know you, I find myself already late for my cabin. Until next time."
Cora and Harry echoed goodbyes to the boy, the former turning to the latter once Elijas was gone.
"He doesn't have the greatest inclination when it comes to anything remotely social, but his mind more than makes up for it." Cora nodded towards the train, taking off towards it at a casual pace and speaking again when Harry was back at her side, "He's a Ravenclaw through and through, I'd advise getting to know him cautiously, he could make an excellent friend to House Potter once you're older."
That was yet another thing Cora had begun instructing him on almost as soon as he'd moved in with her family.
Politics.
While he understood needing to know how not to make a fool of himself or the family that'd taken him in, he didn't understand remotely why people cared so much about sitting in a room while trying to make other's lives harder.
But not being one to disrespect Cora or the advice she'd given him considering all the good it'd done him in duelling and getting him away from the Dursleys, he nodded.
"I'll make another friend," he said resolutely as a follow-up.
Cora dipped her head once and continued leading them through the narrow halls of the train. In almost no time at all since their onboarding, they'd made their way to the same cabin they'd had on their way back from Hogwarts last year. When he glanced up to see if she'd done it on purpose, he was only greeted with the slightest of smug smirks while she opened the door for him.
He laughed and entered in, seeing the cabin was as large as ever while all the ones they'd passed that were open looked as cramped as the one he'd been in with Ron.
"How did yo-"
Cora stepped in behind him and slid the door shut with a stroke of her wand, the sound interrupting him,
"Magic… and a friend on the Hogwarts Staff."
Whether her words were a jest or not, he laughed for the second time in the span of a minute all the while Cora went about fanciful motions on the door.
He didn't even try to learn what they were, knowing they'd fall a ways away from his current proficiency. Instead, he sat down where he'd been before and began thinking about what'd happen at this coming year of school.
Needless to say from the problems that arose from the previous year, he felt anxious.
After ten minutes of sitting in silence and his anxiety growing, he began sticking his tongue out of his mouth; the feeling of his throat constricting or his tongue swelling causing him to do so in the hope of alleviating the issues that his mind had begun to make up while the anxiety he felt grew.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Cora asked, noticing his fidgeting in the trains compartment they'd chosen; this one being expanded as the previous one had been.
"Alright," Harry answered, only for the girl to tilt her head with a disbelieving expression on her face.
"Harry, you should know by now that I can read you better than anyone else — including my parents," Cora shook her head in an amused fashion when he glanced in the direction of the window, "Tell me what has you so on edge."
What should've sounded like a question, didn't; it was a statement and Harry knew Cora had meant it as such.
Still glancing out the window at the amassing crowds of his peers and their parents, Harry answered.
"I'm worried that they'll be angry with me… and that this year will be like the last." Truthfully, he hadn't meant to put everything out as he'd done. But it was Cora that asked, and for whatever reason, he found it incredibly hard to lie to the girl.
Cora kept her eyes on him despite the growing amount of students passing by their cabin door — he supposed privacy wasn't a concern when you could do what she could, or what she'd told him she'd done after making those elaborate wand motions on the door.
Finally, her inaction shifted to action as she ran a hand through his hair in a comforting manner while pulling him lightly against her, "Nobody'll be angry with you, and if on the very off chance that they are, your friends they were not. As for this year being like last, while I find myself lacking Professor Trelawney's… abilities, I can assure you that all will be fine so long as you listen to me, okay?"
Feeling more secure from a mixture of her words and the heartbeat he could hear while his head was against her, he nodded.
"Thank you, Co-"
An elaborate knock on their compartment door startled him, causing his words to freeze up.
Cora tapped her wand against the door once in reply, again raking her hand through his hair one last time before pulling away altogether at the same time the door slid open.
"Cora!" Clara greeted, darting in once she'd shut the door behind her to kiss her friend on either cheek.
When she pulled back after doing so and sat on the seat directly opposite Cora, she greeted Harry too.
Ever the gentleman, he returned her greeting by kissing her hand as Cora had taught him.
Once he'd done so, Cora smiled at her friend and began the long conversation about how their summers had gone as well as what they'd done during them. Harry felt a little jealous with the closeness they exhibited; Cora was his best friend, but he didn't think he was hers, and everyone knew you could only have one best friend.
Ron had told him as much when he'd declared Harry as his 'best mate', to directly quote the boy.
"So, can I?" He heard Clara ask while her gaze was directed at him — having zoned out of the conversation, he'd completely missed the context of her question and because of that, he'd asked her to repeat what she'd asked.
Graciously, Clara said she'd do so without hesitation, preventing Cora from scolding him as she'd been prepared to do.
"I was asking if I could take you to Hogsmeade during one of the trips, obviously Cora could come too," Clara had included Cora as soon as she'd noticed how his eyes darted towards the other girl.
Fighting the urge to look at Cora for approval, he shyly nodded his head in response to the older girls question.
"Wonderful!" Clara exclaimed loudly before abruptly leaning in while motioning for him to do the same.
With only the slightest of hesitation, he did.
Clara whispered into his left ear, the one further from Cora, "I know a place in Hogsmeade that serves breakfast food all day and even has complimentary sweets for after you pay — all you'd need to do is convince Cora. You can do that can't you?"
He wasn't given the chance to reply, as Cora did it for him.
"Don't you start trying to use Harry so that we'll finally go to that Muggle restaurant," she chastised her friend before turning her attention back to him, "Anything she tells you to do, check with me first. Clara here is an incredibly bad influence without me to counterbalance her spontaneousness."
"That's not entirely true," Clara piped up.
Cora's response was a glare, that look continuing until Clara sighed and rectified her statement.
"It's not a Muggle restaurant, I wouldn't go if it were," Clara rolled her eyes as if she'd said something that shouldn't have needed saying, "As for being a bad influence, that's only partially true… I think it'd be more accurate to say that I take the dullness from Cora's schemes and brighten them up."
Cora snorted.
After Clara's understating as Cora had called it, they'd continued with small talk until the other three members of the group had arrived, with those being; Alisa Rowle, Aster Lestrange, and Reinhard Rosier.
Similar to the last time he'd seen them, they'd greeted him politely before diving into an epic recounting of their summer.
Only Aster and Reinhard did that second portion, Alisa reminded him of Cora with the blankness she so often presented.
When they had all finally caught up and the train ride was roughly halfway completed, attention had turned to Harry, with Aster asking the first among more than a few questions they'd had for him.
"So, Harry, tell us what it's like living with the Avery's."
With all the compartment's attention on him, he responded in only a slightly shaky tone; that being due more so to the question than present company.
"I really enjoy living with House Avery."
Aster groaned, "Surely you can say more than that."
Searching for words, Harry grabbed hold of the first thing that hit him, "They gave me the greatest birthday ever, I got a wicked broom, books, everything I could think of!"
"That's what I'm talking about, mate," Aster said while nodding and leaning back, bumping Reinhard once he'd finished getting comfortable.
"Suppose I'll ask if you'll be spending more time with us now that the problems are mostly gone," Reinhard grunted out, yawning right after he'd done so — Harry overheard in their earlier conversation the boy stayed up far later than the rest of the group usually did and seeing how tired he was, he believed it.
Harry also remembered Cora saying something similar about upper years when they'd initially met the year prior and when he looked at her, she simply nodded in response.
That was all the signal he needed, "Yes, as long as it won't cause you all any problems."
"Not in the slightest."
"Don't care."
"Nah, you'll make life more entertaining."
Alisa responded first, followed by Reinhard and finally Aster; all of their answers giving at least a measure of approval.
Harry looked at Clara next, her approval having not been given when he'd answered, and when she noticed his attention she smiled deviously.
He didn't have a chance to react to the quick manner in which she leaned forward to pinch his cheeks, the girl following the action of doing so with her stance.
"No problem from me, I'm sure we'll all love to get to know the future Lord Potter!"
"Clara…" Cora's voice sounded from her seat beside him and he knew well enough that her tone was one of warning.
Obviously, Clara did too — the girl leaning back towards her seat after letting up from her aggressive pinching.
"Yeah yeah, no politics until he's older… can I still pinch his cheeks?"
Cora sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose while Alisa tried her best to push past the Carrow girls weirdness.
"Would you be interested in attending the Yule celebrations this year, or will you be remaining at Hogwarts?"
Harry looked to Cora and the girl simply shrugged, allowing him to make the decision but offering a bit of information upon a further searching look from him.
"Our families are aligned with one another," Cora motioned towards each of the members of the group when saying this, "As a result of our mutual interests, our families — as well as a few without children at Hogwarts — coordinate a yearly Yule celebration, last year was the year House Avery hosted it."
Seeing that she'd finished, Alisa confirmed what he was thinking.
"As you could likely deduce with my being the one to extend a formal invitation, House Rowle will be hosting it this year; the main branch too, not the peasantry in one of our offshoots."
"I… I would like to go, but, err… I don't know all that much about Yule," Harry was 'raised' in a household that celebrated Christmas instead of the ancient Pagan holiday, even his time at Hogwarts had done little to clue him in considering they'd switched from Yule to Christmas as an appeasement technique.
Alisa cocked a brow and visibly bit her bottom lip, no doubt she wanted to question his upbringing but Cora had probably told them to avoid it just as she'd apparently done with politics.
"I could tea-"
"No."
Clara had raised a finger, the offer to teach him only halfway out of her mouth when Cora denied her.
"No," Cora said again while looking around at the other four within the compart before her eyes inevitably drifted back to meet Harry's, "I'll teach him about Yule."
"You already hogged him last year Cora," Clara whined with support from Aster, the boy whispering 'mutiny' repeatedly, at least until Reinhard dropped a meaty fist on his head to silence him.
"Well, I was waiting to speak with you all privately and without any chance of being overheard, but considering the impatience of some people," Cora paused her speaking to glare at Clara first, then Aster. Both recipients winced and shrunk in on themselves and seeing that, Cora picked up where she'd left off with a smile on her face, "I'll not be 'hogging' his time this year as Clara put it. In fact, everybody within this compartment as well as one other person of my choosing will be given the chance to assist Harry in some manner. That'll extend to next year too."
What? Harry asked himself — he wanted Cora to teach him, not all her friends! What if that got in the way of all the time he wanted to spend with her or made their friendship shrink?
While Harry was worrying away in his seat, he'd drifted far enough within his mind to only partially hear the cacophony of voices speaking at incredible speeds.
Next he knew, he was being pushed outside the compartment and into the one beside it. He wasn't alone though, Aster and Reinhard had been sent to join him in the male-only temporary exile.
Within the new compartment were three other students wearing Slytherin robes, all of whom were boys and all looked at him with some manner of distrust; their attention had been drawn fully towards his forehead too, something that until now, he realized Cora's group hadn't done since he'd been with them.
Harry wasn't sure how important these boys would be, but he greeted them as Cora would have wanted — the surprise was clear to read on their faces when he'd done so and they returned formalities with more grace than the initial looks they'd given him.
Howell Fir, Philip Magnolis and Tiller Flint were their names.
No other words were said for the brief amount of time they shared the space other than common courtesies being exchanged and after a few minutes of comfortable-enough silence. A knocking on the compartment told Harry it was over. Aster slid the door open and allowed Harry to exit first, he then followed with Reinhard at the end of their short line.
Aster then allowed Harry to change in the now empty compartment before he and Reinhard did; explaining before Harry asked that the girls had gone to the cabin on the other side of theirs. Just as boys had been sitting on one side, a similarly-sized group of girls had been on the other. They weren't considered the 'main' branch of the little group Cora had made, but they were still part of it more than most of the others in her house and so she'd kept them close during the ride.
After Harry had changed and allowed the boys he was with the same level of privacy, the group joined themselves together again.
Only small talk was made while they ended the last bit of the ride on the Hogwarts Express. It was followed up with goodbyes as they separated; Harry going towards his older Gryffindor friends who were calling out to him while the Slytherin's he'd made the journey with went to an empty carriage.
He smiled when he noticed Cora glancing towards him in the same manner he probably was — they'd been in each other's company so often these last eight weeks that it felt wrong being without her, but he pushed away from the sadness that was growing with the mantra being repeated in his head that he'd see her countless times this year.
His negative feelings temporarily gone, he walked the remainder of the steps necessary until he was right below the carriage's entrance where his friends were; those friends being Loma, Nina and Stuart.
"Hi Harry, have a good break?" Stuart Foxglove asked him as he pulled the boy up and onto the carriage with not a hint of animosity in his tone.
Harry didn't dare hope that it meant the boy was fine with the lack of correspondence and bowed his head in apology upon taking the empty seat beside the boy.
"Sorry for not writing any of you." He didn't look them in the eyes as he gave his apology, he was too worried about what they'd s—
"It's fine," Loma waved off before offering an apology for herself and the other older students with her, "We should've written to you too, I suppose we're all to blame."
"Wait a second," Nina tried, her voice louder than he remembered.
Stuart didn't wait for the requested second.
"Loma's right, we should've written to you — no hard feelings eh mate?"
Harry looked up and shook his head, "Friends."
Stuart nodded and patted the younger boy on his shoulder.
"Friends."
"Aw, Cuties" Nina cooed, ruining the moment while Loma sighed and muttered about this 'being a long year'.
Harry laughed alongside Stuart while the two girls started bickering; happy that he needn't worry about losing the older friends who'd helped him during his first year at Hogwarts and happier still that they seemed as wonderful as he remembered after so long with Cora.
That didn't mean they compared to her though, nobody could!
September 8, 1992
Monday Evening
"Good evening, Harry."
"Good evening Cora!"
Harry responded to her greeting with more enthusiasm than she'd expected if the slight uptick of her lips and shake of the head were anything to go by.
"I can't believe how eager you were for a private meeting; we meet almost daily, aren't you worried you'll get bored of my company?"
He resolutely shook his head, the answering 'no' as firm as he'd ever spoken.
Cora shrugged in response and messed his already semi-disastrous hair further, "If you're sure, let's go to our spot."
Their 'spot' as it was referred to by all who knew about it was an abandoned classroom on the second floor and near Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. While they occasionally heard the banshee if she was in an aggravated mood, it was usually silent and out of the way enough that a majority of the student body wouldn't be trafficking in the area.
As for those few who did, Cora as well as others within her group had put up an assortment of various magics that would dissuade them from entering, or in the case of some spells, from noticing the room at all.
Harry didn't understand how it worked, but he desperately wanted to learn it nonetheless.
Journeying to the room and entering to find it empty, Cora sat him down while grilling him about the Cornish Pixies incident that he'd dealt with.
The spell he'd used was advanced for his age, one that she'd taught him over the summer and due to that, it garnered attention from staff and peers alike. Not all of that attention was good, considering the spells not-too-friendly effects.
As it turns out, using a spell that chained a minor bit of lighting wasn't the brightest move due to the lasting damage it could cause… oops.
In Harry's defence, the pesky creatures had asked for it, and besides, he hadn't killed any of them like Malfoy had wanted to!
All in all, by the time he'd finished his recollection of the event rather than the version that'd made its way around the school, Cora didn't look nearly as bothered as she previously had — that wasn't saying too much considering the only way he'd guessed her mood was the subtle twitch of her left eye.
When she finally spoke, she agreed that he'd been in the right and that nothing would likely follow his use of the spell other than a closer eye from the Professors.
It wasn't ideal considering he wanted to be the best in his year, but there wasn't much they could do outside of Hogwarts anyhow.
Once that was finally finished, Cora pulled out an old-looking book and levitated it in such a manner that they both could read from it; but that was the last thing on his mind when he heard it.
"Kill… Kill… Kill!" It came from across the hall, the direction of Myrtle's bathroom — the voice was sinister in its repetition and sounded strangely similar to the voice of the snake he'd freed from the zoo.
He looked to Cora with what must've been the most worried expression she'd seen from him considering how fast she was on her feet and looking around with her wand in hand.
"What Harry?" She questioned, but he remained silent while the voice droned on and on.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Cora's voice was louder as she tried again, the desperate tone in her voice from his freezing up sounding so unlike her that it pulled him from whatever enthrallment he'd been under.
"There was a hissing, i-it was coming from across the h-hall… it was s-saying kill over and over!"
Her wand arm dropped slightly, but her attention stayed bouncing between the door and him while she answered.
"I didn't hear anything, Harry."
Gathering his courage, he stood up from the seat and looked past Cora, his gaze settling on the door in the direction from which the voice came. Without looking at her, he spoke in a firmer, less nervous voice; that wasn't to say he didn't speak louder than necessary.
"I swear Cora, I heard something hissing kill!"
She had to believe him, Merlin he begged she would.
Cora cocked her head, seemingly running through all the knowledge within her mind before something must have ticked.
"You said it was hissing?" She asked while her gaze joined his in firmly looking at the door instead of bouncing around as it'd been doing.
"Yes!" he replied emphatically.
"Harry… have you heard of the term Parselmouth?"
COMMENT REPLIES:
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