More Than What Meets the Eye – Chapter 8 (Ally?)

The first thing that Harry had trouble with, was actually finding Percy. Then he realized, he didn't know where the older red head liked to frequent. He could be in classes for all he knew. How was he supposed to locate where Terence Higgs would be if he couldn't locate Percy…? And there was no way he was going to ask Ron Weasley where his older brother might be. That left…

Of course… the Weasley twins, Fred and George. How had he not thought of that before… It was so obvious…

Harry actually didn't mind those two, they could be quite funny best of times. And they were obviously good Beaters, especially since they both made the team once again. But they had to know where their older brother was. But thankfully they were much easier to find then their brother. So, he didn't hesitate in going up to them and asking.

"Percy? Hmm… what do you think, George? Where could our high esteemed prat of a brother be?" Fred grinned.

George snickered, "probably stuffing his face into another one of those books."

Fred looked thoughtful, "he does do that quite a bit don't he…"

Then the two started to laugh. Even Harry couldn't help being amused. He knew it was all in teasing and they weren't wrong. Percy did seem like the person that did like to study. But he was one of the Gryffindor prefects, he wondered if he wanted to be Headboy? But he also knew that Fred and George would go on the defensive about their brother as well.

That meant that Percy may be in the library, but he wouldn't know where to look if he wasn't. And perhaps that was the reason why Harry was worried. Then it would literally just be searching for him, unless he wanted till Percy was back in the Common Room. But what if he had been patrolling duties as prefect?

Harry shook his head; he just needed to focus and see if Percy was in the library. If he wasn't, he would just have to wait till he came across the redhead. Of course, who knew when that would be. And with classes being over for the day… Plus, Harry didn't consider his luck to be all that great to begin with.

That in mind, he pushed the door open to the library. There were several students at the tables, who turned their heads towards him. Though they quickly lost interest, more focused on whatever schoolwork they had to get done. Which was nice, he didn't really like people staring at him. There were a mix of students from every house, mostly from Slytherin and Ravenclaws.

Harry looked to see if there was a certain fifth year among them. But he didn't catch the wavy hair or green robes. So, that meant that Terence wasn't here, if he was, then he didn't know where. So, he continued to search for a certain redhead in red robes. He even went to the back of the library, where students had a bit more privacy. But the tables were empty. He even tried to ask Madam Pince, if she knew anything. She was quite intimidating to the eye, but he gathered as much courage as he could.

He almost swore that she was giving him an evil eye before nodding, "I'm afraid Mr. Weasley has already left. I fully expect any future visits from you will remain in silence. You are to keep my books in the state you found them or better."

Harry silently swore to himself, before slowly nodding and thanking her. He made his way out of the library, probably even faster than he walked in.

He made a huge sigh after he closed the doors, that was just a wasted effort. But he didn't know on where to look. And Fred and George hadn't said anything more, but it wasn't like they really mentioned a place. But apparently Percy had been there… but he had no idea where he was now.

So, he slumped against the wall defeated. He wasn't sure what to do now. Was he to return to the Gryffindor Common Room and try another day?

It was when he was about to just head back that he caught glimpse of someone he didn't expect. It was Flint, the Quidditch Captain for Slytherin.

"Flint!?"

"Very noticeable of you, Potter," he cracked a nasty grin.

Harry rolled his eyes before raising an eyebrow, "you were the one that said you wanted to talk to me. I just didn't expect to be ambushed by the Slytherin Captain right outside the library just to talk… Not gonna curse me, are you?"

"If I wanted to curse you, wouldn't you think I would have done so already?" Flint remarked.

"Never know with Slytherins, its already suspicious that you want to talk to me. A Slytherin that is known to curse first," Harry crossed his arms.

"Not when they're my ally," Flint whispered.

If Harry hadn't already been pressed against the wall, he probably would have fell.

"What!? You're my—"

"Lower your voice," Flint hissed. "And follow me."

Harry frowned, could this be a trap… but Flint did say he was his ally supposedly… He was still a Slytherin though? Was it something to make him lower his guard? Even despite all of these concerns, he decided to follow Flint to wherever he was going to lead him. It wasn't like he had anything to do now. With Percy, being who knows where, there wasn't much he could do. Though he did have to admit that Flint was right, if he was going to curse him, he would have done so already.

Though Harry soon realized the route that they were going. They were going to the seventh floor and he knew it wasn't because the Gryffindor Tower was located there. He knew about the Room of Requirement.

Which was proven to him when Flint walked the three strides down the hall and back until a door appeared.

"How did you know about the room?" Harry asked.

"Are Gryffindors always this nosy?" Flint complained.

Harry shrugged, "you still didn't answer my question."

"I'm sure your questions will be answered in a minute. Will you just enter the fucking room!"

Harry frowned, but slowly followed him into the room. He instantly recognized it for what it was.

"You're one of us!?" Harry was shocked.

"Thanks for point out the obvious, Potter," Flint drawled.

"Why tell me though?" Harry asked.

"Professor Black thought it would be prudent that you knew some Slytherins that aren't necessarily against you. That it would be a good idea to learn from someone more your age."

Harry rolled his eyes, "more like as an excuse when he is not able to."

Flint shrugged, "believe what you want, Potter. But you did need to be in the know, without getting yourself killed."

Harry slumped, some part of him had to admit that Flint was probably right about that. So… did that mean Flint was supposed to be a protector of sorts?

"He didn't tell you to protect me, did he?" Harry asked.

Flint snorted, "don't be so absurd. Though given your Gryffindor tendencies, it wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure you don't do anything stupid."

Harry glared at him.

"Nice try, Potter. You're as threatening as Granger's cat. This is just so you know that you have allies around and may assist in training on a later day."

"Not today?!" Harry was surprised.

"I doubt you would be able to focus much, considering how much you were grumbling at the library. Lucky you already left or Madam Pince may have thrown you out for making too much noise," Flint crossed his arms.

Harry's cheeks flushed at that. Though Flint was probably right about the focusing part. He was just lucky he had trained that morning; his mind was too scattered to do much now.

"You wouldn't know where Percy went, though? Madam Pince said he had left shortly before I got to the library?" Harry decided to ask.

"Why would you want to know where Weasley is at anyways?" Flint asked.

"Need his help in locating someone," Harry said, not quite wanting to tell Flint on the reason why.

"Need to give me more than that in order to help you, Potter. And tracking Gryffindors is not something I do," the Slytherin crossed his arms.

"Fine… I need to find Higgs," Harry gritted his teeth.

"Terence? Why would you want to know where he is?" Flint asked.

Harry could tell that Flint was already wary on why he wanted to know where a fellow Slytherin was. Though that could be more of him being suspicious and knew if he were to get an answer, he had to be truthful.

"I owe him an apology…" Harry muttered.

Flint raised an eyebrow, "didn't realize you did anything to warrant one of those."

"Well… not me directly. But I think he's under the impression I'm the reason for why he's not Seeker anymore…"

Flint snorted, this sounded like the sorriest excuse he had ever heard. But he could see the guilty expression on the Gryffindor's face. He knew it wasn't faked, even Potter wasn't that good at crafting a fake look. Slytherins were used to adapting one because they had to. He knew Terence had been in a sour mood ever since he gave him the order to be off the team. He had to explain that it came from Professor Snape, who most likely talked to Lucius Malfoy. Sometimes he wanted to throttle that second year. How he managed to get into Slytherin was beyond him.

"Say, I believe you… what's in it for me if I tell you where to find him?" Flint asked.

Harry rolled his eyes, of course Flint wouldn't do this to help him out. Typical Slytherin…

"What if I promise to help Slytherin gain a lead in the Quidditch Cup?" Harry offered.

"You would let Malfoy catch the snitch?"

"Not a chance, but I could elude him for a while so that your team gets the advantage," Harry said.

Flint snorted, he honestly doubted that Malfoy's sight was as good as Potter's to start with. Though this offer was tempting, and it was a good way to prove that Malfoy was a sorry excuse for a Seeker.

"Alright, Potter. The Quidditch Pitch and around the stands would be a good place to look for Terence. He has a habit of liking to fly out there or have peace and quiet. Or sometimes he'll just be somewhere out in the grounds. The Library would be another place to look, though he usually finds a table more to the back, away from the usual group of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. But he won't be there now, not this close to dinner. If those don't work, I would try to look for vacant classrooms on the Transfiguration hall, he likes to spend a bit of time there."

Harry was shocked that Flint actually agreed to it and the fact he actually told him.

"Thanks Flint," Harry said.

"If you're able to pull that off, Potter. I might be able to get Terence back on the team, so don't screw it up," Flint warned.

"You really think that'll happen?" Harry asked.

"Just worry about your part, Potter, and let me do mine. Then later, I may see how far behind you are in training," Flint retorted.

Harry grimaced at the thought of training, he couldn't imagine how horrible his progress must be in comparison to Flint… But he may know that sooner rather than later. But he figured if Ignatius hadn't been disappointed, then Flint wouldn't be too bad either.

Harry wasn't sure on if he should actually trust Flint's words. Or was he Marcus now? It wasn't like they were friends or anything. And he didn't go out of his way to talk to him either. He literally had been the one to approach him and he wasn't sure he wanted a second encounter yet. He still didn't know what to think about that a Slytherin was an Assassin like him. Though he doubted that he was late into his training like Harry was. He should have been training most of his life, but thanks to Dumbledore, that wasn't possible. He lost that opportunity and he would never forgive Dumbledore for it.

He needed to talk to Terence but were any of his words true. Though he could see why Terence may like to frequent the Quidditch Pitch. There were times that he liked to fly, to enjoy the wind whipping around his face and hair.

It was still early in the day, so he decided to try the Quidditch Pitch. He could also check out the Grounds as well. May as well check both of them out at the same time. He was thankful that it wasn't raining. It already seemed like a bad enough day and he just hoped it wasn't going to go as bad as he thought it might.

First, he searched the grounds, going as far as the Whomping Willow and Hagrid's Hut. He saw the tree he sometimes like to frequent. It was a nice place to sit at and be away from everyone. He had thought maybe Terence would use the same place for himself. He thought it would make sense if he had. But that was providing that Terence was familiar with the spot. It was a bit away from everything else. It was a bit closer to the lake, but Harry had always preferred it that way.

But when he didn't spot him, he decided to try to look out by the Quidditch Pitch. He didn't think it would be that hard to spot a Slytherin. His wavy hair was a bit impossible to miss. Wondered if he actually used charms to style it that way.

But step by step, Harry walked onto the Quidditch Pitch. It was completely empty and devoid of people. Even the stands were empty, he doubted anyone had been in the stands in hours. It wouldn't be days with how each team was constantly practicing and needing the field. So, that meant that two of Flint's suggestions could be crossed off for today. That didn't mean he couldn't use them for later.

Higgs obviously wasn't in the library; he had been there first. But he had never spotted him in there before. Unless he wasn't looking hard enough or didn't really pay attention that much. But it wasn't like he spent all of his free time in the library. So, that meant he was going to be searching classroom to classroom.

Harry groaned; he had lost count how many classrooms there were on the first floor. He was just thankful it was on the first floor. That meant he didn't have far to go from the Great Hall. But that also meant on how many floors he would have to go to get back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

So, door by door, Harry checked to see if anyone was occupying the room. He didn't have any luck until he got closer to the Transfiguration classroom that he had with Professor McGonagall.

Harry slowly eased the door open and instantly spotted a familiar face. Though he didn't know if this was going to be a good or bad conversation. His head was buried in a book, he was obviously focused on it. He instantly recognized his hair and robes. His golden-brown hair was unmistakable. His posture was relaxed as he was learning against the wall while sitting on the floor. But apparently, he didn't hear the door open until it closed.

All of a sudden, Harry was staring into a pair of steel blue eyes. And he wasn't sure if they were welcoming or not.