Harry walked into the great hall with a small frown on his face; this supposed duelling club could be a great thing if it was led by someone like Flitwick who was an acclaimed duellist, but his gut told him that was not going to be the case. He had learned to trust his gut and had his trust once again rewarded when he watched Lockhart prance up on the stage, his shiny grin sparkling in the candlelight.
"Fuck."
His muttering wasn't as quiet as he thought when Hannah elbowed him in the gut with a small grin on her face.
"Shush Harry; this might turn out to be fun."
He gave her a highly skeptical look but she just kept grinning and nodded towards the stage where Snape had just entered. Harry felt a small vindictive smirk tug at his lips, if they got a demonstration then this evening might not turn out to be a complete waste of time after all.
He might not like Snape but he knew the man completely outclassed Lockhart. He frowned at that thought, he was fairly certain half of Hogwarts outclassed Lockhart, not a very comforting thing considering he was supposed to be their teacher.
"Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me? Good, good, I, Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award have decided to impart some of my extensive duelling knowledge to you students. Professor Snape has been kind enough to agree to participate in a small exhibition to show you what you will be learning."
Harry glanced at Snape and saw a disturbing gleam in his eyes and could barely keep a smile from forming. This evening might be quite alright after all.
"Severus would you be kind enough and take your position?"
"But of course, Gilderoy."
Lockhart's smile slipped slightly as even he could make out the small undertones of malice in Snape's voice. He cleared his throat nervously,
"Right then, let us give these students a little show, nothing too dangerous of course; I wouldn't want to hurt you after all."
"How very kind of you Gilderoy." One could almost taste the sarcasm in his voice.
"Yes well, let's start, three, two, one, go!"
Lockhart threw out what looked like a sickly Stupefy, both underpowered and shoddily cast. Snape didn't even twitch as the spell flew past him before replying with a silent and clearly overpowered Expelliarmus, throwing Lockhart off the stage and into the wall.
Harry could see more than one wide grin among the male students; Lockhart had quite the talent to manage to become even more disliked than Snape. Lockhart stumbled to his feet, his feet wobbling slightly as he climbed back on the stage.
"Yes well, what an excellently cast Disarming Charm. I obviously let the spell hit me to show our students what such a spell does."
Snape only sneered in return, not bothering to deign him with an answer.
"If we could have a pair of students up here to demonstrate another duel that would be great, it would be good to showcase the difference between teacher and student. Perhaps we could use..."
Snape's eyes gleamed before he cut in,
"Good idea Lockhart, how about Draco Malfoy and ... Harry Potter."
Harry frowned in surprise; Snape had kept himself professional in class so he stuck to Mistress Narcissa's orders of treating him with aloof politeness. He obviously had some sort of plan here, either to humiliate him or something worse, he had little doubt this was a set-up.
Still, backing out at this point would make him look glaringly weak and was simply not an option. Harry swore softly as he walked up to the stage, vaulting on top of it with athletic ease, he needed to be prepared for anything. He eased his wand out with practiced hands and frowned as he watched Snape lean down and whisper something to Malfoy.
Lockhart stepped in between them,
"Alright lads, gives us a nice show, three, two, one, go!"
Harry cursed mentally as he watched Malfoy blatantly cheat and begin his spell before the countdown; he should have been expecting that.
"Serpensortia!"
A thick black mamba landed in front of his feet, surprising him by the spell choice as well by the complexity. This was advanced transfiguration, conjuration even, something a second year should not be capable of. The snake was staring out at the crowd and Harry was about to open his mouth to insult Malfoy for his reckless choice of spells when he realized his mouth was flooding with swirling magic.
He shut his jaw with an audible click, realizing that the presence of the snake was automatically making him resort to parseltongue. His temper flared as he started piecing together the purpose of the duel as well as the choice of spells. Cursing again he forced himself to stay away from parseltongue and grunted out "Incarcifors!"
If his opponent would use transfiguration then so would he, Incarsifors was a similar spell to Incarcerous except that it transformed a nearby object into a prison for the target. He quickly closed the black snake into a cage made of transfigured stage floor, yet his fumbling with the language had again delayed him as Malfoy shouted out a quick "Stupefy!"
Suitably enraged at his tactic Harry didn't bother holding back in the least, slipping into the duelling stance Madam Bones had drilled into him. He parried the spell with contempt and flicked it straight towards Snape's face, feeling a brief flash of satisfaction as he watched the man's eyes widen in surprise and anger.
A soft gasp went through the crowd, few of them recognizing the advanced duelling skill. He continued his wand motion with a muttered Expelliarmus, letting his magic bleed into the spell like he did during the summer.
The speed and precision of the spell left Malfoy no chance to dodge and the soft crack that echoed in the hall let him know he had broken Malfoy's wrist as the boy was sent sailing off the stage. The brief moment of silence was broken by cheers from the Hufflepuff section, followed shortly by polite applause from the other two houses.
Hopping off the stage he sent a sneer at a red-faced Snape that had easily blocked his spell. That fucker had clearly planned this, either by direction of Dumbledore or out of his own volition. Mistress Andromeda had warned the teachers the beast was a basilisk but had refused to explain how she knew for certain.
Dumbledore had obviously suspected that the Horcrux was the reason she knew and that she was covering Harry's ability. This entire farce was obviously to expose his ability; no one would begin a duel with a dangerous animal they couldn't control, not even that idiot Malfoy. Unless he was told to do so.
He received polite nods and small smiles from Daphne and Tracey as he walked past them, yet the calculative gleam in their eyes sent a small shiver down his back.
Showing off the fact that he could parry spells was not the smartest thing he could have done and clearly showed that he was receiving individual tutoring in duelling, not to mention the ease with which he had parried indicated that he was very advanced in the art for his age. Those two had joined their study group in a fairly frequent manner, exchanging polite conversation while playfully digging for information.
They rarely tried to hide it though, so it didn't really bother Harry, he expected something like this from a Slytherin. Susan and Hannah hadn't been too pleased about their inclusion and Hermione had been nervous in the presence of Slytherins.
The Slytherin girls had however made no comments about Hermione's blood or heritage, either because they didn't believe in blood purity or because they knew such comments would get them kicked out of the group very quickly. Still, Harry had to admit he enjoyed their quick wit and biting sarcasm, it didn't hurt that they were quite the attractive pair as well.
The pitiful girly moans of Malfoy brought him out of his thoughts and he had to occlude his mind to keep a vindictive smirk off his face. If the boy wanted to fuck with him, he should be prepared for payback.
"Good job Harry" Susan leaned closer to whisper into his ear, "Auntie would be pleased."
Harry just grinned in return, if there was one family who might dislike the Malfoys more than the Weasleys it was the Bones. Madam Bones suspected Lucius Malfoy had played a part in the raid on Susan's parents' house but had never been able to prove it, as he had slipped out of her grasp by bribing those above her and pleading the Imperius curse.
Harry was fairly certain that if she got the opportunity to arrest him again there would be an unfortunate fatal accident during the apprehension.
Lockhart paired them off and had them do some shielding and disarming exercises, yet when he tried to walk around and instruct people, he either got it wrong or went off tangent talking about some fantastical adventure he had experienced. Harry ignored the man and tried to help the Hufflepuff's nearby, his girls could already perform the spells and this was a good opportunity to improve his reputation, something Mistress Andromeda always pushed him to do.
The students listened surprisingly attentively to him, or well, perhaps it wasn't that surprising. He was already known as a prodigy and his earlier duel against Malfoy had been rather convincing. A few of the first, second and third year muggleborn or half-blood girls also suspected the reason they hadn't been subjected to bullying from the Slytherins was his presence in Hufflepuff.
It was a rather downtrodden Lockhart that sent them to their dorms that night; his performance hadn't exactly won him any new admirers.
XXX
The very next day Harry's hopes of a relaxing day were crushed when Dumbledore's voice echoed in the castle during their Charms lesson, ordering all students to their common rooms.
"What you reckon this is about then?"
Harry shrugged at Hannah, he honestly didn't have the foggiest, yet being sent to their dorms in the middle of day wasn't a good sign, especially with a potentially huge snake loose. He hadn't told the girls about the reptile out of fear that Susan would feel obligated to tell her Aunt, which would then have led to an investigation and the ousting of his parseltongue ability.
If Dumbledore kept it quiet, then who was he to be blamed for doing the same? He didn't personally mind the ability anymore, yet he most certainly did not want it plastered all over official papers and thus spread to the press. He had however made all of them, even Hermione; promise to always move together as a group in the castle, something they were more than happy to agree with. That didn't mean he liked the situation, especially not after Mistress Andromeda told him someone had been slaughtering all the school roosters.
They slumped into one of the yellow sofas in the corner, the girls flanking him on both sides as had become their habit. They didn't have to wait long until an irate Professor Sprout entered the common room, striding into the middle where everyone could see her.
"All classes today are cancelled, there has been another... incident. Justin Fitch-Fletchley from our House and the Gryffindor Ghost have been petrified. Do not leave your common rooms."
Harry swore softly, what was Dumbledore playing at? He had been informed about the beast and should have proximity and danger wards all over the castle, alerting him if anyone placed a foot wrong.
"Justin was muggleborn."
He glanced at Susan, trying to swallow the bile that had bubbled up in his throat at her whispered comment. Hermione was alone in Gryffindor, he tried to escort her around as much as possible and convince her to stay with groups, yet she often ended up roaming alone as she stayed in the library far longer than her year mates. He could feel his magic straining under his skin, if that snake went for her, he was going to make himself a new pair of boots out of its skin.
"Fuck."
The girls didn't even bother correcting his language this time; they found the word strangely appropriate.
"Good thing we're getting out of this castle in three days."
He found himself agreeing with Hannah, it was December the 18th, he was looking forward to a Christmas at Susan's.
"Hermione is staying in the castle over the holidays."
"What?!"
Harry stared in disbelief at Susan, why in Merlin's name would she stay in the castle at a time like this?
"Something her parents having to attend a conference in America and not having time; I invited her over to the Manor but she said she didn't want to intrude. She had also apparently promised to help some people from her year with an academic project."
Harry grumbled softly; not happy with the situation at all. If it was his own home, he was inviting her to, he would maybe have been able to convince her, but it was very rude of him to attempt to invite someone else to the Bones Manor.
"Maybe I should stay in the castle just in case…"
A small smile played on Susan's face as she let out an amused sigh.
"Sure Harry, after you convince her that you should skip out on your own Christmas to protect weak little Hermione, you can explain to Professor Tonks why you should stay in the castle to do the Professors job for them. Of course, that's after you explain to Auntie why you're backing out and leaving us to spend Christmas without you, especially after accepting the invitation."
Harry swallowed audibly, yeah that didn't sound like it was going to go over too well. In fact, he was fairly certain at least one of them would hex him if he attempted to push that agenda.
"Right, well…maybe we shouldn't change our plans after all."
Hannah snorted at his hesitant response, not bothering to hide her sarcasm.
"Excellent idea Harry."
XXX
Harry climbed on board the Hogwarts Express after extracting a promise from an exasperated Hermione to be careful. Her argument, that with so many students leaving the school for the break, the odds were in her favor that the Heir had left the castle as well, did have some merit. He pushed the thought out of his head, Mistress Narcissa's words clear in his mind, 'do not bother your mind over matters you have no power over'.
The train ride was peaceful, especially with Malfoy staying in the castle. The boy had been strutting around like a peacock ever since the attacks had started, taunting everyone he came across with few exceptions. He had heard some of the Gryffindor boys speculate that he was the Heir of Slytherin but the idea just made Harry laugh, the boy had neither the talent does petrify people nor to control a basilisk, not to mention he was about as cunning as a stone, if he was the Heir, he would have been caught within a week.
His arrogance was however disturbing, especially when combined with Dobby's warning, his strutting worryingly pointed towards something orchestrated by Lucius Malfoy. Still, it was highly unlikely Draco knew anything significant about it; Lucius wouldn't be stupid enough to tell his son anything important, especially not with at least two confirmed Legilimencers in the castle. Say what you want about the man, his cunning or ambition were not things to be underestimated.
"Harry, you would do well to be careful during the following year. Lucius might not look the part but he is a ruthless man, if he thought the ashes of a hundred muggleborn children gave him power; then he would happily set them all on fire."
Mistress Narcissa's words from the summer sent a shiver down his back.
He was pulled out of thoughts as Daphne and Tracey entered their compartment. Harry instantly stood up and hefted their luggage into the overhead compartments with ease.
"Hello ladies."
Tracey had her usual little smirk on her face, her dark green eyes studying him. The two girls made a rather startling contrast, both purebloods from significant families, yet appearance wise they were very different. Tracey had a lithe body and was rather tall for her age, with dark brown hair and dark green eyes, whereas Daphne was the opposite, having clearly inherited the beauty of Amelinda Greengrass.
High cheekbones raven black hair and icy clear blue eyes. She was already showing off very prominent curves, hinting at the woman she would grow up to be. Unlike Tracey her face was almost always kept neutral, Harry had little doubt she had received extensive Occlumency training.
"Hello Harry, Susan, Hannah."
"Potter. Bones and Abbott." Daphne gave a small nod to the girls, receiving a polite but cool one in return.
Tracey kept her eyes on Harry as he pushed her trunk around like a toy, making it fit into the small space.
"You know, there are spells for that."
Harry just shrugged in return.
"I have my entire library in that trunk, it's easy to move around on wheels but it weighs a ton."
Both the girls were now intently studying him, like a puzzle they were determined to solve. Harry shrugged again before returning to his seat between the Hufflepuffs.
"I'm pretty strong."
Tracey raised an eyebrow at the understatement while Hannah just snorted. Desperate to change the subject he continued,
"So, how has your House reacted to your meetings with us?"
Tracey gave him a patronizing smirk, she knew very well what he was doing, yet didn't bother fighting it. Trying to force information out of Harry Potter when he didn't want to share was about as likely as improving your spell casting by bashing your face into a wall.
"As expected,. Malfoy threw a hissy fit but didn't dare to escalate it beyond shouting and swearing. The rest of the house was mostly interested in pumping us for information, anything solid on Harry Potter is worth quite a bit in the dungeons."
"And what did you tell them?" There was a surprising amount of venom in Susan's voice.
Daphne's cool voice cut in.
"Nothing. Potter is a Hufflepuff, leaking information about him would quickly cut us off the source; we know how your house deals with treachery. Of course, we had little reason to tell them either way, they had nothing of equal value to trade."
"And if they had something of equal value to trade?"
Daphne just shrugged, not bothering to deign her question with an answer. She was a Slytherin and made no excuses. The action brought a small smirk to Harry's face, it was one of the reasons he liked the aloof girl, she made no apologies for her nature of using everything and everyone for her advantage.
Discussions with the two had already taught him much about the Slytherin hierarchy, allegiance and power distribution, yet he had little doubt that they had also milked a similar amount of information out of him.
It wasn't a feeling everyone in the compartment shared, Susan's innate loyalty made her dislike the girls, she didn't like people she couldn't trust. The fact that that Tracey bitch kept covertly flirting with Harry didn't improve her mood either.
Still, she kept her cool and stayed polite, a small hint of admiration bubbling in her as she watched the way Harry would trade words with the two of them, hidden meanings and implications in every sentence while they tried to pry information out of each other. It was the first time she really noticed the impact his tutoring had made on him, he would no doubt have been able to fit into the Slytherin house with ease.
Glancing at Daphne she noticed her blue eyes were glued on him, the girls seemed to become more interested in him with every conversation they had, he was by far the strangest Hufflepuff of them all, going against every stereotype of the naive and weak duffer.
A stereotype she hated, it seemed like half of Hogwarts had conveniently forgotten famous Hufflepuffs like Bridget Wenlock, the Arithmancer that was the first to establish the magical properties of the number seven, or Artemisia Lufkin, the first witch to become Minister of Magic. That's not even mentioning Hengist of Woodcroft, the wizard who founded Hogsmeade or as a more recent example, her own Aunt who was a Hufflepuff through and through.
A few hours later their conversation was interrupted by the train whistle and Harry stood up to help them with their luggage, they were approaching King's Cross station. The young wizard acted as lineman as he cleared a path for them through the milling crowd. The strange group of Hufflepuffs and Slytherins still drew some stares, yet people were starting to expect the unusual from Harry Potter.
Stepping out of the train they drew more than one long look from the families waiting for their children, five major heirs moving together were certain to start a rumor or two.
"Come Harry, my parents want to meet you."
"My mother has expressed similar wishes Potter."
Harry nodded at the two Slytherins, before turning to Susan.
"I'll catch up to you guys in a bit."
She frowned but nodded, not much she could really argue about, to deny their parents request would be rather rude. Tracey led them through the milling crowd to a couple standing near one of the benches. It was easy to see where Tracey got her body from; both were very tall, the woman especially standing out because of her tall stature. Dark brown hair framed an oval face with equally brown eyes, her robe highlighting her lithe figure.
Tracey's eyes were obviously from the man, identical dark green eyes stared out from a rugged face, the man was almost half as wide as he was tall and Harry doubted any of that mass was fat. He remembered Tracey mention that her dad had played professional Quidditch as a beater and it clearly showed; the man looked like he could snap a man in two. The look the man was giving him forced him to draw on his Occlumency, to keep from fidgeting, it was not a friendly one.
"Mum, dad, this is Harry Potter."
The woman offered her hand,
"Hello, Elise Davis, pleasure to meet you."
Harry kissed her hand by habit, earning a small approving smile from her.
"The pleasure is mine Lady Davis."
The man stepped forward, the small glint in his eyes making Harry instinctively draw on his magic. Something he was immensely grateful for when he shook his hand. The grip was firm from the start and the man quickly ramped up the pressure, his meaty hand putting enough pressure on his smaller one to crush it.
Harry merely ramped up his magic in response, strengthening his hand and returning the favor, putting an equal amount of force on his opponents' hand while meeting his dark green eyes with his own emerald orbs, wisps of magic dancing around his pupils while Occlumency kept his face expressionless. The man frowned in surprise before a small pleased grin spread on his face as he released his hand.
"Roger Davis, Head of the House of Davis, good to see there is some truth in some of the rumors at least."
He sent an approving look at Tracey as he said that, he had obviously not been expecting much of her new friend. Harry kept his neutral mask up and nodded, hiding his dislike for the little 'test'.
"A pleasure."
Roger only seemed to find his answer amusing.
"I'm sure."
Their conversation was cut short when a woman that drew more than one appreciative glance waltzed through the crowd, her hips swaying in ways that lead men's eyes and thoughts to areas that were certain to anger their wives.
Harry recognized her instantly and had to fortify his Occlumency to keep his face passive. Amelinda Greengrass, the woman he had met at Mistress Narcissa's Christmas party. Her eyes lit up when they landed on him and her purring voice sent a shiver down his back.
"Oh my, Harry Potter, my daughter has had much to say about you."
Before he could respond she moved up and engulfed him in a hug, completely catching him by surprise. He could feel her significant breasts press against his chest and she deliberately exhaled against his neck, her hot breath washing over his skin.
Harry realized she was fishing for a reaction and was relieved that he had prepared his Occlumency in advance. Whereas any other teenage male would have been a flushing stuttering wreck at this point, Harry didn't think her seduction was quite on par with Mistress Narcissa's. He managed to keep his face neutral and gave a polite bow in return.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Lady Greengrass."
She seemed surprised at his lack of reaction before a small pout settled on her ruby lips. Yet when her eyes glanced over his, he could have sworn he felt a feather light touch on his mind, something that instinctively made him completely clear it. He wasn't sure if he imagined it but her pout turned into a small appreciative smile and she curtsied in return.
"Amelinda Greengrass Mr Potter, it would seem my daughter was not mistaken."
Harry glanced at Daphne, remembering his hypothesis that she was practicing Occlumency at all times to keep her face passive. This recent encounter with Mrs. Greengrass only seemed to reinforce that theory; if her Legilimency was that advanced then he had little doubt that she was extensively tutoring Daphne in the Mind Arts.
He gave Daphne's mother an appreciative look, what an incredibly dangerous combination, all that seductive power to make you lower your defences only to find your secrets plucked out of your head by a master of the Mind Arts. The woman seemed to preen under his eyes, noticing his look and smiling mischievously in return, like she knew exactly what he was thinking.
The thought sent a shiver through his spine, if she was this adept at Legilimency, did it mean she had been scanning him during Mistress Narcissa's party? He suddenly had trouble identifying what her smile meant, was it a "impressive for your age" smile or a "I know something you don't" smile. Harry felt cold sweat slip through his Occlumency and had to forcibly keep his hands from shaking.
He almost sighed in relief when Susan showed up with Madam Bones, giving him an excuse to bid them farewell and depart for Bones Manor. When the portkey arrived, he sprawled on his knees and threw up all over their lawn, if Greengrass knew then he was in such deep shit.
"Harry! Are you alright?"
He just waved Susan away, stumbling to his feet. He gave a sickly smile in return.
"Y-yeah, magical transportation just doesn't agree with me."
Both Bones women gave him skeptical looks but he barely noticed, trying to keep his panic at bay, oh Merlin, what the fuck was he going to do?