Just a little note: * stands for a change in scene
*** stands for a flashback/end flashback
Changed Perspectives
It had been a month since Remus Lupin had returned to Hogwarts to the defense against the dark arts professor again. Of course, when it was time for him to take his wolfsbane potion one of the other professors stepped in. It had also been a month since Sirius Black (whom of course only turned into his human form when in privacy) was informed of his godson's change of house.
***
"Harry, you know that I think of you as a son, correct?" Sirius had said to Harry in his first private conversation with him since arrival the day before. They were in Remus' new office that was connected to his rooms.
"Of course, Padfoot. And you should know that you are the closest person that I have and ever will have to a father." Harry had answered back cautiously, wondering what his godfather was going on about. Sirius' face had remained quite unreadable throughout the conversation.
"Harry, your mother was a wonderful person, even though she was in Slytherin. And I love you no matter what house you are in." Sirius paused for a moment before saying. "Although, I have to admit that I'm happy that you didn't get into Hufflepuff—you know that was Fudge's old house. So, of course, I'm happy that you aren't in there. Anyways, I don't mind that you are in Slytherin and I am happy that you want to continue the Marauder legacy, even if it is against my old house, unfortunately. I must say that your actions are justified from hearing what most of the most prejudiced, stupid, idiotic students—and even I have to admit that it is mostly the Gryffindors—are saying while I'm in dog form…"
"That's good to know Sirius, but you know that you are rambling—"
Sirius raised his hand to cut off whatever Harry was about to say. "But, Harry, why?" Harry's godfather's voice rang with a little bit of desperation. Harry just looked confused at the question.
"I thought that you knew why I left Gryffindor by now, Siri. It took Remus and me three hours to get it into your brain…"
Sirius just waved his hand again for silence. "WHY in Merlin's name did you volunteer to go into that greasy bastard Snape's house?" he asked, despairingly.
***
Kevin Whitby, a Hufflepuff second year, had a strange fascination with any type of rodents, but rats were by far his favorite. However, his best friend, Eleanor, called Ella, Branstone hated all rodents especially rats with a passion. And so Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail and for having a rat animagus form, was placed in a rather difficult predicament.
From the beginning when his master had ordered for him to infiltrate Hogwarts and to gather any information possible on the workings of Dumbledore and of Harry Potter, Peter had a bad feeling about the whole mission.
He knew that that feeling in his gut was true as soon as he entered the Hogwarts hallways to be greeted by a shriek and being almost knocked out by a shoe, a shoe with a very hard sole. Wormtail was seeing stars and walking like a very drunk rat.
"Ella, what in Helga's name are you doing?" Kevin Whitby asked as he came down the marble staircase to where his friend was waiting for him. "Let's go. We're already thirty minutes late to dinner."
"I know that, idiot. I've been waiting for you for the past thirty minutes when I could have been eating. I would have gone in without you but this thing won't get away from my bench so that I can go away." Ella said stiffly from her kneeling position on her bench, holding her shoe over the edge of the stone fixture. The girl slammed her shoe down on the rat as soon as he came out from underneath the bench again. Wormtail let out a shrieking moan as he was finally knocked out.
Kevin gasped as he saw the rat fall to the ground. "Why on Earth did you do that to the poor creature?" he asked as he hurriedly ran forward and gently picked up the unconscious rat and held him to his chest. "Would you like somebody to hit you with a shoe?"
Ella's jaw dropped and she gasped in a horrified voice. "You are actually willingly touching that thing?" she said pointing at Wormtail shakily. "That—that thing is probably manifested with fleas! And you're TOUCHING it?"
"It's just a rat, Ella. I mean really, I know you're a girl but do you have to act like one?" Kevin asked either not noticing or pointedly ignoring the furious glare on his friend's face.
Ella grabbed her wand from her pocket and pointed it at Kevin. "Hufflepuff or not, girl or not; I will curse you if you even think about taking that thing into the Great Hall or back into the Hufflepuff tower."
"Jeez!" Kevin said. "What ever happened to our famous Hufflepuff loyalty?"
"That went out the window and soaring away when you touched that thing in your hands now!" Ella's hand was shaking slightly. "I hate rats!"
"Oh, for Helga's sake. The rat is going to be staying in my dorm not yours so why should it really matter to you?" Kevin asked.
Ella put down her wand for an instant and stalked in front of her friend. "Do you know that fleas are parasites? And fleas are pesky little creatures that can jump and they can bite? And did you know that a third of the whole European population died from the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, because of FLEAS? And did you know that those fleas were transported by RATS such as the one that you are CARRYING! Fleas don't see the need of doors separated dorm rooms!"
Kevin just shook his head sadly. "Ella, you do realize that the plague that you referenced in your little speech occurred a few hundred years ago?"
"So?" Ella sniffed angrily; she pointed her wand at Kevin yet again.
"What on Earth is going on here?" Draco Malfoy asked as he and Pansy Parkinson came up from the entrances from the Slytherin common room and were headed towards the Great Hall.
Both Hufflepuffs stopped their argument immediately upon seeing the feared Slytherins.
Pansy sighed as she saw the looks on their faces. "Draco is a school prefect. He needs to know what this argument is about so if you will?" she trailed off.
Ella scowled and said to the two upper level students. "I was just trying to get this idiot to realize that pet rats are not good things. Especially, if they are located in the same building—and might I remind you that this is a school—as me."
Draco laughed. "That's all the whole argument is about?" he asked. "Well then get on with it. I don't see what all I can really help you with." He turned to Kevin then and whispered. "It'd be best not to get your girlfriend angry. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
"She is not my girlfriend!"
Draco just smirked at that comment. "So you say for now." He turned to leave but Pansy was in his way. "Pansy, do you want to move?"
But Pansy just kept staring at the rat in the Hufflepuff boy's hands. "Draco, what did Potter say was different about Weasley's rat—Wormtail—from other rats?"
"It lived twelve, now fourteen, years?"
"Besides that. What about its appearance is different?" The blonde girl asked, her blue eyes not leaving the unconscious rat.
"It's skinny, ugly, and is missing a toe."
"Ah yes. I believe the last is the winner, Draco." She turned Draco around and pointed directly at Kevin's hands. "Do tell me Draco if that isn't Weasley's rat?"
"Give me that rat." Draco said, holding his hand out.
"What?" Kevin said. "No, I won't! You'll try to exterminate him."
"Listen to me, now, Hufflepuff." Draco said scowling. "Forget about the saying 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' and remember this. Hell hath no fury like a Dragon scorned."
Pansy snorted. "It should be more like: hell hath no fury even remotely close to a Dragon scorned."
"I agree with her, Kev." Ella said. "I don't think that he should be messed with. So why don't you just give them the rat?"
"But they'll kill him!" Kevin wailed.
"Oh, just shut up and give Draco the rat now." Pansy said, glaring in a manner that all Slytherins seemed able to accomplish.
Kevin and Ella both gasped. The boy quickly dropped the rat in Draco outstretched hand and ran into the Great Hall, his friend following swiftly behind him. Both were muttering about death glares and Slytherins. As soon as the doors behind them closed again, Draco dropped the rat and stunned and tied it. "I can't believe I just touched that thing."
"Yes, you must really, and I mean really, like Harry, Draco."
The blonde Slytherin male-hunk-of-fine-meat answered without thought. "It seems like it, doesn't it…" Draco's jaw dropped in a rare expression of surprise. "Wh—what did you just say?"
Pansy just laughed. "Oh come on, Draco. It's so obvious. You like him and probably been having dreams with him and you want him to kiss you. You want him to say that he loves you."
"What makes you have that idea?" Draco asked.
"It's all in your eyes, Draco. It's all in your eyes."
The prefect just looked confused. Pansy sighed again. "I swear, you are supposed to be smart, aren't you? You always look at him, watching him as if he might just decide to go back to Gryffindor one day."
It was Draco's turn to sigh now. "Was I that obvious?"
"Only to me." Pansy answered. "I've known you since we were itty witty bitty babies, Draco. I should hope that I would be the first to realize. I mean, Vince and Greg aren't stupid and they've known you just as long. But I am a girl and I should be the first to know."
"That's good to know."
"And if my assumptions are correct—which they undoubtedly are—then I think Harry just might be starting to reciprocate those feelings even if he doesn't quite realize it yet."
"What? When did you realize that?"
But Pansy didn't have time to answer because the Great Hall doors opened and the rest of the fifth year Slytherins came out of the dining area talking and laughing.
Harry stepped forward, his bright emerald eyes prominent on his face without his glasses. "You two do know that dinner is going to be over in a few minutes, don't you?" he asked. "What have you been doing all this time? I thought that Draco was just going to be helping Pansy with some transfiguration."
"Harry, what is one of the hardest transfigurations of the human body to perform?" Draco asked.
"More than likely, the Animagi transformation."
"Who is most likely the stupidest person to accomplish this feat?"
"Wormtail. Why?"
Draco just picked up Wormtail by his tail and dangled him in front of Harry's face.
TBC…
*I must thank Dark Comet for her idea about the line about 'Isn't that Weasley's rat?'. I just changed it around a bit to fit my scene.
To those that we seemingly confused about the excerpt that I placed in the last chapter: I have already written the story and you can get the link to it on my profile, listed as one of my stories.
And Amy Potter, your English is perfectly fine.
Story Suggestions:
Who should Harry talk to about his new 'feelings' for Draco?
a) Pansy (she will know both of their feelings and set them up with help of all the other Slytherins)
b) Blaise
c) Seamus
d) Fred & George
e) Other
Should Fred, George, and Seamus—
a) be informed of the Marauder legacy (and of Sirius' innocence beforehand)
b) be involved in the story more
c) become honorary Slytherins (allowed in common room)
d) ALL OF THE ABOVE
What prank should the Slytherins (also may include the honorary ones) play on Ron—
a) the whole weird hair and skin color
b) turn into a weasel in the Great Hall
c) tar and chicken feathers
d) some other better one that you can think of
Who should win at the Gryffindor/Slytherin quidditch match?
a) Slytherin
b) Slytherin
c) Slytherin
d) maybe it should be Slytherin
e) have I mentioned SLYTHERIN
f) ALL OF THE ABOVE
Who should be the replacement Seeker on the Gryffindor quidditch team?
a) Ron (not my favorite choice—way too clichéd)
b) Parvati (who knows? She could be the sporty type)
c) Dennis Creevy
d) just some new person we don't know and barely mention
Thanks a lot to everyone for your suggestions! I hope I didn't (and won't) disappoint!
I would also just like to mention that I did try to get this out days ago but ff.net wouldn't upload.