"You feelin' alright, Harry?"
Blinking, Harry looked up at Tonks, who was staring at him with a look of concern on her face. Harry started to reply, frowned, then sat up straighter and shook his head.
"Not really." He said, poking his breakfast again. "Ever since Halloween, I've been trying to work a couple of things out..."
"Oh? What things?" Tonks asked.
"First," Harry began, ticking things off on his fingers as he went, "We have the troll. Despite what we saw in that place... I know there aren't supposed to be creatures like that in the school. Someone had to've let it in. But who?"
"Probably Snape." Tonks muttered darkly.
"Wouldn't surprise me. Wish I knew why the slimy git hates me so much... Anyway, second, what's wrong with those Gryffindors?"
"Whattaya mean?"
"That girl... Hermione Granger." Harry said. Since Halloween, which had been nearly two weeks ago, he had gone looking for information on the girl that Ron Weasley had chewed out. Though Harry had tried to seek the knowledge he wanted from the other first-year Gryffindor girls, he was shocked to find their reactions. Namely, they seemed to feel the same way Ron did - that Hermione was a know-it-all, bookworm, and thoroughly annoying.
"Oh, who knows. Maybe we should ask Fred and George. They're alright." Tonks said, taking a swig of her pumpkin juice. "Even if none of the others are."
"I was really surprised... I thought that Dean, at least, was better than that." Harry said, frowning. "Anyway... the third thing I've been wondering about concerns Leon."
"You're still bugged by how he knew all that stuff?" Tonks asked.
Harry nodded. "Yeah. There's something funny going on. Gonna be heading up to the library after I eat. Since I can't seem to follow him to the Hospital Wing, I'm going to see if looking up the symptoms to his supposed illness will bring any results..."
"Good thinking... But I don't think you're going to get a lot of results searching for what someone being a pale, quiet insomniac means." Tonks said, grinning. "Good luck, though."
"Thanks...I'm just glad I have the time to do it. I swear, Lynch is a bloody madman. Do you know he woke the lot of us up at five in the morning the day before yesterday? Wanted us out on the pitch for more ruddy practicing." Harry said, scowling. Their first match of the year - Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor - had been a week ago. Ravenclaw had pulled off a victory, though it was only just. The final score had been 200 to 210.
"Oh, don't sound so grumpy." Said Tonks, nudging him with her elbow. "You looked good out there!"
"It felt good out there." Harry admitted, lowering his head and grinning. "It feels wonderful being up on a broom..."
"Well, it's better than sitting in your chair for hours on end, in any case. That much reading can't be healthy." Tonks stated, jabbing a finger into the air.
"Quiet, you." Harry mock-growled. "I'll have you know that us intellectual types will inherit the world someday!"
"And what a boring existance it's going to be." Tonks said, sticking out her tongue. "What are you going to do? Rule with one iron fist around your broom and the other holding open a book?"
"If I must." Harry sniffed.
Tonks giggled, swatting Harry on the arm, which made him start laughing, as well.
Harry sobered up first, glancing toward the Gryffindor table and scanning those seated at it. "She isn't here. Have you noticed? She's rarely around for more than a few minutes... I can't believe that they'd all treat her so poorly just because she likes books and doesn't like rule breaking... It's just not right."
Tonks frowned, searching the Gryffindor table herself before sighing. "Think we should write to her or something?"
"No... No, I think I have a better idea. If you can find something to do without me for an afternoon." Harry said, smiling crookedly.
Tonks raised an eyebrow.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Madam Pince smiled at Harry as he slipped into the library. To the old librarian, any quiet student was a good student. And Harry didn't like to mingle words; he got some books, he checked them out, and he went on his merry way. Or rather, that was what he normally did. On this visit, Harry had something else planned.
Walking over to Madam Pince, Harry whispered, "Excuse me, I'm looking
for someone... only I'm not sure if she's here... Gryffindor girl,
about this big..." Harry held a hand aloft to indicate height. "And
probably alone..."
Madam Pince nodded slowly, her eyes scanning the familiar territory of her workplace. "Yes..." She began. "Yes, there is one girl who tends to come here alone that fits the bill... you'll find her off in the southeasternmost corner..."
"Thank you." Harry murmured, inclining his head slightly before taking off as quickly as he dared.
"Alright, Potter, let's see what good your so-called fame and glory can get you now. Save the world from a Dark Lord before you could walk, but now you have to speak to a girl you don't even know." Harry mumbled under his breath as he scanned the rather vast library. "I hope I don't start stuttering again... uh-oh..."
Harry had located Hermione Granger. In a rather poorly-lit corner of the library, she sat, curled up and reading a book that seemed almost too large for her small frame.
Watching her silently for a moment, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. He knew all too well what being pushed away felt like. He knew how it felt to be yelled at for being different. He knew and he didn't like seeing others going through the same ordeal. Taking a good, deep breath, he stepped out from behind the shelf he had been hiding behind, casually walking her way.
Harry kept his eyes on the books, however, so as not to spook the girl... Plus, it didn't hurt to scope out any titles he might want to come back and pick up at a later date. Always thinking ahead, Harry was.
When he reached the end of the row, he let his finger slowly run down the spines on a few books. Some were regular, plain books (by wizarding standards) and had no reaction to this move. However, there was always the bad egg of the group, and this set was no exception. As his finger passed along the spine of a book called 'Banshees and Their Love Lives,' a hideous shriek filled the air. This caused a number of things to happen almost at once.
One, Hermione Granger jumped and let out a high-pitched yelp, having not been paying any attention to the approaching boy.
Two, Harry jumped and let out an almost as high-pitched yelp, having not been expecting a book to scream at him.
And three, Madam Pince passed by to glare at them, pushing along a trolley of books. Harry thought it strange that the woman didn't simply use her magic to make the books find their own way back to their proper locations, but said nothing. Harry liked Madam Pince, even if she was a tad bit on the strict side when it came to keeping one's voice low.
But that wasn't the point - he had come to the library on a mission and he was currently neglecting that mission. Turning, he saw Hermione with a hand on her chest, still breathing hard. Her book had toppled to the floor.
"Sorry." Harry whispered, frowning as he knelt to pick it up. But before he could reach out and grab it, Hermione had quickly snatched it back up for herself.
Harry blinked.
"W-what do you want...?" Hermione asked slowly, looking at Harry strangely. Then her eyes did an all-too-familiar flick up to his forehead - something Harry thought he would never get used to - and let out a gasp. "Y-you're..."
"Harry Potter, yeah." Said Harry, standing up against and smiling crookedly. "Didn't mean to make you drop your book, Miss...?" Though Harry knew her name, he felt that it couldn't hurt to be a bit on the polite side.
"G-Granger... Hermione Granger." Said Hermione, still looking at his forehead in wonder.
"What are you doing all by yourself back here? The light isn't very good." Harry said, trying to sound casual, as he leaned back against the bookshelf he had been previously looking at. "My eyes have already gone back, I'm afraid... no reason yours can't still be saved, though."
Hermione winced, staring down at the book on her lap. For a moment, Harry wondered if he was saying the right things. He hadn't come in with anything but a basic gameplan. Like on the Quidditch Pitch, Harry was flying by the seat of his pants and figuring out what to do as things happened.
"The others tease me if they see me..." Hermione finally said, her voice so soft that Harry had to strain to hear her.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"I don't know..." Hermione murmured, hands tightening around the edges of the book. "I-I spend a lot of time reading, I guess... and I try and keep the other Gryffindor students from losing house points, but... but..." She trailed off, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
Crying girls were definitely not something Harry was used to dealing with. Feeling more than a little nervous and uncomfortable, he tried steering the conversation in a different direction. "Nothing wrong with a good read."
"You don't understand..." Hermione whimpered. "I always have a book
handy in case I'm not doing anything else... It's all so new to me,
see... my parents are both Muggles, see...so's my little sister.
None of them thought my invitation was real... and... and when I
found out it was and... and that magic was real..."
"You wanted to find out and learn as much as there was." Harry finished softly, causing Hermione to sharply look up at him. He smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders. "I was the same. Kind of."
"But... but you're Harry Potter..." Hermione said, frowning. "Didn't you grow up... I don't know, knowing everything there was to know about the wizarding world?"
Harry knew the question was impending, and he had quickly thought up a good response to it. Letting out a sigh, Harry began, "No, not really. Up until a few months ago, I didn't know I was a wizard, either. I didn't even know I was famous until my best friend, Tonks, told me about what I had done when I was a baby..."
Hermione's frown deepened. "But... but why?" She asked.
"Simple. I live with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. None of them like me very much. In fact, if I hadn't met Tonks when I had, I doubt I would even be alive right now." Harry said, quietly.
"What do you mean?"
Hesitating for only a moment, Harry tugged the front of his robes and the shirt underneath down just enough for Hermione to see several long, shallow scars criss-crossing his chest. She peered forward, not quite understanding. When she saw what he was showing her, however, she gasped. "They didn't!"
"They did. And often." Harry said, leaning against the bookshelf once more. "I had spent one night in the park after running away one night. Tonks found me the next morning... I stayed at her place for the rest of the summer... Then she began telling me all these weird things; that I was a wizard, that I was some kind of hero... all sorts of stuff that was strange at the time...
"The headmaster came over one night...gave me my letter to Hogwarts personally, since it wasn't getting through by regular owl post. Once I got here and settled in... well, I'd never really had anything to read or study..."
"Why not?" Hermione interrupted, tilting her head.
"Kept in a cupboard under the stairs." Harry shrugged. Hermione let out another quiet gasp.
"Anyway, the point is, once I got settled in and figured out how to get to the library without getting myself hopelessly lost, I began soaking things up like a sponge." Harry continued, leaning his head back as well. "Tonks complains regularly about me keeping my nose in a book all of the time when I'm not doing anything else. But it's all just so interesting... so many things I thought were only in my dreams turned out to be REAL..."
"...and you just wanted to find out as much as you could?" Hermione finished tentatively.
"Bingo. Hermione, look... I saw the way Ron was having a go at you a few weeks ago. I told Ron exactly how I felt about it, too. Since my cousin and his friends tended to pick on me all the time, I guess I've gotten this thing for sticking up for people since I learned I wasn't completely helpless..." Harry said, grinning slightly. "Do... all the Gryffindors act like complete prats to you?"
"Most..." Hermione said, voice quiet again.
"Some aren't?"
"Well...Ron's older brothers stuck up for me once when Ron was yelling at me for reading too much in the common room..." Hermione smiled a little as she recalled the memory. "They turned his robes maroon. Ron looked furious..."
"Ah, good...I was really hoping Fred and George weren't being as thick as the rest of the Gryffindors." Harry said. "Me, Tonks, and Leon know them both...they've been helping us prank Malfoy all year."
Hermione's eyes widened slightly. "Draco Malfoy, you mean? Ohh, I wondered who was doing that..."
"Yeah. We gave them our list of pranks we'd like to see done to the big git, since we didn't know enough magic to do most of them by ourselves..." Harry explained. "Should we ask them to pull double duty and prank Ron any time they prank Malfoy?"
"Oh, no... I-I wouldn't want..." Hermione began.
"Come on," Harry said. "I've even got an idea just for the occasion. Malfoy's robes could turn Gryffindor colors and Ron's robes could turn Slytherin colors. They'd each think the other was behind it. If we lucked out, they might hex each other into the Hospital Wing for a week." Harry said, rolling the idea over in his mind and smiling.
"Oh, you don't mean that, do you? I don't want him to get hurt!" Hermione said.
"Why not? Ron deserves it anyway, for making you so upset. I told him straight out that I read all the time, too. Seemed to bring those rusty gears in his mind to a dead stop, that. He needs some sense knocked into him. And if Malfoy's the one to do it, so be it. I know I wouldn't lose any sleep over that prat being laid up with a broken jaw. Anything to shut him up..." Harry grumbled. "And don't worry about house points. The twins say they always at least break even before the end of the year... they make back all the points they lose!"
"I...I'll think about it..." Hermione said.
"Right. Well, come on, let's get out of this dark corner. Someone's going to mistake you for a Slytherin." Harry said, offering her his hand. "What were you reading, anyway?"
Hermione took his hand and got up after a moment's pause, then smiled slightly and showed Harry the cover of the book - Hogwarts: A History.
"How'd you get ahold of that?" Harry asked, gaping somewhat. "Every
time I come in here looking for a copy, they're all checked out.
...You aren't hording the rest, are you?"
"Of course not!" Hermione said, grinning for the first time since she had met Harry. "I've had the same copy checked out for two and a half weeks, but I don't know who has the rest... ...You really were looking for it?" She added, a disbelieving look on her face.
As the two began walking, Harry said, "Are you kidding? If I'm going to get around this place without breaking any bones, I need to see what kind of history it has. Third week into September, I nearly broke my ankle after stepping on a breakaway step... Tonks had to help me get up to see Madam Pomfrey. Took almost half an hour - and it was lunchtime, too! All I got was a foul-tasting potion, though."
Hermione bit her lower lip to keep from laughing in the library. Madam Pince was looming around somewhere - they both knew that, even though they couldn't directly see her. They both were well aware of how silent the woman could sneak up on you.
"You're not at all like I'd imagined you... if you don't mind my saying so..." Hermione admitted as the two sat down in a well-lit section of the library. "I thought you would have been more like... like..."
"Malfoy?" Harry suggested.
"Well, no, not exactly... I just never thought..."
"That the famous Harry Potter had a really crummy childhood?" Harry finished with a grin.
"Well...yes..." She said, shrugging slightly. "You're a lot more... down to earth, I suppose I should say... than I had expected."
"I didn't ask to be famous. If I could, I'd wish it on someone else. People I don't even know come up to me and thank me for things I don't understand..." Harry said, leaning back in his chair. "It's all so strange. A few months ago, I got beat and was locked in a cupboard. Now I'm on my own, relatively, and studying at a wizard's school... and I'm famous for defeating Voldemort."
Hermione squeaked.
"What?" Harry blinked. "...Oh! Right, sorry. Keep forgetting not to say the name..."
"It's not that... I've just... well, I've never really heard anyone say his name until just now. I've read about him, of course, but really..." Hermione said.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake..." Came a voice from nearby.
Looking over, Harry and Hermione saw Ron Weasley and a second year Gryffindor that Harry didn't know. Both were standing a few feet away and staring at Harry and Hermione as if they had sprouted boils.
"What?" Harry asked, forcing his annoyance down.
"You two! You're sitting there with that book opening like... like..." Ron said, sputtering for a good way to finish his sentence.
"Like we were studying? Or, perhaps, just reading for the sake of reading?" Harry offered, voice bland.
"Yeah! You should be out on the Quidditch Pitch or... or..."
"Signing autographs?" Harry offered, voice still dry.
"Yeah! Err, no! Oh, bloody hell, you know what I mean! You're important! Why waste your time here with her?" Ron said, flailing about.
"Because I chose to be." Harry said, a hard edge to his voice now. "Just because you and, apparently, most of the other Gryffindors want to get by on luck alone does not mean we all do. Nor do all of us think reading is a chore. If you have a problem with Hermione, you have a problem with me, Ron."
"You can't be serious..." Ron said, staring at Harry.
"Oh? And why is that? Just because you're too stupid to figure out how to enjoy a good book doesn't give you the right to rag on someone else for it. I don't like seeing anyone bullied, Weasley. I went through quite a lot myself before I came to Hogwarts." Harry said. His voice was barely a whisper - it didn't need to be any louder.
"You're completely barmy..." Ron said after a moment of stunned silence. "You're both completely barmy... What did you do to him?" He said, turning his attention to Hermione, who almost seemed to flinch.
"She did nothing to me." Harry said, voice turning dark. "And if you keep on talking to her as if she were a flobberworm, I'll make sure you get yours before all is said and done."
Ron turned back to Harry, looking genuinely surprised. "What? Hey, Harry, mate..."
"I'm not your mate." Harry spat quietly. "I don't make friends with thick prats who judge others. I keep very, very far away from them. Would you care to join Malfoy on my List, Ron?"
"List? What list?" Ron asked.
"Surely you've noticed all of the... odd happenings to our dear Slytherin friend." Harry said slowly.
"Well yeah. So?"
Harry exchanged a look with Hermione, making a show of rolling his eyes. Turning back to Ron, he murmured, "Who do you think thought up those pranks? Word has it you like MAROON, Ron. I could have your whole body turn a lovely shade of it for as long as you'd like, you know. Just keep being stubborn..."
Ron paled, then looked rather annoyed by the mention of the color maroon. "Who told you I liked maroon?!"
"Never you mind." Harry said. "Perhaps I should speak to Fred and George about this. I'm sure they would know what we should do about your being an insensitive git..."
"No! Don't tell them!" Ron said. "Look, Harry, I...I didn't mean anything by it...! Really!"
"Yes, I'll bet." Harry said, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not sure why you, of all people, are here, Weasley. But if you came to upset Hermione, I suggest you and your friend turn right around and leave. I don't let my friends get bullied by anyone."
"Your friends?!" Ron exclaimed, earning a hissed "SHH!" from a passing Madam Pince. "She can't be your friend!"
"And why not? We both like reading. We both enjoy studying things. Is it really that hard to understand why we like to do these things?" Harry asked. "The only thing you are doing is making me angry. Now, call me stupid, but I just don't tend to make friends with jerks. You aren't doing a very good job getting on my good side."
Ron stared at him, looking almost as if someone had slapped him.
"Hermione, I know of this wonderful spot down by the lake where we could hopefully read without being chased around by certain Gryffindor prats. Care to see? I could round Tonks and Leon up, too. Never hurts to study in groups, right?" Harry offered, standing suddenly and smiling down at Hermione, who looked dumbstruck.
Ron did as well, though for entirely different reasons.
"A-alright..." Hermione finally said, standing as well and holding her copy of Hogwarts: A History to her chest. As she and Harry walked around a still-stunned Ron and out of the library, she looked over at him and asked, "Did you mean that?"
"What?"
"About... about meeting up with your friends and... and going down by the lake?"
"Course I did. Why would I lie?"
"Well.. I don't know... It just seemed as though all wizards hated having me around. You know, the only reason I tried going to the Halloween party was because Professor McGonagall asked me to. She said it would be good for me... that I might be able to make some friends there..."
"And then Ron killed the plan before it really even got started."
Hermione nodded. "I spent the rest of the evening up in the dorm, trying not to think about it. Oh, and I heard about what happened with the troll!" She suddenly said. "Did you really manage to escape without getting hurt?"
Harry smiled. "Yup. Here, I'm not sure where Tonks and Leon are, so I may as well explain what happened that night..."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"I have no idea where those two are. Honestly. Maybe they're running around with Fred and George, I don't know. Think you can find them, girl?" Harry said softly, attaching a pair of small notes to Hedwig's legs. The snowy owl nipped affectionately at his finger before taking off and flying out of the Owlery.
Harry turned back to Hermione, shaking his head. "Sorry about dragging you all over the castle trying to find them. Anyway, you still up to check out that spot by the lake?"
Hermione nodded. "Sure..."
"Well, we've got a long walk ahead of us, then. Right, let's get going..." Harry said, stretching as he led Hermione back out of the room.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"You haven't seen the giant squid yet?"
"No... I suppose I've never really come out here to just...relax."
Harry nodded, leaning back on his arms. The giant squid was quite a ways out in the lake, floating about lazily and soaking up as much heat from the sun as it could.
Hermione sat crosslegged next to him, watching the squid as well. "So," she began, looking over at him quickly. "You really don't like all the fame?"
"Loathe it." Harry said. "Girls make googly-eyes at me. Can I thank you for not doing that, by the way? I think you and Tonks are the only two who don't. Slytherin girls not included."
"Oi! There you are!" Came a voice from nearby.
Harry and Hermione turned to see Tonks (Short, green hair and yellow, cat-like eyes) rushing up to them, panting. "Your bloody owl nearly nipped my fingertip off!"
"Sorry." Harry said. "What were you doing?"
"Um... Reading." Tonks said, her cheeks warming up slightly.
Harry grinned. "Oh, really? Which book?"
"That isn't important." Tonks scowled, walking around Harry and sitting on the side Hermione wasn't on. "I woulda been out here sooner, but that airheaded tart Chang held me up..."
"Who?"
"Oh, surely you've noticed her." Tonks said, making a face. "Cho Chang! Hasn't been a night that's gone by where she hasn't sat across the room gazing at you like a lovesick puppy!"
Harry stared at his friend for a moment before sighing and turning to Hermione. "See what I mean? If either of you ever start acting like that, remind me to conk you upside the head with something."
"Noted." Tonks said, cheerfully. "So, this is the girl you were talkin' about?"
"Yeah." Harry said. "Hermione Granger, meet Nymphadora Tonks. I recommend calling her by her last name only. Tonks, Hermione Granger."
The two girls smiled and nodded at one another.
"Where's Leon?" Harry asked.
"Oh, who knows. Off being weird somewhere, probably. You know what
they saw about strange people and the full moon." Tonks said,
shrugging.
Harry blinked. "No, actually. Remember how I grew up."
"Right, sorry. Anyway, they say a lot of weird stuff happens on the
full moon. Y'know, aside from werewolves popping up here an' there."
Tonks explained.
Harry nodded, tilting his head Hermione's way again. "Seen any of the books on magical creatures yet? Must've gone through a half a dozen my first month here."
"Oh, I know..." Hermione said, eyes lighting up. "You didn't happen to check out 'Gargoyles, Werewolves, and Banshees: A Guide to Guarding Your Goods' did you?"
"I did." Harry said after thinking for a moment. "Wasn't that the one where the author tries putting a good spin on everything?"
Hermione nodded. "It is. I can't imagine chatting about with a ghoul, though, can you? How would you even get on with a banshee, anyway? If they open their mouths, they'd just injure or kill you..."
Tonks watched Harry and Hermione speaking as if watching a tennis game. Finally, she groaned. "It's bad enough Harry sits around reading in mosta his spare time, can we please talk about somethin' else out here?"
"Aw, it's not so bad, Tonks." Harry said, grinning. "Why don't you chime in with what you've been reading, hmmmm?"
Tonks glared at Harry for a moment then stuck her tongue out at him. Harry laughed. Beside him, Hermione was trying to bite back a grin.
Harry keeled over backwards entirely, sprawling out on the cool, autumn ground. "Hey, Tonks?"
"Yeah?"
"Number Fifty-Three needs revising. I was thinking of making the color maroon. That way we can involve Ron, too." Harry said, staring up at one of the few clouds overhead.
Tonks cycled through a mental copy of The List before blinking. "Why maroon?"
"Apparently, Ron hates it with a passion. Soooo, I was thinking..."
"...Of turning both him and Malfoy maroon? That's brilliant!" Tonks exclaimed, an evil gleam in her eyes.
Hermione raised an eyebrow, but said nothing about Tonks finishing Harry's sentence for him. "Are you sure you two want to do that? I mean, you could get in trouble..."
"That isn't trouble." Tonks said. "Can you keep a secret?"
Hermione blinked. "I suppose so, why?"
"Well, me an' Harry know what real trouble is, don't we?" Tonks began, looking down at Harry. Harry, in turn, was searching Hermione's face for something.
When he spoke, it was slow. "Yeah... Yeah, we do. But you can't tell anyone if we tell you what it is, Hermione, alright?"
Hermione tilted her head, but nodded. Curiousity was getting the better of her.
Tonks looked back to Harry, almost bouncing in place. When Harry rolled his eyes and nodded, Tonks flew into how they had been chasing after Solieyu and how they had been chased into the third floor corridor by Mrs. Norris. She then told Hermione all about the giant, black dog that had nearly eaten them. Hermione was quite a good listener, gaping and gasping at all the right moments.
"...So we booked it back to Ravenclaw Tower an' haven't spoken a word to anyone 'til now. Frankly, s'been drivin' me a bit batty." Tonks finished, blowing out a deep breath. "Terry and Gary know, I suppose, but they're both gits."
"Ooh, you two could have been killed!" Hermione said, worry evident in her voice.
"Yeah. But we weren't exactly paying attention to where we were at the time. I'm still confused as to how Leon got back that blasted cat of Filch's." Harry said, scowling. "He wasn't that far ahead of us. And it was like Mrs. Norris had been waiting there for us. I dunno. Something's weird about Leon, but I haven't been able to find anything that deals with his symptoms..."
"I could help, if you'd like." Hermione offered. "Two people looking would cover more ground..."
"You'd do that?" Harry asked, sitting back up and grinning.
"Well, what are friends for? Right?" Hermione asked, cheeks slightly pink again.
Harry smiled over at Tonks, who nodded sagely. "Right!" They both said.
The rest of the afternoon was spent outside by the lake, getting to know each other a bit better. When the sun began setting, they all decided it would be a good idea to get back inside. When they parted ways, Harry told Hermione that if anything bad happened to her to try and find the twins. Hermione nodded and started the climb to the seventh floor.
"She's nice. Bit of a bookworm like you..." Tonks said, eyeballing Harry and smiling crookedly. "She definitely doesn't deserve all o' the namecalling an' stuff that those Gryffindor gits are pulling..."
"Yeah... I was glad to see her happier." Harry admitted, slipping his hands into his pockets. "And hopefully Fred and George can help look out for her when she's up there. We should mention it to them whenever we see them next."
"And mention the revised prank?"
"And mention the revised prank." Harry nodded.
"So, do you wanna go lookin' for Leon, or--"
Tonks was cut off as Harry suddenly put a hand over her mouth and
tugged her into the nearest classroom. She let out a confused 'mmph'
but Harry put a finger to his lips and shushed her. Keeping the door
cracked only slightly, Harry motioned for Tonks to peek out with him.
Moments later, Severus Snape came limping by. The lower portion of his robes looked more than slightly mangled and, judging by a darker patch of black and the limp, the man was wounded. Snape was also cursing rather darkly under his breath and hissing about a 'filthy mutt.'
Once he had hobbled to the end of the corridor and rounded the corner, Harry and Tonks slipped back out of their hiding place.
"Harry..." Tonks began slowly.
"Yeah. Looks like you, me, and those two prats aren't the only ones who dropped in on that dog... But why would HE go there?" Harry asked, brow creased.
"Oh, who knows. Coulda wanted to rip out an eyeball for a potion for all we know. Come on, let's get back to the common room."
When they did, however, it was only to find Terry Boot talking animatedly to a fourth year boy that Harry wasn't that familiar with.
"We didn't see it very well, but it was definitely on something!" Terry said, trying (and failing) to keep his voice low.
"On something?" The other boy asked.
"Yeah! Like a...like a trapdoor or something! Me an' Gary think that it's guarding something!" Terry said, a strange gleam in his eyes. The gleam, however, died out when he noticed Harry and Tonks were staring at him. Terry promptly cleared his throat, whispered something to the other boy, and got up to leave.
"...That was convenient." Tonks said slowly, watching Terry walk off.
"Very." Harry said, raising an eyebrow. "What's he going around and telling people for? Then they'll want to see for themselves..."
"He's an idiot. Don't try and figure him out." Tonks said, waving a hand in a dismissive way.
"Yeah, but..." Harry began. But Tonks was behind him and pushing him towards his favorite chair by that point.
"C'mon. I'll even sit and read with you. We can figure out what's goin' on some other time. I just wanna relax." Tonks said, grabbing a random book from the pile beside the chair. "'Divination - Opening Your Inner Eye'? Oh, lovely."
But even as he sat and grabbed a random book as well, Harry couldn't help but wonder just what, exactly, was going on. Finding Terry blabbing about his experience on the third floor wasn't exactly new. It had to have been the eleventh time they had overheard the boy telling someone else about his and Gary's near-death experience. What was new, however, was the bit about the trapdoor.
It couldn't be that Terry was embellishing... why would he? It didn't make his story any more exciting. Various thoughts floated around his mind, just waiting to be placed in their proper order. But it wasn't to happen tonight. The common room was much too noisy. Glancing up at Tonks, who looked to be making at least an attempt at reading the book she had chosen, Harry sighed inaudibly.
She was right - whatever was going on, it could wait until another day. Even if Snape was trying to get past the dog - an entirely possible scenario, given what they had witnessed earlier - he hadn't succeeded. And, if the man was wise, he wouldn't be trying again any time soon. Sinking back into his chair, Harry flipped the book open to the middle and glancing along its pages until something caught his eye.
He and Tonks spent the rest of the evening reading in relative peace.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Author's Notes: Yeah, I can't write Quidditch scenes to save my life. I'll make an effort when they're directly related to important plot points, like in third year with the dementors... but as it stands, they're just bits of fluff right now. I'll write the befores and afters, but no in-betweens. Trust me, it wouldn't be pretty.
So! Another chapter cranked out relatively quickly. I even came over a bout of indecision and writer's block tonight. Good for me. It'll take a bit longer for the next chapter since this is as far as I've mentally planned things. I'll hafta go and look for ideas in my chapter guide, which I've well deviated from at this point. Hermione and the gang (or at least Harry and Tonks) are friends now. Ron's still an ass. Leon's still, for the most part, absent. And another prank looms on the horizon.
And then there's Fluffy. I need to go back and read the original material to see when the Prophet mentions a break-in at Gringotts. That oughta be coming up before TOO long, if it shouldn't have already. The pieces are slowly, but surely, coming together. And Smart!Harry isn't one to just let things die.
That being said, what say I glance over the next month or so and get right around to December? That'd help push me along, though I'm not too sure what to do for Christmas presents and such. I've admittedly not spent a lot of time on present ideas, though I really should have.
Anyway, enough out of me. Thanks for all the reviews, folks! I'll try and get 18 out within a week or so's time.
Post cleanup note: Gonna get a few more chapters done tonight (January 11, 1:50AM) as I can. Sorry for putting it off, guys. I'm horribly lazy.