A/N: Not a whole lot of plot in this chapter, but the story will pick up more, and we'll speed up the timeline some next chapter.
Harry woke up extremely angry, and he couldn't remember why. With a pained groan, he moved just enough to realize what had happened. Immediately, his hand fell on the egg lying by his stomach and Harry let out a massive sigh of relief. His baby was safe.
"Hey, how are you?" Fawkes asked from somewhere over Harry's head. "You still alive?"
With a wince, he looked up at the phoenix perched on the headboard of his bed. "I feel like I'd really like to bite someone right now…and kiss Snape for taking care of us…maybe not in that order," he stroked the precious emerald shell beside him. "How long have I been out?"
"Just a few hours this time," Fawkes responded before fluttering down to sit beside the egg. "He did good taking care of you and my grandbaby, didn't he?"
"Yeah, maybe you could back off on him a little then, huh?" Harry chuckled, and then winced at his sore muscles.
"Never," the bird gave a chirping chuckle. "He's still a git. He got your healer to stop by, and I'm sure he and the elf will be insistent on you resting. I think he almost had a stroke when your pants disappeared," Fawkes chuckled again, a wing over the egg.
"Ergh, I have to get better at conjuring clothing that lasts," Harry turned bright red, noticing he didn't have anything on under the blanket over him. If he thought about it too much, he might just die again of embarrassment this time.
"Ron and Hermione are going to be looking for me if they don't see me by dinner," he said with a grimace at how sore he still was. "Maybe I should send Kreacher…"
"I sent a message to Percy to inform them you are unwell and in your room for the evening," Snape said, catching Harry's last sentence as he walked into the room. "I know you don't want me in here, but that ship has long sailed now when you were pushed off the school's tallest tower. How are you feeling? Any soreness?"
"I only didn't want you in here because I wasn't ready to tell you about Little Bit," Harry smiled at him and continued to pet the egg. "Thank you…for everything. I don't know what I would have done if my egg were hurt. It's the only thing keeping me going some days."
Snape gave him a short nod, and avoided his eyes, looking in his pockets for a pain potion. There were emotions Severus did not want to have to deal with tugging at his chest. "Soreness…?"
"Oh, yeah," he nodded. "I've had worse, but it's not pleasant."
"You should be dead, so I'm surprised regardless," Snape just handed the pain potion over. "Are you unable to have any potions in particular now that you are no longer quite human?"
"Hmm, only things that metabolize too quickly. I run hotter than a normal person," he thankfully took the potion and downed it. "That's why I had to have a different nutrient potion. So…I suppose you know now…"
"I'm going to go check out the tower. Yell for the elf if he gives you any trouble," Fawkes gave the potion master a warning glare before flaming out.
"I actually know nothing," the man sat in the armchair he'd occupied worriedly for last few hours. He ignored whatever the bird was glaring at him for. "As you are well aware, Healer Morris takes his oaths seriously."
"Right, then could you pass me some pants and fill me in on what you've guessed," Harry exasperatedly motioned to his dresser. He did not want to have this discussion wearing nothing but a thin blanket, especially as Snape seemed to be extra observant in studying him.
"What happened to your clothes anyway?" The man gave a smirk before standing to look through the drawers and throw a pair of boxers at the teen.
"Turn…" Harry motioned for the man to at least look away for a second, getting a roll of his dark eyes before he looked pointedly away. Quickly, Harry slid the boxers on under the blanket before settling back with his egg in his lap. "Right…er, you're fine now…erm, just…what do you know already, and we'll get to the clothes. That's actually a long story connected to what I am."
Snape settled back into the armchair and studied Harry's form with an intense stare that had Harry wishing he had another blanket or some trousers to go over his boxers as well. "You are not a human, as you told me yourself when you were quite delirious at the base of the tower. You seem to have survived being pushed from the Astronomy Tower, which I do not know how that would even be possible without you having wings, which I've clearly seen do not exist. You have an egg that is your child…which does not have a mother, according to Kreacher. Those are my only conclusive observations besides the diagnostic spells I cast when you were unconscious. I have no overarching conclusion based on those observations. I know of no creature that would fit those characteristics, and as you well know, I'm very knowledgeable in that area. I also am well aware that neither your mother or father showed any signs of being a creature while we were in school together."
"That's actually pretty good," Harry nodded, at the man's summary. "The explanation is that I'm not just one creature…"
"Ah…but that's not possible after an inheritance usually," he frowned in thought. "When you come into your magic your creature characteristics fight it until one collection of traits are dominant, either one creature inheritance or your human side…it's why creature inheritances are so very unpleasant."
"Yeah, when have I ever followed the usual rules though," he gave a short laugh, stroking the shell of the egg and surprisingly getting a small smile from Snape. "It was my second year that caused it. I was bitten by the basilisk and Fawkes cried on the wound to keep me alive. When my inheritance hit, the venom and tears were still in my system and had already bonded…I'm something new, I guess. I'm part basilisk and part phoenix…"
"Excuse me…?" Snape blinked several times in utter shock. "That's…unheard of…"
Harry smiled at his shock and nodded. "Yes, I didn't survive the fall from the Astronomy Tower, that's my phoenix side. I can regenerate…unfortunately, I'm not a full phoenix, so while I come back at my current age thankfully, I do not heal completely."
"Your healer did mention regeneration," Snape closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face, trying to scrub out the memory that Harry had died earlier that same day. It was more distressing than he cared to admit to himself.
"Yeah, well, you've seen Fawkes regenerate, there's a lot of fire, closer to fiendfyre than even a normal flame, so my clothes never do survive, and conjured ones disappear when you aren't conscious to maintain them," the teen turned pink again at that memory. "Phoenixes also reproduce asexually apparently. It is brought on by magic and biological sex doesn't seem to have any bearing on reproduction as well."
"When…?" Snape gave a wide motion towards the egg, clearing his throat and trying to pull himself together again.
"Right before you were released from hospital. It's why I looked so terrible. It was not a…pleasant experience. It was worth it though," he explained, smiling at his egg. "We don't really know what combination of creature Little Bit will be, but Healer Morris thinks they are at least more than one of my three parts…personally, I think they are going to be more like me, or I hope they are at least."
"That's why Regulus's old room was being converted into a nursery," it finally dawned on the man, who nodded his head in complete understanding then, kicking himself for not seeing it earlier. It didn't have furniture because they didn't know what creature the child would be.
"Er, yeah…it's also why I'm completely serious that I owe you a life debt," Harry's glowing green eyes pinned Snape once more, sending a not-unpleasant shiver down his spine. "That day in Diagon, it didn't matter if I was hit with that killing curse, I would have regenerated, but the spell was heading towards Little Bit…my egg…"
Snape felt the weight of that pronouncement settle on him. The large emerald egg glittered in the light, hitting him once more that it was a child. Harry seemed so much older, sitting and smiling at the egg with the love of a parent. The teen's short, black hair against his pale skin made his green eyes and scales stand out starkly, a striking shade of green. After months of healthy eating and nutrition potions, Harry had also recovered some weight and muscle mass, making his shoulders and arms seem well proportioned and strong, a clear lightning bolt scar standing out palely on his bare chest right over his heart.
Clearing his throat, Snape stood and rummaged through his roommate's drawers again before tossing a t-shirt to the young man. "Here, put that on," he uncomfortably looked away as he sat back down, crossing his legs and thinking of slimy potions ingredients.
With a surprised chuckle, Harry tossed the shirt on over his head. "Should we discuss why you seem to be uncomfortable seeing me without a shirt?" He raised an eyebrow at the man, really wanting to have that conversation more than anything at that moment.
"I'd really prefer we didn't," the vampire gave a tense sneer that held more fear than the man would want Harry to see, and that told Harry it was best to let it go for now. He was willing to drop the subject for the moment since it gave him some hope that maybe his feelings weren't as doomed to being unrequited as he originally thought. If Snape was uncomfortable, Harry didn't want to push him, or he knew the man would just shut down and deny anything, probably even lash out some for good measure.
"Ok, well…you have more things to think over now while you decide if you want to move in after the school year ends," Harry winced as he shifted on the bed to get a little more comfortable. "Percy already figured out what I am when he saw me heal Fred during the battle and because of my smell. I haven't told him about Little Bit yet though. The egg will hatch by early summer, and you'll be living with a single father who tends to set things on fire occasionally as well as being venomous and being able to use a basilisk's stare. Those are all things to take into account."
"Merlin…" Snape breathed out with almost a whistle at Harry's new abilities. "That's how you killed that Death Eater, isn't it?"
"Yeah…bit Greyback too," he shrugged. "If Teddy is a good comparison for babies in general, Little Bit will probably be noisy at night. You can cast a silencing ward over your room though…"
"Children are noisy and messy, but that is only to be expected," Snape waved that away as if it were not significant in the slightest. "Are you able to fly or turn into a snake or anything?"
"I wish," he snorted. "I didn't get all characteristics from both creatures, only some of them. Not even all werewolves or vampires are the same as you well know. For instance, you have magic, but not all vampires do, I've seen you eat garlic bread, unless the elves made it special for you without garlic. You clearly go outside, and can you turn into a bat?"
Snape glared at him. "The elves were led to believe I have a garlic allergy and provide garlic-free options for me, I have exceptionally good sunscreen for going outside…and keep your opinions to yourself, but yes, I can turn into a bat. I do not like to transform though as it's very disorienting being unable to see well and relying on other senses I do not normally have. I tend to only use my bat form as a very last resort."
"That's brilliant!" Harry couldn't seem to keep his opinions to himself. "My tears and the eye-thing are useful, but I do wish I'd been able to fly to transform or something. I suppose it's possible I might develop some of that later, but I haven't had any noticeable changes since my first burning day besides Little Bit."
"You need a better name for the child," he huffed a laugh.
"I like it no matter what you say," Harry shrugged with a grin. "I'm still coming up with names for once they hatch."
A gleam of a thought crossed Snape's face, making him look at the teen speculatively. "Wait…you said you used your tears to heal Mr. Fred Weasley…should I assume that is why I'm currently also in the land of the living instead of being annoyed by your godfather in the afterlife?"
Harry shuffled a bit embarrassed at that. "Er, yeah…I know I said we hand anti-venom that I gave you, but honestly, not even Hermione would be able to brew that on the run with no ingredients…you probably could, but not everyone is the Half-Blood Prince."
Snape grimaced but seemed pleased at the praise. "Please refrain from using that ridiculous adolescent moniker. Also…thank you, for saving me. I was ready to move on, but I find reasons to continue now…more than I had before."
Harry cleared his throat and shuffled around the bed clothes looking for something. "Course, we need you here…hey, where's my wand…?"
Snape's face fell. "Bloody hell…I think I left it on the ground by the tower," he responded, only barely processing it had been beside Harry on the grass. He kicked himself for not thinking to grab the wand, but he was panicking at the time.
Harry continued to look before his eyes fell on the thin, stick of elder wood on his night table. "Nope, crisis averted. It tends to like to be near me," he reached over and picked up the wand, fully believing that Snape probably did leave the wand on the ground outside. It seemed the elder wand wasn't willing to be left behind that easily. It was more than a little disconcerting, but not something Harry knew what to do about at the moment either. In addition, it was clear the resurrection stone ring was once more on his finger as well, so drop in the bucket of strange…
"Should I ask what that means?" The man raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"When has Dumbledore owned anything that wasn't highly unusual," Harry answered him with a smirk. Snape nodded in agreement but was still very curious about the wand.
"I should probably send a patronus to Ron and Hermione or they'll worry even if you contacted Percy. We all have a bit of residual anxiety, you know…"
"Too late," Snape's brow furrowed, listening to the muffled sounds coming from the hallway that only he could hear.
"They're outside?"
"Ronald seems to think I may have cursed you, Percy thinks you have come down with wizard's flu…and Granger…I will not even attempt to convey what her insinuations are," his ears turned pink, causing Harry to chuckle at what he could only guess Hermione might have said, and wishing she were right.
Snape stood quickly and threw open the door from Harry's room to the hallway before the three could continue their bickering outside the door. "May I help you?" He glared at the two students and one professor outside his chambers.
"Oh, erm…isn't this Harry's room?" Ron asked, turning pink as well while Hermione snickered an 'I told you so' behind her hand.
"Your friend is unwell, my message was very clear," he sneered at them all with no venom in it. "I would hope you would give him time to rest, but it seems you cannot follow simple instructions…"
"Just let them in, Snape. You know they'll be insufferable until they see I'm not strung up being tortured by a git of a vampire somewhere in here," Harry called out, missing the quick flush of Snape's cheeks that Hermione absolutely did not and had her chuckling once more.
"You wish," she gave a little hissy chuckle that only a vampire…and maybe Percy who rolled his eyes dramatically at it, could hear.
"What happened, Harry?" Ron asked as they filed into the small bedroom. Ron perched on the end of Harry's bed while Hermione stood by the door and Percy seemed stunned silent by the large emerald egg in Harry's lap.
"Some bastard pushed me off the Astronomy Tower," Harry said with a murderous flash of his eyes that momentarily had the pupils slit like a snake's. "Little Bit is fine…I was able to send them to safety before I hit the ground."
"Thank Merlin," Ron sighed looking at the egg with wide eyes of fear at what might have happened.
"Are you ok though? You fell from the tower, and you must seem better than you actually are…" Hermione frowned, wanting to cast some diagnostics or hug him or something, but not knowing what would be welcome.
"Yeah…died again, but getting used to that and all," he shrugged wryly. "Fawkes is currently checking out the tower to see if he can find any clues, and I want to know who put my baby in danger…I promise you they won't be alive to do it again!"
"Right, so I'm not imagining things that there is an impossibly large egg in Harry's lap that is probably what was in the bag he's been carrying around for months, right?" Percy asked the room, surprise still lining his face.
"It does seem that Teddy Lupin is no longer the only baby in the family," Snape remarked as if it were old news from where he'd settled back in his armchair, unapologetically taking the only chair in the room.
"Well…for a few months anyway, it's still a while before it hatches," Harry smiled at Percy. "Er, so…next summer, you may be changing a few nappies if you stay with me…you ok with that? I'd love for you to stay, but there will be a baby."
The werewolf nodded slowly. "Merlin…I was never going to guess an egg was in the bag…er, yeah though. If you'll still have me, I would like to stay around next summer. Tonks asked if I would get to know Teddy some since I'm a werewolf and all, so I'm sure I'll get some practice with the nappies," he said amazed. "Wait…who's the mum? Why isn't she here?"
"No mum, just me," Harry said for what felt like the thousandth time. "Please don't ask what it was like giving birth…I don't want to talk about it," he added with a glare to Ron who just shrugged.
"It's a valid question," he protested with a huff. "You don't hear about any blokes giving birth…raises a few questions, you know."
"Ron, even women don't want to talk about it sometimes," Hermione chided him. "Not everyone wants to talk about their every bodily function like you do."
"Percy," Snape cut in, not caring to be part of the conversation. "Might I bother you to accompany me to the tower and see if we can help determine what happened? My eyesight and hearing are better than yours, but I could use your sense of smell. There must be some clue as to the attacker left behind."
"With pleasure," Percy gave the vampire a very wolfy and quite terrifying grin.
"You tell me whatever you find," Harry called after them as they walked to the door. "Don't make me have to keep you out of Azkaban again. I'm like a couple months from getting you an Order of Merlin, and whoever did this is mine!"
"Not if Kreacher gets to them first," Snape flashed him a smirk of fangs before closing the door behind them.
"I'm going to marry that man if he'll let me," Harry remarked with a glowing flash of green eyes in all seriousness once he was sure they were out of vampire hearing range.
"Oi!" He protested at the pinch to the thigh Ron had mercilessly given him. "What was that for?!"
"Just making sure you weren't loopy on potions," his friend explained unrepentantly. "Merlin, I think I liked you better when you didn't care a knut for romance," he said, but was clearly not serious about it.
"You know…you should probably ask him if he even likes blokes before planning the wedding," Hermione chuckled and took Snape's chair.
"Eh…I'm sure we'll figure it out regardless," Harry just smirked at her with a wink. "So, my body is insisting that I'm stuck in this bed for now. You both want to stay for dinner? I'm sure Kreacher will bring us something? It'd be nice if I could shuffle out to the table…"
"No, you will be staying right there," Hermione glared at him. "We'll get you some food and get notes from all your classes tomorrow. You fell almost 39 meters and died!"
"Yeah, mate, take a day or two. Milk it for a week if you want," Ron squeezed his foot in support, a sad look in his eyes. "Merlin knows you deserve a break after that."
"I'm fine," he huffed, but thought he might like to stay in for a day instead of attempting the stairs in the castle. "I'll take a day, but I don't want to get behind. I already have to catch up with Arithmancy, and Snape assigns a lot of homework in both tutoring and in Potions."
"Let me see what you are working on, and I'll help," Hermione pulled his bookbag up off the floor. "Ron, why don't you go figure out how to make us some tea in Snape's kitchen."
"Thank Merlin," Ron stood and sighed. "I did not want to have to listen to Arithmancy!"
"Grab the biscuits from the cupboard by the sink!" Harry called after him.
"Too many classes have met here recently," Percy frowned with a wrinkle of his nose as he wandered around the Astronomy Tower. Fawkes gave a chirp from where he was perched that sounded like agreement.
"You can't isolate any of the smells?" Snape asked as he closely studied the window Harry must have fallen from.
"I can pick up some individual students, but I wouldn't be able to tell you if they were here last night or this morning," he huffed and went to look under the chairs to see if anything had been left behind. "The Astronomy Professor also has a very strong scent being a part-veela. Her smell overlays everything."
Snape looked up with a frown. "Huh…I didn't catch she is part-veela. I wasn't really looking for it though either…"
"How did you miss that?" Percy gave him a smirk and a chuckle. Fawkes also gave a chirpy chuckle at that too. "Half the occupants of the castle have been drooling over her."
"She's not my type, clearly," the vampire rolled his eyes. "I would hate to find that you have retained any prejudice, but I will tell you plainly that I am gay…though if Draco is correct that male veela do exist, that probably explains why I found Lucius so appealing when his personality clearly was lacking."
"Merlin, I don't think I have the capacity to hold onto any prejudice after what I went through," the werewolf let out a sigh. Frankly, with the looks he'd clocked between Snape and Harry over the summer, this was the farthest thing from news in his opinion. "Did you say that male veela exist though? I've never heard of that…and Draco Malfoy might be one? He does have a very strong musky scent…"
Fawkes flashed out suddenly, causing both men to jump. "Salazar! I hate when he does that!" Snape sneered at where the bird had been moments before. "He clearly enjoys messing with us."
"You're in good company then," Percy smirked at the man before sitting in one of the chairs and propping his feet up on the parapet. "Have you seen anything I'm missing? I don't think there is anything leading to who might have done this to Harry."
"No, I am not," Snape disappointedly leaned against the stone wall.
"So…shall we discuss the basilisk in the room…or maybe the egg. What surprised you more?" Percy gave him a wide grin. "I already knew what Harry was, but the egg, I'd never have guessed that!"
"It both explains so much and is frustratingly confusing," the vampire grimaced, hating not knowing something and to have been so far off in his guesses. "As a creature, his push for creature rights makes a lot more sense, and the egg explains the oddities from this past summer, especially the bag. Merlin! How does one even process having a child and becoming a creature all at once though?! I did not handle becoming a vampire well at all, and I didn't suddenly become pregnant!"
"Hmm," Percy nodded in understanding. "The first morning I woke up after a full moon with rabbit fur in my teeth I threw up like half a dozen times."
"I got so drunk that Regulus had to bail me out of a muggle drunk tank," Snape grimaced at the memory. "Seeing a pureblood member of the Black family trying to deal with muggle policemen was quite a sight though. I think they almost threw him in there with me."
"You do realize that my brother and Hermione will have taken up residence in your chambers for the evening, right?" Percy stood with a smirk.
Snape sneered, knowing it was inevitable but hating it nonetheless. "I'll try to leave some blood in your brother's body when I inevitably bite him."
"It's all I ask," Percy chuckled as they made their way back to where Snape's rooms had been invaded.
"Are we just ignoring them then?" Draco Malfoy raised an eyebrow over his teacup in practiced nonchalance at the Golden Trio sitting on the floor by the fire doing homework and occasionally offering what looked to be small rodents to an ashwinder that was inexplicably in his godfather's fire.
"I find that's the best approach. If you speak to the Gryffindors, they take that as encouragement," Draco's godfather drawled, pouring himself another cup of tea.
He frowned and stole another biscuit from the plate Potter's elf had set in front of them. "And they are in here instead of the eighth-year common room or the History professor's rooms, why?"
"Someone's trying to kill me again," Harry leaned back from where he had been cooing in Parseltongue at the snake to give him a wide smirk. "My back is acting up a bit from the last attempt and stairs are a small nuisance…that and your godfather insists I'm not allowed to leave the rooms for another day," he added with a pout to the man sipping his tea and glaring at the trio.
Granger gave the boy savior a light smack to the back of the head. "He's right, listen to Snape and your healer."
"Yeah, mate, it's only been a couple days," Weasley rolled his eyes and inexplicably gave a long-suffering look to Draco's godfather clearly communicating that he pitied the man having to deal with Potter.
"Hey, Draco, how's Teddy? I miss him so much," Potter turned pleading eyes on him and Draco groaned. He'd encouraged the Gryffindors.
"Told you," Snape raised an eyebrow and snagged another biscuit himself.
"He threw up on my good cashmere jumper," Draco answered with a sneer. "Now, will you explain either the murder attempt or the snake?"
"Do you know if it was colic or a gas bubble?" Snape cut in to ask, thoughtfulness on his face. "I have a colic potion that will help if that is the case. I tested it and it will be perfectly safe for half-werewolves."
"How the hell would I know that?" Draco looked at his godfather like he'd spouted a second head.
"Please ask Tonks, Draco…" Potter now turned his too green eyes on him and it was extremely disconcerting, like a predator was staring him down. "Thank you, Snape! That's wonderful of you," the smiled over at the potions master.
"Of course," the man waved him off, not seeming affected by the teen's eyes at all.
"You are all very strange," Draco grumbled and poured himself more tea. Things were much better and less painful after the war, but he also found himself confused a lot more than before. He didn't recognize his new world…it wasn't bad just not what he was used to.
"Draco, I should have your potion finished by next weekend," Snape informed him so nonchalantly that it took Draco a minute to realize what potion he was talking about…the one to test if he was a veela or not.
"You know…Snape was telling me the other day that your magical inheritance can fight with your creature inheritance, and it's possible that one will push out the other one…soooo, you know, you could be full-veela instead of part-veela if that happened," Potter informed him with a wicked grin.
"That is highly unlikely with an inheritance such as a veela one. That is more for fae and those who have more than one creature inheritance," Snape tried to soothe him, but now Draco was panicking once more.
"But…I don't have wings or anything!" He protested in shock.
"Yeah, but we don't actually know what male-veelas look like," Granger looked at him over the Arithmancy book she was flipping through.
"I hate you all," Draco sneered at the now giggling trio. He knew they were just messing with him…but they weren't actually wrong…and his magic had been a bit off since his seventeenth birthday, but he'd assumed that was because of the Dark Lord living in his house, the war, and the aftermath.
"I find that tends to be the common sentiment when Gryffindors invade your rooms. More tea?" Severus drawled as he reached for the pot.
"Any chance you have firewhiskey instead," Draco sighed and tried to steadfastly ignore the Gryffindors once more…until he realized they still hadn't explained the murder attempt or the snake. "Bloody hell…they sucked me in Uncle Sev!"
"And that would be the next sentiment expressed," the vampire annoyingly just nodded. "The snake's name is Saanp…" he began, explaining what the trio seemed unwilling to do.
Harry stood outside of the Great Hall flanked on either side by Ron and Hermione. Snape had already gone in and they were all instructed to keep an eye out to see who was suspiciously surprised at Harry's continued existence. "I swear…if anyone even sneezes in Little Bit's direction…"
"No murdering students," Hermione admonished. "At least until we're sure they were the one trying to kill you."
"I bet it was Nott or Parkinson," Ron sneered. "I'll look towards the Slytherin table, Hermione, you take Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and Harry, you focus on Gryffindor and the head table."
"I doubt it would be a Gryffindor, we know them all," Hermione protested.
"I trust no one," Harry darkly responded. "Snape said he'll keep an eye out as well, and I filled in Luna when she stopped by yesterday, so she's also keeping an eye on the Ravens."
"Right…let's do this then," Ron strode forward and opened the doors, all three walking together into the hall.
The conversations stopped, and what sounded like a piece of silverware hit the floor. Everyone turned questioningly to the dramatic entrance. "Anything?" Hermione mumbled.
"Just the same stares I normally get," Harry grumbled, not seeing anyone overly surprised.
"Bloody hell…this was supposed to be easy," Ron remarked, tearing his eyes from the less-than-impressed Slytherins when they all looked annoyed instead of surprised.
"Hopefully Snape or Percy got something," Harry sighed and started walking to where Draco Malfoy was already sitting at the Gryffindor table, this time it looked like Neville had dragged him over. Harry spared a glance to where Nott was seated at the Ravenclaw table, he got an angry sneer, but there didn't seem any notable surprise on the former-Slytherin's face.
He looked up to the head table and shared a glance with his roommate who gave a little disappointed shake of his head before sneering at the woman who was trying to talk to him on his left. Harry rolled his eyes and spared a small glare towards the Astronomy professor, but just sat down beside Neville. "Hey…I miss anything important the past few days?"
"Luna asked me to do Christmas with her and her dad," Neville informed him with a wide grin. "Gran won't like that too much, but I bet she'll come around if Luna joins us for Boxing Day."
"That's wonderful, Nev!" Harry beamed at him before putting some fruit on his plate. "It's only October and you're already discussing Christmas plans. Must be serious."
"The Lovegood girl is not a terrible choice in partner, even if she is a little eccentric," Malfoy remarked, probably the closest he'd ever get to well-wishes. "We talked some when she was held at the manor…"
"She mentioned that," Neville gave him a little smile; it was clearly the reason he was being nice to the former Death Eater. "Anyway, you all plan anything yet?"
"It's October! Let me just get through the curse of Halloween and we'll go from there," Harry grumbled. "Merlin, I haven't gotten used to needing to plan for farther out than a month or so."
"What catastrophe do you think we'll have this year, Harry?" Parvati Patel leaned around Ginny to ask him, a saccharine smile on her face.
"Least it's not a full moon," Ginny grumbled with an eye roll. "Guess we could still have a rogue vampire attack though."
"I'm sorry George dropped you on your head as a baby," Ron remarked dryly to his sister. "I told him that it'd have lasting consequences."
"Bugger off," she made a rude hand gesture at her brother.
"Merlin, I should have joined the Slytherins," Harry groaned in annoyance.
Up Next: Visit from Andromeda...
