Straight and Narrow

by em.mor

AU. The Dursleys were a little more persistent and a little more brutal in their attempts to squash the magic out of Harry. Now, Harry has a secret, and it isn't a good one. But secrets have a way of being found out, and this one will definitely change the Wizarding World. For better or for worse. TW

5. The Tutor

Sorry for the long long wait! Hope this long chapter makes up for it!

---

Chapter Five: The Tutor

"Potter."

Harry looked over sharply, dropping his chicken leg in surprise as he stared up at the person standing beside him. Draco scowled down at him, his arms crossed and looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Um, why are you here?" Harry asked, wincing when he realized how bad that sounded. "Not that-I mean, you can be here if you want, I just-" He ran a hand through his hair, shrugging- "Didn't think you'd want to?" Draco frowned, looking away.

"Yeah, well," He said, shrugging too. He huffed, turning back to glare at Harry. "Father said this feud was ridiculous and useless. I'm here to propose a truce." Draco held out his hand to shake and Harry pursed his lips, pausing to consider the other boy's offer.

"So…you're not going to be rude to me anymore?" Harry asked slowly and Draco nodded. "What about Hermione and Ron?" Draco huffed in annoyance, wiggling his fingers.

"Are you taking the deal or not, Potter?" He snapped and Harry, aware that he wasn't going to get anything better than this offer, nodded.

"Sure," He said. He inhaled sharply, forcing the darkness back as it hissed in protest and took the blonde-haired boy's hand to shake, letting go as soon as possible. Draco, though he was obviously trying to hide it, looked relieved, the corners of his mouth lifting up slightly into a trace of a smile.

"Good. See you later." He spun on his heel, stalking away in an obvious attempt at mimicking Professor Snape's menacing stride, his robes swishing around him. It did not work. Draco was as threatening as a ferret.

Harry rolled his eyes, turning back to his food and trying his best to ignore the silent gaping from Theodore beside him. But the other boy couldn't resist commenting.

"Did that really just happen?" Theodore asked in awe. "Did I just see you and Draco have an actual civil conversation?" Harry shrugged, biting into a dinner roll to avoid having to answer and hoped that Theodore would drop it soon. Blaise exchanged a quick look with Harry before rolling his eyes at Theodore.

"It's not that surprising, Ted," He said. "We all have to follow Professor Snape's rules, Malfoy included."

Theodore frowned stubbornly. "No, it goes beyond that!" He insisted. "Draco could hardly stand Harry!" Harry, despite not really caring what Draco thought of him, made a noise of protest. "Sorry." Theodore shrugged, not looking too apologetic. Harry let it go. "There's got to be something more going on. Why would he offer a truce now, after it's been almost two weeks of giving you the cold shoulder?" There was a familiar glint in Theodore's eyes and Harry hunkered down, grabbing some more food to stuff into his mouth to avoid any questions as he prepared for whatever Theodore was going to rant about. "I bet his father told him to make the truce because he thinks that Draco will get something out of you, Harry." Like Harry, Blaise prepared as well, bringing out the practiced expression of polite disinterest that he used when the topic bored him, but he couldn't get out of the conversation. Most people got the hint. Theodore was not one of them.

Theodore liked to analyze every situation, talking about subtext and rationalizations to the last detail. Harry indulged him for the most part, but he didn't think that anything involving Draco needed to be discussed more than necessary and Harry had met his Draco quota for the day. Even though he had agreed with Draco, the boy was still quite irritating.

"I don't think it's a big deal," Harry said when there was a break in Theodore's ranting. Theodore paused and his eyes widened in shock.

"Did you not hear what I just said?" He asked, horrified. "It is a big deal, Harry! Don't take this lightly, and don't think that Draco won't try to get something out of this. He will. You need to think the way his father does and the way all those people who're going to try and take advantage of you do. Every alliance or agreement is made to benefit them and their interests. You have to keep that in mind when you interact with the Malfoys and the other purebloods, okay?" And because Theodore had experience with this game that the purebloods liked to play, with their moves and countermoves all planned out to secure the advantage, Harry decided to take his advice to heart.

"I guess you're right," He said.

Theodore sighed, nodding. "Unfortunately." His expression was incredibly sombre, like he was weighed down by the truth of what he had said, and Harry sighed as well.

'Unfortunately' was right. Seemed like that was no different here than at home. Promises meant nothing and words rarely ever held anyone to anything. Harry couldn't believe he had forgotten that. He'd have to make sure that he didn't do it again.

---

He walked around the lake – his favourite spot on the Hogwarts ground besides the Owlery where Hedwig was – and shivered in the cool breeze. Theodore and Blaise had decided to get working on their homework in the library, but Harry needed out after a full day of classes cooped up inside. He needed the air and the sky and the feel of the grass on his feet, his shoes and socks tucked into his bag. He paused underneath the grand elm tree and sat down closer to the edge of the water, letting his legs dip into the lake. The temperature was not warm, and it made his skin tingle, like he had pins and needles, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

Deciding this would be a nice spot to work on his homework, he pulled out his books and parchment, working on his Potions homework for class tomorrow. He should have started it earlier, but Potions bored him, and he couldn't find the motivation to finish it. Fear of Professor Snape, however, at least motivated him enough to finish half of it at this point.

"Heya, Harry," Ron greeted as he came around the tree and Harry jumped, turning to look at him. Ron didn't seem to notice Harry's flinch and grinned, settling down beside him. "What'cha working on?"

Harry held up his textbook. "Potions," He said, making a face, and Ron mirrored his expression.

"Yuck." He turned as Hermione and Neville came around the tree as well. "Mind if we join you?" Harry shook his head and the other two took a seat beside them.

"Potions? I don't know how you do it," Neville said, his voice strained with anxiety. Harry winced sympathetically.

"Barely," He said, sighing. "I don't really get it either."

"Well, give it here, I'll look it over," Hermione said, holding out her hand, and Harry gave her his parchment, smiling gratefully.

"Thanks."

Hermione gave him a soft smile. "Of course, Harry."

He turned back to the others, not having any other work in his bag currently to work on. Ron was doodling little pictures of trees, brooms and snitches around his transfiguration homework and Neville was reading his Herbology textbook, a soft smile on his face. Harry watched the Gryffindor, the sense of confidence and ease he gave off when he was studying something he enjoyed drawing Harry in, making it hard for him to turn away.

"I like seeing you like this," He said, and Neville looked up at him, blushing.

"What?" He asked, sounding a bit flustered, and Harry smiled softly.

"I like seeing you happy doing a subject you enjoy," He elaborated, and Neville smiled, his ears reddening. Harry didn't want to embarrass the boy anymore, so he changed the subject. "Maybe you can help me with Herbology? I've been talking to the Rosy Boa Vines in the greenhouse, and I'm having trouble figuring out how to help them. They don't like the fertilizer." Neville was staring at him in shock, eyes wide, and Harry winced when he realized his slip-up. "Sorry, I didn't mean-forget I said anything, please?" Neville didn't respond, still staring at him and Harry felt his anxiety rise, their papers fluttering in the subsequent breeze.

"You can speak Parseltongue?" Neville asked quietly. Harry opened his mouth, but no sounds came out, his anxiety and fear too strong for him to even think of how to respond. Neville was watching him as he sat there, silent, and Harry wilted, looking down at his hands.

"Yes," He said and he blinked back the tears he could feel creeping up. Neville didn't say anything for a few seconds and Harry glanced over at him nervously. "I'm not evil. Even if I do speak Parseltongue." Neville looked up and Harry paused at the look of pity in the other boy's eyes. He was getting used to the fact that most of the wizarding world didn't have the same contempt and dislike for him as the Dursleys did, but sometimes it still shocked and surprised Harry that people could actually care about him.

"I know, Harry."

Harry exhaled slowly before nodding. "Okay." He couldn't look at Neville, reaching out to shuffle his parchment. He could feel Neville watching, as if waiting for something. Harry didn't know what and he swallowed thickly before nodding again. "Okay, well, thanks, Nev."

Neville nodded, eyeing him carefully before turning back to his schoolwork. Harry tried to focus on his work, but the anxiety was making his hands tremble. He flexed his fingers before putting down his quill gently, closing his eyes instead. The waves from the lake lapping up against the shore and the sounds of the birds around them made Harry drift off again.

"Guys, c'mon, it's almost dinner!" Hermione's voice broke him out of his daze and Harry sat up groggily.

"Huh?" He yawned but Hermione didn't respond, hastily packing her bags and getting to her feet. "What's the matter, Hermione?"

Hermione ran a frazzled hand through her hair. "I'm supposed to meet Professor McGonagall about extra-credit assignments after dinner, so I want to get there early so I can eat and get over to her office."

Ron furrowed his eyebrows. "Extra credit?" He asked incredulously. "With the way you're doing assignments, you're kind of already doing extra credit." He smirked, and Hermione sent him a glare.

"It's good to expand your horizons, Ronald." She sniffed, flipping her hair behind her shoulder as she picked up her bag. Ron raised an eyebrow.

"What's this really about, 'Mione?" He asked and Hermione softened, shrugging.

"Malfoy made a rude comment about-" She coughed, clearing her throat- "well, you know Malfoy." It looked like there were tears in her eyes, and Harry frowned, unsure of how to respond if she did end up crying. But Hermione quickly blinked them away and Harry wondered if he really did see tears in the first place with how quickly she regained composure. "I need to do well in my classes. If I don't, everyone will-" She broke off, shaking her head.

"You want to prove yourself," Neville said quietly, and Hermione glanced over at him. They stared at each other silently and Harry glanced at Ron, confused. The redhead only shrugged.

Hermione broke the gaze, nodding as she looked down at her hands. "Yeah." They were silent again, the air heavy around them, and Harry hunched his shoulders, uncomfortable.

"Well, okay then," Ron said, shrugging. Hermione nodded, still sullen, and Ron looked at her quizzically before slowing down and pulling Harry's sleeve, making him stop. Harry stiffened but the darkness remained calm, at ease with the redhead at this point. "I need to speak with you." Harry froze, his anxiety spiking, unsure if he and Hermione had heard his and Neville's conversation. But the redhead seemed oblivious. "Hermione's birthday's in a week. My mum is sending some sweets to me so I can give her something. Do you want her to make something for you to give to Hermione?" Ron was whispering, leaning closer to Harry so Hermione wouldn't hear. Harry slowed to a stop, eyes darting between the two of them.

"I've never been-what would I get her?" He asked, confused. The only person he'd ever celebrated a birthday with – and that was barely a celebration on Harry's part – was Dudley, who got millions of presents in just one day and Harry didn't know if he would know what to get Hermione if he was supposed to get millions. What did a normal person, who wasn't a spoiled brat like Dudley, do on their birthday?

Ron paused, tilting his head. "Well, you can get her some sweets. But mum can make her something, like cake, or tarts, and she'll send it to me, and then you can give it to Hermione for her birthday."

Harry fidgeted anxiously. "But it wouldn't be from me, it'd be from your mum," He fretted. "Isn't that, I don't know, wrong?" Ron shrugged, seeming unbothered.

"Hermione won't know."

Harry chewed his lip, unsure about the etiquette of birthdays and gift giving. He'd been so overwhelmed and shocked with simply having friends, he didn't think about any of the extra stuff that came along with it.

"You think it'd be okay?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, mate. I think she'll love that you got her something."

Harry nodded stiffly, looking down at his hands. "Okay. If you're sure." He eyed Ron hesitantly, who grinned, clapping Harry on the shoulder. Harry managed not to wince.

"I am!" Ron grabbed Harry's hand, pulling him forward as he ran. "Now c'mon, I don't want to be late for dinner!" Harry laughed lightly, slipping out of the other boy's grip deftly and running ahead.

"Race you." He called over his shoulder.

"Hey! No fair, you get a head start!"

Harry only laughed and ran faster.

---

He turned, grinning smugly at Ron as the red head huffed up the stairs. "I win," He said, and Ron sent him a teasing glare.

"Cheater," He grumbled, and Harry giggled before pushing the door open. "We need a rematch. A fair rematch. One where you don't have like, 100 steps ahead of me." Harry raised an eyebrow but nodded indulgently, although he thought Ron was exaggerating a bit. "Where'd Hermione and Neville get off to?" Harry shrugged. "Oh well. I bet they're at dinner."

Harry opened his mouth to respond but before he could say anything, a hand grabbed his shoulder, pulling him to a stop. He immediately stiffened, his heart jumping in fear, and the darkness jolted sideways.

"Mr. Potter," Professor Snape said. Harry glanced up at the man, trying to pull away from the man's grip as subtly as he could. If his professor noticed, he didn't comment. "Come to my office after dinner." Harry couldn't take it any longer and he ducked away from the man before nodding.

"Yes sir," He said softly, a hand wrapped around his stomach, which was now throbbing and sore. Professor Snape raised an eyebrow at him, but again, didn't comment.

"Bring your schoolwork," He said before striding away with a grand swish of his robes.

"What do you think that was about?" Ron whispered, watching Professor Snape carefully to make sure that the man couldn't hear them. Harry shrugged, chewing his lip nervously. "You didn't get another detention, did you?" Harry shook his head.

"No," He said and then winced when his fingers, which were massaging his side, hit a sore spot. He looked down, frowning, but continued his massage. He could feel Ron studying him and Harry knew he was curious about what Harry was doing but Harry didn't provide an explanation. "I think I'd remember." He smirked, and Ron rolled his eyes, grinning.

"Yeah, I'd hope so," He agreed and Harry grinned. Ron turned pensive. "But if it's not that, then what is it?" Harry remained silent, wondering the same thing.

---

Harry said goodbye to Ron, Hermione and Neville and joined his friends at the Slytherin table. He slipped in beside Theodore and ignored the look the boy shared with Blaise.

"Are you alright?" Blaise asked and Harry glanced up from staring at his hands. He nodded stiffly. "You just, I don't know, look nervous or something." Blaise was watching him carefully, like he was afraid that Harry would snap at him. Harry paused, tilting his head.

"I mean, maybe a little," Harry admitted, shrugging. "Professor Snape wants me to go to his office after dinner." He shrugged again, raising an eyebrow at Theodore's shocked face.

"Uh oh," Theodore said, half concerned, half teasing. Harry rolled his eyes. Theodore snickered. "What'd you do now?" Blaise grinned too and Harry scowled.

"What makes you think I did anything?"

Theodore exchanged another look with Blaise and the two of them broke into laughter. Harry sat there, crossing his arms as the two of them laughed at his expense, not too sure if he was enjoying this experience.

"Harry, how many detentions did you get in just the first week of classes?" Theodore smirked, and Harry sighed, rolling his eyes again.

"I guess you have a point."

---

Harry knocked hesitantly on Professor Snape's door, unsure about whether he was allowed to just walk in. He heard a faint 'come in', so Harry opened the door slowly, peeking his head in. Professor Snape was glaring at him, his eyebrow raised, and Harry winced ashamedly, shuffling into the room quietly. Professor Snape tilted his chin towards the chair in front of his desk and Harry sat down, still too embarrassed to make eye contact.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't know if I was supposed to just walk in or not," Harry said quietly, and Professor Snape made a noise that was a mix between a laugh and a scoff. Harry sunk deeper into his chair, even more embarrassed than before.

"No need to dwell on it, Mr. Potter," Professor Snape said rather neutrally, and Harry looked up, surprised. If Professor Snape noticed his shock, he didn't comment. "Do you know why you're here?"

The nerves were back again almost instantly, and Harry shook his head quietly. Professor Snape paused, as if waiting for Harry to say something, but Harry didn't dare to, not when he didn't know what he was in trouble for. Uncle Vernon always liked to lay traps like this for Harry, just waiting for Harry to say or do something that he could pounce on and brandish like a weapon, the perfect excuse for whatever he had planned. Harry got the feeling that Professor Snape did that too and he wasn't keen on seeing how the man would weaponize his words. Professor Snape leaned forward, steepling his hands together. Harry focused his gaze onto the desk in front of him.

"You're not here because you're in trouble, Mr. Potter," Professor Snape stated, his voice again devoid of the typical anger or hostility. Harry froze instantly, looking up at the man curiously.

"I'm not?" He asked quietly, his voice small and unsure. Harry winced, not liking how pathetic he sounded, but he couldn't help it. This was not what he had expected, and he was just waiting for it to be yanked out from under him so that he was back to the unbalanced tightrope walk that he was used to.

The corners of Professor Snape's mouth twitched, almost like he was about to smile. Or a shadow of a smile, not really the real thing but the closest approximation that a man who was used to frowning and scowling 24/7 could do.

"No, Mr. Potter." Professor Snape opened a drawer and brought out a blank piece of parchment and some ink. "I wanted to discuss your penmanship." Harry frowned, confused.

"My penmanship?"

Professor Snape nodded. "It has been brought to my attention by my colleagues – and I have noticed as well – that your writing is not quite up-to-par." Harry flushed, ducking his head in shame. "Do not fret, Mr. Potter. Almost all students who've grown up in muggle families struggle with this as well." Harry relaxed slightly, comforted by the fact that he wasn't the only freak. But it still didn't really remove all of the sting. He nodded.

"Okay," He said quietly, running a finger along the armrest of the chair he was sitting in. He narrowed his eyes, concentrating on the grain of the wood, tracing the lines that the different colours made.

"Potter, pay attention," Professor Snape interrupted his thoughts and Harry jumped, looking up at the man.

Professor Snape was back to his familiar scowl and Harry relaxed, more comfortable around the man's anger and its familiarity than his neutrality and its instability. Harry could depend on the anger, could predict it. Professor Snape's neutrality, or even worse, his kindness, was not something Harry could depend on. It was as fleeting and insubstantial as snow in October, there and gone in seconds. He could not balance on that; he would tip from side to side until one side got too heavy and he went crashing down.

Harry nodded swiftly and he wondered for a second if he was a little too enthusiastic. But he didn't dwell on that, not really caring if he seemed like a keener. "Yes, sir," He said and Professor Snape raised an eyebrow, his expression turning thoughtful.

"You will come to my office every Thursday evening to work on your penmanship," He said. "I will also help with your homework if you have any." Harry nodded again. "Today, we will be working on how to grip the quill and how much ink to use to prevent it from running."

Harry nodded again, reaching into his bag to pull out his quill. Just as he was about to place it down on the desk, he paused. "Professor, why are you helping me?" He kept his gaze glued to the desk in front of him, his body stiff with fear and anxiety as he waited for the man's answer. He didn't know how the man would react to his questions, but he had been more pleasant than usual, so Harry thought he was safe.

"It reflects badly on Slytherin House when one of their members isn't performing as well as they should be," Professor Snape said stiffly, and Harry felt his cheeks heat up with embarrassment. He nodded, looking up at the man. Surprisingly, his professor wasn't angry, looking at him with a rather blank expression instead.

Harry, though it surprised him, didn't dwell on it. "Okay," He said quietly. "Thank you for your help." Professor Snape's jaw clicked, his expression flickering through a number of emotions that Harry couldn't identify and then he nodded.

"Alright, Mr. Potter. Show me how you usually hold the quill," He said. Harry picked up said item carefully, a bit nervous with Professor Snape watching so closely. He held it in his fist and Professor Snape sighed. "No wonder you're writing is so illegible." Harry winced, embarrassed again, but Professor Snape neither apologized nor offered any constructive criticism. Harry tried not to care too much, aware that that wasn't really in Professor Snape's nature. "Look. This is how you hold it." Professor Snape demonstrated and Harry tried to copy him, but it was hard to see how exactly. Professor Snape sighed in frustration and reached out to adjust Harry's grip.

"Wait!" Harry squeaked, his back stiffening as the darkness roared up inside of him in fury, and he jerked his hand away from his professor before the man could touch him. Professor Snape instantly froze, his own hand hovering a few centimetres shy of Harry's.

He was watching Harry critically, his brows furrowed, and mouth turned downward into a frown. Harry ducked his head, gritting his teeth and remaining silent. He could see the question in the professor's eyes, indignant and angry, willing Harry to speak. But Harry was stubborn and used to staying silent. The man was not going to get anything out of him.

"Mr. Potter. How am I going to show you how to hold the quill if you won't let me adjust your grip?" Professor Snape snapped. Harry remained silent. That wasn't his problem. They were silent for another minute before Professor Snape sighed heavily. Harry winced, feeling guilty, but the darkness was filled with righteous anger, and it was stomping around inside of him, making its wrath known. "Look. Don't grip the quill so hard. Let it rest between your thumb and forefinger." Professor Snape modelled his instructions and Harry nodded slowly, picking up the quill and adjusting his grip to match Professor Snape's instructions. It took a few tries, but he managed to get it. "Good. Now grip the area above the point with your thumb and forefinger. Don't squeeze too hard or you'll crack it, and then it's not usable." Harry nodded, copying the professor again.

"This good?" He asked, and Professor Snape nodded. He was studying Harry again, his expression pensive, like he was trying to figure something out.

"Correct, Mr. Potter," He said before placing the ink bottle between them. "Now, you don't want to drown your quill in ink. Dip it, don't scoop the ink like a spoon. You'll have to dip it again quite often, but that's better than getting too much ink at once." Harry nodded, dipping his quill in the ink after Professor Snape. "Now I want you to write out the alphabet. Capitols, and then lowercase beside it." Harry nodded again, focusing on his parchment as he carefully drew out each letter. Once he was done, he handed it over to Professor Snape, who looked it over.

"Is it okay?" Harry asked hesitantly after a few seconds of the man looking over his work. Professor Snape nodded.

"It's not terrible. Leagues better than it was before. With this progress, I don't doubt that you will improve rather quickly," He said, and Harry paused, shocked at the man's comment. He was expecting something abrasive and cruel, or maybe just dismissive, but he was certainly not expecting something constructive.

Harry smiled, taking his parchment back and staring down at it in wonder. He had only ever had one teacher say nice things about his work, but this was before his uncle punished him for doing better than Dudley and before all his teachers believed the vitriol that the Dursleys spread about him. He was glad to be at Hogwarts where the Dursley's hateful lies couldn't reach.

"Thank you, Professor," He said almost reverently. Again, a part of Harry wondered if he should dial back a bit on the schmaltziness, but that was a very small part, and Harry easily pushed those concerns away. He didn't care. This was important – life-changing – however small it was, because it had come from a man that Harry thought hated him simply because Harry was Harry. But maybe that wasn't completely true anymore and that was important to Harry because no one who hated him had ever changed their minds about hating him. "Thank you, thank you!" Harry looked up, a wide smile on his face. Professor Snape cleared his throat, seeming a little flustered.

"No need to overreact, Potter," He grumbled, though not nearly as callously as he usually would. "It is just one worksheet." Harry smiled softly and looked back down at his paper.

"Yeah, I know," He said quietly, still staring down at the little letters on his parchment, the ones that he wrote, and that Professor Snape praised. He didn't know what he was feeling but it was new, and he liked it.

---

"If you want, I can help you with the vines. I have some mice," Neville said quietly, breaking the silence between the two of them as they chopped up their potion's ingredients the next day. Harry paused in his squashing of a lizard eye and looked up in surprise.

"Really? You want to help me?" He asked, hesitant, still unsure of the other boy's reaction to his Parseltongue ability. "You're really okay, with, well you know?" Harry gestured weakly and Neville nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like you can help it," Neville stated, firmer in his conviction with this statement than anything else that Harry had seen or heard. He smiled, nodded quickly.

"Thanks," He whispered, his voice hoarse. "That means a lot." Harry tried to quell the emotions that were threatening to burst out of him. They weren't destructive emotions this time, something he wasn't quite used to, but he found that he liked it. Bursting with happy, good, emotions was a lot better than the anger and resentment. He ran a hand along the table, flustered with all the new and overwhelming emotions that he'd felt in the last 24 hours.

"Of course, Harry," Neville said and the two of them returned to their work. Harry focused on slicing the other ingredients, but his smile and good mood remained. And for once, the darkness was silent.

After a few minutes they were ready to start putting their potion together and the process went smoothly, silence from both Professor Snape and Draco. Neville kept glancing around, like he was waiting for everything to unravel, since a peaceful potions lesson was unheard of for Neville. And for Harry, by nature of him being Neville's potions partner. Of course, the peace could only last so long.

"Mr. Longbottom," Professor Snape sneered, appearing beside their table as he grabbed Neville's wrist before he could toss in the mermaid scales, making Neville startle violently. Professor Snape raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Are you trying to endanger yourself and everyone else in this classroom?" Neville was frozen in place and Professor Snape scowled. "Because your lack of comprehension skills and basic understanding makes it seem so. I had assumed that even an imbecile such as yourself would be able to follow simple instructions, but it seems like I should have realized that you're a bit more of a simpleton than even I realized."

Harry watched the interaction with furrowed eyebrows, his eyes darting between Professor Snape and Neville in confusion. He didn't understand where this change came from. Professor Snape was almost nice to him during their tutoring session yesterday. He didn't get why he was being so rude to Neville now. Harry didn't think the man hated Neville that much, definitely not more than Harry. Before Harry could say anything, Professor Snape was stalking away from them, and Harry watched him go with a frown before turning to Neville.

"It's alright, Nev," He whispered, and Neville looked over at him, his eyes shining. Harry smiled sympathetically, reaching out to pat Neville's hand gently. "You're not doing bad at all." Neville chewed his lip, eyes darting to Professor Snape nervously.

"Yeah?" He whispered, and Harry nodded.

"Yeah." He picked up the ingredients he had just finished chopping and threw them into the potion. "Here. Why don't you focus on stirring, and I'll put the ingredients into the cauldron?"

Neville glanced one more time at Professor Snape before looking back over at Harry, nodding firmly. "Yeah, okay, I can do that." His back straightened and he took the stir stick.

Harry grinned. "See? Professor Snape is wrong. Let's prove it to him." Neville, though he looked a bit nervous, smiled back, nodding again.

"Okay. Deal."

---

Harry looked around the greenhouse, eyes wide. "Professor Sprout just lets you in here whenever you want?" He asked, studying an ombre orange and red flower that was shaped like a lion and would roar little flames every once in a while. He jumped back before the fire could singe his eyebrows, but he continued to watch it in awe.

"Don't get too close," Neville said, grabbing Harry's sleeve and tugging him away from the fang-toothed vine he was inspecting. Harry nodded quickly and obliged, seeing the wisdom in that idea. "Yeah, she says I have a talent in herbology, and she likes fostering that in students when she sees it."

Harry smiled, glancing over at his friend. "That's good." Neville caught his eye, grinning back shyly, and Harry turned back to look at the new plant in front of him. It had beautiful, spiralling vines that had bioluminescent blue flowers covering it, like the vines had captured fallen stars. Harry reached out slowly, and the vine responded, wrapping around his wrist, and snaking up to his elbow. The vine was gentle, caressing his skin instead of gripping it, like it was saying hello to him.

"Pretty cool, huh? They're called Vibrio Vines." Neville said and Harry nodded, reaching out with another hand to touch the petals of the glowing flowers. It was soft like velvet. "Okay, lets get going to your Boa Vines. They're probably hungry." Harry nodded and the glowing vines retreated, their petals fluttering as they said goodbye. Harry grinned, waving back.

They walked in silence to the Rosy Boa Vines, who were more subdued than last time. Harry instantly felt guilty for not coming earlier when he saw how weak they looked, and he rushed over to them.

"I'm sorry I didn't come earlier, I know you must be starving," He said to them, wincing apologetically. The vines lifted up and turned to face him.

"Hello again, sspeaker," They replied, and Harry smiled grimly, taking the rat that Neville held out to him. Harry tried not to gag, bringing out his wand and levitating the mouse over to the vines. His stomach was not equipped to be handling dead animals right now. "Thank you."

Harry nodded. "You're welcome." He paused, tilting his head. "Why don't you hunt for your own food? I read in a book that usually you creep along the forest floor or along tree branches and catch your food."

The Rosy Boa Vines wriggled, like they were shrugging. "No animalss come in here. Nothing living but plantsss." Harry frowned, not too sure what that meant, and turned to Neville instead.

"Hey, Nev, why don't animals that the Rosy Boa Vines can eat come in here?" He asked and waited for the other boy to respond. The Gryffindor was too busy staring wide eyed at Harry and the vines, his eyes darting between the two in a mix of fear and wonder. Harry winced, realizing that this was the first time the other boy heard him speak Parseltongue, and he waited on bated breath to see what Neville thought of him now that he heard him speak the language.

"Um. Uh, well, uh, Professor Sprout has a ward up to prevent a-animals and bugs that could eat the plants from coming i-in," He stuttered, his eyes still glued to the vines, which were now creeping out towards him. Harry nodded towards the other rats that Neville had hung on a string.

"I think they want the rest," He said, watching the other boy warily. He didn't know whether this would be a lasting thing or if Neville's shock would wear off soon and they could go back to what they were like before he heard Harry talking with snake vines. He didn't even know why the other boy was freaking out. They were just plants; it wasn't like he was talking to actual snakes.

"Oh, uh, yeah, uh sure, they can have them," Neville muttered, still sounding dazed, and he fumbled with the rats distractedly. The vines didn't seem to want to wait, and they hissed, gearing up to lunge.

"Wait! Don't attack him, I'll get them for you," Harry grumbled in annoyance, levitating the rest of the rats to the vines. "You lot are terribly impatient." The vines didn't pay any attention to his reprimand, and he rolled his eyes. "Do you need anything else to eat, or do you think you're okay for now?"

The vines made a purring sound, so Harry took that as a sign that they were satisfied. "Deliciousss. Thank you, young sspeaker." Harry nodded before stepping away from the Rosy Boa Vines and grabbing Neville's sleeve, tugging him along behind him.

"Alright, well, see you later." He waved to the vines, who swayed in response, and he and Neville left the greenhouse. They were silent as they walked back to the castle and Harry glanced nervously at Neville. "So. Are you okay?" Neville glanced over at him, surprised.

"Yeah," He said, "Why do you ask?" Harry paused, running a hand through his hair and shrugging, slightly embarrassed. He couldn't look the other boy in the eyes, so he tilted his head back, watching the night sky instead.

"I don't know, I just-well, it seemed like you were scared of-of me, or something," He said hesitantly, afraid that the other boy would take offense. Surprisingly, Neville's eyes softened, and he shook his head vehemently, reaching out to pat Harry's shoulder gently.

"No, I'm not scared of you," He said assuredly, smiling softly. "You're my friend. I just-well, we always heard how bad speaking Parseltongue was, so I just needed a second to forget that."

Harry studied the boy carefully but couldn't find any hint of a lie on his face, just open honesty and loyalty, and Harry felt his heart swell. He blinked quickly, nodding. "Thank you."

Neville smiled. "Of course." He paused, his expression turning curious. "What did they say?"

Harry shrugged. "Nothing too interesting, just about how hungry they were. They're not great talkers. Not like how you and I talk to each other." Neville paused, nodded contemplatively.

"That would make sense. They're sentient, but very limited, not very smart," He said and Harry nodded. He could see that. It was like talking to a baby snake. Only interested in the here and now and where they were going to find their next meal. Not very good at thinking. Adult snakes were a lot more philosophical than the babies and liked to talk about topics beyond just food and sleep.

"Yeah. Snakes are a lot smarter. Can get boring, actually, talking with them." Harry shrugged dismissively, and Neville's eyebrows raised, curiosity on his face despite his previous apprehension.

"Really?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. They tell really weird jokes though. I don't think you're supposed to understand them if you're not a snake."

Neville laughed nervously. "Snakes sound kind of nice."

Harry grinned. "Yeah. They're not too bad." He paused, studying Neville carefully. "Hagrid invited me to tea during our free period. Do you want to come with me, Teddy, and Ron?"

Neville looked surprised that Harry had asked him and Harry paused, unsure of what the other boy's answer would be, his eyes wide and mouth open in shock. Harry waited for Neville to compose himself. "Yeah, sure!" He said enthusiastically. Maybe a little more enthusiastic than others would be, but Harry only smiled.

"Good." Neville smiled shyly back at him, ducking his head, and Harry tapped his elbow lightly. "C'mon, lets get back to the castle and get Teddy and Ron." Harry hurried up the path, Neville following, and the two of them made their way back to the castle in silence, but Harry paused at the door. "Nev?"

Neville paused as well, glancing at Harry curiously. "Yes?"

Harry fought the urge to back down, taking a deep breath to steady himself before speaking. "You're certain you're okay with me being a Parselmouth?" He shuffled his feet nervously, finding it hard to look the other boy in the eyes, but Neville smiled softly, reaching out to gently touch Harry's hand.

"Yes, I'm certain." He fidgeted nervously as well, and Harry waited anxiously for Neville to continue. "And I'll keep it a secret. For you. I won't tell anyone, n-not until you're ready."

The instant relief was like the trigger that released the bubble of scared, overwhelming emotions inside of Harry, and he relaxed, smiling. "Thank you, Neville. You're a good friend."

Neville looked shocked at this comment. "Oh, uh, thanks, Harry." He sounded astounded, like he hadn't heard anyone tell him that before. Harry watched the boy carefully as sympathy seared through him. Harry knew what it was like to not have anyone, no one to play with or have your back. Even though Neville didn't say anything, Harry could see that Neville had been through that too. He could see it in the way that Neville's eyes widened with hope and caution, like he wanted to believe Harry but also wanted to protect himself from the hurt if it turned out to be a lie. Harry smiled knowingly and Neville relaxed, grinning back.

"C'mon," Harry said, opening the door, and the two of them walked into the library where Ron and Theodore were sitting together, studying. They weren't talking to each other, both focused on what they were doing, but the atmosphere around them was relaxed and Harry grinned.

Ron was reading a book titled The Complete Book of Wizard Chess Strategies, a quill in hand as he took notes on some parchment that looked like it used to be the beginnings of a transfiguration essay but had now been repurposed. Theodore was leaning his chair back, so it was balancing on two legs, his legs propped up on the table and feet dangling down as he read a book called The Disappearing Snidget: And Other True Tales of Folly, Friendship, and the History of the World on the Quidditch Pitch. Harry had to tilt his head to read that title, and he furrowed his eyebrows, confused. He still didn't understand the point of Quidditch.

"Hey guys," He greeted and Ron and Theodore both looked up at him.

"Hey, Harry," Ron said, flashing him a brief smile before turning back to his book. Theodore only gave him a small wave and continued reading.

"We're going to Hagrid's, remember?" He interrupted again. Ron grunted in acknowledgement and Theodore shrugged, still not look over. Harry sighed, rolling his eyes, and he reached over, removing both books from their hands. Ron quickly protested and Theodore sent him a glare. Harry sent him a pleading look.

"Ugh, fine," Theodore grumbled after a few seconds, shutting the book, and turning to put it in his bag. Ron watched, pouting, and Harry turned his earnest gaze on the Gryffindor. Ron stubbornly resisted for a few seconds before closing his book as well, sighing.

"Alright fine," He said, shrugging. "I like Hagrid anyways." He slipped his book into his bag and came to stand near Harry. Theodore was still putting his things away, purposely slow.

"You're like a snail, Teddy," Harry said cheerily, and Theodore turned to glare at him. Harry only grinned back teasingly, and Theodore rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," He smirked, finishing putting his things away and standing up in one fluid motion. "Let's go, Chosen One." Harry rolled his eyes but ignored the other boy.

The four of them walked out of the castle to Hagrid's hut, Ron and Neville speaking a few times to talk about this or that, and Theodore mentioning a few interesting facts he knew about this or that, but for the most part, the walk was silent.

"Hey, Harry," Theodore started, and Harry glanced over, hesitant about what he was about to ask with the way he was speaking. He nodded so Theodore continued. "I still don't understand. Why did your family not like magic? And how did that end up with Hagrid having to come and get you?" Harry was silent, the fear choking him, making the darkness rumble angrily in his chest. He wiggled his fingers, trying to ease some of the tension, and he could feel the darkness slip up around his throat.

"Harry? Are you alright?" Ron asked quietly and Harry swallowed thickly, nodding.

"Yeah," He said hoarsely and paused to clear his throat. The others waited solemnly for him to continue, and he had to look away, shivering anxiously. "Um, sorry, I just-" He paused, gritting his teeth- "Sorry. Yeah, so, he had to come get me because my uncle was scared of the birds and didn't want anyone to find me, so he made all of us move to this tiny island in the middle of the ocean. Hagrid found us there." The others were silent, staring at him in shock, and Harry glanced away, staring up at the clouds above him. They weren't grey but they were dark, and Harry wouldn't be surprised if it rained later tonight or early tomorrow morning.

"He did all that? Just because he didn't want you to go to Hogwarts?" Neville asked, appalled but also sounding almost sad. Harry frowned, glancing over at the other boy, confused.

"I guess," He said slowly, pursing his lips. "I don't know. He was scared."

Ron shook his head. "Still seems strange, don't you think? If he knew about magic? Surely, he'd know that it isn't that scary, not enough to run away to an island," He protested, slightly disgusted. Harry gave a frazzled shrug, not wanting to say anymore, too scared that he would say too much and then they'd figure everything out. Uncle Vernon would not be happy about that because if his friends figured out, then they would definitely tell the professors, and then Uncle Vernon would know that he snitched. And last time Uncle Vernon thought he snitched-well, nothing good came out of it.

Luckily, Harry was saved from answering by their arrival at Hagrid's again and he sighed softly in relief. He reached out, knocking on the door, and he heard Fang barking from inside. He grinned, excited to see the dog.

"Come in!" Hagrid called, and Harry opened the door, stepping inside. Hagrid turned, pulling out a tray of rock cakes, a pink apron with ruffles on and some red oven mitts. They all sat down, Ron eyeing the rock cakes uneasily, and Hagrid put the kettle on before joining them.

"How're you doing, Hagrid?" Harry asked, happy to be seeing his friend again. Hagrid smiled.

"Quite well, thanks fer askin'!" He said jovially. Harry smiled. "How yer classes goin'?" Harry glanced at his friends, and Theodore nodded.

"They're going well," He said. "I'm enjoying Transfiguration."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, and I like Charms!" He gestured towards Neville. "Nev here's amazing at Herbology, right Nev?" Neville looked a little flustered with the attention being on him and Harry gave him a reassuring smile. Ron was watching him patiently and Neville glanced at the two of them before nodding.

"I'm not too bad at it," He said, and Ron snorted, obviously disagreeing that he was just 'not bad' at it. Harry had to agree with Ron. Neville was much more than just 'not bad'.

Hagrid smiled. "Good! I'm glad yeh all got somethin' yer enjoyin'!" He turned to Harry. "What abou' you, Harry, what classes have you enjoyed?"

Harry paused, considering. "I don't know. Charms, Herbology and Transfiguration, I guess," He said, shrugging. Hagrid grinned.

"That's good! Have yeh lot had flyin' lessons yet?" He asked and all four of them shook their heads. "Well, I bet yer lookin' forward to it!" Harry frowned, shrugging his shoulders, but Theodore and Ron burst into excited chatter, eager to talk about flying and by extension, Quidditch. The only person who shared Harry's lack of enthusiasm was Neville, who's eyes were wide with fear.

"I heard that Madame Hooch lets us actually fly during the first lesson!" Theodore said.

Hagrid grinned. "If yer lucky! Depends on how yeh all do." Theodore pursed his lips, considering. "Are yeh lot goin' to try out fer Quidditch next year?" Ron and Theodore both nodded and the question shifted the conversation right over to quidditch, drawing even Neville in. Harry tuned out the chatter, uninterested in the sport, and hopped off his chair, walking around Hagrid's home and looking at the hundreds of little knick-knacks he had.

Harry paused at the coffee table in front of the fireplace, eyes furrowing as he read the title on the Daily Prophet. He glanced quickly at Hagrid to make sure his attention was on the other three and when he was sure that it wasn't on him, he reached down and picked up the paper, skimming the article. His eyes widened as he read, and he quickly put the paper down quickly with trembling hands.

"Alright, yeh four, yeh better get back up to the castle, I'm sure yeh have classes to work on," Hagrid said, ushering them out. Harry flitted back over to the table, Hagrid glancing over at him when he approached with a smile. The man didn't seem to notice what Harry was doing before and he smiled.

"Thanks, Hagrid!" He said and Hagrid grinned.

"O' course!" He said enthusiastically. The five of them made their way over to the door and said their goodbyes. Ron and Theodore continued chatting while they walked back up to the castle, but Harry hung back, eyebrows furrowed as he thought about the article he had read. Vault 713. That was the vault that Hagrid and he had visited, the one that Hagrid took a package out of, something for Dumbledore. Harry frowned, shaking his head.

"You alright, Harry?" Neville asked, sliding up beside him. Harry started slightly, glancing over at the other boy.

"I'm alright," Harry said slowly, shrugging. Neville studied him for a few seconds, his eyes narrowed.

"If you're sure," Neville said slowly, and Harry nodded. "Okay." The two remained silent as they continued up to the castle, Ron and Theodore now many paces ahead.

"C'mon, we should catch up with them," Harry said, breaking into a run. Harry didn't look back to make sure, but he could hear Neville following him, so he continued all the way up the steps to the castle doors, pushing them open. The two of them slipped inside, making their way over to Ron and Theodore, who were waiting for them at the entrance to the Great Hall.

"We gonna head up to the library to do some schoolwork?" Ron asked, looking reluctant even as he asked the question. "'Mione's waiting for us, I think." Theodore nodded, an eager look on his face, and Harry and Ron exchanged looks. If the two of them could get past their difference in blood status, both Theodore and Hermione would realize that they were quite similar.

Harry scuffed the floor with his shoe, pursing his lips. "I guess," He said, equally as reluctant. Theodore looked between the two of them, eyebrow raised.

"Actually, I have a study group with Professor Flitwick and some other students, so I'll see you later," Neville said, stepping away from the others with a wave.

"Bye!" Harry said and the three of them waved goodbye as he left. Then Theodore turned to the two of them, eyebrow raised. Ron and Harry shared a begrudging look, which made Theodore roll his eyes.

"Don't be like that!" He protested. "It'll be interesting. Plus, we have a lot of work to do, if we do it now, we'll have free time on the weekend," He said firmly and Harry and Ron shared another look before the two of them broke into laughter. Theodore sighed. "Yeah, yeah, c'mon you two."

Ron and Harry weren't planning to put up too much more of a fuss anyways, so they followed Theodore up to the library, still giggling quietly, though they made sure to quiet down before they entered the library. Madam Pince had thrown a notebook at their heads a few days ago when Theodore and Hermione's debate got too loud for her liking. Luckily, all of them were able to duck, and Harry caught Dumbledore and her discussing her disciplinary tactics in hushed whispers after the incident. Now she only glared at them, but their group didn't want to risk another projectile flying towards their heads, so they tried to be as quiet as possible.

"Hey guys!" Hermione greeted, her books covering the entire table, and by the look of defiance in her eyes and her flushed cheeks, Harry could tell that she had had to snarl at a lot of people to keep that spot. Luckily, she seemed to have calmed down now and Harry and the others sat down in the available chairs. "Okay, so, I've started on my Potions essay, so if you guys want to start that, I can help if you need it."

Theodore didn't sit down, eyeing her parchment critically, his expression unreadable as he crossed his arms. "I've already finished mine," He said, his tone neutral, but Harry frowned, noticing the undercurrent and understanding what it meant. Theodore was looking down on her again.

Hermione didn't seem to understand what Harry did, but she did know there was something there, and she tilted her head as she watched Theodore, confused. "Um, okay," She said slowly, turning to Ron. "What about you?" Ron sat down, glancing at Theodore and Harry, who was glaring at Theodore.

"Yeah, sure, I need to work on Potions too," The red head said.

"Just a second," Harry blurted out, turning to Theodore. "Can you help me find a book?" Theodore gritted his teeth, meeting Harry's pointed stare and nodded.

"Yeah," He said, his tone clipped, and the two of them walked away from the table. They went to the aisle farthest away from Madam Pince, sitting down on the windowsill there.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Harry finally broke the silence, disappointment colouring his tone. Theodore sent him a baleful look.

"I don't know what you mean," He said bitingly. Harry ducked his head, glancing away and out the window.

"You do. Why do you react that way to her?" He couldn't look at his friend, anxiety too strong. He hadn't confronted Theodore about this before and his fear of losing his friend was almost overwhelming.

"She insulted me."

Harry glanced over at his friend, confused. "She wasn't though. She was just trying to help."

Theodore whipped his head around to glare at Harry. "I don't need help," He snapped, and Harry frowned.

"Yeah, I know that. You can just tell her that," Harry said slowly, confused. He didn't think it was that big of a deal. Sure, Hermione was bossy, but Harry had quickly realized that that was her way of connecting with them. Hermione wasn't very socially adept sometimes and didn't always realize how she was coming off to other people. But it hadn't bugged Harry, because he knew that he also wasn't the most socially adept person either and he would hope that other people would be patient with him. So, he wanted to return the favour and be kind to her. And he had asked her one day why she spoke to others the way she did sometimes, and the two of them had an enlightening conversation.

Theodore's shoulders sagged. "I know," He said quietly. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm not-" He paused, looking like he was trying to find the words- "used to being around muggleborns, I guess, and, well, it's weird, thinking that they might be able to help me with magic." Harry studied his friend carefully before frowning.

"Because of your dad?" He asked hesitantly, unsure of how his question would be taken. Theodore tensed, his jaw and fists clenching tightly.

"Yeah," He admitted quietly, glancing down at his hands. Harry could see the tears glistening in his eyes, but he remained silent, not wanting to embarrass his friend. "And, well, that's just the pureblood culture. At least, the traditional pureblood culture." Harry remained silent, not really able to comment since he had grown up with muggles, practically muggleborn himself.

"But…you know he's wrong now?" Harry asked slowly, and Theodore laughed sardonically.

"Yeah. I mean, Hermione's beating all of us with top marks in almost all the classes," He stated factually. Harry knew that although Theodore's voice was emotionless, the other Slytherin wasn't as blasé as he was pretending to be. "Can't really pretend otherwise."

"That what?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows. Theodore softened, frowning as he shrugged.

"That muggleborns are just as magical as us. That purebloods aren't more worthy of magic just because we were born into it." Theodore, although firm in his convictions, seemed melancholic too, almost bittersweet in a way. They sat in silence for a couple more minutes before Theodore got to his feet. "Well, let's get back to the others."

Harry nodded, getting up and following Theodore back to the table. Ron looked up as the two of them approached, smiling in greeting, and Harry grinned, sitting down beside Ron at the end of the table. Blaise had also joined the group while Harry and Theodore were away.

"Hello, Harry, Teddy," Blaise greeted politely and the two of them waved at the other Slytherin. Theodore sat down beside Hermione, glancing at Harry worriedly. Harry shrugged and Theodore turned to Hermione, sending her a soft smile. Hermione met his eyes and seemed to understand what he was trying to tell her. She smiled back.

"Do you want to exchange essays and review each other's work?" Theodore offered and Hermione smiled, nodding. Theodore relaxed, looking relieved.

"Sure!" She passed over her essay, which was sitting in front of Ron, who protested at it being taken away. Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, get over it, you can't copy all my work!" Ron opened his mouth to protest some more but Hermione turned back to Theodore. "Here." Theodore took the essay carefully before handing his over. Hermione turned to Harry. "How're you doing on Potions, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "Fine," He said, hands clasped in front of him. Theodore glanced over as well; eyebrow raised as he gave the table in front of Harry – which was bare and without any papers on it – a pointed look. Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, Hermione, I'm working on it."

Before they could continue, Draco Malfoy approached their group, a smirk on his face and flanked by his cronies and Pansy. Blaise raised a contemptuous eyebrow. "So much for your truce," He drawled, rolling his eyes. Harry sighed in exasperation.

"What do you want, Draco?" He asked the blonde-haired boy before he could utter a word. Draco turned to him, studying him with a sneer.

"You're hogging the table," He said, sending a vicious glare at Hermione, who only stared back haughtily.

"It's first come, first serve," She sniffed, and Draco's glare deepened.

"Not when you've been here for two hours," He hissed. He jerked his chin towards Madam Pince, who was watching them with a scowl on her face, as if waiting for a reason to kick them out. "Madam Pince has rules, you know. I could report you and she'll gladly kick you out."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "We're not breaking any rules and you know that. You're a pathetic, vindictive boy who just wants to snitch on us and get us in trouble." She raised her eyebrow derisively, crossing her arms. Draco's eyes narrowed with anger, his hands clenching into tight fists.

"You better remember your place, mudblood." He sneered cruelly at Hermione, who's eyes welled with tears, face flushed.

"You're not supposed-" She started but Ron cut her off.

"Take that back, you git!" He shouted, standing up and slamming his hands on the table as he leaned towards Draco, his face pulled back into a furious snarl. Draco narrowed his eyes, his sneer deepening, but he remained silent, glancing back with a spiteful grin at the approaching librarian.

"There is no shouting in my library! I want you lot out!" She hissed, jabbing her finger at Harry and his friends. Theodore opened his mouth in protest.

"He started it!" He said, stabbing a finger towards Draco, who was watching the scene with a smug grin.

"You lot have been here too long anyways! Out, now!" She snapped, slamming a hand against the table, and the five of them quickly packed up their things. Madam Pince watched them like a hawk, her beady eyes glinting with fury as they hurriedly left the library. Only once the door was closed did the cursing start happening.

"I can't believe he said that! What a slimy git!" Ron ranted.

"She is so unfair! We didn't even do anything!" Theodore protested.

"Draco is a lying wanker, making a truce with you and then turning on you almost instantly," Blaise sneered, disgusted.

The only two not talking were Harry and Hermione, the latter walking in subdued silence. It was like she had sunken into herself, like she was trying to become unseen again, and Harry reached out, brushing his fingers against her wrist.

"Are you alright?" He asked her quietly and Hermione startled at his voice, looking over at him with big, hurt eyes. She was silent for a few seconds as she processed his question and she hunched forward.

"I have to be, right? There's bound to be more Malfoys out there," She said coldly but her voice trembled, and Harry knew that she was only putting on a front of indifference. He shook his head.

"Maybe. But he was still making rude and racist comments. You can be upset," He said slowly, unsure, and he looked over at Hermione to see how she was reacting to his words.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," She shrugged, shaking her head. "Anyways, lets go find somewhere else to study. Maybe an empty classroom?" He nodded. She turned to the rest of the group. "What do you think? Find another classroom?" They seemed a bit shocked at their ranting being interrupted, but they all nodded. "Okay, lets go." Hermione led the way, walking up a flight of stairs and down a corridor for a few minutes before arriving at a door. "I know this classroom is empty. Professor McGonagall said I could use it."

The classroom had three big tables, one table enough room so that they could spread out all their papers and comfortably sit without bumping each other's elbows. Theodore and Hermione were taking out their work and sitting down almost instantly, already talking about their essays with each other. Ron was a little more reluctant but eventually took a seat beside Hermione and pulled out his work. Blaise sat down too, bringing out a library book and starting to read. But Harry didn't sit, trying to build up the motivation to actually take out his potions essay and finish it. Blaise looked up from his book with a grin.

"Are you going to sit at least?" He asked teasingly and Harry sighed, taking a seat beside Ron. Still, he left his bag beside his chair and didn't take anything out. Blaise raised an eyebrow. "I'll help you with your essay, if you want." Harry paused, wracking his brain for an excuse for why he didn't want to work on it.

He furrowed his eyebrows, staring hard at his bag in exasperation and wished he could use the fire-making spell (which they also had an essay on) with his mind to burn the bloody thing to ashes. And maybe even the potions classroom along with it. Unfortunately for Harry, the darkness was all too eager to cause some destruction and his bag started dangerously spitting sparks. His eyes widened in horror.

"Harry!" Ron shouted from beside him and Harry startled, looking over at Ron with wide, terrified eyes. Of course, his fear only made the spell stronger and caused the papers in his bag to ignite. "Merlin, Harry, put it out!"

"I don't know how!" He panicked, and the flames spread. Ron stomped on Harry's bag hurriedly and the others in his group started to notice too, all exclaiming in horror.

"What's going on?" Hermione cried out but Harry ignored her as the others chimed in.

He closed his eyes, trying to focus his magic, which was a tumultuous storm inside of him, the darkness singing with triumph as it spearheaded the chaos. He forced it down, deep, deep down, back into the pits of his stomach, trying to bury the darkness under layers of calm and contentment. It wasn't going willingly, roaring inside of him and sending jolts of pain throughout his body.

"What in Merlin's beard?" Ron shouted, the flames spiking in size.

"We need water!" Theodore hissed, leaping back when the flames lunged towards him. "Salazar! What is happening?" Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and Harry glanced up at her, surprised.

"Harry, what is going on?" She whispered urgently but Harry didn't answer, unable to risk losing his focus on wrestling the darkness down. "This is you, right? It's your spell?" He continued to ignore her, closing his eyes and focusing harder. Eventually, he got it down.

Just in time for Blaise to return with a glass of water and dump it on the flaming bag. They all stood there, shocked and stunned from what just happened, unable to put any of it into words.

"Well. There goes your potions essay," Blaise deadpanned, almost nonchalant, but Harry could tell from the beads of sweat running down his forehead and the trembling of his hands that he was far from okay.

"Merlin," Ron whispered, turning to look at all of them, his eyes wide with shock. "I-I-don't-" Ron took in a shuddering breath- "What happened?"

Harry could feel their eyes on him, and he shrugged. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened," He whispered. He saw Theodore and Blaise exchange looks and Hermione pursed her lips, eyebrows furrowed with worry. He looked away, the urge to escape almost overwhelming.

"What was it, Harry?" She asked quietly. "Did you mean to do it?" Her voice was gentle, but Harry still stiffened, his anxiety swirling in his stomach.

He shook his head vehemently. "No! I swear, I didn't mean to!" His eyes darted around, pleading with everyone there. "Please, please, don't tell the professors, okay? It was just an accident!"

Hermione was biting her lip nervously, but she didn't look like she was going to report what happened to the teachers. Ron looked determined, nodding his head, and Theodore and Blaise also looked prepared to deny anything if questioned. Harry relaxed, the guilt ebbing slightly.

"Are you sure it was an accident?" Ron asked slowly. Harry paused, shrugging unsurely.

"I guess? I was-I was thinking about how nice it'd be to just use the fire-making spell and burn the essay," Harry admitted quietly, his face flushing with shame. "But I didn't mean to actually burn it! I didn't think it'd react like that!" Hermione chewed her lip furiously, eyes furrowed like she was thinking really hard about something.

"It sounds like you did wandless magic in a way," She whispered. Blaise and Theodore exchanged heavy looks and Harry started shaking.

"No, I-I-no! It was accidental magic, like everyone else!" He couldn't stop the shaking now, the fear too large. The darkness hissed angrily. He took in a deep, calming breath, splaying his fingers against his thighs and counting down from ten. Once he reached zero, he continued. "It wasn't on purpose."

Hermione nodded slowly. "Yeah, but it also wasn't really an accident. You wanted it to happen. Or at least, you thought of a spell that could make it happen and how nice it would be to do it. And then your magic actually did it." Harry ducked his head, shrugging helplessly.

"Not on purpose!" He defended weakly. Hermione seemed to soften, reaching out to place her hand gently on his knee. Harry stared at it miserably before shifting so that his knee was no longer in contact with her.

"Harry, you shouldn't really be doing accidental magic anymore," Theodore whispered. Harry frowned, confused, and Theodore must have seen it on his face because he continued. "Magic prefers a wand. I mean, it's not really thinking, but it's like how wands choose the wizard. Magic chooses the wand, and once you get your first wand, your magic changes." Harry furrowed his eyebrows.

"But if the wand chooses the wizard, how does magic choose the wand?" He asked, confused.

"It takes both sides. The wand needs to choose the magic, and the magic has to choose the wand. Like puzzle pieces." Theodore shrugged, as if it all made sense, like how you just had to accept that the universe came to be the way it came to be. No one could really say how or why, it just was. Beyond comprehension. Harry didn't think he really liked that uncertainty, and he pursed his lips. Blaise, as if reading his mind, continued to explain.

"It's not really clear why the magic chooses the wand or vice versa, but it's almost automatic, like how the universe favours entropy. It's the easy way, to bond with a wand and have the magic get channeled through it, and the magic assists with that process, preferring it," Blaise said, just as easily. Ron was also nodding, accepting, and Harry figured that he had heard this explanation in his family too, what with growing up in a pureblood household. Hermione, like him, looked skeptical, but she didn't look confused. Harry turned to her, wanting her to explain why it made sense to her when it was mind-blowing to him as a muggle raised wizard.

"What do you think of this?" Harry asked Hermione and she sighed.

"I mean, it's confusing, but it's like trying to understand the universe," She said, shrugging. "Not really our place to." Harry frowned, not too sure if he agreed.

"Okay," He said slowly. "Well, what does that mean for me?"

Theodore and Blaise exchanged looks and it was Ron who answered this time. "It means that you shouldn't be doing accidental magic anymore, mate. Well, at least, not as powerful as you've been doing it."

"But I've done accidental magic with you guys before, with the ink bottle. You didn't say all this stuff then," He whispered, and Hermione and Ron exchanged looks.

"No, because that was a short burst of accidental magic. Like, when we were doing accidental magic as kids, we didn't have control over it, it was instinctual and subconscious. Children can't really do accidental magic under conscious control," Hermione said slowly. "But your magic right then, it-it was continuous, it wasn't just a burst, your magic didn't just explode and then retreat, it was like-like actual controlled magic. And it reacted to us, and to you! The flames grew and moved towards us." She didn't sound like she was blaming Harry, rather she sounded curious, eager, like she was itching to research and study Harry's magic as much as she could.

"Is it bad, then?" He asked quietly, and the question sat heavy between them, all five of them exchanging worried glances. Hermione broke the silence with a deep sigh.

"No, I don't think so, Harry," She said firmly and Harry relaxed at the conviction in her voice. "You just need to learn how to control it." She paused, tilting her head in consideration. "And I think it's safe to bet that when you do get control over it, you'll be one of the few wizards and witches who can do wandless magic."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "That's rare?" The other four all looked at each other with grim frowns. Blaise nodded. "Why?"

"Because once our magic adapts to the wand, using magic without the wand is like, trying to force a waterfall to go back up the cliff," Ron explained softly. "It takes a lot of control and effort to do that properly."

Harry felt his heart hammering in his chest, and he took a deep breath to slow it down. "This is probably something we shouldn't tell the professors." He looked around at them.

"Definitely not," Blaise said firmly. Harry paused, kind of surprised that he would agree so swiftly. He glanced at the others. Even Hermione was nodding with conviction, her eyes hard.

"Who knows what the Ministry would do to you if they caught wind of this," Ron said, shuddering fearfully. Harry's eyebrows furrowed, confused.

"The Ministry? Why would they be interested?" He asked and Ron winced.

"Because you're powerful, mate. They'd do anything to get their hands on you. I heard Dad talking once. Fudge – our Minister – he's obsessed with power because he's not really the most magically powerful person out there. So, he's obsessed with controlling people with power to compensate." Ron frowned. "Dad said he was likely compensating for something else, too, but I'm not too sure what he meant by that." Harry shrugged, not too sure either. The other three shook their heads, also confused.

But Harry did understand the first part. "So, he'd try to control me," He said and Ron nodded.

"Control you and study you."

Hermione shuddered. "That's awful," She whispered, turning to Harry with glistening eyes, as if he was already being taken away and cut into to study. Harry patted her arm comfortably.

"Don't worry, Hermione, nothing is going to happen to me."

"You can't promise that Harry," She whispered. "You don't know the future. Fudge has the entire Ministry and law department under his control, he can do anything!" Harry paused when she started to cry, unsure of what to do or how to comfort her.

"I know." He continued to pat her arm awkwardly. "I promise to try not to put myself in danger, then."

Hermione sniffled, looking at him carefully. "Okay, sure." The room was silent as they all tried to process what was just said and Theodore nodded definitively.

"We should get out of here and get to dinner," He said, already packing up his things. Hermione and Ron exchanged looks and they too hurried to pack their things. "We shouldn't stick around just in case someone catches us in here. Then we really won't be able to hide you from them."

Blaise didn't pack up right away, focused on studying the burnt remains of Harry's bag. "Did you lose anything valuable?" He asked, looking over at Harry. Harry shook his head.

"My essay, a couple quills, a bottle of ink, and a chocolate frog." He dug into his pocket. "I have my wand here." He waved it around and Blaise eyed his wand warily, so Harry hastily put it away. Blaise turned back to the burnt pile and rifled through it. He pulled out a soot covered but intact ink bottle.

"Want to keep it?"

Harry made a face. "No. Just leave it," He said, not really keen on keeping it around as a reminder of what happened. Blaise shrugged, putting it back down, but Ron snatched it back up.

"No, if you don't want to keep it, you have to make sure no one else can find it! Destroy the evidence," He said, tucking the ink bottle into his pocket. "We can toss into the bin in the bathroom."

Hermione laughed. "This isn't a crime drama, Ron," She teased, but Ron looked adamant, so Harry nodded. Hermione rolled her eyes but didn't protest any more.

"Alright. Let's get to dinner," Harry said and the five of them hurried out of the classroom, making sure no one was in the corridor before exiting and heading to dinner. They paused outside of the Great Hall; expressions grim but determined to make sure no one found out what happened in that classroom.

"We'll talk more about it this weekend," Theodore promised, and they all nodded before going inside and heading to their Houses.

Harry swore he could feel Professor Snape's eyes on him, and he felt his breath grow rapid, his gaze darting over to the Slytherin professor. Fortunately, he was not watching, and Harry took a deep breath, trying to push the paranoia away. The three of them sat down at the table, slightly separate from the others in their House, and they quickly ate in silence. He picked at some food, not too hungry, not after everything that had happened. Blaise and Theodore were focused on eating too, none of them attempting to start a conversation. It wasn't an awkward silence, mostly just a tired silence, and Harry sighed at the thought of having to go to astronomy at midnight. He would have preferred to just curl up in bed and sleep until morning.

"We should probably sleep a bit before Astronomy," Blaise said quietly, and Harry nodded. They all stood and made their way back to the dorms and Harry sat on his bed, drawing the curtains closed and changing quickly. He peeked his head out when he heard his name being called.

"Yes, Teddy?" He asked, focusing his sight on the dark blur that he thought was Theodore. It was hard to tell with the lights off.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Theodore whispered, and Harry stiffened, shrugging his shoulders. "Harry?"

"I'm alright," He said, realizing that Theodore couldn't see him either and didn't see him shrug there.

"Okay." Theodore didn't sound convinced, but he didn't push it. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

---

"Why can't they just reflect the night sky during the day like they do in the Great Hall?" Theodore complained and Harry yawned, humming in agreement but not really listening, his mind consumed with the thought of being back in his bed and being able to sleep.

"I think it's interesting," Blaise said, and Theodore paused, giving him a look.

"Ugh, Blaise, can you stop being a nerd for just once and admit Astronomy sucks?" Theodore complained. Blaise barely reacted but the way that he grinned, dangerous and vicious, made the air around them freeze and Harry shivered. Theodore was so tired he didn't even notice. If he did, he would certainly be shaking in fear. Harry eyed Blaise cautiously, ready to jump in and separate the two if it came to blows.

"Um, Teddy? Where are we going?" Harry interrupted, hoping to move the focus away from the tension now surrounding them.

"The kitchens so we can get some food!" Theodore grinned mischievously. Blaise raised an eyebrow and Harry frowned.

"Kitchens?" Blaise's voice oozed with incredulity and contempt.

"Yeah!" Theodore said excitedly, oblivious. "My dad told me where the entrance is." He grabbed their hands. "C'mon!" Blaise and Harry reluctantly followed.

"Teddy, you know exactly where the entrance to the kitchen is?" Blaise asked slowly, holding Theodore in place. Theodore paused, wincing slightly.

"Sort of? I have a vague idea of where it could be." Theodore scratched his head, shrugging, and Blaise and Harry exchanged looks. Theodore saw their skepticism and he huffed. "C'mon, it'll be an adventure!" Blaise sighed, rolling his eyes, but Harry nodded, intrigued.

"Where do you think the entrance is?" Blaise asked, arms crossed, looking unconvinced. Theodore ignored the other boy, not letting Blaise dampen his zeal.

His spirit still didn't dampen even when they had walked the ground floor two times without finding the entrance. He grinned at the two of them and Harry watched him warily, the smile looking a little manic to him.

"Let's check the second floor, it could be there!" Theodore said hurriedly, and Blaise raised an eyebrow. Harry also doubted the entrance was there, given that the Great Hall where they ate was on the ground floor, but he didn't want to interrupt Theodore, not when he was this determined. "I still haven't figured out the moving staircases yet." Theodore frowned, trying to figure out which one to take. Harry shrugged, also unsure of the staircases still. "Let's take this one." They stepped onto a random staircase and hurried up to the second floor.

"Alright. Where to now?" Blaise asked, his entire being oozing skepticism, and Theodore rolled his eyes.

"Let's go this way." He pointed down the hallway to their right and Harry shrugged again. Blaise didn't protest either, so they turned to head over that way.

Unfortunately, their path was blocked before they could take a step by the cantankerous, evil cat that roamed the halls and snitched on students who were out after curfew.

"Mrs. Norris!" Blaise hissed and grabbed their hands. "Run!"

The only way they could go was back the way they came, and they ran out onto the platform. Again, unfortunately for them, the staircase down to the ground floor had moved and the only option for them was to go up. So, they took the stairs two at a time up to the third floor, Mrs. Norris following behind them.

"We can't go to the third floor, it's off limits!" Theodore hissed but neither Blaise nor Harry listened, dragging him along.

"Do you want to get caught by Filch?" Blaise hissed, dragging them down the hall and taking corners at random.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked, stumbling along beside the other two.

"Don't know," Blaise muttered just as they reached a dead end. There was only a door in front of them and Blaise reached out to grab the handle. He growled in frustration. "Damn! It's locked." He pulled out his wand and muttered a spell that Harry hadn't heard before. "Alohomora." The door clicked and swung open and the three of them rushed inside, slamming it closed behind them.

"Do you think we lost her?" Theodore whispered and Blaise rolled his eyes.

"I don't think she'll be following us in. It's not like cats can open doors," Blaise pointed out and Theodore gave him an unamused look but nodded in agreement.

"When do you think we'll be able to leave?" Harry asked, taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

"I don't know. Maybe five minutes?" Blaise shrugged. Harry and Theodore didn't protest, agreeing with Blaise. "We could also try and find another entrance. It feels like there's a breeze or something, so there has to be another opening for that to happen." Harry nodded, turning around, and instantly froze.

"Uh, Blaise? I don't think it's another door that's making that breeze," He whispered. The other two had also frozen in fear beside him.

"What in Merlin's name is that?" Theodore whispered shakily and Harry took a step back, reaching out for the doorknob. No one got the chance to answer because at that second, the dog opened their eyes. "Run!"

The dogs roared and lunged for the three of them and Harry leapt back, trying to avoid their snapping teeth. He managed to avoid getting bit but now one of the dog's head was separating Harry from his friends and the door.

"Harry!" Theodore shouted. Two of the heads turned their attention to Theodore and Blaise with a snarl, but the other head remained focus on Harry and lunged again. He twisted away from the dog, crouching low to the ground, and moving along the wall, deeper into the room. "Hey! Dog, over here!" Harry heard Theodore shout, and when the dog was distracted, Harry made a run for the door and his friends. He was just about to make it when the third head swung around and slammed into his shoulder, sending him flying into the wall on the opposite side of the door. He cried out in pain but continued to run to his friends and the door.

"Hurry, get it open!" Harry screamed, running as fast as he could while dodging the sharp teeth.

"I'm trying, the door's stuck!" Blaise shouted and the dog lunged again.

"Get it open!" Theodore screamed, pushing against the door with Blaise. Harry finally reached them, and he slammed into his friends from the momentum, but the extra force managed to get the door open just as the dog lunged again.

Harry, who was so exhausted from everything that had happened in the last 24 hours, couldn't control the darkness any longer. It burst out from him with a roar, slamming the dog into the wall behind it as the three of them ran out the door. They slammed it closed and hurried away down the corridor and back to the staircases. Only when they were at the entrance to the dungeons did they finally stop running.

"We are never having anymore adventures!" Blaise hissed, his voice raising in volume to a hysteric yell towards the end of his sentence. Theodore and Harry shushed him, and Blaise took a deep breath, lowering his voice as he started to pace. "We fucking escaped that thing; I don't even know how-" Harry sighed in relief. Blaise hadn't seen the darkness and since Theodore didn't interrupt to provide an answer, he didn't see it either- "but it was pure fucking luck that we did. We were so close to dying! All because you wanted food!"

Theodore finally spoke, "You were the one who dragged us down that hallway!"

Blaise growled angrily, throwing his hands in the air. "Which wouldn't have even happened if you didn't go searching for the kitchen!" Theodore gasped in anger.

"You didn't have to come along; you made that choice! Don't blame me-"

"Shut up! The both of you!" Harry finally interrupted, glaring at the two of them. "What happened, happened. No point in arguing over it." He rolled his eyes at the two of them but continued before they could say anything. "That's not the important thing anyways. What's important is figuring out what the dog is guarding." That stopped them immediately, Blaise furrowing his eyebrows in speculation and Theodore's eyes widening in shock.

"Guarding?" Theodore shook his head in alarm. "Guarding what?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. But he was standing on a trap door."

"What could he be guarding? And why Hogwarts?" Blaise asked, confused. Harry gave them a grim frown.

"I don't know. Whatever was in Vault 713," He said solemnly. Theodore and Blaise both nodded in recognition when they heard that vault number. "Hagrid had taken something out of it when he took me on my first trip to Diagon Alley. And then it got broken into. And now they're guarding something here at Hogwarts. It has to be something to do with whatever Hagrid picked up for Dumbledore."

"What could possibly be this important though?" Theodore asked in exasperation as he shook his head. Harry sighed and Blaise ran a weary hand over his face.

"Not something we need to figure out right now," Blaise said firmly and yawned. Harry fought down his own yawn in response, but Theodore wasn't so lucky, his jaw cracking audibly. "We'll figure it out on the weekend with Ron and Hermione." The two of them nodded and they plodded off to the dorms. Blaise stopped them before they entered. "I assume it doesn't need to be said but we're not going to tell anyone else about this. Only Ron and Hermione." Theodore exchanged grim looks with Harry and they both nodded. "Okay, good. Now let's go to bed."

---

"Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"

The voice was distorted as it wrapped around the corners behind Harry, and he tried to run faster through the twisting tunnels underneath Gringotts as whatever was breathing down his neck chased after him. But it was like running through molasses and he couldn't even scream.

"Have mercy!"

Harry was no longer in Gringotts, falling through space as the world spun around him, turning into Hogwarts. It was different though, the hallways and corridors never-ending and filled with green light. He continued to run, the hallways stretching longer even as he ran.

"Sweetheart, it's time to wake up."

Harry continued to push through the molasses and the scene changed again. This time, he was floating over the greenhouses, watching Hogwarts as it shifted and moved, like it was destroying and then rebuilding itself over and over again.

"Remember the light."

Then Harry was falling, and the ground was approaching fast, but this time, the world didn't spin. He was getting closer and closer to hitting the ground and breaking his neck. 10m, 5m, 1m-

---

Harry woke up with a gasp, hovering above his bed, the darkness swirling around him as it shuddered and moved, trying to escape. Fortunately for Harry, no matter how much the darkness wanted to explode out of him and destroy, something was holding it back. Harry was holding it back. Even while asleep he had somehow managed to remain in control, no matter how tentative that control was. Of course, he was on a precipice and another second could tip the balance, could send him over the edge, so he gritted his teeth and forced the darkness back. Forced it back inside of him and down, down, down.

After a few minutes, the last slivers of darkness were back inside of him and he fell to the bed, breathing heavily and sweating like crazy. Luckily, the darkness hadn't made it past the curtains around his bed and none of his roommates had woken up and Harry felt the relief like a stab through his heart.

He reached under his pillow and pulled out his wand, breathing deeply and counting down from ten as he clutched his wand, feeling it ground him and still his magic.

Although he was still terrified of magic and hated being a freak, he knew that he needed to control the darkness, needed to learn how, and the only place he could learn how was here. At Hogwarts.

Because if he didn't, if he didn't learn how to control the darkness and stop it from exploding, he was going to destroy everyone he loved.

---

Hope you enjoyed! Again, sorry for the long wait, hopefully this makes up for it!