I do not own Harry Potter yada yada yada.
…
The rest of Harry's day went surprisingly normally. He didn't have divination because he had failed his O.W.L. in that subject, so he had an extra free period. He wished he could have skipped History of Magic as well, but that was a mandatory class even if he had failed his O.W.L. for it.
Actually the History of Magic class helped him to get rid of a bit of his sleepiness. He slept through the whole period, and Hermione had to wake him when the class finished. She scolded him, of course, for so easily letting himself fall asleep, but he felt a little better and a little more ready to take on the rest of the day's classes.
The first thing Harry did when he got back to the common room after classes was to post another notice with the time for the DA meeting. It read:
DA Five P.M.
Harry hesitated before posting it. The DA was supposed to be completely secret. But, then again, Umbridge was not trying to hunt them all down anymore so there wasn't too much danger.
He used a sticking charm to post the little scrap of parchment and then joined Ron and Hermione by the fire to do the first homework of his seventh year.
…
When it came to dinner time, Harry felt a little nervous. After the initial glares and sneers, the slytherins had been surprisingly quiet, only shooting him the occasional considering glance as if they were analyzing how best to take him down. Their behavior made Harry think that something was coming that he wouldn't like, not one bit. And if they wanted to embarrass him, the perfect time to do it would be at dinner when every student and staff member of Hogwarts would be present.
So it was with a little trepidation that Harry made his way down to dinner along with Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Neville. He was jumpy, and kept startling at the slightest noise.
Ginny laid a hand on his shoulder, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. He gasped, and Ginny drew her hand back in surprise.
"Harry, I was only going to ask why you are so nervous." Ginny said.
"Sorry. I think that the snakes are going to do something at dinner. It's making me a little jumpy."
"A little jumpy? Harry, you nearly hit the ceiling just then!" Ron said.
"Why are you so nervous? I mean, you've dealt with things more serious than some pranking slytherins before." Hermione pointed out.
"I know. But they're going to make me feel helpless by playing on my disability. They're going to embarrass me in front of the whole school."" Harry signed sharply.
"How do you know, Harry? For all you know they'll just turn your hair green or something." Ron said.
"Because they are more cunning than that. They want to hurt me, not just make a spectacle. They'll go right for my weak spot."
"You sound like a slytherin yourself, Harry." Neville observed, after listening to Hermione's quiet translation. Harry fidgeted. He had never told anyone that the sorting hat had originally wanted to put him in slytherin, because he had been afraid that the gryffindors would reject him. But…these four had stuck by him, through the most difficult time in his life so far, when he was adjusting to his new obstacles in his life. Surely he could trust them with that one secret?
"Harry? What is it?" Ginny asked, noting his indecision. She gently put her hand on his arm, and he made his decision in an instant. He dodged into a shady corridor and beckoned them after him into empty classroom. Frowning, they followed him.
"Harry, what is it? You're acting very strangely." Hermione questioned.
"I have to tell you guys something. It's…sort of a big deal, for me at least. Someone translate for Neville. He needs to know too.""
"Alright…what is it?" Ron asked, getting suspicious.
"Look, you can't tell anyone else. No one. I've kept it a secret for years, and I'm telling you guys now because I know you'll stick with me."
"This is sounding really serious, Harry. Is it something about…You-Know-Who?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head.
"No, this is a personal secret. Just…give me a second." Harry paused for a minute, trying to decide how best to say it.
"When I was sorted…remember how it took so long?" He eventually asked.
"Yeah. We all remember that. I don't think there's been a longer sorting since we entered Hogwarts." Hermione commented.
"I was arguing with the sorting hat about where to put me."
"What? You didn't want to be in gryffindor?" Ron asked, frowning.
"No, the opposite…I won the argument, and the sorting hat put me in Gryffindor."
"So…the sorting hat wanted to put you in a different house? It couldn't be ravenclaw, because you hate studying as much as I do."" Ron said.
"Slytherin. It wanted to put me in slytherin." Harry finally signed, and his friends were so shocked that Hermione forgot to translate for Neville.
"What did he say? What did he say?" Neville asked as he saw the shock on everyone else's faces.
"Slytherin…blimey, Harry!" Ron said.
"What?" Neville squeaked.
"It said that I could be great in slytherin. But…I had met Malfoy already and he was in slytherin, and then…Ron had told me that all the dark wizards had come from slytherin and I didn't want to be evil…and Ron was sure he'd get in gryffindor because all his brothers had been there, and I wanted to be with my first friend. So I told the sorting hat that I didn't want to be in slytherin, so it put me in gryffindor. But I had once put the sorting hat on again, in Dumbledore's office, and still thought that I should be in slytherin."" This time Hermione remembered to translate for Neville, who appeared relieved.
"So…you're technically a gryffindor, but your brain works like a slytherin's?" Ron asked, beginning to appear overwhelmed. Harry nodded.
"I've never heard of a student choosing where they get sorted. I wonder if Harry's choice was the first time it happened." Hermione said calmly.
"Why didn't you ever tell us before, Harry?" Ginny finally asked, speaking for the first time since Harry's revelation.
"I thought that the gryffindors wouldn't want me around anymore. I was scared that people wouldn't want to be friends with me." Harry admitted.
"This doesn't change who you are Harry. It doesn't matter where you got sorted; you are still the same person that we all love."" Ginny said.
"You are always so ready to believe that you are on your own, Harry. You need to trust others more often." Hermione said.
"I grew up without anyone to rely on. Old habits die hard, I guess."
"Wait. You said before, 'first friend.' You'd never had a friend before?" Ron asked, beginning to overcome his shock.
"Yeah, but I'm not talking about that now. Let's go to dinner, okay? Please?"
His friends exchanged glances, silently deciding amongst themselves that they would wheedle the information from Harry at a later date.
"Alright, Harry. Let's go to dinner." Hermione conceded, and Harry breathed a relieved sigh. For now, at least, the true extent of how horrible his life at the Dursleys had been was safe.
…
When they finally reached the Great Hall, most students had already arrived. Harry glanced over to the slytherin table and briefly examined their faces. Most seemed to be their normal, stoic selves, but a few of the younger years had anticipation and glee breaking through their amateur emotional masks.
That settled it. The slytherins had hatched some plot and were about to put it into action.
Harry took his seat with the other gryffindor seventh years and tried to act as if nothing was bothering him while he ate. Neville, Ron, Hermione and Ginny noticed his mood, but they didn't say anything, and Harry was grateful.
All through dinner Harry was tensed for some sort of trick to be played upon him, but none came. The slytherins glared and sneered in mimicries of their former head of house, but no spells were fired at Harry, no food was thrown, and it all served to make Harry all the more uneasy. He should have known that they would do whatever they were going to do in such a way that no one would be able to pin the blame on them, not for certain. They had too much cunning to let themselves get in trouble, even if they would love to see Harry embarrassed in front of the whole school.
Hermione and Ron had to stay after dinner to help teach the other students the flare spell because they were prefects; so Harry, Neville and Ginny walked back to the common room, thoroughly confused about the lack of action on the slytherins' part. Just what were they up to?
Harry pondered the slytherins' inaction as he sat by the fire. He knew that they wanted to act soon…maybe they were waiting until he was wandering the corridors by himself so they could lay an ambush? Or maybe they would rig some part of the castle as a trap and wait for him to fall victim to it.
Whatever their plans were they had Harry's stomach twisting and turning in anxiety.
…
By the time Harry had to head down to the Headmistress's office at eight o'clock, he had worked himself into such a jumpy state that even a whisper of wind in the corridors would be enough to send him a foot into the air.
He collected his pad and a pen and then set off, after signing to Ginny to make sure that someone would be at the portrait to let him in when he knocked.
He passed Hermione and Ron in the corridor and they had a short conversation before Harry hurried on, not wanting to be late. Why exactly did McGonagall want to see him? Had he done something questionable in the DADA class?
A thought struck him as he was walking: how could he get into McGonagall's office, even if he knew the password?
But McGonagall had foreseen the problem and was waiting for him at the entrance to her office. When he saw her waiting at the end of the corridor, he smiled in relief and hurried towards her. He was glad to not be in the corridors alone anymore.
"Good evening, Mr. Potter." McGonagall greeted as he neared. He nodded in response, and they turned to the gargoyle that guarded the office.
"Lemon drops." McGonagall said, and the gargoyle jumped aside. She turned to Harry, who was frowning at the very Dumbledore-ish password, and wiped a tear from her eye.
"I couldn't bear to change it. Not yet." Harry nodded in understanding, a little surprised that his stiff teacher was showing so much emotion and sentimentality.
They went up the stairs in silence.
"Take a seat, Mr. Potter." McGonagall said when they reached the office. She herself sat in the large chair behind the familiar desk, with all of Dumbledore's trinkets and magical machines whirring and ticking around the room.
"I just wanted to ask how you've been doing in general, and how your magic is going. From what I saw, you are doing extremely well." McGonagall said. Harry took out his notepad and pen.
"I'm okay. I've had a sort of breakdown over the summer but I'm fine now. I've been learning a lot about magic in general and how it works, and I feel more capable now than ever."
"It certainly seems so, Mr. Potter." McGonagall commented after he showed her the notebook. "Is there anything that you are having trouble with?"
"I can't get into the common room unless I'm with someone."
"Oh, I see. Yes, I'm sorry I forgot about that." She paused, thinking. "Would your being able to sign the password suffice?" Harry nodded. "I will inform the Fat Lady tomorrow morning. You will have to be there, to show the Fat Lady what the sign is…unless you show it to me now. Then you would not have to be present."
"The password is 'protection,' right?"
"Correct, Mr. Potter."
"I'll sign it slowly." He wrote, and then when McGonagall nodded at him to continue, he slowly signed "protection" again and again until McGonagall could copy it perfectly.
She smiled.
"I will try personally to learn sign language, Mr. Potter, along with the rest of the staff. That will make it easier for you to participate in classes."
Harry grinned.
"Thank you, Headmistress. But that will certainly take up a lot of your time. You don't have to; I can cope."
"Nonsense, Mr. Potter. It is my duty, and the duty of the staff, to accommodate the students as much as possible. In this case, that means that we must learn sign language." She paused, and gave him a fond smile. "In any case, I would learn it duty or no duty. I want you to be able to communicate easily with me."
"Again, thank you. It means a lot."
"Now. About your magic. You said you have been learning about magic itself. Does that relate to the sudden change in your magical skills?"
"Over the summer I was learning silent magic. One day while I was practicing I felt something in me…release. My magic sort of flooded out of me into a single spell; it was the largest and most powerful body-bind I've ever seen. After that everything was so much easier. I learned that magic is governed by intent, not the words of spells. I don't need spells anymore. I just focus on what I want to accomplish."
"Where did you find this information?"
"In my silent magic textbook."
"I haven't heard of this before; that must an old textbook. I would like to take a look at it; could you bring it to your next Defense class?" Harry nodded.
"Thank you. Now, is there anything else you are having trouble with?" Harry hesitated. Should he tell her about the slytherins? No. She couldn't do anything about it, and it technically wasn't even a big deal. If they pranked him, even if it would be a sadistic prank, it wouldn't be the first time a prank would be played in Hogwarts.
Harry shook his head.
"Alright. Know that if you need anything you can come to me. I'll tell the gargoyle to let you in if you sign the gryffindor common room password."
"Thank you, Headmistress."
"One last thing. Madame Pomfrey insists that she see you as soon as you have the time. She wants to do a check up on your neck." Harry nodded, secretly dreading going back, even for a short visit, to the Hospital Wing.
"Now, it is nearly curfew so you'd better get back. You have someone to let you back into the common room, I trust?" Again, Harry nodded.
"Very well. Goodnight, Mr. Potter." Harry stood up and gave McGonagall a nod, then turned and left the office.
Before Harry stepped past the gargoyle in the corridor, he cast a sensory charm on himself so that he would better be able to hear and see anyone trying to sneak up to him. Then he cast a notice-me-not charm on himself, even though he knew that the charm did not work too well when dealing with other wizards. At the moment, however, it was the best he could do seeing as he had left his invisibility cloak back in the dorm in a moment of stupidity and glamours took too much energy to uphold. And he was tired. Dead tired.
He trudged through the corridors, trying to make as little sound possible even though it was difficult, seeing as his mind was wandering. There was no one around, nearly all the students were in their common rooms by now and it was not yet the time for prefects to patrol.
This, Harry realized, would be the perfect time for the slytherins to get him. No one around, no prefects there to catch them, not yet past curfew, and Harry exhausted without his friends.
He had reached the last flight of staircases before he detected anyone around. Footsteps, slow and careful, were getting closer. Harry mounted the stairs and kept moving toward the common room. If he got close enough to the portrait whoever was following him might not do anything because Harry was so near his home.
Harry was aware of the person following him all the way to the portrait. The Fat Lady was asleep and didn't wake when Harry jostled her frame with his hurried knocking. The watcher didn't get closer.
The portrait opened, revealing a smiling Ginny. Harry climbed into the hole and glanced back, trying to spot the stalker. But he saw no one.
The portrait closed, and Harry finally felt safe.
"How did the meeting go, Harry?" Ginny asked.
"Fine. She just wanted to know how I was doing and if there was anything I'm having trouble with. She's going to tell the Fat Lady that I'll be signing the passwords from now on."
"That's great! Do you want to stay up for a while? We could talk…" Ginny said hopefully.
"I'm sorry, Ginny, I really am. But I'm bone tired. I think I overdid it as far as magic goes today."" Ginny covered her disappointment by smiling.
"Well you did do some pretty amazing magic today. I'm not surprised you're tired. Have a good night." She was about to turn away, but Harry stopped her by catching her shoulder.
"Ginny? Maybe tomorrow night."
She smiled happily.
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Harry."
Harry said goodnight to Ron and Hermione, who were about to head off to patrol, and then went up to the empty dorm.
