A/N: Well, this was a much later upload date than I'd hoped for, but here it is anyway! Enjoy!
Chapter 7:
'Just a moment of your time before you head to breakfast please' Snape announced, entering the common room. They'd all gathered having been told a meeting was taking place.
'The Headmaster has decided to allow the first-year students to try out for Quidditch this year. See Mr. Flint for any further details. This is merely a trial period and I assure you if you mess around or your grades drop, you will be off the team immediately. Thank you.' And with that he left, and the common room filled with chatter.
'Is that what you spoke to Dumbledore about yesterday?' Theo asked, Harrison nodded in response
'Well, I couldn't let my brother think he's too special now could I' he mocked.
'Will you try out?' Daphne asked.
'Probably not, I don't really like Quidditch, it all seems a bit pointless to be honest' Draco frowned at him
'I don't understand you sometimes, but you'll have to help me practice for the trials anyway' Harrison reluctantly agreed to assist.
'Come on then' Blaise said suddenly 'let's get to breakfast'
'Hungry Blaise?' Harrison mocked
'No, I just want to see your brother's face now he knows he isn't the only first-year allowed to play Quidditch' he grinned and they all made their way to the Great Hall.
'HARRY!' Nick stormed over to the Slytherin table, a look of complete outrage on his face.
'Something wrong Nick?' he asked innocently, Blaise snickered in response.
'You did this! You took this away from me!' He spluttered
'You mean I made things fair? Now every first-year can try out, just like you wanted remember?'
Nick looked as though he would punch him but the Weasley boy interrupted.
'Maybe it's not so bad Nick? This way I can try out too and we can be on the team together'
Nick looked conflicted for a moment before sighing in resignation and turning towards the red head.
'You're right, this will be great.' he struggled to put a smile on his face causing the boy to smile brightly in return.
'That's right' Draco shot in 'a team full of blood traitors and the like, a perfect representation of Gryffindorks, but tell me Weasley, how will you afford a broom? I bet your family has to save up one twig at a time.' he snorted at the thought.
'Shut it Malfoy! At least we have actual talent, you won't even get on the team. And if you say one more thing about my family I'll-'
'You'll what?' Draco interrupted, a sneer on his face
'Right that's it, I challenge you to a duel Malfoy!' Nick exclaimed, they all looked at him in shock. Draco was the first to recover.
'Fine. Midnight, in the trophy room, Harrison is my second' Harrison wanted to punch him, but gave no outward reaction.
'Ron's mine. We'll be there.' And with that they turned and left.
'I hope you have no intention of following through with that duel, I assure you we wouldn't even leave the dungeons before getting caught by Snape' Harrison muttered as he continued his breakfast.
Draco shook his head slightly 'I'm not that stupid' Blaise snorted causing Draco to glare at him 'I'll leave a note for Filch to find, they'll have detention for weeks.'
'Anyway' Draco continued 'Forget about that for now. Free period today, we're Quidditch training' looking directly at Harrison, who sighed in response
'Is it too much to ask for me to just read for an hour?'
'Yes' Daphne said, completely serious 'You're doomed I'm afraid. You simply must have some fun' the others smirked as he sighed dramatically.
Harrison walked out onto the Quidditch pitch to see Draco and the others already there, school brooms at the ready, sighing, he went to join them. A waste of a perfectly good afternoon if you asked him but nevertheless, he agreed to help.
'Harrison!' Draco ran over to him and passed him a broom
'Come on, this lot are useless, I need some actual competition'
Harrison shook his head in amusement and mounted the broom, joining the others in the air.
They released a practice snitch and Draco followed it around for a while, Harrison correcting his movements every now and again before joining him in the pursuit. After about half an hour they landed, out of breath.
'Here' Daphne passed them bottles of pumpkin juice to cool off, they took them gratefully.
'That was brilliant' Draco said 'Please tell me you're trying out too!'
Harrison shook his head 'I like flying, but Quidditch is just a waste of time' Draco looked outraged
'But Slytherin need you' he exclaimed
'No, they don't, they have you to be Seeker, I'm more of a Chaser if anything, and the Slytherin team already have three great chasers'
'They won't next year though' Blaise pointed out 'Two of them graduate, and I don't know anyone else that can play as well as you'
Harrison sighed 'Fine. Maybe next year I'll try out'
'I said maybe' he reminded as Draco's face split into a grin
'Yeah, but by next year I'll make sure it's a yes. Merlin. If this is you on a school broom, what would you be like on a good one?' he muttered to himself.
'Come on, it's almost dinner time, and I need to shower first' Harrison said, dragging Draco from the pitch.
He woke up the next morning at a normal time for once. Glad the nightmares had finally come to an end, he quickly got ready for the day and made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast.
'They don't look happy' Draco nodded towards Nick and Weasley as they walked into the room.
He was right, Nick had a scowl on his face and his eyes narrowed as they connected with Harrison's.
'Here we go' he muttered as Nick marched towards them.
'Trying to get us killed, were you?' He hissed
'What are you talking about?' Harrison asked, completely confused
'That dog nearly bit our heads off, and you have the nerve to act as if you had no idea what happened!'
'And aside from that, Filch nearly caught us!' Weasley added, just as furious
'Well that's hardly our fault' Draco said 'We were there. Someone must have tipped Filch off, we narrowly avoided him ourselves'
'Well it wasn't us!' Nick all but shouted
'So, it wasn't you and it wasn't either of us. Do you actually have a reason to be over here or do you just like annoying me?' Harrison said, growing irritated.
'Fine, but this isn't the end.' And with that Nick grabbed the others boys' arm and dragged him away.
'Is this going to become a regular occurrence?' Daphne asked as she sipped her tea.
'I hope not, all this conflict isn't good for digestion you know' Blaise stated
'You're such an old woman Blaise' Theo said, causing the others to laugh.
'Hurry up guys, we'll be late for Transfiguration!' Pansy said suddenly, noticing the time.
'What do you think they meant about almost dying last night?' Draco asked him as they walked through the corridors. Harrison frowned slightly
'I'm not sure, I mean sure, Filch is kind of scary when he shouts but there's no way anyone could believe he would actually kill a student. And they said dog. What dog?'
'Doesn't that gamekeeper have a dog?' Draco mused
'Yeah' he nodded 'but there's no way they'd be scared of that thing. Besides, why would he have been in the castle at that time?'
'Maybe they saw Mrs. Noris' shadow and got scared' Draco laughed. Harrison chuckled slightly
'Yeah, probably' but he wasn't convinced. His brother might be an idiot, but he wouldn't have been scared of the shadow of a cat. He'd have to keep a closer eye on him.
He took a seat near the back of the classroom, giving him a perfect view of his brother. He didn't seem as though he'd nearly died the night before. Perhaps he had just made the whole thing up to try and get them to admit they told Filch about the duel? No, Harrison could always tell when Nick was lying, he was terrible at it, he couldn't have faked the fear in his eyes. He saw a dog, and thought it was going to kill him. The question was, what was a dangerous dog doing roaming the corridors of Hogwarts in the middle of the night? Unless it wasn't. If they heard Filch coming, they would have run away.
'Third-floor corridor' he muttered.
'What?' Draco whispered, confused. Harrison shook his head slightly.
'Mr. Potter' McGonagall called out from the front of the class, causing both him and Nick to look up sharply. She was looking at Harrison.
'Have you even heard a single word I've been saying?' She asked sternly.
The entire class had turned to look at him, his brother was grinning in satisfaction.
'Yes Ma'am' he replied, hoping she wouldn't ask him a question.
'Well then, you could come up here and demonstrate the spell we're doing today' Well that's not good.
'Of course,' he said with an easy smile. Act confident, it'll all be fine.
He stood slowly and made his way to the front of the room, glancing briefly at the blackboard, there were notes for turning a button to a beetle and back again. He searched his thoughts for first-year transfiguration lessons. That was one of them. It should be about right, he thought as he reached the front desk. There was a button on the table. Jackpot.
McGonagall was looking at him sternly.
Well, here goes nothing. He pulled out his wand and muttered the spell, the button transformed instantly, he watched it scuttle along the table for a mere second before turning it back again. He looked up at the Professor who was staring down at him incredulously.
'Detention, Mr. Potter' he frowned slightly.
'This' she gestured to the blackboard 'Is from my second-year class yesterday.' Ah, well, it was a good guess.
'Go and sit back down Mr. Potter, and take 10 points for a perfect transfiguration' She smiled slightly, he grinned and sat back down.
'I don't know how you do it' Draco whispered 'here' he pushed his notes towards Harrison for him to copy.
'Thanks, I just got lost in thought for a moment'
'You said the third floor. What were you thinking about?'
'Nick and Weasley. I think they ended up there last night, Dumbledore said it was dangerous and they said they nearly died. It's the only thing that makes sense.' He explained.
'Exploring a forbidden corridor in the middle of the night. They'd get detention for a year at least if Professor Snape finds out about this!' he said gleefully. Harrison shook his head
'And how would we explain why we know? We'll just have to keep an eye on them for now, try and catch them out, it shouldn't be too difficult.'
'Maybe we should take a trip to the third floor, see what scared them so much?' Draco suggested
'Are you an idiot? Whatever it was nearly killed them, and they're Gryffindor's, they wouldn't admit to being scared so easily if it wasn't actually a danger to them. And besides, even if the dog or whatever it is, didn't kill us, Professor Snape would if we got caught.'
Draco paled slightly at the thought.
'Okay, maybe not then'
'Just keep your eyes and ears open, if you notice anything suspicious, tell me.' Draco nodded.
'So, you can do a second-year transfiguration, can you help me out with the one we're actually supposed to be doing?' Harrison nodded and by the end of the hour, they both had perfect Slytherin green ribbons transfigured from string.
'Mr. Potter, remain behind please' McGonagall called to him as they were filing out of the room.
'Good luck' Blaise muttered, looking worried. Harrison rolled his eyes in response and waited for the room to empty before turning to the Professor.
'Professor, before you say anything, I'd just like to apologize for my lack of attentiveness during today's lesson. It won't happen again.'
'Thank you, I do understand that it can be difficult to pay attention when you already know the material so well. You read more than most of the Ravenclaws do. Perhaps you should focus on assisting your classmates during lessons. It could help your own understanding of the theory as well. And if you ever have any questions about more advanced topics, I would be happy to help.'
Harrison smiled at her
'Thank you, Professor. I'll be sure to bear that in mind in the future. May I go now Ma'am? I promised Theo I'd help him with his Potions homework.'
'Of course. And take another 5 points for helping others.' She smiled warmly and he nodded his thanks before leaving.
'Checkmate' Draco announced proudly as Theo groaned
'That's three in a row, can we play something else now?'
'Fine, Gobstones or exploding snap?' He asked, knowing he'd still win either way. Theo looked deep in thought for a moment before deciding
'Exploding snap, I don't want to have to shower tonight, I can't be bothered' Draco shrugged and pulled out the cards, looking over at Harrison.
'Joining us?' He asked
Harrison looked up from his book and shook his head, he was half way through a defense book he found in the library, it was an older edition and had some spells that were no longer taught in schools.
'Nah, I want to finish this chapter tonight'
'Hey, don't you have detention with McGonagall Harrison?' Daphne asked
'Oh Merlin' he muttered looking at the time, he shut his book and rushed out of the common room without saying goodbye.
'I'll take that as a yes then' she laughed as he ran past them.
He arrived at the classroom just in time, he knocked, trying to control his breath.
'Come in. Ah Mr. Potter, take a seat please. You'll be writing lines for me tonight'
He sat at the desk and pulled out a quill and parchment.
'Okay, I want 100 lines of I will pay attention during my classes'
He sighed and began the work, she continued marking papers at her desk as he wrote.
'Done' he said, setting his quill down and rubbing his wrist.
McGonagall looked up at him 'leave them on my desk and you can go, straight to your common room now, it's past curfew' and with that she went back to her marking.
Well, he thought as he left the room, might as well make the most of being out with an excuse. He started walking and without realising it, ended up on the third floor.
Here goes nothing, he pulled out his wand and walked slowly through the corridor. It was like walking through a ghost town, none of the lamps were lit, it seemed colder here as well, and Harrison could feel his heart beating faster the further he walked. There were several open doors leading to unused classrooms, papers and textbooks were scattered over the floors. Perhaps I shouldn't be here, he thought to himself, if anyone catches me, I'm dead.
He was about to turn around when he saw a closed door at the end of the corridor, I wonder why that one is closed. He stepped slowly towards it, trying to control the panic growing in his chest and reached out and slowly turned the handle. It was locked.
'Alohomora' he whispered, pointing his wand at the lock. He heard a click and knew it worked.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open with a creak.
Harrison froze, so they weren't lying about the dog, but they didn't mention the fact that it had three heads. He backed into the door frame quickly, narrowly avoiding the snapping heads. His eyes met the floor and noticed the trap door. So, it's guarding something, he thought, distracted only for a second before looking back up at the dog. He was just in time, one of the heads was coming towards him at an alarming rate; he jumped back and stumbled, falling to the ground, he hadn't quite managed to avoid the bite. He let out a strangled cry as a sharp pain shot up his arm.
'Oh crap' he gasped before shuffling backwards out of the room, narrowly avoiding a second bite.
He scrambled to his feet and slammed the door shut with his good arm and ran out of the corridor as fast as he could.
He somehow managed to stumble back to the dungeons without being caught, and as soon as he stepped foot in the common room, he collapsed on the floor in agony, clutching his arm.
He spent a few minutes just lying on the cool stone by the door before deciding he needed to do something about his wound. Pushing himself to an upright position, he slowly pushed the blood-caked sleeve of his school shirt out of the way so that he could see the damage. He was bleeding steadily, ragged flesh opened into a deep wound, but thankfully not to the bone. Harrison didn't know any healing spells beyond fixing broken bones, but he decided to give it a go anyway, just in case he had a break somewhere amongst the damage.
'Episkey' he whispered, biting down quickly on his tongue as his wrist snapped back into place.
Okay, apparently it was broken. Well, that was problem one, he thought.
He pulled himself to his feet and made his way as quietly as possible to the bathroom to run himself a shower. He felt better as the hot water ran over his body and he allowed the water to drain the dried blood from his arm. He stepped out and dried off before looking back at his wound. Still bleeding.
Thinking quickly, he tore up the remains of his school shirt and fashioned the pieces into a bandage, which he wrapped tightly around his arm. It all seemed much more manageable now he couldn't see the blood.
He took a few deep breathes before promptly throwing up, he felt quite light headed. Probably the blood loss, he thought. Sure he would feel better in the morning, he went to bed, falling asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
A/N: Thank you! Please review, follow, favourite, etc...