The Greatest Weapon, Chapter 5
AN: This story began before they started the DA, so they don't know about the ROR. Also, this chapter contains some bad language and a little violence; be warned. Also, Dumbledore will not be the good guy in this fic.
Ron and Hermione cornered Harry before he'd even gotten to the common room proper.
"Harry?" Hermione was not forceful, but she was definitely insistent. "Harry, can we talk to you?"
"Um..."
"Please? You've been so distant lately."
"Fine." Harry sighed as he heaved his bag onto his shoulder. "Just, can we talk after lunch? I want to study for our potions quiz." He didn't actually need to study, as they were working on a second year level potion, but to tell the truth, he was stalling for time. Oh, his friends wouldn't be mad, per say, but Ron would wonder why Harry hasn't told him in the first place, and Hermione would ask why he hadn't consulted an authority figure first, and honestly, Harry just didn't want to deal with it.
"Ok," Hermione replied. She looked as if she didn't believe him, but that she was willing to play along. Harry was grateful. "You want us study with you?"
Harry rather didn't, but only because he was working through things in his head. "Fine," he replied at last, and the three of them made their way to their usual place in the common room. After a moment, Harry pulled out his second and fifth year potion textbooks, Ron pulled out his fifth year text, and Hermione pulled out the two books and a few supplemental tomes.
They studied in an uncomfortable silence for some time, occasionally making comments to one another. ("Hermione, do we add the tincture of wormwood before or after the sneezewort?" "Look it up, Ron, how are you ever going to learn if I tell you everything?") or getting distracted by the third years, whose free period it was. At last, Harry gave up all pretense of study and dozed off until it was time for double potions with the Slytherins.
Potions was the usual- well, what had become the usual, as of the last couple of weeks. Snape was subdued, simply passing the quizzes out without any of his patented snarky remarks, and most of the Slytherins kept their heads down and focused on their quizzes, instead of on bothering Gryffindors. At last, Snape accioed the written quizzes, his old smirk making a momentary reappearance as Dean Thomas squeaked, his quill trailing ink down his parchment as it flew away. Then he stacked the quizzes on his desk and set them to work brewing the practical from memory, excluding the final three steps to prevent any issues with misuse of classwork, as with love potion and truth serums.
The class, Harry found, was actually fun, now that Malfoy and his goons didn't make it their life work to slip unidentifiable things into his potions, and Snape didn't launch full on sarcasm attacks. He actually got a potion that was the correct color, if a little too thin, and it was not until the middle of lunch that his good mood fell flat, as he remembered that he still had to talk to his friends. It was quite fortunate that he'd left his potion textbook back in the classroom.
"Harry?"
"What is it, Hermione," Harry asked after swallowing his bite of lemon chicken.
"I just realized- do you know anywhere we can go to talk besides the common room? I mean, I just think..."
"I don't." Harry replied thoughtfully. He absentmindedly began pushing his rice around his plate with his fork to avoid meeting Hermione's earnest gaze. All he wanted was a little more time to think, alone, so he could figure out what to say. "We could try the Chamber of Secrets, maybe, or just find an empty classroom."
"Greenhouse 3," interrupted a quiet voice. The little huddle of Gryffindor fifth years turned around.
"Whuth?" Ron asked.
Hermione thumped him absently. "What do you mean, Neville?"
"There's a spot in greenhouse 3 that no one ever goes to, behind the man-eating sequoia," ("Gee, I wonder why?" Ron muttered) "And it's a good place for a quiet conversation. No one'll hear you there, except maybe Professor Sprout, and she won't tell."
"Thanks Neville," said Harry, meaning it. Then he finished his chicken and most of his rice in a few quick bites, gulped his water, wiped his face off with a napkin at Hermione's sharp look, and flung his bag over his shoulder. "So...meet you guys in greenhouse 3 in like ten minutes?" he said. "That way you can finish your food and I can grab my potion textbook from Snape's classroom."
"Sounds good," said Ron, as Hermione was finishing her chocolate pudding. "Neville, you can come too if you want, since you know the place..."
Harry didn't hear whatever Neville had replied, because he was already halfway out of the Great Hall.