Being the punctual person that Harry is, he went to the Astronomy tower a few minutes before the meeting time that he and his twin brother agreed on. Lawrence was not yet present, but that shouldn't really be a surprise now should it? He normally has the patience that is about as thick as Hogwarts: A History when it comes to certain things but the situation he is currently in is not among those certain things.
Ten minutes passed by rather sluggishly and his twin still hasn't arrived that he considered calling Porthos to fetch his indolent twin brother although he decided against it at the thought of having Porthos seen by the other students in the castle who might be in the same vicinity as his brother.
"What part of 'meet me here at one in the afternoon' did you not understand?" Harry snapped as soon as his brother arrived in the Astronomy tower nearly twenty-minutes past their meeting time. He is absolutely irked by people who have no sense of time. Really, was it so hard to be on time?
"Calm down, brother." Lars said, rolling his eyes. "It's just 10 minutes. Don't get your knickers in a twist."
"You are seventeen minutes and thirty seconds late, Lawrence." he corrected tersely with a sneer, glaring evilly at his brother.
"Whatever, my Lord." Lars said to him flippantly, accompanied with a bow. "What do you want me to do?" Harry gave his brother one last glare before scoffing and procuring a phial filled with black liquid from his pocket.
"You," he passed the phial to his brother, "are going to drink that."
"Erm..." Lars was examining the phial, "are you sure this is not poison? Just the looks of it is a killer."
Harry just narrowed his eyes in annoyance at his brother. "Just drink the bloody potion, Lawrence." he snapped. He really doesn't have the time to be patient with his brother's complaints, jokes or not.
Lawrence looked at him then made a look of disgust before drinking all the contents of the phial. Not a minute after drinking the contents of the phial, Lars transformed into a red and gold, two-legged dragon, about ten feet long from head to tail; and then transformed into beautiful phoenix.
"You transformed into a phoenix and a dragon." he stated his younger twin once the transformations are done.
Lars kept on shaking his head. "I'm fine, thanks for asking." his twin said to him drily.
"You're welcome." he said blandly before procuring another phial of the same potion and drinking it all in one go. Harry felt his eye twitch in slight disgust. He had no idea that the potion tastes worse than it looks. He felt the strong need to vomit on the spot. It tasted worse than skelegrow, and that was saying something considering that skelegrow tastes really, really, really awful.
There was this feeling of being constantly squeezed and stretched. His eyesight kept on shifting, sometimes clearer and can see from afar for a second then to a more normal one. That was tedious, he thought. The constant shifting of his eyesight made his head hurt for a bit.
"All right there, brother?" Lars asked him although he didn't reply immediately wanting to examine if he is fully human again, which he thankfully is.
Ignoring his brother's inquiry, he just asked what his transformations were.
Lawrence answered with a frown, most likely for his blatant disregard of his younger twin's concern. "A crow, a phoenix and a snake with yellow eyes though with a tinge of your green." Harry can't help but to be a bit surprised at his last form. It was surprising and pleasing nonetheless.
"So now, the million galleon question," he said with a commentary-like tone, "what form do you want to take?" Lars seemed to think for a moment before frowning again and turning to him for a suggestion.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Lawrence," he said, "I'm your brother not your brain though both starts with 'b' and 'r' and followed by a vowel, how would I know what you should pick?"
"Uhmm..." Lars looked up, "because you pick things based on their usefulness?"
Harry shook his head. "For you, I'd go with the phoenix."
"Because?"
"Because the phoenix is rarer and more powerful." he explained. "Its tears have healing powers. And also you can use it to teleport yourself."
"Really?" Lars asked in obvious amazement "Wicked!"
"Yes, wicked."
"Alright, alright...phoenix it is...what about you?" Lars asked excitedly. "Maybe we could both be phoenixes?"
"I'd rather not." he replied, making a face. He's not exactly fond of the idea of being a flaming poultry.
"So the snake then?" offered Lars, to which he nodded.
"How big was the snake?"
"I guess as wide as you...and fifteen to twenty foot long? What snake was it?"
"It's a basilisk."
Lars' eyes widened at that. "But..."
"Why didn't you die?" Lars nodded. "I don't know, but since you didn't then I guess it would be safe that I work on transforming into that snake around you."
"You're going to be a basilisk animagus and I'll be a phoenix. Wicked!" Harry rolled his eyes at his brother who is acting like an idiotic three year old because of the excitement.
"Where are we going to practice being an animagus?"
"For the place," he drawls with slight uncertainty, "we would have to use different places every time. I'll just have Porthos fetch you if we're going to practice." They need to have a variety of places. It just wouldn't do to have only one.
Lars nodded. "Can we start now?"
"Yes." he drawled, forming a small smirk. "You can start by knowing anything that you can about phoenixes."
"Research?" Lars said with a frown. "Oh well as long as I get to be an animagus."
It was a minute of silence before Lars said "You're not trying to get a hold of roosters to kill her, are you?" Harry looked at his brother. Personally, he would have were it not for his promise not to. Promises are meant to be broken, that he knows very well, but if he breaks his promise to his twin, he knows for a fact that he'll also lose a portion of his twin's trust.
"No." he answered honestly though quite irritably, pulling out his wand and riffling with it. "Contrary to erroneous belief, Lawrence, I do know how to honour a promise, so don't insult me by assuming otherwise. I'll only –Petrificus Totalus!" A body dropped on the floor of the tower like a stone.
"What the bleeding hell did you do!?" Harry didn't answer his brother instead he walked towards where the eavesdropper fell down. The eavesdropper was a stout looking boy with a blondish hair. Judging from the badge on the cloak, the chap's a Hufflepuff. He knew that something was off since earlier, like someone was following them. Apparently, he's right.
As he normally is.
"Macmillan," Lars said from behind him. Macmillan was the one who gossiped with the other Hufflepuffs that Lars is going to be the next Dark Lord, so much for Hufflepuffs being loyal and just.
"Do you think he heard what we were talking about?" Lars asked him.
"I doubt it," he replied confidently before pointing his wand at Macmillan and casting "Rennervate." The spell caused Macmillan to bolt awake. Harry grabbed Macmillan's collar and pulled him up with a bit of difficulty. Manhandling somebody is so not his style. It's very dowdy in his opinion.
"Hey take your hands off of me you slimy Slytherin!" Macmillan snarled, trying to shake away from his firm grip. The Hufflepuff may be a bit bigger than him but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a strong grip.
"I'll tell a teacher what you two are doing here." threatened Macmillan when Harry made a move that slightly gives off an indication that he was going to strangle the hufflepuff.
"Sure." he said nonchalantly with a smirk. "Here's a better idea; how about I just throw you off the tower?" Macmillan looked horrified at his proclamation. Hufflepuffs are fairly easy to scare, no offence to their founder and their head.
Harry heard his brother sigh. "Seriously Harry, what you're doing is extremely counterproductive on my part." Lars remarked. "He surely as hell won't be convinced that I'm not petrifying the muggleborns when my twin brother acts like my personal psychotic bodyguard."
"Fair enough, I suppose." he conceded, eyes still fixed on Macmillan, and grip as firm as ever on the other's collar. "Don't even try to run Macmillan or I'll body bind you again then throw you off the tower." he threatened before he let loose his hands from Macmillan's collar.
"What did you hear?" asked Lars, sounding considerably kind that it slightly rattled Harry.
"Nothing!" Macmillan exclaimed indignantly, fixing his collar. "I didn't even know that there was someone here until your bloody psychotic of a brother blasted me with a body bind curse..." Harry looked piercingly at Macmillan, not exactly liking being called 'psychotic'.
"What did you see?" asked Harry, with a more hostile tone than his brother.
"I told you nothing." Macmillan replied with a slight stammer.
"Stop lying." he hissed. "Now, I repeat, what did you see?"
"N-nothing," Macmillan began to stutter.
"Harry," Lars began calmly, "maybe he really didn't see anything."
Harry glared at his brother thinking how it is that most Gryffindors are relatively that easy to convince of someone's innocence, especially of one who has done them no huge sin. "I know that he saw something." he said firmly. "He saw what we were doing then tried to eavesdrop." he turned to Macmillan. "Unless you want all of your memories gone, you better tell me the exactly wha -Expelliarmus." Macmillan's wand flew out of his hand then fell on the floor.
"Don't you, dare." he hissed dangerously at Macmillan. "What. Did. You. See?"
"You're not going to obliviate me." Macmillan said bravely though still with a slight stammer. "Th-that's against the school rules."
"Macmillan, I go against the school rules when it suits me." he declared, looking condescendingly at the Hufflepuff. "And when I do obliviate you, I can assure you that I will be able to get away with it."
"You wouldn't dare." Macmillan said, more courageous this time.
"Oh would I not?" Harry chuckled amusedly. "Have it your way, Oblivi -" He smirked when he was cut off by Macmillan's exclamation of "Don't." Predictable, he thought.
"Fine, I saw you drink a potion then transform, you're trying to be an animagi."
"Elaborate –shush Lawrence." he ordered when Lars' mouth opened with a possible remonstrance.
"You transformed into a crow, a phoenix and a snake." said Macmillan.
Harry waved his hand and Macmillan's own wand flew back on the hufflepuff's hand.
"Thank you, Obliviate." Macmillan's eyes were blank for a moment. "You never saw us here. You spent your time watching the snow outside before growing bored immediately. As of now you're on your way back to the Hufflepuff common room." Harry pulled his brother away from Macmillan then hid behind a few astronomy apparatus. They watched as Macmillan looked around his surroundings, a bit disoriented, before climbing down the stairs.
"Did you really have to interrogate him?" Lars asked him with a frown, obviously displeased at what he did. But, as usual, he doesn't care.
"Yes I did." he answered point-blank. "For your information, Lawrence Potter, if you don't have any specific memory that you want to erase, or you know nothing at all about the memories of the person, you can cause that person's brain to go haywire resulting in that person being a resident in one of St. Mungo's wards." he took a deep breath before continuing. "That wouldn't exactly bode well for me now, would it?"
"No, no it wouldn't." his brother agreed. "So, what were you saying earlier again then?"
"I said, that I'll only push through in killing that snake by the time someone dies." he said gravely but his face has some sort of sadistic smile, or smirk, on it.
"A life for a life, wouldn't you agree?" Harry noticed his brother lip biting. Of course Lars doesn't want anyone to die. Harry had hoped that his brother would fall into the bait and say that they should try and kill it but instead, Lars confidently said "She won't kill anyone. We need to find that chamber fast." Lars began to walk away after that statement.
"Lawrence!" he called out to his brother, the cold, cruel and malevolent smirk still on his face. "When someone dies, let's see how well you can live with the guilt of knowing that you were a hindrance in disposing of a murderer." Lars didn't bother looking at him, and just continued to walk away.
After the start of term they continued seeing each other to practice their forms, but they rarely discuss the snake because of their differing opinion on what to do with the creature. Whilst he was adamant that they should try the rooster thing, Lars was still against the thought of killing the creature due to his naivety so they just discuss about the chamber itself.
The meeting places for their practice varied from the Astronomy tower then to some empty corridors, even using the forbidden third floor corridor once. They had managed to transform the skins on their hand into the skin of their respective animals, basilisk scales for Harry and phoenix feathers for Lars.
The skins proved to be a problem for them when one time they weren't able to turn it back to its original one, thus using a glove that Harry charmed to look like a real skin. They, of course, avoided hand contact with other people. Lars had trouble making up an excuse, while Harry had no problem at all, simply stating that he doesn't like people to touch his hand is a warning enough for people not to touch it. His brother, on the other hand, distracted his friends from seeing his hand with telling them the truth about being an heir of Slytherin. Granger didn't react unkindly to it, and she really shouldn't. Weasley had, on the other hand. That git literally ignored Lars. It lasted for a few days until Harry had had enough and asked Vince and Goyle to do him the favour of bringing Weasley to an empty corridor in the dungeons by any means possible.
"Thank you." he said to Vince and Goyle when they've finally brought, and apparently manhandled Weasley to the dungeons. "If you need anything, just ask." The pair nodded and sodded off whilst he and Weasley were left behind.
"Question," he said as he watched Weasley get up on his feet after being unceremoniously left to the ground by Vince and Goyle, "what the bloody hell is your problem, weasel?"
"My problem is you." Weasley spat. "You and your blasted cronies who dragged me here."
Harry raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, standing arrogantly as usual. "Had you come along with them willingly, they need not have manhandled you." he said wryly. "Now, let's talk about my brother and your ridiculously miniscule mind."
"There's nothing to talk about, Evandrus." said Weasley with a tone of finality.
"Yes, there is." he insisted, daring the red head to walk away from him. "Were you or were you not told by my brother about the secret? And, did you or did you not start acting like the little twit that ye are afterwards?"
Weasley just glared at him and refused to answer.
"My brother trusted you." he said, voice oozing with as much diplomacy as he could handle. "And now, it appears that you are judging him."
"It's all your fault!" Weasley barked at him. "You, ever since you returned, Lars started to have more inclination to hangout with your lot." Harry's eye twitched in irk at Weasley's statement.
"And just what do you mean by that, Weasley?" he asked, voice low and silently fuming.
"Precisely what I said." Weasley retorted with a huff. "You and your lot of snakes and future dark wizards." That was just about the last straw for Harry. He waved a hand and Weasley got pinned on the wall.
"You ignorant, closed-minded, ponce!" he yelled in anger at Weasley's blatant stupidity and judgemental set of mind. "I don't know how my brother can stand you. You are just like the others, a supremacist on the other side, just like him." Harry drew his wand, seeing no point in having a civil conversation with Weasley.
"I can see no hope for you, you bloody twit." he pointed his wand at Weasley then "Obliviate." Like what he did to that Hufflepuff boy, he just instructed what Weasley is to think, mainly apologizing to Lawrence and be more understanding about Lawrence's confession, and removing himself, Crabbe and Goyle from the picture. After all that, he hid himself yet again.
Honestly speaking, he slightly regretted impulsively removing Weasley's memory, knowing that all he did was shuffle the redhead's memories as opposed to burying it deeply like what he did with that Hufflepuff boy. Weasley is bound to remember it sooner or later with the right trigger, so to speak. He just hopes that his brother doesn't find anything too fishy about Weasley's sudden change of heart. He'd rather not explain himself to his brother and risk that the news makes its way to Midas. He'll never hear the bloody end of it if it did.
Other than the usual nonsense, days and weeks just passed by with them having a near fruitless investigation about the chamber. Vince and Goyle spoke not one word of the favour he had asked ergo, Theo and Draco never knew about what he did to Weasley. AND, he has no intention of letting anyone know about it. And Lawrence did not find anything dodgy about it at all.
February came and the fourteenth day of that month was what Harry grew to hate the most during the term. The day being Valentines' day, Lockhart had the Great Hall decorated in pink with hearts, then had dwarves running about the castle, following people to give their Valentines.
One dwarf followed Harry on that day, least to say it irked him to the core.
"Expelliarmus!" He blasted at the dwarf before it made its way three feet near him. This day was absolute madness! Harry wanted to yell yet refrained from doing so considering that it's improper.
"Do you mind if I stay for the rest of my free period?" he immediately asked as soon as he entered the Potions Master classroom, not bothering to see if there's someone there apart from the potions master. Luckily, there was none.
"No." was the curt reply he heard from his Professor. Harry looked at his teacher who didn't tear his eyes off some parchment before sitting on a chair quietly. A few moments later, a knock on the door was heard.
"Enter," Professor Snape called out. Harry rose from his chair and stood beside the Professor's desk, just being careful in case a dwarf was the one who knocked. It turned out, it wasn't a dwarf rather it was a group of girls who entered the classroom. The girls, surprisingly, became bold enough to ask Professor Snape for a love potion, courtesy of Lockhart's suggestion of course. And the reply was, as expected, Snape-like.
"OUT! ALL OF YOU OUT!" The booming voice of the potions master made the girls scuttle out of the classroom faster than the speed of sound.
"Well, now I'm going to get a laugh out of this," he jested with a dry tone to his Professor. Of course he wouldn't do that. It'll be a bit unbecoming of him if he laughs like a hysterical maniac so he just chuckled. "Who knew that the only way for the students not to get scared of you is to have them ask for a love potion, sir?"
"Hilarious," Professor Snape said sarcastically. "I daresay you will have the same predicament as I the moment you remove yourself from my classroom." Harry shuddered at that thought. It was well known in the school that he is the Potions Master's apprentice. He cannot imagine a ton of stupid girls asking him for a love potion.
There was another knock on the door, an incessant knocking that could bring down the door.
"Enter," the door burst open and Lars fell on the ground with dwarf seated on his back.
"His eyes are as hazel as a delicious nut,
His hair is as messy as cleaning mop.
I wish he was mine, he's really divine,
The hero who conquered the Mouldy-wart."
"Charming," Harry said dryly when the dwarf finished its off-tuned song.
"Care to explain, why you were banging my door, Mr. Potter?" Professor Snape asked acidly. Harry was wishing that there should also be a dwarf to follow Professor Snape. That would be really quite amusing.
"Really sorry...Sir," Lars stammered. "Those dwarves that that stupid man sent found their way inside the Gryffindor tower...and….well I figured Harry would be here...uh Sir." Lars looked at him, possibly for help and he in turn looked at his Professor before asking permission for his brother.
"One sound from you, Potter, and you're out of my classroom." Professor Snape warned austerely, allowing both of them to stay. Whilst in the potions classroom, Professor ignored Lars completely, acting as if Lars wasn't even present.
As predicted, some girls approached Harry and asked to make a love potion. Of course the only way to get rid of them without doing some bodily harm is to be rude.
"Oh mate, girls are looking for you everywhere," Theo said dreamily while they were in the distastefully decorated Great Hall spending another portion of their free time.
"Yeah mate," Draco agreed. "Those girls were even asking us where you were, said they're going to ask if you can make them a love potion."
"I sure hope you did not encourage them to seek me out." Theo and Draco shared a mischievous grin before chorusing "Of course not."
Harry ran a hand on his face (earlier he considered banging his head on the table). Hiring Lockhart was one thing. Giving Lockhart permission to celebrate Valentines is another thing. Their dear old Headmaster should really consider having a psychiatric evaluation one of these days.
Even when his lessons were over for the day, some had still approached him for a potion, a potion that he hasn't even tried brewing nor is he even planning to brew at the current time. There was only one place where noise will not be tolerated, apart from his quarters. And so he passed his time hiding in the library. His room is out of the question seeing as Theo and Draco are there.
"Hey there Prince Charming." he jumped at the voice. He recognized it. It was Gre-Daphne's voice. Come to think of it he hasn't spoken to her at all, only occasional hellos and how are you and when they thanked each other for the Christmas presents that they exchanged over the Yule, and occasional walks from the library whenever they happen to bump with each other there and even then, they were mostly silent walks though. Their conversation never seemed to go beyond their studies. Heck, they didn't even talk about the heir of Slytherin thing.
"I'm hardly a Prince Charming." he replied dryly as she took a seat beside him.
"Well it's either that or sleeping beauty." Daphne said with a giggle. Harry was unable to restrain himself from rolling his eyes at the girl's giggle.
"Those are muggle references, Greengrass." he pointed out. "How do you know of it?"
"Daphne." she corrected and he nodded. "I had few interactions in the muggle world."
"That's...good, I suppose." he drawled out. "And here I always thought you're a snobbish girl, and of course, like most purebloods, have a superiority complex and a serious attitude problem, especially when it comes to muggles." Heaven forgive him for thinking that way but that's how purebloods usually are. One doesn't have to look far, just look at him. He's not a pureblood though he came from a prominent family and generations of wizards, and still he has quite a superiority complex and snobbish attitude at people.
Daphne looked offended at what he had said. "Do you always think badly of people around you?" she asked.
Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, obviously." he says with a matter-of-fact tone to Daphne before adding, for the sake of being proper and polite and nothing other than that, "And obviously, what I think isn't always applicable, Daphne."
Daphne smiled at that. "To be honest, I thought you will be a hateful person considering what happened to you." she admitted.
"You thought that I will hate my brother." he stated and Daphne nodded affirmatively. "For a while I did." he admitted after a pause. He doesn't even know why he's telling her this. For one, he had only been in cordial terms with her a few months ago, and even then it's not like they chat with each other very often.
"And what changed?" she asked, seeming interested.
"Well, my mind changed." he replied with a shrug. "Apart from my own realization that hating my brother is irrational and nonsensical, someone also told me to never wallow on my hate for it will bring more harm than good. So there, I just followed his advice." he shook his head in amused manner. "He has far worse experience with his brothers so he knows what he's saying about hate."
"What of your father?" Daphne asked. "Do you hate him? I mean, if you..."
Harry waved a hand to cut her off. "No, I don't mind." he said to her. And he really doesn't mind, weird as that may be considering that if the person he's talking to is some other one, he'll snap at him or her for prodding their protruding noses where it doesn't belong.
"And as for your question, well, honestly I don't think I do. It's much easier to hate him, it's, it's justified. But, it, just...it just doesn't feel...right." he paused to clear his throat for he can hear that his voice was not his usual that sounds neutral and unemotional at all rather he sounds like his tone was sad.
"I think it would be better that I do not let my mind dwell with my hate for him." he continued. "Hate gives us leverage. It's like a ton of bricks weighing heavily on your mind that you need to set down. I'd rather not go insane wallowing on my hate for him."
"And besides," he added, "he's dead so I might as well shove it."
"That's the longest you said to me." She pointed out with a smile.
Harry chuckled quietly and quickly. "Yes well, you're the only one I have said that to." he admitted. "Well no one really asked me if I hate him or not. I mean some asked but I never gave that reason."
She smirked at him. "I'm feeling special today."
"Everybody's special in their own way, Miss Greengrass." he told her quite honestly, sighing as he did so. "Just as you are special for making people feel that it's safe to talk around you."
Harry saw her blush at that, though didn't quite understand why considering that he only stated his honest, even if slightly not thought out opinion.
"So, you feel safe to talk to me?" she asked, sounding a bit...shy? He has words to describe Daphne Greengrass but 'shy' is definitely not one of those words.
He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Perhaps." he replied with a small shrug. "Or perhaps I'm just feeling a bit cordial today." That was a bit far from the truth considering that he really doesn't feel cordial at all because of the fiasco that Lockhart had set up, that and the other stupid girls who asked him if he could make a love potion.
After that small, they read their respective books but stayed in the same place. Daphne didn't seem to mind his presence there but then again he was there first. If she finds his presence distracting then she should leave.
"What's your favourite flower?" he blurted out without actually thinking it through. Since Daphne took the time and did not mind him being around, he might as well do something nice for her. It is Valentine's day after all and she might like this little trick.
"Take a guess." She said playfully.
Harry frowned lightly, he was not good in guessing what people like or dislikes moreover he doesn't really care about both, but anyway. "Give me your hand." he told her and she wilfully complied. He placed his right hand on top of her palm while his left hand was on the other side of her hand. Her hand was soft, he'll tell her that.
No, he won't really tell her that.
"I have no idea what your favourite flower is," he informed her, "though I do hope you'll like this." Harry closed his eyes and focused his magic on Daphne's palm. With a small flash of light in between their palms, he removed his hand atop Daphne's.
"It's beautiful." Daphne said, holding up a white, star-shaped flower that he had conjured as a gift for her. "Thank you, Harry."
"You're welcome Greengrass and Happy Valentine's day." he replied looking away with a small smile.
"I've never seen anything quite like this before." Daphne remarked, still looking at the flower in awe. "What's its name?"
"Evermind, if I'm not mistaken." he says to her. "It doesn't wither and it can grow at any season."
Daphne smiled again. "Curious, I've never heard of such beautiful flower." she mused. "Have you ever given anyone a flower like this before?"
Harry frowned and thought the question odd but answered nevertheless. "No. I've never had a reason to and quite frankly I wanted to see if I can actually conjure it for you."
"So, no one knows that you can do this?" Daphne asked, looking at him admirably.
Harry hummed. "No, no one knows that I actually can." he said. "Do keep the information to yourself. I don't want people asking me to conjure flowers for them."
Daphne giggled. "Alright, Mr. Enigmatic, it's a secret between you and I." Harry just nodded at her before glancing to look at his watch.
"Time already?" Daphne asked him.
"Nearly." he replied, preparing to gather his things.
"Let me just have these signed." she excused herself before going over to Madame Pince to have the books logged out. Harry just followed after he finished fixing his belongings. When Madame Pince finished signing the books, he offered once more to carry the books for her, just like what he did before.
Their walk wasn't all that quiet like the previous ones. Daphne asked him a few random things like his favourite colour, favourite food or things like that. Normally, and if he was with other people who looked irritating and not kind and beautiful, he would have snapped at them, but this was...well, her, no particular reason really. The fact that matter is that he responded cordially, asking her the same questions as well. He now knows that her favourite colour is blue, food is blueberry tart and, flower then was Larkspur but now Evermind. He also now knows that her sister is Astoria Greengrass, the first year Slytherin whom he barely noticed at all, her father's cousin is a squib but quite known in the muggle world and, she likes spending time in the garden of their estate, among other things.
When they arrived in the common room, he scowled at the people who looked at them with scrutinizing eyes. Just like before, he carried the books just right outside Daphne's room. Parkinson gave him an evil look that he gave back with a small smirk.
"Thanks Harry, goodnight...and..." she hesitated. "Happy Valentine's day as well." He gave her a smile before bowing politely like a gentleman and leaving for his room. Well that was nice, he thought with a smile, a real smile and not a condescending or mocking smirk that he usually gives to people.
"Who the bloody hell are you?" Theo asked him once he entered the room, much to his confusion of course.
"Excuse me?" he said after blinking a few times.
"You're smiling." Theo pointed out, hissing out the letter s. "Harry doesn't smile like that."
Harry rolled his eyes at his friend's antic. "I assure you, Theodore, that I don't have Moebius syndrome ergo I am perfectly capable of smiling." He hadn't even noticed that he was still smiling until Theo pointed it out. Not really, no.
Theo raised an eyebrow at him, arms crossing in a challenging manner. "Alright then," says the pureblood, "what on earth are you smiling about?"
Harry huffed. "Something I was thinking about." he replied vaguely. It would be ridiculous if he replied that he was smiling about nothing. He was far from crazy, thank you very much. But he supposed he was smiling because someone made him felt that it was safe to talk without the fear of using them as leverage against you. Midas, Ethan, Lars, Remus, Sirius and Philip are the exceptions. The first five are his family, so to say, one being his guardian, one being his godfather, two being his brothers, one being a very good friend of his godfather, and one being the best mate of his guardian who at the same time has the belief that it's immoral to divulge personal things about other people unless they're an enemy or it is of extreme importance.
Truth be told, whenever he speaks to either Theo or Draco, he is always wary that they will betray him, maybe not now but in the future. It's a dangerous trail that he's walking on, being friends with the sons of two known, even if not convicted deatheaters. He might become too trusting and end up being betrayed by them. In retrospect, his friends' statuses are just as dangerous, because maybe in the near future they'll eventually have to choose sides, and when that happens, the scions of the Malfoy and Nott family might be in danger should they not follow the side that their family wants them to follow.
Until then though, he'll be optimistic about his friends, and most of the things around him.