Here is the next chapter. I hope you like it. Please read a review thanks love Hermione xxx
Harry woke up in the morning determination on his mind. There were things he needed to do and it was sooner rather then later which would benefit him the most. "Dobby! If I ordered you to tell me some things about your last master would you be able to do it or would you not be able to do it as you were his before you were mine?" Harry asked as Dobby looked at him wide eyed.
"Yes Master Harry Potter Sir I could. What do you want to know?" he asked as Harry looked thoughtful. In theory he could ask him anything really but for now there was only really one thing he needed to know.
"Did Lucius Malfoy or is wife have or know any healers who called to the house personally to meet with one or both of them?" he asked as Dobby thought about it for a moment.
"Yes they did. They had healer Winters call to the house from time to time!" he answered honestly.
"What was Healer Winters doing there as in what was she treating?" he asked curiously as he thought that given what Malfoy senior used to do it could be for anything at all really.
"Well old Mistress Narcissa Malfoy was having treatments because she could not have another baby and wanted another one. She could only have Draco and even he was a miracle as she kept loosing babies before they could be born. Healer Winters said something about being exposed to the crutiatus curse one too many times. It was sad as old Mistress was truly heartbroken about it. Nothing could be done and now she has only Draco".
"What was Draco like at home as a former master?" he asked then his interest more than piqued.
"Well Draco was a lovely boy but very arrogant and sometimes he hit me when I did not do something because his parents told me not to listen to him or something. Sometimes he really needed me and I couldn't help him because his parents forbade it. I am a house elf and used to things like that so he did not scare me. He was a sensitive and confused boy but he was always told things which are not true about himself and he learned that at school. He was heartbroken about it but it serves him right as he needed to learn that hard lesson for himself" he answered brutally.
Harry was incensed. Yes he'd agreed to be Draco's friend now or to at least try to be his friend but that would have to mean letting go of the past and he's not sure that was something he would ever be able to do. Yes he could say he would do it but would he ever truly be able to mean what he was saying? I mean Draco had hit Dobby.
"Dobby go now and hit Draco without him seeing you and tell him in a different voice then your own that he deserves it and that you're now even and then return to me" he said as Dobby left. Draco was getting out of bed when he felt this almighty smack against his chest throwing him back onto the bed with his legs akimbo looking shocked to the core. Then he heard the mysterious voice telling him he deserved it and that they were now even. Dobby returned to Harry who was waiting and smiled when he heard what had happened as even though he ordered it himself it was rather amusing to hear that Draco had landed in the bed legs akimbo like that. He would for sure find something like that undignified.
"Dobby I need you to look for a special mind healer for me. I need to see one about my childhood as it was awful before I came to Hogwarts and I feel like my relationship with Hermione cannot progress without it being dealt with once and for all. I am not ok and I need to face that. It will be hard on me in ways I don't yet understand but I may need more care from you then I do now. I don't know yet. If you see that I need help and I am in no fit state to ask you for it please help me as best you can. Do you think you can find the appropriate healer for me who would be sensitive to my needs and not want me just because of my status as the Boy who lived?" he asked as Dobby smiled.
"I know just the person Harry Potter sir and he will be prefect for you. His name is Healer William D'souza. He's an amazing healer and will be perfect to help you. I will call and see him when I know he's free later today and he will write to you later on. Do you agree sir?" he asked nervously.
"Yes I trust you Dobby you never need to be nervous around me. Contact him when you can and then he can get in touch with me when he's ready. Thank you Dobby!" he said hugging the elf who beamed at him from the praise. He went on to breakfast alone as Hermione had gone on to the Library ahead of him to reference a book for something she'd been thinking of. It was only their first day back and already she'd made it to the library even before classes. He headed downstairs to breakfast and ate it peacefully while he waited for her to join him. She always was an early bird something he was still getting used to.
He was rejoined by Hermione in a few minutes and told her what he'd asked Dobby to do. "Harry I think that's great. If you need support at any time please tell me and I'll give you whatever you need. I may not always get that you need help but I'll always be by your side no matter what. You're my best friend and I love you!" she said quietly but sincerely so no one else could hear her.
He teared up at that as it was just what he needed to hear. Why had no one ever said it to him before? He would need to learn how to be able to love someone properly as no one had ever loved him before now. "Thank you Hermione. I know I'm not able to properly love someone yet over my awful childhood but I am sure going to try. I do love you so much you know I just need help learning how to express it properly without thinking so much about my childhood" he said quietly as they finished breakfast. Hermione hugged him and kissed his cheek. They went on to Potions class which was their first lesson the schedule Professor McGonagall had given them. When they went into the room Professor Slughorn was waiting for them with a huge smile on his face. Harry was very wary of him as he looked too happy to be teaching potions then again he'd been used to Professor Snape so that might explain why he was uncomfortable with it.
"Welcome class now we need to have serious talk before this lesson is commenced. To be honest I am most disappointed in Slytherin my own house. We have become so focused on being cunning that we have forgotten what it means to be smart at all. Professor Snape favoured his own house so much that he never even bothered to teach the smarter houses anything else. Yes I did say smarter. Look I am a Slytherin myself and if people didn't spend so much time trying to outsmart or cheat people at things they may actually learn a thing or too. So my advice to all Slytherin's is to shut up, put up and listen as you may learn something" he said seriously shocking all the Slytherins present as they hadn't expected their new head of house to be so mean to them although they did deserve it.
"People who are educated are lucky to have such an opportunity. I may be a Slytherin but I am not better then you. I know more then you obviously as I am the teacher but I am not better then any of you. Hell the best person in this room right now at performing magical spells is Harry Potter and he's not even then teacher so don't under estimate people ever. Also it's not just Slytherin who has lessons to learn. When is the last time a Gryffindor actually thought about something before charging in blind and trying to fix the problem before they knew what it was? When is the last time a Ravenclaw learned something for more then the sake of learning it. When is the last time Ravenclaw learned something obscure and actually used it? There is no power is selfish knowledge attainment. Also Loyalty is great just make sure you Hufflepuffs don't become so loyal to one another that you no longer know fact from fiction. You are all entitled to your own opinions and never let anyone or even a majority of your house tell you otherwise. Bullying is a weakness and makes you look ten times more insecure then you might be. I am looking at you Mr Malfoy. Just be careful ok because I like you but resent what you do and don't want everyone to judge you unfairly. I warned you don't come complaining to me later on" he ranted shocking everyone present but he was far from finished. He had a point to make and would be making sure people knew that.
"In a minute I will ask some questions and I would prefer it if Hermione Granger does not answer them as I have seen memories of every years classes to get to know the students and I can see from your year you do answer all the questions without giving someone else the opportunity to answer them. Take Mr Longbottom for example. I have seen countless examples in those memories where he knew the answer but couldn't answer as fast as you and because he wasn't given the time to think he missed out. Slow down. More then likely you'll never be wrong and get great grades anyway. Also if you are wrong at some point which I do doubt it will be a good learning lesson for you. Look I don't know why you were placed in Gryffindor but obviously the hat saw something special in you. Harry Potter may be the best at spells in the room from what I've seen but it doesn't in any way mean he'll be the best at potions. He could suck at potions and I would never know yet. Never prejudge anyone or under estimate them ever" he finished shocking people.
Hermione's face had gone bright red and looked close to tears but didn't cry. She couldn't help it if she always knew the answers and did earn Gryffindor the most house points because of it. She never meant to stop anyone else from answering. It was just a habit she had and one she'd need to breaking quite clearly.
"For this next part I want you all to put on blindfolds. I will pass a potion under your noses one by one and you are to tell me what you smell. We'll start with Draco Malfoy and go from there!" he said as he sealed the blindfold on Draco so he couldn't cheat which he was known to do. Draco gasped as the potion was placed under his nostrils.
"Well sir I smell champagne, roses, chocolate, citrus shampoo and spices. I also smell something I cannot identify but I think it belongs to a girl in this class. I know that's weird for me to say but I cannot lie and that is what I smell!" he said as everyone gasped with him.
"Well done five points to Slytherin. Harry Potter you're up!" he called out as the vial was placed under Harry's nose who was scared about what he might smell.
"Well I smell chocolate, burning logs from a crackling fire, mulled wine, treacle tart and vanilla lotion. The last thing I smell is Hermione's hair sir. I don't like that I've been that honest but I had no choice it was what I smelled after all" he said as Slughorn clapped.
"Well done Harry. Five points to Gryffindor house!" he said as he moved on to everyone else and finally came to Ron.
"I smell Lavender candles, home cooking, baking, rough leather and raspberries. I also smell Lavender Browns' perfume sir and it smells wonderful. I mean why can't everything smell that good!" he called out blushing up to his roots.
"Because I like to keep things interesting Hermione you can go last now. Thank you Mr Weasley!" he said as Hermione had the vial passed under her nose.
"I smell fresh parchment, old books, chocolate, lemon cheesecake, spiced oranges and lastly I smell Harry's hoodie!" she said blushing as all of the blindfolds were removed.
"You may have noticed the blindfolds were infused with veritas serum so you couldn't lie to me. That was Amortentia and it shows us what scents out hearts desire most. It is the most powerful potion in the room. It does not create real love as that would be impossible but it can cause obsession with one person in particular. As you've gathered it shows us all a different scent based solely upon what attracts us the most. I want for your next class a one parchment length essay on how it made you feel when you smelled the things you did. Please listen to me all of you now when I say one parchment I mean just one. No one gets extra points for writing more then that and not listening to clear instructions. Are we all clear Ravenclaws, Hermione Granger? I know from those memories you often do more then necessary or was asked of you and while admirable it is annoying too. I don't say that to be cruel I say it to clarify your expectations for the next year in my class. If I am honest I am rather impressed with what I've seen so far. Ten points to all houses for a good lesson well learned today. You may go!" he said seriously.
That had been one hell of a lesson and if everyone was honest he'd spoken some serious home truths they'd all needed to hear but Snape had been too bitter to tell them. To hell with that. His house would be one of honour and prestige again even if he had to claw his way to the top position dragging the members of his house kicking and screaming with him. It was high time Slytherin house had a real lesson in what it took to be a good Slytherin because there was no honour in how they behaved any longer. He would die before he would see his house further disgraced. Harry really liked the lesson. He had spoken pointing out fairly the flaws within each house starting with his own. His idolisation of Harry was a bit worrying but something he was sure could be nipped in the bud soon. All in all it was shaping up to be a good day so far.