Monday morning broke, the way it often did in Scotland, with sunlight filtering through clouds. As was predictable in the gloamy morning, Harry Potter was the first one out of bed, as he quickly showered and raced down to the common room to see what he could read. There was a fantastic book on Magical Creatures (was that really year Four?) that he opened and began to skim, prioritizing reading about dragons and centaurs because they seemed both more dangerous, and more likely to occur at a school (Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon was Hogwart's motto, after all, so it stood to reason there might be a dragon sleeping under Hogwarts - though in his careful poking around the Slytherin dungeons, Harry hadn't seen hide nor hair of even a potential entrance. Still, it was silly to assume that they'd have put the entrance in the Slytherin region - far more practical to put it in Hufflepuff territory; not only were they less inclined to look for trouble, but others (like bold Gryffs) would be less likely to discover it).
It was hours before Harry was jostled out of his reading by the sound of light footsteps. Wait... was that the twins? Harry nestled back into his hiding place, enjoying the way the bucket swung from their paired arms. He liked it considerably less when they hung it above the door. Now, that was a classic trick, true, but Harry was actually starting to feel hungry (detention and the normal weekend had incited his appetite), and he didnt' want to be the one to get drenched with whatever was in there.
Harry turned the "what if" over in his head, three times, before finally laying it down and resolving that he was going to wait for someone else. If only he had a way to knock on the other side of the door... There were so many spells he needed to learn, and he was discovering that Charms in particular didn't lean toward the practical, just the easy to learn.
About a half hour later, Perfect Prefect Percy was suitably drenched, and Harry - careful to not slip - slid out of the Gryffindor Common Room to attend breakfast. He was famished and ate with a will.
By the time most of the Gryffs had even started to trickle in, Harry was playing with a bit of fruit for dessert.* His mind was busy, thinking about what he knew wasn't true, and then laying out the possibilities. Harry didn't believe that someone could really bribe the goblins to allow a thief to escape justice. That meant that the person was at the very least exceptional in some way, as breakins weren't a normal occurrence. However, he might just be arrogant...
Harry Potter's musings were cut short as the owls flew down. As always, he paused and watched them fly. He wished he could have wings, it'd be loads better than any broomstick. Speaking of... was that three owls, carrying a broomstick? But...
As the owls came to a rest in front of Harry, his first thought was, It's for me!? His second was to throw a betrayed look at Ollie Wood, who looked apologetic and shrugged, as if he hadn't a clue how the broom had gotten there.
Ron Weasley's mouth had fallen open, as he nearly drooled over the broomstick.
"It's the latest model." Nevile said, his voice hushed in the sudden silence.
"First years aren't allowed broomsticks." Draco Malfoy's soddin' arrogant voice drawled loudly from the other side of the room.
Minerva, as quiet as her animagus form, had materialized behind Harry. He nearly jumped when she said primly, "Good luck on the team."
The entire hall descended into chaos. Harry was pretty sure the Ravenclaws were merely demanding answers of their younger dormmates, but the Slytherins looked ... well, more hostile than normal. Harry gritted his teeth, and looked up at the Gryffindor table. Other than the Quiddich team (who had undoubtedly been briefed earlier), the entire table had the same, "What did you do, Potter?" look on their faces. Well, other than his fellow first years, who had wide grins on their faces. Except for Ron, who still hadn't recovered.
Finally, Ron gasped, "The youngest Quiddich player this century!"
Harry didn't want to grin. Harry wanted to hide. This was not going according to plan, and it was going to bite him on the arse before the end. In fact, judging from the dark look Draco Malfoy was currently giving him, that was likely to be sooner, rather than later. Hopefully the blond would have enough sense to stay quiet until they were out from the Great Hall.
Harry didn't want to start a full-on brawl between houses. They might expel him for such lunacy, after all. Harry just wanted to be a good Gryffindor, even if they were a little too daring and noisy.
*If Ron and Hermione think he doesn't have an appetite, it's because they don't actually see him eat.
[a/n: Well, I'm not sure I properly captured the chaos surrounding Harry The Hero getting his first broom. Harry, however, is kinda floating above it all. After all, when everyone's shocked silent isn't exactly the time to be gathering intel. The next few days should prove illuminating.
Poor Harry. He just wants to fit in.
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