Everything is J.K. Rowlings. I only claim the plot. Everything else is hers, all the characters and the magic, all of it. Please let me know what you think though, I encourage feedback of all kinds, just be nice about it!
OK, so just forewarning, I've never been great at arguments so just roll with it. And also, yeah I know, the last bit is a bit 'eh' but don't worry that won't be the future tone of the story...at least for a long while.
Chapter Eleven
Slumping down in the straight backed, extravagant armchair that resided in the office, Harry sighed. It was only the morning and he already felt drained and exhausted from having to deal with the Slytherins and their insistent resistance. Before he could allow thoughts of what he had been thinking when he had thought he could handle living with a bunch of snakes for five years, the Chosen One turned his attention to the three Slytherins who were in the office with him.
Daphne sat pristinely in one of the chairs that looked far more cushioned than the one he sat in on the other side of the desk, her head held high and her ankles crossed, and her hands tightly clenched together. Theo stood in the far corner leaning against the wall with a bored expression on his face while his eyes continued shifting all about the room, the only indication that he wasn't actually bored but in reality on high alert. Draco sat in the second chair, beside Daphne, like he owned the place, lounging in the chair with one leg tossed over an arm, his face indifferent but his jaw was set tight.
Everyone was tense in the room and Harry was no different. His fingers itched for a bottle of something strong, but he fought the urge and cleared his throat, he had to stay focused on the task at hand. "Alright, so I need to respond to these two letters. Let's start with Narcissa's first. Draco, she is your mother so you will probably know the best wording."
Draco gave a mere shrug in acknowledgment but his face was still indifferent.
"What all did she say?" Daphne asked.
Harry noticed her attempt to keep the peace and he mentally applauded her for it. "Basically she asks when and where to meet and of course is curious as to Draco's welfare. It shouldn't be too hard to respond really but my first letter rambled and so I want to form a concise one to show her that I mean business."
"I'll draft that response myself while the other two work on Kingsley's. You can check over it when I'm done," Draco stated. Harry nodded and handed him his mother's letter with some parchment and a quill before looking at the second letter.
"Right, so Kingsley, an invitation to his official Ministerial ceremony," Harry began and handed the letter and a copy of the letter to Theo and Daphne who both read over it. It wasn't an incredibly long letter but the two Slytherins spent far longer than Harry expected pouring over the words. "Well?" he finally broke down and asked.
"This won't be difficult," is all Daphne replied with. Glancing at Theo who hadn't moved from his slouch against the wall, Harry sighed.
"Well that's great. Not overly fond of difficult. So, what do I need to write?"
"Start with 'Minister Shacklebolt," Theo said.
"No 'Dear' or 'Hello' or just 'Kingsley'?" Harry asked with an eyebrow raise.
"No, concise and to the point, but still formal. Using those opening address implies a more familiar connection to the person," Theo replied.
"But I am friends with Kingsley."
"Doesn't matter," Theo dismissed. "He is to be Minister. You can be friends with him behind closed doors or when at familial gatherings. It isn't to be flaunted in the eyes of the public, there should be a professional relationship formed. And this is how to hold that professional relationship."
"Should we even add the Minister part? Technically he isn't official until Monday," Daphne pointed out.
Theo tilted his head in thought but it was Draco who responded, glancing up from his letter. "Keep the Minister part. It shows the respect that he will deserve and it shows Potter's acceptance and backing of the position. The only way it could be perceived negatively is if Shacklebolt dies over the weekend and someone finds the letter and thinks that Potter was involved in some coup or something."
"But since it's Potter than the idea for a coup would either be immediately dismissed as unbelievable by those who know him or supported without further thought by the masses," Theo continued. "Alright, it's settled just 'Minister Shacklebolt'."
"OK," Harry sighed and scribbled down Minister Shacklebolt. "Next?" His eyes darted between all the Slytherins. He hadn't realized how much thought could be put into the greeting and he dreaded to think of how much time would be spent over the actual letter. Maybe utilizing the Slytherins was the best thing, he was certainly at a loss for these things.
"Next, do you want to make what you are doing public?" Theo asked.
"What do you mean?"
"He means, do you want to tell the public about your Right of Conquest and the chance you are giving us," Daphne clarified.
"Oh, well I planned on it. But not right now. I wasn't planning on coming out until the end of summer or so. Then I'll officially make my claim in the Wizengamot and then tell the world about what is happening here."
"Good, that is probably the best course of action. Better to wait for things to settle down first," Theo stated with a nod.
"So that being said, do you plan on telling the Minister?" Draco asked, glancing up from his letter.
"I suppose so. I still need to tell Professor McGonagall too."
"Well then, do you want for us to arrange a meeting with the Minister after the ceremony to explain the situation? You can talk to Professor McGonagall when she writes you back about the rebuilding," Daphne suggested.
"OK, yeah that sounds good. Yeah, let's suggest a meeting with Kingsley after the ceremony and I'll tell him everything then."
Theo and Daphne simply nodded before each drafting up their own responses, it was decided that the two would write down their ideas and then collaborate to finalize.
"Potter, when would you like to meet with my mother and when?" Draco asked in the silence.
"Um...well tomorrow I'm shopping and Saturday we are having guests and Monday I'm doing that thing for Kingsley. So how about Sunday? And as for where I don't really care much, just not somewhere super public with lots of eyes." Draco just nodded and began writing again.
Harry sat there behind his desk listening to three different quills scratching out letters. He felt rather useless, just sitting there and waiting not really having much to contribute in the way of formal letter writing. Harry didn't like it. Maybe he could get them to just teach him and then he could do it all himself, but he dismissed that idea with slight guilt. One of the requirements were for the Slytherins to work and do their part and if they just teach him for a day and be done then that wasn't worth five years of continued servitude. No, as much as Harry despised not doing, he knew it was better that the Slytherins have actual work to do.
Luckily, it wasn't all silence as the three wrote. Two hours and three heated arguments later the letter was finalized and complete. And Harry had been surprised at the sides drawn during the arguments. It had been him and Theo versus Daphne and Draco round one; round two had been Harry and Daphne versus Theo and Draco; and the last round Draco had sided with Harry and Theo and Daphne had been the opposing. It was fascinating that the three were so quick to change supporting sides depending on the topic.
"What's with the face Potter?" Theo asked as the three gained feeling back to their quill hands.
"Hmm? Oh it was just interesting, how different it is arguing with Slytherins than with Gryffindors."
"Ha, it's taken you how many years to notice that? And you are supposed to be the Wizarding Worlds Savior, eh?" Draco snorted.
"How do you mean, Harry?" Daphne cut in giving Draco and cool glare.
"Well, you guys all switched sides and teams each argument, each of you sided with me for a moment. It just depended on the topic. When faced with an outsider, a Gryffindor would side with their friends, showing their loyalty and support. Even if their friend wasn't right."
"Is that your round about way of saying you just saw Slytherin treachery first hand?" Theo sneered. "Because let me clarify something for you, Potter. Slytherins are loyal. Incredibly loyal, in some cases more so than bloody Gryffindors, but only to a select few. But just because we don't unwaveringly support our friends in whatever argument they encounter doesn't negate our loyalty. It is because we question that our loyalty is shown. We will not blindly follow, we will question and make sure that our friend is staying true to the course and if they sway we guide them back but that can't happen unless we are questioning."
Harry stared open mouthed at Theo as he took in what the man had said. Shifting his emerald eyes to Daphne and Draco he saw them standing in firm agreement with what their comrade had said. Theo stood, slightly out of breath due to the outburst, his light blue eyes afire with the passion he felt for his words. His hands clenching around the back of Draco's chair, having moved swiftly from the corner wall.
"Thank you for that insight," Harry managed to splutter out. "And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you were treacherous I was just noting the differences of arguing techniques."
"Humph," Theo huffed. "Looks like we need to broaden your views on a lot of things, eh, Potter." Was all the man muttered before whipping out of the room quickly followed by Draco.
Tossing his head back and slouching in his chair, Harry sighed rubbing a hand through his hair. That had been exhausting. He was doing a damn fine bloody job of making sure his guests felt secure, that was for sure, he thought glumly.
"Theo is right you know," a quiet voice said. Snapping his eyes open, Harry saw that Daphne still sat in her chair look just as prim and proper as she had when the letter writing had started. "If you want to succeed in your goals, you need to start utilizing and learning different techniques of achieving the same goal. Not to say that the Gryffindor method of rushing to the defense is all wrong and there is some necessity to it, but that isn't to say that the Slytherins methods are all wrong either, nor are the Ravenclaws nor Hufflepuffs."
"You're one to talk though," Harry snapped, far too stressed from the morning's events to care about his rudeness. "You talk as though I'm the only one who has something to learn, the only one who needs to learn how to think and act a different way than who I am. The rest of you have some learning to do as well."
"The rest of us!" she seethed. "There you go again, lumping us all into one group. This just proves I'm right. You need to stop generalizing people by the few of their House! We aren't in school anymore. So grow up!"
"I have grown up! I just fought in a damn war-"
"SO DID WE!" Daphne screamed so forcefully that Harry practically fell back in his chair before stopping himself. He and Daphne stood there fuming and panting, staring at each other. Silence fell as green eyes locked onto blueish-grey. Taking a few deep breaths, Daphne continued at a relatively more level tone though her anger was still evident. "You weren't the only one who fought. You weren't the only one to suffer losses. So don't be so naive to think you can lump us all together. You don't know what happened on our side or what we were forced to do. Yes, we also have to work on opening our minds to other perspectives, we, out of anyone, learned that the hardest way-"
"You lot certainly have an odd way of showing that you've learned," Harry sneered. Why he was still pushing this and fighting with her, he didn't know. But the fire that was pumping through his veins made him feel more alive than he had in months.
The fire halted slightly when a sharp sting landed on his cheek. He let out an involuntary gasp at the pain and his hand rushed to his thoroughly reddened cheek. "I'm-I'm sorry, sir," Daphne muttered trying to look remorseful and dignified, reverting back to her distant respectful tone, as she brought her smarting hand behind her back. "But….but-" Harry doubted the woman before him had ever felt at a loss for words. After fumbling for a few moments, the blonde gave herself a shake, held her head high and pressed forward choosing not to deal with the slap further. "Just listen to what I have been saying. We learned the hardest way that we need to change, but we are Slytherins, we won't show weakness to anyone. We will fight it with all that we have. So bare that in mind. We are all struggling with our own demons, just as you are. We just show it differently." The pain had left his cheek by now just leaving it feeling tender but Harry couldn't even think on that now. Daphne's eyes were wide and haunted as she spoke. A shimmer of fear and the deep look of having witnessed horrors beyond imagining. "Anyway….that-that is all that I needed to say on that matter. If you will excuse me, sir. I'll just be…" Daphne tried to excuse herself and head for the door. "I am sorry, again, sir."
"I'm sorry too," Harry whispered as he watched her leave. At his words, she turned back to look at him briefly before giving him a nod and disappearing out the door leaving him alone in the office. His mind replayed the scene again and again, Daphne's words on a loop in his head. She was right, he begrudgingly admitted to himself. He acted like a prick. No…. an insolent prick. If anything though, Harry felt that after the encounter he could count Daphne as an even stronger ally within this house. She certainly wouldn't back down from setting him straight.
As he was replaying her words, a thought fought its way to the surface of his mind. What were her demons? What taught her the lessons of changing perspective? What had she witnessed?
Before he could muse on that much longer, a loud shriek echoed through the house that had Harry on his feet and out of the office in less than a second. Running into Theo and Daphne who had been in the library, the three sprinted towards the shrieking sound, meeting up with Tracey and Gregory who seemed to have been coming in from outside. The five skidded to a halt in the lobby area with the circle of chairs and sofas of House colors that opened to show all three floors. Draco stood at the railing on the second floor having just come out of his room. The six all had their wands drawn, blood pumping and eyes wild. Another shriek resounded, resonating from the third floor.
The six took off once more. Sprinting up the stairs, all silently resolute in the unspoken decision to fight against whatever horror was awaiting them together. Another shriek this time showing the sound was coming from Harry's room. Draco got their first having come from the second floor, the other five not far behind. Upon reaching the door, Harry glanced at Draco's anger drawn face though his wand now hung limply at his side. Readjusting his grip on his own wand, Harry pushed farther into his room followed by the others. And saw Astoria standing at the far side of his room as if just coming out of the library, looking fearfully at the closet door and when she saw Harry and the others her young face morphed into one of shame.
His room was an absolute mess! The drawers were all opened and his clothes and items were strewn all over the floor. His few personal belongings also on the floor and in the open. Letters also littered the floor dating from his first year to the most recent from his friends. His Invisibility Cloak lay across his bed next to a blank piece of parchment that Harry knew immediately was the Marauders Map. Another shriek came from within the open door of the closet and Harry finally distinguished the mischievously happy twinge to the high pitched sound. His panic and worry were quickly dissipating and turning into a boiling rage.
The now six Slytherins formed up behind him, all wearing mixed faces of apprehension and frustration as they took in the state of his room and the sounds coming from the closet. Feeling surprisingly elated knowing that he had those five backing him up, Harry stepped delicately closer to the closet trying to take deep breaths so his anger wouldn't fly off the handle as he stepped over all of his things. Peeking his head around the corner of his closet he saw Pansy – the culprit of the high pitched noises. No surprise, he thought irritatedly – and Blaise flipping through the photo album that Hagrid had gifted him at the end of First Year. Harry had been adding to it each year. Currently, the two seemed to be going back and forth between one of the first pictures in it, him as a baby, and then two side-by-side pictures of more recent years:
the picture of Dumbledore's Army from Fifth Year on the right page and the old Order of the Phoenix with his mum, dad and Sirius on the left.
The two, well really Pansy, seemed to be mocking some of the people in the photos. "What. The. Bloody. Hell. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Fucking. Doing?" Harry spat out, his teeth clenched together and his knuckles white around his wand.
Pansy and Blaise scrambled to their feet both had the decency to look ashamed though Harry wasn't sure if it was shame at being caught or for actually trashing his things and looking through his stuff. But there was also some worry and fear at having seven wands trained on them from war-trained teenagers.
"Oh...Potter….well you said we could look through your stuff…." Pansy began, her voice shook slightly as she stared down Harry's wand trained on her face. His words of having crucio'd a Death Eater was the only thing at the forefront of her mind and she felt her palms grow sweaty with fear. Would he do the same to her? Had she pushed him too far? By the looks of the others they wouldn't try and stop him.
"Don't even fucking go there Parkinson! Actually it might serve you better if you just don't fucking talk!" Harry fumed.
Blaise must have realized that left him as the only one left to try and talk the pairs way out of who knows what and so he stepped forward, not quite blocking Pansy from Harry's aim but enough to draw focus. "OK, admittedly we went a little too far," the Italian began, his hands raised in a pleading way to not be hurt.
"You think!" This time it wasn't Harry who spoke. It was Tracey and she looked livid.
"You were supposed to make a list of the clothes I needed," Harry rasped. Trying to hold in his anger was causing his voice to get hoarse and he could feel his hand tremble at the desire to unleash his anger.
"We were!" Blaise insisted. "Astoria even has the list with her," he continued, pointing at the young girl hidden behind her older sister, as if trying to shift the attention of the room. "But we finished that rather quickly. I mean you need everything brand new, like nothing can be salvaged," the man said as though attempting to lighten the mood.
"So you thought it would be best to throw it all on the floor!" Theo exclaimed.
"We were going to put it all away," Blaise mumbled weakly.
"Really? You were, were you? What after you read through my letters? After you looked through my photo album?"
Pansy for her part was finally heeding Harry's words and hadn't made a move to speak, her eyes trained on the wand and her heart beating painfully against her chest. But she finally broke her silence. "We wanted to understand you better," she whispered. Her further explanation was broken off by Harry's glare and a spell whizzing past her shoulder and scorching the back wall caused her heart to skip a beat and her skin to lose any color it had.
"I told you to shut it Parkinson!" Harry spat, his vision was turning red the longer he stood there staring at the two snakes who had looted through his stuff, betraying the frail trust he had extended. He really didn't want to hex the two or hurt them, that's what his conscious whispered to him, but his surface thoughts argued that vehemently. But inwardly he knew it wouldn't do any good. If anything it would make him more like Him. But he did need to let his anger out soon or things would be bad. "If you really cared to understand anything about me you could have just fucking asked! Not betray my trust and look behind my back! That's not how you get answers!"
"We know," Blaise whispered, his heart beating just as rapidly as Pansy's after the spell had been fired. He had been on the receiving end of a powerful and angry wizard one too many in the past year and for the first time he was actually feeling fearful of Potter.
"Do you?!" Harry hissed, trying desperately to reign in his fury. He had to leave. He had to leave now. Stepping back away from the two quivering snakes and back into the other group of snakes that quickly parted away from him. "Then tell me one good reason why I should let you stay." His words must have surprised everyone in the room because eight pairs of eyes looked at him with undisguised surprise as he continued to back away, his eyes burning with hatred and anger. Harry felt his hands shaking and his blood pounding, as he slowly made his exit. "Tell me why I shouldn't just send you to Azkaban. I'm not going to, but tell me why this isn't going to be the biggest mistake of my life. Why should I ever trust you again? Why the hell do you two even deserve a second chance? Explain that to me and maybe then you can continue staying here. Maybe then we can come to an understanding," he spat out before he stormed out of his room not caring that he was now leaving all eight Slytherins unsupervised in his room.
He didn't care. He just had to get out. His anger was burning through him and needed to be unleashed. He was just so exhausted from everything he had dealt with when it came to the Slytherins and it had only been twenty-four hours since encountering them and already so much had occurred. Continuing to storm blindly down the stairs, his feet dragged him outside where he went to the shed that he distantly remembered Lopsy mentioning for brooms and flung it open. His Firebolt wasn't in there, having lost it at the end of last summer during his escape from Privet Drive, and there was a couple rather nice looking brooms that he felt belonged to the snakes in his room but he stubbornly refused to take one of those out of spite. Instead he grabbed one that looked older so had to belong to the house, grabbed it and mounted it. Taking off into the air where he flew, pushing the broom to its limits in terms of speed.
His hair whipped about his face, stinging his cheeks at the force of the wind. He soared and dove to the ground, only pulling up at the last possible second. And repeating that again and again. Over two hours later, Harry slowed down for the first time since mounting the broom and took in deep breaths to get his heart back to a steady rhythm. He was panting and his limbs were shaking from the rushes of adrenaline and the physical endurance he hadn't called upon in months. Distantly the thought of needing to get back in shape crossed his mind, but it was fleeting. He would ask the elves to help write him up a workout schedule later. Instead, Harry sat upon his broom, taking in deep breaths of the later afternoon air as he surveyed the land below him. He was a few miles out from the house, hovering over a lake in the middle of a clearing in the forest that surrounded his lands. It was something that he made a note to explore later when he wasn't so exhausted.
As the minutes trickled by and his heart rate slowed to something more manageable, Harry maneuvered the broom back in the direction of the house. Taking in the sight from such a high angle. It was impressive, there was no way to deny it. The house itself was grand and the architecture surrounding the roof was mesmerizing. Harry knew he would want to explore that further later on as well. The courtyard was a soothing view of flowers and bushes that from above he could see were shaped into the Peverell crest. Checking his dented gold watch, Harry knew he would need to return to his new life soon to get ready for dinner, but he was dreading that meal. He had no idea how things would play out. Would Pansy and Blaise really give him answers as to why they should stay? Did he really want them to stay? Did he really even care if they reformed themselves, if any of them did? Or was it him just trying to 'play hero' again, something that he had been accused of multiple times throughout his life? He dismissed that train of thought. Of course he wanted them to become better, he couldn't bare the thought of just giving up on them even if they did fight him every step of the way. It wasn't who he was to not try and help. What if they requested he send them to Azkaban? Could he really subject his peers to that life? He knew he had indirectly done that to the Slytherins who refused to show up to meet with him, but in hindsight he hadn't really thought people would willingly take that option. He had hoped it would be drastic enough to cause all of them to show up. He had been wrong. The Slytherins taking the route he never would have expected. Would Pansy and Blaise do the same?
Deciding to avoid the unknown for just a little longer, Harry flew to his balcony and landed there. This way he wouldn't have to walk through the house and possibly encounter anyone. Leaning the broom against the wall, Harry opened the door and walked into his room eyes closing unwillingly, hoping to prolong seeing the mess again.
"Potter," the voice caused Harry to jump slightly and snap his eyes open and his wand out. But before he could focus, he froze. His room was clean. Spotless even. Everything was put back and left as though it had never been disrupted at all. But his room wasn't empty, in the middle of the floor stood Pansy, Blaise and Astoria all looking incredibly nervous. It was Pansy who had spoken.
His gut twisting at the uncertainty about what was about to happen, Harry slowly lowered his wand but didn't put it away entirely. His guards were up and his body was poised for a fight if that is what came. But his mind was exhausted and he desperately hoped this encounter wouldn't come with a fight. He had had enough arguments that day already.
"What do you three want?" his voice was cold but he didn't care. He was too drained to care.
"To apologize," Pansy replied, her fingers twisting together as she fought to keep her gaze trained on him. Blaise and Astoria each shifted uncomfortably and the youngest nodded pleadingly earnest.
"Really?"
"Really," Blaise spoke up. "What we did...looking through your things was wrong. And we apologize for destroying the trust you gave us. It won't happen again."
"You got that right," Harry couldn't help but snort out. "Because you don't have my trust anymore." He was being difficult he knew it. He recognized the trio's attempts at sincere apology but he didn't want empty words.
"Then we will earn it back," Astoria insisted.
"Why are you even apologizing?" Harry asked curiously. The young girl hadn't been in the closet.
"Because, I'm just as much to blame. I may not have been looking at your photo album but I'm no less to blame about looking at the rest of your things or trashing your room." Harry frowned at this, tilting his head in consideration, inwardly impressed by the girl taking credit when she could have skated by without anyone's second thoughts.
"And how do you plan on earning it back?" he asked, crossing his arms. "Are you even truly sorry? Sure, you can say it all you want, but do you actually mean it?"
"We do," Pansy spoke up. "What we did was entirely uncalled for and petty and childish. We wanted to see what hidden secrets the Chosen One had hidden away. And it was stupid. We were holding on to old rivalries."
"You are giving us a chance to show we are more than our house and we blew any chance at showing we aren't just slimy snakes," Blaise continued.
"So we are going to show you that we are deserving and that we really don't want to go to Azkaban," Astoria added. Harry briefly wondered if the three had rehearsed this while they waited.
"Is that so?" Harry asked, his tone less cold much to his annoyance. He was supposed to be in control of this situation but he was too tired to keep up the annoyance he knew he needed to feel.
"I've been giving you a hard time, and I'm not saying I'm going to stop that," Pansy continued, Harry couldn't help but snort and roll his eyes. "That's just who I am. I give people a hard time, but I am going to try harder to not be such a bitch about it. I'm not going to just rollover and pretend to be someone I'm not but...I will try to be more helpful and accepting of the help you are trying to give."
"Same with me," Blaise nodded. "I swear to prove to you that I am deserving of your second chance. I'm really not exactly sure what I can offer you and I'm not saying I'll be easy to handle. I never have been. But I will try to prove that I can be relied on. I won't make you regret your choice to keep us here, I promise you that."
"And well, we don't really know each other all that well. I think I just truly butchered any first impression I could have had on you," Astoria continued. "But I won't let my first impression be the lasting one. I'll do whatever I can to prove that I am worthy of a second chance." The young girl spoke with such determination, all of them trying to sound as genuine as they felt, that Harry had a difficult time not believing them.
Running a hand through his hair, Harry finally pocketing his wand. "I believe you," he sighed and he inwardly smirked at the hope rising in the trio's eyes. "That doesn't mean you are off the hook or anything. I'm still furious at what you did and probably will be for a while. But I can tell you are sincere in your words. Now just show me you are sincere by your actions and we will see where we can go from there."
"You won't regret this Potter," Blaise promised.
"Great," Harry sighed. "Now go leave me be and I'll see you at dinner."
The three didn't protest and had soon vanished, leaving his room decidedly empty and quiet. Maybe things were looking up? Harry thought hopefully as he collapsed on his sofa but with a bitter chuckle he didn't linger on that thought. There was no way his life was going to easy with these snakes and a mere apology wasn't going to change that. No, he had no doubts that things were far from 'looking up' at the moment.