Author's Note

This is my first work of fan fiction, though not my first written work. I do hope that you enjoy it, as my desire is to entertain readers just as much as it is to get this story out of my head.

I despise typos, continuity errors, and formatting mistakes. Do not hesitate to point them out so I may set them on fire, though I would prefer you DM me so my shame does not live eternal in the reviews.

Please. Review. I cannot stress this enough. Your feedback, both positive and negative, motivates me and helps me to become a better write.

Do. Not. Post. Spoilers. In. Your. Review.

Disclaimer: I am not the immensely talented and inspiring woman known as J. K. Rowling, and therefore hold no claim to the fantastical world she allows our imaginations to frolic in.

New Summary: I have added an extended summary at the start of chapter 1 so people beginning this story have a better idea of where it will be going. I want readers to know what they are getting into before they invest too much time into it. Though I do hope it is a journey you are willing to follow me on, if it doesn't sound like your type of story I more than understand.

Chapter 5: The House of the Lion

Harry woke far too soon as he was dragged from the pleasant feeling of a dreamless sleep and back into the waking world. This was not by Harry's choice, but seemed to be the choice of whoever was gripping his shoulder and calling his name. Reluctantly, Harry made what he was sure would be his first mistake of the morning by opening one of his eyes.

Standing hunched over his bed, staring down maybe a foot from his face, was the disheveled appearance of Neville Longbottom. He could make out bright, and therefore painful, streams of sunlight streaking across the ceiling of the room behind him. Neville himself was still in his night clothes, and seemed to still have most of his blankets wrapped around his legs.

Harry groaned and began to sit up, immediately holding his hand over his eyes to give himself some relief from the burning rays of light that seemed to force themselves through the windows.

"Neville? What? What's wrong mate, are you okay?" He said while still trying to get the sleep out of his eyes.

"Harry where were you last night? When did you get back?" Neville said, his voice sounding a bit strained and exasperated.

Harry slowly removed his hand and reached for his glasses while squinting tiredly around the room. He could hear more than see Ron's sleeping form in bed, his snores reverberating softly around the room. Not for the first time Harry told himself how happy he would be in fifth year when they would be learning the silencing charm.

Once his glasses were on he could also see that Seamus was in bed, the number of pillows and absence of visible head was always a giveaway. Seamus was not a fan of Ron's snores in the morning. He had actually tried to learn the charm a year early, but gave up after his first attempt caught the curtains on fire.

But just before Harry turned his attention back to Neville he noticed Dean, clearly wide awake, sitting up in bed with a large book open and eyeing the two of them with interest. Harry had seen him with this book several times over the years and knew it to be his sketchbook. Dean was very good at drawing, having helped with the "Potter for President" banner they used at his first quidditch game. Though generally the only pictures he seemed to share with him were those of Professor Snape, always in some unfortunate situation. Sure enough it looked as if Dean had been drawing when Neville's attempts to wake Harry had grabbed his attention.

"Morning Dean." Harry mumbled groggily with a yawn.

The dark boy smiled from across the room. "Alright there Harry? Neville?"

Harry nodded, but realized that Neville seemed to be still looking at him, concern showing all over his face.

"I'm sorry Neville, after last night I just felt like . . staying away from people for a while. I'm not sure how late I was out, but I doubt I slept for more than a handful of hours. Problem mate?"

At this Neville seemed to deflate a bit and sit down on his bed next to Harry's.

"No problems with me Harry, but are you okay? Last night you seemed to be sick as soon as they said, or, I mean when it happened, you looked . . ."

Neville looked around the floor for a moment as he seemed to look for the right words. Other than Ron and Hermione, Harry hadn't thought someone else would care about his feelings from last night. He knew people would be asking about it for the rest of the day, but he only expected questions about how he had done it, rather than how he had felt about it.

"Well . . I just wanted to make sure everything was alright with you. It's a lot isn't it? I mean I know you have Ron and Hermione, and he wasn't in here last night either so I assumed you already talked. But you know . . I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Neville finished, quietly.

Harry smiled at the timid boy he had met on his first train ride to Hogwarts. His cheeks were a little less round, but he had the same earnest and concerned expression as the eleven year old that had lost his toad. Harry tried his best to grin reassuringly at him.

"I talked with them a lot last night Neville, and honestly I feel just fine now. Thanks for worrying but I'll be okay. I've gotten through worse."

The boy looked back at him slightly in awe for a few moments before nodding slowly.

"I guess you have. But like, you can talk to the rest of us you know."

Neville stood after a moment and started making his way to the loo, kicking away some of the blankets that had accumulated around his legs. He turned and paused for a few seconds to look back at him.

"We're your friends too, Harry."

Harry stared confusedly as Neville disappeared through the doorway, and contemplated what the boy had said. It was clear to him now that Ron wasn't the only roommate who had been worried about him last night, but honestly, Harry hadn't ever considered that anyone else would even notice.

"He was still up when I went to bed you know."

Harry looked up and saw Dean watching him from across the room, his usual friendly smile on his face.

"He said he wanted to make sure you were doing alright. He was still sitting there last I remember."

Harry looked over at Neville's bed and the whirlwind of blankets he had left behind. It was only now that he recalled returning to the room late last night to find the boy draped sideways across his bed. Had he fallen asleep waiting up for Harry? That stirred something inside of him. Part of him felt guilty. He hadn't meant to keep anyone up, but he had already done so with Ron, Hermione, and even the headmaster. He supposed now he would have to add Neville to the list of people who lost sleep over him the night before.

However, Harry thought as he himself began to move towards the loo, a part of him still felt happy to find someone else who seemed to care about him.

Less than an hour later Harry found himself back down in the common room that just last night had hosted Dumbledore. Now, however, it only had a handful of his fellow housemates. Harry was tired and beginning to curse his luck for having stayed out so late, only to be forced awake so early. But he really only had himself to blame, as he would never blame Neville for checking to see if he was okay.

The few Gryffindors already in the room took notice of Harry's arrival, but surprisingly didn't say anything. In fact a second year girl, whose name he didn't know, actually smiled and gave him a bit of a wave. It was true that it was still early, and things were sure to become noisy when friends started to see each other for the first time this morning. But Harry still couldn't shake the feeling that it was too quiet, considering the events of last night.

When the school had decided that Harry was the heir of Slytherin he found few places in the castle where he couldn't hear the whispers of his fellow students, or their low mocking hisses. Now here he was, Hogwarts Champion, a boy who supposedly cheated in an international competition just for attention, and the room was pleasantly silent. He wasn't looking forward to things changing.

He found his usual seat near the fireplace where he had been sitting just a few hours ago. It was November now, but the weather hadn't changed enough to warrant a fire this morning. As Harry sunk down in the plush armchair he finally allowed himself to begin worrying again over the rest of the school.

His house would be the easiest to deal with, but that didn't mean they would be kind to him. While it did sound as if he had a surprising number of allies here, he still knew that the majority of them would consider him as much of a cheater as the rest of the school. The only major difference would be that he knew most of them would care more about having a Gryffindor champion, than how he became one.

The Hufflepuffs, normally the friendliest house towards the Gryffindors, would almost certainly be against Harry. Unfortunately Hufflepuff never received much glory, even though he knew they were worthy of it. Having Cedric chosen as their champion over so many others would have meant the world to them. Now, however, they would have to share the attention with the ever glorified Gryffindors. In fact, knowing Harry's luck and reputation, they might be pushed out of the spotlight completely.

Slytherin would be out for his blood, he didn't have any doubts about that. On a good day he had to watch out for tripping jinxes in the halls, or dung bombs on his chair. But now that they had a Gryffindor representing them in the tournament, well, Harry was hoping Professor Moody had been right when he said students weren't powerful enough to cast the killing curse. He knew his reputation with Slytherin was absolutely dreadful, and he assumed he had Draco Malfoy to thank for that. Or maybe it was simply that Harry had been the cause for so many Slytherin quidditch losses.

The Ravenclaws gave Harry pause though, as he saw them as a bit of a toss-up. They were known as the house that studied and sought out the answers to things they didn't understand. Would they believe it was only logical that Harry Potter would have needed to cheat to enter the tournament? Or would they hold to pass judgement until they had more information? Would they even care about having Harry as one of their champions? The only Ravenclaw he knew anything about was Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker. The seeker whom Harry secretly had had a crush on since the first time he had seen her. But even then the only things he really knew about her was that she was rather pretty. Her hair was long and black, and it seemed to shine when it was out in the sun. The rest of her body was much more . . .

"Starved!"

Harry was broken out of his thoughts as Ron suddenly came into view, throwing himself down onto the end of the sofa nearest Harry. His hair seemed to be arguing over which direction to go in, and he was fairly sure he was wearing the same clothes he had gone to bed in. Never the less, Ron was smiling over to him broadly, even though his eyes seemed to sink down every few seconds.

"All you ever think about is food, Ron." Hermione said in a huff, sitting down next to him.

Harry looked around now that he had been pulled from his thoughts. He was surprised to see that the common room was packed, and a quite a bit of morning chatter was going on. He noticed most of the older members of the quidditch team on the other end of the room, as well as the Creevey brothers whispering conspiratorially with Ginny Weasley, and what looked to be much of the younger years. He didn't have to wonder too hard about the topic of conversation, as their eyes seemed to dart over to his side of the room every few seconds.

"Sleep well Hermione?" Harry said, deciding to focus back on the friends who, like him, were probably wishing they were still in bed.

She smiled at him tiredly and nodded. He noticed that she no longer seemed to have the large tournament rulebook with her, but her book bag looked like it was about to burst. Well, more than usual at least.

"I could have used two or eight more hours, personally." Ron said, yawning widely. "But some breakfast will sure help make this morning a lot more enjoyable."

They each stood up with their bags, Hermione needing an extra second to lift hers, and made a bee-line towards the portrait hole. Harry was only a few feet from it when a strong arm wrapped around his shoulders and managed to turn him back the way he came. He only had a brief moment of confusion as another arm enveloped him, and two identical redhead's marched him back towards the center of the room.

"Harry, Harry, Harry, mate!"

"You can't leave just like that!"

"We have to have words!"

"Open up a dialogue!"

"Make some conversation!"

"And more importantly . . ."

"We really think we need a . . "

"House Meeting!" Fred and George finished together in a shout. Both of them had climbed up onto the low table nearest the fireplace, dragging Harry with them, until all three were head and shoulders above everyone else.

Ron and Hermione had followed them and tried to pull Harry away, but Fred and George were too quick. As Harry looked around he noticed that many of the first and second years were now sitting around them, even though they had not been over here seconds ago when Harry and his friends had been getting ready to leave.

"Clear off, Johnson!"

Harry looked over to see an angry seventh year scowling at the three Gryffindor chasers; Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell, each of whom were now standing in front of the portrait hole that moments before Harry had been attempting to exit from.

Unfortunately the seventh year forgot that the women of the Gryffindor quidditch team had an unofficial fan club. Harry wasn't sure how many stinging hexes hit him at the same time, but from his reaction it was clear they had each aimed for the same region. He sympathetically hoped that the boy had Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures in the morning, so he wouldn't have to sit down anytime soon.

Fred, or maybe George, slapped Harry on the back to get his attention. It looked to him like the entire house had gathered into the common room, something that was rarely done. Compared to an average day where you had those going to bed early, those in Astronomy, and those who were out late in detention, the number of Gryffindors seemed twice as large as normal.

He noticed that some of those looking at him seemed curious, and he was able to make out one or two that were clearly not happy to be standing around so early in the morning. But to Harry's surprise the greater majority of them were smiling. At him. Andrew Saxby, a boy he had never spoken to before, gave him a wink, while Anna Mirfield did a thumbs up when he looked towards her. Harry was so distracted that he almost jumped when Fred yelled out.

"Alright Gryffindors! We're having a bit of a gathering in the name of our dear friend, star seeker, and housemate, Harry James Potter here."

"Woo!"

Harry swore that he heard a soft voice cry out from somewhere in the middle of the crowd, but was too distracted by the Weasley twins to look further.

"You see last night, just in case you forgot, dear Harry's name was entered into a tournament against his will, and truly without his foreknowledge." George announced to the room.

"Now while anyone who knows Harry," Fred continued "knows how he dislikes any fame or attention, it behooves us to formally request that the young man explain himself."

"Therefore we will select one of you to ask him the burning question of the hour, in order to get it out of the way." George stated, stepping forward slightly onto the table. "Now let's see . . ."

He pointed out amongst the crowd of Gryffindors, several of whom had started to raise their hands. As he swept his hand slowly across the room a few of the lower years began bouncing on their trainers, trying to get their hands above the heads of those in front of them. But George didn't seem to pick any of them, instead pointing towards a person at the back of the huddled crowd.

"You there, Sir, why don't you ask our friend Harry then."

Harry blinked in surprise as the person George called upon seemed to be Fred, now standing on the opposite side of the room, waving his hand wildly. He looked back to where the boy was just seconds before, and found him missing. When he turned again to look at Fred, he had the distinct impression that the twin seemed somewhat out of breath. His non-waving hand was clutching his side, and though he was smiling brightly it was clear he had to take a few deep breathes before speaking.

"Yes, Fred Weasley here, Sixth Year, of Ottery Saint Catchpole. Mister Potter, I was wondering if you would mind telling me if you did indeed enter yourself into the Triwizard Tournament? And if not, how are we fine upstanding citizens supposed to believe you? Do you have any evidence? An alibi? Where exactly were you on the night of the thirty first, I daresay?"

Harry, caught a bit off guard by Fred's accusatory tone, struggled to find an appropriate response.

"I, no, I didn't but . . "

"Well, that's good enough for me!" Fred cried loudly, slapping the back of the nearest person with a nod.

"Glad we could clear that misunderstanding up Harry." George stated, while firmly planting a hand onto his shoulder. "Not that there was ever any doubt really, considering what a fine upstanding member of the house you are."

"But . . . that . . . " came the voice of a gasping Fred, who had somehow made it around to the table within a few seconds ". . doesn't mean everyone will . . . believe you."

George stepped forward to let Fred catch his breath. "Which means it's our job as a house to stand together, and let them know they are wrong. Gryffindor is the house of the chivalrous!"

"And you can't get more chivalrous than standing up for people who need it!"

"And Harry here, needs it."

"We've failed our friend here the last few years, and enough is surely enough, ladies and gentlemen."

"This isn't as simple as the hordes of dementors he drove off last year."

"Or the basilisk he slew the year before that, to save our sister's life."

"It's not even as simple as the troll he took down in his very first year."

Harry tried to shrink back slightly, as he felt his face heat up in embarrassment. Unfortunately he had barely taken a step backwards when he stepped into the bodies of the boys behind him. Fred and George were smiling broadly and seemed to delight in reminding people about his misadventures, even though he had told them many times how much help he had received, and how lucky he had been. But Harry could already tell that their words were having an effect.

Many of the people he was more familiar with, those in his year or that he knew from quidditch, were nodding along with the Weasley twin's words. A few of the older years that had seemed frustrated earlier were starting to give Harry wary glances. But it was the lower years the concerned Harry the most. Colin and Dennis Creevey had managed to work their way to the front of the crowd, and were looking up at Harry with beaming smiles. Similarly he saw many of their classmates looking on at Harry with a look of admiration, or even awe. It was something that Harry didn't feel he deserved, and he tried again to escape behind the two taller boys, only to find their arms firmly keeping him in place once more.

"So we all agree then that we need to keep an eye on Harry out there, yeah?"

"And to make sure people don't treat him improperly because they are under the strange delusion that he entered into this tournament of his own accord?"

"He's been our star seeker since his first year, and he's saved actual lives since then. Harry Potter was our champion before his name came out of a bloody goblet."

"So how about we get some breakfast already and remind the school that Gryffindors stand together!"

Fred and George jumped off of the table as the crowd cheered an agreement. Harry, finally, lowered himself back to the floor. Only when he got there, he discovered a number of hands were there waiting for him. Allison Barnes was patting him on the shoulder, while Kenneth Towler reached out and took Harry's hand, shaking it formally. A couple of first years that Harry didn't recognize shouted over the crowd towards him.

"Come on Harry, you can sit next to me for breakfast!"

"Wait Harry, come with me and my friends, alright?"

Luckily Ron and Hermione had managed to get ahold of him, and were dragging him off towards the portrait hole. He was glad to be with his friends again and get away from the attention the Weasley twins had placed on him. But even though he had just been embarrassed in front of the entire house, Harry was surprised to find both Ron and Hermione smiling.

"That was bloody brilliant, that was." Ron commented, as the trio forced their way into a clump of Gryffindors that were exiting the common room.

"Brilliant?" Harry exclaimed "That was a nightmare! Why'd they have to go and do something like that?"

"Oh Harry, you don't understand." Hermione whispered in a calming tone. "The twins just made it so the entire house will say you didn't enter the tournament."

"Hermione, just because they told everyone that . . "

"No, really mate" Ron interjected. "It was really a brilliant opening move I wouldn't have expected from them. They managed to get everyone who supports you front and center, so the others would see them. As well as having the quidditch team at their back, meaning their supporters had their backs as well. Then they made it so that anyone who disagreed would outright be calling you a liar. And after reminding everyone all you have done over the years, and how many people supported you, how that would be a bad idea."

Hermione stepped carefully down to the side of the packed staircase leading to the main floor, doing her best to avoid the throng of their housemates all heading in the same direction, and turned to face him.

"Don't you see Harry? Even if they haven't managed to convince everyone that you didn't enter the tournament, they still managed to convince everyone to say that you didn't. I know it doesn't mean much of a difference to you, but it's going to mean everything when dealing with the rest of the school." She explained.

He wasn't entirely certain that Hermione was correct. Harry liked the other Gryffindors in general, he had known many of them for years. In fact he didn't think he had a single friend that wasn't a Gryffindor. Even the few adults in his life that he would call friends, like Hagrid, or Professor Lupin, were both Gryffindors when they were in school. But even if the others had the same fondness for those in their own house, he doubted it would go so far to change their opinions of him.

Harry suddenly found himself having to stop, as the people in front of him down the hall were no longer moving. He peaked around to see what was holding them up, only to see several prefects milling about at the front of the group, and looking back down the hall they had come from.

When Harry looked back though all he could see was the rest of the house coming down the stairs, and then having to stop in the hallway with everyone else. "Why did we stop?" He asked no one in particular.

Neville, who had apparently been behind the three of them, answered timidly while looking around.

"Didn't Fred and George say we were going to do this together? I thought that's what they said, right?"

Harry's eyes grew wide. Sure enough as he began to look around he saw that everyone seemed to be waiting in the hall for the rest of the house to come down the stairs.

"We're not really going to . . ." Harry had started, when suddenly the Weasley twins jumped the last few stairs at the end of the group.

"All lions present and accounted for!" George shouted, grinning wildly.

"Walk on noble Gryffindors, walk on!" Fred encouraged after him.

As the group began to move forward again Harry felt a surge of conflicting emotions. He felt guilty and embarrassed that all of this was happening because of him. If it could have just been a normal year, then nobody would have had to go through all of this trouble over him. If he could get away he might have thought to skip breakfast and just wait for his next class, but both Hermione and Ron were pressed in on either side of him as the crowd moved.

But the closer they got to the great hall, and Harry had begun to hear the loud talking of hundreds of students, he actually breathed a sigh of relief. Though his guilty feelings still remained he slowly began to realize that he wouldn't be walking in there alone. He wouldn't even be walking in with just Ron and Hermione at his side, which last night had seemed like his best case scenario. Instead Harry Potter was surrounded by people who were standing up for him, and counting him as one of their own. He glanced at both of his friends, Hermione giving him a sympathetic pat on his arm, and Ron smirking encouragingly. Despite his uneasy feelings he couldn't help but smile at them.

He looked forward and squared his shoulders as the first group of Gryffindors started to make their way into the great hall.

Author's Thoughts

This was probably the chapter I had the easiest time writing since it involves an issue I have had with the books ever since I was a kid. The Gryffindors are famous for their bravery more than their loyalty, but throughout the books there are plenty of times when they show how united they can be. However what bothered me growing up was their complete lack of consistency. Gryffindors will say "always behind you Harry!" but tend to ignore him on a day to day basis. Where are the older students keeping an eye on the younger ones? Where are the prefects actually doing their jobs? When Harry is physically being tortured during his fifth year Hermione is the only housemate that bats an eye. Not only does that bother me, it doesn't feel realistic.

When I was in college I knew everyone in my classes, I spent dozens of hours a week with those people. Even if you didn't care about them it was unavoidable to know what was going on in their lives and more than a bit about who they were. Hogwarts is a seven year school containing almost a whole generation for an entire country. Half of the students are related to each other, and the other half will probably be related to them after school. How are you not paying more attention to each other?

I'm definitely going to try and get more into house politics and more information about the other houses. I probably won't do anything grand like add more school events or create new places for students to hang out. I would like things to be fairly canonical up until this point, with changes coming as the story progresses. But I still have some fun ideas for how the other houses socialize.

Especially my Hufflepuffs!