The entire hall broke out into whispers, and as if by magic, there was a moment that Harry could escape, and it was thanks to the Weasley twins, Dean, and Seamus.
CRASH!
Half of the cutlery, goblets, glasses, and courses of the Gryffindor table were on the floor. The temporary distraction provided Harry with enough of a cover to be able to do the one thing his lovely relatives taught him how to do well.
Run.
Harry practically sprinted out the door, tripping more than once, and making it to the entrance of the dungeons, somehow very quickly. Now his thinking and reasoning was as sound as it was going to get at the time, so he didn't take into account that Snape was not at breakfast that morning, so naturally, Harry did the other thing he could do well.
Fuck up greatly.
In hindsight, it was a probability of 50/50 to what could have happened to him, maybe he would bump (quite literally) into Snape, and maybe he wouldn't. Heck, he preferred even Filch at this point if it meant getting away from the Four Horsemen. It could be seen as a coward move, but he had to have his whole life and his past experiences taken into universe had to cut him some slack.
The body below him had other thoughts.
"Mr. Potter, what in world is the meaning of this?!" Snape snapped at him, his disheveled state doing nothing to stop him from looking like an enraged dragon. And this dragon was spiting fire as well. Harry was going to come out of this situation (hopefully just with) some burns. Snape looked just about ready to kill him, an surely he had perfect knowledge on how to hide a very bloody crime scene.
"I- uh-, well you see-"Harry stuttered out, balancing himself on Snape's lap, his arms stretched out in front of him on the professor's chest.
"Before giving me your half brained excuse, Potter, get. Off. Me." Snape growled. Harry leapt up, his heart pounding away a mile per minute, and was blushing heavily. Great, just what he needed, more humiliation. Harry looked down to the ground and quietly said, "I just want to go back to the Common Room, sir." Hoping that was enough, Harry waited with abated breath, praying that he would maybe even make him scrub cauldrons, for the duration of the Four Horsemen's stay perhaps?
Well, wishful thinking was just that. Wishful thinking.
"Potter, do not take me for a fool. Now, I wish to know why you thought running around like an imbecile was more convenient than walking normally, in a hall where you know that the stones are uneven and slippery." Snape drawled out, look of absolute boredom on his face. His eyes though, showed an almost concerned emotion. As quickly as that emotion showed, it disappeared, causing Harry to wonder if he had imagined it.
"Potter, I haven't got all day, I do have things to do besides being some kind of counselor to you and your poor little lion's heart. Out with it boy!" Snape barked. Harry flinched slightly, briefly reminded of his Uncle Vernon, and then rushed out, "I am not comfortable with having to deal with someone who I never explain where I was from or that was an ACTUAL wizard with a wand and owl, or that my relatives hate me so much that they left me stranded on a continent that I knew no idea how to navigate, or that I had to go to a wizarding school in Scotland, or that they were the closest thing to family I have every had, or that-" Harry suddenly couldn't hear himself although his mouth was still moving. He looked at Snape and blushed when Snape raised a brow at him.
"Truly, one can take a lion out of the den, but not the den out of the lion. Your foolish Gryffindor ways will be the absolute end of you, Potter. Now," Snape drawled apathetically, "Your little problems with our guests should be resolved in such a manner that will not bring further unwanted attention on Slytherin house, as I am sure your little stunt caused a bad enough impression." Snape cancelled the silencing spell. "Am I understood, Mr. Potter?"
"Yes sir," Harry mumbled, face putting a pomegranate to shame, and walked briskly around Snape when, "I do not remember excusing you Potter, and I do believe that you have earned yourself a week's detention with me for acting like a complete dunderhead." Snape smirked. Harry almost groaned, and walked back to Snape. Snape had an almost amused look on his face, "You are free to go, Potter. Your detention begins at 8 p.m. sharp, any minute you are late is an extra week added. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Harry looked down to the ground and walked away as quickly as he could. Guess who was going to be about 10 minutes late?
~X~
"He was here all this time? Why didn't he tell us anything?" Jack muttered, shuffling a deck of cards as quickly as he could while pacing. Daniel was standing near one of the portraits in the room, also looking a bit confused, though he would never admit it. The Four Horsemen were in their suite in the dungeons of the castle, their placement there brought a twinkle to the headmaster's eye and they quickly grew suspicious. Merritt had been tried reading the man with no avail.
Henley was sitting down in one of the arm chairs in the room while Merritt was leaning on the wall near her. Dylan, their handler, would not join them for another couple of days as he was trying to somehow quit his FBI job, but they knew that he would be as equally as surprised about Harry. They were told that they would be near a dormitory of one of the houses, Slytherin, and that they generally did not cause trouble or ruckus.
"I appear to be in the exact situation as you, Jack, so forgive me if my response seems to be unhelpful." Daniel snapped, patience having worn thin. Merritt snapped his fingers gaining the attention of those in the room. "Okay, Lover boy, don't take it out on Jack, your controlling ways need to be put on hold at the moment." Henley nodded in agreement while Jack looked surprised. Daniel sighed and sat down in the sofa across from Henley and Merritt. Jack looked at him with caution and gingerly sat next to him, putting the worn deck of cards away. Daniel looked at him and smiled apologetically, Jack giving him a small smile in return. Merritt and Henley looked smugly at each other.
"Alright, what house is Harry in?" Henley asked nonchalantly. The three men in the room looked at her with confusion. She shook her head, "Men, honestly. If we want to properly talk to Harry, then we should either catch him at mealtimes, which I sincerely doubt will be possible now, or, we could find what house he is in, find out his schedule, and corner him." Really, the plan seemed a bit far-fetched, but they did pull off more extravagant stunts for a living.
"Sounds good to me," Came Jack's quick reply. Merritt looked Daniel and they both shrugged and nodded at Henley. Henley smiled and adjusted her gloves, "Well, it seems we have bit of research to do, don't we boys?"
~X~
In the Slytherin common room, Draco as trying to find his quill, a silver one that Harry had gifted him the previous year when they were still quite new in their friendship. Everyone in the dorm snickered at Draco's frazzled expression. Harry on the other hand was looking out the window into the Black Lake, the Giant Squid rushing past to catch smaller fish; Harry's transfiguration book lay open in his lap and was all but forgotten.
"Ah-ha!" Came Draco's victory cry and he sat down near Harry with a thump. Harry was startled out of his daze, his heavy book falling out of his lap and onto his left foot. Harry hissed out in pain and glared at Draco. Draco looked unapologetic and even had the audacity to smirk.
"So, why were you so terrified of the illusionists?"
"I old you already Draco, you seem to have quite the selective memory. They took me in for the summer about three years ago and I just left without a note or anything three weeks before the school year of hell was unleashed on earth. Nothing more, nothing less. I was a scared twelve year old who new nothing better and I thought coming back here to this wonderful institution was my best bet. I know better now." Harry grumbled and rubbed his now sore toes. Draco raised an elegant eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed. Harry looked at him and groaned.
"For Merlin's sake Draco! What else do you want me to say? I fucked a stripper while in New York? I was eleven!"
"There's the spirit! I was starting to wonder if the golden boy attitude from the lion's den was gone completely. Backbone, Potter!"
Harry obtained a deadpan look on his face. In that moment, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini walked into the dorm room, "Professor Snape will be holding a house meeting concerning the illusionists and the classes we will be required to take with them," Blaise said, Theodore nodded in agreement, though remained silent.
"I assume we would have to behave with certain-" Draco was cut off by a loud knock at the dorm of the common room. The noise around the House immediately died down, and confusion abounded. Everyone shifted around nervously and looked to the four boys that came down from the dorms, the highest ranking people in Slytherin in that moment.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about that?" Theodore muttered.
