Posted: 19 September, 2009
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story that is recognisable from the Harry Potter books, movies, etc. Everything else however (eg. story plot, original characters, etc.) stems from my own imagination and belongs to me. No copyright infringement is intended and I am not profiting financially from this story in any way.
Chapter 3 - Malfoys, Brooms & Potions
Monday, 2 September, 1991
Two events of note occurred on Monday morning, the first full day at Hogwarts.
Firstly, the inevitable confrontation with Malfoy took place in the morning before their first class. Clued in as to Harry's identity from the sorting ceremony, the Slytherin intercepted him leaving the Great Hall after breakfast. The conversation went very much as it had last time around on the train: a pretentious introduction followed by a veiled invitation to become another of Malfoy's toadies, only associating with people the blond approved of. He of course refused, and even tried to be tactful about it. It seemed Malfoy didn't take rejection well in any form however. And so Malfoy's dislike for Harry Potter was reborn.
Secondly, Ron Weasley found his pet rat Scabbers had gone missing. No matter how hard he looked he couldn't find the rodent. He seemed a bit upset, but not to terribly so. After all, he'd only had the pet for about a month, since Percy made prefect and got an owl, leaving Ron to inherit the rat. He'd really not had time to get attached.
No one appeared to notice the fact that Harry Potter seemed secretly pleased whenever the topic of the missing pet arose.
..ooOOoo..
Thursday, 12 September, 1991
The Gryffindor and Slytherin first years were assembled in two lines on the front lawn of Hogwarts. Each student was stood beside a broom.
"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"
"UP!" everyone shouted.
It was no surprise to Harry that his broom leapt into his grasp at once. If he'd managed the feat straight off first time around, then his additional several years of flying could only have added to his mastery of a broomstick.
Looking around he saw that most others had failed. He dismissed them from his mind however, and looked instead to Neville who stood at his left. His voice was tremulous as he called his broomstick, and it was clear he didn't want to be doing this. As a result the broom didn't move at all.
"I don't know if brooms are the same, but they say horses can tell when a rider's afraid," Harry commented to his friend.
"I can't help it," the other boy almost whimpered. "I told you Gran never let me ride one. I think it's because she was afraid I'd fall off. What if she's right?"
"What's this Longbottom?" a snide voice called out from opposite them. "Your own grandmother thinks you're a clumsy oaf? Not to mention that Remembrall you got a breakfast. So I should actually say a forgetful, clumsy oaf."
Malfoy kept his voice low enough that the teacher wouldn't hear, but the nearest Slytherins (Goyle, Crabbe, and Parkinson) heard and snickered. Of the Gryffindors, only Hermione heard, from her position on Neville's other side. She spared a disdainful sniff and glare for the blonde Slytherin's attitude, but was too focussed on getting her broom to obey to get more involved.
As for Neville, the boy was looking more miserable than before. Harry knew there was no way his friend would get anywhere with his current attitude.
"Shut up Malfoy," he said in a negligent tone that he knew would bother the Slytherin, then turned to his friend. "Look Neville, just calm down, alright. Look at me. I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Yeah," Malfoy jeered, "up till you fall from the air and break your neck."
He growled as any progress he made was undermined. Sending the nuisance a harsh glare, he stepped out of line and in front of Neville, blocking his view of the Slytherins.
"Look it'll be fine Neville. You just need to calm down and be confident."
"But what if I fall?"
"I'll catch you," he said with deadly seriousness.
"And you'll squash him to death lard-bottom," Malfoy piped up from behind him.
"Listen Nev," he grabbed his friend's arms and stared him straight in the eye, "who are you gonna believe, me or Malfoy? I. will. catch. you. I promise."
Blue eyes surveyed him measuringly and, seeing his conviction, indecision slowly faded from Neville's face to be replaced by determination. He let his grip fall from the boy's shoulders and stepped back, watching as Neville stuck his hand out over his broom.
"Up!" he said with confidence.
And the broom jumped into his hands. Neville's eyes went wide with surprise, and a pleased smile spread across his face. Harry grinned back and stepped back into his place in line, watching approvingly as his friend stubbornly ignored any further Slytherin baiting.
The rest of the lesson went surprisingly well. Reassured by Harry's words, presence and promise, Neville did not jump the gun and go tumbling from his broom, as had happened the last time round. Instead he faced the lesson with caution tempered bravery. The results? Well, the blond would never be the best flier, but he easily managed to get through the lesson without incident. By the time class was dismissed he was more confident on a broom and wasn't dreading the next lesson in the slightest.
Harry had a moment's regret for his lost spot on the Quidditch team when Hooch pulled him aside to compliment his flying, and suggest he try out next year. But only a moment. After all, he had spared his friend a fall and a broken wrist, and helped him get past his fear of flying. It was a more than equitable trade.
..ooOOoo..
Friday, 20 September, 1991
If anyone were to doubt Harry's placement in Gryffindor, his determined insistence on continuing to partner Neville in Potions lessons was proof to the contrary. Three weeks into class, after the latest disaster of a Potions lesson and subsequent hospital visit, he decided to pull Neville aside for a chat.
"It just doesn't make sense," he explained. "You're brilliant at Herbology, and not just the handling of the plants – you know all about their properties and uses too. So you should have known that adding the Redtwill Fern fronds right after the Moondew moss would cause an explosion."
"I know," Neville said slumping and lowering his eyes. "I know I'm a disaster Harry, you don't need to rub it in."
"No!" he objected loudly. "No, Neville, that's not what I'm saying."
"Then what-"
"It's just that your problem in obviously nerves. It doesn't take a genius to realise Snape practically scares the magic out of you. Not that I blame you – has the man never heard of shampoo?" he asked and was rewarded with a quirked smile from his friend. "So I was thinking, maybe you'd be more confident if you knew for certain that you could brew the potion before going into the lesson."
"I think it's pretty obvious from the classes so far that I can't."
"Can't with Snape breathing down our necks you mean. At least not on your first attempt."
"What are you getting at?"
"I'm suggesting that we study ahead. Sometime before the lesson you take the time to pre-brew the set potion. I'll be there to help you out, and I know I'm not a genius at the subject or anything, but I am decent." An accomplishment he was quite proud of, given he also spent the lesson subtly fending off Legilimency probes from the nosy teacher. "Without Snape to stress you out, I really think you'll be able to get it right. Then, when we have the class, you'll be able to draw on the certainty that you can brew that potion. I really think it could help. What do you reckon?"
"Maybe that would work," Neville said, looking cautiously hopeful. "You don't mind though? Helping me out, I mean."
"Course not," he said, "that's what friends are for."
Neville beamed.
It was only once he had successfully posed his idea that Harry realised the flaw in his plan: they had nowhere to practice. Normally a student could petition the potions professor for extra lab time with supervision but that would hardly work given that: one, the professor was less than fond of them; and two, said professor was the problem.
He briefly considered using the Room of Requirement but quickly discarded that idea. If this worked and Neville improved, he just knew Snape would go digging in their minds for an explanation. And whilst he was proficient in Occlumency – a skill that had taken him a long time to master – Neville's mind was wide open. Not even Dumbledore knew about that room in this timeline just yet, and he wanted to keep it a secret.
So, in the end, he had simply scouted out an abandoned classroom off an out of the way corridor. He showed it to Neville and the pair began dusting and sweeping, and with a good afternoon's hard work they managed to clean it up. He was pleased that not only did they now have an adequate place to practice, but the work had also distracted him from the fact that today was the first Gryffindor team Quidditch practice session, and he was not involved.
..ooOOoo..
That weekend, Harry guided Neville through the brewing of the Hiccup Potion. It took two tries, as Harry had difficulty keeping his friend calm (Snape was already having a lingering effect on his attitude to Potions), but the second attempt produced a purple, bubbling liquid, that was only a few shades off. Neville was shocked and delighted by his success.
The next Potions less rolled around, and Harry spent the lead up to class keeping Neville calm and confident. As Snape appeared and they filed into the classroom, the other boy began to waver.
"Come on Nev," he whispered encouragingly. "You're a Gryffindor, don't let him scare you. You can do this, you know you can. We've done it before."
That seemed to calm him down. The lesson from there progressed well. Harry only had to intervene once, when Neville almost added an ingredient too early. The almost accident nearly threw the other boy off but Harry talked him through it.
By the time class ended, a shocked Snape was presented with a completed potion that, whilst more blue than purple, was still decent enough to score them an A for the lesson. Of course once he recovered from his shock Snape scorned their efforts as usual. Neville was not to be brought down however, high on his success.
As they headed for the great hall for lunch Neville cheerfully told his friend that if he could continue doing pre-brewing under Harry's guidance, he really thought he had a chance of passing Potions. Harry honestly told him that he was only too happy to help.
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