Harry applauded himself on his own self-control. There were times when he deeply regretted having convinced the Sorting Hat to put him in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin; he'd never have any problems amongst the snakes, they at least knew the meaning of the word 'privacy'.
Being surrounded by over-enthusiastic lions was not his cup of tea. They didn't seem to know what 'peace and quiet' meant, always up and about, trying to live up to their house's brave and glorious ancestor, Godric Gryffindor. And if that wasn't enough, everyone expected him to follow in Godric's footsteps, all because he'd drawn that old sword from within the Hat in his second year. That had not been his proudest moment. He had to, however briefly, convince himself that he truly wanted to save and protect the students in the school from the basilisk's deadly gaze. As if he cared what happened to them, but in order to keep everyone from finding out what lied beneath his masks, he had to play his part.
Since receiving Voldemort's letter, he'd had an even harder time of keeping up his Golden boy-persona. But he refused to lose merely because of a letter, he was stronger than that! But it wasn't easy. He'd lost count how many times he'd longed to curse his housemates to hell and back, simply for being so... good. If only they knew they had a snake in their midst. He couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they realised where his loyalties truly lied.
Would they all have the same look of betrayal like the one Lavender Brown had, mere seconds before her death? He reached inside his robes and gently held the locket in his hand, the keeper of his soul. He could feel it pulsing with his magic as if reassuring him it was really there.
He would need to find a safe place for it, keeping it on him wasn't an option, at least not for long. If it fell into the wrong hands, into Dumbledore's hands... that would be devastating. The only question was where to hide it, it had to be somewhere where-
He smiled. He suddenly knew what to do. Hidden beneath his Invisibility cloak, he headed for the Room of Requirement. Once inside, he warded the door and stuffed his cloak inside his robe. He opened his mouth and said: "Dobby?"
With a small 'pop', Dobby appeared before him, almost bouncing with the excitement of being near his precious Harry Potter. "What can Dobby do for Master Harry, sir?" he asked.
"I've told you time and again, Dobby, it's just Harry, alright?" Harry said with fond exasperation.
"Sir will always be Master Harry to Dobby, sir!" the elf said with near indignation. Harry raised his hands in surrender, knowing when to back off.
"I need to ask a favour, a very important favour, Dobby", Harry said and studied his friend intently. This was no joking matter. "Do you think you're up for it?"
"Dobby will do anything Master Harry asks of him!" the small elf said with a determined nod. "What is it Master Harry wants?"
Harry took a deep breath and carefully removed the locket around his neck. He felt himself tremble slightly, not wanting to be away from his soul. But he had to do this; he had to keep it safe.
"Within this object, there's something very precious to me. Do you know what a Horcrux is, Dobby?"
Dobby nodded slightly, "Dobby knows what those are, sir."
"Then you know it's of most importance that this is kept safe," Harry said, tightening his fingers around the locket.
"Does Master Harry wish for Dobby to hide his precious locket?"
Harry beamed at his friend. "Yes, Dobby, I do. Somewhere where no one will ever find it. Can you do that?"
"Of course, Master Harry. Does he wish for Dobby to secure the hiding place with his magic as well?"
Harry's cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling. His friend was truly remarkable. "If you could, Dobby, that would be most appreciated. Thank you." And with a deep breath, he handed the locket over.
"Dobby will make sure it's as safe as it can be, Master Harry." And with that, the elf disappeared.
-00-
"Harry, can we talk?" Granger said and gently touched his arm. Harry had to force himself to not recoil at the touch.
"What's there to talk about, Hermione? I thought you were still mad about what happened in the library," he said with a small glare at his 'friend'. Oh, how he wanted to kill her.
She blushed and looked down. "I know, I wanted to apologise for-"
"Do you know what always annoyed me about you, Hermione; the fact that no one was allowed to know more than you. If either I or Ron came to you with information, you refused to accept it as valid until you had read it yourself. Do you have any idea how frustrating and downright humiliating that is?"
Hermione appeared to be frozen in place, her eyes wide and mouth agape. "Harry... I..."
It felt so good to let some of his frustration out, to see the anguish in her eyes as he handed her the brutal, but honest truth. This had been building up for years.
"Not only that, you never bother asking someone for their opinion, never mind mine or Ron's. You get it into your head that your way of thinking is the only way of thinking, and therefore other people's opinions don't matter to you."
Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying his hardest to appear regretful. "I'm sorry, Hermione, it's just... you always go on and on about how no one knows anything, but that's just because you never bother to listen. Why do you think no one wants to be paired with you in class?"
At that remark, Hermione flinched, as if Harry had slapped her across the face. "I-I..." She abruptly turned and ran down the corridor.
Harry took a deep breath and let it out, a big smile slowly forming on his face. "That was fun."
-00-
Harry thought he might be the only student awake, the castle looked abandoned with its empty halls and quiet corridors.
Everyone seemed to appreciate the joy and comfort of sleeping in on weekends. Which made it, even easier for Harry to leave the castle unnoticed. He breathed in deep, enjoying the almost eerie silence in the morning before the world came to. He glanced back at the castle. The sight of its silhouette and the mountains beyond was almost breathtakingly beautiful.
He glanced at his watch. 8:43. He wondered if Voldemort was already there, and quickened his pace. It wouldn't do to leave the Dark Lord waiting, after all.
Hogsmeade itself wasn't any livelier than the castle, and Harry quickly made his way to the pub. His pace halted briefly as he spotted a man standing outside the building. Could that be...?
He slowly approached the man, who had been watching him in silence. When Harry was close enough to touch, he turned towards him and his lips twitched, as is holding back a smile. "Potter."
Harry nodded, wondering what he should call the other man. "What should I-"
"You may call me Elias," was the reply. Harry studied the other man closely. 'Elias' appeared to be in his late twenties, with short, wavy black hair and deep blue eyes. His voice was deep and smooth, like dark chocolate. Harry had to tread carefully. He had always been fascinated by beautiful things.
