Not the Boy-Who-Lives. The Chosen One
As Neville and Harry entered the classroom Harry saw three people standing in front of him, two that he recognized and one that he did not. The two he knew made him want to turn around and leave immediately but with Neville blocking the door he decided instead to grab his wand and prepared to defend himself. But before he could do anything else his wand we wrenched out of his hand and flew back behind him.
Harry rounded on Neville who held Harry's wand in his right hand and his own in his left. "What is this some sort of trap? Have you switched to the other side Longbottom?!" Harry lurched at Neville but was held at bay by Neville's stiff arm that didn't even so much as waver as Harry ran into it.
"Harry this is not a trap." Neville said, "We are in this room because we want to help you. You are in this room because you truly need help." Harry snorted at the comment.
He turned looking at the two students who were in Slytherin robes. "You can't really believe those two are trying to help me, when have you ever known snakes to be friendly to me?"
"About the same amount of time we have known you to be friendly to us. It wasn't a one way street Potter. Don't try to act like you didn't match us insult for insult or prank for prank." Pansy Parkinson answered. Harry pretended like he didn't hear that last part of that comment.
"Draco has been out to get me since first year." Harry yelled. "What possible help could he be to me?"
"Potter there are things in place you don't understand, everything that has been done has been done for a reason." Draco said
"Give me back my wand Neville." He said with his hand extended. "If I go down I want to go down fighting but my blood will be on your hands Longbottom."
Neville rolled his eyes. "Are you done with the dramatics now Harry?" Harry's eyes widened with shock at Neville's attitude, this isn't the shy slightly prone to stuttering boy he knew. "If we wanted to kill you, you would he dead. All four of us have the ability and the power to do whatever we want to and you wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. We brought you hear to help you not hurt you so will you please relax so that we can have a civil conversation."
"Good luck with that one Longbottom. Did any of you survive a killing curse, did any of you kill a man by just touching him," His words were venomous, he turned again to the two Slytherins, "Kill a troll lately have you or a Basilisk, escape Voldemort three times did you? What is it that makes you think any of you are better than me?"
The blonde haired Ravenclaw who was attempting to keep a straight face could no longer handle it and she started laughing out loud at Harry's rant.
"What are you laughing at," Harry asked incredulously, "I don't even know you. Where do you get off laughing at me?"
"Oh, I'm sorry Harry Potter; I thought you were doing a stand-up act." She said laughing between words. "My name is Luna Lovegood so now you know who I am. I was laughing because I never heard someone give such a heartfelt soliloquy where everything they said was false."
"Oh and you would know?" Harry asked.
"Yes Harry, we would." Neville said. "I brought you here so you could be away from those moles you call friends long enough to hear what is really going on around you."
Neville handed Harry back his wand and Harry immediately made for the door but a quick spell drove Harry back into a desk and bound him there.
"I told you Harry, you are outnumbered and everyone here is better than you." The four students sat down in front of him. "We just want you to listen." Harry stayed silent not even willing to look up at the four.
Draco finally spoke. "Potter think for a second, would you please? You aren't surrounded by Slytherins there is also a Ravenclaw and Gryffindor here. If we went through all this to get you here, not harm a single hair on your head, and ask only that you listen and nothing more, if I was you I would at least try and listen just to see what the hell it was all about." Harry still would not look at them.
"Harry Potter, it is easy to see someone's circumstance when you are on the outside looking in, but it is hard to see the big picture when you are in the middle of the mess." Luna said.
Harry was slightly confused. He said nothing but the look on his face gave him away.
Pansy spoke up. "Potter this is going to be a lot to take in but I am going to give it to you straight out. You have been lied to, spied on, used, and abused your whole life. The people that you think are your friends are after your money and fame, the man you look up to more than anyone is grooming you for slaughter, and the ones you think of as allies would no more protect you than Voldemort himself."
"You all have gone mental." Harry looked at the girl menacingly. "How dare you speak about my friends and Dumbledore. They are the best people I know."
"The best people you think you know." Pansy replied.
"Harry Potter." Luna interjected stopping the banter between the two. "What is Hermione's favorite color?" Her silver eyes where sharp as she stared at him.
"Umm..." Harry sputtered because he honestly did not know.
Luna continued her questioning. "What do her parents do for a living? Or better yet what are her parents' names? Would even be able to identify them if you saw them?"
He couldn't answer the questions. To any normally reasoning person this might have raised a flag but Harry could only think that the girl had nerve for even questioning him at all.
"I don't have to answer to you!" He shouted.
"Translation," Said Neville, "He hasn't the slightest idea." Harry glared at him.
"If she is your best friend why haven't you had talks like that? Why haven't you asked about her, why hasn't she talked about herself or her life to her best friend? And honestly why hasn't she asked any of those question to you?" Luna left it there.
"So I don't know her favorite color what does that really mean?" Harry retorted.
"It's not about that particular question Harry, it is about the shallowness of your relationship." Luna answered. "Pick any other question Harry you couldn't answer it. Besides English what other languages does she speak? What does she want to be when she grows up, what is her favorite elective, why is she afraid of heights, pick one any one. Answer one of those Harry, just one?"
Harry could not.
"That's the point I am trying to make, it has been four years and your relationship is as shallow as a kiddy pool. Seems more like an alliance than a friendship to me and if you think about your relationship with both Ron and Hermione that way then some things might become clearer to you."
Draco started in on Harry next. "Do you ever wonder how it is that Ron is now in fourth year and still has trouble levitating a feather but is still allowed to progress in school? He is at the bottom as far as grades every year and you know that Hermione does a lot of his work for him and he still barely gets by. How is it that you were sorted into his house with three of his brothers? Think about it really, Mrs. Weasley had five kids who went to Hogwarts before Ron and she forgets where the platform is the day you happen to be looking for help. How is it that after less than a year of knowing you, Dumbledore who kept you totally out of the magical world for ten years allows you to just go off the their house? All of a sudden the wards that were supposed to protect you from all danger until you got back to Hogwarts were ok to leave because the Weasleys could protect you? If they could protect you then why couldn't a magical family that would probably love to have you and treat you a damn sight better than those muggles you live protect you."
Harry could not help but to think on that a little bit.
Neville took his turn next. "How is it that with only speaking after you get into some sort of life and death situation at school Dumbledore knows everything about you? Did you remember him saying things to you that you had only told your friends or said out loud when no one was around? Why is it that Ron and Hermione block everyone else from becoming close to you? You have been here four years and you still only have two real friends, I've been in the same house with you all that time and I see how they shield you from others and put down anyone else that tries to get close to you. Why is it that every year you have to reestablish a friendship with Ron or Hermione because of some kind of misunderstanding?"
Harry thought back, besides the odd letter once or twice from Dumbledore he never spoke to him. But yet at the end of the year he seemed to know everything about him before he even said anything. Why is it that Ron or Hermione always found one excuse or another for him to not be friends with anyone outside Gryffindor?
"You are trying to say that they want to be the only ones around me and that they are giving information about me to Professor Dumbledore?" the four nodded.
"Why would they do that?" He asked.
"Like I said the people you believe are your friends are after your fortune." Pansy answered "The Weasleys may be a pureblood family but they are only just getting by, Dumbledore for all his awards and status isn't independently wealthy either. Hermione wants the recognition of being the advisor to the Boy-Who-Lived."
"Why should I trust you, what motives do you have behind this?" Harry asked.
"We are trying to save your life Potter." Draco said. "The road you're going down and the people beside you on that road will lead to very bad results."
"As far as our motives, we want to offer our help to educate you and try and save your life." Luna said.
"Why do you talk about Dumbledore like he is evil or something? He is the greatest wizard on earth." Harry said defensively.
"And you state that on what authority?" Neville asked.
"Well everyone says so." Harry replied.
"Who is everyone Potter?" Draco asked,
"Hagrid, the other professors, he holds titles in government, he has his face on chocolate frog cards for God sakes." Harry said.
"So you are taking the word of professors who owe their jobs to the man, the belief that politicians are in some way honorable, and the chocolate frog makers putting him on a card as proof of his greatness?" Pansy groaned out loud in frustration. "You are less intelligent than I even cared to think. Besides what is written on the back of that chocolate frog card do you know anything else about him? Accomplishments, discoveries, or history? Anything?"
Harry had never thought about what he really knew of Dumbledore. They never had a conversation of any real deep meaning about his life; he only knew what the few people he talked too said about him.
"There are two sides to every story Harry Potter." Luna said. "Do you know about him and Grindlewald? Did you know he was transfiguration professor when Voldemort was here? Did you know about the death of his sister?"
Again he would have liked to answer but he had no clue about any of that, he just shook his head.
"I'm curious Harry, if Dumbledore is such a great leader for everything that is good and right why is it that as your magical guardian he left you with muggles that abused you? Why if he cares so much about you that not one time in eleven years did he check on your condition? Why on earth does he still send you back there every summer after he has seen the signs of abuse you have?"
"He said there are blood wards there that keep me safe from Voldemort." Harry replied.
"Blood wards huh? Ok, but you've been going the school the last few weeks claiming Voldemort used your blood to bring himself back." Draco said.
Harry looked at Draco blankly. It didn't click; the dots didn't connect much to the irritation of the four students trying to give the boy a clue.
"Come on Harry think!" Neville yelled in frustration. "Think about this, if Voldemort is just now getting a body what were these blood wards supposed to protect you from? What threat was so terrifying that you couldn't have stayed with either of your magical godparents or some sort of magical guardian? Someone well versed in magic and could actually do something to protect you if some sort of magical being tried to attack you? And if he now has your blood running through his veins what good are blood wards?"
"Magical godparents?" Harry asked. He knew about Sirius but he knew nothing of a godmother. But he didn't want them to know about Sirius "Who said I have them?"
"After four years in this world you still do not know even the basics of our culture." Pansy said. "Pick up a book sometimes Potter, or even just ask a question." Neville put a hand on her shoulder so she would stop ranting.
"All magical children born are given godparents should anything happen to our real parents." Neville said. "You should've been told who they were a long time ago and they should have been with you when you heard your parents will."
"Will?"
Draco just sighed. "He really has kept you totally out of the loop. Your parents died in wartime, did you not think they thought it could be a possibility and made out a will?"
To be honest Harry did not, there was no reason for him to, he had his trust vault and he didn't think of much else. It was obvious to the four that they struck a nerve.
"Harry did you ever think it coincidental that a troll is set loose in school and you get to it before trained magical professors do? With just a levitating spell you kill it by dropping a club on its head and sticking a wand up its nose? Does that really seem like a plausible way to kill a troll?" Luna asked.
"Do you think a teacher could be possessed and no other teacher notices anything? Do you truly believe that something as important as the philosophers stone could be gotten to by a first year? One who only had a game of chess, a find the key game, and a riddle to get through to obtain it? Ronald Weasley only does one thing well and that is play chess. You in your first year showed a very good aptitude for flying, and if Granger can't do anything else she can solve a riddle, does that not strike you as odd?" Pansy asked.
"Think about the ramifications of the chamber of secrets. It was opened before and the creature inside was responsible for killing one student. It was opened again and yet Dumbledore doesn't shut the school down and get the children to safety. Do you think it was just by chance that your best friend gets petrified? Do you think it was by chance that your other best friend's sister was taken into the chamber? Even odder is that once again instead of the schools trained professionals in magic went to get her and defeat the snake you did it? Do you think that a 200 year old Basilisk couldn't kill you if it really wanted to? Do you really think Phoenix Birds just appear out of thin air because they feel someone is in trouble or because of a swell of loyalty in the air? Or even that a sword appears just by you being a Gryffindor?" Neville added.
"Do you think someone spends over a decade in Azkaban and then manages to escape on his own? Do you honestly believe Dumbledore didn't know Sirius was innocent? And with all the pull that Dumbledore has he couldn't get your godfather cleared if he wanted to?" Draco asked.
"How did you know about him?" Harry demanded.
"Harry the only one in this room who is really out of the loop about most things is you." Neville answered. "There is no such thing as coincidence when Dumbledore is involved. EVERYTHING that is happening or has happened was planned. You are being used."
They then stopped talking as they heard Hermione and Ron walking by calling out Harry's name.
"This is your one shot Potter. We can't let you leave out of here knowing we know things if you are just going to go blab to those two." Pansy said brandishing her wand just in case. "Dumbledore is not to be trusted, those two outside are not to be trusted, and the Weasleys in general are not to be trusted. If you go along with them you will end up dead. We are offering to help you."
"What do you want me to do?" Harry asked.
"We want you to pick up on things, we want you to actually learn things and pay attention. When you leave us and go off with them think for yourself. Try and notice everything around you. Ask questions and observe how just how many answers you don't get." Draco answered.
Harry thought about it.
"And if you finally see what it is we are trying to tell you before school starts and decide you want to live, send a letter to Neville. Nothing too specific as probably everything you give or get is tampered with. Then we can start to tell you all you need to know." Draco finished.
Harry nodded and Neville lifted the charm that had Harry pinned to the chair. Luna stopped him.
"Your mind is weak and Dumbledore reads minds. It is illegal and an extreme violation of privacy to do so but he doesn't care. We need a magical vow from you not to divulge what you just heard. If you do then you won't be able to tell him what happened and he won't be able to read your mind to get it either."
Harry lifted his wand. "I Harry James Potter swear on my magic that I will not reveal what has been told to me in this room." His wand flashed as the vow was accepted.
Without saying another word he rose from the seat walked out the door leaving the four alone.
Neville heaved a big sigh not really sure if any of what they said had made a difference. "What do you guys think?"
"It is so odd to me that he seemed to never have thought of anything we said to him before." Pansy answered.
"I think that he might already be too far gone to believe us." Draco said. "Any rationally thinking person would have reacted much more intensely to being told things like that."
"Well Luna you are our resident seer, what do you think?" Neville said turning to her.
"No one can see past a choice that hasn't been made. Harry has two paths, the one we have given him appears dark to him and Dumbledore's shines brightly." She spoke cryptically.
"Well that just great Luna, real encouraging." Draco snickered nudging her in her side.
"It if makes you feel any better I can tell you that Wacksprouts are going to attack you on the train ride home." Luna smiled walking toward the door. "Shall we?"
With that they all left the classroom and headed towards the train.
Harry had walked to the carriages alone, he was in deep thought. For the first time he had to consider the few things in his life that he had clung to as real and true perhaps were not. As he approached a carriage Ron and Hermione finally caught up to him.
"Harry!" Hermione yelled, "Where have you been we have been worried sick."
"I was with Neville and after we finished talking I started walking to the carriages."
"Yeah but we looked all over the castle for you where were you two." Ron asked.
"In a classroom." Harry answered plainly.
Hermione gave him a look; she didn't really believe what he was saying. They had checked most of the classrooms and they were empty. They three of them got into a carriage and started the ride to the train.
"Well?" Ron looked at Harry expectantly.
Harry looked back. "Well what?"
"What did Neville want?" He asked.
"You already know that it was private Ron that is why we left." Harry answered.
"Come on mate I'm your best friend, surely whatever he told you can tell me." Ron said slightly put off that Harry hadn't just flat out told him.
"I think you miss the point of private Ron?" Harry said.
"Harry if he pulled you away like that he surely had something important to say." Hermione said. "You can trust us."
Harry turned to Hermione and really focused on her. "Hermione what is your favorite color?"