Summary:

The Hogwarts students are gathered on September 1st in the Great Hall by Lady Hecate to react to some ships concerning the students, the professors, and some of the students' parents' generation. (And maybe even more)

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I do not own Harry Potter

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Chapter 1: Why Did You Do This?

'I can't believe it… I thought I loved Mike… but I saw him…' Was one of the many thoughts going through Harry's head as he made his way to the Great Hall for the orientation dinner. He had been on the train with Ron and Hermione when he caught a glimpse of his boyfriend of four years, Michael Woods.

-Start of Flashback-

He was delighted to see him, as he hadn't seen his lover since before summer break. So, with that in his mind, Harry said bye to his friends and told them not to wait for him on the train, as he would just go to Hogwarts with Mike instead. "Oh? Alright, Harry. Have fun with Michael." Hermione said with a smile on her face. She knew just how in love Harry was with Michael. Harry prized him more than anything else in the world.

"Thanks, guys! I'll see you at dinner!" Harry said to his friends as he skipped off to see Mike. He made his way through the train compartments in the direction he saw Mike going in, looking through each of the compartments quickly so that he wouldn't miss him. "Harry!" Harry had just made his way into the snack compartment when his long-time friend, Neville, called out to him. "Hey, Neville! How was your summer?" Harry asked the plant-obsessed boy. "It was great! Gran managed to get me new robes for this year!" "That's great, Nev, they look good on you. Have you seen Mike recently? I thought I saw him walk up this way." Harry asked as he took a look at the occupants of the compartment. None of them was the brunette boyfriend that he so yearned for.

"Uh yeah, I saw him go up that direction, but you've got to understand Harry… Something was off with him. He acted weirdly when he saw me, and he had some girl with him. They were pushing each other around and giggling the whole time I saw them." Neville said nervously, he didn't know what was going on with Michael, but he was worried for his friend if (when) he found out something that he wouldn't like. Of course, he would beat Woods's ass if he ever hurt Harry, but Harry would still have to deal with the hurt and sorrow that would come from that revelation.

"Oh. Well, I'm sure it's nothing. Thanks for your concern, Neville." Harry said with a smile. He had no clue what Neville was trying to hint at, he just knew that Mike had indeed gone up through this compartment. "See you later, Nev!" Harry called out while waving bye to Neville and walking ahead to the next train compartment.

Harry continued walking for what seemed like forever until he got to the last compartment on the train. 'He has to be in here, otherwise, he's either not on the train, or I somehow missed him…' Harry went to slide open the door but heard noises coming from the other side. "Mmmm… Yes… Oh god…" Harry thought that sounded a lot like Mike, but he knew it couldn't have been him. Because why would he be making those noises? So, Harry decided to quietly open the door to not alert the people inside of his presence immediately.

When he looked inside the compartment, he saw something he had hoped to never see. He saw Mike, his Mike, kissing some Gryffindor girl… and when he looked slightly lower, he saw that they weren't just kissing.

Overwhelmed, Harry just stood there for a moment in his shock. But eventually, he got over it enough that he was able to quietly slide the door closed again. He didn't know what to think… On one hand, he wanted to give Mike the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this was the first time it happened…? But even if it was, Mike betrayed him. He cheated on him. And that was unforgivable.

With that in mind, he made his way back through the train until he found an empty compartment, where he sat down and finally allowed himself to digest all that he saw.

…

'That bastard! That stupid, stupid, bastard! Why does it have to be my heart that he breaks!?' Was all Harry was thinking as he tried to muffle his sobs behind his hand. He had been crying for twenty minutes now, and all he wanted to do was lay down and cry some more.

Soon, the train made its way to Hogwarts, where everyone got off. Harry quickly made his way through the crowd and towards the school so he wouldn't have to see any of his friends. Or worse, Michael. Once he got into the school, he immediately went to the Gryffindor dorms. He practically ran into the common room and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the fireplace.

There, he let himself cry for a while longer before he calmed down and decided that he had spent enough time up here. Ron and Hermione would probably get suspicious if he stayed any longer if they weren't already. So, he made his way down to the Great Hall.

-End of Flashback-

Harry opened the doors to the Great Hall, and immediately everyone's eyes were on him. People noticed he was missing, (He shouldn't be surprised, after all, everyone knows him as the boy who lived, which isn't a title he can seem to get away from.) so many people's eyes were on him as he made his way to Ron and Hermione where they were sitting at the Gryffindor table and sat down across from them. "Hey, Harry, where were you? We asked Michael 'cause you said you were coming here with him when we didn't see you, but he said he never even saw you on the train! Where were you, mate?" Ron asked Harry in a whisper-shouting voice.

"Nowhere. Sorry, I got distracted and before I knew it, we were here. I went up to the dorms to put my stuff away and lost track of time." Harry said in a monotone voice while getting food onto his plate and starting to pick at it while all around the Great Hall people started resuming their conversations. Ron and Hermione shared a look, this wasn't like Harry at all. He usually was so excited to be at Hogwarts!

"Are you sure, Harry?" Hermione asked gently, knowing Harry would tell them if it was anything when he felt most comfortable to do so. "Yeah, I'm sure, 'Mione," Harry said as he started to push around his mashed potatoes. "Alright, just know we're here whenever you need to talk." Harry sent Ron and Hermione a thankful look, knowing that they wouldn't push him for answers anymore. "Yeah, plus, you missed the sorting ceremony! We'll tell you all about the new first years!" Ron said excitedly as he changed the subject.

Harry chuckled a little. Some things would never change.

-Sometime Later-

It was nearing the end of the orientation dinner and Professor Dumbledore was about to finish his speech after Umbridge interrupted him when all of a sudden a large book fell out of thin air and landed on Umbitc- Umbridge's head, causing her to fall onto the floor with the force of the book falling. At seeing this, several students had to stifle their laughter, some not even being able to and burst out laughing at seeing the Ministry official like this.

"Alright everyone, quiet down, quiet down," Dumbledore said as he went over to the staff table when Umbridge was just getting up and picked up the large book that had appeared out of thin air. He saw the cover and hummed before opening up the book's first page. He stood there reading for a couple of minutes before going back up to the podium with the book and announcing: "Everyone, please remain seated and calm for now while the Professors and I talk over some things. Thank you." Dumbledore said before beckoning the other staff members to the hallway just outside the Great Hall.

"What do you think is in the book?" Ginny asked the Golden Trio excitedly as she sat down next to Harry. "I don't know, but if Dumbledore wants to talk to the other staff members about it, it must be important," Harry concluded. "It's Professor Dumbledore, Harry. But yes, I am intrigued about the book." Hermione agreed.

All around the hall, all people were talking about was either the book and what was inside it, or Umbridge's fall from the staff table. Even the Slytherins were laughing about it. "I can't believe she fell. Onto the floor!" Marcus Flint said between laughs, still remembering the fall in his head. This caused the other students to laugh along with them but try to be quiet enough that the other houses wouldn't notice them.

Meanwhile further down the Slytherin table, Draco was staring out into space, thinking of what his father wanted him to do. 'How could he seriously expect me to join the Death Eaters?! And give in to the stereotype that already surrounds me? Hell no! Father may punish me, but anything would be better than having to become a Death Eater…' Draco's thoughts trailed off as he caught sight of Potter staring at him. Draco raised an eyebrow as Ha-Potter continued to stare at him, even when he saw Draco notice him.

Draco gave Potter a look that said 'What are you doing?' and in response, Potter gave Draco a look that said 'Why does it matter?' 'Uh, it's my face you're staring at' 'Yeah, well, you can't blame me for staring-' Harry (Harry's face?) was cut off when the professors all walked back into the Great Hall, some of which were fidgeting nervously, while others, like McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Snape, were more calm and collected.

Once Dumbledore made his way back to the front of the hall, he started talking to the student body again, which caused everyone to stop talking. "Today has taken a mysterious turn. Instead of going immediately back to your dorms to retire for the night, I have been given specific instructions to tell you that you can go back to your dorms tonight, but only after we have read the first three chapters of the book that appeared here just a little while ago."

Dumbledore cleared his voice and continued, "I know this will sound very strange, and perhaps even impossible, but it seems as though we have been sent a book by Lady Hecate herself." Gasps were heard throughout the hall as people started whispering to each other what this could mean.

"Now, I have been instructed to set up comfortable seating for this, so if you all could stay exactly where you are." Dumbledore conjured many couches, chairs, and beanbags for the student body to sit on in replacement for their house tables. People were then seen getting even more confused looks on their faces as they still didn't know the contents of the book.

"I can tell most of you are intrigued by what this book could hold that would be so important to Lady Hecate, and I would just advise you to not question her decisions too deeply. I am still not quite sure what this reading will do for the school as a whole, but I do believe Lady Hecate has a plan. And hopefully, we will be able to tell what this plan is as time goes on." Dumbledore said with his signature shine in his eyes.

"Now, I feel it would be best if everyone were able to see what was on each of the pages as we read, so I will be projecting certain sections of these pages at a time for you all to see above me. Now, please get comfortable with your seating arrangements, because as I said before, we will be reading the first three chapters before we rest for the night. And for this reading, Lady Hecate has requested that I allow houses to sit with each other, so let us please take a few minutes to pick our seats before we start."

Once Dumbledore said this, many people had excitement on their faces as they went over to sit with their friends and some even to their partners, taking this chance to sit with them as they usually are never given the chance to.

After a couple of minutes, everyone settled down where they wanted to sit, and though there were still distinct spots where each house sat, there were quite a few places where people from multiple different houses were sitting and whispering to each other.

This caught the attention of the Headmaster, as previous Headmasters thought that keeping the houses separate would be for the best, in case fights broke out between houses. And Dumbledore accepted that when he became Headmaster, but it seems as though the separation just made tensions worse between the students. 'Hmm, maybe after this we could start to encourage inter-house bonding and interaction more if this turns out to be alright.'

As everyone in the hall quieted down in hopes of being able to hear Dumbledore start to read, Dumbledore made one last announcement. "I have also been given instructions to enchant the book with a spell that will make it read on its own, so I will not be able to tell what is on the pages until it appears above the book, either." Dumbledore cast the spell, and a couple of seconds later, a voice came from the book, announcing the title, "Fake-Out or Make-Out"

Published: 2/4/2023