:D
Harry wasn't surprised he and Ella Reese, a ginger-haired pigtail-wearing Gryffindor girl who was best friends with Fay Dunbar, went together after classes to classroom eleven nor was he surprised to find that the other students arrived in pairs according to House. Wayne was beside Megan, Lisa by Stephen, and Terence alongside Theodore. He found it amusing that, though Theodore was two years younger than Terence, he was nearly as tall as him already. Wayne was a honey-haired boy with green eyes and a round warm appearance: every bit what a person pictured when they heard 'Hufflepuff' while Megan was short, soft, and delicate looking with brown locks and chocolate colored eyes. Lisa Turpin's cold exterior showed in her dark blue eyes and short patinum hair, but in comparison to Theodore, she didn't look cold at all. Stephen Cornfoot was the complete opposite of Lisa, with shoulder-length black hair kept in a ponytail and warmth radiating from his oddly amber eyes. Terence, the oldest in the group, seemed the least at ease, rushing a hand through his dirty blond hair and shifting his Seeker's body. Harry was still annoyed the Slytherin had been kicked from the Slytherin team just to make room for Draco Malfoy, who had clearly bought his way in thanks to his father's purchase of brooms for the entire team. He wondered what Terence thought of it.
Theodore gave Harry a single glance before opening the classroom and entering wordlessly. Awkwardly, they all took their seats around the single table provided and began to pull out their homework.
"So..." Stephen began, peering around at everyone with his ears perched high. "Um...maybe introductions first. Stephen Cornfoot Tolerance...with...Terence Higgs."
"I can introduce myself you know." Terence told his particep, but Harry noticed the complete lack of annoyance or any negative feelings.
"This is quicker." Lisa said, tail twitching. "I'm Lisa Turpin Peaceful with Megan Jones."
"Um...it's nice to meet you all." Megan said in an incredibly soft voice as her ears drooped and her tail wagged.
"And I'm Wayne Hopkins Honest with Ella Reese." The Hufflepuff boy introduced himself and his particep.
"Theodore Nott Boundless with Harry Potter." The Slytherin stated quickly, annoyance in the twitch of his ears. "Now can we get started on our schoolwork?"
"This is about bonding with our particeps and learning to draw strength from not being the only ones who are cross-House pairs." Terence said, giving a glance towards the younger Slytherin. "We shouldn't rush off to schoolwork without more attempts on what we're really here for."
"Don't try to be philosophical." Theodore snapped, glaring at the older as all his hair stood on end. "It makes you look like a Ravenclaw."
"Hey!" Lisa and Stephen said together, ears pinned back.
"Be nice." Terence said calmly and Harry decided right then and there that 'Tolerance' fit the Slytherin well.
"That's for Hufflepuffs."
"Come on!" Wayne scoffed while Megan's cheeks blossomed pink.
"Then stop talking." Terence stated, his eyes finally taking on a stonier look. "No one likes to listen to gits."
"Does this mean I can read?" Theodore asked coyly.
"No." Terence replied without hesitation. "But if you don't stop being a git and start making an effort in this little bonding session, I will report you to Professor Snape and he can deal with you."
Theodore's eyes narrowed into slits of ice, but he made no retort.
"So anyone have any ideas of how to go about this?" Wayne inquired after a long silence.
"How about we each share something about ourselves?" Ella put in. "I mean, it doesn't have to be something super personal. Just...like we pick a question and we each have to answer it."
Stephen immediately pulled out parchment and wrote on it. "All right. We each write down a question we'd like to ask and then I'll read from the list and we'll go around answering it."
"What a waste of time." Theodore muttered, but no one paid him any attention a Stephen passed the parchment to Terence.
The Slytherin gave a small smile and peered across the table at his particep. "You stole my question."
"Great minds think alike." Stephen gave a nervous grin and Harry watched Terence return it gratefully before scribbling down a question.
After everyone had written down a question and Harry made sure not to ask a 'favorites' question, Stephen began to read the first one off the list.
"What's your favorite past time?" He smiled. "I like to explore the castle...well, I guess that's just since coming here to Hogwarts, but I've always liked exploring in general. Terence?"
"Quidditch." He answered without further explanation. "Megan?"
"Oh." She squeaked. "Um...I guess I like to do jigsaw puzzles."
"Do what?" Harry was surprised that only he and Theodore hadn't asked this question, though he knew both Wayne and Ella were half-bloods.
"It's a Muggle thing." Theodore hissed, tail thrashing, and Harry wanted to elbow him for making Megan's eyes teary. On the other hand, it seemed Lisa wanted to do a little more than elbowing.
"Um..." Megan mumbled. "L-Lisa?"
"I like to shove people down stairs." Lisa said in a surprisingly gentle voice as she looked straight at Theodore. Everyone knew she didn't really enjoy shoving people down stairs, but it still caused Megan to squeak again. "Wayne?"
"I like to cook." Wayne answered jovially. "Especially desserts. Ella?"
"Read, I guess." Ella replied with a shrug. "Harry?"
"Um...Quidditch." He couldn't think of anything else. "Theo?"
"Read." Came the short expected reply.
"Okay." Stephen held up his list again. "What position would you play if you had to play Quidditch?"
"When would you ever have to play Quidditch?" Theodore snapped.
"Shut up, Theo." Terance snorted a laugh.
"Beater." Stephen answered the question. "Because then I'd have a bat...and therefore protection."
Terence chuckled. "Seeker."
"Seeker." Megan whispered.
"Beater." Lisa replied, still looking at Theodore.
"Keeper." Wayne stated. "They don't move much."
"Chaser, I guess." Ella mumbled. "But I don't really like Quidditch."
"Seeker, obviously." Harry stated.
"I wouldn't play."
"If you had to though." Stephen insisted. "Like you'd die if you didn't."
"Then I'd die." Theodore shrugged. "End of story."
"Fine. Fine." Stephen rolled his eyes. "Next question: What's your favorite animal?"
Harry saw Megan's cheeks turn bright pink.
"I guess, a fox." Stephen answered. "Because they're cool."
"A phoenix." Terence's answer surprised Harry as he'd forgotten about magical animals. "Because it can fly."
"A bunny." Megan murmured.
"Dragon." Lisa's eyes still had yet to tear from Theodore. "A big mean Hungarian Horntail dragon."
"I like dogs." Wayne shrugged. "Lazy dogs."
"I've always liked lions." Ella sighed. "I guess it's just the Gryffindor in me."
"Hippogriff." Harry said. "I think. I'm not sure."
"Kneazles." Theodore said and, since no one asked him what it was, Harry had to make a mental note to look up what one was.
"What's your favorite food?" Stephen gave Wayne a reproachful look. "Pudding."
"Steak."
"Cauldron cakes."
"Acid Pops."
"All." Wayne grinned. "What?"
"Licorice Wands."
"Chocolate Frogs."
"Calamari." Theodore's answer invoked a sense of grandeur.
"What game do you prefer: gobstones, exploding snap, or wizard's chess? Wizard's chess."
"Exploding snap."
"Gobstones."
"Wizard's chess."
"Uh...gobstones."
"Gobstones."
"Exploding snap."
"Wizard's chess."
"What class do you think is the hardest? Potions."
"Charms."
"Transfiguration."
"Transfiguration."
"Transfiguration."
"Transfiguration."
"Potions."
"Arithmancy."
Harry wasn't shocked by the many people who believed Transfiguraiton was the hardest class. It really was one of, but for Harry Snape was definitely the reason behind his inability to do potions.
"What spell do you want to learn most?" Harry felt a wave of sheepishness over his own question as Stephen answered, "A Summoning Charm would be really nice."
"Apparition."
"The Cheering Charm."
"The Torture Curse." No one believed Lisa, who was still glaring at Theodore.
"Probably a protection charm or something."
"I'd love to learn to Apparate too."
"Patronus Charm." Harry's answer got some inquisitive looks.
"Become an Animagus." Theodore's earned a lot more interest.
"All right. Last question: how stupid do you think this study group is? Rate one least to ten most." Stephen rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Theodore. One."
"Zero." Terence grinned at his fellow Slytherin.
"One?" Megan didn't seem too sure of herself.
"Zero."
"Five." Wayne laughed at Ella's glare. "Well, it is a little stupid, isn't it? It's as if no one thinks we can work this out on our own."
"One." She answered defiantly.
Harry hesitated before answering. "Seven." He received a lot of surprised looks. "I just...don't see how this is going to help."
"Ten." Theodore replied as everyone expected. "Now can we start on our schoolwork?"
"Fine." Terence sighed and they all reluctantly began to work.
After the study was over, Harry started to leave along with everyone else, but was surprised when Theodore asked him to hang back.
"How'd the scarf ordeal go over?" The Slytherin asked with amusement, but this amusement was lost in an instance at the look he saw cross Harry's face briefly.
"Fine." Harry tried to lie, tail nervously twitching. "It was fine."
"What'd they do?" Theodore asked, his voice suddenly dangerous.
"Nothing."
"Don't lie." Theodore spat. "Unless you're good at it."
"It...was just Ron...he took it hard..."
"How hard?"
"He..." Harry grimaced, recalling the beating. "It's not that important."
"How hard?" Theodore repeated impatiently.
"It's not that important." Harry glared suddenly, not wanting to answer.
"Fine." Theodore's anger radiated from him like a heat wave. "I'm going now."
"Wait." The Gryffindor stepped in front of the taller. "Um...when are we going to work on the Patronus?"
Theodore's eyes softened. "We can Saturday at noon. We'll meet on the seventh floor by the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Does that work?"
"It's great."
"Good." Theodore moved around the shorter boy. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Great." Harry called after him and, after the Slytherin had gone, let out a huge sigh.
He'd learned about Theodore and this made him happy, but he still didn't think the study group was such a great idea. He honestly didn't see how it was going to help any of them get closer to the particep or stop the problems they were having around school and in their Houses, but what other options did he have? At least, he got to spend more time with Theodore and that was what mattered.
He hoped...
Hope you enjoyed. Sorry it's not very long.