AN: First I'd like to give my beta Chessicfayth, a huge thank you for putting up with me and making this chapter so much better than it was. Thank ya Chessicfayth! Second, Poll on Profile.
"And you're sure these aren't bad for my teeth?" questioned Hermione, holding up a strand of Toothflossing Stringmints.
"You'll be fine," Harry said nonchalantly, waving off her worries. "I'm willing to bet even your parents would love them. You should send them some; I think they would appreciate them."
In the past hour since Hermione's arrival Harry's mood had taken a turn for the better. While his mood wasn't as good as normal, talking with Hermione had him feeling better than he had when he had closed himself off from everyone, to read his book.
It didn't take her long to start asking questions about the wizarding world and to start sharing about her home life.
"How would I send them?" she asked, before nibbling on the end of the candy. "I don't have an owl."
"Well you can use one of the school owls, but from what I hear they're a little unreliable," Harry told her, taking a drink of his pumpkin juice, "Or you could use my owl Hedwig when I send her out. You'll need to ask her first though. If you try and tell her what to do she can get moody."
"Your owl gets moody?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes she does, and I hope you won't repeat that where she can hear you," Harry told her firmly. "I won't be able to use my hands for a week when she gets done with me."
"You're afraid of your owl?" Hermione struggled to say through her giggles.
"You laugh now, but wait until you get on her bad side and see if you still think it's funny." Harry told her, not able to completely keep a smirk off his face. "I love her to death, but I'd rather try and get by a dragon than piss her off."
Hearing his words, she immediately stopped laughing as her head snapped up. "There are really dragons?"
"Dragons, Pixies, Unicorns, Vampires, Werewolves." Harry listed creatures absent-mindedly. "You name it and it's most likely out there somewhere."
This started Hermione naming different creatures, so that Harry could tell her if they existed, or not.
"Leprechauns?" She fired off at him, not noticing in her excitement that the strand of candy in her hands had started melting.
"Yes they're real too, though you'll be extremely lucky to ever see one," he said as he conjured a handkerchief, handing it to her and motioning to her hand. Seeing the mess she was making caused her to blush. She began cleaning herself as he elaborated. "They're very paranoid again, if you were hunted to the brink of extinction over your family gold, you'd be paranoid too."
"It sounds like they've been through a lot. Um.. Here's your handkerchief back." She said the last part looking uncomfortable, not knowing what to do with the piece of cloth after having dirtied it.
Flicking his wand he turned the scrap of cloth back to nothingness.
"Do you know a lot of magic?" Hermione asked getting excited at the display. "I myself have only tried a few things, but they've all worked."
"I know a bit-," he told her, but before he could elaborate there was a knocking at the door.
Through the window Harry could see a blushing Cho, and much to his surprise Katie Bell standing outside, waiting to be let in. Rising to let them in, he wondered how the two had met. As far as he knew, in his past life the two hadn't even exchanged words, let alone hung out together.
"Hello." He greeted them with a charming smile that caused Cho to turn a deeper shade of red. Katie let out a whistle as she eyed him. "It's good to see you again Cho. Would you and your friend like to join me and my friend Hermione?"
Before Cho could answer , Katie had grabbed her , pulling on her arm while pointing to Harry.
"Bloody hell, you weren't kidding when you said he was gorgeous were you?" Katie said to Cho, not bothering to keep her voice down."He's even better looking than that older Hufflepuff boy. The one that watches you like a piece of meat."
"Katie! Shut up!" Cho squeaked as she covered her face in embarrassment.
"What?" Katie asked, faking ignorance as to why her friend would be embarrassed. "I'm sure he knows he's a good looking bloke. I'm only trying to compliment him."
"Please stop talking?" Cho begged from behind her hands.
"Fine, but next time you want to go look for a guy that you think is the most beauti-."
"Katie!"
"Sorry." Katie chirped, not looking the least bit sorry. "Ooh are those bottles of pumpkin juice? I don't mind if I do." As she walked past him into the compartment she lightly trailed her fingers across his cheek, leaving behind a laughing Harry and wide eyed Cho who was peeking out from behind her hands.
"I'm so sorry about her," she apologized as she removed her hands from her face, looking horrified at her friend's actions. "She loves messing with people. I asked her to behave before coming here, but I can see that didn't help any."
"It's alright. Her words were very... enlightening." He smirked at her, and she turned if possible even redder, thinking that he was referring to the comment about his looks.
She was only part right.
Katie's words had revealed a few things to him. The first being that Cho not only liked him enough to come search for him, but that he had enough of an effect on her that she had told at least one of her friends about him. From the way it sounded to Harry, she had talked about him more than once. They had also told him that if Harry was guessing right, Cedric was already interested in Cho, but from Katie calling him 'that older Hufflepuff boy' and not by his name meant that he had most likely hadn't talked to her yet, which was only good news for Harry. What they made the most obvious to him, however, was that the Katie Bell from this time line was very different when compared to her counterpart from Harry's first life. Katie had been a very quiet girl that had only ever raised her voice when in the middle of a game of quidditch; but here in this world, she had been so bold as to say that he was good looking right to his face. It was scary how different she was after only hearing her talk for a few minutes.
"I didn't think she would repeat what I said about you like that. I'm sorry if it embarrassed you," said a horrified Cho.
"Really, it's fine. There's no reason to be upset about it," Harry told her with a soft smile. Reaching out, he placed a strand of her long raven colored hair behind her ear, making sure his hand brushed softly against her cheek. "I have to confess, I told a few people about the beautiful girl I met in Quality Quidditch Supplies."
"I-I uh... thank y-you." He chuckled at the effect he was having on her, causing her stare at the floor in embarrassment.
Knowing how it felt to be the one who was left speechless, Harry decided to take it easy on her. Reaching out he gently took her hand into his own. When she looked up he could see the mix of emotions his action caused her: gratitude, nervousness, and excitement were just a few that he was able to catch. "Why don't we go inside, and we can just sit and talk for a while?" As he asked he lightly pulled her toward the inside of the compartment and himself. "Who knows, maybe we'll give Katie the chance to mess with us some more?" Cho beamed at her crush and nodded her agreement as she tightened her grip on his hand.
Harry hadn't even turned all the way around when she glanced over his shoulder and into the compartment. Katie was chatting away to the bushy haired first year that looked to be almost frightened by her rapid talking new friend. What caught Cho's attention though was how she was sitting. "Katie! Put down your legs, I can almost see up your skirt." Cho chided, trying to protect her best friend's modesty.
Hearing her words, Harry almost gave himself whiplash turning to look at his former team mate. Katie, who was in her school uniform, had pulled her shoes off and had placed her feet in the seat across from her. This wouldn't have been a big deal normally, considering the length of Hogwarts skirt, but in this case Katie's had ridden up to just above mid-thigh, giving Harry and the girls a view at what he thought of as a very nice set of legs.
"Its fine," said Katie, waving off her friends worry. "I have shorts on underneath." She paused for a second a mischievous smile crossing her face. "Would you like to see?"
"NO!" Yelled both Cho and Hermione cutting Harry off, who had almost said yes.
Harry didn't think of himself as a pervert for almost saying yes. Most straight men would say yes if a pretty girl asked them if they wanted to see up their skirt, shorts or no, and Katie was differently well above the "pretty" category. Her short brown hair was pulled up in a loose ponytail, with a few strands hanging loose down into her big, brown, doe-like eyes, and the pale colored skin of her lithe body. Yes, Harry most definitely wouldn't have minded seeing up her skirt.
Noticing that Harry had been cut off before he could answer Katie turned to her best friend. "You better watch out Cho, it seems your love interest is a bit of a perv." Katie said in a singsong voice before turning her attention back to Harry. "What's wrong cutie; upset you didn't get a show?" She asked wearing a mischievous smirk.
"You're funny," said a chuckling Harry, sauntering his way over to Katie. He grabbed her by the feet, earning a squeal of surprise from her, as he sat down, placing them in his lap. "I think I might keep you around for laughs." Looking to Cho he patted the seat beside of him. "You don't have to stand over there if you don't want to."
With her cheeks still flushed from Harry's words, Cho made her way over, sitting closer to her crush than was necessary. Seeing his smile, she knew that he was fine with that. "So what were you two talking about before we interrupted you?" Cho asked turning her attention on Hermione for the first time.
"I was asking him if he knew a lot of magic." Hermione said, smiling shyly at the pretty Asian girl. "Oh, where are my manners, my name Is Hermione Granger." Smiling, she held out her hand for Cho to shake, who offered her own in return.
"It's nice to meet you Hermione. My name is Cho Chang. The girl beside you, who was talking your ear off just a few minutes ago, is Katie Bell, my best friend."
"Hiya," greeted Katie before turning her attention back to Harry and tapping him with one of her toes. "So how much magic do you know?"
"I'm not really sure. I've read all of my first year books and some that are higher than first year, but I haven't tried casting all of the spells I've studied yet." Hearing this, Cho and Katie looked impressed, and Hermione looked excited to know that for once she wasn't the only person to read ahead in school. "As for the spells I've tried, there hasn't been any that didn't work for me on the first try." His words set the three girls off talking about the first time they had each tried casting a spell. Soon the compartment was filled with the laughter of the four as they listened to each other's stories of success and failure.
When it came to be Harry's turn, he told them of how he had been grounded and had used his first casting as a way to end his punishment. Reaching the part of his story where he had put Sirius in a body bind sent Katie and Cho each into a fit of laughter, while Hermione looked as if she didn't know whether she should laugh or be shocked that someone would do that to an adult.
"Weren't you afraid he'd be mad, or that you might hurt him?" asked Hermione as the other two were coming down for their laughing high.
"Not really. He wouldn't have asked me to use that spell on him if he wasn't ready for it," Harry answered, giving a shrug of his shoulder. "Besides, my mom does worse to him when he gets out of line." Hermione looked shocked to hear this.
"Ouch, having Lily Potter after you doesn't sound fun." Katie said becoming serious at the mention of one of her female role models. Seeing Hermione shooting her a questioning look, Katie elaborated. "Lily Potter, or Lily Evans as she was known when she attended Hogwarts, is one of the brightest minds to ever attend the school. She showed that muggle borns can be as good as, if not better than pureblood wizards, and she did so in a time when it was dangerous to be a muggle born."
"Wow, your mother sounds amazing," said an awed Hermione.
"She is! After Hogwarts a lot of people were expecting her to go on and do amazing things, but nobody has heard anything about her besides her getting married and having kids," said an excited Cho. She hadn't made the connection between Harry and his mother when she first met him; it had been Katie who had pointed it out to her later on when Cho was telling her about him. "The reason nobody knows what she's done is because of the career she picked."
"What was that?" Hermione asked, leaning forward in her seat.
"She became an Unspeakable." said Cho and Katie at the same time, both smiling at each other over having done so.
"Man you two are really interested in my mom. Wonder if you're here for me, or her," Harry joked, making Cho blush and Katie stick out her tongue.
"I think I've read about Unspeakables in a Ministry career pamphlet. Isn't that someone who works in the Department of Mysteries?" asked the intrigued Hermione. The more she heard about Harry's mom, the more she wanted to meet her.
"They do." confirmed Cho. "They're forbidden from telling anyone what they work on, but there are all kinds of rumors on what they do."
Harry felt himself fill with pride as the three girls continued to talk about his mother and the possibility of what she had worked on. He sat back and listened to the three as they slowly forgot about him and started losing theirselves in the conversation, moving from one topic to the next.
It made Harry exceedingly happy to see Hermione get along with and become friends with the other two. In the short time since she had joined him, this Hermione had already made more friends during the train ride to Hogwarts, than the orignal Hermione had during her entire first year. It also didn't escape Harry that if the two older girls became good enough friends with Hermione then the chances were better that he would see them both more.
Over the next couple of hours the four talked, laughed, and enjoyed their ride together. They talked about anything that came to mind, from their home lives, to what they would learn at Hogwarts and what they wanted to do after they left school. If Harry had still been upset about Ivy it would have passed at the joy he was feeling being with the three girls around him.
That was, until a sight out in the hallway caught his eye. Knowing what was most likely going to happen, he blew out an exasperated sigh that drew the others attention. "It looks like we're going to be receiving some unwanted company soon, in the form of the Malfoy heir."
Out in the corridor Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Greggory Goyle had thrown open the door of the compartment opposite theirs. If this timeline was like Harry's original, then Malfoy was ether trying to find Neville, or was trying to show his dominance to others. Since Neville grew up in wizarding society, it was likely he already knew the Malfoys, meaning Draco was most likely just being an ass.
"Why does it sound like you don't like him?" Hermione asked, throwing glances to the other three, noticing the looks they were shooting the blonde.
"His family is some of the worst trash in the wizarding world!" Katie said in a disgusted voice as she pulled her feet off Harry, making sure her skirt was tucked under her legs so that if the three outside were to enter the compartment, they wouldn't see anything. Even if all they would have seen would have been her shorts.
"All three of them come from dark families that think the amount of magical blood you have is important." Cho said, using air quotes when saying 'magic blood'. "It's awful how they treat other people, but if they think you have what they call dirty blood then they see you as less than human."
"He must be friends with The-Boy-Who-Lived then." Harry and the other two all heard the tone in which she said Neville's title.
"I'm guessing you met his holiness before you came here." Harry told her more than asked. "That's why you were so upset when you showed up. He said something offensive to you."
"He didn't say anything to me, really. It was more he was saying it so that all could hear." Hermione shook her head, thinking about what she had seen and heard. "There were a lot of people in and around his compartment, all of us wanting a chance to meet the person responsible for the downfall of the Dark Lord." Harry snorted at the part about Neville being responsible for Voldemorts down fall, his action drawing questioning looks from the two second years. Neither said anything, both opting to instead listen to Hermione's story. "When a boy who was obviously a muggle born moved forward to introduce himself to The-Boy-."
"Call him Longbottom, or Neville, he doesn't deserve that long ass title." Harry said cutting Hermione off. "Sorry, continue," he said giving her an apologetic smile.
"Like I was saying, a boy came forward to meet Neville, when he gave him his name he held out his hand for him to shake, but Neville looked at it like it was something off the bottom of his shoe. Before Neville could say anything to him, a kid named Zacharias that was sitting beside him pointed at the kid and said that they shouldn't allow mudbloods to use magic." Hermione had to pause at this point, not wanting to talk over her audience, who had started hissing and making angry remarks at the word 'mudblood'.
Looking hesitant Hermione asked what had been on her mind since the encounter. "When he said mudblood a bunch of people gasped and looked at him like he had done something wrong. I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I'm guessing that word is a derogatory in magical society?"
"Yes, it's a terrible thing to say." Cho hissed, her Scottish accent thickening with her disgust for the word. "So it's for the best that you don't say it again. Even if you're not using it in the same context as that Zacharias person, if people hear you say it you'll both run off people who hate that word and at the same time draw the attention of people who think like that."
Nodding her head in agreement to Cho's advice, Hermione continued where she had left off in her story, "From everyone's reaction I knew the word had to be bad and was wondering why Neville, the defeater of the Dark Lord was just sitting there doing nothing. That was until Neville placed his hand on Zacharias's arm, stopping him from saying anymore. I, like most of the people who seemed offended by that word, thought that he was going to tell him off... and in a way he did." She paused here to take a breath before continuing with her story, "Neville proceeded to tell him that he was looking at things all wrong. That for the Purebloods to be the royalty and nobility that they are, they needed peasants to rule over and that's what the muggleborns were around for. To be the commoners of the magical world."
"All you can say is that some people are just too stupid for words." Harry's words were met with nods from the others.
While Hermione was disappointed that someone who had done such a good thing as getting rid of the Dark Lord could believe such nonsense, she was happy to know that she had found three friends that could show her that not all witches and wizards were as bigoted and small minded as The-Boy-Who-Lived had been. As she was looking around at her new friends, a strange sight at the door caught her attention. "Uh, guys, what's happening?" Hermione asked, pointing to the scene at the door.
"Oh that.I figured that Malfoy and his buddies would be done next door before you finished telling us your story. So I placed a silencing and locking charm on the door, so that we wouldn't be bothered." Harry gave a look of nonchalance to the girls that were switching between looking at the three outside that where silently banging on the door trying to get in and giving Harry awed looks for his spell work.
"T-that's brilliant!" Katie gasped out between the giggles that had overcome her, as the shock of the sight outside wore off.
"It's amazing," said a beaming Cho. "I didn't see or hear you cast ether of those spells.
"
"Thank you, thank you," Harry said giving both girls a bow.
"Harry, you have to lift those spells at once!" Demanded a border line hysterical Hermione. "It's against the rules for the doors to the compartments to be locked and I'm sure it's frowned upon for them to be silenced as well. We'll be kicked out of Hogwarts before we even get there."
"Its fine Hermione, calm down. Nobody's going to know."
"No it is not fine Harry; we are going to a school of magic." Hermione said hotly. "What if they have some kind of... I don't know, monitoring charms to see who is breaking the rules? We'll all be in trouble because of your actions."
Seeing that his words weren't going to get through to her, he raised his wand getting ready to cancel the spells. "When they come in here it's most likely not going to be pretty." Harry cautioned her. "I hope that this shows you that sometimes it's better to break a few rules. Doing so can save you a lot of trouble." Having said his peace, Harry cast the counter spells.
Without the locking spell it was all too easy for Crabbe and Goyle to force the door open, and with the lack of silencing spell on the door, people a couple of compartments away on both sides could hear the rattling of the window as the door was slammed open.
Two thick set boys stepped had pleased looks on their simple faces at their great victory over the locked door. Stepping forward into the spot that his body guards had vacated, Draco had a mixed look of anger and victory on his pointed face. He wasn't used to being denied anything, so when he had tried to enter the compartment to find out where that tosser Longbottom was at and found the door locked, he had been extremely upset; but in the end he had gotten what he wanted, like always. Now he had to teach those inside that they should never deny a Malfoy's wants.
Stepping farther into the room, Draco sneered at each of the girls, enjoying the looks of discomfort on their pretty faces. Turning his gaze on the fourth member of their group,, he was angered and a little surprised to see the long haired boy look at him with indifference.
"You know that it's against the rules of the Hogwarts Express to lock a compartment door?" Draco stated in a drawling voice that held a hint of anger to it.
"So I've heard," muttered Harry. He had always had a short fuse when it came to Draco, and now that he had a part of this worlds Harry in him, he knew that his already short temper was going to be worse than before. By the way the young Malfoy's voice was grating on his nerves, he knew he was going to have a hard time keeping his self in check.
"He didn't know when he did it, but I informed him of that rule. I'm sure he won't do it again." Hermione said politely. She had been bullied all her life and knew the look of a person who enjoyed pushing people around. She could tell that the slick haired boy was one of these people, and hoped that being polite to him would make him bored.
"So I guessed right. You're the one who locked the door."
"Guilty," Harry stated sounding and looking bored
.
Feeling like he wasn't being taken seriously, Draco's sneer deepened. "What's your name?" he snapped. Hearing the Draco's tone, Crabbe and Goyle moved in closer to his side, where they glared at each person in the room.
Harry sighed at Draco's apparent anger. "You know it's rude to ask for someone's name without first giving your own." He knew that he was going to piss Malfoy off one way or another, so why not enjoy the process?
Hearing his reply, Draco turned red in anger. The sound of the two older girls fighting back their laughter didn't help his mood, but he knew that when they heard his name they'd shut up. "Draco Malfoy." he stated like his name was gold. "And who are all of you?"
"Cho Chang."
"Katie Bell."
"Hermione Granger."
"Granger? I've never heard of that name before." Draco said, his sneer turning into a look of disgust. "I bet you're a mudbl-"
"Harry Potter." Harry said, cutting Draco's insult off.
Draco's gained a shocked look at hearing his name, before slowly turning it into a smirk that Harry knew to mean trouble. "Well, well. The reclusive Potter heir finally shows his face to the world." Chuckling, he threw Crabbe and Goyle each a look that to anyone else looked like he was gloating, but each of the large boys knew to mean be ready to protect him if the need should arise. "Not that I really blame you for not wanting to show your face. If it was me I wouldn't go out in public ether."
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, no longer sounding bored.
"I'm talking about the shame your father brought on your family when he married what he did." Sighing, Draco shook his head in mock disappointment, not noticing what all the others in the compartment had. Harry's eyes had taken on an emerald green glow, and his hands had started to shake. "Even if she is beautiful, to bring that into a family with as much history as yours is a disgrace, don't you think?"
Harry knew that if he was to let himself go he'd do something that would be bad for him or his family later on. "I think its best you leave... NOW!" growled Harry into the silence of the compartment.
"But more than anything else I feel sorry for you and your sisters." Draco chose this moment to look at Harry, who had his head down obscuring Draco's view of his eyes. "To be the first half bloods ever to be born into to your family must be awful for you. But don't worry about Iris, I've seen her at a few of the Ministry balls and know how beautiful she is." He paused here to lean his head in toward Harry before speaking in a whisper that carried to everyone, "I'll make sure she knows what it's like to have some Pureblood in her."
Draco would have continued on about what he was going to do to Iris, but suddenly felt light as a feather, before the world blurred and he heard the screams of those around him. Snapping his eyes shut, he prepared for the inevitable impact his face was going to make. Instead of hitting a wall, however, his knee's slammed into the ground, taking the force of the impact. He would have continued with his momentum, but felt a searing pain at the crown of his head that stopped him from going anywhere.
Forcing his eyes open through the pain that was pulsing through his knees and head, what Draco saw made him wish he had never opened his eyes. Standing over him was the Potter heir, his long red hair hanging like curtains of blood. One hand disappeared out of Draco's view, but he knew it to be holding a fist full of his hair, explaining his sudden headache. In his other hand was a lethal looking dagger held hovering over his eye. Glancing past the blade, he looked into the face of his attacker. Harry's face was distorted into a mask of pure loathing, but it was his eyes that were the worst for Draco. His eyes no longer had any white around the iris, nor did they possess the black of the retina. Now they only held a haunting emerald glow that reminded Draco of the color of the killing curse his father had used on one of their family peacocks when he was younger.
Between Draco flying through the air and the sudden feeling that they were being suffocated, the others in the room were slow to realize what was going on. One by one each of their eyes landed on the scene of Draco kneeling before Harry, who, depending on who you asked, looked to be ether a bloodthirsty demon or an avenging angel.
"Did you just threaten to rape my sister?" Harry's voice sent chills of fear down the spines of all who heard it. None felt this effect more so than Draco.
"N-no I s-swear-" stuttered Draco before being cut off.
"SILENCE!" Harry roared at the now crying boy. He knew that the Draco of his time had been many terrible things, but had never said anything close to indicating he would force himself on a woman, and he had turned out to be a Death Eater in the end. If he was saying things like this now, how bad would he be in a few years time? Wouldn't it be better to just end the piece of trash now, before someone had to suffer for his pleasure. More importantly, so that his Iris never had to suffer because of him?
Nodding his head to his own thoughts, Harry slowly brought the dagger down from above Draco's eye, causing him to let out a sigh of relief that died in his throat as he felt the chill of the blade being pressed to his jugular.
"Please... I'm s-sorry! I'll n-never-." Draco sobbed before trailing off, his fear making him unable to finish his sentence.
Not that anyone could see it through his glowing eyes, but under the hate he was feeling, Harry knew he was going to enjoy feeling his blade slicing into something. When he had cut Fletchers hand, he had felt a burst of joy. Later on it had disturbed and disgusted him that he could feel that way about another's pain, but when he saw Umbridge earlier he had felt as if nothing would have made him happier to drag her into a back alley and go Jack the Ripper on her fat ass. Now here he was once again, that same feeling of wanting to sink his blade into someone pulsing through him, and this time he was going to get what he wanted.
Planning to savor the feeling, Harry slowly added pressure to his wrist, making Draco suck in a shuddering breath at the increased weight of the blade on his throat. As Harry kept adding pressure, something caught his attention. It sounded like the heavy breathing of a crying girl. Looking up Harry saw the reactions of those around him.
Crabbe and Goyle both had looks of fear on their faces. They had both caused people pain in their young lives, but to kill someone was something neither had ever even thought of. From the way the boy was holding Draco, there was no doubt in their small minds that today he was going to be killed.
Cho and Katie were both shocked at the scene before them. How could the kind, funny, sweet boy that they had both enjoyed spending the train ride with, now be standing over someone with a knife to their throat?
But it was when he saw Hermione that he realized who had been making those sounds. Still sitting in the same spot, she had broken out in tears. Her heavy breathing was what had drawn his attention away from Draco. Though they looked nothing alike, as Harry stared at the book loving girl that had been his sister in all but blood in his past life, he saw his youngest sister sitting in her place.
The thought of Ivy gave him pause and slowly cleared away his blood lust. He knew that if he killed the trash in front of him, he'd be thrown into Azkaban for life, never to see his family again. Not only that, but he would scar those around him. If Hermione was any indicator at how bad she would be after seeing something like that, he knew it would destroy them. Thinking of all this, the glow of his eyes slowly faded away until only his irises were left green.
Leaning down, Harry spoke so that only Draco could hear what he had to say. "You're lucky that there are others here right now, because if they weren't I'd slit your throat and stuff your body in the luggage rack. You will not tell anyone about what has happened here today, not even that greasy haired godfather of yours. Nor will you so much as look at any female in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable. If I hear so much as a whisper about you doing ether, I'll do things to you that will make your aunty Bella look like a saint. Do you understand me?"
Still too afraid to speak, Draco let out a whimper as he nodded his head.
"Good... now leave!" Harry commanded, as he took the dagger away from Draco's neck, leaving a long, angry looking mark in its place. If any of the others had been watching the dagger they would have seen it apparently disappear into thin air when Harry slid it into his invisibility robe.
Not needing to be told twice to leave, Draco jumped up before tearing out of the compartment, not waiting on Crabbe and Goyle. Both of whom stood in the doorway until a look from Harry sent them stumbling after their friend.
Closing his eyes, Harry took a deep breath to calm down. Even if he had calmed enough to let Draco go, there was still something inside of him screaming to go hunt him down and finish what he had started, before he had a chance to harm his Iris.
Knowing that all the deep breaths in the world weren't going to do anything to stop him from wanting Draco's head, and becoming confused as to why he was calling Iris his, Harry opened his eyes to take in the state of the girls. What he saw made him feel awful.
Cho had backed away into a corner where she could keep Harry in sight. It didn't escape him that she had her wand in her hand. Katie had scooted over to the still crying Hermione and was attempting to calm her, while making sure to keep an eye on him.
Not knowing what to do Harry took a hesitant step forward, wanting to try and help and calm Hermione down. He was stopped when Cho pointed her wand at him.
"Stop... don't come any closer." Cho told him in a shaky voice.
Harry raised his hands and took a step back, so that the girls would calm down. "Katie, Hermione... will you two please look at me?"
Both girls wouldn't admit it after what they had just seen him do, but each took comfort in the sound of his voice. It was the only reason why Katie and Hermione joined Cho in giving him their attention. Cho hadn't taken her eyes off Harry since before Draco had left. She hated to admit it, but she still felt drawn to him even after what he had done.
"Listen, I know you three have to be very scared right now, but I can explain-."
"Explain?" Hermione yelled through her tears, causing the others in the compartment, Harry included, to jump at her sudden outburst. "What could you possibly have to say about why you broke so many rul- no not rules, laws? What's to keep you from doing to us what you did to him?" Even if she did find his voice soothing, and he had been kind and friendly to her, what he had done was something she couldn't forgive. She didn't want a friend who was capable of doing so.
Harry sighed in frustration. "Do you remember what he said before I did what I did?" Harry asked not only Hermione, but the other two as well.
"He was talking about your family... your sister to be exact." Katie answered looking pensive. After the shock of seeing what they had she had almost forgotten Draco's words.
"And do any of you recall exactly what he said last?"
"He said he would make sure she had some..." Cho trailed off as she realized what Draco had meant by his words. "You don't think he meant it like that do you?" She asked feeling slightly sick at the line her thoughts were taking.
"No... Surely not," replied Katie. She really didn't want to think someone would so casually say something like that. "I mean he's too young to think like that."
Harry snorted at this. "Please you're what, twelve? Did you think boys were icky just a year ago?" Harry's voice was thick with sarcasm. "Because I can assure you that even though most eleven and twelve year old guys are immature, we do know what sex is and yes, we do want it." Harry knew he had gone a bit far when the three girls froze in place just staring at him, after his little outburst. Even Hermione who had been crying just a moment before was looking at him with a blush that was matched by the two older girls. "Aggh! Damn it, what I'm trying to say is that it is possible for him to be thinking about sex, and with his father being who he is then it's a very real possibility that he may try something like that in the future."
Hermione could see his point, but she couldn't get over what he had done. "Yes it's wrong what he said, but do you really think holding him at knife point was the answer? You couldn't have waited until we got to Hogwarts and then told a teacher?"
"And what good would it be to go running to an adult? It would have been our word against theirs and in the end nothing would have been done." Harry was trying to keep his patience with her, but his anger from before was still lingering, and the fact that she was refusing to see his side of things was getting to him.
"Of course a teacher would have done something," said an outraged Hermione. "That's what teachers are there for. To pass on their knowledge and guide us on the road of life. That includes taking care of problem students."
"Okay you don't know this, but there is a teacher at Hogwarts named Severus Snape. He is the potions master, and the head of Slytherin house. Now contrary to what you believe a teacher should be like, he lets his students get away with just about anything they want." Hermione looked as if she was about to comment, but Harry continued before she could get started. "And while I know for a fact that he would never let one of his students get away with raping someone, this situation is different. The blonde haired punk that was just here is his godson. There is no way he'd allow him to be punished for something he supposedly said, especially something that could have such devastating consequences for him."
"You're exaggerating, there's no way that Dumbledore would allow a teacher like that to work at Hogwarts."
"Actually..." Cho said wincing. Harry thought that with her nose squinted the way it was, she looked extremely cute. That is, until he realized he was perving out when he should be trying to persuade those around him from getting him kicked out of school. "Professor Snape is exactly like that. He acts like he hates everyone besides those in his own house. Though now that you mentioned it, I do wonder why Dumbledore still allows him to teach, considering how he behaves toward the students of other houses."
"Even if that's true," the way Hermione said this let them all know she didn't think so, "It was still wrong to do what you did."
"Look Hermione, I'm sorry if I made you and the others uncomfortable with how I reacted, but I'm not sorry for scaring the little bastard the way I did." Harry told her, his voice full of conviction. "With how his family is, I couldn't afford to let what he said pass as an idle threat. I did what I did in anger, but as I was doing it I knew that he would think twice before he ever lays a hand on her. But there is a way to guarantee that he'll try it and do it anyway."
"And what's that?" Hermione asked, curious as to what would give Draco the courage to try and cross Harry after his display of power.
"If I'm not at Hogwarts." He stated simply."If I were to get kicked out for what happened here today, he'd see it as a way to get revenge on me. To go after her where I couldn't get to him. That's why I'm going to ask you to do me a favor."
"And what would that be?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
"I want you, and you two as well," he pointed to Cho and Katie. "To pretend that you didn't see anything today."
"I will not lie for you!" Hissed a scandalized Hermione.
"I'm not asking any of you to lie. I only ask that you keep quiet about what you saw." He said, looking pleadingly to each of them. "Draco won't go to anyone; the only way a teacher will find out is if one of you were to say something to someone. If it reaches the teachers ears what I've done, my wand will be snapped and I'll never be allowed to learn or use magic ever again."
Silence once again fell in the compartment. All three girls knew that what he said had been true. They each had a shudder go down their spines at the thought of being kicked out of the magic world, to know that they had the ability to use magic, but would never be permitted to use it.
"I'll keep quiet." Cho said softly. By this point she had lowered her wand. "I can't imagine what it would be like to hear someone say that about your family. I doubt if I could react as fast as you did, but I agree that he should have been made to fear you. Though I don't think he will try anything with your sister in the future, I do think that he will eventually try and get you back for humiliating him."
"Thank you." Harry replied gratefully. "As for Draco trying something, I'm not worried about him. All he needs is for someone to show him that not everything in life is going to be handed to him."
"Well if you're going to go around messing with him, then I have to keep quiet." said a smirking Katie. "Besides after what he said, I thought you should have beaten his ass instead of letting him run off with his tail between his legs."
"Something tells me I should never piss you off." Harry said chuckling at her playful glare.
"I'll keep quiet too." Hermione said, gaining their attention. Harry felt as if a weight had been taken off his shoulders. He was going to tell her how much he appreciated her silence, but was cut off by her before he could. "However, I don't think I can be your friend ether."
"Why?" Asked a shocked Harry.
"I know you went off on him like that because of what he said about your sister, but I can't help but be afraid of you." She said apologetically. "It scares me that you could go from being as nice and charming as you were just minutes before he showed up, to holding a knife to someone's throat and look as if you'd have no qualms about killing them."
"I... uh... I guess that I understand." All three girls could hear his shock and hurt.
Hermione had felt awful about saying that she couldn't be friends with the first person she had found that had been nice to her, but she couldn't help being scared of him either. Every time he would move, she couldn't help but to flinch away, fearing that he was going to turn on her. However, now she felt even worse. Seeing the hurt look on his face and the sound of his voice going from sounding as if it had magic laced through it, to sounding as if he was losing his best friend.
"I'll see you guys later." Harry told the 2nd years, before turning to a surprised Hermione. "Hopefully I'll be able to change your mind someday about being friends with me."
"Wait! Where are you going?" Hermione asked shocked that not only that he didn't seem mad, but looked as if he was going to leave instead of kicking her out. "I'm the one who should be leaving, not you."
Harry smiled kindly at her. "Hermione, its fine. I have other friends on the train I can go hang out with for the remainder of the ride." Harry was lying of course, the only other friend he had was an antisocial girl that was more his sister's friend than his own. "You on the other hand don't really know anyone else besides the three of us. So it makes sense that you stay here with these two, instead of trying to make friends with other people in the short amount of time we have left before arriving at Hogsmeade."
"But, uh." Hermione mumbled as she cast nervous looks at the two older girls. "Do they even want me around? I mean I feel like I'm running you off, and you're the reason they're here. Wouldn't they want to go with you?"
"Oi!" Katie called throwing her arm around Hermione's neck causing her to squeak. "It's true we came here to see the cutie with the temper of a hippogriff..."
"Hey!" Yelled an indignant Harry.
"But you're our friend now too, so we'll do this like a divorce."Katie announced, unknowingly easing Hermione's tension. "We'll spend any train time that may potentially become awkward for Hermione with her, and any time that Harry wants to spend in a broom closet with him."
"Katie!" Whined a red Cho, whose color was being matched by Hermione and Harry to a lesser extent.
"Well on that happy note, I'll be leaving." Harry said, chuckling.A small part of him hoped that Katie's words would come true. "I still hope we're in the same house Hermione. Oh, and Katie? Cho?" He stopped at the door that had closed sometime during their talk and turned back to the two girls. "I'll be looking forward to my closet time with the both of you." He left behind three blushing witches and the sound of his laughter.
"I can't tell if he's going to be more trouble, or fun in the future." Katie said to a nodding Cho.
A still red faced Hermione sighed, catching the other two's attention as she fell into her seat. "I'm such a bad person. Did you see how hurt he looked when I told him I couldn't be his friend?" Before ether girl could answer her, Hermione continued. "I mean he lets me join him and cheers me up when I was upset. He introduces me to two new friends and he stopped that Malfoy boy from calling me the M-word. And what do I do? I run him off because I'm scared of him. And he's such a nice person that he doesn't complain, but leaves with a smile and tells me it would be better for him to go, so that it doesn't inconvenience me."
"While I don't think he would hurt any of us, I do think you did the right thing." Cho told her, taking a seat on her right. She put a comforting arm around Hermione's shoulder.
"You do?"
"Yes I do. If you don't feel comfortable around someone, then you need to remove yourself, or the other person, from the picture."
"She's right you know." Katie joined in, throwing her own arm around the bushy haired first year. "Besides, if you ever get over how you feel about him, I'm sure he'll still be your friend."
"Thanks guys, you really are good friends." said a beaming Hermione.
"So..." Said Katie as a smirk appeared on her face. "Do you think he was talking just about you, Cho, or all three of us when he said he wanted sex?"
"KATIE!"
AN: First just let me say before people start leaving reviews about how they don't think Draco would have said what he did, that it is not uncommen for boys his age to know about sex. I know myself and my friends were talking about it as early as the 3rd grade and something tells me we weren't the only ones. And yes If I could have found some girl at that point in time who would have let me I would have done things that no child that age should do. So is it really that hard to believe that an elven year old boy would know and want to have sex? And with who his father is I don't see him not saying something like he did about Iris.
Also if you think Harry over reacted then you must not have read the chapters that came before this one. Not only would he be overly protective of his family, but we all know how much he wants Iris. Also if you think the girls forgave him to fast (I know if I don't say this I'll get at least 20 reviews telling me they did) think about it like this, you always are more forgiving to people who you find attractive, and if you haven't noticed Harrys better looking in this story. On top of that Cho and Katie had both heard of the Malfoys past and know that Draco may have ment what he said. And I don't know about any of you but rape just makes me sick.
Also I don't consider what I did with Hermione bashing. She's a young girl who is very easy to scare and not the hardend Hermione from Harrys timeline. Will they become friends again? Most likely! Will they be as close as last timeline? Who knows! As to Ron I don't plan on bashing him ether, nor do I plan on Dumble bashing. It's to easy a road to go down. But just because I wont bash them does not mean thery're going to be friends ether. You'll just have top wait and see what happens.
Now then, there is a new poll up for the Patronus. It's been up for a while, but I wont take it down until next chapter so no worries. ALSO PLEASE DO NOT BITCH IF YOUR CHOICE DOES NOT WIN! I can not tell you how many people have whinned and yes bitched about the winner of the animagus poll. When I tried to tell one person that I let the fans do the picking he sent me a PM cussing me out and then decide it would be fun to nit pick about chapter 10 and 11. He has been blocked now. And no I wont block you if you tell me hate my work, but if you do so just to piss me off then I'll be blocking your ass.
So as always I love you all my reviews, yes even some of you haters out there. I'll see you soon and hope to see your reviews.