My Little Rock 'N Roll Queen
Disclaimer: Harry Potter chars belong to JK Rowling
Author's notes: This is what happens when I get a bit of a song stuck in my head… it gives me ideas.
The game was in full swing. Dudley and his friends were fast on his heels, and despite the thickness of their girth, Harry Potter's under fed body was quickly losing what little lead he had on them. Finally, fear drove his desperation, and the young child darted into a nearby shop and almost collapsed, panting heavily as his wide, emerald eyes almost fluttered in exhaustion.
"Well now, what do we have here, hm?" an amused voice, drawled out as Harry suddenly found himself staring up at a tall, lean, almost gaunt man dressed in ragged jeans and weathered black shirt.
"S-s-sorry sir!" the boy managed to pant out, his eyes wide and frightened, as they darted out to the glass window in the door, where Dudley and his friends were glaring impotently at him.
"Ah, a bit on the run, eh?" Curious black eyes peered through the windows, before suddenly something flashed there that only the small pack of overweight bullies could see. That something sent them stumbling away before the man glanced down at the boy and sent him a playful wink. "There now, all better. I remember the days when I'd have a of jealous wankers like that running after me… Though, I'll admit, you're a bit younger than I was to be stealin' those blokes' birds."
Harry blushed brightly before he quickly shook his head, small drops of glinting sweat flashing through the air. "No sir! I didn't, I mean, I couldn't… I… They just like to chase me, sir. My cousin…"
"Relax kid," the man responded soothingly as he lightly lay a hand down on the boy's shoulder, patting it lightly. "Just having a bit of fun with ya. Welcome to my little home of music and mischief."
Gesturing around him, Harry was slightly awed by the sights he could see, instruments lined the walls, gleaming with polish and care. Posters decorated the spaces in between, showed various figures, some looking to be screaming on stage, others more subdued, secret little smiles on their lips. Awe in his eyes the boy stood up, and slowly took a few hesitant steps into the store, brilliant emerald eyes darting around before he looked back at man smiling at him.
"See anything you like hmmm?" Again the man winked at the boy, before with long, easy strides he slipped past him, making a bit of a gesture all around him. "Here, are the tools of greatness, waiting to be found."
"Greatness?" Harry responded timidly, as he looked from instrument to instrument, a look almost akin to fear in them, "What if… What if you don't want to be great?"
"Ah, but you see, greatness isn't a thing that can be denied my boy." Those eyes had softened now, growing subdued as those lips drew back into an affectionate smile. "But it's a contradictory thing, greatness. She smiles more on those who do what they do in spite of her." A distant look grew in his eyes, as his smile dimmed, tinged with sadness now. "Those that seek her out, that worship her, she may indulge for a moment or two, but when they begin to make demands of her, begin to believe she is theirs by right, then she shows them her scorn."
"You seem to know a lot about greatness, Sir…" The boy's voice was soft as he looked up at the man, shifting nervously from one foot to the next in his oversized clothes.
"She and I are old acquaintances. More by association than relation," the words flowed easily past his lips as he again smiled down at the boy. "What's your name lad?"
"Harry, sir. Harry Potter."
"Well, nice to meet you, Harry. But it's Gerald, or, just Ger, not sir," the man said with an easy smile on his lips. "Mind if I take a look at your hands, Harry?"
"Um, why, si- Gerald?" the boy asked hesitantly, even as he offered up his hands without further protest.
"Why, to see just what might suit you of course!" There was a grin as strong, calloused fingers caught upon the boy's own and he studied them a long moment, before a grin curled across his lips. "Oh yes, I think that will do nicely."
"Suit me?" The confusion was thick in the boy's eyes as he looked up at the man.
"Yes, suit you, kid." The man threw him a wink before letting go of those hands, drifting over to the wall where he pulled off a smaller guitar and brought it back, holding it up to the boy. "Here, hold this, tell me, how does it feel?"
Awkwardly at first, the boy lifted the instrument, shifting his grip slightly, adjusting it as he pulled the strap over his shoulder like the people on the posters did. Gently, almost fearfully his fingers brushed down across the strings. A slight, little smile curled on his lips as his fingers lightly brushed one string then the next before giving the man a slight, little nod.
"It feels, I dunno, right?" Harry paused a moment, shrugging slightly as he looked up at the man.
"Yes, Ollie always did over complicate things." The man muttered to himself with a smile and a wink at Harry. "Find the basics first, then the best fit can find itself later."
"Ollie?" There was a confusion in the boy's eyes as he looked up at the man.
"Nothing to worry about, Harry, just talking to myself and thinking aloud." He waved off the boy's question as he responded, before grinning at the boy even more. "Would you like to learn how to play it?"
"I… I'm sorry, sir," the boy said quickly as he pulled the guitar off and offered it back to the man. "But, I don't have the money to… and my aunt and uncle, they wouldn't want me to, wouldn't be willing to help with it…"
"Now, that's not what I asked, now was it?" The man grinned at the boy, even wider than before. "I asked you if you wanted to learn how to play. And what did I tell you about calling me, Sir?"
"Gerald." The boy nodded his head in acquiescence, a wistful smile on his lips. "Yes, I would like to learn how to play it."
"Good." The man nodded with a smile. "Come in whenever you have the chance. Would you like to start now?"
"My Aunt and Uncle…" Weak protests were already upon the boy's lips.
"Let me worry about that my boy, let me worry about that."
-o-O-o-
"Um, Hagrid?" An older Harry looked up at the lumbering giant of a man looming over him. "Could you take me back to near my Aunt and Uncle's house? There's someone I need to let know about me going away for the year."
"Course, Harry!" The bushy man responded exuberantly down at the boy as he smiled beneath his unruly beard. "Who is it? A friend of yours?"
"Kinda," the boy responded with a slight smile. "More of a teacher really."
-o-O-o-
"Ah, hello again Harry, how're you doing today?" Gerald spoke up, his dark eyes twinkling before looking past the boy. "And not alone today hm?"
"Hello Ger," the boy smiled back as he responded to the man, "This is…"
"Hagrid, it's been quite some time." Gerald cut him off with a wave of his hand, offering Harry a grin and a wink. "Off to Hogwarts are you now?"
"You… you mean you're a wizard?" Harry was staring with wide, amazed eyes at the man, never noticing the look of shock on Hagrid's face as the boy interacted with the man.
"Something like that." Gerald responded with another grin as he reached down behind his counter. "I was hoping you'd come by before you left. That way I could give you this."
Harry marveled at the simple grey guitar the man offered up to him staring at it before he looked up at the man again, "This is…"
"Tricky little bit of magic it was." Harry's teacher beamed with a twinkling grin. "Will work just like it had an amp without the amp, among a few, other things." His face suddenly grew sterner as he looked at the boy. "I do expect you to keep practicing though. And I expect you to Owl me when you have any questions, or need some help, understood?"
"Yes, Ger!" The boy nodded eagerly as he ran his fingers over the strings in a familiar fashion, his thin, spidery fingers suddenly dancing across, summoning up a simple, comforting cord. "This is brilliant!"
"It has an auto-tuning charm as well, but, I expect you to not to have gotten dependant on it when you're back for the summer. Understood?"
"Yes, Ger!" The boy suddenly rushed around the counter and gave the man a fierce hug. "Thank you!"
"Just remember what I told you about greatness Harry." The man responded, patting him lightly on the back as he returned the hug. "And remember to have fun."
"I will!"
And with that, a smiling Harry Potter left with a still stunned Rubeus Hagrid to make his way back to his room and then Hogwarts.
-o-O-o-
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat proclaimed as Harry left off a sigh of relief. As his things began to materialize in Gryffindor tower, the formerly grey guitar, shifted and brightened, until it was a brilliant red and gold, matching his house colors.
- 3 and three quarters of a year later-
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this, Tracey," Daphne Greengrass grumbled softly as she shifted and swayed through the crowd. "If any of this gets back to the rest of Slytherin…"
"Bah, you worry to much!" Tracey Davis flashed her friend a wicked grin as she swayed in the tight black leather pants that clung to her budding curves. "Learn to live a little, and enjoy the music!"
"Yeah, yeah." Daphne shifted smirking slightly as her boots ground against the hard floor, even as her skirt shifted and against her fishnet clad legs. "So, why here and now?"
"There's supposed to be this really great guitarist, about our age playing today." Tracey was grinning wickedly as she sent her friend a wink. "He's supposed to be pretty hot."
"I swear, you're more boy crazy than Lavender and Pavarti!" Daphne rolled her eyes as she teased her friend back, grinning wickedly. "Makes me wonder if you shouldn't have been a Gryffindor."
"Hey, if I'd known Potter would turn into such a hottie, and Malfoy had already chased him off Slytherin, I'd have made that hat put me there!" Tracey laughed back as she winked at her friend, before finally the music trailed off and a figure strode on stage.
"Well, ladies and gents, lads and lasses," Gerald said as he looked out across the crowd with a smile curling on his lips, "It is my distinct pleasure of introducing a student of mine in the school of Rock… Sadly, he refuses to let me give out his name, so I'll let him introduce himself."
The two Slytherins' eyes grew wide as a light suddenly shown on the stage, and a very familiar figure with a red and gold guitar, and shining emerald eyes began to play.
"Tracey… Isn't that…?" Daphne was staring, her eyes roaming across the tight, if slightly ragged jeans and black, button down shirt that clung to his chest.
"Harry, Bloody, Potter!" Tracey whispered in awe as she stared at the boy who offered the crowd a smile as the cords began to ripple out across the room, gentle at first as the boy swayed slightly, eyes falling closed for a brief moment.
Then, suddenly they flashed open, and it was like a fire had awoken inside of the boy. That smile never left his lips, as his long, slender fingers danced across the strings. A heavy, pounding sensation suddenly slunk into their veins, quickly calling the pulses to race in time. Suddenly, it was like they were flying, the music just pouring through them, lifting them up even with its heavy strength.
Raw, almost bleeding emotions leaked through. Pain, anger, resentment, fear, each throbbing with a keen loss that seemed to resonate with all but most unfeeling of hearts. But finally, all those washed away against the rising pulse of hope that outshined everything else.
One song bled into the next, then the next. Harry poured himself into the music, sweat glistening over his skin. He moved, almost dancing across the stage as his whole body shifted and twisted. A symphony of motion where his unruly hair grew wild and matted with sweat, before finally he came to a close of his set and almost collapsed down back against the stage, a wild smile on his lips even before the crowd erupted into applause.
"Ok, no way in HELL I'm letting Potter sneak off after that," Tracey swore softly as she grabbed hold of Daphne and started to push her way through the crowd.
"What, he get your knickers in a twist?" Daphne teased her friend back as she allowed herself to be pulled through the sea of people, ignoring her own state.
"In a twist?" The half-blood slytherin stared incredulously at her pure-blood friend. "If they weren't plastered to these pants I'd have thrown them at him already."
"Tracey!" The petite teen blushed brightly at her friend's words, even as she heard a part of her mind whispering why she hadn't thought of that herself.
"What?" Tracey shot back, her cool blue eyes dancing with mirth as she pulled the girl over to the stage where Potter was getting off, as the next act was being introduced. "Saying it didn't occur to you?"
Light jade eyes widened in disbelief as Daphne stared back at her friend, mouth hanging open in shock. "I can't believe… TRACEY!"
The shriek brought a sudden attention onto them as several people nearby turned their heads at the pair, including a certain, sweaty, emerald eyed guitarist. His eyes widening behind his glasses, his voice spoke up in shock. "Davis? Greengrass?! What the bloody hell are you two doing here?!"
"You mean, besides find out you're a bloody brilliant musician?" Tracey responded, her eyes dancing wickedly. "Finding myself in need of some dry knickers."
The teen stared at her blankly for a moment, before suddenly blushing crimson as the meaning of her words sunk in. Staring back at the girl he opened his mouth, then shut it again, in slow successive fashion. When no sound followed, Daphne rolled her eyes and lightly slapped her friend on the arm.
"Way to go, Tracey, you broke him!" Almost giggling softly, a sudden, mischievous glint passed across the girl's pale green eyes before she leaned forward as the boy opened his mouth open wide once more, and thrust her tongue into his mouth as her mouth covered his own.
For a moment, the boy froze in rigid shock, before his fingers slipped up, and suddenly Daphne found herself pulled away from her friend, pressed up against the hot, sweaty body of the boy who lived. That mouth, moved back against her own, his tongue, moving on instinct danced with hers. A deep, primal hunger as he road the lingering high of his music and the girl's brash action.
"Oi!" Tracey growled softly, soft lips pouting as she stuck her hands on her hips and glared at the two. "DAMMIT DAPH! I wanted to do that!"
"Well now, I leave him alone for a few minutes and he's off snogging a pretty bird with another waiting in the wings." Gerald laughed softly as he slipped up next to Tracey. "He told me he'd never snogged a girl before!"
"Not at school he hasn't," Tracey agreed absently, absorbed in how long her friend could keep things up without coming up for air. "Not that I've heard at least."
"Oh, so you know the boy then do you?" There was a note of caution in Gerald's voice as he studied the girl. "Go to school down in Wales with him?"
"Huh? No, Scotland." Tracey turned her attention to the lean man standing over her with those penetrating dark eyes. "We're in Harry's year."
"Ah, so good to see our little guitar wizard is casting his spell over some pretty witches his own age." Gerald laughed softly, ignoring the sudden surprise in Tracey's eyes as he spoke up even louder. "Oi! You coming up for air soon kid?"
Harry broke away from Daphne's lips for a moment as he grunted softly. "Only when I have to."
Before he could again capture the dazed looking Daphne's lips, Tracey tugged her friend back. "Ok, that's enough of that for now."
Seeing the boy about to protest, those icy blue eyes glinted hungrily as she grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss of her own. "It's my bloody turn!"
Harry blinked a moment, before he seemed to shrug slightly, twisting Tracey around and pushing her up against a nearby wall as he went to work.
"Well, I knew the kid would be great, but damn!" Gerald laughed out loud as he looked at the absolutely dazed expression on Daphne's face. "You ok there girlie?"
"… Where the bloody hell did he learn to kiss like that?!" Daphne stared at the boy pinning her friend up against the wall with her rather enthusiastic approval as she slowly came out of her daze. "Hufflepuff's are supposed to be the brilliant kissers, not a ruddy Gryffindor!"
"Hmm…" Gerald lightly tapped his lip with a slight grin on his lips, studying the girl in front of him. "Hufflepuff or Slytherin?"
"Slytherin." The girl responded without thinking, her mind still in a confused daze, before her thoughts caught up with her actions and she flushed brightly, staring at the man. "You're a wizard?"
"Something like that." The man agreed, before glancing at his watch and sighing. "Well, I suppose you're not with Malfoy's little clique?"
"How'd you know about…?" The girl's eyes immediately flashed warily at the man, her guard immediately up as she studied him with suddenly cold jade eyes.
"Down girl!" He laughed softly as he shook his head. "Harry tells me this and that about his year, he'd mentioned Malfoy in a number of disparaging ways."
"Yeah, well I had a choice," Daphne said in a stern, firm voice. "Either side with the arrogant ponce who just saw me as tool, or my half-blood friend Tracey. I think I've kinda made it obvious which one I chose."
"Yes, and now I think I'd best separate them before they have to call the bobbies on them for public indecency." Gerald spoke up with a slight quirk of his lips as he walked over to the pair, and firmly tugged them apart. "Ok, cool off you two! You trying to ruin my rep round here?"
"Uh? Oh, uh, sorry Ger…" Harry responded, dazed and slightly sheepish with his lips smeared with two different shades of lipstick. "Guess I might've, um, gotten a little carried away?"
"You can carry me away any time, Harry." Tracey practically moaned the words against his ear before collapsing back against the wall. "But damn, you can kiss!"
"And snog," Daphne added, her own lips curled up. "Definitely snog."
"I can't believe I did that." Harry was blushing brightly, shifting uneasily as he stared at the two girls before a realization swept across his eyes. "Oh, bloody hell, Ron's gonna kill me!"
"Why the hell would Weasley do that?" Tracey demanded. "He have something against you snogging a pair of the hottest girls in your year?"
"Ignore Tracey," Daphne responded before Harry could. "She forgets that for you Gryffs your primary interaction with Slytherin are Malfoy and Snape…"
"You forgot Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, Nott…" Harry's voice cut in dryly as he began to list off the names. "Need I go on?"
"Yeah, well I'm a half-blood, so I don't follow their pure blood stupidity," Tracey countered with a shrug before smirking wickedly. "And the fact that Daphne here was snoggin' another half-blood for all she was worth…"
"You seemed to be enjoying it yourself." The jade eyed girl shot back, her lips curled into a slight smirk.
"I swear Harry, I leave you alone for a few weeks, and you go and make me such a proud Padfoot!" A new voice rang out, almost dripping with cheer.
Daphne stared in fear and shock as her voice squeaked out: "Sirius Black!"
"Why yes, I am seriously Sirius Black," the newly appeared dark haired man agreed, his blue grey eyes twinkling happily. "Fortunately, I'm not a serious Sirius, unless a certain rodent's involved."
There was a low growl rippling through the air as Tracey moved herself in front of Harry, her cool blue eyes flashing darkly as they met Sirius' own in protective defiance. Her sweat slick hair, strands of dark red, as they fell across her face in twisting curls of dark crimson. Her lips, drew back, a slight, feral snarl on them as she glared at the man, her body hunched slightly, tensed and coiled.
After a moment's hesitation, Daphne was standing next to her friend, the fear sliding off her features as a cool, icy mask fell into place. Her chin lifted, as those brilliant blonde locks of hair clung against the delicate seeming cheeks. Where Tracey seemed to slink down into a half feral state, she took on a cold, almost regal superiority.
While Harry and Sirius blinked in quiet surprise, and no small amount of dumb shock, Gerald looked at the two girls with a slight chuckle of amusement slipping past his lips. "You two sure you're Slytherins? I mean, I can understand the snogging him like you did, but my, you two certainly seem protective…"
"They're Slytherins?" Sirius asked with a blink of surprise as he looked over the girls' heads down at his godson. At the boy's nod, the man blinked again before grinning. "Huh, I thought they had to be Gryffindors, or at least Hufflepuffs for being that protective."
As the two girls flushed slightly at the man's words Harry reached down and put his hands on the girls' shoulders. "It's all right. He's not going to hurt me." The boy paused a moment, looking over Sirius carefully. "Well, at least not intentionally. I make no such guarantees when he starts in on a crazy scheme."
"Hey!" the man said, clearly affronted. "The only one ever injured by my crazy schemes was Snape!"
"Uh huh." Harry sighed softly before shaking his head and looking down at Tracey and Daphne. "So, what do you girls know about my parents?"
"Harry, Sirius Black, the man who betrayed your parents to the Dark Lord is right here! Sirius Black the mass murderer!" Tracey spoke up incredulously as she stared up at him with those piercing blue eyes. "And you're asking what we know about your parents?!"
"Yup," Harry agreed, a nod of his head and a grin on his lips.
"Head Boy and Girl of their year, and they pissed off You-Know-Who a lot." Daphne supplied before adding in after thought. "And your father really pissed off Snape."
"James absolutely hated the Dark Arts." Sirius' voice was soft, subdued as he spoke up, clarifying things a bit. "Snape made no secret of his fascination with them. That made him into James' biggest target."
"So, we can guess that they were both rather brilliant, right?" Harry continued, quietly ignoring what Sirius said. "What's not really known is that my dad was the ringleader…"
"Co-ringleader thank you!" Sirius interrupted with a huff.
"Ringleader of a group of pranksters known as the Marauders." Harry finished, as if Sirius hadn't spoken. "Now, who was the most obvious choice for my parent's Secret Keeper?"
"Sirius Black, of course." Tracey pointed out, looking disbelievingly at Harry. "I mean, everyone knew that…"
As realization and understanding dawned in the girls' eyes, Daphne spoke the thought they both shared. "You're saying he wasn't the Secret Keeper?"
"We made a mistake in who we trusted and who we didn't." Sirius spoke in a quiet voice. "We knew that there was a spy amongst us, only, I made the mistake of believing it was the one person I should have trusted, and I trusted the one that was a traitor."
"Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper, and the traitor." Harry spoke up softly as his lips pressed together in a tight line for a moment. "The rat bastard told me so himself."
"But…" Daphne began, her eyes disbelieving for a moment as she started to automatically correct him before blinking slightly. "He's still alive?"
"He's an unregistered rat animagus," Harry said softly. "He was living as the Weasley pet rat, Scabbers."
"And we almost had him." Black sighed softly before shaking his head, shrugging just a bit. "Then the little traitor managed his escape." He paused a moment, before looking at Harry. "Personally, you know who I blame?"
"Hmmm…" Harry stroked his chin lightly in contemplation before continuing. "Remus?" At Sirius's negative shake of his head, the boy continued. "Ron then?" Again, a negative. "Really, Padfoot, blaming Hermione for it?! How could you! She was just a third year, a brilliantly overworked and frazzled third year at that. How could you go and blame her for the rat's escape."
"I was thinking Snape actually." Sirius' voice was a neutral deadpan as he fought the rising corners of his lips.
"Oh, he was there, wasn't he?" Harry sighed and grumbled just a bit. "Now I have to repress the memory all over again." He glowered slightly. "Bad dog."
"Well, excuse me for reminding you of the truth of what happened." Sirius glared back with a slight grumble on his lips, before eying his godson carefully. "You repress your memories having to do with Snape?"
"Whenever I possibly can." The boy admitted with a nod and a shrug. "I mean, you went to school with him, imagine what he's like as a teacher."
"Well, that would explain why you do so poorly in potions." Daphne noted with a slight smile. "Well, that and not having Snape offer too much explanation."
"Wait… Harry is pants at potions?" Sirius spoke up delicately, before frowning just a bit and turning his attention onto Harry, his hands on his hips. "Harry James Potter!"
"Sirius Orion Black!" Harry responded, before giving an aside to Tracey, "Yes, he is a real S.O.B."
"Hey!" Sirius glared slightly at Harry. "Answer the question, are you or are you not pants at potions?"
"Well, that's debatable." Harry responded easily enough. "I have Snape for a teacher, and Ron and Hermione for friends."
"And this explains being pants at potions… how?" Tracey asked again, a dark red brow arching as she would look at the boy. "Well other than the Snape part."
"Erh…" Harry shrugged slightly for a moment, before looking a bit away as he continued, "Well, there's no denying that Hermione's rather bright…"
"Ruddy know-it-all she is," Tracey grumbled back as she crossed her arms about her chest.
"Yeah, well she's a bit… obsessed I guess you could say?" Harry shuddered a bit. "I mean, it's not bloody natural for someone to study THAT much."
"She did strike me as the bookwormish type." Sirius agreed shaking his head lightly and sighing. "A bit too rigid in the rules that one."
"Great with facts, a bit lacking in imagination." Daphne chimed in, as she lightly glanced at her nails. "Rather… Inflexible with how she sees things."
"Right then," Harry agreed reluctantly. "Not exactly how I'd put it but… Hermione's rather stuck on the idea of dragging Ron and I along for the ride. That means, studying, a lot, in her way…"
"Which is stuffing her brain full of so much that, well…" Tracey added with a slight shrug.
"So, she puts on all this extra pressure on things, and in the end, I can't really enjoy anything about it." Harry shrugged a bit and grinned. "And Ron's… well…"
"A lazy git?" Daphne offered up with an innocent smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Not the sharpest tool in the lot?" Tracey shot in, smirking.
"He is my friend you know." Harry noted blandly, "And he really is an all right bloke…"
"As long as you're a Gryffindor." Tracey muttered slightly under her breath. "A girl happens to be ambitious and cunning, and gets labeled as a dark whore? I hate being compared to the Pug."
"Always interesting to get an outsider's perspective, don't you think?" Gerald asked mildly as he glanced towards Sirius.
The shaggy haired fugitive shrugged slightly with a slightly sheepish grin. "Well, if you listen to Snape, James and I were nothing but glory hounding, childish dunderheads."
"You weren't?" Gerald arched a brow challengingly back at the other man.
"We were, but, that's not ALL we were." Sirius grinned slightly before shrugging a bit. "And Dunderheads... Eh... We preferred pranktical applications of things, instead of more vicious or showier things. Or, do you think a group of wizards that mastered the animagus transformation in fifth year to be dumb?"
"Pranktical?" Daphne arched a delicate brow at the man. "I'm going to assume you weren't actually referring to practical. What were you, something like the Weasley twins?"
Harry groaned softly as he placed his face in his hands as Sirius puffed up his chest, glaring indignantly down at the girl. "Something like the Weasley twins?! We were The Marauders, girl! All others are but pale imitations before us!"
Daphne stared at the man in front of her for a long moment, before groaning softly and burying her face in her hands. "Great, I finally find a boy I like, and not only is he a bloody Gryffindor, his father and godfather were even worse than the Weasley twins."
"Snape's been talking I take it?" Sirius pursed his lips a long moment, debating for a moment before he continued. "I suppose in his version of things, he's always the victim, hm? That we only ever targeted him and the Slytherins?"
Harry watched wordlessly as his Godfather seemed to shift away from the merry prankster, growing into the most solemn he'd ever seen the man. This wasn't Padfoot, the Maruader, this wasn't the prisoner of Azkaban, for a moment, he was letting everything underneath shine through. Silently he watched, as the haunted look faded from Sirius' eyes as he continued.
"I won't deny that we did some rotten things to Snape. We were children, and we acted as such." Sirius spoke in a soft voice, stripped raw and honest. "I had enough time to have things forced back on me. Maybe if we hadn't pushed him so hard, he wouldn't have snapped and joined Voldemort like he did."
Ignoring the soft gasps the teens made around him, the man continued under Gerald's watchful eyes. "In the beginning, it was all about the things we hated. For James, it was the Dark Arts, me, the hateful bigotry embodied so deeply in my family. We were clever, and smart, and talented. And the house that embodied the things we both hated the most drew the brunt of our worst attentions."
Tracey watched the man with guarded, icy blue eyes that revealed nothing of her thoughts, her arms fallen across her chest as she spoke. "So you did target the Slytherins."
"With our more humiliating pranks, yes." Sirius admitted quietly, looking off in the distance. "Others, we played around the school, not limited to a house. Silly, funny things, but it was almost always the Slytherins, who wore their bigotry and hunger for the Dark Arts on their sleeves like a badge of honor that we targeted."
"And Snape?" Daphne half demanded as her cold jade eyes held the same unreadable shield as Tracey's watching the man reminiscing before them.
"In all honesty," Sirius responded with a subdued voice, "If he'd simply pranked us back, given us a taste of our own medicine, it probably would have developed into a far more friendly rivalry. Tit for Tat as it were. Nothing we did was ever designed to do any lasting harm." When Harry started to speak up, Sirius lifted his hand. "As I said, 'we'… and I'll get to that in a moment, Harry."
As Tracey and Daphne exchanged confused, and speculative glances, Sirius continued. "But, Snape's way of answering back, was to throw dark curses and attempts to poison us. We pranked him, humiliated him, even knocked his books and other childish, bullying things as time went on. But he'd never face us, he'd slink away, then wait for us to have our back's turned and attack." He paused there a minute, grinning grimly before continuing. "Can you think of a better way to antagonize of bunch of Gryffindors?"
"It's the…" Daphne started to say before Harry cut her off.
"Um, could someone explain something to me?" Harry's voice had a note of caution to it as he spoke, smiling apologetically to Daphne. "Why does the house that emphasizes cunning and ambition, seem to ignore it? I mean… I'm just a dumb Gryffindor, but I can tell that attacking Gryffindors who are vocal about how much they hate the Dark Arts with dark curses is only going to make them come after you even more. I mean… where's the cunning in that?"
"What, you think we should just stand there and take it?" Tracey growled as she glared at the boy.
"No, I'm not really sure what I'm saying." Harry admitted as he hung his head slightly. "It's just… I don't know… Stupid. I mean, that way works with bullies, at least for a bit, standing up to them, giving them a taste of their own medicine. Though, Malfoy doesn't ever really seem to get the lesson through his thick skull, he has learned not to shoot his mouth off so much."
"Works with bullies that are cowards," Sirius quietly agreed, before shrugging slightly. "But, save for the rat, we weren't cowards. And, in the end, kids, no matter how bright they are, do stupid things."
"Well, nothing compared to what us dumb ones do," Harry countered with a slight, self depreciating grin on his lips. "I mean, hell…" He lifted up his arm, rolling up the sleeve to reveal the massive puncture car on his arm. "How bright can a guy be that goes after a 1,000 year old basilisk at 12?"
At Sirius' horrified expression, Harry settled back against the wall as he slung his guitar back across his body, his fingers idly strumming across it. Tracey's gaze was a mix of Sirius' horror and disbelief, while Daphne's slipped into a look of cool calculation. Finally, after a moment, the blonde girl spoke up.
"Harry, do you know what happened to the basilisk's corpse?" A gleam was flashing across her eyes as she mentally did a few figures in her mind. "I mean after you killed it, what happened to it?"
"Well, I assume it's still down in the Chamber of Secrets." His fingers danced for a moment, a quick series of cords flowing from his fingers in a brief whisper of melody. "Since, I closed it up, and unless someone blew apart the entrance to get down there, I'm the only one other than Voldemort who can get to it." He paused a moment before frowning slightly. "Or Fawkes could get someone down there I suppose."
"Parseltongue sealed?" Daphne tapped her lower lip, nodding thoughtfully. "That does make sense… hmmm…"
"Harry's a parselmouth?" Sirius' eyes widened in shock as he looked over at the boy.
"Yes, it was rather amusing." Daphne agreed as she daintily waved her hand, her eyes distant in thought. "A Gryffindor parselmouth. I wonder how damaged the body is…"
"Fawked pecked out its eyes and I stabbed it in its mouth and ripped out one of its fangs." Harry answered without really looking up. "It's been over a year, so don't know what state its in now."
"That… that story was actually TRUE?!" Tracey finally managed to speak, her blue eyes wide in shock. "You killed an ancient bloody basilisk with a damned SWORD?!"
"Gryffindor's to be precise." The black haired boy refused to look up, though he directed a half lidded glare at Gerald. "And don't say a damned bloody thing, Ger."
"You killed a basilisk, with Gryffindor's sword…?! When you were 12?!" Sirius stared at his godson for a moment, before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Lily is gonna kill me all over again once I die."
"Eh, I seem to get into these situations all on my own." Harry grinned slightly as he strummed his fingers across the strings once more. "This last year was probably the safest I've been at Hogwarts."
"Being surrounded by Dementors that treat you like their favorite snack was the SAFEST you've been?!"
"Considering the two previous years, I'd dealt with people possessed by Voldemort? Yes." Harry agreed, smiling slightly as his notes betrayed a tone of amusement. "And hey, I got a nifty spell out of the deal this time, how many people can say they mastered the Patronus at 13?"
"You Mastered it?" Daphne arched a brow slightly as she looked at the boy. "What's your definition of Mastering it?"
"A fully corporeal Patronus capable of running off a swarm of Dementors?" Harry offered, a soft smile on his lips as he lost himself for a moment in the memory, fingers curling along strings as they conveyed a kind of happy reminiscence.
"What is it?" Tracey spoke up, her eyes widening slightly as she studied the boy.
"A stag," he said meaningfully, as he caught Sirius' eyes, "Named Prongs."
With a gratified smile laced with sadness, the man nodded back to Harry as Daphne's lips quirked in amusement when she responded. "You named your patronus?"
"No." Harry shook his head slightly as he offered up another mysterious little smile before he explained. "It's my father's animagus form. Prongs, the Marauder."
"Oh…" Tracey stared back at him, eyes wide in shock before finally she managed to continue. "Wow…"
"You don't do anything ordinary, do you Potter?" Daphne chuckled softly before shaking her head as she grabbed him by his hair and pulled him into another, brief kiss.
"Other than try to be an ordinary boy?" He responded when the brief kiss ended, his hand slipping away from his guitar, brushing lightly against the girl's cheek. "I never quite seem to manage."
"Ordinary people never try to be ordinary, Harry, they have no need to." Sirius spoke up, a slight twinkle in his eyes. "They simply are."
Tracey was standing there, studying the boy in front of her with her mask firmly in place once more. Lips pursed slightly, as she watched him, as if weighing him in her mind. Finally she released a slow sigh and shook her head. "Merlin, I'm crazier than I thought I was."
"Second thoughts?" Harry asked, his voice quietly neutral as he didn't meet Tracey's eyes, his fingers stilling on the strings of his guitar as he simply waited for her to continue.
"Second, third, fourth… I could probably make it most of the way through a hundred," the girl admitted quietly as she studied the boy in front of her. "Bloody hell, Harry, the ambitions of most Slytherins… the glories most Gryffindors seek… Do you realize they're candles next to a bonfire when compared to who you already are and what you've done?"
When he started to speak, she snapped her arm across the air, cutting him off. "The fact that you don't want it, that you've never wanted it, doesn't change what it is. It only makes it even more impressive." She paused a moment before shaking her head slightly. "And more than a little frustrating. For any of your accomplishments alone, you are great Harry Potter, and you've only just begun it."
"Not sure if you're up to it Tracey?" Daphne arched a brow as she grinned slightly back at her friend before glancing back at Harry.
"Are you?" The red head threw back.
"Of course not," the blonde responded before grinning over at the still unreadable Harry. "But, when has that ever stopped us?"
"You know we're going to have to be beating them off with a stick, right?" Tracey noted, with a slight little smirk. "Especially once they hear him play."
"Up to sharing then?" Daphne asked casually as she studied her friend carefully.
"Eh," Tracey shrugged slightly uneasily for a moment, studying her friend. "Don't really know honestly. Might be able to work, might blow up spectacularly in our faces."
Sirius blinked owlishly before he turned his head to the long silent Gerald and asked in a disbelieving tone, "Are they talking about what I think they're talking about?"
"Yes, it would seem so." Gerald agreed a secret little smile on his lips.
"Are you two SURE you're not Hufflepuffs?" Sirius asked again in clarification.
"Too ambitious and cunning." Daphne responded with a slight wave of her hand. "The hat refused to let me in, something about them being dangerous enough as it is."
"Huh, said the same thing to me." Tracey noted, before looking at all the eyes turned towards her. "What? I'm a half blood, remember? You think I'd WANT to be with the pureblood snobs?"
"And what does that make me?" Daphne sniffed primly as she glared down her nose at her friend.
"Well, if your kissing is any indication." Harry spoke up, his eyes glinting with something as he shifted his guitar against his body. "You obviously don't mind getting down and dirty."
At those words, Harry was treated to a sight rarely seen, a flustered and brightly blushing Daphne Greengrass stammering as she couldn't quite meet his eyes. "Wha-?! I, how could! Er, ah, um… Eeep!"
"Wow, I think you broke her!" Tracey practically crowed in amusement as she watched her friend struggle to form a coherent response, before she froze suddenly as she could feel his breath, suddenly at her neck as his words drifted to her ear.
"How about you, Tracey?" She couldn't see his eyes, but as her eyes fluttered closed, she could imagine them, half lidded with a lazy smile curled across his lips. "Are you a dirty girl, too?"
Where her friend had reacted in a brilliant explosion of conflicting responses, Tracey froze, her whole body growing stiff in response, before a slow, light whimper escaped her lips. Frowning slightly at her response, Harry reached out, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Tracey? You ok?"
Shivering slightly, the girl almost flinched at the touch, before she turned her head shaking it slightly as she looked up into his eyes, her own, icy blue orbs searching, desperate as they glistened wetly. Finally, apparently satisfied, she shook her head a moment and suddenly pushed herself against his chest, her arms wrapping tightly about his body as he awkwardly reached around her and lightly stroked his fingers through her hair. He lifted his eyes, and looked questioningly over at Daphne, who had managed to calm herself down, biting lightly on her lower lip as she shook her head, her eyes as confused as his.
Sudden realization hit the boy when he saw the narrowing eyes of Sirius and Gerald, anger flashing across them that was most certainly not directed towards them. As the realization hit, he tightened his arms around Tracey as his voice softly whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry, Tracey, I didn't know."
She stiffened for a moment, before he could feel her nodding quietly against his chest. Gently he kept holding her, softly stroking her hair as he lightly let her rock against his chest. Finally, she gently pulled away, relaxing visibly when he made no move to stop her, as she began to wipe away the stains of her tear ruined mascara. "Sorry…"
"No, it was my fault." He said it firmly, as he reached out, and gently lifted her eyes to his, understanding, and a hint of empathy in his emerald orbs. "Just… lemme know anything else I should avoid saying or doing, or smelling like, ok?"
"Tracey?" Daphne spoke up softly, looking at her friend worriedly as she watched her nod quietly back to Harry, as she looked worriedly at the boy. "What's going on? What's wrong with her?"
"Not my place to say." The boy responded quietly, before fixing his eyes on the still angry grey eyes of Sirius. "And no, you aren't going to badger her about it. You've got enough troubles as is."
"But….!" Sirius' fingers were clenching and unclenching against his hands as he looked at the suddenly far too vulnerable girl, his protests issued as he struggled to control the anger in his eyes, before his gaze bore down on his godson. "Fine… But, you're telling me yours."
The boy flinched visibly under his godfather's words, but nodded reluctantly. "Later."
Tracey's eyes widened at that, staring at the boy in front of her, trembling slightly before she immediately latched onto him again, pulling him tightly against her chest. Gently he ran his fingers along her back, slowly, softly as he closed his own eyes in response. Daphne watched in confusion, uncertain and worried as she shifted slightly and looked over at a still visibly upset Sirius and a quietly angry looking Gerald.
"Would someone PLEASE tell me why my best friend and my… Well, Harry, are acting like this?" Daphne was visibly fretting, her calm control cracking quickly as she looked at the two adults. "And why you two are looking like you're about to kill someone?!"
"Someones actually." Sirius corrected quietly, his grey eyes storming as he growled slightly.
"Amazing how what we can get to, coming from talking about Harry being lackluster at potions." Gerald noted quietly as he pursed his lips.
"Ah, forgot about that," the fugitive admitted as he gave Harry a look and spoke up rather loudly. "A Potter, pants at potions? Positively Preposterous!"
"You're trying to change the subject." Daphne pointed out, lightly glaring at the man.
"Hey!" Sirius protested quickly. "You're a pureblood, what do you know about Potters?"
"Well…" She pursed her lips thoughtfully before reluctantly nodding her head. "I suppose you do have a valid point. Maybe he got it from his mother?"
"From Lily?!" he stared at the girl for a long moment, before lifting back his head and bursting into laughter. "Lils… Lils was better at potions than Snape! She was absolutely brilliant with potions!"
"Mum was good at potions?" Harry spoke up as he was still holding Tracey in his arms.
"Your dad was good." Sirius corrected with a grin, "Your mum was positively brilliant."
"Huh… No one ever told me." Harry said simply before shrugging slightly. "Still… Potions with Snape."
"Hmmm…" Daphne stroked her chin thoughtfully as slowly a down right evil smile crept across her lips. "I think… We might just be able to do something about Snape after all. Ruining a Potter's interest in potions and all…"
Sirius blinked a moment, then blinked again, before staring down at the girl, a suddenly delighted smile on his lips. "That's right… He's still…?"
"Mhm," Daphne nodded quickly rubbing her hands together before she shifted, her pale jade eyes widening as her lower lip trembled. "But Unca Faustus… I thought you told me Potters were great at potions? Our Professor's always yelling at Harry, telling him how horrible and incompetent he is…"
"All right," Sirius shivered visibly as he watched the girl switch modes so easily. "Now I KNOW this girl is a Slytherin."
"Isn't Faustus Greengrass…?" Gerald started before blinking slightly as he looked down at the girl, a slow look of understanding crossing his features. "If you can pull it off, you are good."
"Psh," Daphne waved her hand negligently. "I'm not just a pretty face you know."
"Yeah, you're a decent kisser too," Harry agreed with a slight smile as a wet laugh escaped Tracey's lips.
"Decent?" Daphne arched a brow as she glared haughtily at the boy.
"Well…." The boy started, a light grin on his lips as Tracey managed a soft giggle against his chest.
"Did you get a bunch of extra practice I didn't know about Daph?" Tracey teased lightly, her reddened eyes drying softly as she leaned lightly against Harry's chest.
"Hmph." Daphne lifted her nose and sniffed lightly. "I happen to know I'm a far better kisser than Tracey!"
"Oh?" Harry looked at the blonde girl critically for a moment. "First hand experience?"
The girls both leveled him with an equally annoyed look, though, he could see a faint flush on Tracey's face as she did so. Blinking slightly he canted his head to the side. "Huh, really?"
"Tracey!" Daphne sighed softly as she shook her head, grumbling just a bit as she pouted at the boy. "I thought you were supposed to be a shy, awkward Gryffindor who wasn't very perceptive?"
"A blush is a blush." He said firmly before glancing around quietly and then sighing. "I hate to do this, but, it's getting late, and if I'm not home soon… It won't be pretty with my Uncle."
"Harry, was it…?" Sirius spoke up, quietly locking his eyes with his godson as he left the question hanging in the air.
"Oh, thank Merlin no." Harry shuddered in revulsion as he unconsciously tightened his grip on Tracey. "He's never been fast enough to lay a hand on me…" He paused a moment, before reluctantly amending his statement. "Not in a long time at least."
Tracey looked at the boy a moment, before pulling up his hands and studying them suddenly far more intensely. As she felt the heavy calluses, she frowned deeply and then looked up at him with an expectant glare. When he made no move to respond, she stuck out a finger and firmly prodded it against his stomach, before waiting again, still glaring.
"I do a lot of chores and housework." It was the only response he really had, he shrugged non-committedly. "I and I play the guitar every chance I get at Ger's. Why the fingers are that way."
"Address." Tracey said only that single word, giving him a hard look as her icy blue eyes met his.
He paused a moment, before shaking his head. "No."
"Address." She repeated, more forcefully this time as she reached up and grabbed hold of him. "Not lettin' go without it."
"Tracey, it's a bad, bad idea." Harry spoke softly, as he reached up and gently stroked his fingers through her hair. "You show up and it'll just cause trouble. Dudley will try to hit on you, or worse, and Vernon… Yeah… And once you're gone… it won't be pretty, trust me."
A glimmer of understanding was starting to appear in Daphne's eyes as she watched the pair's interactions, and a cold pit suddenly rippled deep in her stomach. Her eyes widened, she flicked her eyes over to Sirius and Gerald, only to find Sirius' fixed on his godson with that same haunted look in his eyes as the boy and her friend. Turning her gaze over, she found Gerald's eyes meeting her own, and answering the horrified question in her eyes with a single quiet nod.
Guilt assaulted her as she quietly let her mind detach from the scene in front of her, observing, but not quite fully registering everything that was going on as she turned her own thoughts inwards.
"How about a compromise?" Gerald offered up as he looked at the redhead refusing to let go of Harry. "I'll show you to my shop, it's where Harry spends most of his free time anyway. He needs to drop off his guitar anyway. So I can take you there now."
"It's not his?" Tracey lightly ran her finger down the guitar's neck as he reluctantly loosened her grip on the boy, her brows knotted in confusion. "It feels like his."
"I try taking it to their place, they either try to confiscate it, try to break it, or try to keep my from practicing or any combination of it all," Harry said flatly as he lightly laid his hand atop Tracey's. "Yes, it is mine though."
"Fine. But I expect you to actually show up, got it?" Tracey glared sharply at the boy she'd never really talked to before tonight, but there was just something about him, something in his music, something in his eyes, something in his voice that drew her in.
"Got it." He agreed with a slight smile on his lips as he felt her reluctantly let go. Unstrapping his guitar, he hesitated a moment, before handing it over to Tracey. "I've got to go, make sure this get's to Ger's will you?"
Wordlessly, the girl nodded, clutching the instrument to her chest with a gentle desperation as she watched the boy smile at her before she felt his fingers curling lightly against her neck. Gently he drew her forth, and for a moment, she could feel the tender brush of his lips against hers, a kiss, full of tenderness and gentle care this time, before he released her and offered her a smile. "Just remember to take care of yourself too, all right?"
With Tracey's slow, firm nod, he turned his head, looking over to where Daphne wore a full expression of confusion on her face, while she nervously bit her lower lip. The inkling and suspicions, the slight confirmation, she knew those things happened in the world. Objectively, she understood, as much as she loathed it, that there were those kind of people out there. That both her best friend, and the bloody Boy-Who-Lived had suffered at their hands, was a truly terrifying thing.
She still wore that look of dawning horror in her eyes, when Harry moved over to her, and she could feel his fingers lightly brushing through her hair, tracing her, touching her with such an exquisite motion, that she for a moment, she could feel that horrified revelation dim to an almost after thought. Then, she could feel how those calloused fingers wrapped against the creamy flesh of her neck, and she felt herself surrendering to the light brush of his lips upon her own. A kiss, for a moment, so fleeting and powerful all the same before she could hear his words lightly whispered down to her ear. "Don't push her to tell you. Just let her know that it doesn't make you think any less of her."
And with that, Harry Potter pulled back, smiling once more to the two girls, before with a final sweeping bow and a self depreciating smile, he slipped away with his godfather. In his wake, the two girls turned their attentions expectantly to the man left behind as Gerald offered them a slight, mysterious smile. "So then, I suppose I have a destination to show you hm?"
Grin in place, he led the silent, contemplative pair, off into the night, his own mind a whirl with revelations and the first sparks of genuine anger he'd felt in many, many years.