Chapter 5 - The Potions Master
Harry woke up at six o'clock on Friday, the same time as he had all week, and found himself of two minds about the day. On the one hand, their teacher for Potions was supposedly brilliant, but he was also said to be incredibly biased towards his own House and against the Lions. Harry felt a little relieved that he wouldn't be subjected to that systematic bias, though still hated that such a bias was treated as just part of the landscape.
Heading to the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry found more of the 'Puffs in his year waiting for him. They were even grinning, which he admitted worried him a little, though he doubted it could be anything too dire they had in mind. He had another change to his routine when Mark Wilkinson led Daphne Greengrass, the freckled red-haired girl he had rescued, over to the Hufflepuff table. Silence rippled outward as they walked up to him, asking if they could take a seat. Harry's reply "Fine by me, Mark," saw tensions drop and the two Snakes took the nearest open seats.
Daphne was clearly smiling in relief, "Thank you, Harry, I was worried you might have changed your mind overnight."
"That would have been very silly of me, don't you think? Turning down the friendship of a girl I had helped escape bullies from her own House. Speaking of which, I don't see the blond ponce or his hangers-on in the Hall. Dare I hope they got punished for ganging up on a single girl?"
"No, no official punishment." Mark replied, just a little bit bitterly. "However the leader, Draco, discovered to his shock that he isn't the Prince of Slytherin, no matter how much of Daddy's money he mentions. I believe he was encouraged to spend time in solitude this morning to help contemplate his mistakes. That message was delivered by a variety of minor hexes and jinxes in our Common Room last night. Since none of the spells were cast verbally, officially there is no proof that he could take to his Daddy." Mark's smile was shark-like by this point, "Just as officially there is no proof Daphne was targeted."
Harry was intrigued by Mark's story and made a note to investigate non-verbal casting when he had the chance. "I'm just glad that I could help. I've always felt that bullies need to be stomped down hard before they get to enjoy the habit. While it would be better if the staff could do the job, I'm really not that surprised they don't. Between the usual uneven enforcement and the understaffing here at Hogwarts, they can't even do half as good a job as at Muggle schools."
"I'm surprised," Daphne said, "Our family doesn't have much to do with Muggles, but we never hear about them doing anything better than the Wizarding World."
"That seems to be the problem, if you don't know someone well, then you won't know where their strengths or weaknesses are." Hermione put in.
"So how would you solve it?" Harry asked the group around him, curious what solutions they would see. After a few weird suggestions as well as the obvious, at least to Harry, one of regular contact, the conversation drifted naturally enough to Potions.
That's when the Potions Master chose to walk into the Hall, spotting both the Snakes he wanted to watch. Greengrass and her cousin were not at their usual places but over on the Hufflepuff Table talking to Potter! Stalking up to the Staff Table and his customary seat, he kept an eye on that situation. Looking closer, he spotted in Harry none of the arrogance or hostility to his Snakes that so marked his thrice-damned father. Harry looked up, the morning sun catching his green eyes, his face lighting up as he talked about... 'He's talking about Potions!' Snape realised, his lipreading skills and subtle listening charms coming in useful again. He was struck anew by how Harry wasn't just a clone of his father as he had expected and feared due to those damned books; instead, he picked out Lily's cheeks and jaw, and a grace to all his movements that Potter had never possessed. 'Lily's eyes and cheeks, an interest in Potions, talking to my Snakes, there may be hope yet.'
Harry returned to his conversation, setting aside Professor Snape's obvious interest in his area. It could be his damned fame or a natural concern for his students sitting outside of their usual places. His awareness returned to the Hall more generally, allowing him to spot on his left side some spell aimed his way from the red-haired Gryffindor twins, who he had learned were part of the large Weasley family. A quick, underpowered Earth Wall intercepted whatever magic it was with no one the wiser. The paper-thin wall of stone turned to dust at its impact and settled back to the floor.
The group stayed around for a while after classes started for some of the older students since they had a break before their only class of the day. Mark admitted that the rumours were true, their Head of House was biased against the Lions though they had no idea why, and he did seem to be less harsh to his own Snakes, something that Daphne agreed seemed true in her class with the Lions on Wednesday. He added that Snape was very strict about maintaining control of his classes, and that it was a very bad idea to be caught with your attention wandering while brewing, not least because some of the potions could become caustic or explosive if mistakes were made.
Professor Snape recalled the events of yesterday as he dithered over his morning meal. As usual more was happening than was visible on the surface. He had tracked the Malfoy spawn to the corridor where he cornered the Greengrass girl. Malfoy obviously believed he had gotten her alone where he could do whatever he wanted. He felt like sighing in disgust and disappointment at the Malfoy scion. He was disgusted that any of 'his' Snakes would gang up on one of their own like this, especially when it was a little girl with red hair bullied by three boys. While he'd defend their actions against the other Houses, as required both by his role as Dumbledore's man and his own House pride, this particular scene wasn't covered by those drives. He was about to step in before it got physical when somehow the disgusting little toerags fell over onto the suddenly slippery and sticky floor. Lily's green-eyed boy prowled in, eyes flashing briefly in anger, every movement screaming to Snape's senses of a predator's grace. He watched as Harry passed up the chance to insult his Snakes, preferring instead to help Daphne out of there, ignoring the boys on the ground in order to get this little incident finished.
Snape blinked, the only sign visible of his surprise, as Harry had managed to intervene, getting in and out of there without a word or deed punishable even by Snape, and escaping unnoticed. He glared at the little Malfoy, muttered "Pathetic" and turned around, stalking off with robes billowing, ignoring the still-trapped students on the corridor floor, now stuck to each other. In the depths of his mind, Snape felt hope that Harry would turn out more like his saintly mother than that demon of a father of his, then snorted, like his luck would allow anything like that! Still, he would be watching closely, very closely. If that Potter stepped one foot out of line, he'd crush it into dust! Tomorrow was the first Potions lesson for the Puffs and Claws, time enough then to discover just what he was facing. Snape had swapped around his classes to delay teaching Potter as long as possible when the boy was Sorted into Hufflepuff. "Still, at least he isn't a bloody idiot Gryffindor!"
Where another Professor, indeed ANY other Professor, would have commended Harry and punished Draco and his minions for their disgraceful behaviour, Snape would do neither. He'd say, if he deigned to discuss the matter, that his role demanded that he not punish Lucius' son, and that covered Crabbe and Goyle, too, as Draco's associates, and that Potter had been reckless in attacking while outnumbered three on one, as well as the fact that he attacked students, thus deserved no such commendation and certainly shouldn't be encouraged! It was only luck that meant Harry couldn't be punished. As for Draco, Vincent and Greg, they wouldn't receive an official punishment, but Snape would be able to leave a message with his Prefects who would see to discouraging further flights of delusion from the self-styled Slytherin prince, especially any targeted against a Snake from a prominent family.
That night, Snape had a delightful meal with the Malfoys, reminiscing about good times, and when the conversation drifted, as he knew it must, to Draco, Snape couldn't prevent the scowl forming, something Narcissa picked up immediately. When asked to explain what caused that reaction, Snape detailed the incident he'd witnessed, including his observation of Draco cornering and intimidating a single little girl in the hopes of making her a follower. When he gave the name of the little girl, Lucius paled, he'd never dreamed his son could be so foolish, while Narcissa flushed slightly with her anger at her boy. The way Potter came in, dumped all three boys on the ground without a word, a touch, or an incantation, marking their clothes with the evidence of their defeat, escorted the girl away, ignoring the helpless foes as he rescued the girl, blew them away, as it had Snape. After allowing them a moment to recover their bearings, something he was tactful enough to ignore, taking a few more bites of the meal to conceal it, he then described the follow-up, where the girl's cousin tracked Potter down and was offered the friendship of the Boy Who Lived. Left unsaid was this was an advantage denied to their own spawn through his own actions.
At the end of the meal, after some inconsequential talk, he had returned to Hogwarts, gathering his 7th Year Prefects and informing them of what Draco had done, that officially his hands were tied, and that he'd certainly have to punish any excessive treatment of Draco if he discovered who was responsible. A later check of the wards monitoring the Slytherin Dungeons showed that before Draco headed to bed that night, he got hit by a variety of silent spells - low level hexes and curses mostly - to the point that Draco was only just short of needing a trip to Madam Pomfrey's 'tender mercies', something he was just bright enough to avoid. The looks Draco got from the other Slytherins this morning, particularly the girls, told Draco quite firmly that he wouldn't be making the trip to the Hospital Wing for any reason short of urgent need lest they take advantage of his weakness, nor would he be pressuring any of the girls again until he was ready to make his move for dominance and put everyone in their proper place.
Now, the time was approaching for his first lessons with the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw First Years. He only wished that his hope for talented students, or at least quiet ones, wouldn't be in vain. Sadly, it seemed that none of the students these days matched up to the talent and devotion of his own years.
The man ignored the fact that his own prodigious skill at his chosen art in his first year was not the norm, and shouldn't be expected of the general student body; his position as the youngest person to ever achieve a Potions Mastery wasn't just for show. Only Lily Evans' own gift at the art of Potion brewing exceeded even his own but she had failed to take advantage of the opportunities her Muggle neighbours offered for expanding her knowledge, something that greatly helped his own knowledge. He would never have been able to create new safe variations of common potions without their unwilling help. Lily though had a passion for learning and feel for brewing that had yet to be equalled even a decade after her death.
He also ignored the fact that his own instructor in the art had both the interest and the ability to spot and nurture budding talent. Indeed, Slughorn had regularly praised Snape's own efforts and found subtle ways to hint where to research next, and how to cover up any ill effects. Snape himself made no such efforts unless a student was already accomplished, and so it was very rare that such talents manifested with Snape's demeanour choking the talent before it could bloom.
Harry and his friends broke up their long chat half an hour before the class was due to start. Today, however, it wasn't just Hermione giving him her bookbag to carry around. Susan and Hannah got in on the 'fun', and at the last minute so did Megan Jones and Leanne Moon, the other two 'Hufflegirls' as they were calling themselves. Harry took it in good spirits, it was at least becoming good balance training even if the weights were still far short of what he was already wearing under his clothes. Daphne apologised for not taking them down there herself but she had History of Magic with Binns upstairs. Harry accepted it, though he hadn't expected that she would offer the escort, and he didn't think they would need it, it was just a friendly thing Daphne wanted to do.
In the lead, since he did know the way, Harry and his Housemates arrived outside the classroom as a group, finding a couple of Ravenclaws waiting and reading their books. A quick hello to the 'Puffs and they returned to their reading, literally last minute studying before the teacher arrived. Professor Snape stalked in, cloak billowing behind him and closed the door as soon as class was due to begin. Obviously, he didn't care to help any latecomers.
He glared until they all quickly found their seats and gave a prepared speech, his manner calculated to have them all quiet and attentive. He called the roll, a brief pause his only sign before "Potter, Harry", and on to the next. While he obviously didn't like calling that name, he didn't seem to like any of the names of his new students.
He barked out a few questions at his students, noting the bushy-haired Muggle-born was eager to prove herself, but he was more interested in seeing if Lily's boy had inherited her gifts. He caught the boy's glance at his friend as well as the recognition in his eyes as each question was asked. Interesting that not only did the boy know the answers, or think he did rather, but he was also allowing a friend to take the lead. While that spoke of Slytherin subtlety, it could also be Hufflepuff teamwork. Either were more appealing than Gryffindor foolishness!
After that, he made them pair up, taking Potter from his friends, making him work with one of those Indian twins. When she seemed happy and chatted with the boy, Snape admitted that his information was incomplete, and set the class to making a simple potion to cure boils to let him evaluate their existing skills, if any.
Keeping an eye on a score of ignorant, incompetent brewers was stressful and far from easy, but Snape was satisfied with his level of supervision. That Patil girl was more competent than her sister who had managed to mix up the instructions. Sadly that didn't create any funny results, merely some sludge that would have to be removed without magic as it reacted badly to the standard cleaning spells. She and Lily's boy turned in an acceptable potion. Nothing he'd use himself, but he would donate it to Pomfrey's stocks, along with the one that Muggleborns Granger and Finch-something had made. The rest turned in poor discoloured imitations of the required potions which he Vanished on the spot.
Harry and his friends came out of their first Potions lesson and headed up to lunch, Harry again carrying all the girls' bags. Hermione was upset when Harry and Justin pointed out that of the seven teachers they had, two were clearly incompetent, one hated his students, one was working with poor equipment and so falling behind the astronomers in the scientific community, leaving only three that were any good at teaching their students the right material, a poor ratio for what was supposed to be a great school of magic, and a waste of a lot of money. After a lot of discussion, they didn't come to an immediate agreement; Hermione still felt optimistic, while Harry was more pessimistic, and they each agreed that it could be their own bias. Instead, Hermione suggested they could start a study group, which Harry supported as it would help them get a good education in case he was right, and if Hermione was right, well, it was still a good idea. Sadly, it didn't even get off the ground though Hermione and Harry were always willing to help others.
That evening before they turned in, Professor Sprout made a visit to their Common Room, telling them of a tradition in Hufflepuff to hold a party the first Saturday of each new school year. This was greeted mostly positively; Hermione truthfully had been planning to spend much of the day exploring more of the Hogwarts Library, but she reflected that the party would be a chance to get to know more of the witches and wizards in her new 'family', and so far they were treating her much better than the kids at her old school did.
Saturday morning, Harry decided to spend more time reviewing his clones' memories. They had found plenty of broom closets, and from the gossip he'd heard they only had one use which was nothing to do with keeping the castle clean or with flying. He shook his head at that, since for that kind of thing he'd prefer either a full classroom for more space or an actual bed, not that he had any plans to do that any time soon! It seemed a lot of what he was learning about the Hogwarts had something to do with sex. He shuddered at the thought of Moaning Myrtle. He didn't know how her name was related, but he didn't want to find out, just in case!
Moving on, he went through his memories from the clones he left at home. Smiling he remembered the fun times he had with the girls, and found that the new school they attended was a definite change from primary school, more subjects to study, new people to meet, and, oh great, the dating scene. That brought up another concern for him. He knew that the girls there liked him, and he didn't want to hurt them, but he'd just get slapped if he tried to suggest they share him. Well, they knew that his parents were a little different, maybe that would give them the idea, or maybe they'd find another way. Either way, not something he could solve right now.
Another thing he had to think about was flying lessons. From what he had heard there was no spell casting involved, but he wondered if it required active magic. He had no idea whether he would be any good at it.
Getting up for his regular run, he took a route along the edge of the forest. His clones had already explored the place, of course, and he already wondered how tough those giant spiders were to kill. He was tempted to try, but he could resist the urge for now rather handily. First he wanted to discover how much risk there was of being caught before he got into any serious rule breaking. He'd also like to know if there were any protections stopping the spiders from just attacking the students. If there was an actual truce of some kind, then his attack on the colony would be rightly seen as breaking that truce.
Turning in at the end of that lap, he took a nice long soak under the showers then met the Hufflegirls in the Common Room, escorting them to the Hall and grinning as he accepted their bags. They had another chat with Mark and Daphne, who brought along her friend and fellow Slytherin Tracey Davis. In contrast to Daphne's red shoulder length straight hair and grey eyes, Tracey was favoured by brown wavy hair and brown eyes set in a cute round face. She also seemed to enjoy offsetting Daphne in personality too, something Harry found amusing seeing the pair practicing their routine. Where Daphne was open and bubbly, Tracey was naughty and devious, and enjoyed engaging those around her in battles of wits. "At least here I get a challenge," she said, batting her eyes at Harry to draw more laughs.
After heading off to do some more homework and practising their spellwork, the 'Puffs returned to grab some lunch before heading outside for fresh air, where they played and talked until it was time to head down to the front steps for their flying lessons. The 'Claws met them, surprisingly arriving after the 'Puffs for a class. Then again by the expression on their faces, a lot of them didn't look like they wanted to fly. Harry couldn't blame them given his own concerns, on top of the perfectly normal fear of heights almost all people had.
At three-thirty that afternoon, they sighted their teacher, Madam Hooch, she had short, grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk. She lined them up by the broomsticks. "Well, let's get you started. Stick out your right hand over your broom, then say 'Up!' "
Everyone obediently said "UP!" to their brooms. Harry felt a large wave of magic travel down his arm along with some of the now familiar pain, muted for once, and his broomstick rose into his hand with a meaty thump. His broom was one of the few that did rise on command, though. Hermione's to his right had simply rolled over on the ground. Susan's on his left had refused to move at all, but then maybe it was only matching Susan's desire? She didn't look like she wanted to fly at all. He remembered that her aunt had kept her very sheltered, maybe that had something to do with it? He would find out later if she decided to tell him.
"Susan, Hermione, I think you have to want to ride the broom as you call it." Harry offered.
Susan nodded, "That makes sense, Aunt Amelia said a lot of magic requires intent to work."
Hermione nodded, determined to get it right. "Up!" Her broom rose into her hand, slower and with a slight quiver to it.
The pair looked at Susan who took a deep breath in and out, then "Up!" and hers rose straight away this time. They then looked around to try to help others.
Madam Hooch came around, showing them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, correcting grips and postures. "Now, when I blow my whistle, you will kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - three - two - one." She blew her whistle and there was an uneven group of first years taking off slowly, ducking and bobbing as they fought to stay steady, all except for Harry. As long as he kept his chakra flows quiet, he found this to be the easiest magical thing yet. He seemed born to fly, or at least he did from only his body length off the ground. He felt his magic flowing through him, singing, and smiled. Finally, something he could do as a normal wizard.
The rest of the lesson was more of the same with Harry following each and every instruction correctly the first time. Since it was just their first lesson, she didn't put the class through anything more than the absolute basics. When Hooch put them all through a test at the end of class, she complimented him, saying he would be great at Quidditch and that she thought it was a pity first years didn't get on the teams. Harry though was rather grateful he didn't. He got enough attention and singling out already. Still, there was no reason he couldn't talk to the team and learn tips from them about flying. When they all came down to the ground for the last time, he was crowded as expected and had to remind the 'Puffs about their party or else he'd have been stuck there a while.
A quick shower and change was the order of the day for the Hufflepuffs. Unfortunately, it seemed a lot of the older 'Puffs had the same idea. Harry chatted with some of the older boys while waiting for his turn at the showers, talking about how he had enjoyed the flying, when asked, and that he thought he did okay. When pressed, he admitted that Madam Hooch had thought it was a pity first-years couldn't play for their House. "But guys, I don't agree. Not only have I never even seen a Quidditch match, so I've got no idea how to play, but I also don't want to be singled out or given special treatment. I'd be happy to get on the team after earning my place, but not before."
This pleased his Housemates as he expected, but he was only telling the truth, though it did give him an idea. He would have to wait to suggest it, but if it worked, it could be good for everyone involved. He mulled over various ideas as he took his turn, got dressed and headed down to the Common Room. There, he found all the First Years and by the looks of it most of the rest of the House, too. Looking around, he saw that the room had expanded to accommodate the crowd.
Professor Sprout called for attention, giving them a smile and a short speech, before inviting them to have fun, starting to mingle first with the older students and working her way down. Harry felt a lot of eyes on him, but he was getting used to that. It was still not pleasant as the attention kept him on edge, subconsciously he was still watchful for attacks whenever he got watched. However, it was clear these people weren't trying to kill him, at least, and they were getting better about leaving him be. If he allowed them close enough, he should eventually be just another kid to them in about 50 years at the current rate, he thought. Metaphorically speaking, he rolled up his sleeves and dove in, putting on a smile and starting to mingle, first off going to talk to the few First Years he hadn't much spoken to.
He found them in their own group as they often were, walking up. "Hi, I'm Harry." He grinned. "I guess that was one of the least needed introductions, right?" The two girls giggled and the boys rolled their eyes, but they then introduced themselves. Wayne Hopkins and Roger Malone were decent enough boys, a common trait in Hufflepuff, and were arguing without much heat with Ernie about Quidditch versus football. When Harry mentioned that he enjoyed being a midfielder, Wayne was really pleased, then Ernie said it looked like Harry would be a natural at Quidditch too. Harry laughed, reminding them that First Years don't get on the teams. "And for good reason, from what I saw. Merlin, I wouldn't want any of us up there playing for the House, over half of us were flying for the first time today! I can just imagine how many accidents would be caused if they put one of us among a team of experienced flyers, can't you?" Ernie paled and agreed, and they settled in to explain more of their respective games.
The two girls got their own words in from time to time, Megan Jones had a strong allegiance to the Holyhead Harpies, though she loudly told him that she wasn't related to the famous Beater, apparently it was a common assumption, though Harry couldn't really see it. From what he heard, she had dark skin while Megan was pale with green eyes and sleek auburn hair, besides Jones was a really common name. Was Wizarding Britain really that small? Leanne Moon was more a fan of netball, and her smile when she talked brought out her hazel eyes and her dimples. After a while, Harry moved on from them to talk to more people, looking to get to know the people he was living with for the next few years. He soon tracked down the House Quidditch players, talking about their play. The first to notice him was a dark-haired boy with grey eyes. "Hi, you're Harry Potter, right? Cedric Diggory, I'm our Seeker."
"Hi, Cedric, that's right. I had an idea that I thought might help the team, if you'd like to hear it."
"What, you want to get on the team as a Firstie?" Cedric grinned.
"No thanks," Harry smiled back, "I've had exactly one flying lesson. No, my idea was to ask how you train. At my old school I was team captain and we did better after we added massages to the end of each practice session. If you and the rest of the team were interested, I could perform them for the team." 'It would also get them used to me as part of team practice as well as getting some teaching about this crazy game.'
As it turned out, they wanted to discuss it among themselves. There were spells that were supposed to do the same job, but they could be tricky to get right and currently no one on the team had mastered them. While they could get the School Matron to cast the spells if she was there, that only happened on game days normally. Harry figured that it would help them out, but was content to let them decide for themselves.
As he turned away he saw a girl with pink hair for a second, but when he looked again he didn't see anyone with that hair. He tracked down Hermione, rescuing her from a conversation about Quidditch with an older boy, diverting the subjects gently onto ones where she could hold her own.
Eventually the party was called to a halt so that the younger students could get to bed and the older could do their homework. Not surprisingly, few of the older students took that opportunity, they just didn't feel any urgency to complete homework this early in the year.
The next day, Harry let Hermione go off to the Library by herself after breakfast so he could raise a sensitive matter. "Hey Justin, you might know this, but I don't know if anyone else had heard, Hermione's birthday is coming up on Thursday week, and I'd like to throw a party for her. However, I don't know much about wizarding traditions and I think she'd enjoy a wizarding style birthday party."
Susan and Hannah were only a second faster than the other two girls in agreeing with him, taking his suggestion and running with it. Before he knew it, the discussion had drifted almost entirely to a different language as far as Harry and the other boys were concerned. Satisfied that things were in safe hands, Harry broke in long enough to find out what he and the others would need to do, before he went to write a letter home to ask his parents for help. He already knew what he wanted to get her, but it would need their assistance.
After that, he visited the girl in question at the Library, enjoying the chance to get a better idea of the layout in preparation for his coming raids. He believed that night would be the best chance to get in his extra reading, but since the chance to prepare was available, he took it. As they left the Library before lunch, Harry spotted that young Weasley boy running and laughing from a couple of annoyed Slytherin girls. He frowned, deciding to investigate it later. He also remembered that the boy had twin brothers who were supposed to be master pranksters. He still had mixed feeling about that.
Sure, his family enjoyed them, and he did, too, but he knew all too well that they could be a form of bullying and very easily. Well, he was already going to investigate one Weasley, why not add the others, even the one in Fifth Year since he was a Prefect and might interfere should Harry start up his own line of entertainment. In fact, he already had a couple of ideas in mind. Harmless fun that should cheer up everyone, if he could pull them off. Better yet, no one would believe it was him! And well, if he wanted to play his own pranks, it would be helpful to study the style of the most famous, both for creating his own distinct style and for framing them, should that become necessary.
Hmm, framing brought to mind another area of study, one he would want to master before he embarked on his career as an unknown entertainer. How did these wizards and witches know who to blame, and what did they do to their criminals? He remembered Susan said her aunt handled it, time to see what else she would tell him. In terms of any pranks, he would have to listen in on more gossip both for what was done and how they were punished, plus any scraps on what they used to discover the culprits. Detailing a clone to watch over the Weasley Twins would probably be fruitful and could be amusing. Yes, he would do just that when he got the chance.
As it turned out, investigating the youngest Weasley took barely any time at all. He had been trying to play jokes on a lot of people to emulate his brothers, perhaps because he wanted friends and admiration like he felt they got only he didn't understand why it worked for them. Talking to Ron also turned up a couple of interesting tidbits, firstly that his family were all wizards except for a Squib, which is what they called someone born without magic to magical parents. Secondly, that his family didn't talk about their Squib relative who had gone on to become an accountant. While the obvious and ugly answer would be that it was his lack of magic making them disown him, it would be the wrong move to stop looking there. Following questions showed that Ron himself didn't know why his family didn't talk about the man, as well as showing that Ron resented being kept in the dark.
In fact, Ron had strong feelings about a number of things. According to him, all Slytherins were slimy and evil, Weasleys were great, Dumbledore was both crazy and a great man to follow except when it conflicted with Ron's opinions, that Ron deserved better than second or third hand clothing and items, and that while his pet rat was pathetic and he didn't really like it, he still didn't want anyone to take it away. And lastly, but not least, Quidditch was the greatest sport ever, though he didn't seem to know many others, and that this was the year for the Chudley Cannons! In short, the boy wasn't the type Harry would call a friend, certainly not as he was then. On the other hand, Ron thought the questioning meant he was 'Harry's best mate', spending the rest of the day with this illusion before his bubble finally burst. The way he blew up at Harry for 'betraying' him would have been amusing, except for Harry's suspicion that Ron's next 'joke' would be at his expense or worse those of his friends. A good thing for Harry's peace of mind, then, that he often kept watch over his friends. He felt guilty for doing this without their knowledge, but he knew he'd feel even worse if something happened to them that he could have stopped, and he promised himself he would tell them at the first opportunity.
Still, at least he was wrong about Ron. The boy hadn't decided he needed to get revenge on Harry. As for their accountant relative, questioning of the oldest Weasley at school, Percy, brought up that it was the Squib who cut ties, apparently he thought that would be less painful than to be surrounded by so many wizards and witches, reminding him of what he lacked every day simply because they couldn't get through a day without magic, while he had to get through his whole life without it. Over time, his world and theirs had just grown too far apart, his family simply didn't understand his world. Even though they lived in villages with Muggles, they didn't take the time to interact. The isolationism took its toll again, and Ron for his other faults wasn't actively anti-Muggle. He just had no wish to look past his own narrow world, something common in adults, let alone children. Sometimes, Harry wished he had a more normal childhood, that he wasn't this cynical, then the feeling passed as it always did, chased away by his thoughts of his unusual parents and how good his life was thanks to them.
The twins, Fred and George, were taking longer to investigate. He had caught them laughing at pranks, and they had an ability to detect when they were being followed by other people which made it hard to get them caught. Strangely, while they could detect him even in full stealth, they never noticed his clones. Naturally he switched their surveillance to clones only.
Classes continued pretty much the same as before for the next week and a half, though Harry was now spending hours a day working on his casting. He had managed to repeat his feat, casting a successful spell, this time turning his matchstick into a needle. It was as he repeated the successful casts that he found cause for hope. Each time he got it right, the pain was lower, though he didn't have any crossover with this, each new spell caused him the same high level of pain, but mastering it reduced it more and more, letting him even over-power some of them at the cost of increased self-harm or simply cast the spell correctly easier. As a result, he spent some portion of every day in pain as he worked over and over to improve himself. None of his clones could get a single spell to work, as expected, so this was one type of training he couldn't delegate to the clones. On the other hand they could do quite a few things for him, studying, writing up his homework, talking with his friends and generally freeing up more time for him to get his spellwork up to scratch.
As Wednesday came around, he was relieved that his gift for Hermione had finally arrived with less than twenty-four hours to go before her birthday. He tested it with his clothes, with some random items from around the castle, and in all the types of places he could reach. The gift passed all these hurdles, so time to put some books inside and wrap it up. He couldn't wait to see her face. He had gotten his parents' approval, they had also insisted on checking his seal work on her new bookbag, even added some finishing touches to the look of it, though they had left his design and theme intact. He could now truthfully tell her, if asked, that it was his own idea. He still couldn't tell her about the seals, but at least magic provided a nice cover. It was also a gift idea that would work for his girls at high school. He would have to choose a higher set weight so they didn't get too curious about it, at least for now, but soon enough, they and his 'Hufflegirls' would all have a useful, beautiful present from him, and he hoped they never needed to find out just how much protection those bags provided. They could turn away blows that would bring down a wall, didn't burn, rip or tear and turned even sharp blades most of the time. If he couldn't be there himself to protect them, couldn't teach them to protect themselves, then these were a good start.
In the morning, he gave Hermione a quick hug, a good morning, and "Happy Birthday, Hermione!". The surprise on her face was something he treasured as he saw it sink in that she really did have friends. It was a sentiment echoed not only by their year, but over a dozen other Hufflepuffs at breakfast. After their Charms class that afternoon, before she could head up to the Library, Harry and Justin took her back to their Common Room, showing off the preparation and planning of the girls. There were streamers and floating decorations, snacks and drinks, butterbeer mostly. It was one of the few Wizarding World inventions the Muggle-borns among them loved universally, somewhat resembling cream soda. Also, while it tasted sweet, it didn't have any effect on their diet one way or another, reverting to coloured water as soon as it passed into the stomach. Hermione was already converted, having asked around about the sugar content the week before so she could assure her dentist parents.
Hermione was crying but when Harry went to comfort her, she smiled, "No, no! These are because I'm happy! Thank you, all of you!"
Hannah laughed, "Good, because now we have presents! You have got to open them, please!"
Most of the presents were the usual inexpensive type of things people get on short notice, especially here when they couldn't get out of the castle and had to order them in. Justin's was an ornate bookmark with the letters of her name picked out in gold. Then she opened Harry's gift, a box large enough for a big book, and heavy enough by the feel. When she looked in, it was just more wrapping, and she picked out the light, fine bookbag, admiring the dinosaurs on the sides of it. That was where the weight was coming from, she saw, it already had two books inside, the first was photographs of wildlife in the Amazon jungle, beautiful and unique, the second was a collection of wizarding children's tales. The bag fell into shape, she saw, and her wonder grew.
"It's expanded on the inside to hold more books, or anything else, without weighing more, and it has charms to make it last longer. I hope you like the design, I picked it out especially. Though it's ok if you don't, I mean, it's no problem to change it-" He babbled, nervously, since she hadn't said anything yet, causing his old Dursley-spawned fears to resurface.
"Thank you, Harry!" She cut him off.
"You're welcome, Hermione." His relief was plain to see.
"I love it, Harry. I've always loved dinosaurs and these ones look so real." She gave him a big hug for that, and he noticed the other Hufflegirls looking his way, clearly approving of his choice of present and just as clearly wishing they would get one when their birthdays arrived. Just as well that was his plan or might have been in trouble.
The party carried on over dinner which was brought in for the guests, appearing on tables by magic. Hermione was given time with all her new friends, and thanked them each and together for all their work on her behalf. She was exhausted but happy that night as she crawled into bed, and Susan in the next bed over smiled as she saw her bushy-haired friend cradling the bookbag to her chest before sleep. She loved seeing her friends happy.
The next few weeks settled into their own routine, there were classes, homework to complete, new spells to practice, something Harry found he needed to do more than any other First Year, pranksters to monitor, and a Library to start absorbing. And then, there was that third-floor corridor, the one that taunted him. He finally caught a break when he mastered his spells and had time to practice the Unlocking Charm, also known as Thief's Friend. While the description said it was for unlocking mechanical locks unprotected by magic, it was also the counter to the Locking Spell, Colloportus. Having tried his lockpicking on the door in question, he was confident that this one was set only to open to magic. He would find out sometime in December at this rate if the only spell of its type he knew was worth anything with this problem. Either way he would learn something valuable.
He also learned that, yes, Fred and George Weasley were accomplished pranksters. Though he respected their success rate, he didn't agree with their choice of targets. For one, they had tried to prank his friend Daphne along with all the other First Year Slytherins, turning their faces green and making their words come out only as hisses at breakfast until whatever they did wore off at the end of the day. Professor Snape was furious, cloak billowing, as he tried to intimidate the culprits into owning up to their actions. Fred and George stuck firm, confident that since they hadn't been taken in before, the scowling Potions Master didn't have any evidence or at least, not enough. While their mother was certainly willing enough to yell at them herself, she was unwilling to allow anyone else to do anything about her brood. Anyone wishing to do so needed almost ironclad evidence to support them, something almost pathetically easy for the pranking twins to deny.
Other pranks also bore their mark, filling someone's socks with Dungbombs, making younger kids walk only backwards, or making people only talk in squeaky voices. However, they did have a ready fund of jokes and quick wits to make new ones, often at someone's expense. Even as Harry tried to reserve judgement, he found himself both liking some of their jokes and despising most of their pranks. While they did affect themselves in some of their pranks, those were only the harmless ones, while the people they didn't like got the harsher pranks including ones that would transform them wholly or partially. It was never even clear they could undo the effects they unleashed, though so far through both luck on their part and skill on the teachers', Harry hadn't seen any permanent ill effects beyond the bullying itself.
Harry, however, had another problem. October was soon ending, and he now knew what that meant, especially here at Hogwarts. There would be a big Feast, people celebrating and overeating, and also another big Weasley prank, he would bet, probably targeting 3rd Years in Ravenclaw. To Harry, however, this meant it was the tenth anniversary of his parents' murder by a psychopath. The tenth anniversary of his being orphaned and taken from his home and the still warm bodies of his parents to be left like the milk outside the house where They lived. While other wizards and witches were still partying so much they violated their precious secrecy, their 'hero' was dumped on a doorstep. He had yet to discover all the circumstances around it, but that didn't matter to him then. What did was that as the day approached, he found it harder to smile.
At home, it was Meaghan who was first to approach him. She had spotted the signs, and asked only if she could help. They spent some quiet time, during which Harry said he had found out at last what happened to his parents and when. She and the girls talked to their parents, asking advice, and when they returned, they gave him support and lent their ears if he felt like talking about it, which helped.
At Hogwarts, Hermione stepped in. She had had her own times to withdraw, times when the teasing and loneliness were too much. Here, she was Harry's oldest friend, so she felt it was up to her, and she came to him later in the week after, unknown to her, Meaghan had approached him. She gave him a hug, she asked him what was wrong, and she offered a simple solution.
"We won't go to the Great Hall, then. Honestly, Harry, you're normally very smart, but your bravery is only getting you hurt here. There's no good reason for you to go and endure it, even though you can. We'll grab a snack and head to the Library." She smiled softly. "That should give us a nice, peaceful night. How does that sound?"
He smiled gratefully. "Thank you, that sounds like just what I need."
The rest of Tuesday, and all Wednesday, his friends were there, quietly supportive. That night, Harry had a vague nightmare, a flash of green and an urge to do something, anything, but he was stuck. He woke up in a cold sweat, tangled in his sheets and sighed. He decided to take two showers today and pushed his run harder to make up for the lost time, and when he got down to breakfast he got hugs from all the Hufflegirls and even from Daphne in a very rare public display from her, though she did arrange it so it would be difficult for any observers to tell that it was her hugging the Boy Who Lived. He hoped for a good day, but sadly his hopes were dashed before they'd properly begun when Ernie reminded them they had History, which even Hermione was willing to admit was useless, followed by DADA where the Professor would stink them into submission. At least Charms would be good, he thought.
Thank you all for reading. I am grateful for your support and look forward to your feedback. Big thanks again go out to my betas, Cloud Zen, Slicerness and Himura Battousai. I recommend checking out Cloud Zen's new story "I have an idea, Harry" and Slicerness' "Death's Rage".