CHAPTER 18: Slytherin Manoeuvres (Part 5)

Room of Requirement

October 19th, 1995

5:15 p.m.

Before a single soul in the castle had started breakfast, news of the three heavily injured Slytherins had already reached the Hogsmeade village, and before dinner, the whole of Magical Britain would know of it. New rumours were bred by the second, ranging from a fight between them because of the results of the Quidditch try-outs to Sirius Black infiltrating the castle once again. Some even theorized Snape had finally snapped and went full psycho on his students, that had been his favourite theory so far.

Fortunately for him, none of the three students had died. Pucey and Rowle would be kept in the infirmary for the next week as their bones were regrown by Madam Pomfrey, and they would have to undergo physical therapy to go back to normal. Warrington wasn't so lucky, in his rage-filled attack, he had shattered almost fifty separate bones. If he was lucky, he'd only spend a month in the infirmary. And if he was smart, he would realise never to cross him again.

Teachers and students of three houses were confused, worried, and most of all, terrified. The attacks were so sudden, so random, in their mind, they could be next. The only ones who knew what had actually happened were the Slytherins, and they weren't fairing well either. They were much worse than any of the other houses, everyone had avoided eye contact with him, people looking pale, and the ones who were clearly enraged couldn't do anything. Montague's doing, he was sure.

As Harry witnessed the whole school horrified by his actions, desperate to find the perpetrator of these gruesome attacks - he felt no remorse or pity for them. Not even the slightest drop of it. Just the opposite, actually. There it was again, that feeling of pride, of power, of respect. After all his time at Hogwarts, he could finally see it in their eyes. The paralysing dread he had lived with for his first two years. There was nothing more satisfying than seeing the Slytherins that had made his life a living hell flinch at any move he made.

"Cut it off!" Harry had snapped at Theo, who had been jumpy around him all morning. "I'm not gonna attack you, unless you keep acting like a bitch."

"How do you expect me to act?" Theo had asked, more subdued than usual. "You almost killed them."

"Almost," Pansy clarified. She had been the only Slytherin who wasn't afraid of him, in fact, she seemed more proud than anything.

"It was necessary," Harry said. And I liked it. "Besides, we're friends, remember."

"Yeah," Theo nodded, still a bit shaken up. "Friends."

He'd come around. He was still in shock about the whole thing, but after that passed, and he realised why it was necessary, everything would go back to normal. Or at least Harry hoped so.

All throughout the day, he'd seen various members of the DA trying to catch his eye. They'd brush past him in the hallways, lingering just enough for him to get the hint, some, like Hermione, would take the indirect approach and watch him from the other side of the classroom. But he ignored all of them, knowing they'd ambush him anyway as soon as the DA meeting started.

"What happened to them?"

"Do you know who attacked them?"

"Is there going to be another attack?"

"Did you see it?"

They all jumped on him the moment they saw him enter the Room of Requirement.

He saw all the usual faces; Ernie, Zacharias, Hannah, Terry, and of course, Susan. But there were others as well. It wasn't weird seeing all the Hufflepuffs group with him, his friendship with Susan had continued growing, getting to the point where the Hufflepuffs of his year looked at him more as the leader than Neville. He wasn't pleased at all, even now, he could see Longbottom in the corner, scowling in his direction while everyone showered him with questions. Then again, seeing Longbottom scowl wasn't exactly odd.

But today, the other Hufflepuffs from different years were there. The Ravenclaws as well. Even Padma, whom he'd had a hard time trying to woo to his side, was there waiting for him to answer. His… presentation hadn't been enough to convince her. She was more academically minded, if he were to get her in his side, he'd have to prove he was worthy of her by intellect. But beating Hermione Granger out on sheer academic brilliance would be incredibly hard - and he definitely couldn't do it alone.

But all in due time.

Some of the Gryffindors too were there. All of them had sided with Neville. The only lion that had ever talked to him inside the walls of the Room of Requirement had been Hermione. Even now, stubborn as any good Gryffindor, most of them didn't get close. But there was one or two who was way too interested in what had happened to keep their pride. Those would be his targets to get the house on his side.

And what would be better than to steal the favour of his house from Neville, who, just as he'd predicted, had lost all the scorn inside his house by now. Or at least most. He'd noticed Seamus still hadn't joined the DA.

"Come on, Harry," Susan pleaded, grabbing his arm with both her hands.

"Pretty please?" He asked playfully.

She rolled her eyes. "With a cherry on top."

Harry sighed, pausing for a moment as he let the anticipation around him build. He would be lying if he said he wasn't having fun.

"The truth is, I don't really know." He shrugged, and everyone around him deflated immediately. God, how much he wished he could brag about it. But with how Umbridge had been this morning, he wasn't stupid enough to risk it. After all, everyone who needed to know already knew. "I found out with you guys, I wish I could tell you more."

"Alright guys," Neville spoke loudly, trying to gain the attention of the room.

"But," Harry added quickly, completely catching the attention of everyone who was about to leave. "Whoever it was, they must've been a really powerful witch or wizard. I heard Snape saying he took all three of them out in less than five seconds."

Murmurs spread around like wildfire while others, like Susan, stared at him intently.

"Guys… guys… guys!" Neville's attempt were becoming more and more feeble, and Harry had to refrain himself from smirking.

"Everyone!" Hermione shouted, loud enough to gain everyone's attention, all the while looking at him crossly. "Let's get started, shall we? You can talk later."

Everyone walked back to their places, filling out the room and leaving the few people who were left with more air to breathe. Neville began explaining how they'd start with the reductor curse during the meeting in a soliloquy that made him seem like a combination of Quirrell and Binns. Just as Harry began tuning out the words from his mind, he felt a nudge on his shoulder.

"What do you really know?" Susan whispered to him, the two of them separated enough from the others.

"What makes you think I know anything?"

"You and Daphne get into a hissy fit and suddenly people are getting injured… that's not exactly subtle, is it?"

"Those were seventh-years."

"True, which is why originally, I didn't think you were involved. But, really Harry, powerful wizard?"

"Or witch." He interjected.

"You have too big of an ego to praise someone like that," she flashed him a smug smile. "There would've at least been a little jealousy in your tone or something."

"I'll make sure to add it in next time," he said sarcastically, scanning the room to see if any others had managed to pick up on that.

"Don't worry, I don't think anyone else noticed."

"In my life, I don't have the luxury to underestimate anyone." She was right, none of the people around him seemed to be paying any attention or giving him sly glances. All bored to death by Longbottom's speech of the uses of the reductor curse. Most likely, nobody would relate the comment to him, it would just become a large rumour that no one could trace back.

"Sooo…" Susan pressed on.

"If you and all your Puffs can manage to cast the reductor curse before class ends and put everyone else to shame, I might consider telling you."

"Deal!" She almost shrieked before rushing off towards the others.

Finally, after a mind-numbing eternity, Neville finished and sent everyone off to work. The room was quickly divided, mostly by year and house - with the most notable exception being Harry's group. With every session, it grew larger, and now, almost half of the Ravenclaws in his year, and the odd Hufflepuff from upper and lower years joined him too.

When the group approached him, he had been reluctant to it. He'd even shooed Susan away when she first asked him at the end of the lesson, where he summoned the dummies.

"Fine!" Harry had almost shouted in his Herbology class when she'd asked him for the fifty-second time in that day.

And so, he took Susan and Hannah under his wing.

"What the hell was that!?" Harry had yelled at Hannah after her fifth try with the Disarming Charm. "You're a fifth-year, even the dimwit Lockhart had managed to do it! Come on!"

"Amazing job, Susan." He had laughed as she hit him with a Full Body-Bind Curse that had been so horribly cast that it had no effect on him. "With that skill, you'll surely beat a firstie!"

His teaching method hadn't been particularly… nice or well accepted by everyone. Especially compared to Neville, who was trying so incredibly hard to be the nicest person in the room as he explained, it was pathetic. People don't learn if you treat them nice, they can't change if you tell them they are all special butterflies who are all brilliant in their own ways and will figure it out if they just keep it up.

You can't change in your comfort zone, you can't force yourself to do something you can't unless you absolutely have to. Unless there was something you could gain or lose from it, whether it was your teacher being less angry or, as both Susan and Hannah found out during their shield training sessions, wanting to keep your wand.

"Stop it!" Hannah shouted as he disarmed her for the thirtieth time that day.

"Make me."

"Harry, knock it off." Hermione admonished him.

"Hannah asked me to be her teacher, this is me being her teacher." He told her monotonously. "Go and boss someone else."

"I'm not bossing you."

"Sure you are. Expelliarmus!"

"Prote- ugh! Harry! At least let me grab my wand."

"I'd like to see you tell that to a Death Eater. Your enemies won't give you a chance, and neither will I."

Hannah groaned, and Susan, who had managed to cast it after her fifteenth time, laughed.

"Neville is the teacher here, besides, this isn't helping her. You're just humiliating her."

"Of course I am," Harry grinned. "I'm trying to have fun here."

"You should be nicer to her."

"This is me being nice. Or do you want me to take a page out of Snape's book and act like him? Expelliarmus!"

"Protego!"

The red jet of light was abruptly stopped right before hitting Hannah by a transparent shield.

Harry sighed theatrically. "Fine, you win. Bones, you're up again. Let's see if you actually learned something." And then, he turned to Hermione and winked.

Hermione huffed, but he could see she understood.

But as the group grew, Harry was less able to do those private sessions he liked and had to take Susan and Hannah as semi-teachers, since they had become some of the best of the whole DA and the ones who often managed to learn everything faster. He'd typically pick the person who was doing the worst and help them out before moving to the other, and so on.

But not today, today he let Susan take hold of the Hufflepuffs of their year as their teacher as he focused on the Ravenclaws and leftover Hufflepuffs. It was hard to make a session like the one he did for the shield charm. So, instead, he was just louder and angrier than the other days.

"Come on! How fucking hard is it to say an incantation and aim!? Again!"

Poor Terry, who had been so eager to get into his good graces ever since he became closer to Susan and Hannah, took the insults to heart. A part of Harry always felt like shit after bullying all these kids, especially the younger ones who were barely second-years. He hated the feeling, hated hurling insults at them like he was a younger version of Snape. But it was for their own good, it was for when they were in a situation where three seventh-years decided to ambush them, that they could have the skill needed to beat them. So that they wouldn't have to suffer the beatings he had, or wouldn't be killed like his parents were.

He could always see the pain in their eyes, the tears almost getting out, barely managing to stay in their eyes. He'd never pointed them out though, not once, though, he feared, he might have one of these days. But it never lasted, the pain and anger he constantly saw always turned to joy and pride whenever they finally did it. They would woop and cheer and try to hug him. And then, the next lesson would begin, and they would hate him again.

It was for their own good, and so Harry kept doing it. Even if it meant he hated himself for it.

"Motherfucker!" Harry screamed, gaining the attention from everyone in the room. "Any fucking retard could cast that spell faster than you!" He sprinted towards him, invading his personal space as he stared at his eyes. He pulled out his wand and aimed it at Terry's feet. "You have one last chance, before I cast the spell myself."

"Harry, that's enough!" Hermione warned him, and he couldn't disagree with her. But it was necessary.

"Reducto!" The feeble blue light left his wand and crashed against the stone in front of him, barely giving it a scratch.

"Reducto!" Terry shrieked as a massive hole was burst open just a few centimetres from his foot. He tried to get away, but Harry grabbed him and kept him in place. He could sense the surrounding silence, almost see the shocked faces in the crowd. He had never gone as far as to hurt a student, specially not with such a powerful curse.

"Focus!" He shouted. "Visualize the stone breaking, conjure the spell first inside your body before you cast it with your wand, and for God's sake, don't miss! Because next time, I won't!"

"Harry STOP!"

"If you want to be a pussy who can't even cast a reductor curse in his fifth-year, then by all means, leave!" Harry let go of him. "But don't you dare come back pleading for lessons. Now, what are you gonna do?"

Terry turned back to the others before looking at him. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as everyone watched in stunned, silenced. Harry could see Hermione wanting to object, but he wasn't forcing Terry to do anything. Then, the boy opened his eyes.

"Reducto!" This time, the light was much brighter than before, and when it hit the stone, it created a loud explosion that made Harry grin as he ignored the small rocks that went flying everywhere.

"Fucking finally!" He gave Terry a punch on the shoulder. "Now, try to do that without the threat of limb-loss, will you?"

"You weren't really going to blow up my foot, were you?" The boy asked nervously.

"I think it's best if you don't find out," Harry told him, knowing full well he'd never go that far.

Everyone followed him because of what he'd proven able to do, he'd shown them true skill and promised them how to get it. They would take it so long as it showed results, and it did. It was something to yell at people and insult them, but doing that would extremely damage his reputation and would burn everything he was trying to build with the other houses.

"What was that!?" Hermione all but yelled at him after the meeting.

The only ones left in the room were the two of them, Ron, and Neville. Moon and Hopkins hadn't been able to perform the reductor curses, and so Harry had just smiled at Susan and waved her goodbye as she kept asking for answers. Either way, there was no doubt in him, she had already figured out the most of it.

"Not now," Harry groaned.

"Yes now!" Hermione insisted, while the other two boys just watched. "What you did was completely unacceptable! That's not how you help people! That's not how you teach them!"

"You mean I should be like Neville, who, for as much as he tried, could never manage to make Terry cast anything at all?"

"At least he wasn't an arse like you were being!" She defended Longbottom before the boy could say anything.

"And how would that have helped when Voldemort comes to his house and slaughters his family? Grow up, Hermione! Stop acting so mighty and righteous! Voldemort is back, you guys are the ones who are trying to convince everyone of that! And when he comes knocking, you won't kill him with hugs and kisses!"

"What you're doing, it's no better than Snape or Umbridge! You're abusing the power they are giving to you! Is it so hard to understand that you shouldn't be like them!?"

"I am nothing like them," Harry growled. "I won't apologize for any of my teaching methods. Not for a moment are those kids obligated to do anything I tell them, so stop nagging at me about it. If you want someone to fight your moral fight, use those two jackasses, but don't bring me into it."

Alright, this chapter was originally going to include another scene with Daphne, but I'm moving it to the next chapter for various reasons. This is a shorter chapter, mostly character building for Harry that sets up plot points that will be tackled later. The past two have been comparatively longer to my usual so yeah, and since we're nearing the climax of the October arc, the last three chapters should be longer than average too.

Thank you for continuing reading, favouriting, and commenting! It means a lot to me!