Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
...
Iris listened to Dumbledore address the Hogwarts community in regards to how Harry would be residing with them for the foreseeable future and to treat him as any other student. Having been the center of attention far more than any of her peers she knew that the bulk of the students would ignore that instruction. He was the new point of interest and would be hassled until the novelty wore off. When that was exactly would likely depend on how Harry performed in the upcoming task.
Iris couldn't help but allow her gaze to flick over to where Harry was seated, her brother ignoring everything being said as he ate the food in front of him. Even if he knew the topic of conservation it was still rude of him to not pay attention.
That being said however, she had yet to see him give the Hogwarts Headmaster the respect that he deserved. Even talking with Hermione before dinner had opened up the topic of how, even in a private setting, Harry just seemed to not care to be in the man's presence. While she hadn't seen Harry interact with too many adults surely it wasn't how he acted to everybody over a certain age.
Lightly biting down on her thumb in thought, she wondered whether somebody whom Harry had interacted with in the past had said unsavory things about Professor Dumbledore. From what he had previously mentioned, Harry had gone from country to country training with a lot of different individuals. Perhaps one of them had influenced Harry's thoughts and poisoned his mindset in regards to the Headmaster. It would make sense and was well within the realm of possibility. Surely there were people out there who, for one reason or another, simply didn't like Albus Dumbledore. While Iris couldn't particularly understand why somebody could harbor ill will towards the Hogwarts Headmaster, she knew that everybody was entitled to their beliefs.
Looking over her shoulder towards the Ravenclaw, Iris saw that Luna wasn't anywhere to be seen on first glance. It wasn't surprising given what she had gone through. Spending the night under the care of Madam Pomfrey was probably the best for the girl. While she couldn't pinpoint who the culprits were Luna had given her the intel that she had only been bullied as much as she had for interacting with Harry. Just what this interaction had been wasn't disclosed but Luna did say that she didn't blame Harry for what had occurred.
That didn't sit right with Iris. It didn't matter if he meant it or not, Harry's actions had inadvertently caused someone younger then them to be bullied and harassed by her fellow students. As her eyes locked on to her brother, who seemed to be doing his best to ignore everything going on and focusing solely on the food in front of him, she knew that he had to make things right.
Whether he wanted to or not.
...
"Zis is where they 'ave you living?" queried Fleur as she looked at the room they had assigned to Harry.
"Guess so," shrugged Harry as he ran his fingers over the dresser that occupied the side of the room. "I imagine they don't use this room all that often so it doesn't have to be anything special."
"Special is not a word I would use to describe zis room. A sty would be a more appropriate title," declared Fleur, sticking her nose up. "Not a single piece of artwork to brighten up the dreadful space."
"It'll do," said Harry as he inspected the ensuite, noticing the bathtub that was large enough for two. Given the fact that accompanied the Queen size bed made him consider the accommodations far better than that of the Three Broomsticks. He did his best not to question what the original purpose of this room was. "It's only a temporary lodging so it'll do."
"Do you truly believe that Dumbledore will let you leave after the first task?" asked Fleur having been brought up to speed with the situation at hand only a couple hours prior. She couldn't put into words how glad she was when Harry had tracked her down and trusted her with the entirety of the situation. Fleur simply hoped that he hadn't solely come to her for the sake of informing her of where he would be staying with no other motive.
"Not at all," stated Harry as he unceremoniously plopped himself on the bed. "He's going to want to keep a watch on me as long as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if there's listening charms planted in this room already."
"Would you like me to check?" asked Fleur as she pulled out her wand. Harry gestured for her to go ahead and she cast the necessary spell only for her to scrunch her features slightly. "Either they are hidden beyond my magic or you are just being extremely paranoid."
"I'll take paranoid any day," said Harry as he lay down, gazing up at the ceiling. Several seconds passed before the silence was quietly broken as a second body lay down next to Harry, joining him in his quiet gaze at the roof.
"It iz not good to have so many walls 'Arry," said Fleur softly. "I know from experience."
"I'm aware Fleur, but at the moment I'm literally inside a stone fortress with potential enemies all around me. There are hundreds of students here who are going to try to get to know me and I can't help but imagine that they are doing so solely for their own benefit. I'm sure there are genuine people here but I honestly can't be bothered trying to figure out who they are before I bail once this tournament is over."
"Then what about me 'Arry? Do you find me trustworthy?" asked Fleur, turning her head to look at the side of Harry's face, her breath tickling against his ear.
"I wouldn't have let you in here if I didn't think you were," he responded without so much as looking at her.
"I see, it is good to know that I have your trust," said Fleur as she sat up and pushed herself off of her bed. "Bonne nuit 'Arry."
"Good night to you too Fleur," responded Harry, giving her a light wave from his position on the bed. There were a handful of footsteps before the door opened and closed, leaving Harry alone in his private room. Rolling over to his side, tucking his arm behind his head he considered who it was that he trusted above all others. As much as he would like to believe that it was Fleur he knew that there was somebody else. Even amongst all of the people out there whom he had trained with, there was one other whom had his trust more than anybody else.
Yet he had never seen this person face to face. He had never spoken to them and had no idea what they looked like.
All he knew was that when he was much younger, this person had reached out to him with a letter. The sender of said letter had reached out to him once a month every month for four years before stopping, always informing Harry about how best to progress through his personal studies. Yet it was the first letter that meant the most for one simple reason.
It informed Harry of how he escaped Godric's Hollow that fateful night. It explained how a mere toddler had been able to get all the way across to Europe and into safe hands. The author of these letters knew these classified details because they were the one to take Harry away.
And Harry couldn't be more thankful for them and everything they had done for him.
...
Hermione Granger sat at breakfast that morning with her eyes glued to the book in front of her, absentmindedly scrolling through the tome for the sole purpose of learning more. The giant text had no benefit to her studies, nor would it come up in any of her essays. It was just knowledge for the sake of knowledge.
"How are you this morning Hermione?" asked Iris as she took a seat next to her friend.
"I'm doing well," responded Hermione as she made a mental note of what page she was on before closing the book. "Did you sleep alright?"
"Well enough I guess," answered Iris. "Managed to get in and out of the bathroom before Lavender started getting ready for the day."
"Nicely done," said Hermione as she reached forward and grabbed hold of the goblet before her, taking a sip of the pumpkin juice inside. The orange liquid lingered on her lips a moment longer than normal before she swallowed, her spare hand quickly going up to reach at her neck.
"Are you okay?" asked Iris, noticing the movement.
"Yeah, throat's a bit irritated is all," replied Hermione before taking another sip to ease the annoyance. "So Harry's got his own room I hear."
"It's on the fourth corridor somewhere if rumors are true," said Iris. "There's a handful of different suggestions as to where exactly but that is the main piece of truth between them all."
"The rumor mill works as quickly as ever I see," said Hermione with a light smile.
"Speaking of Harry, there he is," said Iris as she spotted her brother entering the hall. "If you'll excuse me a moment Hermione I'm just going to have a quick word with Harry regarding something from the other day."
"By all means," gestured Hermione, signaling for her friend to go talk to Harry. She watched as the siblings walked closer to one another but she found her gaze lingering on Harry for a few seconds longer than she would have liked. It was several more seconds before she looked away, nervously coughing as if to show anybody who may have been paying attention to her that she wasn't in any way, shape or form, staring.
She took another sip of her pumpkin juice before focusing on breakfast.
...
Harry stood in the small room with his arms crossed over his chest. The person sharing the room with him looked up at him with a sense of wanderlust which only added to the awkwardness of the situation. If Iris hadn't stood her ground and strongarmed him into this situation he wouldn't have gotten anywhere near it.
He guessed that this was normal for somebody growing up with family.
It was odd.
"So, Luna was it?" he said with uncertainty of how to actually act in this situation.
"That's right Harry Potter," she said in response, holding her hands behind her back as she rocked back and forth on bare feet.
"Just Harry is fine," he said in an attempt to ease the tensions. "Do you often wander around without shoes?"
"When I can find them I wear them as much as often as I can," answered Luna.
Harry sharpened his gaze ever so slightly. "Do you find them regularly?"
"Not as much as I would like, I blame the Nargles for hiding them from me," stated Luna.
Harry wasn't entirely sure what Luna was referring to in regards to Nargles but to him it sounded as if they were deliberately hidden from her on a regular basis. It seemed as if the bullying he had witnessed the other day wasn't a once off occurrence. Before he could say anything else, Luna cut him off. "I don't want you to blame yourself for what happened to me Harry," she said sincerely. "Even if you hadn't appeared when you had it wouldn't have meant that I wouldn't have experienced something similar."
"Similar maybe, but not as severe," proclaimed Harry. He waited a couple of seconds for Luna to dispute his comment but nothing came, speaking volumes in itself. "I see. For what it's worth, I am sorry for what happened to you."
"That's nice of you to say."
Harry really hoped that he wouldn't regret what he said next, knowing full well that he wouldn't offer such a thing without having promised Iris that he would do so. If this came back to bite him in the ass she would not hear the end of it. "If there's anything I can do to make up for what happened, don't hesitate to ask."
"Well," started Luna ans Harry had to do his best to prevent himself from clenching his hands into fists. He silently hoped that the girl didn't ask him to do something too degrading. "I couldn't help but notice that you haven't yet been interviewed by the woman from the Daily Prophet, so I was wondering whether you would allow me to interview you."
"Would this be for an official publication?" asked Harry.
The younger girl nodded. "My father runs and operates the Quibbler," she explained. "Our reader fan base is much smaller than that of other publications so I was hoping that if I could interview you it might help my family."
Harry said nothing as he considered the request being made of him. It wasn't something he had considered would be asked of him but he had to admit that it was rather noble of the young girl to consider the betterment of her family over something selfish. Part of his considered the fact that if he were to give the interview, it would more than likely infuriate the woman who had gotten in his face outside the Three Broomsticks.
"I have the right to refuse to answer any question?" enquired Harry.
"Of course, I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable," sai Luna with a kind smile.
Harry did his best to smile back, not really knowing how it looked in the slightest. "Well then, what say we organize this for the day before the first task? I reckon an interview might be good enough to compete with whatever the Prophet publishes in regards to the tournament."
"That sounds swell, I'll tell my father to prepare the cover page for us."
"Easy done, in which case I shall meet you the day before so that we can do this. And just so that you don't get picked on heavily beforehand, let's keep this our little secret," said Harry, raising a single finger to his lips.
Luna happily nodded as she copied his movements.
...
Hope you enjoyed.