Harry Potter and the Shadowed Light
Chapter 22
Previously
Glancing over at Luna's timetable, he saw she would have to suffer Lockhart straight away.
"I'm sorry, Little Moon, but if it helps he shouldn't be here all year. I have plans for him," Harry said, seeing her forlorn expression.
"Oh, are you going to feed Aithusia?"
Harry thought for a moment. "If that's her name, then perhaps," Harry agreed. He hadn't known the basilisk's name yet, but he was going to go out on a limb at guess it was Aithusia.
"She would like that, she gets very lonely."
"Then I'll try to visit her," Harry promised, making Luna once again smile brightly.
September 2nd 1992, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland
Making his way to Herbology with the rest of his year mates, Harry noticed both Draco and Neville sending Ron sly glances. Looking up, Harry noticed how jumpy the redhead looked and how his already pale skin seemed even whiter, the dark bags under his eyes standing out.
"What did you do to him?" Harry asked, watching in amusement as the redhead's eyes seemed to dart around.
"Well, last year I found out he hated spiders," Neville said. "He would actually scream like a girl—"
Neville was cut off when Susan hit him. "Not all girls are afraid of spiders," she said.
"I know, sorry. Anyway, he would scream like he had seen a troll whenever he saw one."
"So Neville and I went looking for a spell or charm that would make him think he would see spiders," Draco said.
"But the best part is that I also placed a charm on his robes, all of them, so that he would feel like they were crawling on his skin. Not all the time, but sporadically, so hopefully he won't notice the charm on his robes," Neville finished.
Harry laughed. It was genius - evil, but genius.
Walking towards the greenhouses, Harry was actually looking forward to the lesson as he would be with all of his friends; sure, they would most likely be potting mandrakes again like last time, but at least he had a chance to talk to all of his friends. However, before he reached his destination, he was accosted by none other than Colin Creevy. He had forgotten about the boy's almost manic hero worship - he had grown out of it or at least mellowed before his death during the final battle.
The blinding flash made Harry growl as he fought his reaction to obliterate the camera, his war-honed instincts fighting to come out.
"You're Harry Potter! You're my hero! I read all about you - I'm Colin, Colin Creevy. I tried to get put in Ravenclaw like you, but the hat—"
"Enough," Harry growled out, holding up a hand. "I understand there are books out there that paint a picture of me as being some hero, but I'm really not. I'm just a regular student like everybody else."
"But you're the Boy-Who-Li—!"
"No, and another thing: I hate that title. I lost my parent that night, all it does is remind me of that fact. I'm nothing special and I would ask you to please not take my picture again without my permission. Actually, don't take anybody's picture without permission; most people will find it incredible rude."
Colin looked both awestruck and devastated. "O-okay," he squeaked.
Feeling bad, Harry sighed. "It's okay to have heroes and look up to people, Colin, even looking up to me. But you should only do it to people who deserve it, whose actions actually merit praise. And I do understand that you're excited, but taking people's photo without their permission isn't polite - ask beforehand. Most people will probably be happy for their picture to be taken."
The boy seemed to perk up. "Thanks, Harry," he said, his awestruck expression taking over his devastation.
Harry rubbed the back of his neck before he nodded and walked away. He hoped that he had nipped Colin's excessive hero worship in the bud; he really didn't want the excitable first year trailing after him like a lost puppy.
At the end of his first day, Harry was happy to be free of classes. He had forgotten how exhausting it was to play down his abilities, especially since coming clean to Sirius and Remus meant he didn't have to hide at home anymore.
Making his way up to Flitwick's office, Harry knocked and was soon called in.
"Come in, Harry," the half goblin said, smiling and offering Harry a chair.
"Good evening, professor," Harry said, sending the diminutive man a genuine smile.
"You're looking very well," the professor observed. "I trust your summer was good?"
"As you're probably aware from the papers, if you've been reading them, I had a hectic summer to say the least," Harry said. "But yes, it was surprisingly good. I actually had a chance to relax and have fun."
"That's great to hear, Harry. And yes, I did prescribe to the Daily Prophet this summer. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I just want you to know that you can come to me no matter what. If half of what was written is true then I understand you may have reservations about trusting me - not only because I'm an adult ,but because of who I work for. However, please know I will do my best to always help you."
Harry nodded. "Thank you, professor. I do trust you and if I ever find that I need your help, I promise to come."
Flitwick smiled and looked relieved. "Now tell me, how is Sirius?"
Harry smiled. "He's great. He's recovering remarkably fast, but he does have both wizarding and goblin healers helping him."
Filius felt his eyes widen. He had suspected last year that Harry had the respect of the goblin nation, but this just proved it. Goblins usually hated wizards; to allow their healers to treat one showed respect and friendship. "You truly are a mystery, Mr. Potter. However, I am glad he is recovering. I will never truly forgive myself for believing the lies about him."
Harry nodded. "You shouldn't feel bad, professor. The evidence was damning and made to look worse; Sirius does not hold grudges against the people who thought him lawfully convicted and guilty. You and they couldn't have known," Harry said.
"Still, let him know that he can count on me from now on. I have had my eyes well and truly opened."
Harry wondered what that meant and guessed that the part-goblin was starting to see through Dumbledore's persona. "I will professor, thank you."
After their conversation was finished, Flitwick sent him on his way. Harry was happy that he could count on the part-goblin; having his head of House's support would hopefully make life easier for him.
September, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland
The quality of Neville and Draco's pranks continued throughout the week and Harry soon found himself almost thankful that the two boys didn't become friends in his last life - Neville could be truly scary when he put his mind to it. Throughout the first week, Harry watched as Ron slowly seemed to lose his mind. He would jump up and scream at random intervals and constantly twitch. This left Gryffindor in the minus when it came to House points, Severus taking points almost gleefully.
However, the charms soon started to fade and the boys gleefully informed Harry that they were preparing for phase two. What phase two was, Harry had no idea, but he was looking forward to their ingenuousness.
It wasn't until the next day that Harry saw exactly what it was that the two boys had done. He had been sitting with Luna, who was excitedly telling him about her plans to find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack and prove their existence whilst he was braiding her hair. He hadn't braided hair before and honestly he found the experience quite therapeutic.
Ron had stormed in, much like he had a year ago with green skin, this time however his hair was also bright Hufflepuff yellow and his robes Ravenclaw blue. Seeing this, Harry burst into laughter along with the rest of the hall. When the teachers tried to spell him back, Harry only laughed harder as the colours shifted: his skin turning yellow, hair blue, and robes green.
"Oh my! Even the nargles are laughing at him," Luna said, giggling her bell-like laugh as she stared at Ron.
Harry snorted and tied off the braid with a piece of bark blue ribbon. It wasn't anything fancy but both Harry and Luna took pleasure in the activity. Luna because it was something her mother used to do, and Harry because it was something new and had no association with anybody else.
Luna hummed when she pulled the braid around and saw the ribbon.
"thank you," she said happily running her dainty hands over it.
Harry smiled and stood. "care to join me on finding out more about this fine example of magic?" he said, offering his arm.
Luna took it and skipped next to Harry who was making his way over to the Slytherin table.
Luna, who he had introduced to his friends and who had easily found her place among them smiled at the snakes as they made their way over.
"How long will it last?" Harry asked once Draco was in hearing range.
"It should last for a few days and hopefully they won't find a counter. Each time they attempt one, the colours will shift," Draco said, still chuckling.
Harry nodded. "Ingenious."
"If you hadn't lent me those books I wouldn't have found out how to do it," Draco said. Harry had lent him some of his less ageappropriate books over the summer when Draco was complaining about a lack of inspiration. He knew the boy wouldn't judge him and as they were not actually Dark arts books, Harry didn't fear lending them to his sort of cousin.
Harry smirked. "I'm glad I could help."
As Neville and Draco's pranking vendetta continued, Harry wasn't surprised when he was suddenly pulled into a hidden alcove. He had felt their approaching magical signatures and he was wondering what they wanted.
"Look here, Gred!"
"I can see Forge, we've caught ourselves a baby bird—"
"—a naughty baby bird, who's making our ickle Ronniekins very mad—"
"—oh, yes! Very, very mad!"
Harry laughed at their byplay before he felt a pang in his heart as he remembered the last time he had seen his Fred and George acting like this, so carefree and happy. He had missed them and seeing them together made him realise just how much.
"Not that I don't find myself loving being hidden in dark alcoves with handsome men, I must ask, what do you want?"
Fred and George sent each other shocked looks before they burst out laughing,
"We like you," they said simultaneously.
"We admire your pranks and, as fellow pranksters, we thought it best to introduce ourselves," Fred said.
"He's Gred and he's Forge," they said indicating to each other with smiles.
Harry smiled. "It's a pleasure. I'm Harrison Potter as I'm guessing you already know."
"Smart birdie we caught ourselves, Freddy boy," George said.
"Smart birdie indeed. Now, we normally wouldn't allow somebody to target our family but the way we see it, Ron-Ron has made his bed," George said.
"His actions not only reflect badly on him, but on our family," Fred said, being surprisingly serious.
"We just wanted you to know that we don't condone his actions," George continued.
"And we support yours. I must say, the colour prank was particularly exceptional."
Harry smiled. "I would thank you, but I would hate to take undue credit. The real geniuses behind it are Neville Longbottom and Draco Malfoy."
The twins shared a look. "Innocent baby Nev and the little snake?" they asked simultaneously. Seeing Harry nod, they smiled.
"Such a pair! They obviously love their leader," George said.
Harry shrugged. "I don't know about that. I think they just find his particular brand of Gryffindor courage to be... less than ideal."
The twins laughed. "Well then, tell your friends that if they ever want to collaborate then we would be honoured."
"Such talent like ours deserves to be shared," Fred said, grinning.
"I will. However, I must be off. Not that this hasn't been insightful, but I do have to get to Potions."
The twins nodded and stepped back. "We'll be watching you, baby bird."
Harry nodded before walking away, careful to keep an eye out for any pranks they might send at him. He didn't know what to think about the twins; he didn't want to get his hopes up, but he wished more than anything to have them back in his life.
The only other interesting thing to happen in Harry's first week was his first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Like last year, Defence was shared across the entire year, so Harry found himself sitting with Neville on one side and Susan on the other, Hannah taking the final place in their row. Harry's new Slytherin friends were sitting in front as Harry had claimed the back row, trying to put as much distance between him and the fraud as possible.
"I can't believe he's actually going to teach us!" Susan gushed.
"I know, think of all the incredible things we'll learn," Hannah said.
Harry rolled his eyes. "All we could ever learn from this buffoon is how to write a fantasy book."
"And not a good one," Blaise added from the front, sending Harry a smirk.
Harry wasn't surprised that the Slytherins held his disdain for the man - they could probably see through his lies easier than most.
"But he's a member of the Defence Association," Hannah argued.
"Have you read his books? Half of the facts don't even line up," piped up Pansy, sounding exasperated. She appeared to be the only girl who wasn't blown away by Lockhart's looks. Harry figured it was because of her practicality, which Draco had mentioned.
"It wouldn't surprise me if he just took the credit for others' achievements," Harry commented, making all of those around him, bar Hannah and Susan, agree. Even Neville, who was usually saw the good in people, nodded along. Little did they know he was actually telling the truth about Lockhart.
However, before the two loyal badgers could argue his defence, the man in question entered the room from the office he had installed upstairs. Harry rolled his eyes at the lilac silk robes the fool was wearing and prayed the lesson would be over quickly.
"Settle down children. Now, I know you're all excited, you're in the room with your hero - and no, Mr. Potter, I'm not talking about you," the man had the audacity to say, before winking at Harry and causing him to clench his fists in anger in order to avoid hexing the smarmy bastard.
"However, I think I should do this right! Hello class, my name is Gilderoy Lockhart! Now, let's get some facts up about me," he said pulling out his wand and flicking it at the board, which was next to a giant portrait of the man.
On the board words appeared: 'Gilderoy Lockhart: Order of Merlin Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award.'
The man in question read them aloud and added, "But I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!" At the end he turned and looked expectantly at the class.
Harry was thankful that nobody laughed. Even Hannah and Susan seemed put-off by the man after his jab at Harry's fame. They both knew how much Harry hated to be reminded about his status in their world.
Just as the silence was becoming uncomfortable, the fool shook himself and pulled out a stack of papers with a flourish. Harry recognised them immediately: they were the same lilac scented tests he had given the first time around.
"Now to start, I think it's best we have a little quiz, just to check if you've all read the books I assigned."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Surely such self endorsement shouldn't be allowed," he grumbled, making Neville giggle slightly as he was the only one who heard.
Seeing the test was a replica from the one in his memories, Harry sighed. Picking it up, he looked at it in disgust as he read the questions and placed a copy in his bag. He wondered how Lucius, being on the Board of Directors, would feel about the quality of their education.
Seeing what Harry had done, Neville and the girls all shot him confused looks, to which he just shrugged.
It wasn't until the end of class when they sent their answers forward that Lockhart called him out.
"Mr. Potter, it seems you haven't handed your test in. Couldn't answer the questions?" the man asked. His smile was blindingly bright, making Harry wonder what charms he used as it couldn't be natural.
"Honestly sir, I didn't want to waste the ink," Harry said with faux innocence, shocking the class into laughter, particularly the Slytherins. Harry had never acted out last year; he had been polite and studious, so his words held even more of a punch to his peers.
Lockhart stilled at the laughter and shook himself, actually puffing up his chest before he spoke, "Now see here. I understand you feel threatened by me; I mean, my fame clearly outshines your own—"
Harry cut him off, "Actually professor, that has nothing to do with this. I simply refuse to take part and waste ink on a quiz that holds no educational value at all."
Lockhart stood with his mouth open and gaped for a few minutes, reminding Harry of a fish, while he struggled to find words. "Detention with me tonight and ten points from Ravenclaw, Mr. Potter!" he shouted.
Harry shrugged. "So be it."
The class watched in fascination as Harry continued to daydream and refuse to answer any question Lockhart asked him, resulting in a further ten points being lost by the end of class.
The Ravenclaws looked horrified but the Slytherins were almost losing their pureblood masks with the amount of delight they found themselves in. By the time they were dismissed, Draco was actually shaking with his suppressed laughter. Even the Gryffindors, who had followed Ron's example and had not really taken to Harry, were laughing. The only two people who didn't look pleased were Ron and Lockhart himself.
"What was that, Potter!? What? You think you're too good for even the famous Gilderoy Lockhart?" came Ron's voice as they entered the hallway.
Harry sighed and turned. "No, I refuse to partake in such a joke of a lesson. The man is clearly a fraud and a fool," Harry said.
"You just think you're so great—"
"No, I really don't," Harry said cutting him off with a glare. "Now, if you will excuse me Ronald, I want to get to lunch. Dealing with idiots makes me hungry."
Harry turned to leave, but, when he felt an oncoming hex, he span around and flicked his wand. The hex rebounded off of his shield and hit Ron, who immediately started breaking out in boils.
"Attack me when my back is turned again and I will do much worse than rebound your pathetic little hex," Harry threatened, not realising how terrifying he looked.
His friends, who had drawn their wands, and even the Slytherins all sent Ron dark looks. The picture they presented was making him shiver in fear and the pain from the boils intensified.
Straightening out, Harry shook himself and flicked his wrist so his wand went back into his holster. "Come on guys, I don't want to be late to lunch," he said, walking ahead of them.
When they neared the hall, Luna appeared and draped herself against Harry.
"The dingle sprites told me you were angry, my Lord."
"I'm not angry Little Moon, I just don't seem to be able to suffer fools for as long as I could in the past," Harry said.
"I see. You know, I'm sure Aithusia would love an entrée to go with her appetizer."
Harry chuckled darkly, glad his friends were unable to understand what Luna was saying fully. "I'm sure she would, but I hear strong spices like ginger are bad for snakes."
Luna just hummed as she let go of Harry and danced towards the Ravenclaw table; obviously, they would be sitting there today.
"You know, she's quite odd," Draco said looking at Luna.
"I suppose. She just sees things differently from the rest of the world," Harry said, hinting loosely.
"Are you sure she's not just one core short of a wand?" Pansy asked. She had taken a very Hermione-like approach to the blonde, meaning she thought her deluded and refused to be swayed.
"I'm quite certain," Harry said, taking a seat next to Luna and helping himself to lunch.
"So Harry, what was all that about in Defence?" Neville asked, reminding the group that he was a member of the house of brave lions.
"I saw no reason to partake in such a ridiculous lesson. It's a sham and I honestly fear for the 5th and 7th years if they have that fool preparing them for their exams," Harry said.
Draco and the Slytherins nodded and even Hannah and Susan looked like they agreed. "What are you going to do - refuse to go to his lessons?" Neville asked.
"I might just," Harry said. "At least Quirrell knew his stuff; the stuttering was annoying, granted, but he did actually teach important and useful spells. I doubt Lockhart even knows how to perform a simple Expelliarmus, let alone enough to teach for an entire year."
The group looked shocked. "But you can't just not turn up, Harry. The teachers wouldn't let you just skip an entire lesson," Hannah said, looking worried.
"I think I'll write to Sirius and go speak to Flitwick. I honestly do not wish to suffer through a year with that fool," Harry said rather bluntly.
"You know what? Harry's right," Draco said. "I'm sure my father would love to know what a simpleton the old coot has hired."
The idea of making Dumbledore look like a fool attracted Draco. He had grown up with stories of the man and he had picked up on his family's dislike for him. He knew a lot of it stemmed from the war, but he had also heard about how unfair the man was - how he would look the other way for his favoured students while persecuting those he deemed Dark. His father called him the greatest manipulator in the world. Knowing Harry and his friends also disliked him, or at least didn't trust him, was a great relief.
"And my mother," Blaise said, sharing a look with Draco. Although Neutral, Blaise's mother disliked Dumbledore and his hypocritical ways. He preaches equality and unity yet he enforces division.
"If his lessons are all like today's, then I think my aunt would be interested as well, but maybe it was just a one off. He could get better," Susan said, but it was obvious she didn't really believe her words. However, her loyalty was always something Harry respected, so he couldn't blame her for her lingering hope.
Harry was internally cheering. If he got them to complain and highlight just how bad of a job Dumbledore was doing, then the old coot's position would continue to be weakened. That was his main goal; sure, he would love to get out of the peacock's lessons, but he already had a plan on how to deal with him.
"Do you really think it will work? Not turning up and writing home?" Neville asked looking at the group.
"Who knows? However, I'm going to see if Flitwick will take control of my detention anyway. I have charms next so I can talk to him then - I don't want to even be near the man. Hopefully, if a few more people complain, he won't last the year."
"December 21st," Luna said seemly out of nowhere. The rest looked confused but Harry decided to note the date.
"No wand core," Pansy said, looking at Luna like she was mental.
"Kelpie hair, actually," Luna said dreamily, making Harry chuckle.
"I may also write to your father, Draco. As a Board member, I'm sure he would be interested."
Draco nodded and smirked. "I'm sure he would."
Once he was finished eating, Harry pulled out some parchment and started his letter to Sirius, deciding to include Remus in it as well as he didn't want the wolf to feel left out.
Padfoot & Moony,
I'm sure you will be proud to know that Neville and Draco have fully embraced their inner pranksters and have made Ronald Weasley their main target. So far the boy has been stalked by imaginary spiders and tuned every House colour there is. They've even caught the attention of Hogwarts' champion pranking duo, so I'm sure they will continue to flourish. If you have any recommendations on how they can improve their game, then I'm sure Draco would love to hear from you.
However, I am writing to you for a reason. Did I ever go into much detail about my second year and the fool Lockhart? If I didn't, then let me tell you the man is insufferable. All of his claimed achievements are the works of others. The man's only real claim to fame being his skill at Obliviating his victims and taking credit for their success; his books are all fictional tales about the success of others which he butchers and twists into mockery.
It would seem that I'm not as willing to suffer fools as I once was and I may have accidently started a boycott of his lessons among my year mates - or at the very least, my friends. However, in my defence, the man is a fool. I doubt he could even disarm a dummy standing a foot in front of him and I refuse to suffer through an entire year of his lessons.
Sirius, hopefully you've managed to once again become a Board member as Dumbledore's skills at hiring teachers is ridiculous. Perhaps you should apply Moony, you really were one of the best teachers I had.
Lovingly yours,
Harry
Happy with his letter, Harry also penned one for Lucius, knowing the man would happily snap at the opportunity to discredit Dumbledore. That was one thing about the man that hadn't changed. Although he seemed willing and actually happy to accept Harry and Sirius, Lucius still detested Dumbledore. Harry was sure that his own treatment at the old coot's hands had added to this, but Lucius was still happy to hate the Headmaster.
Lucius,
I'm sure, as a member of the Board of Governors and as a parent, you are well invested in the quality of teaching that goes on in Hogwarts. Therefore, I thought it best to write to you and let you know what a fool Dumbledore, in all his esteemed wisdom, has hired. The man, Gilderoy Lockhart, is perhaps the greatest fraud I have ever met.
His written works are, at best, an admission to his crimes - taking the credit for the actions of others - and, at worst, a collection of poorly written fiction. The man has no skill or knowledge to pass on.
*Included is his idea of a test. I thought you would appreciate an example of his form of education.
As you can see, the man is a fool. However, Dumbledore trusts him to shape the minds of children - he trusts this buffoon to help the 5th and 7th years to pass their exams! The Headmaster is clearly deluded; therefore, I thought it would be best to write to you and inform you of this, as both a parent and a member of the Board.
Hopefully you will take action and do as you see fit,
Harrison J Potter-Black
Heir of the most Ancient and Noble House of Potter
Heir of the most Ancient and Noble House of Black
Happy with his letters, Harry sealed them and placed charms so that they would only be legible to the intended recipients. He didn't want his mail getting intercepted and giving away his clear disdain for Dumbledore, not to mention his letter to Sirius and Remus talking about his past life.
Seeing the time, Harry, along with Hannah and Susan, left to get to Charms. The others had Transfiguration together.
Walking into the classroom, Harry took a seat next to Padma and sent the girl a smile. This term they would be working on blasting and fixing charms, as well as cleaning charms. However, before they could get onto the practical work, they would have to get through all of the theory, much to Harry's annoyance.
As the lesson was coming to an end, Harry stood and turned to face Hannah and Susan.
"I'm going to talk to Flitwick, you guys go on ahead to the library without me and I'll meet you there."
"Okay, Harry," Susan said, sending him a smile.
"We'll save you a seat," Hannah promised.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, what seems to be the problem?" Filius asked when he realised Harry hadn't left the class alongside his friends.
"Well sir, if you haven't already found out, I had a bit of trouble this afternoon with Professor Lockhart. I was wondering if there was any way I could be excused from his lessons in the future?"
Filius looked at Harry in shock. He didn't really blame the boy, he also found Gilderoy to be a fool, but never had he had a child actually ask to be excused from a lesson.
"I'm not sure, Harry, I would need to ask. Is there a solid reason why you feel the need to be excused?"
"Other than the fact the man is clearly a fraud who has no idea what he is doing? Not really. His comments about me and my apparent fame I can ignore. However, I would rather not be forced to - I know that I would be able to pass the end of year tests without his so-called teaching." Harry made sure to slightly sneer the word professor and teaching, as he felt the man was undeserving of such a title.
"I see," Filius said. "I will look into it for you, but I expect you will have to go, at least for now. It is a core subject."
Harry sighed. "I thought as much."
"Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"I was wondering, as my head of House, would it be possible for you take over my detention with him tonight?"
Filius felt his eyes widen. Harry getting a detention was very unlike him. "I can. However, how did you manage to get a detention? You didn't get a single one last year."
Harry made sure to look sheepish. "Well, I refused to take part in a quiz he gave - it was ridiculous! It was a quiz about him, his favourite colour, ideal birthday gift. It had no educational value at all."
Filius nodded. "I see, that is troubling." How such a fool had gotten a job teaching, he would never know. What was Dumbledore thinking? He would have to set up extra lessons on the weekends for his 5th and 7th years. He didn't want them falling behind and failing their exams thanks to Dumbledore's ridiculous hiring standards.
"I will take your detention tonight, please come to my office after dinner," he instructed Harry.
"Thank you, sir."
Meeting up with his friends in the library, Harry was happy to see Luna had joined them for their study session. Although a first year, she really did have some insightful, if not always relevant, tidbits of wisdom to add to their group.
"Everything alright, Harry?" Neville asked as he noticed his best friend's arrival. He had initially been afraid when he realised their growing friend group, but Harry had quickly waylaid his fears, making sure to treat Neville exactly the same as before.
Harry smiled. "I'm fine. Flitwick said he'd take over my detention for me tonight so I don't have to see Lockhart and that he'd look in to seeing if I can self study for Defence this year."
"Really?"
"That's great, Harry," Susan said.
"Hopefully father will do something about the man quickly," Draco sneered.
"My Lord, there's a pair of nargles infested lions heading this way," Luna said, cutting into their conversation and making the rest of the group send her odd looks. They had started to notice her habit of calling Harry her Lord.
Harry sighed. "They wouldn't happen to be redheaded nargles would they, Little moon?"
Luna blinked owlishly at him. "They would. Have you been listening to the the blibbering humdingers as well, my Lord?"
"I only listen to you, Luna," Harry said, making the girl smile and the others share looks of confusion.
Looking up, Harry could see that Ron and Ginny were walking towards the tables he and his friends had taken over.
"Not again," he grumbled under his breath, wondering what the two were up to and how they planned on enticing him this time. However, much to his surprise, the two ignored him and went to Luna.
"Hi, Luna," Ginny said, smiling at the girl.
Luna blinked, "Hello, Ginevra."
"Call me Ginny. We're friends after all," Ginny said.
"Are we?" Luna asked. Although they lived near each other and had been forced to have play dates as children, Luna knew they had never been friends. Ginny had actually bullied her slightly as a child, mocking her and her beliefs and calling her crazy.
"Of course, silly," Ginny said, her voice sounding slightly strained.
"Yeah, you've been friends for years," Ron added, nodding his head and giving Luna an incredulous look.
"Oh," Luna said, blinking owlishly.
"So, who're your friends Luna?" Ginny asked, pretending to just then see the rest of the group.
Harry snorted slightly under his breath.
Luna looked around the group saying the names of people as she pointed at them. When she got to Harry, she smiled. "And this is Harrison Potter-Black."
Ginny acted shocked. "Oh, I've always wanted to meet you," she gushed, batting her eyelashes at Harry.
"That's nice."
"You're a hero, how you defeated You-Know-Who," Ginny said, still sending Harry smiles and fluttering her lashes.
"Have you got something in your eye?" Neville blurted out, going red when everybody turned to look at him. Harry had to bite his lip to stop the laughter that threatened to escape.
"What?" Ginny asked.
"You keep blinking," Neville said, making Harry's grip on his laughter fail and resulting in him almost crying.
"What's so funny?!" Ron demanded, affronted when he realised Harry was laughing at his sister. The Slytherins, who had also realised what was happening, were also laughing.
"N-nothing," Harry said, trying to contain his mirth.
Ginny looked just as angry as her brother, her face patchy with red. "I don't have anything in my eyes!" she said angrily.
"Oh," Neville said, clueless as to why Harry and the rest were laughing.
Realising she had lost her current chance, Ginny sent the blond Gryffindor a dark look before forcing an obviously false smile on her face. "Well, I'll catch you later Luna - and I would love to get to know you Harry, perhaps we could even be friends," she said, batting her eyelashes once again, making the Slytherins who had started to calm down start laughing all over again.
Turning with a huff, the two redheads soon vacated the library and Harry regained control. "That was awful," he said, once he finally had his breath back.
Neville looked around. "I don't get it."
Susan sighed. "She was obviously flirting with Harry."
Neville looked shocked. "Oh." Then, remembering Harry's sexuality, he added, "Oh."
"God, Harry, the way she was looking at you. You could be the next Mr. and Mrs. Weasel," Draco said, still laughing.
"Please," Harry said, before tilting his head. "Then again, I have heard the older brothers are quite attractive."
Draco blanched. "Don't even joke about such things, Merlin. Could you image being a part of such a family?"
Harry shook his head. "I actually really like the twins, and I'm sure the older brothers are okay. It's just the youngest that are awful."
"Please, blood traitors the lot of them. They might as well be muggles with how they act," Draco said.
"There's nothing wrong with muggleborns or even muggles. Muggleborns have just as much magic as us, they just need to be better educated about our society. We shouldn't blame them for being ignorant, we should teach them our traditions, holidays, and laws. If we brought them into our society earlier and educated them before Hogwarts then there wouldn't be such a big gap or divide. I mean, that's the main problem. It's not that they don't have our power, it's that they just don't know a lot about our world," Harry said.
"As if. Mudbloods will never be as powerful as us," Pansy sneered.
Harry felt his magic crackle with rage. "My mother was a muggleborn witch," he said, his emerald green eyes piercing into her.
Draco felt the air suddenly condense and gulped when he saw the look in Harry's eyes. The others could all feel it and stared, shocked at the power he radiated. Neville and the girls were shocked the most - they had spent the entire of last year with Harry and had never felt such raw magic coming from him.
Taking a breath, Harry tightened his shields before he spoke, "Never use that word again. There is nothing wrong with being muggleborn or muggle-raised. We all have magic and that iswhat's important—being witches and wizards, celebrating our holidays, our traditions, our culture. We're not better than the muggles but we are different and that's okay. We all need each other to work together and have a better future."
Harry had read a few books on wizarding customs while he was searching for answers during his first life. He had found that witches and wizards traditionally celebrated the Olde Pagan holidays as magic was more powerful during those times for rituals and spells. It was only in the last 100 or so years that celebrating their holidays had stopped being so public. Instead, places like Hogwarts started to celebrate Christian holidays in order to make their muggleborn students more at ease. Now it was illegal to celebrate some, as certain holidays required blood in their celebration rituals - any form of blood magic was deemed illegal and had to be controlled by the ministry. Harry knew this didn't stop most families from celebrating but now it was done in secret.
That's where the term blood traitor had come from. It was used to shame witches and wizards who turned on their blood and embraced the Christian holidays and muggle world, denouncing their own traditions. To be honest, he couldn't blame people for being angry about this and ostracising families like the Weasleys. Harry hadn't understood last time why Arthur was so looked down on, but now he knew it was because he had abandoned all tradition and culture. However, he knew that Bill had embraced the Olde ways. His wedding had included them and he knew Fleur, as a quarter veela, had be adamant that their daughter would grow up celebrating them. Harry had no idea about the twins or Charlie and Percy, but he knew Ron and Ginny had sneered at the thought of religion. They said that the rituals were all Dark magic and evil and Harry had, at the time, believed them, not knowing any better or being interested enough to care.
"You have to admit, Harry, it's the mud-muggleborns who are the ones that make it hard to celebrate our traditions. I mean, look at Hogwarts! We have to celebrate Christmas now instead of Yule because they do. Dumbledore wants them to feel comfortable, meaning our lifestyle, our history, is lost because of them. I mean, Merlin, it's illegal to even celebrate Samhain properly now!"
"That's not their fault, it's Dumbledore's. They come into our world and they know nothing. If they were taught, then it wouldn't be so bad. If they were introduced into our lifestyle, our traditions and culture earlier they would integrate and be part of it. And you can't blame them for that ridiculous law - that's, once again, Dumbledore and his influence. He's the one who said all blood magic is evil and Dark, the bloody hypocrite."
"I doubt they would even want to learn," Pansy sneered. She, like Draco, had grown up celebrating the Olde holidays in secret with her family and hated having to hide their traditions and culture - having to act like it is wrong.
"They're not even given a chance to. There used to be classes, but now they have nothing," Harry argued.
"You're right," Blaise said. He had been listening to them argue and he could admit that Harry had some valid points.
Draco looked at his best friend, surprised that Blaise agreed. Although his family was Neutral, Blaise himself was rather Dark. He had grown up like Draco and Pansy, celebrating the Olde ways, so Draco was surprised at his friend.
"Thank you. We shouldn't condemn them just because they don't know better. They're taught nothing about our world apart from what they learn here or in books. Books which, might I add, are not easy to find or exactly clear. Most of you have all been raised in similar ways. You've been brought up with magic, celebrating the Pagan holidays, knowing our history. Muggleborns and muggle-raised don't have that. Everything is new and it's people like Dumbledore who pander to them and refuse to teach them our traditions and holidays that make it so they never learn, make it so our world slowly loses its rich culture. It's those stupid laws making it illegal for us to properly celebrate that are the problem."
"I've never thought of it like that," Susan said, looking shocked.
"That's why the Weasleys are blood traitors. They turn their back on our traditions."
Harry couldn't argue with that. "They do and, in my opinion, they shouldn't. We're not muggles."
"Precisely," Draco said, looking smug.
"What about you, though?" Pansy suddenly asked.
"What about me?" Harry asked right back.
"You're not ignorant - you act like one of us," Draco pointed out.
"Perhaps that's true - I am muggle-raised. However, unlike them, I have an eidetic memory. Therefore, I was able to remember and learn magical customs, history, and traditions easily. I also spent the entire summer before 1st year in our society, so I was prepared. Many of the other muggleborns and muggle-raised don't have my advantages. I also now live with a pureblood Lord, who is my blood adopted father."
"So you think we should help them - muggleborns, I mean - instead of looking down on them?" Draco asked, the word help showing his clear reluctance.
"Yes, they just need to be taught. We shouldn't sacrifice our world for them, they just need to be shown how to embrace it."
The three Slytherins shared a look: Blaise clearly the most willing to see Harry's point of view. Draco, however, did look like he was considering Harry's words. Harry's other friends all looked intrigued, especially with how Hannah and Susan were whispering together.
"You've planted the seeds now, my Lord. Soon they will grow and flourish," Luna whispered quietly so only Harry heard.
Harry smiled. Perhaps making Draco see the error in his ways wouldn't be as hard as he had feared.
AN: Big thank you to my Beta reader miisticalwrites for taking the time to check this for me!
Remember people that reviews are always appreciated but I won't hold the story to ransom for them.
Updates should come every few days and like usual this is being posed on Ao3 under the same name.
There might be a delay on the next update as I'm super busy this week, but it will come.
Hope you enjoy reading
~ Annie