A/N: Hello everyone. Glad to have you all back for the next chapter, already! I don't want to jinx it but it kind of looks like I'm back in business. Mwuhahaha. I hope you all enjoy it.

When by the ruins oft I past
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast

Chapter 10

Harry wasn't sure if it was because of Snape's threats that the Slytherins hadn't done anything but all they managed was to throw him dirty looks before climbing into their own beds. And Harry supposed that - if he strained his ears - he could hear angry expletives being muttered underneath thick covers but that much he could most certainly handle. Especially after the walk he had with Daphne. Honestly, Slytherin might not be that bad after all. He could handle Malfoy and his goons just fine and he still had his friends. Whether he was in Slytherin or not. Honestly, things were starting to look up.

The next day was the last day of the school week again. And this Friday, he was actually looking forward to his patronus lesson. He was eager to try out his new memory and was so sure that he'd be able to finally summon a corporeal patronus. But right now, he just needed to focus on herbology. Lucky for him – unlike Hermione - Ron had no qualms about pairing up with him, even if he had friends in Hufflepuff as well.

"Glad to see you're still alive, mate," Ron uttered. "I know you fought basilisks and You-Know-Who and all that but sleeping next to Malfoy? I honestly thought you were done for."

"Honestly, eh?" Harry replied.

"Okay, maybe not done for," Ron said. "But I definitely expected a black eye every now and then at the very least."

"I think they're all a bit scared of Snape," Harry said, purposefully not saying anything about his mistreatment. "Besides, I do have some friends over there."

"Yeah but Fred and George can't exactly sleep in your room now can they?" Ron said. "Or, hang on, did they find a way?"

"Of course not," Harry said, shaking his head. He watched as Ron harvested his puffapods, careful not to get too close as to not get dizzy from the spores.

"Be careful not to touch anything but the roots of the plant," Professor Sprout said. "If you cause your puffapods to bloom prematurely, points will be deducted."

"I know, I know," Ron grumbled to himself, careful not to mess up. Harry glanced at Neville who was already done with his assignment. His puffapods hung neatly by their roots on a floating branch. This was the class he always felt most confident in, Harry knew.

"Bloody hell!" Harry looked back in time to see that Ron had messed up one of his plants and its flowers were now all over the place.

"Sloppy, Mr Weasley," Professor Sprout said. "Five points from Hufflepuff. I propose that you take a look at Mr Longbottom's work. His plants look absolutely lovely. Ten points to Hufflepuff, dear." Neville looked decidedly proud.

"But seriously, Harry," Ron then whispered, coming a bit closer as he pretended to clean up the fallen petals. "Did you actually make any friends? You know you can't trust them, right?" Harry noticed that Ron glanced at the Slytherins behind him and couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed.

"They're not all bad, Ron," he said. "And yes, I did."

Ron snorted. "Don't tell me that you and Malfoy are now besties."

"Of course not," Harry said. "Never. And if you must know, it's Daphne."

Ron's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" he said, then seemed to shake off his bewilderment. "Hey look, I get it. She's pretty and all. Just try not to fall for her schemes or anything."

"Daphne doesn't scheme," Harry said, not really believing it himself.

"They all scheme," Ron said, voicing Harry's worries. "It's in their nature. You're not gonna tell me that she didn't want anything from famous Harry Potter."

Harry furrowed his brow as he harvested the last of his own puffapods. "No," he said. "Not really. I mean, she did say that I had some pull that I could use but it honestly sounded as if she was giving me some advice, that's all."

"Advice?" Ron asked. "Or was she preparing you for whatever she's planning?"

"She's not planning anything, Ron," Harry said. "She just wants to be… er… friends." Though honestly, Harry was very unsure about either of those statements.

"Friends, huh?" Ron parroted. "Or did she want to be a bit more? Hang on –" He leaned in a bit closer. "Did you want to be a bit more?"

"Shut up, Ron," Harry grumbled. "I'm trying to concentrate."

"Yeah, beat it, Weasley," Malfoy then suddenly interjected. "If Potter messes up because of you and looses us points, he'll have to answer to Professor Snape."

"You can't tell me what to do, Malfoy," Ron replied angrily. "And besides, everyone looses points ever now and then. Even Hermione! It's ridiculous for him to punish Harry for that. Just because he used to be in Gryffindor doesn't –"

"It's a general rule, Ron," Harry quickly interrupted him. "It's not specifically for me but for all Slytherins."

Malfoy quirked an eyebrow in what seemed to be mild surprise before smirking at Ron. His arrogance was characteristic as ever. "You heard him, Weasley," he said. "I'm just trying to warn your friend because that's what we do. We –" he quickly glanced at Harry with a warning in his eyes. "look out for each other."

"Yeah?" Ron said. "Well, so do Gryffindors. That's not a Slytherin trait at all."

"Weren't you listening?" Zabini then decided to weigh in. "It's not a trait, it's a rule."

"Ron, let's just leave it, okay?" Neville suddenly weighed in, trying to pull Ron's arm.

"Hang on," Ron said, swatting Neville's hand away. "How should I believe that that's a real rule? You never mentioned those before. Why would you go around spilling the beans to everyone?"

"Why not?" Malfoy said, shrugging his shoulders casually. "It's not as if it's a state secret. No one's ever asked us, that's all. And besides, even if it was a secret –" He cast a meaningful glance in Harry's direction. "- that ship would have sailed by now."

"Are you calling Harry a snitch?" Ron then said, clearly escalating the situation for no reason.

"Ron, stop," Harry said, moving to stand between Malfoy and Ron. "There's no reason to become so aggressive. Malfoy is telling the truth. That's just one of the rules we have. There's nothing to it. Just let it go."

Clearly still angry, Ron opened his mouth to answer when Sprout appeared behind them. "Back to your stations, everyone," she said sternly. "I'll not have you disturb the dormant lilies with your incessant yammering. Now get back to your assignments before I start deducting points."

"Yes, Professor," they all mumbled in unison. Ron and Harry returned to their respective stations but spent the rest of the lesson in silence. Sure, Ron did keep glancing at Harry as if begging him to disagree with the Slytherins but honestly, in this instance he was wrong to lash out. Nothing had actually happened. Nothing that Ron knew off, at least. And Harry really needed to try and keep the peace. But explaining that to the redhead seemed to be useless at this point. Harry sighed. Maybe his brothers would be able to knock some sense into him when time came. During the winter break, maybe. Yeah, that would be good. Harry would tell them.

At lunch, Harry had brought his Transfiguration book : 'Metamorphosis Mastery'. Sure, he wasn't usually the studious kind but he imagined that if he was up to date with everything in the book, he might be able to pair up with Hermione next time. Becoming an Animagus was, of course, an intriguing concept by itself as well as he would love to actually start trying to become one. But McGonagall had said that to do that, everyone needed to have read the book cover to cover.

If Harry didn't want to catch the ire of both Hermione and the Slytherins, he would have to absorb the contents of this book completely and fast. The problem was that his Saturdays were often spent trying to learn the patronus spell. He knew for a fact that most Slytherins had already planned on doing their reading then. Daphne had even invited him to their study group but Harry had to decline. And while it was ridiculous that a wizard of his age was learning how to cast one of the most difficult spells there were to master, he just couldn't help but feel entirely safe and comfortable until he did. Those dementors were still around, always watching. Always waiting. And it honestly did not look as if they were good at following orders. Harry suspected that they would suck out his soul the moment they got the opportunity to do so.

On the other hand, with Fudge sending Harry back to his family this summer after he ran away, he might actually want the dementors to suck out his soul. His well-being was certainly not on his mind, that's for sure. Otherwise he would have noticed. Yeah, he would have seen.

Harry physically shook his head as he tried to shake those thoughts. It didn't matter. He was at Hogwarts and he would be for a while now. It was time to actually ready the book now instead of rereading the same paragraph five times and still not knowing what it said.

"Studying while eating?" George said. "That's not the Harry we know!"

"You're not sick, are you?" Fred asked before putting his hand on Harry's forehead in what had to be mock concern. Harry swatted it away.

"I'm not sick," Harry said. "I'm just trying to catch up on my reading."

Fred snatched the book out of his hands. "Oh, the Animagus book," he said. "I have to admit that's actually an interesting one."

"Hang on," Harry said. "You also got the book?"

"All years starting from yours did," Fred replied. "I don't know what came over McGonagall but suddenly these lessons seem to be very important to her."

"She could be sick of being the only Animagus in the school," George offered. "Not even Dumbledore is one."

"It's a difficult form of magic," Fred said. "That's what they say, anyways."

"You know, for all we know, Dumbledore is an Animagus," George said in a hushed tone. "But maybe his animal is so embarrassing that he doesn't want anyone to know."

"Ooh, that's good," Fred agreed. "What if he's a skunk or a dung beetle?"

"Even a snake or something would be embarrassing for a Gryffindor," George said. "Oh, don't look at me like that, Goyle. As if you wouldn't have issues if your Animagus form turned out to be a lion."

"Or a badger," Fred added.

"Dumbledore could be a fly," Greengrass - the younger one - then said softly. "It might be how he knows so much. He's just always there."

"Good thinking, Greengrass!" George said. "A mouse or a rat would also work. No one would bat an eye if one of those scurried past."

"Yeah," Astoria Greengrass said, a bit more confidently this time. "Or a big, hairy spider."

"He's not an Animagus, idiots," Malfoy interjected. "If he was, the ministry would know about it. And there's no way that a Gryffindor like him would not register himself."

"Please refrain from calling my sister an idiot, Draco," Daphne suddenly said. "It is quite uncouth. It is verbiage I would not expect from you. Also, I think it's rather naive to think that Professor Dumbledore doesn't have a… Slytherin side, so to speak."

"I doubt he'd break the law," Malfoy said, looking slightly cowed. Daphne's soft smile and raised eyebrow spoke exactly to what she thought of that.

"A spider was actually a good idea, Astoria," George said kindly. He inclined his head towards Malfoy. "Don't mind this silly snake. He's just upset that he wasn't part of the fun."

"Hey, want to see something cool?" George said. "Harry!"

Harry sighed and put his book aside. This was pointless. He would try and read a bit more once he was in the common room.

"Yes, George?" he said.

"Let's show Astoria your trick."

Harry looked at the twins with exasperation. "What trick?"

"You know, with the snakes," Fred said, as if it was obvious.

Harry frowned. The twins were probably referring to the way he could make most of the engraved snakes around the dungeons move. So far, none of the ones he tried actually did anything, though. He didn't mind showing Daphne's little sister but he had kind of assumed that Fred and George wanted to keep this little quest a secret. "Are you sure you're okay with that?" he asked for clarification.

"What are you talking about?" Daphne asked. "I do hope you're not trying to trick my sister into anything nefarious."

"No, nothing like that, gorgeous," Fred said. "You know Harry. He would never do anything bad."

"At least not on purpose," George said.

"Then what are you on about, Weasleys?" Malfoy asked in exasperation." It is tiresome how you're trying to be both secretive and revealing at the same time. Shut up or out with it."

"Quite," Daphne agreed.

"They're making a big deal out of nothing," Harry intervened, noticing Daphne's annoyance. "We just noticed that a lot of the snake-like decorations in the dungeons move in some way after I speak Parseltongue to them. It's a silly party trick, really."

"You can do what?" Daphne's eyes lit up in a way that Harry hadn't seen from her before. It would appear that for the first time he had genuinely been able to peak her interest.

"The snakes don't do anything," Harry added. "They just move a bit. It's really not that impressive."

"I agree," Malfoy said, his face had the likeness of someone who just bit into a lemon. "Not impressive at all."

"Oh hush," Daphne admonished the blonde. "Harry, you do realise that Salazar Slytherin is indirectly communicating with you, right?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Harry said.

"But I would," Daphne said. "Sure, he couldn't have known what person he would be able to reach but the fact that he imbued the dungeons of this castle with his magic in such a way that a Parseltongue could interact with them has to mean that he had a plan. This was entirely intentional."

"You're reaching, Daphne" Malfoy said. "Potter's not that special."

"You're a fool if you actually believe that," Daphne said haughtily. "And I don't suffer fools. Even if you don't like Harry, it is very unwise to underestimate him."

"Er… that's okay Daphne," Harry said, doing his best to avoid Malfoy's murderous look. "I'm sure it's not like that."

"Whatever the case, Astoria and I would love to accept your invitation," Daphne said gracefully. "We would be honoured if you could show us your skill first-hand."

Astoria nodded, her excitement nearly causing her to jump up and down. "Oh, please show us," she pleaded. "I really want to see.

"Ssssstretch," In Harry's own ears, it still sounded like plain old English, but the movements of the tiny little snake carved into the stone told him otherwise. The curled-up serpent unfurled its coils and stretched along the tiles. Astoria squealed in delight.

"Can you make it rear up like a cobra?" she asked.

Harry nodded, trying to keep his focus on the snake. "Rear up assss if to attack." The snake did, lifting the upper half of its body and rearing back a little bit as if ready to strike.

"Very impressive," Daphne said. Her words seemed entirely truthful. "Seeing as it can clearly understand you, do you think it can do more complex things like… telling you where certain people are?"

"Good thinking, Greengrass," Fred complimented loudly. "Hey Harry, ask the snake if it knows where Snape is."

"You know, a simple point me spell would do the trick," Harry pointed out.

"Just do it Harry," George said. "For science."

"Or for us," Fred tried.

"Or for your girlfriend," George exclaimed.

"She's not my girlfriend," Harry bit back, glancing at Daphne. The girl didn't seem perturbed in the slightest.

"A girl who's a friend then," George agreed. "Go on then."

"Fine," Harry agreed, hoping that would stop the twins from making any more inappropriate comments. "Can you point your tail towardssss Sssseverusss Ssssnape'sss direction?"

For a moment, the snake moved its tiny head from side to side as if it was shaking no. But then Harry realised that it was actually searching because then it stopped, laid down flat and stuck its tail in the air in the direction of Snape's office.

"That would seem accurate!" Fred exclaimed. "Harry, you're a genius."

"I'm still not sure why this is practical at all," Harry admitted.

"It isn't," George agreed. "But now we know that we weren't thinking big enough. Not by a long shot!"

"Who knows what else you can do down here," Fred gasped. "The possibilities are endless."

"I must admit that this is all very intriguing," Daphne agreed. "If you don't mind, I too will think of ways to use your skills. I would love to learn more." She grabbed Harry's arm and squeezed it a bit. "And if you discover anything, you'll tell me, right?"

Harry blushed. "Of course," he said.

"Not his girlfriend," Fred muttered to George. "Right." Harry just pretended that he didn't hear that.

"Do you think you could charm a real snake for me?" Astoria suddenly asked. "It doesn't have to be a big one."

"A real snake?" Harry asked. "Why?"

"She wants a pet snake," Daphne explained. "Astoria, you know you're not allowed."

"But what if it's not a pet but a friend," Astoria said. "What if Harry can tell it to play with me while I'm at school but to go back home when we're home too."

Daphne sighed. "I think you're prescribing a bit too much emotional intelligence to snakes," she said. "They are not emotional. They might recognise you, but a snake won't see you as a friend. If that's what you want, you should just get a puppy."

Astoria looked at the floor, her stance slightly dejected. "Okay," she agreed. It was for the best. Harry honestly didn't even know where he would get a snake. Sure, he might be able to find some in the forbidden forest but with the dementors floating around he was not about to venture too far from the safety of the castle.

Saturday rolled around and while Harry would have loved to laze about in his bed all morning, he had several appointments that day. In the morning, he would visit with Professor Lupin again while the afternoon would be spent with Daphne. She wanted Harry to show her how to fly properly. Apparently, she had never really flown aside from the mandatory lessons in year one. She usually just travelled by floo. Harry was very much looking forward to the second part of his day and hoped Lupin wouldn't run him ragged.

"You seem to be in good spirits today, Harry," Lupin noticed as Harry walked in, definitely feeling a spring in his step.

"That's because I am, Professor," Harry admitted. "I have a feeling that I'll conjure a Patronus today."

Lupin smiled kindly. "I am eager to find out," he said. "But first, drink this." He handed Harry a cup of hot cocoa and sat down behind his desk, inviting Harry to take the other chair with a gesture of his hand.

"Right," Harry said. Even if he felt confident, it wouldn't hurt to boost his resistance with some chocolate first, he supposed. He sat down and took a sip while trying not to burn his mouth.

"So, I take it something good happened then?" Lupin asked.

"You could say that," Harry said. It was a bit awkward to talk about girls with his Professor, really. Even if he was nice.

"I would bet anything that it has something to do with a girl," Lupin said without a modicum of decorum. A true Gryffindor approach, Malfoy would say. "After all, you take so much after your father."

Harry chuckled. "Are you saying that he had a lot of girlfriends?"

"Oh yes," Lupin said. "Many more than any of his friends. Though one came close…" Lupin took a sip of his own cup – Harry imagined it was probably tea – before continuing. "He was basically rarely without female attention. Of course, being a pure blood did wonders for his popularity, though his good looks most definitely helped as well."

"So, when did he meet mom?" Harry asked.

"Oh, they met in first year," Lupin said easily. "They were from the same year. The same sorting ceremony, of course. There was no avoiding each other. It's just that Lily had other… er… friends that she preferred to hang out with for a while."

"Oh," Harry said. "Friends in other houses you mean?"

"That's right," Lupin said. "And as you probably found out, it's quite difficult to reconcile Gryffindor with Slytherin."

"Hang on," Harry protested, nearly choking on his cocoa. "She was friends with Slytherins?"

"Oh," Lupin said, looking decidedly guilty all of a sudden as if he misspoke. "I shouldn't – well, I suppose – I can tell you that she had one friend in Slytherin. She had known him even before they were sorted, you see."

Harry nodded. "That makes sense," he agreed. "If Ron had been sorted into a different house than me, I'd probably still be friends with him. Though it'd be a lot more difficult to be close to each other."

"Your mother would agree, I imagine," Lupin said. "But enough about that for now. I imagine that you'd like to get on with the lesson."

"Yes," Harry agreed. "Though, I'd also…"

"I know you'd like to learn more about your mother, Harry," Lupin said kindly. "And I'd be willing to talk about your parents more often but perhaps when that is the purpose of your visit. It feels somewhat silly to have a boggart knocking about in the closet if we have no intention of using it, wouldn't you agree?"

"I would," Harry admitted. "Please. Let's begin."

Lupin went to stand beside the closet while Harry also left his chair, the empty cup now forgotten on Lupin's desk. Wand in hand, he stood at the ready and nodded. The sign for Lupin to open the closet door.

When he did, the boggart – wearing the dementor facade – came flying out, gurgling in that horrible, raspy voice, the tattered strips of its cloak floating in a wind that wasn't really there. Harry heard the faint voice of the screaming woman already forming in his ears when he desperately thought about that moment with Daphne. The stroll by the lake. The moment she kissed him, and her warm lips caressed his. The way the feeling of her lips had lingered for hours after they had long parted ways.

His chest filled with inexplicable warmth and his heart started racing again when he remembered that moment, fleeting as it was. He pointed his wand at the offending creature and spoke the words with profound intensity. "Expecto Patronum!"

This time was nothing like the times before that. Instead of ending up on the floor, Harry conjured a creature-like orb. That is to say it was a spherical white light with legs that looked like they had hooves and a small tail-like appendage. It charged forward and forced the dementor back into the closet from whence it came. Lupin closed the door behind it and looked at Harry with pride in his eyes.

"You did it," he said. "Harry, you actually did it."

"I did," Harry agreed happily. "Though it didn't really look like an animal yet."

"That's true," Lupin said. "But Harry, you have to understand that what you did here is an amazing feat. Even a semi-corporeal patronus, at your age – well – let me tell you that's quite astounding indeed."

Harry grinned, not sure what to do with all that praise. "What do I do to make it actually corporeal?" he asked.

"You practice," Lupin said. "But with your skills I am sure that you will manage before this year is even over. Harry, I must ask, what memory did you use?"

"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry said, smiling widely. "That will remain my secret."

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