~An Emerald amongst a Sea of Stone~
Chapter Eight
The next morning at breakfast Professor McGonagall had announced that there would be a mandatory meeting for all first years later in the afternoon.
Harry, who'd originally planned on browsing the library after classes ended, wasn't too pleased, but as it seemed he had no choice but to wait a while longer.
'Any idea what it's about?' Blaise asked to his right as they entered the antechamber.
Harry shook his head. 'Whatever it is seems to have McGonagall in a good mood,' he commented.
Their eyes flickered towards the woman in question, who was smiling rather brightly - at least for her standards.
'Maybe there's a competition or something,' Davis suggested to his left. She frowned. 'She didn't say anything this morning, did she?'
'No,' Nott confirmed.
Their group fell into line behind the Ravenclaws. As the last wave of students hurried into the antechamber, Professor McGonagall spelled the doors shut.
'Good afternoon,' she greeted in her thick, Scottish accent, stepping onto the stage. 'Now that everyone has arrived, it seems we may finally begin,' she said, clearing her throat. 'I will come right to the heart of the matter.'
'Headmaster Dumbledore has been in contact with Madame Maxime - his French counterpart at the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.'
Recognition lit a few people's faces. Unlike Harry's, whose forehead merely creased into a frown.
'Why?' Weasley blurted, far louder than he had probably intended.
McGonagall's lip curled in distaste. 'The headmaster spoke with Madame Maxime, Mr. Weasley, regarding the possibility of a student exchange program,' she answered. 'And as of last night, they have come to an agreement.'
She paused.
'As such, I am happy to announce that, during the first term of next year, some of you will have the opportunity to study at France's Premier Academy for Magic.'
Cheers rippled through the hall. Some students seemed surprised and others excited. Harry, though, merely raised an eyebrow.
A student exchange?
McGonagall held up her hand, causing the ambient chatter to die.
'Since this is the first time something of this nature has been organised between our two schools, the capacities of the program are, unfortunately, rather small. What this means, is that only a select few of you will have the privilege to go,' she continued.
'Who is chosen for the exchange and who is not, will be determined by your individual academic performance. So, speaking plainly: your grades. Both written and practical.'
Faces dropped all around the room. At least a few dozen students groaned unhappily. McGonagall, however, moved on without a hint of compassion.
'The top eight students of your year, irregardless of their House, will be offered an opportunity to study at Beauxbatons.' She paused. 'And before any of you wish to complain - either about the conditions set or effort required - you should note that it is your year, which was fortunate enough to receive the spots for the program.'
That seemed to shut any remaining protesters up.
'Very well,' McGonagall said. 'Are there any questions?'
Only a handful of students raised their hands. It seemed like the majority had already written off their chances for a spot anyway.
'Yes. Ms. Granger,' McGonagall decided.
'Could partaking possibly compromise our education here at Hogwarts?' the girl asked.
McGonagall gave her a rare, warm smile.
'While Beauxbatons' curriculum does indeed slightly differ from our own, I am quite certain that any attending students - should they keep up with their studies - will be most unlikely to experience any difficulties in their education going forward' the woman told her.
Granger nodded, taking a step back into the crowd.
'Mr. Smith!' Professor Flitwick called.
The boy stepped forward. 'Does that mean there will be students from Beauxbatons coming to Hogwarts as well, sir?'
Flitwick nodded brightly. 'Indeed it does, Mr. Smith. We'll have the pleasure of hosting them during the second term of next year. Like yourselves, the students will be in second grade by then. '
'Thanks, Professor.'
When no one else stepped forward, McGonagall raised her voice again.
'You should also note that, to attend, you will need the signature of your magical guardian. For most of you that will be your parents, and for the muggle-born students, your respective Head of House.'
And for me…
Harry's eyes flickered towards the Gryffindor section of the crowd, catching a head of mousy-brown hair. Involuntarily, his lip curled.
McGonagall cleared her throat. 'There will be another debrief near the end of next term, to discuss more details with the students who were diligent enough to be selected. Until then, if you wish to partake, I highly suggest you take your studies seriously.'
Silence reigned over the antechamber.
'If no other questions remain, this meeting is adjourned.'
That was quick.
With a wave of Flitwick's wand, the doors swung open. Chatter accompanied him as Harry followed the stream of students outside. Davis seemed miserable.
'Why?' she groaned. 'Why did they have to make it based on grades? Why not… random? There's no shot I'll manage to make top eight. No way. Absolutely none.'
Nott shrugged. 'You could just… study,' he pointed out dryly.
Davis glared at him.
'Thanks for your input, Nott,' Greengrass drawled. 'It was entirely unhelpful.'
'My pleasure.'
'I mean… making it random doesn't really seem fair,' Blaise butted in. 'I know it's frustrating if you aren't too academically inclined, but this probably is the best way they could've done it. Definitely fairer than if Snape got to choose two students from our House,' he argued.
My chances would effectively reduce to zero… Harry thought dryly.
Admittedly, the potions master hadn't displayed any direct animosity towards him in a while, but whenever Harry caught his gaze, it seemed as though Snape's ever-present sneer grew that slight bit more pronounced.
Davis sighed. 'I suppose…' she muttered. 'I just would've loved to go. And this way there's just no chance.' She paused. 'Are you guys gonna try then?' she asked.
'I think so,' Greengrass nodded slowly. 'As McGonagall said, it's probably the only opportunity of this kind we'll get, so I don't think I really want to miss it. Mother also went to Beauxbatons. It'll be interesting, I think. '
'Definitely,' Blaise agreed.
Nott yawned. 'I don't think it sounds interesting enough to study your ass off for.'
Their eyes turned towards Harry.
'It's interesting,' he commented. 'But I'll have to think about it.'
I need a way of getting the signature… He felt a clump of ice tighten around his chest.
'Well, in case you do end up declining your spot, let me know,' Davis joked.
Harry gave her a faint smile before turning towards Blaise. 'I'll see you later. Still have some research to do.'
His roommate didn't look the least bit surprised, a hint of amusement shining in his eyes. 'When don't you?'
'Rarely,' Harry admitted. 'Can't wait though, I'm afraid. I'll see you around.'
'See you around, Harry.'
The moment his housemates vanished around the corner, Harry found his way to the library. He made himself comfortable at the usual place by the large window just opposite the all too familiar curse section.
Not visiting my second home today though…
Dropping off his bag, he instead paid the monumental area which hosted several thousand tomes on charms a visit, where - rather quickly - he found a weathered, silvery-blue tome which fit his interests rather well.
Disillusionment - A Comprehensive Guide
His main objective was, of course, to learn the disillusionment charm, but after reading the book's introduction, he couldn't help but wonder whether there wasn't an easier way to get what he wanted.
So, naturally, Harry decided to read the whole book.
As it turned out, there were a vast amount of ways to obscure yourself from vision in the Wizarding World. Potions, enchantments, spells, and even rituals, the latter of which however, were extremely illegal.
The tome also explained why invisibility cloaks were so rare compared to most other magical artefacts.
The material which granted most cloaks their supernatural properties was Demiguise hair. Which was unfortunate really, as Demiguises were part of the large group of creatures which wizardkind had failed to domesticate as of yet.
And hunting an invisible creature was, unsurprisingly, rather difficult. So difficult in fact, that there only were a couple hundred cloaks crafted each decade.
The worst thing about it though, was that these cloaks rarely ever lasted longer than two years. So even if you managed to get your hands on one - which was difficult and expensive enough already - you had, at best, two years before you were forced to buy a new one.
Seems like a shitty deal, to be honest.
There were also invisibility cloaks made from different materials, but as it turned out, those didn't grant anything even close to true invisibility.
As such, Harry wrote them off immediately.
The chapters on the three potions mentioned in the book proved to be equally unhelpful.
Two of them - once again - lacked the ability to make you truly invisible, and the other was - even ignoring the ridiculously expensive ingredient list and nasty side-effects - far too time-consuming and complicated to even consider brewing.
So, inevitably, Harry found himself going through the chapters on the disillusionment charm.
It was quite surprising that there was only one version of the spell, considering that usually there seemed to be thousands of ways to do the same thing in the magical world.
Especially to blow things up…
It was also noted - before even any actual instruction - that the spell was easy to cast but ,at the same time, exceptionally difficult to master. What exactly that meant?
The charm's effects supposedly varied greatly depending on the proficiency with which it was cast. Meaning that while a beginner would be able to cast the spell, the result was as likely to hide them from view as a black blanket in broad daylight.
Adding onto that, the charm's difficulty dramatically increased whenever you were moving. So to uphold it while walking would be another challenge entirely.
As such it came to no surprise that it wasn't amongst the spells taught in school.
That aside though, mastery of the charm would allow you to become truly invisible. And that was Harry's goal. How realistic it was, he'd simply have to see.
Abscondere… He hummed, gently pressing the tome shut. Hide yourself.
He exhaled. 'Tempus.'
Glistening, golden digits appeared out of thin air. Half past six. Looks like I'm skipping dinner again…
Pocketing the book, he collected his belongings and swung his bag over the shoulder. Walking past the librarian as inconspicuously as he could, he made his way out the library and onto the second floor.
Spelling his shoes silent, he glode through the cool stone hallways of the castle, until, after a couple of minutes, he arrived in front of an abandoned lavatory.
Ignoring the blatant Girls sign hanging above the decrepit, fir-green door, he entered.
What greeted him inside, was the gloomiest, darkest, and - to be quite honest - most pathetic bathroom he'd ever seen.
The floor was damp, reflecting the dim light given off by the rusty chandelier which hung from the ceiling. The wooden doors of the stalls to his sides were flaking and scratched, some of them even dangling off their hinges; and on a worn-down pillar littered with chipped sinks, hung a large, broken mirror.
Harry grimaced as the faint smell of rotten eggs filled his nose. It'll have to do, I suppose…
Casting a silencing charm on the door he'd come through, he made his way over towards the formation of sinks in the middle of the room. It was barely noticeable, but engraved inside the marble pillar was a small snake.
Slytherin... Harry frowned. Weird…
'Reparo.'
The shards of glass which littered the wet floor flew up into the air and returned to their designated place above the sink. With another wave of his wand, he sealed the remaining cracks in between them.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.
'Abscondere,' he murmured.
For a moment, it felt as though someone had just cracked an egg directly on his head. A cold sensation ran down his face and spine, flowing down to every single last one of his toes, where it vanished.
Tentatively, he opened his eyes.
In the mirror, a very blurry version of Harry Potter stared back at him. He frowned. Almost looks like a mirage…
He pursed his lip in distaste. This hides me about as well as a brown paper bag would… He cancelled the spell and moved to repeat.
'Abscondere.'
Once again, the strange sensation snaked itself over his body; but when he sought out his reflection, there wasn't any noticeable difference to before.
Practise heavy, is it?
'Abscondere.' The same.
'Abscondere.' Nothing.
'Abscondere.' Equally pathetic.
Harry frowned in irritation. There has to be something I'm doing wrong, right? He shook his head, reaching for the book in his bag.
To enhance your proficiency with the charm, consistent and focused practice is key. Practising in a quiet environment to minimise distractions and concentrating on your spellwork is essential to develop a keen understanding of the charm's mechanics. Regular repetition is crucial; don't be discouraged by initial failures. Repeat for as long as you can and stop practising once your concentration is exhausted. Trust the process. Progress will come in time.
Surely it couldn't be that difficult? He'd managed a decent Protego shield after little more than a minute of practice.
The author of the book did, however, repeatedly stress that one's magical power was entirely irrelevant for mastery of the charm. According to him, what mattered was perfect execution only. Incantation, wand movement, visualisation, intent.
Perhaps this is just a different kind of spell then… I'm being impatient.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and imagining himself slowly blending into the background of the depressing bathroom. Gently, his wand touched the top of his head.
'Abscondere,' he said quietly.
'That's better!' a girlish voice suddenly exclaimed.
Harry's heart stopped for a fraction of a second. He whirled around.
Before one of the stalls hovered an ever so faintly glowing, translucent girl. She was wearing what seemed to be a pair of ancient, washed-out Hogwarts robes. Two chestnut-brown pigtails framed the spectacles on her face.
Harry turned around, glancing towards the mirror.
She's right.
Where previously had only been the faintest of shimmers, now Harry could actually see himself blending into the background ever so slightly. Both his teint and robes had changed in colour.
'You should try again,' the girl prompted him.
He did. Again, the result was marginally better. The girl was staring at him expectantly now. Without turning around, Harry spoke up.
'You're a ghost,' he said.
The girl nodded. 'Oh yes!' She clapped. 'I'm Myrtle. And who are you?'
He turned around. 'I'm… Harry. Pleasure to meet you.'
'Harry?' The girl floated closer, inspecting his face. 'Pretty name, if a bit common.' She paused. 'So, what brings you to my bathroom, Harry? You're not here to make fun of me, are you? Like all the others.'
Harry stared back at her 'No,' he answered. 'I merely came here to practise spells.' He paused. 'I can leave though; if you want.'
The girl - Myrtle - waved him off. 'No need. Disillusionment charm, right? Difficult spell. I was always terrible at it. How come you're practising it? You look like a firstie.'
'I am.'
'Isn't that a bit advanced then?' she prodded.
He kept his face even. 'I… like to challenge myself. The curriculum is rather easy, all things considered.'
Boring is more like it…
Myrtle gasped. 'Oooh, a prodigy, are you? How interesting. Well, go on then. I'm not even here.'
Harry took a deep breath before turning around. Alright then…
'Abscondere.'
Myrtle giggled. 'That's worse,' she said. 'Try again.'
Swallowing a wave of irritation, he made another attempt, paying special attention to the wand movement this time. He opened his eyes.
'Good,' Myrtle praised. 'Very good even. For a firstie, at least. You're lying though. At least partially,' she commented nonchalantly..
Harry paused. What?
'I'm not quite sure what you mean,' he said carefully.
Myrtle giggled again. 'You remind me of someone, you know? He thought he had everyone fooled when he didn't, as well. Never lie, always leave out part of the truth and hope no one notices.'
Harry frowned. Of whom?
Myrtle smiled. 'You're so awfully easy to read.'
An uncomfortable silence hung over the bathroom.
The crease on Harry's forehead grew more pronounced. Was she trying to blackmail him? For some reason the girl's motives were entirely indecipherable to him.
Her mere presence is unnerving…
Either way, he couldn't let word come out that he was practising the disillusionment charm. Even if people dismissed her claims at first, they would start getting suspicious once the actual break-in happened.
'Will you keep quiet if I tell you what I'm actually practising for?' he asked.
Myrtle nodded attentively. 'Of course. I won't tell a soul. No one ever comes to talk to me anyway.'
So much for that… Too late to backtrack now though.
'Alright.' He paused. 'I'm trying to break into the restricted section,' Harry said. 'I want to disillusion myself to sneak past the patrols.'
'Oh!' Myrtle exclaimed surprisedly. 'You really are alike. He used to do that as well. Though he never admitted it to anyone, of course. So you're a bit different, I suppose.'
Harry turned around, staring back at his reflection in the mirror. 'Who was he?' he asked.
Myrtle looked into the distance with a melancholic smile.
'His name was Tom,' she said. 'I like to think we were friends. Even if he probably never did. He was always so… cold. It's a shame I couldn't change him before I died.'
Tom…
'Is that the reason why you're still here?' Harry asked.
There was always a reason why ghosts didn't move on to the afterlife. A grudge they couldn't let go. A regret they carried. A job they'd failed to do.
Myrtle just shrugged. 'Maybe,' she answered noncommittally. 'Who can really say that? Perhaps. But it's not like it matters. Not really, at least.'
Silence hung over the depressing bathroom for a while - not of an awkward kind, but rather… a sad one. Eventually, Harry broke it.
'I think I'll be going now,' he said as he exhaled. 'I still have some essays to finish and it's quite late already.'
His stomach growled.
'Oh.' Myrtle turned around. 'That's alright, Harry.' She paused. 'Feel free to come by whenever you want to practise your disillusionment charm some more. I promise no one will ever find out what you're doing here.'
Thanks, I suppose…
'I'll see you around then… Myrtle.'
The girl smiled. 'See you around, Harry.'
'Reducto!'
The table in front of Harry crumbled to dust.
Wiping drops of sweat off his forehead, he summoned a chair from the other end of the room.
This last week had been spent entirely encapsulated in his own little world, full of nothing but classes, spell practise, homework, and more spell practise.
He'd paid the library his customary visits as well, mainly to do some more work on arithmancy, but the length of his research sessions had reduced drastically. Something that Harry found he didn't mind at all.
Because, while reading had always been - and still was - one of his favourite pastimes, he found that the practical side of magic not only suited him just as well, but also that it was far less dry.
He'd visited Myrtle's bathroom regularly to work on his disillusionment charm; and to see that his efforts were paying off was a lot more satisfying than wasting away in the library for hours had been.
Harry yawned. 'Tempus.'
I suppose I should call it quits for today…
Curfew was, after all, just a couple minutes away.
And I'd like to avoid any more detention…
Another yawn escaped him as he summoned his bag and swung its strap over his shoulder.
Cancelling the silencing charm he'd placed on the door, he extinguished the chandelier illuminating the room and slipped out into the cold, dark corridor.
His quick, short steps were the only sound that filled the hallway as he made his way down to the dungeons.
The castle had an eerie atmosphere to it whenever nighttime rolled around - with the moon bathing its halls in a silvery glow and the lack of life making him feel as if he were the only person around.
Harry liked it though. It was almost familiar by now.
Rolling up the sleeves of his robe, he stepped through the large portrait frame which marked the entrance to the Slytherin common room.
The sight which greeted him was the usual one - dozens of students sitting on the many couches and armchairs spread across the room, mostly absorbed in either conversation or classwork.
At the far end, by the large glass front which faced the Black Lake, he noticed someone waving his hand.
Blaise…
Putting on a polite expression of indifference, he strode over towards the formation of couches.
'Evening.'
Nott and Greengrass acknowledged him with a nod. Davis offered a warm smile.
'Harry,' Blaise grinned. 'For a moment we thought you wouldn't show up,' he joked.
Harry took a seat to Davis' left, ignoring the underlying feeling that it hadn't entirely been a jest.
I keep my promises. I just rarely ever make them.
'Sorry,' he said. 'I was practising some spells and lost track of time.' He paused, taking a look at the parchment rolls which littered the desk. 'You're working on Charms?'
'Yes,' Davis groaned. 'I don't know how someone as nice as Flitwick could give homework this cruel. We've been working on it for days.'
'It was more like an hour,' Nott commented with a grim smile. 'Although the topic is admittedly one of the more difficult ones.'
Mending charms. I finished that last night…
Harry glanced at Davis' paper. 'Need any help?'
'Please,' Davis begged, handing him her essay.
It didn't take him long to identify her problem. Oh… I see.
She had fallen for the same trick question he almost had at first.
'You don't understand why you need different spells to mend different things?' he asked.
'Yes,' she nodded. 'I just don't see why you wouldn't be able to use Reparo on… a broken bone or something. It doesn't make any sense to me - or any of us, really.'
Harry nodded. 'Good.'
She was right, after all. One didn't need different spells to mend different things. Having a variety to choose from just made it easier. His experience with wandless magic was proof enough of the fact that to do magic you only needed intent.
It was possible to mend something irregardless of whether you used a particular incantation, moved your wand a specific way or even carried a magical focus at all.
Doing that made it easier - sure - but in the end, you didn't need to do any of these things to perform magic. A spell didn't work because of its incantation or wand movement; it worked because you wanted it to.
'Sorry?' Davis frowned.
'Your intuition is right,' Harry said. 'It's a trick question. You don't need a specific charm to mend bones, nor one to heal skin. Having a separate incantation and wand movement is helpful, but not necessary for performing magic.'
His classmates stared at him for a moment.
Greengrass raised an eyebrow. 'So you could use Reparo to knit flesh?' she asked, unconvinced.
'If you were skilled enough,' Harry nodded.
'But why exactly would having many different spells to do what's basically the same thing be beneficial? It's just more to remember, isn't it?' Nott prodded.
'Incantations and wand movements aren't random,' Harry answered. 'They're based on arithmetical calculations. Using specific phrases and motions amplifies your intent, thereby reducing the power threshold required to cast a spell. It's why nonverbal magic is more difficult to perform than verbal one.'
Silence reigned for a while as the others processed his words.
Davis was the first one to speak. 'You're brilliant,' she said.
Greengrass, on the other hand, was still frowning. 'Why would Flitwick even ask a trick question? If the statement it's based on isn't correct.' She looked up at Harry.
He shrugged. 'Perhaps he wanted us to think for ourselves instead of copying from the book.'
Blaise, Davis, and Nott snorted.
Hm. That might've come off as an insult…
'Well, if that's the case, I'm sure he'll be disappointed,' the latter commented, smiling ever so slightly. 'Because I doubt anyone else figured that out. Thanks, Potter.'
'Yeah, thanks!' Davis agreed. 'I'll finish this thing later though. I've really had my fill of charms for today…' She paused. 'Anyone up for a couple games or something?'
'Falsiphase?' Blaise suggested.
'Sure.'
He turned towards Harry. 'You wanna join in?'
Do I? He allowed his gaze to wander around the circle, taking in everyone's body language. Blaise and Davis shot him a hopeful look. Nott offered a noncommittal shrug. Greengrass, as always, seemed not to care.
I promised Blaise I'd think about it sometime… That Transfiguration essay can wait for tomorrow, I suppose….
'Sure,' he answered to their surprise.
'Great,' Blaise grinned. 'Anyone mind explaining it to Harry then?' he asked.
Nott offered. 'Falsiphase is pretty uncomplicated,' he said. 'It's a round-based game, where players sit in a circle and take turns making statements,' he explained. 'Once a statement has been made, each player asks a question pertaining to it, trying to guess whether it was a lie or the truth. Then follows the grand reveal. Simple enough, right?'
Harry nodded. 'And you're allowed to lie while answering questions?' he assumed.
'Yes. It's traditionally played within pureblood circles,' Blaise answered with a smile. 'It's supposed to help develop deception skills. That's why it's so popular in Slytherin.'
Sounds entertaining enough…
Davis clapped her hands together. 'Wonderful!' she exclaimed. 'I'll start then.' She paused. 'When I was five, I swallowed an enchanted snow globe on Christmas Eve.'
Hm. Plausible, I suppose…
Nott leaned forward, eyeing her carefully. 'How was it removed?' he asked.
Davis offered a shrug. 'Mom said she summoned it out of my throat. I don't really remember anything other than not being able to breathe though. I mean… I was five.'
'Fair enough,' Nott admitted.
Greengrass frowned, though Harry wasn't quite able to discern why. Eventually, she spoke up.
'What did your mother say afterwards?' she asked, her voice stiff.
Davis grimaced. 'Gave me a massive scolding, she did. Said if I ever were to take something other than food in my mouth again she'd flay me alive.' Her expression brightened. 'After that we had ice cream with hot raspberry sauce. It was delicious.'
Blaise's lip twitched in amusement. 'And you never did something like that again?'
She shook her head, still smiling. 'Nope,' she said. 'Never swallowed anything other than food or drink again.'
As Nott snorted, Greengrass took it upon herself to fire a stinging hex at him. The boy rubbed his arm, trying to look as offended as possible. 'What was that for?' he demanded.
Greengrass seemed entirely unimpressed, not even bothering to give him an answer.
Blaise failed to hide his amusement as Davis frowned, entirely clueless. 'It's Harry's turn, I think,' he said.
Everyone's eyes turned towards the raven-haired teen.
Hm… he pondered. It's worth a shot…
'What was inside the globe?' Harry asked.
'A perfect replica of the Hogwarts Express,' Davis grinned.
No hesitation…
She had always seemed a bit more outgoing and open compared to most other Slytherins. And while it was only an assumption, he found it rather plausible to think that, subsequently, she wasn't the best of liars either.
'You're telling the truth,' he said.
'Truth,' Blaise and Nott agreed a mere second later.
Greengrass was still carefully observing her friend, apparently not entirely set on her opinion. Eventually though, she made her guess.
'Lie.'
Davis beamed at her in satisfaction. Greengrass' expression fell.
'Nope! That really happened.'
Greengrass raised an eyebrow. 'And you never told me?'
Davis shrugged. 'It never came up, I suppose.' Her grin widened. 'Or perhaps I just kept it from you in hopes of winning Falsiphase one day.'
Greengrass closed her eyes, visibly resisting the urge to hex her friend. 'Alright. My turn.'
She took a breath. 'I once brewed a perfect Draught of Peace,' she announced evenly, smoothing out her robe.
Harry thought he vaguely recalled the name from one of his healing books. The only person in the circle who seemed to actually recognize the potion, however, was Blaise. And judging by his roommate's expression, it must have been quite advanced.
The dark-skinned boy leaned forward. 'What was the hardest part?' he asked curiously.
'Dosing the powdered Unicorn horn correctly,' Greengrass answered easily. 'Adding too much makes the potion poisonous, while adding too little makes it lose its capabilities entirely,' she added.
Blaise nodded, seeming impressed.
So at the very least she knows what she's talking about…
Since neither Davis nor Nott seemed to have a follow-up question ready at hand, Harry decided to take his turn.
'What year is it usually taught in?' he asked.
'Fifth,' Greengrass answered, her nose upturned ever so slightly.
Not bad…
He remembered seeing the Greengrass name on some of the potions from the apothecary. It was certainly possible she'd been tutored in the subject long before coming to Hogwarts.
Especially since you don't need a wand to brew potions…
Davis was next. 'What colour did it have?' she asked.
Greengrass tilted her head, touching the edge of her jaw with her porcelain hands. 'A silvery grey. Quite matte in colour.'
Quite some time passed before someone spoke again. Nott seemed entirely sunken in thought, his fingers drumming against the table in their midst. Eventually, he seemed to settle on what to say.
'Who helped you brew it then?' he asked, allowing a hint of disinterest to bleed into his voice.
Greengrass' nose wrinkled immediately. 'No one, of course! I…' She seemed to have recognized her mistake. 'Brewed it on my own.'
'Truth,' Nott called with a less than subtle note of satisfaction.
'Truth,' Davis grinned.
'Truth,' Blaise nodded.
Well played.
'Truth,' Harry agreed.
Greengrass' displeasure was entirely obvious. Nott smirked as the usually stoic girl shot him a glare. The dark-haired boy relaxed back into the couch.
'My turn, I think,' he smiled. He followed up without missing a beat. 'My brother studies at Durmstrang.'
Pretty vague.
'What's his birthday?' Harry asked when no one else offered.
The mildest look of surprise appeared on Nott's face for a moment. It vanished as quickly as it had come.
'Fifth of May.'
Harry nodded in acknowledgement.
Let's wait for the others…
Davis took initiative next. 'Why are you going to Hogwarts then?' she asked curiously.
Nott's lips thinned ever so slightly. 'My mother died a few years ago,' he said. 'Her last wish was that he went to Durmstrang, her old school. And since Father wants me to follow in his footsteps, he sent me to Hogwarts.'
A fact which the boy didn't seem particularly pleased about, even if the shift in his voice was barely recognisable.
Harry glanced at Greengrass, who - unsurprisingly - didn't show any visible reaction.
His mom being dead is probably old news then…
'Does he have his OWLs yet?' Blaise asked.
Nott frowned. 'I… don't know actually. Their system is a bit different from ours. I'd assume he has the equivalent though, since this year is his last.'
Blaise nodded thoughtfully. 'Hm.'
Greengrass pursed her lip. 'What's his best subject?'
Nott yawned, seemingly satisfied with his performance. 'Spellcrafting.'
Silence hung in the air for a while. Harry observed his classmates, who all had an expression of uncertainty on their faces. On the inside, he shared their indecisiveness.
He didn't slip up once. Either he's telling the truth, lying about the Durmstrang part, or lying about the fact that his brother is still at school.
He waited for the others to shoot their shot first.
Blaise shrugged. 'Truth.'
Davis followed. 'Truth, I guess.'
'Truth,' Greengrass agreed unhappily.
Harry noticed a glint of satisfaction appear in Nott's eyes as the girl made her judgement.
'Lie.'
Nott smiled. 'Indeed,' he agreed. 'My brother finished school last year.'
'What?' Davis exclaimed. 'How is that-?'
'He spoke in present tense,' Greengrass cut her off in a bored tone. 'That's a new low, even for you, Nott.'
Nott gave her his most winning smile. 'Why, thank you, Greengrass.'
Blaise's lip twitched in amusement. 'I'll take my turn then, I think.' The Italian allowed his smooth hands to glide over the edge of his jaw. 'I have one,' he said, pausing.
'One of my family's closest friends is a Vampire,' he smiled. 'He helps out in business dealings from time to time.'
Davis' reaction was the exact opposite of the boy's calm demeanour. She leaned forward, her eyes growing wider than a goldfish's.
'What?' she blurted. 'Isn't that illegal? Vampires are beasts.'
The subtlety of a battle ram… Harry mused.
He glanced back towards Blaise. If his roommate felt insulted, he at least didn't show it. A calm smile remained on the Italian's face.
'That's two questions,' he commented.
Davis blinked. 'The first one.'
'Not in Italy,' Blaise answered easily.
It didn't take long for Nott to follow up on the exchange.
'How'd it come to pass?' the dark-haired boy inquired. 'It's not exactly common for Vampires to interact with humans at all.'
Blaise nodded. 'True,' he acknowledged. 'To be quite honest, I'm not so sure myself. He's been involved in our dealings for centuries, but never really told me the story of how it started. Now that you mention it though, I should probably ask him over the holidays.'
Nott leaned back, adopting a thoughtful look. Greengrass, on the opposite side of the couch, smiled.
So she knows something we don't…
Harry had neither read nor heard a great many things about vampires. He knew that it was illegal for them to live amongst humans, and that they were categorised as creatures, but that was as far as his knowledge went. Or as much as Quirrell had told them.
Judging by his obsession with garlic, he probably knows his stuff though. At least in that department…
He cleared his throat. 'What exactly does he do for your family then? You mentioned business.'
Blaise nodded. 'Yeah. Mother is the one who handles all the commissions, but from what I understand he's responsible for collecting payments from some of our more difficult customers, if you catch my drift.'
I do… But that still doesn't give me any indication whether you're lying or not.
His eyes flickered towards Greengrass. The girl seemed unreasonably self-assured.
'What's his name?' she asked.
Wasted question… She's that sure?
Blaise smiled. 'Alessandro.'
Greengrass nodded. 'Lie,' she said easily.
Davis shrugged. 'I'll agree with Daph.'
Nott nodded. 'Same here.'
Harry glanced at Blaise. Even now, the boy wore the same, calm, self-assured smile he had for the past few minutes.
He knew going with Greengrass' assumption was, statistically speaking, the smarter decision. But Blaise hadn't shown the mildest of hesitancies. There were no inconsistencies in his story, at least from Harry's point of view. So, even though he wagered Blaise made a great liar, he trusted his intuition.
'I think you're telling the truth,' he said.
Blaise leaned back into the couch. 'Well…' he began. 'Then you would be correct, Harry,' he grinned.
Greengrass shot up from the couch. 'It is illegal for Vampires to involve themselves in wizarding business, not just in Britain. Even if the Italian ministry is more tolerant than ours, it's still ICW law.'
Blaise seemed amused. 'I didn't have to answer any of your questions truthfully, did I?' he asked.
'So your family is involved in illegal business?' Nott asked with a frown. 'Why expose that information to us just to win a game?'
Blaise shrugged. 'Said plainly, you have no reason to snitch. Even if you did… I don't see how you'd be able to prove it to the Aurors. It's more trivia about my family than real blackmail.'
'Fine.' Greengrass looked slightly annoyed. She turned towards Harry. 'Your turn, Potter,' she announced curtly.
Nott shot him an amused look.
Harry returned it with a faint curl of his lips. The fact that the girl was in last place, behind Davis even, was quite funny, he had to admit. Especially because she seemed to be a sore loser.
'Alright,' he agreed, having already picked his statement a while back. 'I used to have bad grades in muggle school.'
His heritage was common knowledge in Slytherin. Nevertheless, Harry had never given any indication that in addition to not being a pureblood, he had also been raised by muggles. Not even to Blaise.
So when everyone looked at him, appearing slightly stunned, he wasn't all that surprised. Nott frowned, Davis stared at him in disbelief, and Greengrass furrowed her brow calculatingly. Blaise merely blinked at him, as if to make sure he'd heard correctly.
'You… You went to muggle school?' Davis repeated stupidly.
Harry nodded, allowing his eyes to briefly wander outside the large glass front which separated the common room from the waters of the Black Lake. A Mermaid swam by.
'Yes.' He nodded. That's one of four.
'Meaning that you're muggle-raised?' Nott asked, raising an eyebrow. 'You're aware that's quite reckless to just confess?'
If I'm even telling the truth…
Harry's gaze found the boy's frowning form. He drew a quiet breath. 'Perhaps,' he agreed. 'But it's not like I don't already have a target on my back.' He paused. 'That's two out of four questions by the way.'
Things became quiet for a moment. Blaise, sunken in thought for a moment, spoke up before Greengrass.
'How come you had bad grades though?' his roommate asked. 'I mean, so far you've been the perfect student in just about every subject. When you're not in class you're either studying, reading, or practising magic,' he said.
Harry pursed his lip.
Because dear Vernon and Petunia couldn't bare their good-for-nothing nephew outperforming perfect little Diddykins.
'When I was younger I used to struggle a lot because of my eyes,' he answered with a shrug. 'At least until I was finally taken to an eye doctor and got prescribed glasses.'
A lie. He had gotten his first pair as a present for his third birthday. The most expensive gift he'd ever gotten from the Dursleys. Paid by insurance. Harry smiled faintly, looking at Greengrass.
'One more question.'
The girl was eyeing him carefully, a cold, calculating glint in her sapphire blue eyes. It took quite some time before she decided to part her lips and take her turn.
'What was it like?' she asked simply. 'With the muggles.'
A mild, genuine frown briefly found its way onto Harry's forehead. He banished the feeling of surprise.
'It was…'
He paused, thinking of all the bad memories he'd collected over the past decade. Not knowing his own name. Being forced to be a slave for his relatives. Failing to make friends. Starving nights long in his cupboard. Sabotaging his grades. Ripper chasing him through the yard of 4 Privet Drive.
A bitter taste spread on his tongue, tasting like ash at the back of his mouth. 'Not particularly endearing,' he answered.
'Truth,' the blue-eyed girl pronounced.
Blaise frowned ever so slightly. 'Lie.'
Davis grimaced. 'I honestly have no idea…' she mumbled. 'Lie?'
Nott's fingers drummed on the table once more, the boy looking Harry in the eye. 'Truth,' he said.
'A point each to Greengrass and Nott then,' Harry acknowledged, his expression unreadable. 'Your turn, Davis.'
The girl nodded thoughtfully.
Author's Note:
It's been a while since I published a chapter of this, hasn't it? Sorry about that, but hopefully the wait has been worth it.
I decided to use this chapter to lay some groundwork to expand Harry's social circle beyond Blaise and Flitwick. I don't think I executed the game of Falsiphase perfectly, but hopefully Harry didn't appear too out of character.
You will most likely also have noticed that Myrtle isn't a carbon copy of her canon persona. I decided to include her on a whim, rather than because of some grand scheme, but I feel like her character has a lot of potential which rarely ever gets exploited in fanfiction. I'd like to try doing so.
Harry's rate of progression (in terms of magic) has, as you've started to see, slowed down a bit. But as I've already mentioned in the past, this is intended. A character who doesn't face any challenges or overcomes them without effort is boring.
No idea when I'll post the next chapter, but I've been feeling a spike in motivation recently concerning writing in general. I won't make any guarantees though. All I can say is to stay tuned for more.
Hope all of you have a great day.
Cheers.