The seventeenth chapter is here for your enjoyment, folks!
* Review Response:
The Shadows Mistress, 1066wthec, The Richmaster, DarkRavie, setokayba2n, jamnaz79, ObsessedWithHPFanFic, mwinter1, Anna, Guest #2, Charles Ceaser, StoneTheLoner, princenjgv, BeepKeeper, JPElles, thank you for your reviews, folks!
Shinku Ryuuga, The Sinful, I really dislike the usual "muggles killed my X, so I'll hate them" thing that people use as a reason why Salazar was against accepting muggleborn students. As for his speech suddenly getting more 'modern', well, blame me being a lazy ass for it.
Digitize27, here he is already using it without (active) aid from the horcrux. Getting that abomination removed from his head will not suddenly make him unable to speak parseltongue anymore.
mizzrazz72, too bad, Draco doesn't like it there...
Wyrtha, yes, he will try to deal with the horcrux in his head on his own. As for Dumbledore's plans... Who cares about them?
Cateagle, Vodie is going to have an interesting year as well. I have a few things planned for the snakeface.
VersoVorso, well, there are some canon events that will happen regardless of where Harry got sorted. But I will try to keep his reactions to those events well in-line with what they should be. So, no sticking wands into trolls' noses or charging at thousand years old basilisk with nothing but a sword here.
Dragon Master Naruto 003, I think, you'll like this chapter then. ;)
Guest #1, damn, that was funny!
* AN: Great thanks to my friends Skelekitty and Remilia - The Scarlet Moon for their help in polishing this chapter.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.
"speaking"
"parseltongue"
'thinking'
written text
spells
A Year Too Soon
Chapter XVII: Alliances and Connections
After a while, people got tired of talking about how Harry was a Slytherin parselmouth and, thus, had to be the next Dark Lord, and moved on to some new and more exciting rumors. This finally gave the green-eyed youth a breathing room and an opportunity to finally approach a few people he'd like to have as his acquaintances without half of their houses rising to preemptively defend them from his 'evilness'.
The first person on that list was Neville Longbottom, a chubby and slightly shy boy with a pet toad that kept running away from him. More importantly, though, Neville was the heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, the long-standing allies of the Noble House of Potter. Plus, while Harry had no concrete proof yet, the evidence pointed towards the two of them being godbrothers…
"Good morning, heir Longbottom." The green-eyed wizard greeted politely as he came to the Gryffindor table one morning. Neville greeted him back him with a silent nod: it was not polite to talk with one's mouth full. A simple rule of courtesy that some of his dormmates seemed to be unable to remember. Speaking of whom…
"Get lost, slimy snake!" A certain red-haired boy with terrible table manners jumped to his feet, bits of food flying out of his mouth as he yelled. "We don't want to hear a word from a traitor like you!" The 'slimy snake', however, ignored him completely.
"I would like to have a word with. It's about the Pact." Harry continued, his words definitely getting attention of the Longbottom heir. "If it's okay with you, let's meet in the Library at - say - five in the afternoon today." Neville nodded.
"Sounds like a plan." He replied.
"Mate, have you lost your mind?!" A certain Weasley exploded. "You can't be serious about accepting this bastard's offer! He's a slimy snake! He'll just curse you! Or… Or… He might Imperio you into his evil minion!" Harry leveled a glare at the annoying redhead.
"It is very impolite to butt into others' conversations, Mr. Weasley." He said, his anger barely kept out of his voice. "Especially when you do so to slander people."
"Shut up! Now one asked you, traitorous scum!" Ronald retorted.
"No, you shut up, Ron." The normally shy Longbottom heir hissed dangerously. "I'm getting tired of your irrational hate of all things Slytherin. You act no different from Malfoy." The red-haired boy sputtered uselessly for a few moments, before shrinking away under Neville's pointed glare. "And, heir Potter..." He said next as he turned his attention back to Harry. "I've never thanked you for putting Malfoy in his place, have I?" The green-eyed wizard waved his hand dismissively.
"Heir Malfoy was being an embarrassment to Slytherin with his childish bullying. He had it coming." He said in response. There was a small pause, after which he continued: "So… At five in the afternoon in the Library?" He asked Neville to confirm that they had no misunderstandings about the time and place of their meeting. The Gryffindor boy gave him a nod of confirmation.
Harry arrived to the Hogwarts' library good ten minutes before the agreed upon time, yet Neville was already there, waiting for him. The two wizards exchanged polite greetings, before retiring to a quiet corner of the library's reading room. Once they were seated, Harry proceeded to cast the strongest privacy charms he knew around their table.
"You wished to talk about the pact between the Houses of Potter and Longbottom?" The shy Gryffindor asked once the other boy finally put his wand down.
"Yes." The green-eyed wizard said with a nod. "I must confess that, having grown up in the muggle world, I was not aware of the pact between our houses until recently. Thus, I ask for forgiveness for any offenses caused by my lack of awareness and express my hopes that the pact of mutual assistance between the Houses of Potter and Longbottom will continue." As Neville gave him a nod, he continued: "I've also sent a formal letter of apology to Lady Dowager, the acting regent of the House Longbottom earlier this afternoon."
"I… I cannot promise you anything, heir Potter, but I'm sure that grandmo-... that regent Longbottom with accept your apologies and that the pact will not be terminated." Neville said.
"Thank you, and, please, call me 'Harry'." The young Slytherin said.
"Then, I insist you call me 'Neville'." The other boy replied.
"Very well, Neville." Harry said. He was about to wrap their little meeting up, when a thought occurred to him: "And… If I may be so forward, can I ask for a favor from you?" As the shy Gryffindor gave him a nod, he continued: "Is it known already, who will be hosting the Yule party this year?"
"Yes, the Noble House of MacMillan will be hosting it this year." Neville replied after thinking about it for a few moments. Harry let out a thoughtful sigh. As far as he knew, Potters never really interacted much with MacMillans, so there weren't any good reasons for him to interact with the heir MacMillan. And, until he actually got his invitation to the Yule party this year, approaching the young Hufflepuff with any request pertaining to the sair party would be a very bad move. Still, the Noble House of MacMillan wasn't one of the so-called 'Dark' families, so, Harry thought, it should be quite possible for him to negotiate an enforcement of his invitation with them - again, assuming they were going to invite him to the party in the first place.
"Thank you." He said. After a brief moment of silence, he said: "Now, is there something I can do for you in return, Neville? Perhaps I can help you with your schoolwork if there is something you have a trouble with?" He offered, recalling one of Malfoy's rants about the 'squib' of Gryffindor. He, of course, didn't believe that the heir Longbottom was one, but it was hard to deny that the boy was indeed having a rather hard time with the subjects that required wandwork.
"I'm f-fine, thank you." Neville replied, sounding suspiciously like he was trying to hide the fact that he actually could use some help with his studies.
"Well, if you are sure..." The Slytherin wizard said with a shrug. "My offer remains open if you ever change your mind." There was a bit of a pause as neither boy knew what to say next. Finally, Harry broke the silence. "Alright, if there is nothing else you wish to talk about, Neville, then let us call it a day." The Longbottom heir nodded. "See you later then. And my offer stands, so don't hesitate to ask if you need some." Harry said then as he waved his wand, canceling the privacy charms around their table.
A response from Lady Longbottom arrived the very next morning. And, thankfully, the witch has accepted his apologies and wasn't going to dissolve The Pact. Not at this time, at least: the letter he got made it quite clear that the regent of the House Longbottom strongly disapproved of his close association with the Carrow twins and his friendships with a few other people from the 'Dark' families. And, given what happened at the very end of the Blood War, Harry could understand the witch's worries.
Still, the alliance between the Houses of Potter and Longbottom stayed, and Harry counted this as a not-so-small victory. After all, the Longbottoms were a powerful and well-respected house, and being allied with them had, no doubt, been shielding him from the nastier side of the Wizarding politics so far. Losing that protection could quickly turn into a catastrophe.
A frown marred the green-eyed wizard's face then. He was starting to politic like a stereotypically shrewd and compassionless Slytherin, who values people based only on their usefulness to him. And he didn't like it. He didn't want to be a man like that!
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The next person Harry wanted to establish a social connection with was Susan Bones, the heiress to the Noble House of Bones as well as the niece of the current director of the DMLE. Being on good terms with her could be a great boon for him in the future. Plus, he owed Susan's aunt, Madam Amelia Bones, quite a bit for bringing the bastards that sent him cursed mail to justice. He, of course, had already sent her a letter of gratitude, but he felt like he should pass thanks by word of mouth through Susan as well.
Due to the circumstances beyond his control, Harry didn't get a chance to approach Ms. Bones during the breakfast that day, nor did he get to talk to her at lunch. Thus, the young Slytherin resolved to seek her out once the classes were over for the day. And so, once the bell from the final lesson rang, he quickly dropped his schoolbag in the Slytherin dormitories and started searching... It took him a little while, but, eventually, he found Susan and her best friend, Hannah Abbot, sitting next to each other under a spreading tree on the edge of the field where the stone circle stood, enjoying fair if a bit chilly autumn weather.
"Good afternoon, ladies." Harry greeted as he approached the two Hufflepuff witches.
"Potter." Susan acknowledged him with a small nod as she and Hannah sat up a little straighter. "Is there something we can help you with?" The redhead asked then, looking at him with well-concealed caution.
"Actually, yes, heiress Bones." The young wizard replied. "Your aunt and the DMLE she commands have done a great job bringing those who attacked me and the House of Potter to swift justice. I'm in her - and your - debt now." He said, giving the girl a small bow.
"Protecting citizens of Magical Britain and punishing the wicked is the job of the DMLE. You should not feel indebted." Susan replied.
"Nevertheless, please accept my gratitude." Harry pressed gently. There was a bit of a pause, before the red-haired girl finally nodded. This was followed by another short pause. "Also." The young Potter continued. "Perhaps there is something within my power that I can do to repay you for that? If so, don't hesitate to ask." Ms. Bones was silent for a few moments.
"Actually, there is something you can help us with, heir Potter." She said finally. "Malfoy is back to his usual activities of harassing the people he sees as beneath himself."
"Well, at least he has learned about subtlety..." Harry said thoughtfully, somewhat impressed that Malfoy managed to keep his continued bullying a secret from him. "It might be wishful thinking, but, perhaps, he might just be smart enough to learn to act like a decent human being as well. I'll have words with him." Susan nodded.
"Thank you." She said. Suddenly, Harry felt someone approaching him from behind. Turning around, he found himself face to face with the twins, who were trying to sneak up on him.
"Flora? Hestia?" The green-eyed wizard asked, surprised to them there.
"C'mon, Harry, don't give us that look." Flora said as she and her sister stepped closer to him. "Of course we were looking for you: you disappeared somewhere without telling us as soon as the classes were over." The Potter heir let out a small sigh.
"Didn't I tell you this morning that I would like to speak to the heiress Bones?" He asked.
"You did." Hestia agreed with a shrug. "But… Well… We thought that, since you couldn't at breakfast and lunch, you'd try again during dinner or something like that, not immediately after classes." Flora took the word then:
"And what do we see when we finally find you? You're chatting Hufflepuff girls up." She said in a fake-serious voice. "Are Hestia and I not good enough for you anymore?" It took Harry a moment or two to realize that the twins were just teasing him.
"Well… The Hufflepuff ladies are certainly very friendly..." He said fake-thoughtfully. A moment later, he moved to pull the twins into a hug. "But I'm not trading you for anyone."
"Do you now?" Flora whispered into his ear with a playful grin. "I suppose you deserve something nice then." Without breaking their hug, the twins pushed him onto the ground where they proceeded to lie about in the fallen leaves, paying no attention to Susan's and Hannah's giggles.
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The rest of October flew by swiftly, and before Harry knew it, it was Halloween already. Once again, spooky wreaths, live bats and hundreds of jack-o'-lanterns were decorating the halls and corridors of Hogwarts. And while the people around him were imbued with the spirit of the holiday, the green-eyed wizard still didn't feel like celebrating anything on the day his parents were murdered by the Dark Lord. Still, remembering what Gemma Farley told him the previous year, he reluctantly joined his housemates and the rest of the student body in the Great Hall.
The feast was just as grandiose and magnificent as any other Harry had attended. Though, as he enjoyed the delicious meal, the green-eyed wizard couldn't shake off the gut feeling that something was off. Then, as he cast a glance that the Professors' table, he saw that Professor Quirrell was mysteriously absent. Everyone else on the Hogwarts' staff, even Madam Pomfrey, who was rarely seen outside of her domain, was there, enjoying the feast. This was… very strange.
Not a minute passed since then, and the missing DADA Professor burst into the Great Hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone turned to look at the terrified man, who reached the Professors' table and slumped against it.
"Troll!.." Professor Quirrell gasped between uneven breaths. "There is a t-troll in the dungeons!.. Thought you ought to k-know..." And with that he then sank to the floor in a dead faint. Not a second later the Great Hall descended into chaos, and it took Dumbledore several charms that produced loud bangs to get the students' attention.
"Prefects!" The headmaster rumbled. "Lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" Many a student, however, was surprised and dismayed by his command.
"Sir!" A seventh year Slytherin prefect called loudly. "We refuse to carry out this order. Our dormitories are in the dungeons, and we are not going down there until the troll has been dealt with." He was vocally supported by a large number of his fellow 'Snakes'. Harry, Flora and Hestia were, of course, among them. Professor Snape was giving them silent - for the moment - backing as well.
"We refuse as well, Sir!" Hufflepuffs, whose dormitories too were somewhere in the dungeons, joined in. And now that two of the Hogwarts' four houses were openly opposing him, the headmaster had no choice but to rethink his order. And, well, he had to admit that in his haste to send everyone to the safety of the common rooms he had honestly forgotten that reaching half of those would put the students at the risk of facing the very danger he was trying to protect them from...
"Hufflepuff and Slytherin, belay that order." He said after a few moments. "You will remain here, in the Great Hall, until the troll has been dealt with. Professors Sprout and Sinistra will stay with you." Without wasting any time, Dumbledore started giving orders to the rest of the Professors. Harry was really curious, how they were going to go about locating the troll and removing it from the castle, but, alas, the headmaster has canceled his voice-amplification charm, and he couldn't hear what the man was saying. At least until… "Has anyone seen Quirinus… I mean, Professor Quirrell?" The headmaster asked loudly.
Indeed, the DADA professor wasn't in the Great Hall anymore. And, unfortunately for the old warlock, no one had noticed when and where to the man had disappeared. Thus, reluctantly, Dumbledore had to start looking for the troll without the Hogwarts' resident troll expert at hand…
Once the heavy oak doors of the Great Hall closed behind the search party, Professor Sprout told everyone that the headmaster and the Professors that went with him will deal with the troll and told the students to enjoy the rest of the Halloween Feast. Alas, the news about the troll have irrevocably ruined the festive mood so nobody felt like celebrating anything and the feast had become nothing more than a dinner with fancier than usual food.
Maybe half an hour passed since Professors went searching for the troll in the dungeons, when the doors of the Great Hall swung open, revealing the Deputy Headmistress, who looked quite shaken. The witch stepped inside, and made an announcement:
"The troll has been dealt with." She said, much to the relief of the students in the Great Hall. Meanwhile, the Transfiguration professor continued: "Please, return to your dormitories, now."
"Do you think, something has happened? Professor McGonagall looks quite distressed." Harry whispered to Flora and Hestia, who were sitting across the table from him. The girls nodded: they too could see that the Deputy Headmistress wasn't her usual professional stern self. What exactly had caused this, however, was a mystery at the moment.
Not wishing to test how lenient Professor McGonagall might be in her current mood, the prefects quickly organized their houses and had them depart from the Great Hall. A quick and, thankfully, eventless walk through the dungeons later, the Slytherins reached their common room. Professor Snape was waiting for them there.
"Everyone, stay put." The Hogwarts' Potions Master instructed as he did the headcount of his students. Once done, he continued: "I'm glad to see that none of you were hurt by the troll that somehow found its way into the castle." The way he stressed the word 'somehow' made Harry and many others believe that their head of the house didn't think that what had happened tonight was an accident. "Alas, there was a student who got hurt. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were able to stop the troll before it was too late, but the student in question will still have to spend at least a weak under Madam Pomfrey's care."
"And… Who was that student?" Someone asked.
"Ms. Hermione Granger." The Potions Master replied.
"So, what's with all this fuss then?" Malfoy spoke up. "It's just a stupid mudblood, no one important. If anything, the troll killing her would have been..." He couldn't a word more as he was practically paralyzed by the death glares at least a third of Slytherins was giving him. Even some of the people from his usual clique thought that he had gone too far this time.
"Mr. Malfoy." Professor Snape said in a low, dangerous voice. "It seems like you are forgetting your place. Perhaps, a week of scrubbing the floors will make you finally remember that you're not above the rules of the Slytherin common room." Giving the boy a nasty grin, the Potions Master continued: "As for you wish of death upon your fellow student, it will see you in detentions until the end of the semester. I'll also inform the headmaster about your …indiscretion."
"You can't do this!" Draco protested.
"On the contrary, Mr. Malfoy." His head of the house said, as he pinned the blonde brat with his patented glare. "It is well within my power to do this. And, seeing how you've been nothing but trouble since you got there, be thankful that I'm not punishing you more severely."
"Just wait till my father hears of this!" Draco pushed back. Professor Snape, however, was unimpressed.
"I'm sure, your father will agree with me that your lack of prudence is troubling. If nothing is done about it, your big mouth will see House of Malfoy gaining more enemies than it can weather against." Thankfully, even someone as stubborn as Draco could see that continuing to argue against his head of the house would be just foolish. "Now, is there any other idiocy that you wish to waste my time with?" The Hogwarts' Potions Master asked then.
"No, Sir." The Slytherins chorused.
"Then, this will be all for tonight." Professor Snape said. "Dismissed." And with that he left for his office. A few moments passed, and the students began dispersing to their dorm rooms as well, eager to get some rest after the long and eventful day. Harry, however, had some things he wanted to do before he called it a day. The troll finding its way into the castle's dungeons was very suspicious and he wanted to know what the portrait of Salazar Slytherin thought about it:
"Good evening, Master Salazar." He greeted the man. "I believe, you have already heard about the troll that has wandered into the dungeons tonight?" The portrait confirmed it with a nod.
"Indeed. And it saddens me greatly that something like this was allowed to happen in Hogwarts' sacred halls. That no lives were lost tonight is but a small consolation." There was a short pause, before Salazar added: "And, Potion Master Snape is right in his suspicions: the troll getting into the castle was no accident." Now, this was interesting, Harry thought.
"Why is that?" He asked.
"The Hogwarts' wards are made to divert beasts, even those that are semi-intelligent like mountain trolls, preventing them from randomly wandering onto the castle's grounds. And while it is true that a determined creature will be able to overcome the effects of these wards, a troll should have had no reason of its own to have such determination. It must have been purposely led there by someone of ill intentions. For what reason, I do not know." The portrait explained.
"I see…" The young Potter said. After a moment of silence, he added: "I believe, I should inform the faculty about this." Salazar nodded.
"Do so." He said. "The sooner this is dealt with, the better. Those who wish harm upon the students should not be allowed to walk the corridors of Hogwarts."
"I'll inform Professor Snape about this then. By your leave, Lord Slytherin." Harry gave Salazar's portrait a small bow and quickly walked out of the common room, not waiting for a reply.
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"Granger." Pansy greeted as she approached the bushy-haired witch, who was the sole patient in the Hospital wing at the moment.
"Parkinson." Hermione acknowledged her visitor, eyeing her warily. And given their past interactions, it was hard to blame her: saying that the two young witches didn't get along was like saying that the cursed flames of Fiendfire were a little hot.
"I know, we don't like each other, like at all, and I don't seen it changing anytime soon..." Pansy said then. "But what has happened to you is unforgivable." This made Hermione raise an eyebrow: these weren't the words she expected to hear from the Slytherin girl. "So much so that, should you decide to press charges against either the headmaster for his criminal negligence in providing Hogwarts' students with safe environment, or against the bastard that let the troll in for willfully endangering the students and harming you through intermediary, the Noble House of Parkinson will stand behind you. This one time."
The troll incident yesternight came as a great shock to Pansy's father, the current Lord Parkinson. Especially since it was clear that whoever let the troll wander around the castle didn't care whom the beast hurt. And, if that bastard did it once, he - or she - could do it again. Who was to say that it won't be Pansy who got hurt the next time? There was no way he would simply stand by and do nothing while his only child's health and life are in danger. There was nothing more important to Lord Parkinson than the safety of his little princess, and he was willing to go great lengths to ensure it… And if helping a mudblood would guarantee that Pansy won't be the next victim of that bastard, then so be it.
"T-Thank you." Was all that Hermione could say right now.
"Just don't think that this makes us friends somehow." Pansy said back. "Now, it you excuse me, the classes will start soon. And I will be damned if I'm late because of you." And with those words she turned around on her heels and promptly walked out of the Hospital wing, leaving a very dumbfounded Hermione behind.
That's all, folks!
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