Review:

KidChaos69 : Forgot about that.

Selenity84 : The way I see it, most of Hogwarts has no idea what Harry goes through and mostly they just hear stuff through rumours or whatever.

Lord Chronus: I actually am not trying to bash Ron and Hermione in this story (well...a bit, but not much) as I'm more focusing on how a venomised Harry would react to them.

Shadow Spirit: Nobody is forcing you to read, mate

EvelynnSylph: Thanks.

Chapter 52 -

Harry wasn't quite sure why he wasn't expecting a massive party when he got into the common room, but there was a massive party as soon as he got into the common room. The room erupted with cheers as soon as he got in, he saw a massive Gryffindor flag hanging down from the ceiling with his name written across the logo. Many Gryffindors wore Gryffindor-coloured face paints while waving mini-flags. There was plenty of food and drinks scattered all around the room along with balloons.

"Harry! Harry! Harry!" They chanted.

'This,' Venom said as the Weasley twins picked him up and placed him over their shoulders, bouncing him up and down as the Gryffindors continued to cheer. 'This is the proper respect we deserve.' Venom decided. Harry could almost feel him preening, his alien companion was certainly vain at times.

"Open the egg!" The twins cheered at the same time.

"Open it! Open it!" The Gryffindors joined them.

'Do it,' Venom suggested. 'What could go wrong?'

'Must you tempt fate?' Harry mentally groaned before opening the egg, a loud screech pierced through the air and Harry's entire body lit up in pain and was dropped to the floor as the twins let go of him to cover their own ears. He landed harshly on the ground

'It went wrong! It went wrong! Shut it!' Venom yelled unnecessarily as Harry had already started closing it.

'Don't ever tempt fate again!' Harry mentally growled as he stood up, looking around to see the other Gryffindors all rubbing their ears and generally checking their ability to hear.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" A voice cut in. Harry grunted as he got off the floor and saw Ron and Hermione had walked in, the three former friends stared at each other awkwardly.

"Alright, you nosey lot, move it on!" Fred called out suddenly.

"Yeah, it's awkward enough without you all blatantly watching," George added.

"Aye, move on pervs,"

"Move on, move on!" The twins started chanting.

"No need," Harry said quickly. "We have nothing to talk about." He said before taking some juice from a nearby table. "This is a party, isn't it?" He asked out loud. "Come on everyone, let's enjoy ourselves." He said, gulping down his drink.

"Dragon-Slayer Potter has spoken!" The twins yelled. "Party!" The party slowly started building speed, and after a bit of hesitation, it wasn't long before it was back in full swing. After enjoying a bit of food and drinks, Harry decided he'd try and make a discreet escape. The Gryffindor chases had managed to kiss his cheeks before he was able to get out, he narrowly avoided the twins doing the same thing. Eventually, he was able to get into his room, he had barely stuffed the golden egg inside his trunk and locked it when the door opened and in walked Ron and Hermione.

Once again, the three paused awkwardly and stared at each other.

"It's bull that girls can come up to our rooms whenever they want," Harry blurted out.

"Tell me about it," Ron snorted. "Seamus tried to get up the girl's dorm a week ago for a bet and ended up in detention with McGonagall,"

"It is mildly unfair," Hermione conceded with a small wince, having not thought about that.

"What do you two want?" Harry sighed, standing up and picking some clothes before heading into the bathroom, closing the door before he started changing out of his tournament clothes. "Go on, I'm listening," He said from behind the door.

"Look, Harry...I..." Ron paused and glanced between him and Hermione, wondering if they should have thought of a script before coming to see him.

"Um...we were curious about what you did during the task," Hermione decided, thinking much the same as Ron. "It looked really impressive but we couldn't see anything once you covered the arena with smoke. What...what did you do?"

"Magic," Harry said as he opened the door and walked out in regular clothes, tossing his tournament clothes onto his bed.

"Harry, you...you kicked that dragon's butt," Ron said quietly. "We...didn't really know you had it in you, I mean...dragons are tough, you know?"

"Trust me, I know," Harry replied. "Besides, I fought off dementors with a patronus charm, that wasn't exactly easy either, you know."

"It's not," Hermione agreed, a frown on her face. "I've been trying hardly to do that spell, but I can't get it down right. I've been able to make a small shield of far, Professor Flitwick said that that was very good for my age."

"Hmm," Harry stared at the two at the two of them. "Is that it? Is that all you two needed to discuss with me?"

"No, I...Harry, I was thinking," Ron gulped and stared at him nervously. "About the tournament I mean, I...I think someone might be trying to do you in."

"Caught on have you?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. "Took you long enough? What was your first hint? Maybe the fact that someone tried to kill me in my first year? Or was it the fact that somebody tried to kill me in my second year?"

"Well...I just -"

"Perhaps you might have found it odd that Death Eaters were back in the World Cup, hmm? Tell me, Ron, just what was it specifically that let you pick up on the fact that my life is always in a fair amount of danger?" Harry asked emotionlessly, staring hard at the redhead.

"Harry, I'm...I'm trying to apologise to you," Ron replied.

"Are you? I didn't hear the words 'I'm sorry' come out of your mouth?" Harry pointed out. "What about you, Hermione? Hmm, what are you here for?"

"Harry, we're both here to say that we're sorry, we really are," Hermione said quietly. "Harry, please forgive us,"

'They cannot be trusted!' Venom hissed. 'Do not trust them!'

"Forgive?" Harry repeated. "Forgive you both? You want me to forgive you both? Hmm...okay, you're forgiven."

"Really?" Ron asked hopefully. "So...we're cool? We're...friends again?"

"We're cool, but no...we're not friends."

"What?" Hermione asked. "Harry, what are you-"

"I forgive because of our history, I remember all you did for me and I'm thankful for it, but I do not forget what you've done. We are not friends anymore," Harry said firmly.

"But why?!" Hermione asked, seemingly on the verge of tears.

"I don't trust the two of you anymore," Harry said. "When I needed you both...you abandoned me. You doubted me, you didn't trust me. My parents, people better than this world deserves, died because they trusted the wrong person. I will not make the same mistake."

"You can't honestly be comparing us to Pettigrew!" Ron gasped, looking quite horrified. "We made mistakes but..."

"I stopped Voldemort from coming back in my first year and then I saved your sister in my second, I fought a basilisk to bring her back alive, the same basilisk that petrified you, Hermione. After all of that, you still didn't trust me, you abandoned me in a tournament where I had to end up fighting a bloody dragon of all things. One wrong move and I'd be ashes right now. What were you going to do then? Huh? Were you going to say sorry to my corpse? Huh? Why did you abandon me, Ron? Huh? Haven't I been a good friend to you? I shared my things with you, played games with you, and backed you when Malfoy ran his mouth and took the piss. How much more did I have to gain your loyalty?!" Harry shouted at Ron who stared down, looking quite guilty.

"Harry, I..." Hermione paused, unsure what to say.

"And you, Hermione, why did you abandon me? If it wasn't for me then you would have been squashed paste in your first year! I was the one who brought Ron to save you from the troll! I fought a fucking basilisk for you! And you abandoned me why?!"

"Because you're not the same," She choked, tears dripping down her face. "You're not the same Harry who did all of those things! You're more angry, more aggressive. I saw you in the shack, you were ready to kill Pettigrew! You never would have even considered doing that before."

"I killed Professor Quirrell, remember? What makes you think that I wouldn't have? Huh?" Harry replied. "He got my parents killed and had my innocent godfather locked up in Azkaban with the dementors for twelve years! He deserved far worse than he got! He's one of the main sources of all of my suffering!"

"You changed, Harry," She coughed. "You fight with Snape and Dumbledore and you're-"

"And that's not allowed?!" He demanded. "Am I not allowed to grow? Huh? Am I not allowed to get better? Do I have to stay as 'sickly little starved Harry'? I can't get stronger? I'm supposed to stay quiet and silent while Snape runs his mouth about my parents, my family?! I'm supposed to nod my head and bow because Dumbledore's a god?!"

'He's not a god!' Venom growled.

"He's not a god,"

'We don't answer to anyone, we don't bow to anyone,'

"I don't bow to anyone, Hermione, especially Snape," Harry growled. "Yeah, I changed, I'm sorry I did so without asking your permission, oh wise one," Harry scoffed.

"Harry, that's not what I'm trying to say!"

"That's what it feels like!" Harry glared at her. "I'm done with both of you."

"Harry, please, you need us, we need you!" Ron blurted out.

"Not anymore, you're right, Hermione, I have changed, for better or worse." Harry took in a deep breath and stared at both of them. "And that change...it's permanent, like it or not." He said before heading over to his bed and jumping on it. "If it's all the same to you, I'm done for the night." He flicked his wand and the curtains closed, blocking him from them. He waited, and a few moments later he heard some awkward shuffling, they had both gone.

'They seemed genuinely sorry,' Harry thought.

'We can't trust them!' Venom growled. 'To betray us once means that they could betray us again, the only people we can trust are us, give or take a couple of Tonksi!'

'Is that supposed to be the plural for 'Tonks'?'

'...Yes.'

'Moving on...they were my first friends, I'm going to miss them,' Harry admitted.

'Well...perhaps one day you could be friends again...if we ever manage to guarantee their loyalty, that is. But me...I'm your friend, and I'll stay your friend for as long as we both live. We're not alone anymore, Harry. We never have to be alone again.'

"Mr Clotton, that tie goes around your collar, not your arm." Professor McGonagall huffed before looking around at the assembled Gryffindors.

Her eyes stayed a second or two longer on one student in particular, that being none other than Harry Potter. She was honestly quite impressed with him. As a student he had always been just on the upper side of average with the occasional above-average moments, however, she had also noted some changes in him. Since his third year of school, he has improved at an excellent rate and is now at the top in most of his classes, including her own. Last year he had even been able to produce a patronus charm of all things, actively being able to fight off dementors. She had no doubt that the boy's parents would be proud of him, she certainly was.

And then there was the Triwizard tournament mess, many people believed that he had entered his name into the tournament and she was most definitely not one of them. Despite what a lot of people thought, she knew that the boy wasn't an attention seeker. She saw how quiet he was when he came here and noticed his attempts to avoid the spotlight. His performance in the first task was outstanding, but she knew that it had brought a lot of attention to him. After all, not many were able to claim to have been able to singlehandedly defeat a dragon - a Hungarian Horntail of all things - at the young age of fourteen. She knew that it had certainly caught Albus's interest, her mentor and friend was always very interested in the boy, even though he acted like he wasn't.

"Now that I have your attention," She said, taking a moment to make sure that all of her house was paying attention. "I have an announcement to make for all of you. As you all know, Hogwarts is hosting the Triwizard tournament this year,"

"And our champion's winning!" Lee Jordan cheered, gesturing to Harry.

"Go, go, Gryffindor!" The twins clapped while Harry gave them all a mock glare, a hint of a blush on his face.

"Yes, yes," She cut them off. "Now, as I was saying, part of the tournament includes the Yule Ball. The ball is, first and foremost, a dance. An opportunity for us all to...let our hair down...so to speak." She said, unable to hide a note of disapproval. She truly did love Gryffindor house, but that also didn't change the fact that they were also rowdy, young, hormonal teenagers who were going to be given the opportunity to make themselves more attractive and she just knew that she would have to be doing her best to prevent the hospital wing from running out of contraceptive potions. She waited a moment, allowing the girls to giggle while the boys all looked horrorstruck or frankly far too happy. "Enough," She said sternly. "The house of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the wizarding world for nearly ten centuries and I will not have you all in the course of a single evening ruin that by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons. You will all be representing not just yourselves, but also Gryffindor House and Hogwarts, if I find that any of you have done anything to besmirch this noble house's reputation then you can expect to experience my displeasure for so long as you all live."

"Um...Professor..." Dean Thomas raised his hand. "...Don't you mean for as long as we stay in school?"

"If I perish before you then my ghost will haunt you," She told him, dead serious. "Now, the ball has been a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament since its inception. We will all gather on the evening of Christmas Eve at the great hall for an evening of dancing and fun, the type of fun that doesn't lead to you all spending your academic careers in detention. Now, tomorrow, I will be hosting dancing lessons, times will be posted in the Gryffindor common room, any who need these lessons are welcome to attend, I do strongly advise that you all attend, if not for no other reason than to save yourselves from potential embarrassment. The ball is for fourth years and upwards, though younger years may attend if they are invited by an older student. Now, that is all today, you may all leave. Mr Potter, stay behind please."

She watched as his eyes narrowed, he stayed focused on her as the other students started leaving. That was another thing that she had noticed about him, it wasn't just his level of educational effort that had changed. He was different as well, he was still polite and respectful to her. But she noticed that he also seemed sharper, his eyes seemed more focused, and he looked like he was constantly thinking about something. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was something...off about him.

"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked walking up to her.

"Mr Potter, I feel I should tell you that part of the Yule Ball involves the champions opening the ball with a dance. I wanted to inform you of this, you will be required to open the dance along with your fellow champions." She told him, watching as he paused, a moment seemed to pass as he appeared to be thinking up a response.

"Thank you for letting me know, Professor, but with the greatest of respect, I have no intention of going to the ball." He said politely enough that she wasn't going to consider him disrespectful.

"I beg your pardon, Mr Potter? You will not be attending?"

"That's right, I have no intention or interest in going to any balls," He said, wrinkling his nose slightly.

"Mr Potter, this is tradition, you are representing not just yourself, but also Gryffindor house and Hogwarts itself as you are a Triwizard champion," She said sternly. "You must attend,"

"Respectfully, Professor, I didn't choose to represent Hogwarts, I never asked to be a Triwizard champion."

"I understand that, but regardless of how or why, you are a champion, you are representing Hogwarts," She argued, his face twitching for a moment, suddenly his gaze shifted ever so slightly past her so that he was looking just behind her.

"Quite honestly, I think I've done enough for Hogwarts," He said through gritted teeth. "After all, if it wasn't for me then Hogwarts would be closed right now, isn't that so?"

"Mr Potter, I..."

"And I've never once been thanked for all my services to Hogwarts, not properly at least," He said, sounding thoughtful. "I nearly die and then I get house points and a cup that I never even get to touch or hold and if I'm really lucky then I get an award that nobody will ever see unless they're unlucky enough to be scrubbing the trophy room in detention. I dare say that I've done enough for this school, even the wizarding world itself, and I'm tired of it. I'm tired of people demanding things from me. Not attending the ball will not break my contract with the goblet, I'm sure of it. Besides, Diggory is the champion, I'm just the add-along. If that's all, Professors." He said, turning around before walking away.

"Mr Potter, please reconsider," She called. "There are many that I'm sure would love to attend the ball with you," She said, watching as he stopped for a moment to listen to her.

"I'll think about it," He grunted before walking off. She let out a sigh before heading over to the nearest chair and sitting down.

"Well, Albus?" She asked, a moment later the invisibility spell died down and Albus Dumbledore stood next to her.

"He noticed I was here, I wonder how? The boy is definitely different," He hummed thoughtfully.

"I thought very much the same," She admitted. "However, that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, right?"

"Perhaps not," He agreed. "But I dare say that we would be better served keeping an eye on him from now on."

"Albus," She said weakly. "You want to monitor him? He's not a criminal, he's a boy."

"A boy with the ability to defeat a dragon at the age of fourteen, I dare say that that's a feat that even I would not have been able to accomplish at his age, certainly not with a Horntail of all things. Though, I do reckon I could have probably subdued a Welsh Green with a bit of time," He added in a light tone.

"Albus, after all that the boy has done for us, we are to watch him like he's some sort of criminal?" She persisted. "He's a teenager, growing and finding his place in the world. He's also a boy who has gone through far more than what should have been tolerated. Of course, he is going to be angrier and rougher than most."

"Perhaps you are right, Minerva, perhaps you are right," Dumbledore said with a small sigh. "Alas, I cannot risk it. It was my own inaction that allowed my old friend to become one of the most feared dark lords of all time, if that was not bad enough then I also failed to prevent the rise of Voldemort himself." He paused, allowing her a brief flinch. "To this day, you still fear the name?"

"We're not all like you, Albus," She glared deeply at him. "You were the only one capable of going a round or two with him and surviving, forgive us mere common folk for not being overly powerful like yourself."

"My dear friend," Dumbledore chuckled. "The last word I would use to describe you is 'common',"

"We are straying off topic," She huffed. "Harry Potter is the son of Lily and James, two of the best people I have ever known, and now you want him to be watched? Why?"

"I fear, Minverva, I fear the possibilities that are available to young Harry," Dumbledore admitted. "A small part of me always hoped that he could perhaps grow the type of wizard to replace me, become the new leader and symbol that the people of the wizarding world need."

"The people of the wizarding world should learn better than to rely on a single person to help them get things done," She snorted.

"But now..." Dumbledore continued as if she had not spoken. "...I start to fear the other possibilities that could come in Harry's future. If he was so inclined, I reckon he could become an even bigger threat than Voldemort himself." She barely stopped herself from flinching. "The Dursleys, Harry's family, they're dead and Harry did not even seem to care."

"Can you blame him, Albus?!" She all but shouted at him. "Even I told you repeatedly that he shouldn't have been put there and it's an ill-kept secret amongst the staff that he had begged you every year to not go back to them. Would you also judge the wizarding world for being happy about you-know-who being gone?"

"They were his family, Minerva," He protested softly.

"They were blood relatives, nothing more." She argued. "I'd argue they were not fit to raise their own son, let alone the child of James and Lily Potter. If possible I would have taken the boy in myself, had you not prevented me from doing so."

"The blood protections were too valuable, they were what saved his life when he confronted Quirrell."

"The fact that he even confronted Quirrell should be enough for you, Albus, the boy has saved us all repeatedly."

"He has," Dumbledore nodded. "I will always be grateful for what he has done, but I've also noticed how different the boy has come."

"I challenge any person his age to go through what he has and not change," She replied. "I dare say people our own ages would find it difficult to go through the same events and not change. Perhaps instead of condemning Mr Potter for being different, we should prevent the need for him to change. Stop him from having to jump in front of dark lords and monsters and being forced into tournaments."

"Are you implying that this is all my fault?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Our fault, we are all responsible, we should have all done better." She sighed. "Albus, I fear Mr Potter is becoming disillusioned with the wizarding world, he no longer views it the same way he did before. The world has funnily enough lost its magic for him."

"He has been through a lot," Dumbledore conceded.

"Perhaps instead of treating him like a danger, we could work on preventing him from being in more danger." She suggested.

"Perhaps," He said, a thoughtful look on his face. He understood where she was coming from, he really did, but he was not like her. He was the one who had to make the hard decisions, he was the one that people looked up to when things went wrong. He would be watching Harry, he couldn't risk otherwise. The boy could end up being the saviour of the wizarding world, he could also end up being its doom.