"Happy term Harry!"
"Thanks, you too!" He called over his shoulder, but there was so much happening he almost didn't actually see who'd said that.
"But these are muggle then?" Hannah ripped his attention back to the conversation at hand, still grabbing his arm to inspect the beaded bracelet he had on, Alden's present on display.
"Yeah, you can get the beads and string them together however you want. Beads come in all sorts of colors."
"I really like the colors!" Alison, a third year Gryffindor from the football club agreed with the glint in Hannah's eye eagerly.
"Now that I think about it, plastic really isn't common in the magical world is it?" Otto tilted his head.
"I thought plastic was supposed to be cheap or like… bad?"
"It really just depends on what it is, plastic comes in all sorts, but yeah beads like this are kind of cheap but there are literally limitless options so it's easy to put them together into custom bracelets like this," Harry shrugged. "And actually, it's probably not popular in the magical world because transfiguring metals to make stuff is easy compared to something like plastic. It's actually really interesting if you want to know-"
"We don't." All six of the people clustered around to chat in the Great Hall upon their arrival back to Hogwarts chimed at the exact same time, and Harry had never felt more offended.
"Transfiguration is interesting!" He stamped his foot.
"Pass," Lu just scratched his ear, avoiding eye contact.
"Where's your Ravenclaw curiosity!?"
"Wherever you stashed your Gryffindor loyalty. Still pass."
Harry was just gob-smacked at the cheek, so he made a show of huffing and stomping away to continue on his journey, ignoring their laughter behind him. On one hand the audacity to throw his house struggles around so casually, but on the other hand that was super fucking funny so he let it slide. He was still very much in the holiday spirit after all as he ran around trying to grab as many people as he could that he'd missed with Christmas presents this year, candy and small cards he'd written as belated gifts to try and make it up to them.
He had not realized Alden's bracelet would be so popular, particularly amongst the girls who were seeing him wear it, and while he couldn't exactly out him as the originator for fear of that knowledge making it back to the snake house and causing the poor kid even more trouble, it was still kind of ironic.
And also fortunate, since he now had a long list of acquaintances and semi-friends that he didn't know that deeply who might be getting handmade bead bracelets for their birthdays during the next year. The only people who would take real offense to that would be Slytherins, and they didn't celebrate birthdays so it actually worked out perfectly. Double so as he could just order some beads or have Axeclaw source some from a muggle craft store for him… or he could flex his Transfiguration and try to make them himself.
With the new Chemistry textbooks in his bag and everything Remus had managed to teach him the past couple weeks, he now had a rudimentary understanding of the topic, and found it 'clicked' the same way a lot of Transfiguration did for him. While he really did not like the implication he was in any way a prodigy or that this was all more than a hobby for himself when he was bored, the fact the textbooks he'd chowed through were marked for higher level muggle classes and he was only twelve probably spoke for itself.
Other than the few people he really trusted with all his information (meaning Neville, Draco, and the twins) he would not be revealing those books to anyone, nor how much he understood about a muggle science just yet. So, it was kind of lucky they no longer wanted to hear him rant about Transfiguration because while he'd been wrapped up in the excitement of the topic at first, he didn't actually know if he could give them the full explanation without betraying some chemistry knowledge that the muggleborns and half-bloods present might pick up on.
He'd keep it to himself for now.
He knew justenough about the concept of atoms and elements at this point to know generally how a lot of common things were made, like organics and plastics specifically, which meant he was just knowledgeable enough to be dangerous with it… but luckily he'd finished the chapter he'd been reading about long organic polymer chains to know he needed to cool it before he hurt himself.
Pushing the limits of Chemistry might not cause his magical core to explode, but from his brief introduction to entropy he realized everything else around him might be in danger of exploding instead.
Which now that I think about it, I need to study Seamus some to see if this isn't why his spells keep blowing up… THAT would be amusing.
"Hey, Harry?"
He turned, Lu having abandoned the group discussion to follow him. He waited for him to catch up and could tell by the tone it wasn't an 'oh by the way' type of conversation they were about to have. Especially when he moved them off to the side of the Great Hall to be away from the general chaos of people reuniting with friends on their first day back and before classes hit tomorrow.
"What's up?"
"On the topic of Gryffindor, I remembered there was something I've been meaning to tell you." He offered, slightly more seriously which Harry responded in kind.
"That's never a good thing," He sighed.
"Yeah well, I don't know about this one… it's just, before break there was this rumor going around that you were in the Slytherin common room earlier. Which is one thing, but I think some upper years are adding it onto the uh… you know, the chamber rumor you already had to deal with. Just though you should know." He ran a hand over the back of his neck awkwardly.
But Harry had to just stare at him.
"Er… yeah?"
Lu stared right back. "What do you mean 'yeah'?"
"I mean…"
"Wait, it's true?" He burst out, looking more frazzled than Harry had seen him so far since they met.
"Yeah? I don't know the password or anything but some of my friends let me in sometimes. It's a much quieter place to do homework than Gryffindor tower, let me tell you." He tried to defend himself, but he kind of knew there was no defending it.
He had never exactly hidden that he went there… did he? He was positive his roommates knew but he also didn't exactly boast about being allowed in there since it was a tenuous truce. He was on his best behavior when he was in snake territory and being loud about their graciousness seemed like a bad way to repay them for not hexing him so far, with or without Dalia Zabini's permission.
He did not realize it was such revolutionary news going by Lu's expression.
"That's crazy. That's really crazy, you know that right? They really just let you do that?"
"I mean…" What did he do to save this? He couldn't really deny it was pretty insane they actually let him hang out there sometimes even if he'd gotten used to it, but he also didn't want to get into the detailed explanation of Slytherin politics that had allowed it to be. He switched gears instead: "Did you want to visit Gryffindor? I can't let you into Slytherin as that's not my place but I see no reason we can't visit each other's common rooms if you're curious."
The Ravenclaw just fully gaped at him as if he could not believe what he was hearing for a moment, before giving into the crazy and just heaving a sigh.
"Ah. Maybe… later." His tone implying that later would be much, much later and only if school sentiment about house lines changed quite drastically in the future. Which was Harry's ultimate goal, so he made a note not to forget that Lu had promised him a 'maybe' even if he clearly didn't mean it.
"Is this rumor phrased as something even worse than the chamber thing?" He was curious to know.
"I guess not. No more than you being chummy with Slytherins is in the first place. I'm sure your house likes it a lot less."
"Tell me something I don't know." He rolled his eyes. "I'm not giving up my invite into the snake den just to make them happy though, I really like it there."
"How have you not been hexed?"
"That's a long story and unless you like crazy snake politics then you don't want to know."
"Yeah no," Lu crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back for a second with an odd look on his face as he absorbed all this for a minute. "You confuse me sometimes." He decided.
"Glad I can entertain." Harry stuck his tongue out at him.
"If not the common room, then you're not concerned with all the rumors about the chamber of secrets thing?"
"I don't really know what people want from me with that though… it's not true so am I supposed to apologize? Walk around on eggshells? Slytherin doesn't believe I'm some heir and they're kind of the ones that matter most since if they did I'm sure they'd take way more offense then they already do by me stopping by in the first place." He could only hold his arms up in surrender, Lu scratching his nose a bit awkwardly at that point.
"I guess that's true… I guess it's not them I'm worried about then, it's your own housemates."
"Yeah well… all the more reason to spend time in the snake den," He grumbled.
Lu's expression softened some, nudging his shoulder. "You good though? Are you holding up with things?"
"I mean fine I guess. Dean and Seamus have been running interference, and since I'm friends with the twins no one has outright done anything to my face. No one wants that retaliation,"
Lu shivered, only imagining the prank Armageddon that happens when the twins felt cornered or offended—just look at what already happens to Slytherins sometimes.
Harry frowned a bit more deeply though, as he realized Lu's concern and the actual animosity he'd been facing did not really line up. He knew some of his house was displeased with… well, him in general honestly, but how concerned people like Lu and even Susan were made him think there was something else he was missing.
"I'm thinking Dean and Seamus might be doing a lot of interference actually, since I really haven't had a run-in with anyone from my house other than Ron, and even with him he hasn't said a word to me since Halloween. Susan was worried earlier too—what exactly is it you're hearing that made you ask?"
Lu froze for a beat, before slumping forward in defeat. He took his arm and pulled him all the way to the nearest wall, for a truly 'private' conversation now and someone walking out of the Great Hall wouldn't suddenly happen into their conversation.
"I—and some others probably—hesitated telling you this because frankly we were worried what you'd do to them but… at this point it might just be self-defense and I'd feel bad if you were caught unaware. Please don't transfigure them into mice or anything though?"
"Well that's a horrific start," Harry felt his eyes narrow, dreading where this was going.
Lu just waved him off. "If no one has actually said anything to you then good, it means they're not brave enough to actually do anything. It's just, they're saying some pretty bad shit and while they're not exactly gaining momentum they're also not being corrected on it I don't think? So it's just getting worse and uglier it sounds like."
"Like the rumors or…?"
Lu glanced around the hall but apparently didn't see anyone he was cautious of so just lowered his voice some.
"The ringleader is definitely Michael Spence, but all the sixth year Gryffindor boys are in on it along with Irene and Olive from their year. The other girls apparently had this huge falling out with them, but I don't really get girls to begin with to know if it's related or they just don't like each other—either way Irene and Olive have been hanging out with Spence and them and are definitely not big fans of yours." He explained quickly.
The solid names felt good since Harry could now properly identify who the big issues were, but… it also felt distinctly shitty that they were so against him that even a third year Ravenclaw knew them all by name and what their drama was right now. The fact Harry didn't already know this definitely felt like a set up somehow, or like the information was very purposefully being kept from his attention.
Which, from Lu's words earlier and how quiet he was being right now, it probably had been.
He did know enough to put some pieces together though.
"Those are who Ron's been hanging out with, aren't they." He frowned, and Lu just nodded in grim confirmation.
Sixth years huh… yeah, he could see why Ron had started to get cocky before, if he as a second year had been absorbed into a sixth-year friend group that large. Harry didn't think for a second they actually liked or were super-friends with Ron though, they were probably friendly enough given they had a shared hatred and common goal, but sixteen-year-olds definitely saw twelve-year-olds as too kiddie.
Ron also lived in the same room as him, despite not having exchanged a single word in months with each other. He was sure the younger Weasley was thrilled to get the attention from a lot of upper years who wanted to hear all about every move Harry made and then continue to vent and bitch at each other about whatever it was Ron was selling them.
Harry figured it was a coin flip on if Ron was telling them the truth or making up lies about him—either way he was sure it had no effect on how much they didn't like him since they were already clearly very sold on the idea he was the heir of Slytherin, or the actual devil or whatever it is they were saying.
Maybe he'd actually gotten a hold over his temper finally, or maybe he was too tired with everything else he had going on to have time for this shit, but he honestly didn't dislike Ron any more than he already did, even hearing this now. He and Ron would never be friends but he also recognized Ron had no one his age at this point and was getting used by a bunch of upper years who'd graduate in two years anyway.
Honestly… I just kind of feel pity for him.
"So that's the 'who' but what exactly are they saying that's so bad?" He wondered, and Lu gave an uneasy glance around again.
"Yeah, that's um… some pretty ugly stuff. It used to be just stuff like that they wanted to hex you or knock you off your broom during quidditch games, to just general insults of all sorts which I'm sure you can imagine, you're creative."
"Gee thanks."
He ignored the stab of sarcasm/humor, his face just grim as he pressed on a tad urgently. "It's gotten really bad the past couple months though, with the chamber thing and then this rumor about you visiting the Slytherin dorm—much less that it's true I guess—which is why I was concerned. They really don't like Slytherins and even you can't change that, and at this point they basically see you as one. You're getting a lot of 'blood traitor' this and 'insert random slur' that, and they're not exactly hiding what they're saying to people their year level at least. So, openly… in classes even."
Harry pressed his lips together. "So it's being contained to sixth year mostly, but it is spreading."
"I'll let you guess what the sixth year Slytherins think since I can't even imagine, Hufflepuffs of that year I don't think care what Gryffindor is up to right now, but I'm pretty sure the sixth year Ravenclaws are…ah," He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "To be honest I don't think they… disagree, with the sentiments exactly but… they keep their mouths shut."
"But their silence is what is giving them the confidence to keep being assholes." Harry realized.
Gryffindors were loud and brash, but despite what some snakes might say they weren't stupid. They knew what was popular and what wasn't on pure social reading alone, so if they were saying unpopular things eventually they'd shut up or keep it to themselves—the way even Ron, the densest person Harry had ever met outside of the Dursleys and that troll last year, had done the same thing when he realized he was only making himself more and more unpopular in his year by speaking against someone more popular than him. Eventually he had gotten with the program and simply stopped talking about it… in front of them at least.
He'd gone off and found a group who did want to hear it, and encouraged by their like-minded audience they kept doing it, and their dislike was going in circles and getting worse because it was unchecked and free to grow into something uglier. Clearly they learned saying shit where people outside of their echo-chamber could hear it wasn't earning them any favors so they'd stopped, which is why Harry had never heard any of it in a common room or at a meal or on the quidditch pitch—because there were other people around.
In classes though, with only their year level around them… they didn't give a shit what Slytherin thought, and both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw weren't stopping them for different reasons. That was practically permission to go right ahead, and they had. The situation with Ravenclaw was particularly bad since lions didn't often operate by cold logic, but they did sometimes blindly trust an eagle's take since the stereotype of them being 'smarter than you' was often times good enough for a Gryffindor. That the one outside group that a lion might listen to for no good reason was staying quiet and not actively stopping them... much less if they did agree they didn't like him for one reason or another, that was practically an endorsement for them to keep talking bad about him.
Which… was not good.
Lu fidgeted, catching his attention again even if he looked really, really uncomfortable. "Harry, ah… some of their most recent comments, or at least things I've heard that they'd said… it's getting really bad. Personal, even."
He felt a chill but kept his composure, bracing himself.
"Personal how?" He demanded with as much calmness as he could muster.
Because he needed to know. The distinctly nauseous look on Lu's face meant this was a real threat, even if ultimately it was just words and they wouldn't do it. It was still a threat and he was not going to be defenseless or taken off guard ever again.
He was thankful to have Lu as a friend in that he manned up and got it over with despite how uneasy he clearly felt to repeat this filth.
"Some of the nastier things I think you need to know about are them saying they'd ah… they'd like to tie you to quidditch post and cut your hair. Or burn your clothes while you're off fraternizing in the Slytherin dorm. They've also threated you with pretty much every curse I've heard of… including a couple unforgivables given your reputation." He murmured.
Oh fuck, that's kind of serious. He had to admit. For teenagers to actually be threatening torture and murder was… angsty?
But it was as he thought that he kind of just… relaxed.
Lu blinked at him, clearly tensed for him to get angry and suddenly now very confused when he seemed to have the opposite reaction.
"Er, you good?"
"Yeah." He blew out a breath, kind of surprised how true it was.
"Really? Because that is…" Clearly he wasn't sure what it was. Harry just inhaled deeply.
"Look, Lu… from my perspective, if they attack me I can fight back, and I know I'm better at Transfiguration than them. If they shave my head I have potions that'll grow it again in a minute. Burn my clothes, I'm rich and can buy more—same with pretty much everything I own but my wand. Even the unforgivables, I've already experienced all three so at this point what can they really do to me? I was worried about what they might've said but if that's it then they don't really have anything on me." He splayed his hands out wide, giving a humorless huff.
"Frankly, they're not Slytherins. They don't have the power to do anything politically, since if they could in that case maybe I'd be worried about it. At worst I was worried they'd like… threatened Neville or something. If they did, then only McGonagall would be able to turn them human again after what I transfigure them into." He calmly lowered his voice at that last part but Lu shuddered violently anyway.
"Fuck Harry, that's—! I mean, what the bloody hell?Are you okay!? Because that does not sound okay!" He hissed, but Harry could only weakly slump in defeat.
No, he answered honestly in is head.
Outwardly though he waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, just overconfident I guess."
"Not if you're sure it's true, but don't think I missed you skipping over the unforgivable thing: because what the fuck." He demanded, eyes wide.
"Assholes shooting unforgivables at me is the entire point of why I'm famous, isn't it? I'm sure a bunch of Gryffindors will love to hear they share something in common with the dark lord." He snarked, but Lu refused to be sidetracked.
"That is one unforgiveable. The other two?" He demanded, point blank.
Harry pressed his lips together, suddenly less cavalier than he'd just been. "We just had a really nice break, can we do this later?" He begged.
"We could if that weren't the most concerning thing I've ever heard. You grew up with muggles, didn't you? Which means it's happened in the last year at least and that combined with a bunch of upper years going around saying they're going to Imperius you-"
"It was Quirrell." He cut him off, seeing his point, but not being strictly happy to need to suddenly talk about that incident right now. Still… Lu was a good guy who was connecting some dots and not letting a very serious issue in front of him go without interfering—like some of his own housemates appeared to be doing. He was connecting the wrong dots, but his heart was in the right place and Harry couldn't fault him for that.
Still, he wanted out of this conversation.
"Dumbledore knows what happened and he took care of it. Please Lu, can we do this later?" He pleaded, and the third year stepped back from his building freak-out to hear him now, instead taking a moment to absorb that… concerning information.
Harry was just thankful it worked, even if he had to play the 'Dumbledore is always right' bullshit defense—unfortunately it was effective on most people if you wanted them to stop questioning things. Particularly inquisitive Ravenclaws, who would be hard to throw off the scent of something they wanted to know any other way.
"Alright," he allowed, but his eyes narrowed. "I just hope you take me seriously about this, Harry. Lions might talk a big game most of the time but they can be serious threats."
"It is my house you know." He countered half-heartedly.
"Yeah but 'they're not Slytherins' right?" He parroted his own words right back at him with a stern look in his eye that would've done McGonagall proud in another situation. "I'm telling you as a Ravenclaw right now, that just because everyone likes to make Slytherins out to be the bad guys doesn't mean they're the only ones worth being wary of. If they were so great, then why have they been bickering with your house for centuries? If Slytherins were the only thing to ever be worried about then why is there still a conflict? Why haven't they just won already then?"
Harry hated how good of a point that was. Leave it to Lu to be able to cut right to the heart of the situation.
Why did Slytherin ever bother to hate or fear the lion house? The house divide wasn't a one-sided beef, it was an ongoing war that both sides had been equal participants in for a long, long time. He could completely wrap his mind around why the opposing personality types and lifestyles were like oil and water for how well they mixed, how they didn't like each other just because two polar opposite types of people were grouped together by a magical hat into conveniently polarizing sides, but he hadn't ever really considered why Gryffindor never seemed to actually give a shit about Slytherin machinations.
Lions could spend seven years at Hogwarts, graduate without issue, and live happy lives for years without ever giving a second thought to a single Slytherin plan, dismissing them as slimy snakes and go on completely fine that way. Slytherins could plot and maneuver all they wanted and in most cases it never even touched the world Gryffindors lived in somehow. At least, not until one particular Slytherin had gone and started a war to make his nonsense everyone's business, but that was a glaring exception.
He'd been so wrapped up in snake politics, he'd completely blown past the obvious reality that both houses were bullying each other equally, and that nothing came of it because there was no way to win. One on one, he'd say a Slytherin could probably outmatch a Gryffindor, if not in a singular battle then surely the war…
…but, the house war had gone on centuries and there had neverbeen a winner. It wasn't even close.
Which meant despite all Harry gave them credit for, Slytherin couldn't win.
And it also meant he'd probably not been giving his own house enough credit at all.
As much as those implications unnerved him and he was forced to admit Lu did have a point that he probably was not taking the threat of Gryffindor nearly as seriously as he should, he also knew what he was personally afraid of… and it wasn't hexes or pranks or even the unforgivables (to a point—actually fuck the cruciatus).
It was someone learning about Moony who shouldn't.
It was someone telling Dumbledore about Sirius' trial.
It was Neville's disappointed eyes.
It was Draco's cold shoulder if he had to break off their friendship for his own survival, the same way his mother's old friend had.
It was number 4 Privet Drive and the filthy pigs that lived there. It's an innocuous cupboard under the stairs and the shed out back he prayed to the universe had just burned down at this point.
There were a lot of nebulous things he was terrified of, things Gryffindors were more than capable of threatening him with if only they knew those weak points of his—but they didn't. They were threatening him with cutting his hair like he gave a shit about how his hair looked compared to something like being able to go back to Moony one day without the fear of someone finding out about it.
His housemates had no idea what he was really afraid of, so they couldn't touch him. Not in a way that actually mattered.
Lu was right to a point though, that they had a mob mentality going that was building steam, and eventually they'd learn all their current methods weren't working to intimidate him. What they did then would be something he really needed to watch out for, because he knew better than anyone that Gryffindors could be impulsive in their anger and bold enough to do literally anything if they thought it would work— and that they were in the 'right' to do so.
And they had a Gryffindor headmaster who'd no doubt let them off the hook easy if they broke a rule or two.
Wait… that's it, isn't it? Slytherin might be better at the game but… Gryffindors were the ones who decided what is 'right'.
Dumbledore being headmaster and letting lions off the hook. Fudge being a full quack but still somehow the minister. Even people like the Weasleys who had no wealth or any sort of political power somehow being a guiding presence to other light families about what was "good" just because… why? They were the most notorious and Gryffindor-like family of blazing red-headed Gryffindors in existence?
The twins had not been silent about their criticisms of their parents, apparently the two eldest Weasley boys had fled the roost (and the country) as soon as they could, and they were also the people who'd raised the problem that was Ron, so clearly they weren't perfect. Even with how annoying Ron was, Harry had never heard a non-Slytherin ever say anything even remotely bad about the Weasley family.
Because they were "good" while people like the Malfoys were "bad". Most people didn't care to give it any more thought that that surface level deduction even if the truth was way more grey. Even if anyone stopped to think it over they'd know it was too simplistic thinking, but in action the bias ran too deep.
Assumptions like that were a big reason Gryffindors couldn't just be discredited, even if sometimes they were just talking out of some baseless confidence. If they had enough traction and got confident enough to attack him somehow, all they had to was loudly proclaim they were trying to protect the school or 'defend innocents' or something plain like that. Even if all they did was end up proving Harry's innocence, they'd still most likely be let off the hook if they swore they were just trying to 'do the right thing' in stopping the so-called heir of Slytherin.
They could do literally whatever they wanted so long as they hid behind the shield that they were just trying to do something good (for the greater good, even). Only so long as their intentions were considered 'noble' it did not matter how dark their actions actually got.
Harry couldn't help but recall the new information he had about how many families the Potter bloodline had conquered in the past and felt something oddly ominous slide down his spine.
No wonder it didn't matter if the Slytherins were better at playing the game, they could literally never fully win against a baseless, impenetrable defense like that. Against the people who decided what the game and the winning conditions even were.
On one hand, it was a gross realization to wrap his mind around. On the other… he was a Gryffindor himself, and one with a 'Boy Who Lived' type of hero reputation that Dumbledore had given him. So, while it was kind of terrible… it was also very useful.
Because sixth years or not, in a 'he said, she said' kind of situation, if Harry got there first then even them claiming they were 'trying to help' would not outweigh the Boy Who Lived saying he was trying to defeat evil. If it came down to it, his word would win.
It was a big comfort honestly, but he wasn't going to tell Lu about that epiphany, even if he suspected the guy already kind of suspected it going by his narrowed expression.
"I'll be careful," He promised instead. "I have a lot going on right now and I don't really want to give that kind of nasty behavior much attention, but would you tell me if you hear anything that's more concerning than it already is? I will be careful of them and steer clear for now, but if it really is a self-defense thing I'd like to be ready." He pleaded.
Lu sighed. "'Ignoring it' doesn't seem like the best idea either, you know."
"Oh, you want me to retaliate? Because I can do that."
"Ignoring it sounds like a great plan for the time being actually, I'll pass along if I hear anything else." He switched on a dime at Harry's threatening smile, waving him off hastily.
He bared his teeth just a little more. "What happened to that being a bad idea?" He challenged.
"Well it's just that I'm sure whatever form of retaliation you choose would be worse, so I'll take it for now," He deadpanned. "Big plans for the semester then?"
Harry knew it was a desperate attempt to get him off the topic of hexing a bunch of sixth years, but he also didn't actually have something prepared for being asked what his plans were.
Muggle lessons in chemistry, trial to free his falsely-imprisoned mass-murdering godfather, figuring out that murderous voice, the petrification monster which may or may not be related… yeah, plenty to do but none that was common conversation topics for now. And well, Lu already thought he was crazy so…
"You didn't want to hear my Transfiguration rants and you don't want to know about my retaliation methods, but you're asking after my semester plans? Make up your mind, Lu," He teased and the eagle gave up entirely then.
"How about I mind my business then? See you later Harry," He sighed and abandoned the conversation, Harry just waving after him mockingly.
"Genuinely thanks for the warning though," He called before he was out of earshot and got a simple nod of acknowledgement back before Lu returned to the football club group still chatting.
Harry took a breath.
He looked down and from his bag pulled out the candy packets he still had to give out—making up for people who'd been kind enough to get him Christmas presents when he hadn't gotten anything for them. He still had a couple people he needed to track down and was loitering in the entrance hall to try and catch them as they arrived but…
This news did make him wonder about his position in this school. He liked to think he understood but… this just proved there was probably a lot he was still missing.
I didn't come here to be Mr. Popular though, I came here to be myself. And the houses not fighting was for my own peace, and for the sake of being Draco's friend without interference, not for anything crazier than that. My own house not liking me means they're not hexing Draco, so it's not that bad for right now. I'll do something about it after Sirius is free: one plan at a time…
He scolded himself slightly for getting immediately distracted by the first problem he encountered in the new year. He needed to focus on the plans he already had going right now to see them to the end, and then he'd get around to this.
Still… the entrance hall was really loud and echoing from all the arriving students, and he was suddenly really missing the dead quiet of a snowy forest with his kindly werewolf as a much calmer, friendlier company.
000
"Lu actually told him?" Dean raised both eyebrows in alarm, but thankfully it wasn't a warranted concern.
"He said Harry wasn't going to do anything about it… yet." Susan sighed, arms crossed and finger tapping her arm in slight stress. Something everyone hearing this now shared as they exchanged loaded glances.
Susan shot Daphne a look when she had to smother her laugh into her hand, turning away in an attempt to hide it but it was no use.
"Don't laugh, you know what he's like! We're safe for now but once he decides to get even it's all over!" Carmen complained, but the lone Slytherin in this football club huddle in the empty classroom that'd ended up being their unofficial hangout spot just grinned.
"Sorry, sorry, I know it's not funny… I'm just amused he's not after Slytherins for once. Now you'll all know how it feels." She shrugged, unrepentant.
"I thought he was friendly with Slytherins, that's why we're in this situation at all," Perry huffed, kicking the chair of the desk he was sitting on distractedly.
"Not all Slytherins," Daphne just deflected delicately, 'casual' though Susan was sharp enough to know it wasn't really.
"Harry's entire thing is that he wants to be friends with who he wants to be friends with. That doesn't mean he likes all Slytherins and it also means he doesn't like all Gryffindors either." Seamus pointed out. "He likes and dislikes all sorts of people but he hates when people tell him he can't be friends with someone just because they're in another house. I mean he doesn't like Ron obviously and he's our roommate!"
"I don't think Harry likes people telling him what to do, end of story." Susan pinched the bridge of her nose tiredly.
Which Daphne had to laugh aloud at again, since that was a very funny sentiment coming from someone who was a very strict rule follower herself, niece of the DMLE head and all that.
"Question: do we actually care?" Marissa was bored of the topic already. As a fourth year eagle she was even less interested in whatever drama second-year Gryffindors had going on.
But Seamus had no patience for hypocrites and shot right back, "Weren't you the one who said it was 'weird' he was allowed into the Slytherin dorm in the first place?" He crossed his arms.
"I mean yeah… I still think it kind of is, but Daphne said it wasn't that serious, right?" She hedged, glancing at her fellow midfielder with pleading eyes to save her.
Daphne was still not entirely used to how non-snakes could say one thing one day and then kind of back off on it another day like they didn't mean it if an opinion ended up being unpopular, but she wasn't dumb. She'd picked up immediately to just let it slide in order to be polite… and Marissa was a pureblood who'd joined right about when she did, and they were very often partnered as midfielders during football games. Making her mad was not a good idea since she was one of the few people Daphne would actually consider a friend in this group, and given she was a very isolated Slytherin here she needed all the friend she could get.
Besides, when Harry wasn't here she was the only voice in defense of the snake house, and frankly she only half trusted whatever Harry said about them these days considering he could flirt with people like Blaise and Draco without breaking a sweat. There was almost no chance his views of what made Slytherin attractive were in any way sane.
Harry might've brushed the whole thing off, as he had a habit of doing, to make everything seem fun and light when the reality was usually much more grim and gritty. That usually just made Slytherin 'look good' to others but it never really helped them understand, which is why Daphne gave her a warm smile and nodded in agreement despite the complicated truth.
"I wouldn't say it's unserious exactly, but Harry has put in a lot of effort to show he respects our house enough that it's not a problem if he visits sometimes. He doesn't have the password but if someone lets him in he knows to be on his best behavior." She shrugged.
"'Best behavior' huh? I'd like to see that someday," Dean laughed to himself. "I get people like Malfoy and you, but no upper years have tried hexing him?" He wondered, and Daphne could tell it was a curiosity a lot of people in the room had.
"One did once, but luckily Harry is way faster with the Transfiguration so nothing came of it. Also you really underestimate the formality of the Slytherin common room: everyone is very polite and respectful in-house at least to avoid inter-house drama, less Professor Snape skins us for causing him trouble. If Harry comes in and sits quietly to do his homework in some corner then it'd be impolite to cause a scene… out-of-house all bets are off but a Slytherin wouldn't be caught dead causing a scene in our own common room." She explained as if this were common knowledge.
By the way she caught both Susan and Marissa kind of locked in to her words, she knew this was a revolutionary concept to them. Particularly the lions present, who looked like they were completely baffled to imagine a common room different from their own, and were just now realizing their rival house might have a different kind of dorm than them.
"That sounds… stiff." Perry couldn't help but comment, not exactly in a flattering way. Still, he was a third year Gryffindor so 'stiff' was practically a pleasant thing to call it compared to what derogatory things others of his house might've said.
She smiled at him pointedly. "Which is why I like to 'hang out' in empty classrooms rather than my dorm—one does not hang out in the Slytherin common room, you're either studying or talking. Harry doesn't even 'hang out' there for fun, he normally is there to steal our potions notes or talk business."
"What business?" Perry couldn't help but sound doubtful.
"'Snake politics' as Harry calls it. I'm happy to explain it but we'd be here a while and I really doubt you'd be interested." She laughed, the effect working and others relaxing enough to smile along at the joke. "To Marissa's point though, it's not the end of the world like some people make it seem like. He really is just there to do his homework and has enough friends to let him in sometimes. Meaning Malfoy mostly."
That earned some more genuine snickers, and thankfully those listening seemed less inclined to keep beating this dead horse—potential conflict between Seamus and Marissa thankfully slipping away forgotten at her mediation.
"Well now that Harry knows I can only assume the worst for us at some point, but for now let's get back to football." Dean sighed, refocusing the group since he and Lu were the de facto leaders of the club at this point. "We can't play until the snow melts and it's a little warmer, but Mark was suggesting we try and have a full tournament this spring if we can get enough teams together. Anyone interested?"
Everyone immediately started talking at the same time, excited for this new prospect and already trying to claim team names and partners while Dean tried to regain control in vain. Daphne also perked up at the idea and was about to slide over to Marissa to see if she wanted to be on the same team again, when Susan plopped down at the desk beside her and by the expression on her face, she wasn't quite done with the previous conversation yet.
"Something wrong? I couldn't help but notice you're the only non-Gryffindor that seemed upset about it." She offered, and clearly she'd guessed correctly when the blond made an annoyed face.
"Something else Lu said, about his conversation with Harry." She admitted, but gave no further details.
"And it bothers you, clearly."
"Yeah," she didn't even try to hide it, eyes fixed on Dean trying to coral people but mainly just talking with Seamus now—probably strategizing for teams already. "Harry does a lot of weird things, I probably don't have to tell you how weird it is sometimes."
"No you don't, I'm well aware." Daphne sighed at the sheer understatement that was.
"Marissa said it wasn't that serious, you said it's not exactly unserious, but if you talk to Harry then sometimes I get the feeling it's actually the most serious thing ever." Blue eyes turned to her with a 'don't bullshit me' expression that the Greengrass heiress was pretty familiar with now. "How serious is it really?"
Daphne couldn't help but remember that a lot of what was happening recently was centered around Sirius Black and had to try really hard not to laugh or break her poker face at that actually quite earnest little speech. It really wasn't funny, she swore.
"Snake politics is deep, and everything is connected. If you put things in isolation though, then the common room thing? Not that important. Even the upper year Gryffindor thing in the grand scheme of things just isn't that important, and I get why Harry is putting it on hold for now." She shrugged again.
"But things aren't in isolation. Everything is connected."
"It always is," Daphne sighed, leaning back in her chair and pulling her hair back distractedly. "If you're trying to figure him out, I wouldn't. You've got to just let things happen sometimes, since for as much as he talks Harry rarely actually shares."
"He shares with you though."
She frowned, glancing over and not really sure what the look on Susan's face meant. "Are you jealous?"
"No, I'm just trying to figure out what it is I'm missing here because I know there's something." She huffed.
Honestly, Daphne was baffled because yes, she knew there was a lot Susan didn't know about so she had no idea what specific one things she was after here.
"Are you… asking for anything in particular from me here? Because plain curiosity will not get you far."
Susan couldn't just float random comments and expect a Slytherin to start spilling to her, if she wanted something she had to ask directly and she seemed to realize that, cheeks turning pink slightly.
"If you knew something, would you tell me?"
Daphne couldn't help the laugh that escaped her—the naivety and earnestness in the question was half shocking and half adorable somehow.
"Susan, I know a lot of things, but I've been paid very well for my silence and discretion. I have no idea what the 'something' is you want to know, if I know it, or if I'm even permitted to tell you." She explained in amusement, the Hufflepuff's face going even more red.
"Oh," she scratched her cheek awkwardly, hiding her embarrassment behind a cough. "I guess then… I'm worried about Harry. If something were wrong, like really wrong with him… would you tell me?"
…Daphne took a moment to consider that. She'd really been trying to be 'one of them' and follow their own social rules, and she knew normal friend groups shared things with each other out of concern and care, just like Susan was doing now.
Sharing information like that though… if she were any other Slytherin who wanted to be part of the football club than maybe but… she was a Greengrass.
And she might've really liked being the only Slytherin breaking the mold in joining this club, but there were some lines even she couldn't cross.
Even if maybe she wanted to… she knew she couldn't.
"I would like to," She admitted, because it was true unfortunately. "When I say things like 'Slytherin politics' though… it all comes down to information. Things people know, that they're willing to share or exchange or hide, it's everything to how people like me operate. Slytherin is strict—you have to have use or you're not even a player on the board, and in a lot of cases if you don't have anything useful, then information is all you have to depend on. Consider if someone like Harry were my enemy… I would never be able to beat him in a direct fight, but if I knew his secrets he wouldn't go carelessly crossing me."
Susan was clearly listening, the crease between her forehead growing.
"And you do have his secrets."
"But I am not his enemy," She smiled patiently, blue eyes flickering away from her for a moment. "It may not mean anything to you when I say this, but I'm a Greengrass. I can get you whatever information you want… but you have to be able to pay for it, or pay more than the person who asked me to keep it hidden. And a bit of information I'll give away free: you're not going to beat Harry at this game, Susan."
The blonde startled for a moment at the direct call out, before slumping into the desk in defeat. "I had figured but… I mean all of that implies there is something he's hiding."
"There's no way I can confirm that or not, but it's not exactly a secret that everyone is hiding something. Even you, you know." She pointed out.
"What do you mean?" She blinked, taken aback. "I don't have any big secrets," She denied, eyes looking up as if trying to rack her brain for something.
"No? How about the fact you and Harry weren't the ones who found that last petrification victim. Conveniently left that out when people asked you about it, didn't they?"
Susan's eyes bugged out. "You cannot tell anyone about that! Daphne," She hissed, alarmed, but Daphne just laughed.
"I won't—Harry already bought my silence. But it's things like that, you know? If you'd wanted to keep a Slytherin quiet you'd need more than a 'please don't tell anyone' pinky promise you know." She pointed out.
Susan glared at her dryly. "Is this about my aunt then?"
Daphne wasn't that shocked. Everyone and their mother probably knew of her connection with Madam Bones, and undoubtedly tried to use that for their own gain. Even being a Hufflepuff Susan wasn't stupid and had picked up on that along the way, to now by hyper defensive against those kinds of inquiries.
Join the club though, being a grey heir meant everyone wanted things from you at all times, so she wasn't offended by the accusation either.
"Please notice I'm not asking you for anything. If you wanted something from me, I'm just explaining the rules that Slytherins operate by is all. I'm not forcing you to pay with sickles if you want to pay with knuts—I'm also not forcing you to buy at all." She rolled her eyes.
Meaning if Susan wanted information she didn't need to lean on her Aunt if she had information worth something of her own. If she didn't have something worth trading and still didn't want to lean on Madam Bones, Daphne wasn't forcing her to do anything… Susan was the one asking for the information for free here.
The badger sat with this new rule set in front of her, defensiveness slipping away and deep thought taking it's place as she mulled it over.
Daphne let her, wondering what the decision would be and half expecting she'd just let it go rather than keep pushing.
Instead, Susan promptly blew Daphne's expectations of what Hufflepuffs were capable of out of the water entirely.
"Alright, you tell me where Harry went this break, and I'll tell you about this very interesting upcoming trial my Aunt was talking about over Christmas."
000
Harry found his target and then started knocking on the door in front of him in rapid succession, the knocks polite but the incessancy probably closer to annoying.
"Mr. Potter," Greeted the voice within the office, and he took it as permission to fling the door open happily. And yeah, McGonagall's expression matched her tone of half unamused, but half resigned and pleased to see him.
"Happy New Year!" He waved, inviting himself in to plop down on the chair across from her desk, and she didn't no longer bothered resisting or telling him she was busy. There was a 50% chance he was here for one question and would be gone just as fast so she rarely put down her work so that she could continue as soon as he left. While she gave him a nod of greeting and brief smile conveying her thanks, she also did not close the book in front of her she was clearly in the middle of reading, nor did she remove her reading glasses, instead just peering over them at him.
"I hope you had a good break, Mr. Potter. Welcome back." She greeted politely. "I was not aware you had intended to go home for break."
"It was kind of a last-minute decision, I guess. I really wasn't planning on going anywhere since Christmas here was so much fun last time but eh," he shrugged, brushing it off as a 'what can you do when plans change' sort of thing… and luckily Dumbledore either didn't know (unlikely) or just hadn't shared with her yet that he'd been entirely unaccounted for this holiday break (way more likely) since she just nodded that point and let it go.
"So long as you had a good break and are ready for the coming semester, that's all the matters." She agreed.
"Thanks! Hope your break was good too,"
"It was, in fact. Very quiet." She looked at him pointedly and he gave a shit-eating grin, entirely unrepentant.
"You mean boring without me here to ask you questions every other day."
"I'm not sure what you mean." She sniffed, looking back down at her book to make the point. "As you do not have homework currently I can only imagine this visit is for something else?"
Taking the cue to get to the point, he pulled out the new book he'd mail ordered from Bethany to show her proudly: a copy of one of the Chemistry textbooks he'd checked out from the muggle library in Remus' village.
"Transfiguration adjacent question: do you know anything about Chemistry?"
She looked over her spectacles to narrow her eyes at the book cover being shown to her, lips pressed into a line. "I am aware it is a muggle topic. Beyond that I know nearly nothing."
Harry huffed, not entirely surprised but still kind of disappointed. "I found books about it in a muggle library over break and I'm convinced it's the muggle method of transfiguring things. They're related and I'm going to prove it!" He announced to her.
"I wish you much luck, though apologize I may not be able to give much feedback on that." She didn't even blink.
Harry considered that a very lack-luster response for something he thought was extremely ground-breaking and innovative. McGonagall's lips quirked in amusement at his very annoyed pout.
"I do believe you, and if anyone had the passion for this research it would certainly be you." She reassured him.
"I know you believe me but I don't think you get how crazy this actually is." He huffed. "I'm going to break magic and science with this, watch me! I'm re-writing my hardening charm paper with this backing me up because I know it'll be possible!" He tapped the cover of his book annoyingly.
"Perhaps I don't understand since I am unaware of this muggle science, but I assure you I have no doubt you'll break many things whenever you do publish something." She actually smiled, resting her hands over her book patiently. "That being said, if you wish to introduce a muggle topic into a magical paper you will need to be able to clearly communicate what this 'chemistry' is to an unaware reader. How easy of a topic is it to understand?"
He paused, realizing that was a good point… just like he couldn't publish this paper in a muggle science journal or something, publishing a paper that was half chemistry to a community who had never even heard of it much less knew what it was would not go over well either.
Hmmm…. I might need to rethink my strategy here.
He shook it off, because first thing's first he needed to prove it actually worked and you could combine the two subjects for actual results, and then he'd worry about what he did with that information later. Writing the paper on duro in the first place was only a means to an end to screw over Montague… maybe he could do it first and then sit on the knowledge in case it needed to be used for another plan in the future.
"Right… for a wizard, probably too hard. There's a lot of maths involved and this world doesn't even start learning even something similar to that until third year. Which," He perked up, switching topics on a dime to his other question. "I had another question about that actually—how am I supposed to take three electives and not die next year?"
McGonagall didn't even miss a beat.
"You aren't. The recommendation is one, possibly two if you think you can handle the workload. Which courses were you considering?"
"Arithmancy—obviously— Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures." He rattled off.
Muggle studies was a waste of time and by the way McGonagall's brow twitched anytime someone said 'divination' he thought she might genuinely disown him as her favorite if he even brought it up. Dean and Seamus were taking it and would give him the low down if it was interesting enough. Lu and the rest of the Ravenclaws in the football club always scrunched up their noses while trying to be polite about it, but clearly they didn't have high opinions either, meaning it probably wasn't that useful for his future no matter if the concept of tarot cards and crystal balls kind of fascinated him.
He figured if Dean and Seamus were having a ton of fun with it he could check out their reading material and play along if he wanted to, but doing it for a homework grade seemed like a waste of time with everything else he had going on.
He needed arithmancy for his Transfiguration work, that wasn't really optional.
Runes, he'd learned, had been Remus' favorite subject and had already proven to be insanely useful. Things like the heating runes on his clothes when they walked into town, his atmosphere bulbs, even the teacup he'd gotten Theo had been runes, not a charm like he'd originally thought… there was just so much utility to them.
Not to mention Remus had let it slip that the marauders' map itself was a combination of some complex runes and wards. The map was written in mostly James Potter's handwriting, but a lot of the magic behind it had actually come from Moony and Padfoot. Harry knew nothing about wards except that the goblins made the best ones apparently, but from what he was learning from both Remus and the twins, is that those two topics were a prankster's best friends if you understood how to use them for mischief.
The last though…
"Do you need Care of Magical creatures?" McGonagall challenged, as he knew she would.
Arithmancy and Runes were considered to be the 'useful' subjects, while Divination and Creatures were for those interested in easy classes. Gryffindors tended to lean towards the latter two, while the rest of the school, if they were sane, mixed-and-matched to have one 'hard' class, one 'easy' class on their schedule. Only some very aggressive students, mostly Ravenclaws but also the occasional Slytherin, took both Arithmancy and Runes on top of all their other classes. For third and fourth year it was whatever, but come fifth year and the dawn of their OWL preparations, only the die-hard actually took OWLs in both.
But Harry had a goal. And also a speech prepared because he knew he'd get this question.
"Well actually yes I kind of need all three! Arithmancy because obviously that's the part I struggled with the most on my paper, and Runes because you have to admit it's the most useful class Hogwarts teaches, just for practical use, right? But the Creatures class is also really important because I learned I inherited all my parents' businesses so one day I'm going to be expected to get them going again, and apparently the big one is that the Potter family used to be the main dealer of potion ingredients—specifically from magical creatures." He gave her big, imploring eyes and could see this news surprised her… and also was working at convincing her of it's importance to him personally too.
It was a connection to his parents after all that he desperately wanted, and the tug at her heart strings seemed to work to a degree.
"How am I supposed to live up to the businesses my dad's family left me if I don't even understand anything about the creatures I'm supposed to be helping source? I didn't grow up in the magical world so even seemingly 'normal' creatures to most people are totally wild to me! I really need that class to get caught up to speed, otherwise I'll never be able to actually do business with them. Right now the only other major potion ingredient supplier is the Greengrass family but I want to take part in it too," He pleaded his case as innocently as he could.
He was almost disappointed when McGonagall frowned, clearly both understanding and buying the logic he'd just laid out—that a Slytherin family would obviously not be very kind to the animals being bought and sold in their care. It was an assumption any Gryffindor would make, despite the fact Harry knew it was probably untrue.
But McGonagall was a Gryffindor after all. He had kind of hoped she wouldn't be just any Gryffindor and that she'd call him out on that line of thinking, but it also worked in his favor when she did not… even if it was a disappointment.
But it was further proof that despite how much he liked her, he was not going to tell her anything more than strictly necessary, particularly if what he was up to was less lion-like in nature.
"Besides, Hagrid let slip that he's teaching it next year and I can't miss that, not just because I want to support him but also because there's no way that's not going to be a riot," He grinned proudly, and she gave a long-suffering sigh. "The workload isn't the issue because while he's super knowledgeable and I'm sure it'll be a great practical class, honestly how much homework is Hagrid actually going to assign? Also…" He leaned onto her desk with a smile that had her narrowing her gaze in suspicion like it was the first day he was in her class all over again. "In your opinion, if I were take the Transfiguration OWL like… tomorrow, what do you think my grade would be?"
She instantly saw his argument and shut it down immediately.
"You are not permitted to miss a single piece of work from my class, no matter how advanced you are." Her firm tone batted him back down, but he didn't give up.
"I would never ask for something like that!" He defended himself. "I'm just saying, what do say the difference is? Between the time I spend on Transfiguration homeworks compared to someone like Dean? Or Ron?" He floated other Gryffindor boys names, also with half a mind to throw her off the trail of the inner-house conflict going on, and by how she didn't consider him saying Ron's name to be weird he figured she was currently unaware of it.
So those sixth years were confident in talking shit about him in classes, but were still smart enough not to do it in her classes at least.
"I can't help but recall Filius mention he wished your Charms grades were half as good as you Transfiguration work." She called him out, and he winced.
"Okay so I'm not a prodigy in every subject, that's not the point! I'm just saying if I were to take three electives next year the workload would honestly balance out, right? There won't be homework worth mentioning for Creatures and I can keep on top of Transfiguration work no problem—you know I can! That means I'll have the workload of someone taking one elective which is honestly less than my classmates will be doing, right?"
He did not mention his new muggle topics Remus had promised to send him packets on; he was considering that a different issue to worry about later.
McGonagall sighed, leaning back in her chair some. "What is it you're asking for then? Some elective classes happen at the same time which is why it is not actually possible in the first place."
"But Fred and George said they had a classmate who did take three electives, though they weren't sure how. It is possible, right?" He nudged annoyingly. "Some kind of exception or self-study? I can self study! Particularly Arithmancy since I already started it for my paper and got a head start from learning maths at my muggle school, I can totally do it," He argued.
She stared him down for a long, long minute where he just gave her the biggest, most 'I'm such a good student and so innocent—see how innocent I am?' eyes back at her, refusing to break eye contact first.
Eventually, she gave a long-suffering sigh of defeat.
"Alright, Mr. Potter… there is an exception that can be made for students who prove themselves able to handle the responsibility and the workload. It would theoretically be possible for me to put in a request for you, however those exceptions are extremely controlled. You must submit an essay pleading your case, and then you would be reviewed personally by all your teachers after your final exams. You must have both the teachers' and Headmaster's permission, as well as before the start of next year submitting paperwork signed by your legal guardians accepting the extra workload and potential risk to your person."
"I can do that," He immediately agreed to the terms, skimming right over the 'legal guardian' thing.
He was banking hard that Sirius would be free by summer and at least able to sign a piece of paper for him. If he weren't, taking extra classes next year would be the least of his problems… he'd be way more concerned about his future at Hogwarts at all if there was any chance he was about to be sent back to his relatives.
"You may be able to, but exceptions are not just controlled but also very limited based on available resources. For your awareness, that works out to be about one exception per year level, of which there already are students currently utilizing those opportunities. In your case… another student your year level has already asked to apply."
"Oh? So only one of us would get the exception then," He was intrigued.
That made some sense, given if it was self-study method then teachers only had so many hours in their day to support those students should they have questions. If there were twenty students studying alone and then flooding Professor Babbling's office during her open hours with questions, then she'd never get any work done. If they limited it to only one exception a year level, that meant there'd only be five students self-studying at a time, which was much more manageable. That is, only if all those students kept the subjects after OWLs and intended to take a Runes or Arithmancy NEWT too, which Harry had no idea how common that actually was.
He wondered though, who else… ah, but he didn't have to go far.
One might've immediately assumed it would be a Ravenclaw, but as a rule most eagles were sane. They liked books and were inquisitive but they weren't masochists.
He tossed his head back in a laugh. "It's Hermione, right?"
She didn't dignify that with a response but he could just tell he'd nailed it in one. "I would focus your efforts on doing very well on your exams Mr. Potter, as you will be interviewed aggressively about each one to show your proficiency. Also, for your awareness, in the required essay 'it'll be a riot' is not a viable argument."
"Viable no, but still valid." He countered with a grin.
He'd been concerned for a moment there but honestly, he knew he had this in the bag. He was still 'The Boy Who Lived' and a good little lion to Dumbledore, so if he kept his nose clean and played innocent victim during Sirius trial the old man would have no reason to suspect him. Gryffindor favoritism for the win, he'd get his approval probably because the old bastard wanted to use it as a manipulation tool and Harry figured he'd allow that in exchange for the victory.
Teachers would be a little harder, as he doubted Binns even knew his name, literally who gave a shit what Lockhart thought, and hell would freeze over before Snape gave him any kind of glowing recommendation, but he was 100% sure McGonagall would vouch for him hard enough to cancel the potions master out. Sprout and Sinistra were kind of ambivalent to him so probably wouldn't take issue with it, but if he worked really hard at Charms this semester and showed Flitwick how much he could improve he was sure he could win him over too. It might be the teachers ended up being neutral about him, which meant Dumbledore would be the deciding vote and that should work.
Mainly because he didn't exactly have strong competition. Hermione was brilliant, don't mistake that, but her essays were boring, textbook-like regurgitations and her lack of… well 'flair' he'd call it, would not endear her to most teachers who probably liked that she religiously did her homework completely, but liked less that they had to read and grade it all when she wrote four pages past the required amount. She very well probably deserved this exception and would probably do great with it, but her 'self-study' would undoubtedly be her living in professor's offices asking detailed questions since she already did that even when she was already attending their classes and she'd also probably work herself to death.
McGonagall as her house head would likely be her biggest supporter, but she clearly favored him and also knew Hermione well enough to know that the girl would burn-out under the workload in no time. She might just explode if she were taking so many classes come their OWL year, since despite how brilliant she was, she never made anything seem easy. She gave it her all but it always seemed to stress her the fuck out, whereas Harry's entire argument was that this wouldn't overburden him and he could totally handle it, not just deserve it.
If pressed, he would honestly say Hermione deserved it more.
He wasn't going to admit defeat on that fact alone though—the world was unfair and just because he didn't deserve it didn't mean he didn't want it and knew he could definitely win it.
Besides, the part he was stressing most about was his 'guardian signature', something she likely wasn't thinking of at all. So yeah, the world was unfair, and yet he wasn't begrudging her that injustice if she could forgive him this injustice should she ever learn about who stole the exception from her.
"While I enjoy our discussions here, I would like to enjoy the quiet before classes begin as well. Is there anything else Mr. Potter?" McGonagall gave him a look and he shot her a grin as he hopped off his chair.
"Nope! I'll be back when I have a new draft of that paper to show you in no time!"
"I simply cannot wait." She deadpanned, eyes already back on her book before he was out the door.
000
"Stop pushing me, I'm going!"
"No you weren't!"
"I am I promise!"
"Caleb get over it already, you can't keep it,"
"It could be fine you know, I'm just here to ask!"
"Can I help you guys?" Harry was highly amused, minding his own business in the Gryffindor common room and being unable to ignore that bickering first years coming up behind him who were in no way subtle or quiet enough to hide their approach.
He turned to give them a lifted brow and that all stilled in a little group like a pack of rats freezing at being caught, Orin actually kicking the ground awkwardly.
"Er… we found something." Jude confessed reluctantly, as the rest of them shoved him forward as their designated spokesperson apparently. Which was weird because it was usually—
"And Luna said it's dangerous but to ask you about it first!" Melody jumped in immediately, clearly the actual ringleader and the one putting them up to confessing but forcing Jude to be the one to take the blame. She and Ginny seemed to be of the camp that they shouldn't be messing with whatever this dangerous thing was, though the boys seemed like they'd wanted to keep it.
"Er, I mean I'm not sure what help I'll be, but I know a few Slytherins who would. What is it?" He was curious, not sure he really was an expert on anything besides Transfiguration but also unwilling to let his little pack of firsties down either. He figured he'd give it a shot, whatever it was.
They shifted and elbowed each other roughly until finally Orin produced a small black journal from behind his back to offer up reluctantly.
"It's a book… but it talks." He explained.
Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Talks how?"
"When you write in it, the words disappear and someone else writes back. He says his name is Tom." Ginny chimed in helpfully. "But Dad always said if you can't see where something keeps it's brain and it talks then it could be dangerous!"
"The book isn't Tom, he says he's the previous owner of the book or something." Jude grumbled half-heartedly.
"Where did you get something like this?" Harry wondered allowed as he took it from them, curiously turning it over though it looked pretty harmless to him.
"Uh… honestly, clogging Moaning Myrtle's toilet…"
Harry froze and immediately regretted picking it up without asking first, holding it by two fingers instead.
"Right… I'm not even going to ask." He decided. "Well if you ask me then it's better safe than sorry. Mr. Weasley is the expert on cursed muggle objects so let's listen to him—I figure they may be exceptions but if you don't already know this Tom guy then you shouldn't be talking to him." He kind of made that up on the spot, thinking mainly of the map and while he was cautious he also didn't want to get called a hypocrite. He was going to say the map didn't count as technically he already knew the voices behind it and ignore the double standard.
"Aw," the boys pouted, seeming very disappointed.
"How do we get rid of it then?" Melody perked up.
"Melody! He said there could be exceptions, I don't want to just throw it out!"
Harry laughed. "How about I bring it to the Slytherin table tomorrow and see if anyone there knows some dark-object detecting spell? I'm sure at least one of them does and if it turns out to be harmless then there's no harm in you guys keeping it. If not then Draco will probably give it to Snape to destroy properly, if it's really dangerous." He gave the boys in particular a stern look. "Remember we think this petrification business is because someone unknowingly brought a dark object to the castle—we don't want to contribute to the problem or go about making a new problem by accident."
The reminder that Colin was major victim in this had them wilting, unable to argue that logic.
"Would you really?"
"Of course. They're the experts so I'm sure someone will be able to help." He assured them, placing it into his pocket instead of his bag since he was still kind of grossed out by it being in a toilet and not wanting it to contaminate his bag… at least he could wash his robe later. "Besides that, how was you guys' break? I have to thank you for my presents—I loved them!"
He changed the subject and they were eager to catch up as well, talking journals immediately put from their minds.