First for everything
First for everything
After rereading the note from Sirius at least four times; to confirm he wasn’t seeing things; Harry couldn’t force himself to fall asleep in anticipation. He was nervous about meeting his godfather again, he was worried for him more than he was excited to see him.
He didn’t want risking anyone finding him, but Sirius didn’t really give him space to argue. And with that he was left to find a way to fall asleep because he didn’t want to be a walking corpse on his first day back to classes.
He didn’t know when, but eventually he managed to sleep some and when he woke it was around 6 AM, so there was really no point to go back to sleep and he decided to start getting ready for the day.
He quietly exited his bed and made his way to the bathroom with fresh clothes and toiletries in hand.
Yesterday he didn’t confront his roommates, but his luck wouldn’t last forever and eventually he will have to face them. Just as if thinking of this he probably jinxed himself, because as he was leaving the bathroom he almost collided with Seamus who was on his way to said room with his own things in hand.
He almost hissed and jumped as far away from Harry as possible and made a face.
- ”relax i will not eat you”- Harry said annoyed at his antics.
Seamus said nothing and pushed past him closing the bathroom door behind him. Harry just rolled his eyes, went to make his bed and prepare his bag for the day.
- I can’t believe that I didn’t tidy here before. That is no place to think clearly. But maybe that was the point all along. - Harry thought assessing his private space.
He opted for notebooks instead of parchment rolls and took some colorful ink for his quills, to organize his notes. He made a vow to himself that we WILL NOT tank his OWL’s.
Satisfied with his stash for the day he decided to wake up Neville, after all the boy wanted to go to the kitchen with him.
-” Hey Nev..”- Harry started shaking him lightly. Neville opened his eyes instantly, slightly alarmed, but when he saw Harry at his side he relaxed instantly.
- “I was thinking of breakfast, you said you wanted to go with me. Do you still wanna go?’ - Harry explained, absolutely understanding if Nev would prefer to go to the great hall after all.
- “Oh, yeah i would love too! Give me 5 and I’ll be ready”- Neville answered excited scrambling out of bed.
Harry nodded and went to sit on his bed waiting. Seamus listening to whole conversation was darting his eyes from Neville to Harry, but still refused to talk.
- I will not force him to talk to me, we will see who breaks first- Harry thought to himself a bit spiteful.
- “Okey I’m ready!” - Exclaimed Neville looking a little desheveled. Harry laughed softly at him, standing from his bed. He walked up to Neville and adjusted his crooked tie and straightening his robe.
- “No. Now you are ready. Lets’ go.”- Harry smiled at his friend. Neville blushed a little, but looked like he didn’t mind Harry helping him and followed him out of the room.
- “We better do a stop at McGonagalls’ office”- Harry said when they were already in the corridor
- “Why?” - Asked Neville confused and a little worried.
- “Well. We won’t be at breakfast today and she will be giving timetables now so we better go directly to her and get them. Don’t worry I’ll do the talking” - Harry explained and was already knocking at his head of house office.
- “Come in”- came from behind the closed door. Harry entered and was met by stern look of his favorite transfiguration professor.
- “Mister Potter, mister Longbottom. What brings the two of you to my office so soon in the term?” - she asked them with a hint of worry in her voice.
- “Good morning professor, we don’t want to impose, It’s just.. I think you saw how people were reacting to me yesterday, and to be honest I don’t feel the best about it, so I decided against eating meals at the great hall for now. Aside from formal feasts of course. And Neville here was kind enough to keep me company, he’s a good friend for that I might add.” - Harry rambled; purposefully of course; but nobody needed to know.
- “so, in this situation we wanted to asked for our timetables now, if it isn’t an inconvenience of course” - Harry asked her politely looking her straight in the eye. Harry knew that she wouldn’t use legilimency at him so he wasn’t worried about that, and on the other hand it was a gesture of trust.
She blinked at him a couple times and a shadow of a smile graced her face.
-” You’ve been spending too much time with your godfather. You are starting to sound just like him. Yes fine, here are your timetables. Any lastminute changes?”- She said holding two pieces of parchment in her hands.
- “actually, yes professor If you don’t mind i would like to drop care for magical creatures and divination, and change that for ancient runes and arithmancy please.” - Harry said when Neville just shook his head taking his timetable from her.
-” Here consider it done, but let me warn you these are pretty difficult subjects, if you feel like you are falling behind, please let me know, we will find you some additional materials, or a tutor. I believe miss Granger wouldn’t mind” - She said handing him his parchment.
-” Thank you, professor I will keep it in mind, that’s generous offer and Im grateful for it” - Harry thanked her bowing slightly making his way to the exit pushing Neville gently with him.
-” For what is worth gentlemen, I’m proud of both of you” - She said not looking up from parchment she was reading before they entered.
-” And mister Longbottom?” - she said - “5 points to Gryffindor for assisting a fellow student”
Harry grinned at her from the doorway where Neville was standing dumbfounded.
Harry tugged at his sleeve and they went on their way to the dungeon, where behind a painting, entrance to the kitchen was.
-” Runes and arithmancy? Are you mad Harry?” - Nev finally asked when the overly excited house elves sat them at one table and served them everything they could have asked for.
-” Relax Nev, I decided to take my education seriously for a change, and divination didn’t give me shit, aside from headaches.” - Harry answered playing with food on his fork. At that Neville snorted into his coffee earning himself a small army of house elves cleaning him where drops of coffee stained his shirt.
- “I figured out the tattoo by the way, do you wanna hear it?”- He said, excited to share this bizarre vision with someone, and he felt that he could fully trust Neville with that knowledge. His friend was as excited to hear as he was to tell. Because his eyes got huge and he eagerly shook his head.
-” Okey but this stays between us” - Harry stated and told him everything. Nev was a good listener, not once did he interrupt him in his story and waited with any questions till the end. Harry left some details untold, like Regulus Black being his father; or alive for that matter; and his mother for obvious reasons.
- “WOW Harry this sounds crazy, but to think of it it’s not crazy at all. Good i didn’t write that letter yet. My Gran is a regent for our Wizengamot seats, I will write to her about it if you don’t mind. She will probably send you a letter of acknowledgment and support as a new Potter lord. Wow the Pewerell too? That seat was dormant for almost a century! Also, what did McGonagall meant by your godfather? Isn’t he a convicted criminal?”
-” Well, yes and no. So, he was convicted but never had a trial, therefore I’m not the Black lord – he is. And for my understanding of all these shenanigans If he was in fact guilty, he would be stripped of the titles would he not?”
- “Oh, my you are right! She will be furious about that; don’t worry I don’t know of a better person to bring this to light and not involve you in the process. We will get him that trial.”- Neville said certainty in his voice.
If anyone asked, he would deny it; but he got a bit teary eyed at Nevilles words.
-” Thank you Nev, you don’t even know what that means to me. Okey we should probably get going. What is your first lesson?”
-” DADA with Slytherins. What about you?
- “Same. Let's go face Umbitch.” - Harry sighed and stood up from the table summoning silently their DADA textbooks as they didn’t take any books with them to the breakfast.
-” How did you do that? Nonverbals are very advanced magic.”- Neville asked in awe.
- “Oh that? I was able to do that for a while actually. I can tutor you if you want” - Harry proposed earning himself a bewildered face from Neville
- “You would do that? I’m a lost cause, you know that” - Neville said, sadness in his voice.
- “I would be honored. And You. Are. Not. A. Lost. Cause.” - Harry said emphasizing every word with a poke to the chest. Neville smiled weakly as they made their way to the Umbridge's classroom, where a small group of people was already gathered.
- “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!!!” - Hermione shrieked at him punching him in the arm with her notebook.
-” Calm down Hermione, we were at breakfast.”
-” No, you weren’t! Ron said you left before he even woke up!”
- “Yes, we were, and would you please stop hitting me? Thank you. Look it doesn’t matter where we were, we are here now, aren’t we? Don’t worry about me” - Harry said pointedly at her, and something in his voice must have caught her of guard and she stopped.
- “Fine but you WILL be telling me later” - She said quietly enough that only he could hear her. He just nodded.
- “Well, well, well, I sense trouble. What is it Potter, you’re too good for your friends now?” - Came an ever-snarky comment from Malfoy. Some students snickered at that. Harry didn’t grace him with an answer, just turned more to Hermione practically shielding her from him.
- With those snakes you can never be too careful. - He thought. His action didn’t go unnoticed as he was given grateful looks from both Hermione and Nevile, and a couple confused ones mainly from Ron and Malfoy, but the second he couldn’t see as he had his back to the blond.
Couple minutes later the door to the classroom opened and they took their seats. Harry sat with Hermione in the middle row trying to be as invisible as possible. Of course it wasn’t meant to be, as then and there, the cow in pink claimed that death of Cedric was an “unfortunate tragedy”. He didn’t shout, he just stood from his seat looked at her stone-faced and simply stated
-” Pardon my insolence professor, but you weren’t there. I was. Cedric Diggory was murdered before my very eyes. Do not tarnish his memory by spewing lies. And for the second part; that I'm claiming that certain wizard is back; I’ve never said that. Get your facts straight before you start calling someone a liar. Next you will start insinuation that it was me who killed him.” With that he just took his bag and left the classroom.
Fortunately, he had a free period after that disaster of a class. and could just hide away in an alcove staring into the distance.
After a while he heard soft steps coming his way but he didn’t care. He just wanted to be left alone. He almost fall of the parapet when, to his great shock, a soft almost whisper came right next to his ear.
- ”So, which is it scar head? Is he back or not? Or did you kill Diggory?”- He could hear teasing, but the voice lacked its’ usual malice.
- “Answer that to yourself. Do I look like a murderer to you?” - Harry sighed resigned, resting his head on a stone wall finally looking up at the intruder.
-” And between the two of us, you would know if he was back. Would you Malfoy?” - Harry smirked at the boy. But the playfulness never reaching his eyes. He was still pretty shaken by the accusation from the toad.
- “True” - was all Malfoy said. -” Here, she assigned homework. Wouldn’t want to piss her off even more would you?” - he said as he handed him a note with assignment written in posh handwriting.
-” Since when are you nice to me?” - Harry asked suspicious, taking the note from the blonde.
- “Since you are” - came a simple response. And with that the Slytherin was gone.
Harry shook his head at that. - “What is my life” - he muttered to himself and went to his next class.
Thankfully the rest of the day went uneventful, and after a full interrogation from Hermione he was left to start all of his many Homeworks. He left out his little encounter with a particular Slytherin as he felt that this was a matter he didn’t want to share just now.
He found himself laying on his stomach at the foot of the couch Hermione was sitting on, Neville in one of the armchairs; also working on his work; and an oddly silent Ron in the other armchair. He had a textbook and a notebook open, copying the information he needed, then he went and highlighted some lines in his notes; for his essay reference; when he heard Hermione ask.
-” Harry what are you doing?”
-” Taking notes, what does it look like I’m doing Hermione?”
-” I can see that, why are you highlighting? And where this idea came from? I’ve never seen anyone doing that.”
- “Just thought it would be helpful. I wanted to change some things around this year. Just testing.”
- “Can you lend me the orange one? I need to highlight something too.” - was all she said at that. A small smile nested on her face. Ron on the other hand snorted at them.
-” What’s up Ron?” - Harry asked; not really interested on an answer; still focused on his assignment.
- “When did you became so boring mate, it’s like there is two of her now!” - Ron was not pleased with what was going on around him.
-” I’m not boring Ron. I don’t want to fail my OWLs’. Something you should think about too, to be honest. And secondly, there is nothing wrong with caring about school. I think I understand Hermione more now, so yeah, I guess there is two of us now. Deal with it”- Harry answered, tone monotone. Ron grumbled under his breath but also got to work. When it was close to curfew, Harry excused himself, as he finished his work already, no one even glanced his way. He went up to his room, got his cloak and map from the trunk.
He checked where Filch was on the map, and after putting the cloak on he went down, trying to be undetected by the strugglers still sitting in the common room. Ron was sitting at the table now, not even looking up from his paper, he looked like he was drowning in work.
- Who’s the boring one now- Harry thought to himself snickering slightly. Here he was sneaking out in the middle of the night and Ron was stuck with homework.
He exited the castle with no issues and went straight to the womping willow.
~Immobilus! - He muttered. As the tree froze, he went down the cave underneath it.
Only when he was no longer visible on the map did he take of the cloak. He quickly went up the stairs to the room it all came down in their third year.
On the disheveled couch sat Sirius, patting a very pleased Crookshanks.