The dueling club’s Fallout
Harry was feeling lonelier than he would on a normal day. Well to hell with it, he was lonelier than he had felt in months, -- back when he was with his relatives-- because at least then people talked to him for some reason. People had started avoiding him after Lockhart’s dueling club, and then Ron and Hermione started to as well, even after multiple reassurances he wasn’t the Heir of Slytherin. No one seemed to believe him, ever since he --accidentally-- revealed he was a parselmouth.
No one had spoken to him except the teachers for a week and he was getting sick of it, so of course he went to the library. He figured if he didn’t have friends anymore he might as well have good grades, he wouldn’t have to hold back his understanding. Not like he had to for Dudley and Hermione, and he could use his money --even if he is still a frugal orphan at heart-- because why would he care if Ron gets jealous if the git would just leave again.
He sat down with a book on potion ingredients, their uses and how to prepare them. And a charmed muggle notebook that he had owl-ordered from hogsmeade.
So he studied, he found it utterly fascinating the different uses of unicorn hair, or the fact you may get gored by one for trying to pluck it. And then there's basilisk venom, highly volatile in base form but when mixed with phoenix tears they would make a great amplifier for any potion.By the time he was halfway through the book he understood a lot of what he had been doing wrong in potions may have just been over adding of ingredients as it was much more precise than regular cooking, and it really was closer to chemistry than it was typical cooking but he could figure that out too.
He finished the book around time for lunch, he wasn’t too hungry though so he simply put his book away and grabbed another, this one on the theory of magic itself. He hurriedly sat down back at his table and began reading through it. It wasn’t as fascinating as the potions book but it did answer some questions he’d had about magic.
Like where does our magic come from? A Core in our bodies that grows with age and use like a muscle it can also be naturally large from birth.
He supposed it makes sense to start learning to draw from the core at an early age. Apparently the wand was just a focus though, like accidental magic with enough practice people could use magic without a focus. Which doesn’t seem like a well known fact. Or if it was people were just too lazy to utilize the benefits of it, like being able to cast through your feet, or just without hands at all which seems like it would be a lot harder.
After several weeks more he still felt bitter over the isolation but his grades were doing better, Snape even seemed like he had to do a double take when he had brewed a perfect potion. He was still staunchly refusing to do defense though, he had taken to skipping the class and self studying the subject. Lockhart was a moron and he’d rather learn from someone who happens to be arsehole but knows the subject --snape-- than a moron who doesn’t.
At this point though, being isolated was more a benefit than a detriment. He could study more without being lectured on how to do it or how he wasn’t learning it correctly.
“Hey Wood, So..” He greeted, purposely in the common room. “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, I have decided that because i need more time to myself, from now on. Studying takes more precedence than playing quidditch. So… i quit, i shouldn’t have been asked to join in the first place.”
He walked away leaving a shell shocked Oliver Wood, and a group of devastated quidditch fanatics, because gryffindor was counting on him to win the cup like last year. That wouldn’t be happening this time.
Harry Rested his head against the Loveseat in the back of the library and folded his legs. He was in lost in the runes book before long reading along like nothing else in the world mattered. Up until someone came and elegantly sat next to him.
“Uhm..-- Hello I'm Harry Potter and you are?” He smiled at the person, ‘slytherin’ his mind provided with one look at the boys tie. He had the prettiest honey-like eyes he’d ever seen.
“Theodore Nott” the pretty bo-- Nott said simply. His face was perfectly blank, and even with baby fat you could still tell he was of high aristocratic standing.
“Did you simply come here just to sit and read ..or to talk to me? Because if it’s the former there are seats every third bookcase..” He was hesitant to talk to anyone right now, other than Oliver a couple hours ago and the teachers he had begun ignoring everyone back.It was nice but it had the consequence of making him a tad awkward again.
“I came here because I need you to do something for me..” Nott’s face was still blank, but not in a carefully crafted way more in a ‘i’m embarrassed i have to ask for this’ way.
“You? A slytherin asking a gryffindor for a favor.”
“That’s Correct. Look if you’re not willing to do it I get it but she’s been acting weird, and you're the only parselmouth around.”
“Snake owning a snake.” He snorted, “yeah sure whatever give me the bloody snake and i’ll figure out her deal”
Nott reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green boomslang, “this is her, she’s been fussy and i thought she was sick but when i took her to madam Pomfrey she was perfectly fine. Her name is angela.”
“Ssso.. whats wrong with you Little snake?” Harry hissed at the little snake. It’s Head shot up in surprise.
“A Sspeaker? I’m more than ok” The little snak-- Angela hissed excitedly.
“Your owner/companion over there seems to think you were ssick? That you had been hisssing or been more fusssy than normal” Harry’s brow scrunched up.
“I was not ssick i was sspeaking to the queen snake in the walls” Harry blanched at it for a moment, he would definitely have to explain that one.
“Oh okay.. Yeah i get it i tried to chat too but they ssseem a little distracted. Yeah no she isn’t sick she was just speaking to a basilisk in the walls.”
“The What.” Nott’s blank mask had basically shattered at this point, Nott was looking at him like he was crazy for being so nonchalant about it.
“The basilisk, you know the giant snake slithering around petrifying people”
“Yeah.. Yeah.. because that was common knowledge POTTER” Nott raised his hands with his voice before widening his eyes and going back to his blank mask.
“I figured most would guess it by the end of the month, i mean slytherin is famous for being a parselmouth, i’m being ostracized for being a parselmouth. Someones claiming to be the heir of slytherin, so yeah obviously another parselmouth -- probably the actual heir -- is controlling a basilisk in a hidden chamber. And from what I can hear it’s pretty hungry and being forced to follow certain commands that it repeats.”