Chapter Four:

As was now usual these days, 7 year old Hari was tucked up in one of the back corners of the Hogwarts library, surrounded by several stacks of books. He was currently trying to make his way through a Muggle maths textbook, trying to teach himself basic maths so that Snape could help him later on. He found it increasingly hard, however, eyes drifting longingly towards the pile of books he actually wanted to read. He wished he could go back to reading 'Matilda' or 'Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle', but he had to finish his homework first.

Since sending him to a Muggle school would have been difficult since Hogwarts was nowhere near any local schools and Hari's address was Untraceable, Hari instead was getting his early education at Hogwarts. Minerva helped him with his reading and writing practice and Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies teacher, helped him with Muggle history and Pomona helped with science. Minerva had even talked Snape into teaching Hari maths. Hari rather enjoyed learning about history or learning science with Pomona, reading in the library whenever he could while the various Hogwarts students came and went.

From where he was sitting, mostly hidden behind his books, Hari could see a group of Hufflepuffs studying for an upcoming Charms test, quizzing each other on spells and helping each other when they didn't understand. Another table had Ravenclaws and Slytherins working in silence together, occasionally pointing out phrases from their textbooks for the group to write down before returning to their silence. Hari giggled as a pair of Slytherins argued over a book until Madam Pince swooped on them and kicked them out of the library for making too much noise.

"You better return those to their proper shelves when you finish. I don't think Madam Pince would be happy." Hari startled at the sudden voice directly behind him and turned to find Nearly Headless Nick hovering next to one of the shelves.

"I was going to! But people watch me too much if I don't hide behind the books, see," Hari replied defensively, gesturing his chin towards the tables nearby, still whispering about Charms. "Plus, some of these are my books anyway."

Nick hummed understandingly, rubbing his chin with one of his transparent hands. "What is that you're working on?" he asked, hovering closer over the table so he could look at the paper Hari had covered in the 3 times table. Hari winced as his arm went cold as Nick accidentally grazed him, leaning slightly away to avoid the feeling like a bucket of ice.

"I have to learn how to multiply by 3 before Snape comes later," Hari explained, pointing at the different multiplication problems he had scribbled over the paper. There were many crossings out and rewrites scattered over the paper where Hari had made errors in his multiplying. He hoped he hadn't messed it up too badly, but the 3 times table was much harder than 2 for Hari.

"Well, 3 and 7 makes 21, not 19, for starters," Nick said, pointing at Hari's parchment where he had indeed said that 3 and 7 made 21. He pointed at another problem. "And 3 and 5 makes 15, since I see you didn't figure that one out yet." Hari muttered his thanks and wrote down the answer.

"Thanks, Nick. This is much harder than my other stuff," Hari said as he continued to add in more answers on the paper while Nick watched over his shoulder.

"Anytime," Nick replied, starting to glide away through one of the other shelves, "Good luck with your work, Hari." And then he disappeared through one of the shelves, leaving Hari alone with his books and his notes once more.

Hari returned to his work just as Snape rounded the corner, scowling. "Have you done what I asked?" He stopped to stand on the other side of the table from Hari, glancing down at his notes. Hari spun the paper around to show him and Snape sat down across from him, plucking a quill and ink bottle out of an inside pocket. "Could you not have at least tried to write legibly?" Snape asked, dipping his quill in the ink bottle and marking a neat red tick mark next to one of Hari's answers.

Hari shrugged, opening his textbook to the right pages. "It's hard trying to teach yourself maths without help. The textbook wasn't very good at explaining it," Hari replied, looking determinedly at Snape. Snape rolled his eyes and went back to checking Hari's work.

"Why do you think I'm here during my only free period of the day, then?" Snape replied shortly, marking another x on Hari's page. He turned the page sideways so that they could both look at it. "That right there is wrong. You mixed up 3 times 4 with 3 times 6, somehow. That should be a 12." Hari nodded and Snape delved into an explanation about where Hari went wrong, pointing out phrases and problems in the textbook to show where he could improve.

By the time the bell rang and Snape had to go to his next lesson, Hari had a better idea of the multiplication and was already moving onto the much easier 5s. He waved goodbye to Snape and watched him disappear back around the shelves with a civil nod.

¤¤¤

By far Hari's favourite office of all the staff members was Dumbledore's. It was a huge circular room full of fascinating, confusing trinkets and the walls lined with usually friendly portraits of former headmasters who greeted him whenever he came. He had a squashy armchair that he reserved for Hari and his phoenix Fawkes often came to sit near Hari and watch whatever he was doing. Dumbledore usually sat behind his desk, answering letters or paced the floor in deep thought while Hari stayed in his comfortable seat with books or toys or drawing materials.

Currently, Hari was sitting in his usual spot, ignoring his history book in favour of talking to Fawkes. Over behind his desk, Dumbledore was deep in conversation with one of the portraits, both looking very grave. He kept peeking over his shoulder at Hari.

Hari was so distracted with whispering to Fawkes about his recent bowtruckle search that he did not notice when Dumbledore appeared at his side until he spoke. "What are you reading about?" he asked, startling Hari from where he had been stroking Fawkes' sleek feathers.

Hari held up the book and handed it to Dumbledore. "It's about Ancient Egypt. Did you know they worshipped cats? I bet Minnie would love that," said Hari as Dumbledore flipped idly through the pages. He smiled at Hari's comment about cats and Minerva before handing him back his book.

"It looks like a fascinating read," Dumbledore commented, "Are you enjoying your other studies?" He looked down at Hari over his half moon spectacles, eyes glinting in the light.

Hari nodded excitedly, beaming. "Definitely! Charity teaches me really cool facts about Muggle history and gives me Muggle books to read as well. Minnie helps me with my writing and Pomona makes science sound really cool. I even like maths with Snape, even though it's the hardest one," Hari babbled, using his hands in abundance and almost hitting poor Fawkes in the face. "It's weird not having other kids my age, though. I didn't have any friends at school because of my cousin, but at least there were people my age around."

Dumbledore laughed lightly at Hari's chatter, bobbing his head to show he was listening. "I am glad you enjoy your studies, Hari," he said once Hari finished his rant, "And I can understand your frustration at not having other children your age around. I will see what I can do."

"You let the boy talk far too much," Phineas Nigellus Black said from his portrait when Albus walked back towards his desk.

"He's only a boy, Phineas. Let the boy talk! Goodness knows he doesn't get to do it much," Dilys Derwent, Hari's favourite portrait, snapped at Phineas, looking at Hari with an apologetic smile. Hari returned the smile, though his face felt uncomfortably hot at being spoken about as though he was not there.

Their argument was cut off by a knock on the door and Minerva entering the office. She walked immediately over to Hari, who jumped up immediately. "Thank you for watching Hari, Albus. I hope he wasn't too much trouble?" Minerva took Hari's free hand and walked with him over to Dumbledore's desk. She glanced up at the two scowling portraits behind Dumbledore.

"Not at all, Minerva. He was just showing me his book about Ancient Egypt," Dumbledore replied warmly, ignoring the portraits and smiling at Hari again. Minerva gave him an unamused look and returned her gaze to the portraits behind him, raising an eyebrow. Hari knew that not even Dumbledore could easily stand up to a glare from Minerva McGonagall. "Phineas and Dilys were simply having a minor disagreement—"

"He thinks Hari speaks too much, but I disagree," Dilys interrupted, scowling at Phineas who merely shrugged, looking bored. "Hari is a delight and he was merely answering Albus' question."

Minerva huffed, glaring at Phineas' portrait. "I will discuss this later, Albus. I have a class in a few minutes, which I would not like to be late for." Minerva nodded tersely and led Hari out of the office. Once they were making their way down the spiral staircase she said, "Do you want to sit in the back of my class this afternoon? They will be learning about turning beetles into buttons."

Hari nodded, following her through the castle towards her Transfiguration classroom. By the time they got there, the bell had already rung and students were beginning to line up outside the classroom. "Get inside, please. We have much work today," she ordered as they reached the door. The students listened and began filing inside the classroom and making their way to their seats. Hari made his way over to his usual seat next to Minerva's desk while the class took their seats, occasionally glancing to the front at Hari. "Please refrain from watching Hari. Today you will be turning beetles into buttons and I hardly think watching a 6 year old read quietly will help you." A quiet giggle rolled through the students, but they quickly moved onto their work and ignored Hari for the most part.

¤¤¤

Two weeks later, Hari was following Snape from the dungeons up to the entrance hall. They passed groups of students making their way out of the Great Hall towards their common rooms or the library to enjoy the weekend. Hari smiled and waved politely as he went by, occasionally greeting a ghost or a portrait he liked. Finally, they reached the entrance hall where one of the doors was propped open magically, letting a cool breeze inside. Snape stopped walking and stood in the doorway, looking out onto the grounds. Hari peered out from behind him, trying to find what he was looking out.

Suddenly, appearing up the path towards the castle was a woman walking with a small child. As they approached, Hari noticed the child looked to be his age with white blond hair similar to the woman pulling him along. Hari glanced up at Snape whose lips curled up into something slightly resembling a smile. He stepped outside just as the woman and the boy made their way up the steps. The boy caught Hari's eyes briefly before darting to look up at Snape.

"Narcissa, how are you doing?" Snape asked, shaking the woman's free hand.

Up close, she was quite pretty with porcelain skin, long flowing platinum hair and high, regal cheekbones. She shook Snape's hand, smiling and pushing the other boy forward. "It's good to see you, Severus. Although, I was rather surprised at your invitation." She let go of his hand and glanced down at Hari. He swallowed, cheeks hot under her stare. "So this is Hari Potter, then?" She gestured her head towards Hari.

Snape pressed a hand into Hari's back, making him step out from behind him and into the cool air outside. He looked down at Hari as well. "Hari, this is Narcissa and her son Draco. Draco is your age," he introduced. The pale, blond boy, Draco, blinked at him, eyes darting to the small lightning bolt scar on his forehead, mostly hidden behind his messy curls.

"Er, hello there. N-nice to meet you," Hari stammered, looking between Draco and Narcissa uncomfortably. Was this really Dumbledore's solution to Hari not having any other children his age to talk to?

"You too," the other boy replied with a short nod.

"Will you be alright without me?" Narcissa asked Snape, holding onto Draco's shoulder protectively. He turned his eyes towards the weight before looking back at Hari, searching his face intently. Hari wished he would at least smile instead of just staring at him.

"Of course," drawled Snape, forcing a wider smile. "Minerva will be along shortly once she finishes meeting with one of her students and I'm sure the two of us can handle these two."

Narcissa said her goodbyes to Draco, bending down to give him a tight hug and whispering something in his ear. After waving goodbye to Snape, she swept down the stairs again and disappeared across the grounds. It was tense to say the least as the three of them stood in front of the castle in silence, nobody quite sure of how to break the silence.

Finally, Snape was the one to break the silence. "Draco, did you want to see my potions classroom? I can take you both there if you behave." Draco's face lit up for the first time, grey eyes twinkling with excitement. He nodded and they followed Snape inside the castle and back towards where they came from.

"Is it true you live here during the school year?" Draco asked as they followed Snape through the corridors. he was looking around at the huge ceilings and the portraits and torches lining the walls, eyes wide.

"Yeah. I live with Minerva McGonagall," Hari replied. They started down a flight of stairs, passing a pair of Hufflepuffs that stared at the unfamiliar boy walking with Hari.

"I've heard she's a bit scary," Draco replied. Hari smirked. "She used to teach my parents when they went here."

"Same. She taught my parents as well."

They reached Snape's office and he tapped his wand on the handle to unlock it, stepping inside and letting the boys pass him to get inside as well. Draco gazed around the small dungeon room at all the shelves lined with strange potions and substances, circling the room with clear interest. Hari, who had been in there several times before, stayed glued to the doorway, watching Draco trace his hands over the rough dark stone and try to peek inside the cauldrons or to crane his neck to get a closer look at the odd creatures stuck inside some of the jars. Those always gave Hari the creeps, but Draco was unbothered.

"Do you do all your brewing here?" Draco asked once he had wandered around the entire room. He stopped next to Hari and looked up at Snape who was standing in the centre of the room with a smirk.

"I do."

"Wicked."

Snape narrowed his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. Hari had never seen him smile so much in such a short time. "Quite. Do you want to see my latest potion?" Draco's eyes widened comically and he moved towards the cauldron Snape placed on top of the desk. Curious as well, Hari followed Draco, trying to peer inside the potion. The liquid inside the cauldron was a violent, almost neon shade of green which bubbled and smelled strongly of mucus. Hari wrinkled his nose but still glanced at the thick potion with interest.

"This is the Wiggenweld Potion," Snape explained, lifting a small vial from the table and dipping it in the potion to collect some of the potion. "If brewed correctly, it can also heal most minor injuries and replenish the taker's stamina temporarily. It can also counteract the effects of most sleeping draughts, including the Draught of Living Death." Draco gasped, covering his mouth with a hand. Hari smirked but returned to watching Snape fill several vials with the green substance.

"What's the Draught of Living Death?" Hari asked.

Draco turned towards him, aghast. "You've never heard of the Draught of Living Death?" he exclaimed in shocked horror, eyes wide once again. "Surely you would know about it living here!"

Snape's lips twitched at Draco's outburst, much to Hari's annoyance. "The Draught of Living Death is a potion which brings upon a drinker an endless sleep which is nearly impossible to wake up from," he explained, putting a stopper into the last of the vials he filled with Wiggenweld potion. He picked up his wand from the table, muttered *'Evanesco'* at the potion and the last of the contents disappeared. "You will be able to learn how to properly brew the Wiggenweld potion in your first year here," continued Snape, moving to place the vials over on one of the shelves, "And, if you manage to make it to my N.E.W.T. level class, you may learn to brew the Draught of Living Death in sixth year."

There was a knock at the door at that precise moment and in stepped Minerva. "Ah, I was wondering where you were," she said upon noticing the room's inhabitants. She glanced down at Draco and smiled politely. "Hello, Draco. How are you?"

Draco's cheeks flushed pale pink at being spoken to by Minerva and he said, "Fine, thanks." Hari kept himself from snorting at Draco's obvious fear of Minerva. He had seen her have that effect on many people before.

"We were just learning about the Draught of Living Death and the Wiggenweld potion, Minnie," Hari told her.

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "Is that really?" She narrowed her eyes at Snape. "Are you sure that is appropriate for children this age, Severus?"

Snape sighed, moving the cauldron from his desk and storing it in a cupboard behind him. "I wasn't showing them the Draught of Living Death, Minerva. They simply wanted to know what potion I was brewing, so I told them what it does," Snape replied curtly, sneering.

Minerva sniffed, turning to the two boys watching this conversation unfold. Hari and Draco exchanged looks at the two adults arguing, giggling. "Would you two like to go outside on the grounds? Hari can show you the lake, if you like." Minerva turned her gaze on Draco, softening.

A few minutes later, Draco and Hari were walking together behind Minerva and Snape. They were muttering to each other, both frowning, trying to avoid letting the younger boys overhear their conversation. Draco, wanting to hear what they were saying, kept glancing at their backs, craning his head to hear better.

Hari whispered in his ear, "I wouldn't bother listening. They're always arguing and they make it impossible to hear them."

Draco rolled his eyes. "That doesn't make it any less interesting. In fact, it's even more interesting because they don't want us to hear them," Draco whispered. Hari shook his head disapprovingly. They continued walking in silence until Draco elbowed him in the side. "I bet you we can find a way to listen in, don't you? There's got to be a way."

"You may not be able to hear our whispering, but we can hear you, by the way," Minerva said over her shoulder. Draco's entire face blushed a violent shade of red and he stopped trying to listen in at once. Hari caught Minerva's eye and smiled. They reached the doors to the entrance hall once again and followed the two professors down the steps in the direction of the lake on the edge of the grounds. Hari was glad Minerva had summoned his coat before they left, shivering with the strong breeze as they walked down the hill.

"Is it true there's a giant squid in the lake?" Draco asked as they neared the water. He pulled his nice black coat tighter around himself, nose and cheeks a faint pink from the cold.

"There is indeed," Minerva replied, pulling out a loaf of bread from inside one of the deep pockets of her emerald green overcoat. They stopped on the edge of the water and she tore the loaf into four pieces, handing Draco and Hari each a quarter.

Hari thanked Minerva and grabbed Draco's elbow, tugging him closer to the edge of the water and leaving the two professors behind to let them keep talking. "Come on, we can feed the squid bits of bread," informed Hari, tearing off a bit of bread and chucking it into the water. There was a moment's pause before a large, blood red tentacle breached the surface and grabbed to piece of bread. Draco jumped in surprise, grabbing Hari's arm. Hari laughed at Draco' reaction and took a bite of bread before tearing off another piece. "He can't hurt you from here. Just take a piece and chuck it into the water."

Draco did as Hari told and tore off a large piece of bread. Eyeing Hari to see if he was doing it right, Draco took a deep breath and threw the bread piece as far as he could. When a tentacle grabbed at it again, he jumped up in excitement, turning to grin proudly at Hari. "Did you see? I did it, Hari!" He tore off another piece of bread and repeated it again, nearly knocking Hari over in his excitement.

Once they finished both pieces of the loaf, Hari pulled Draco by his sleeve farther down the shore. Behind them, Minerva and Snape were standing huddled together in the cold, watching them from a large black rock. Hari crouched down beside one of the small rock pools, Draco copying him and kneeling beside him. Hari pointed out the various small creatures in the low water, pointing out a couple of tiny crabs, a flobberworm stuck to the sides and even a small salamander. Draco grabbed a twig from the grass nearby and poked the water, startling one of the crabs so that it scuttled away, making him laugh.

Hari elbowed him gently in the side. "Don't be mean to the creatures. This is their home we're invading," Hari admonished, scowling.

Draco snorted, poking the water again. "Then why did you drag me over here if you didn't want to 'invade' their homes?" Draco teased, poking Hari's chest with the wet stick and leaving a wet patch on his coat. Draco burst out laughing at Hari's pout at his comment, throwing the stick into the water. "You're easy to annoy, you know." He stood up from his squat beside Hari and continued his walk along the stone-covered beach. When Hari stayed where he was, watching him from beside the first rock pool, Draco turned and waved towards himself. "Come on, Hari!"

Hari sighed and got up from the ground, hurrying to keep up with the other boy. They fell into step once again and Hari heard Snape and Minerva following after them as Hari led Draco over the rocks, telling him about the creatures he knew that dwelled inside the lake. Draco asked him questions about the different creatures which Hari did his best to answer. After a while of walking slowly over the rocks, Hari settled down onto a large flat of black stone next to the water. Draco settled beside him and Minerva and Snape joined them shortly after, conjuring up a seat for each of them so that they didn't sit on the ground like the two young children.

"Have you ever met one of the mermaids?" Draco asked Hari who had just finished telling Draco about how, according to Hagrid, a colony of mermaids lived near the bottom of the lake.

Hari shook his head. "Of course not, they live at the very bottom!" Draco huffed, elbowing him in the side.

"Have you ever met one of the mermaids?" Draco asked, turning around to face the two professors.

"I wouldn't say I met them so much as I saw them nearby. I don't speak Mermish, so I couldn't exactly introduce myself," Snape replied.

"Have you met one, Minnie?" Hari asked, turning around as well.

Minerva shook her head. "Similarly, I've seen them before, but I do not speak Mermish either, so I have never spoken to one."

"Do you know anyone that does speak Mermish?" Hari asked.

"Dumbledore can speak it."

"I want to learn Mermish so I can speak to the mermaids," Draco announced. "How cool would it be if we could talk to them, Hari? I can already speak French like my cousin Orion, but Mermish would be cool as well!"

As the group of four made their way back to the grounds for lunch, Draco was still rattling on about wanting to speak Mermish. Hari tried joining in occasionally with his own thoughts, but had already figured out that interrupting Draco on one of his rants would be impossible. Hari simply enjoyed having the company of someone his own age for once, having spent most of his life either with classmates that were too afraid of his cousin to befriend him or having no children younger than 11 near him.

Having Draco around was a breath of fresh air for Hari, certainly.