Threats and Legends
The only thing that was keeping Harry from running to the Nook, to comfort, to safety, was the weight of Snape’s hand on his shoulder as they walked into Lockhart’s office. Not stifling, not even guiding him, just the knowledge that the professor was there, and for him.
McGonagall closed the door behind them, the snap of the knob catching echoing throughout the room.
“Severus, surely Harry and I can have this conversation without your watchful eye. Isn’t that right, my boy?” Dumbledore twinkled at Harry.
Harry was pretending to be interested in the books on the shelves, not meeting the headmaster’s eyes.
Even as he flinched under Snape’s hand at the man’s endearment.
“Actually, Professor, I don’t mind his presence in the least. Nor Professor McGonagall. Also, I have to repeat my desire for you not to call me boy in any way.”
The headmaster raised a hand in surrender. “Now, Harry, you weren’t at dinner. Was there a reason for that?” Dumbledore looked over the top of his glasses at him.
Harry sighed and turned his attention back to the front. “As you all may remember from last year, sir, today is a… hard day, and I didn’t feel comfortable eating in the Great Hall. A friend extended an invitation to Sir Nick’s Death Day, and we felt it was too unique an opportunity to skip, a different way to remember those we’ve lost.” Harry had to withhold a sneer, instead smiling so politely his lips ached.
McGonagall made an understanding noise from the side, but Dumbledore was staring him down. Harry made a point of looking down with a sheepish expression.
“Then why were you on the second floor? The Death Day Room is in the dungeons, as are your rooms.”
Harry thought quickly before shrugging. “We were walking a new friend back up to the Ravenclaw tower. Got caught up in the crowd. Luna Lovegood, if you’re familiar. A first year that grew up with the Weasleys.”
An awkward silence fell, Harry shuffling in front of Lockhart’s trinket-filled desk.
The professor leaned forward, obviously trying to catch his eye. “Is there something you need to tell me, Harry?”
Harry couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “No, Albus, I don’t have anything to share, though I appreciate the chance.”
Snape’s fingers curled into his shoulder as a slight warning.
McGonagall gave a shocked gasp. “You cannot call the Headmaster by his first name, Mr. Potter, as if you’re of equal standing.”
Harry didn’t even turn to face her. “He calls me by mine, Professor, even after recurring rebuttals on my end. Besides, according to the wizarding world, and even Albus himself, we kind of are on equal footing, as we’ve both defeated a Dark Lord.”
Dumbledore chuckled to himself. “Fair enough, Harry. If you are sure there is nothing you wish to discuss, Severus can take you back to your common room. My office is always open to you, if that changes.”
“And apparently those of your staff.” Harry gave a shallow bow. “Good evening, sir.” He turned to follow at the edge of Snape’s robe, leaving the other professors in the office.
“Weasley, Granger, follow as well,” Snape called as the door closed behind them.
Hermione and Ron instantly peered around the corner, not even bothering to look regretful at getting caught.
“Anything we need to worry about, mate?” Ron asked as they started towards the back stairs, away from Myrtle’s bathroom, even though it was a longer walk.
Harry shook his head. “Albus obviously thinks I know more than I’m willing to share. Which, fair shout, but in this particular case, wrong.” He trailed off, blinking a few times. “Unless… Professor, did anything ever come from the news of the rogue house elf from the summer?”
Snape barely turned his head. “Not as of yet, Mr. Potter. I have informed the headmaster of the incident, but he seems to be under the impression that it was another one of your housemates playing a prank of some sort.”
All three students rolled their eyes.
“Would anything come of us asking Tweak to keep an eye out for any unusual elves?” Harry asked, rubbing idly at his ribs.
“Perhaps. I’ll have a word with the Head Elf tomorrow.”
Hermione spoke up. “Professor, do you know of any literature concerning the bond between elf and wixen? There’s not any… healthy comparisons between it and anything in the muggle world, and I wanted to research more.”
Snape rolled his eyes. “I can assure you that Madam Pince would be a more appropriate resource for that inquiry, Miss Granger. I can only tell you that it is indeed a mutually beneficial bond.”
She nodded. “I’ll stop by the library soon, then.”
“Just be cautious in any questions made in the common areas, you three. You have no idea who that elf may belong to, or what they know about its reasoning.”
Ron grinned. “Professor, we’re Slytherins. We know a thing or two about subtlety.”
The sigh that left the professor made all three hold back snickers. “If only I could believe that, Mr. Weasley. If only.”
They followed Snape into Slytherin territory, Harry catching the other two up on what was discussed in Lockhart’s office.
“You really shouldn’t call the Headmaster by his first name, Harry,” Hermione was admonishing as they slipped into the common room after Snape.
“I’m not getting into this right now, Mione.”
“Shh, Snape’s calling a house meeting.” Ron pulled them both to the side as the professor cast a spell to call all students in the dorms to the common room.
A few moments later, enough of the house was crammed into the room for Snape to be satisfied, and it was unusually quiet as he began speaking.
“As you all are surely aware by now, Argus Filch’s cat was found petrified on the second floor.”
The few people who had the poor taste to snicker at that were silenced by either prefects or Snape’s glare.
“As alarming as this would be on its own, the message that accompanied it raises many concerns. It seems, whether some ill-planned prank, or another nefarious purpose, that someone is using the legend of the Chamber of Secrets to throw the school into chaos and fear. What I say next cannot be taken with anything less than the utmost sincerity.”
No one moved.
“If anyone in this house has anything to do with tonight’s events, I expect you to come forward immediately. If you wish to come to me directly, knock three times on the doorframe of either my office and my classroom, and my wards will alert me and I will be there promptly.”
No one even breathed.
“Until whoever is behind this is caught, the threat to our house will be at its highest in near a decade. Many will assume that this is a Slytherin prank of some kind. Therefore, until further notice, we will be adding more rules to our list.”
There wasn’t even a single groan.
“No one should go anywhere alone. If at all possible, I expect you all to travel in groups of three or more. As per the legend of the Chamber, anyone not of pure blood stands out as a particular risk. If you are a halfblood or less,” he looked towards a ramrod straight Hermione, “I will ask that you take extreme caution while outside of the Slytherin labyrinth.”
He began to pace, almost like a general lecturing to his troops before a battle. “I wish to convey how serious these next few weeks, perhaps even months will be. You will be the main suspects to three quarters of this school. Many of you will assume that this is not unusual. But whatever ostracization you may have experienced in the past years will be nothing compared to what you are about to face.”
Snape paused, eyes scanning the room. He sighed when he saw Nicolas Blanc, a halfblood first year that was nearly a hatstall, shaking under Ginny’s arm.
“Trust in each other. More than ever, the snake pit needs to remain safe territory. We look after each other, and that cannot change if blood purity becomes a dividing factor in this school.”
He made eye contact with each of the prefects, with Marcus as Quidditch Captain, and even with Harry.
“We are Slytherins at the end of the day. Let that be what connects us.”
He gave the room a nod, and left.
As the bricks closed behind him, it was as if the air was finally sucked back into the room.
Harry immediately moved towards where the first years were sitting, kneeling in front of Blanc, who was now on the verge of hyperventilating.
“Nic, it’s going to be okay, yeah? You just have to follow Snape’s rules, stay with the others, watch out for anything suspicious.”
Nic took a heaving breath, but tried to nod.
Marcus stood a little taller, not even having to really move to gain the attention of the room. “You all heard him. We need to stick together. Usual rules will be enforced tenfold, in that beyond these walls, we need to be more united than ever. If you are found putting down another Slytherin in public, if you sneer or make the house look weak, look divided, not only will you be getting detention with Snape, you’ll be a house outcast until we see fit to allow you back in.”
A few of the upper years rolled their eyes.
But no one dared disagree.
Hermione hovered next to Harry. He looked up at her. “What do we know?”
She shook her head. “Not much. A quick mention that there was a legend of a chamber hidden at some point in Hogwarts, a History, but other than that…”
“We need more information. And I doubt that…” He trailed off, looking at the full room surrounding him. “I doubt my friend from this summer will be of any help, even if this is what he was referring to.” Harry pulled a muggle candy bar from his bag and passed it to Nic, who gave him a wane smile. Ginny nodded as the second years moved away, towards the hall to the dorms, where Theo was waiting with a worried expression.
“Millie.”
“What about her?”
“She’s into history. Like, probably more than I am. She may know.”
Harry gave Hermione a grin as Ron fell in behind them. “I’ll bring her round to the Nook tomorrow, after classes. Spread the word. Story time.”
“Potter, attend.”
Harry blinked up at the professor, who didn’t even look away from his grading. He shrugged towards his friends and moved to the front of the room as the rest of the class filed out of the door.
A few moments after the last student left, Snape looked up, steepling his fingers as he peered at Harry. “You will have detention with me once every other week for the rest of term, for your gallivanting through the forest on the first day.”
Harry’s jaw dropped, but he immediately clenched it before taking a deep breath, falling into Occlumency exercises. Pushing his anger aside, he calmly asked, “And what will these detentions consist of?”
“Whatever I see fit. I’m sure I will have quite a few students down here scrubbing cauldrons at any given time, but I find myself lacking the time for the large scale ingredient preparation that teaching all seven years requires of me. You will, for the most part, be working with the ingredients and any other trivial tasks that are required of me. I will be brewing while overseeing your work.”
Inhaling sharply, Harry bit back a grin. “And if I were to ask questions during these detentions?”
Snape’s expression turned gleeful (as much as he seemed capable, so mainly just a twitch of the lips). “Then I’m sure we will have an array of conversations aimed towards minimizing your ineptitude in my class.”
Harry’s smile broke through, even as he tried looking morose. “I accept this punishment as is due, Professor.”
“Very well. Monday after dinner?”
Harry bit back a groan. “Can we do Tuesdays? Hermione has us working with Vince and Greg to help them learn alternative methods of studying after they did so poorly last year. We blocked off Monday nights in the study rooms for it. And I have Quidditch Wednesdays and Saturdays.”
Snape’s eyebrow raised. “Indeed. Tuesday will be sufficient. We will begin next week. If something comes up, you will let me know at least the day before. You are not to use this as an excuse to get out of any other detention.”
“Of course not, sir.”
“Leave.”
Harry bowed and skittered towards the door, waiting until he was around the corner before he began skipping to catch up with his friends.
The boys were waiting for Hermione, who was using the restroom on the second floor, before they headed to the Nook to brainstorm a plan to deal with Lockhart. The two were chatting, Harry scanning his mail from that morning, ignoring Draco Malfoy walking in the opposite direction.
“So, do you think Snape’s just doing it to keep an eye on you? If last year is any indication, you’re likely to end up in the middle of all of this.”
Harry shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t really care about the why. I get extra potions lessons and potential access to his ingredients store room. He might even let me try out a few complicated brews.”
Ron rolled his eyes.
When the door to the bathroom opened, both Ron and Harry grinned when a shock of blonde followed Hermione out.
“Hey, Luna!”
“Hello, Hadrian, Ron. Hermione had just offered for me to join you all, since I had finished chatting with Myrtle.”
Harry’s brows furrowed. “Myrtle?”
Hermione rolled her eyes behind Luna’s back. “Myrtle is the ghost who haunts this bathroom. That’s why almost no one uses it, she died in the middle of puberty and can’t always control her reactions when she gets upset. Tends to flood the floors.”
The boys shared a look, then shrugged. “Nice of you to chat with her, Luna. I’m sure she appreciates it.” Harry leaned forward and tugged at a strand of her hair.
She grinned at him, but before she could respond, a drawling voice cut through their conversation.
“Lu, please tell me you aren’t already involved with Hadrian. We had hope for you.”
They all turned to see Draco watching them with a scowl.
Luna just grinned, barely giving the boy a second glance as she looked back towards Harry. “Sorry, Dray. He started taking notes on Nargles, now I fear he’ll never leave me alone.”
Harry gave her a fake pout.
“Just introduce him to Xeno and run the other way. Promise me, otherwise we’ll never see you again.” Draco sneered at the other three. “And they’re more likely than not to drag you into whatever chaos the year holds. I barely made it out with my life last year. Please?”
She just shook her head, and he groaned and started stalking away, sparing Harry a glare as he did.
“Oh, you’re the cousin Draco was excited to see in school?” Ron was the first to break the silence, smacking his forehead. “I completely forgot you were related.”
Luna nodded with a dreamy smile. “We’re rather close. His father and my mother were cousins, raised nearly as siblings, and whenever my father goes away on trips I can’t join, I stay with the Malfoys.”
Ron wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into a hug. “Well, he’ll have to share you now. You’re ours, too.”
She gave him a smile so wide, Harry and Hermione had to join the hug. None of them even thought twice about introducing her to Ozzy and giving her access to the Nook as they went up to join the others.
The Nook was surprisingly full, Ginny immediately pulling Luna to the side, Susan and Anthony arguing over something, Hannah flipping through a recipe book in the corner, and Theo surrounded by books.
Ron and Hermione instantly joined the argument, Hermione out of curiosity, Ron out of mischief.
Harry threw his bag on the floor loudly as he went to stand over the other Slytherin. “Theo, tell you cousin it was a joke.”
He didn’t look up. “Which cousin?”
“Natalie. She keeps threatening to ban me from the store because I asked one thing about necromancy, and she won’t believe me when I say it was a joke.”
Harry grinned innocently when Theo looked up with a tired expression.
“...it wasn’t a joke, was it.”
“Of course not, but I need her to think it was. I left a really interesting book in the back room this summer.”
Theo rolled his eyes. “I’ll send her a letter, but no guarantees. Save the illegal questions for Flick next time.”
“Cheers. No Pansy today?”
“She’s people watching and then catching up with Draco, and somehow I ended up with her newly acquired child.” Theo gestured blindly towards where Ginny was drawing on Luna’s arm with a muggle marker.
She looked up with a grin. “Love you too, Dad.”
His glare only made her laugh.
Harry, however, worked at his lip. “Central Hall?”
His tone must have been off, because Theo turned from the first years to look up at him with a frown. “Last I knew, yeah. Everything okay?”
“Of course.” Harry patted Theo’s shoulder. “Just need her advice about something.” He picked up his bag. “If anyone asks, tell them I’ll be back up before dinner, and I’ll bring Millie up when I do.”
“Hadrian, it’s almost lunch.”
“Not hungry, I’ll have Tweak send me something in a bit. Be back soon!”
Theo watched Harry duck out of the room, worrying at his thumb.
A few minutes later, Harry was against one wall in the main area of the Central Hall, scanning the crowd until he saw the dark hair of his friend.
“Pansy.”
When she looked back, Harry gestured for her to join him with a jerk of his head.
She whispered something to Tracey Davis and flitted through the crowd, leaning against the wall next to Harry as the rest of the students headed towards lunch.
“I’m not asking you to betray any family ties or betrothal opportunities. But what’s going on with Draco?”
She sighed as they watched the masses pass. “I’m honestly not sure. What happened with Quirrelmort really scared him. And I know he didn’t mention anything about the Dark Lord being in the school to his parents, Narcissa would insist he transfer to Beauxbatons immediately, no matter what Lord Malfoy wanted. But…”
Pansy trailed off, eyes scanning her surroundings for anything she could pick out worth remembering, even as she spoke. “I think that Draco overheard something this summer. Maybe between his parents, maybe between Lucius and one of his… associates. A lot of the old crowd were getting rid of things, with the Ministry apparently cracking down on Dark artifacts. One day he was talking about how terrified he was, the next, he’s convinced that if he wasn’t scared, the Dark Lord wouldn’t be worth following.”
Harry glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “You know we won’t think less of you if you were to agree with him. I’m not going to completely abandon my friends just because they aren’t willing to go Grey.”
She sighed and turned her head towards him. “Don’t be an idiot. None of us from the Nook would think twice about siding with the Dark Lord if he manages to come back. Those of us whose parents were part of the old crowd, we know. We were raised in that fear. Our parents thought that meant we’d fall to our knees, that their fear would inspire our loyalty. But none of us would. Some of the older kids, maybe, those who don’t know you, who are too stubborn to push aside their parent’s influences.”
She paused, waiting until he turned to her fully.
“I had my freakout about turning my back on the man I was practically raised to follow last year, after you showed up swearing he was haunting a professor and out for your head. You, who was more likely to go live in a hut with Hagrid than care about the political world. It wasn’t a hard choice for me, or for Theo. I love my parents, our culture, but I’m not blind to their faults. The Dark Lord was a leader through fear. I don’t want that for me, for my friends, and definitely not for any children that come after us.”
Pansy nudged their shoulders together. “You inspire loyalty just by being you, Hadrian, by the hope you represent. And it’s the kind that goes beyond anything the Dark Lord could hope for. Fear has an expiration date. Compassion, kindness, that doesn’t. You’re all of twelve years old, but you already see the injustice in our world and aspire to fix it.”
He smiled softly. “We’ll need help, Pans. I have Gerard, Andromeda, maybe even Narcissa. But… Hermione is slowly losing her faith in adults, and even though they raised kids in our generation, they don’t understand everything. We’ll need you. And Theo. People who are here with us, who we can trust. People to help us navigate, to be there when we can’t.”
Her eyes brightened, and there was the smallest tweak of her lips. “You’ll have us. Theo hasn’t been able to shut up about you bringing basic runework and hearth magic back as commonplace, and I enjoy friends that provide a challenge. Just…” She tilted her head for a moment. “Just never stop seeing us as friends, okay? We’re little more than pawns to our parents. We don’t want to be pawns for anyone else.”
“Trust me, Pansy.” Harry shot a dark look towards the staircase that led to the headmaster’s office. “On our side of the board, we don’t play by those rules.”
“Coming to lunch?”
“Nah, not hungry. Going to go catch up with Hagrid, maybe dip into the Forest for a bit. Be in the Nook this afternoon, I’m bringing Millie round to tell about the Chamber.” He pushed off the wall and headed outside.
The only thing keeping Pansy from following was a shock of long, blonde-white hair skipping after him.
“Where the hell am I, Hadrian.” Millie’s voice echoed through the room even with the Nook being packed with almost all of the usual crew, including a happy Luna peering around Ginny’s shoulder.
“Millie, welcome to the Nook. We’ve brought you here because we know that you know the myth of the Chamber.”
Her eyes darted to each person in the room. “Do you?”
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Millie, your edition of Hogwarts, A History is annotated by historians and you still make notes in the margins. If you don’t know the myth no one does.”
The girl blushed but nodded. “Fine.” She moved to an armchair in the circle, still blushing when everyone immediately settled in various seats and cushions around her, looking nothing more than children at a story time session.
“Well, I’m sure you all know that Salazar Slytherin was thought to be a blood-purist.”
Justin immediately leaned forward. “Thought?”
She nodded. “As with any myth, any… history that old, the stories differ based on who you ask. If you look in any history book in a Dark leaning family library, it’ll swear that’s the truth. That Slytherin house was meant for the purest of wixenkind, that Salazar left the school because the others allowed too many of tainted blood to learn domesticated magicks.” She shrugged. “Honestly, most Light family libraries would tell a similar version, just painting him as a villain instead of a skewed fundamentalist.”
“But if you looked at a Neutral family library?”
Millie made eye contact with Harry. “The Grey had a more hopeful story. That Salazar didn’t mind first-gens, but that he was scared of muggles, and the impact they could have. It wasn’t that he didn’t want new blood, it was that he didn’t want them straddling the two worlds. He wanted them to choose, to remain with their muggle families, or to be a wix.”
Hermione and Justin shared a heavy look.
“So the chamber?”
“No one knows why he made it. Some say that each founder had a room they considered theirs. That Rowena created the library, Helga made some multi-purpose room you could only find when you needed it, that Godric made the Great Hall, a room of revelry that could also function as a dueling chamber. And Salazar, obsessed with continuing wixen heritage, made a room that ended up being more like a preservation of our history. Those stories tell that when he left Hogwarts, it was with the expectation that he could come back, so he left his companion to guard the school, to keep his things, his people safe.”
She sighed, and everyone grew even quieter around her.
“But there was tragedy. Whether with him specifically, or the one son he had to pass on his family name, or one of the daughters that married into other families. And Salazar never returned. His companion, a creature of unknown species, disappeared, presumably out of mourning, back to the chamber. No one knows if it was by the founders’ design that the chamber was lost. Or maybe an heir hid it away when Slytherin’s reputation began to falter. But it fell away to history, to renovation, just another secret in this massive castle, only known by those who were able to find it, who were found worthy. And apparently, fifty years ago, someone was.”
The fire crackled in the hearth, casting moving shadows throughout the room.
“Fifty years ago, a series of petrifications just like this began. At first, they thought it may just be some new spell gone awry. But something went wrong. Very wrong.”
There was scribbling on paper as Hermione and Theo took notes on the same parchment.
“A girl died. Aurors came to the school, a historic event in and of itself, but they found no evidence towards the cause. Hogwarts, with no clear idea as to what was happening, was on the verge of closing. But just before they were going to announce they were sending students home, a prefect found a monster being kept by a student. The actual details weren’t widespread. But the headmaster at the time, Dippet, was all too eager to expel this student, even though the monster apparently got away, and suddenly, everything was back to normal.”
Hannah had her hand over her mouth. “That’s horrible. The girl’s family couldn’t do anything?”
“Rumor has it, she was a muggleborn. She didn’t have any connections, anyone to stand up for her. Dippet was a fundamentalist, disliked first-gens, anyone with creature blood. If it wasn’t for the Board of Governors, Flitwick would never have gotten hired after his retirement from the dueling community. Dippet just wanted the whole thing over with, and probably didn’t spare the muggleborn another thought.”
The quill in Hermione’s hand snapped.
They were getting ready to leave, packing up Hermione’s books in her expandable bag when Ron started snickering to himself.
Harry and Hermione both stopped to watch him.
After half a minute of him ignoring their stares, Harry started smacking him with a rolled scroll.
“Ow, stop!”
“What are you laughing about!?”
Ron swatted the parchment away. “The whole thing is deadly serious. And I don’t want to diminish the horrifying reality we now face. But.”
“But?”
He snickered again. “It’s just, with our luck, this is another random Voldemort plot. Wouldn’t that be hysterical? Like, some curse he left, that for some reason, just because it’s us, became active.”
Hermione grabbed the scroll from Harry and thwacked Ron over the top of his head. “That’s not funny.”
“Oi! Ow! Why not?!”
“Because that is our luck!”
“Is it true?”
Harry reluctantly sat up from where he was slumped against the coffee table. “Is what true?” He blinked up at Erin Avery, who was uncharacteristically nervous as she stood to the side of their area.
“Word among some of the upper years is that Higgs and the exiled Black sister are starting to find you supporters for reviving the Grey Faction.”
Ron and Hermione laughed as Harry groaned. “Avery, I’m twelve. I’m not starting a political war right now. My aunt is simply exploring the options available to House Black and House Potter in the Wizengamot and beyond. Flick is acting of her own accord, as she has no patience. And I don’t know enough to say either way, as all I really know is what Flick has told me in her many, many letters about the subject.”
Erin sat on the edge of a chair nearby. “But that’s your plan? You really want to bring the Grey back into power?”
“Look,” he sighed. “In a few years, after I have my family’s affairs in order, after I actually know enough magic to hold my own, maybe. It is definitely an… option in our plans. But I do not want to get your hopes up, or anyone else’s. If we throw our lot behind reviving the Grey, it will not be for something like power. It will be for balance. A third, logical side to the fight between Light and Dark. The best of both sides. To act not as a powerhouse but a mediator. To find the common ground.”
Every word made Avery’s smile grow. “You’re going to do it right, then. You’ll champion a third side, a safe haven for those who won’t cater to Dumbledore’s whimsy or fall to their knees at the Dark Lord’s cruelty.”
“A champion in the form of a teenager with more power than sense,” Harry drawled as he rolled his eyes. “I’m assuming you brought this up because you’re interested in joining?”
She looked around, noticing that no one seemed to be paying attention.
Which meant that everyone was.
“Perhaps.”
Harry waved a hand. “Whatever. Come back to me in a year or two, when I actually know what the hell I’m doing.” He looked towards an amused Hermione. “What we’re doing. Now, can I get back to my potions work? Snape will not allow me to skip out on my assignment just because there might be some plot from the Dark Lord in the castle.”
Suddenly, the prefect looked nervous. “Hadrian, I don’t want to tell you this because everyone knows he’s your favorite professor, but if this is a Dark Lord plot, like Weasley thinks…” Ron threw up his hands with a scoff, but she ignored him. “You know there were rumors that Snape was a Death Eater in the first war?”
Harry rolled his eyes again. “He’s Draco’s godfather, which generally means he’s exceptionally close to the Malfoys, who were obvious and loud supporters of the Dark Lord. Of course he was a Death Eater.” He looked around, making sure a few of the older students felt the weight of his gaze as he spoke. “But he was nineteen in a world that told him he was a monster for wearing green, on top of whatever shite he had going on in his personal life. Such as my father and the other heralds of their generation of the Light bullying him daily. I’m sure he’s made mistakes. I’m sure he’s done things that some would consider irredeemable. But Dumbledore trusts him enough to have him teach. He’s had plenty of chances to hurt me. No matter what his stance in the previous war, he’s made his opinion about the current war quite clear to anyone clever enough to pay attention.”
Avery nodded and got up. “Heir Potter-Black. Weasley. Granger.” She bowed slightly to each of them and left.
Ron and Hermione were both watching Harry with proud smiles, and as soon as he noticed, Harry ducked his head to hide his blush. “Shut up. The Grey faction hasn't even been a thing since before the Dark Lord started to take over two generations ago. How am I supposed to rebuild something that hasn't even existed since before out parents' lifetimes? So many people are apparently already expecting it."
"You could check the Slytherin journals."
Harry stared at Hermione, Ron going back to dozing on the couch. "The what?"
She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Harry. Have you not noticed the journal on the stand over by the last window out to the lake?" She snickered when Harry immediately turned around in his seat to peer across the room. "Every year, Slytherin has a house journal to keep track of major events in the school and in the world. It's usually the two seventh year prefects who are in charge of keeping up with it, so it tends to be biased, but it's still a good resource, and would probably be a decent place to start. The past journals are in the Slytherin library."
Harry sighed, pulled out a scroll, and started scribbling. "I'll check them out tomorrow. I'll bring Millie, she's needed a break from studying."
Hermione cocked her head as her attention caught on where Avery was writing on parchment of her own. “Heralds.”
“Huh?”
“You said heralds of their generation. I like it. Maybe that’s what we should call ourselves. The Heralds. Signs of something to come. Proclaimers of a new and powerful message.”
Harry gave a grin. “We’ll add it to the board.”
“Percy ditched a perfectly good conversation about house elf regulation in the Ministry to scamper off to the Ravenclaw tower as soon as the midday bell rang.”
The door nearly slammed open as Hermione walked in, tossing her bag on the couch in the Nook and scanning the room.
She sighed when she saw Harry taking notes out of the mostly-illegal Potions tome.
“Hadrian, really. I know we’re in the Nook, and we’ve got Ozzy and what privacy spells Marcus and the twins could cast, but having that out?”
He rolled his eyes. “We’re fine, Mione. How was Tweak?”
“Informative, to say the least. I still… I feel uncomfortable with the idea of it. But every elf Tweak introduced me to seems happy working here, and is terrified of being free, of being cut off. So I’m thinking that instead of trying to free them all, focusing on safety procedures and having regular health checks in place will be more effective. No one loses their elves unless they’re actively doing something wrong, and we can increase education on the fact that the better the elves are treated, the healthier they are, and the harder they work.”
Harry was nodding along, still skimming over the passage on the page. Hermione took a moment to look upward, praying to Morgana for patience, before she leaned over his shoulder.
“Why would you even want to brew this?”
He gave her a wide grin. “To see-”
“-if you can,” she finished with him. “Why did I even bother asking. Ginny, weren’t you supposed to be watching him?”
Ginny looked up from where Luna was braiding her hair. “He’s not actually brewing it, is he? What more do you want from me? Besides, if he ends up making it and it comes out alright, Ron and I want to use it to play a prank on Fred and George.”
“Snape already said I can use his workroom to brew so he can make sure I don’t blow up the castle. I don’t think he’d have any issue with me trying this.”
“But why Polyjuice Potion?”