“Sorry, about Cadwallader.”
Their task in Care of Magical Creatures was collecting food for the giant worms, they had to split up and it was the perfect chance for Harry to find Alice. He had no idea how, but in just one afternoon Dumbledore granted her permission to enter the Forbidden Forest before curfew. Though Harry adored the old man, he couldn't deny the fact that Dumbledore didn't like the Slytherins that much. It surprised him he agreed to her despite her being a Slytherin.
"Harry, giant worms can't digest silkworm leaves."
Alice grabbed the wrist that was reaching for the silkworm bush.
"Oh? Didn't Neville in your second year say he was growing some silkworms to attract giant worms? My memory didn't fail me, did it…"
"Guess your memory failed you then. Professor Longbottom grew silkworms because the giant worms were destroying Hagrid's corn field; he needed to attract their natural enemy - the black beak ravens. Silkworm leaves' scent is attractive to most ravens…"
To avoid the Gryffindors (and Ravenclaws who happened to be in the same class as them), the pair sneaked away. Most students were gathered a hundred radius around Hagrid's cabin. Harry really felt better while talking to Alice, not only was she smart like Hermione, understanding like Ron, she also knew what to say out loud and what to not. Harry never had to act around her, showing her his dumb Harry - Potter - in - fourth - year face.
"Right." Harry suddenly remembered, "the fiasco this morning distracted me. If we're here, should we expose fake Moody? We just need an Expelliarmus to disarm him and some simple truth potion you can easily brew."
"Then I'll have to ask you first, Harry." Alice shakes her head immediately, "Do you want to kill Voldemort one and for all? Before he could harm anyone?"
"Of course I do. And in the last task… oh…"
Harry was explaining his thoughts when he realized something. He glanced at Alice's "see, I told you" look. If they exposed Barty Crouch Jr now then no one would set up a portkey at the last task, Voldemort might be unable to be revived but he would still exist. If he failed now he would still have tricks up his sleeves and it'd cause them more troubles in the future.
When he was an Auror, there were times Harry acted without a second thought, even after Hermione, his team and even Alice told him no. His powerful magic and rank was more than enough to cover the holes in their plans. But now he couldn't do that, though his power was the same, his position in the wizarding world was only Boy Who Lived as he hadn’t made any remarkable achievements (the Philosopher's Stone and the Serpent of Slytherin events were only known by a few professors and students, it couldn’t be counted as his achievements).
"We'll leave Barty for now. You and I will need a detailed plan so that everything you faced will happen but no one will be harmed. For the third task you'll need to reach the portkey as fast as possible, do not persuade senior Diggory, while I stay here and give hints to Snape about how suspicious fake Alastor is. To be honest, that bat is skeptical as hell."
"About the horcruxes… This year we can go to Hogsmeade, you and I will split up to find them." Harry starting listing where he found all of Voldemort's horcruxes during his seventh year, "I'll find a way to sneak into the Secret Chamber to find the Serpent of Slytherin's poisonous fangs while you'll have to learn how to use and control Fiendfyre."
"Fiendfyre? Oh Merlin, even aurors and dark wizards have trouble controlling it, Harry!"
Alice exclaimed in shock when she heard the charm.
“But I can control it Alice, and you’re a part of me…”
Harry Potter was one of the few wizards who can control the Fiendfyre. His knowledge of magic and dark arts could embarrass an actual dark wizard. Maybe it’s because he was the best at Defence Against the Dark Arts, always confident that he could get an O (if his professor isn’t named Severus Snape, used to be a Slytherin and is excellent at potions). He had done further research in this field after he graduated Hogwarts. Harry must admit, though he was Alice’s father he could never beat her in potions, he was sure Alice could never outsmart him once the topic is about dark arts.
“You’re asking too much from a four and a half year old Harry!”
Alice widened her eyes.
“You forgot to add a thousand years from Blue Blood Alice.”
While Harry put his arms up as if he was innocent.
They spent the entire Care of Magical Creatures class to plan out a war against Voldemort. Luckily he had Alice, the future potion prodigy also had a very rich knowledge about Herbology, Harry safely completed his assigned work. Hagrid didn’t know he was assisted, when he summarized the results and saw Harry show all the giant worms’ favourite plants that not even Hermione was able to collect, he happily gave Gryffindor twenty points. Thanks to the friendly keeper, Harry covered the points he lost.
The period was ending so Alice didn’t need to hide anymore, she comfortably leaned against the cabin watching the giant keeper talking to the lions and eagles. Being watched by a Slytherin was not comfortable for any Gryffindor, they kept getting goosebumps. But no one questioned her at all. The whole school, even students from Beauxbatons and Dumstrang, knew Harry Potter and Alice Evans got detention because they fought a few seniors. Everyone thought she was here to wait for Harry so they could go to detention together.
“I still can’t believe it!” Ron looked back and forth at his friend and the cavalier girl next to Hagrid’s cabin and whispered to Hermione, “She’s a Slytherin, how could she stand up for a Gryffindor.”
“Maybe it’s because she was just transferred here and hasn’t gotten used to Slytherin’s style?”
Hermione shook her head, uncertainty filled in her voice.
The girl just learned that Alice helped Harry, she felt guilty for what she said to Harry about Alice. Then Hermione thought, a smart person - except Malfoy - isn’t an entirely evil person, studying needs a brain and behaving needs a brain too after all. But she still didn’t like Slytherin, Hermione couldn’t accept it that quick!
“And now you’re justifying the snakes.”
Ron looked shocked.
Their cold war still hasn’t ended so Harry only said goodbye to Hermione before running to the traditional room with Alice. Clearly students were punished every year, Filch kept an eye on the room everyday and the elves always cleaned it, yet that room was never clean for long. Whenever they think of wiping the dust on the cups, sweeping the spider webs away, the Potters felt like they’d prefer an Avada.
“Potter!” A call came from behind, “Potter, are you free?”
It was Cedric Diggory, the kind perfect from Hufflepuff, the indirect cause for their detention.
“Hear that? Someone’s calling for you, Potter.”
Alice lightly kicked Harry’s leg then ran up the stairs, giving them some space to talk.
“Is there any problem, Diggory?”
Harry asked with the calmest voice surprising Cedric. His impression about the Golden Boy of Gryffindor - through times the Slytherins caused troubles first - was someone who held grudges. He was part of the reason why Cadwallader insulted Harry after all, Cedric thought he wouldn’t be comfortable talking to him. Is it because he’s special or Harry only held grudges against Slytherins?
“About this…” Cedric stumbled, “Sorry, about Cadwallader.”
“It’s okay, he didn’t harm me. If it’s just this then it’s too much trouble for you.”
“After all it was because of me, and give my apology to that Slytherin girl too. Pointing your wand at a younger wizard is the most shameful thing to any wizard, not just to Hufflepuffs. Cadwallader and his friends will pay for that stupid action, I swear on behalf of a prefect.”
Cedric seriously read the oath out loud, proving he didn’t just apologize just to get it done. Harry felt exclamatory, what a kind guy, there were very few people who were fair to Slytherin and he was one of them.
“Thank you Cedric, though I didn’t need that but I believed Alice would be very happy if she heard this.” Harry smiled, “Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying that she holds grudges, but Slytherins really were treated unfairly. Being respected by one of Hogwarts’ champions would comfort her a lot, a transferred student would have a nervous mentality.”
Cedric was dumbfounded. He had thought Harry Potter, Golden Boy of Gryffindor, would hate Slytherin to the bottom of his heart. It was where many dark wizards started, where the fearful Dark Lord was borned, the cause for all the tragedies in his life. But on the contrary, though Harry did have fights with Slytherin, he was never the one who started. And now Harry was protecting a Slytherin, because that Slytherin helped him stand up against those that insulted his family, he returned the favor.
He himself, though praised for his kindness, always had a sour spot for students from Slytherin. Obviously Hufflepuff started it first this time, and his impression of the girl was a new student from Beauxbatons, so Cedric treated her fairly. Compared to Potter, he suddenly understood part of the reason why the boy was chosen as a Hogwarts champion though he was underaged. His ideology and heart was even kinder than the seventh year senior.
“To me, I believe your thoughtful thinking is the reason the girl was happy.” Cedric wanted to pat this good boy’s head, and he had to fight a long battle mentally before deciding to brush his fingers through Harry’s soft locks, “The fourth years are going to Hogsmeade this weekend, yeah? May I offer some butterbeer to you? I mean, the other girl from Slytherin too. I’ll have to show I’m truly sorry after all. After that we can talk for a bit, I’m sure I could help you prepare a bit for the tournament.”
Harry considered his offer, it was true that they were going to Hogsmeade this weekend, but the timing was too tight so they weren’t able to prepare anything to destroy the horcruxes. He could control Fiendfyre but Alice couldn’t, and they hadn’t retrieved Serpent of Slytherin’s fang or Sword of Gryffindor yet. Though there were four horcruxes that needed to be taken care of - Nagini hadn’t become one of them yet - they would just need to split up into two halves after Alice could control Fiendfyre.
Then, by the time they could still relax, Harry wanted to bring his daughter on a trip with him. Back then, due to work, he wasn’t able to spend time with her, and Alice didn’t cry like other kids, she was just a well-behaved and smart girl. If Harry couldn’t be with her during the holidays, she’d lock herself in Potter’s and Black’s libraries. In their original timeline, Alice would be in her third year this year, about to go on her trip to Hogsmeade. Now that he thought about it, she didn’t have a chance to truly go on a trip.
“That’d be great, thank you Diggory. I’ll tell Alice later, now we have to go to detention…”
“Still that traditional room huh? Loads of students already cleaned it, how did they find a dusty spot so a new load could clean?”
“You just said my question out loud…”
They looked at each other, both able to see the smile on the other’s face.