Networking
Sure enough, Snape was incredibly unpleasant the next few weeks - short fuse, hot temper, snapping at students even more than usual, even at his Slytherins... Needless to say, Tom took great pleasure in gloating, even though Harry was the only one to hear him.
'Any man so insecure that he validates himself through the actions of others under his care, instead of through his own actions, has no place in a position of authority', he snarked after particularily loaded Potions class. Unsurprisingly, Harry agreed.
One thing that did surprise him, however, was how well people reacted to the latest victory. The Hufflepuffs were for the most part easygoing, mainly because in their eyes, it had been a 'fair' game (even though Harry had probably the best broom in the school), the Ravenclaws were mostly unbothered because they still had a chance themselves (in a surprising burst of Quidditch enthusiasm, Tom told Harry to wipe the floor with them in the final match), and even though the Slytherins were incredibly grumpy about losing their lead, there were still some who begrudgingly admitted that alright, Potter did know how to fly.
"I'm starting to think that people may see me more as the next star Seeker than as... well, the kid who blasted Voldemort to hell", Harry at one point joked during a practice session.
Unsurprisingly, just about everyone else on the team flinched at the name. "Alright, seriously kid, how can you say his name so easily?", Alicia Spinnet asked as she shook her head.
Harry shrugged. "I think it helps that I only know him as 'the loony who tried to kill me but was killed himself by magical rebound'. I mean, I know he did things that would make Hitler blush, but... I dunno, the order in which I found out about him made me think of him not as a boogeyman, and more as a... regular madman, I guess?"
Katie shook her head. "You are barmy - don't get me wrong, it's impressive you can think of him this way, but you're barmy because of it."
Alicia meanwhile had a different question. "Hitler was that muggle Grindelwald propped up, no?"
'That muggle that... Is she... WHAT ARE THEY TEACHING IN MUGGLE STUDIES?!?!', Tom screeched. 'That... that monster was responsible for one the greatest genocides in recent history! He had the blood of millions on his hand! His lot nearly burned London to the ground! Some muggle Grindelwald propped up, HAH! Grindelwald didn't do shite to raise that madman up, and he was tame compared to him!'
'I keep forgetting you lived through that', Harry replied with a wince.
'Oh, I didn't just live through it', Tom fumed. 'I was in London when the germans firebombed it, in December 1940 - worst experience of my life, and I am a soul fragment stuck in the mind of an eleven year old! The americans should've just dropped one of their fancy new bombs on Berlin and called a day, but noo, we're letting the damned huns reunite instead!'
'Err.. you do realize that it's been almost fifty years since the war ended, right? Not even the russians are the bad guys anymore', Harry said.
'Hah, we'll see if that sticks', Tom ranted. 'Mark my words, Harry, we'll be back in the middle of muggle folly again before the decade is out.'
"Err, Alicia, Hitler is kind of a big deal on the muggle side of things", Katie thankfully said. "Like, genocidial maniac big. Muggle Studies is really underselling just how bad he and the Nazis were."
"What else is new?", Fred said with an eyeroll.
"She's not kidding", Harry said. "I dunno what Muggle Studies is teaching, but the Nazis were responsible for several million deaths - and that's not counting the war they started."
George blinked. "Yikes."
"Yup", Angelina confirmed. "There's a reason my mum is kinda against the whole german unity thingy that happened a bit over a year ago - she thinks they'll just pick up where they left off."
"Well, until they do, we'll still have practice", Oliver interrupted the conversation. "And I doubt that Ravenclaw will be as easy as Hufflepuff, so get to it, team!"
Even beyond Quidditch practice, life at Hogwarts went on. Hermione began drawing up a timetable for exam studying, Neville continued building up his confidence again, Ron continued his string of Chess victories... and Harry began seriously eying Quirrell. The DADA teacher was looking worse and worse as the weeks went by - he lost weight, his complexion grew even paler, his stutter worsened... whatever was eating him was clearly growing worse, and it started showing.
'He's running out of time', Tom observed, and Harry agreed.
'He's growing desperate, I think', he said. 'Do you think that he'll make another attempt soon?'
'Probably', Tom answered. 'But desperate people are prone to mistakes, so I seriously doubt that he'll make it too far without getting caught.'
Still, Harry did not have much time to dwell on Quirrell's next moves, as he managed to keep busy with his own preparations. To that end, he quickly reached the decision to link up with Hermione (and to drag Neville with him), which culminated in a larger study group, meeting in the library.
That group was a wild amalgamation of different houses; besides Harry, Hermione and Neville, Parvati Patil and Kellah Smith - one of the girls from Hermione's dorm - joined as well to complete the Gryffindor side; Padma Patil, Amanda Brocklehurst, Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot represented Ravenclaw; Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff joined as well; and much to everyone's surprise, Blaise Zabini, a grumpy Theodore Nott, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass and even Crabbe and Goyle showed up.
"Figured we could use all the help we can get", Goyle said as he slumped into a seat as the rest gazed in barely disguised shock.
'Smart', Tom observed.
'What, that we decide to combine our brain's contents?', Harry asked.
'Not just that - look at who's represented here. We have the Grand Saviour of the Wizarding World, the Longbottom Heir, the Crabbe Heir, the Goyle Heir, and, if I am not entirely mistaken, the Bones Heiress, the Abbott Heiress, the Macmillan Heir, the Nott Heir, the Greengrass Heiress, and members from the Boot, Goldstein and Patil families, who while not of noble descent have quite a bit of influence in the United States and India respectively. Then, there's Finch-Fletchley, and his name already tells me that he's loaded in the muggle world, and Hermione, whose future looks more than promising. The way that Zabini bloke holds himself suggests he's used to power and attention, so whoever he is, he likely also has some connections, probably to Italy. Not sure about Brocklehurst, Davis, and Smith, but considering that they're here means that they value their education, which is usually a good sign for the future.'
Realization dawned on Harry. 'You're not seeing this as just a study group', he deducted. 'You see this as a chance to build a network of sorts.'
'It's how these things start - why Hogwarts is so damnably important. For example, when Abraxas called for that corrupt pig Leach to be ousted in, ah, 1968, I think, he called on our circle of friends from school to support him - successfully, might I add. And that's just the one occassion I can remember.'
'And you want me to position myself as this group's leader?', Harry asked.
'Oh, that goes without saying! You're in the best position to do so, after all. For starters, you vanquished the worst Dark Lord in recent memory as a baby - oh, please, I am talking about public perception, which quite frankly, is the only perception that matters in these things - you're the youngest Seeker on a at least somewhat professional Quidditch team since before Dumbledore, and you killed a mountain troll in your first year. That screams greatness, Harry, and greatness tends to attract leadership - and those wanting to be led.'
'You mean followers.'
'In a way - why else do you think Nott has yet to run his mouth against all the 'mudbloods' and 'blood traitors', or why Crabbe and Goyle have made a point of staying on your good side? You have power, your actions have shown that, they know it, and they want to ensure they have vouchers for a safe spot under the sun. This here is the sort of chance you usually only get once in a lifetime, and I suggest to take it with both hands.'
Harry silently winced. 'Okay, but how the hell should I even play this? A year ago, I was still the social outcast extraordinaire, so I don't exactly know how to 'take the lead' or whatever.'
Tom smugly grinned. 'Well, am I ever glad that you asked, because that is something I have been told I excel at.'
'I can see why you landed in Slytherin', Harry grumbled jokingly. 'Alright then, Sensei, teach me your ways.'
And Tom did just that, and Harry had to admit, he knew what he was talking about. He had initially thought this was one of those 'boss says, minions jump' situations, like the ones he'd observed with Dudley and Malfoy, but Tom taught him that this didn't work every time - especially not on more self-assured characters, like the ones currently cramped around a library table, comparing notes and learning methods.
Quickly, Harry realized that Tom hadn't been lying about the sway he had, either. This was especially noticable with Theo Nott and Daphne Greengrass; suggestions on how to improve their spellwork, learning and such offered by Hermione or Justin were largely ignored, but when Harry offered the exact same suggestions, they were suddenly valid (or something along those lines, anyways).
'Ah yes, the Sacred Twenty-Eight and their narrow views', Tom mused.
'Let me guess: all muggleborns are mudbloods and should be kept out of Hogwarts?'
'And that said mudbloods stole magic from proper mages - though I think that's mainly Nott's line of thought, I think Greengrass simply dislikes being wrong.'
'...Tell me you didn't read people's minds again.'
'Alright, I won't tell you.'
And even apart from Harry playing the networking game and showcasing that he actually had a brain, their study session was surprisingly productive - everyone was able to contribute something, even Crabbe and Goyle, of whom the prior consensus had been that they were all brawn and no brain (Zabini's words), were rather adept at Charms and even DADA, once they understood the theory a bit better, and were even able to give some pointers on the practical side of things.
"Well", Zabini said as the session ended, "I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we should repeat that."
"I agree", Mandy Brocklehurst stated. "This was far more productive than I think I expected."
"Maybe we should move to a different location, though - dunno how we got away with spellcasting today, but I doubt Pince will be so lenient next time", Justin said.
"There's a disused classroom on the fourth floor - I think we should be able to use that one for practical stuff", Harry suggested, recalling the room the Mirror of Erised had been hidden in - hopefully it was gone by now.
"Decent idea, Potter", Greengrass agreed. "Next tuesday again, then?"
"Sure", Harry and Hermione chorused, and the group disbanded, with Harry, Hermione and Neville remaining behind for a bit.
"I had no idea Nott could be so civil", Neville marveled.
Hermione snorted. "If that was civil, I wonder what he's usually like", she snarked. "He and Greengrass shot down every single of my ideas."
"I mean, yeah, but he was fairly nice about it?", Neville offered, causing a few chuckles.
"Whatar you guys laughin'bout?", they suddenly heard Hagrid's booming voice.
"We just concluded a study session with some interesting characters", Harry explained with a grin. "It was surprisingly productive."
"Huh", was all that Hagrid said while awkwardly keeping his hands hidden behind his back ('Yeah, he never was one for studying anything that had nothing to do with large, nasty creatures -' 'Shush!'). "Well, gotta run, got to ca- got stuff to do."
"See you later!", Harry cheerily waved as the half-giant departed the library.
"Odd to see him in here - Hagrid never really struck me as the studying type", Hermione thought out aloud, much to Tom's amusement ('Are you going to shush her, as well?' 'I'm going to shush you first. Now shush!').
"Maybe he's looking to get his O.W.L.s?", Neville suggested. "You know, to maybe get a better job?"
"But why would he keep his hands hidden like that?", Hermione asked.
"Easy to find out", Neville said and walked down towards the shelves from which Hagrid had just come from. Once he came back, he looked a bit surprised. "Huh, looks like he's been reading up on dragons and how to care for them. Weird."
'Oh no', Tom groaned.
"Why would he do that?", Hermione wondered.
A cold shiver went up Harry's spine. "My guess? He may be trying to raise one."