Chapter 4
After Harry had gone back to the dorm, he went back to talking to the snakes. There was this one snake, who he called Safira, who had apparently been one of Salazar Slytherins snakes. After she'd died, she was preserved in the very same stone he was looking at right now.
It has always fascinated Harry what magic could do. He has known that the magical world existed for almost four years, but sometimes the concept still amazes him.
Sometimes, however, it only disturbs him. It scared him to see such great and powerful magic be manipulated so easily. What would that mean for him? The person who put his name in would definitely come after him sooner or later, without Harry knowing when or who. It could be anyone. Hell, it could even be one of the older students who wants revenge for some stupid reason. It wouldn't be the first time. Despite that, Harry was sure it was an adult that must've done it. He didn't know why, he just knew.
Before Harry could think about it further, the door opened and a familiar voice started talking to him. "Potter, how fancy seeing you here." Theodore Nott said mockingly, but there was no real malice behind it.
Harry snorted. "Nice to see you too, Nott."
"I must admit, I didn't expect you to be in my dorm when I returned from the feast. I figured you'd already be upstairs, talking about ways to ensure you won't die with your friends." Theo told Harry.
Harry frowned sadly, before glaring at the wall. "Well, it seems that people would rather ask me how my name managed to end up in the cup even though I'm underage. Maybe they'll tell me how I'm a cheater after." Harry said through gritted teeth, and Theo blinked slowly. He had expected more sadness than anger when he walked in, but maybe Harry is better at hiding his emotions than Theo thought.
"If they do that, tell me. I know a way or two to shut people up." Theo told Harry, hoping to cheer him up. That obviously worked, seeing as Harry started grinning, his previous anger gone.
"Make sure I'm there to see it when that happens." Harry told him with a glint in his eyes that Theo has found in his own more than enough times. "I will definitely do that, don't you worry." Theo reassured him.
Harry puffed out a laugh. "Good." He started, "I think that it would be a good idea to establish some rules while I stay here. I'm already staying in your dorm and I don't want to invade your space any more than I absolutely have to."
Theo nodded appreciatively. "That would be a good idea, Snape said we should do that too. First, no peeking in my trunk. I mean it, there are things in there you absolutely cannot touch." Theo insisted. "You will definitely not have to worry about that. I've never done it, not even in the Tower." Harry assured, to which Theo nodded.
"Alright." Theo said, "Second, no waking me up before I absolutely have to."
Harry snorted, "That's your second rule? I thought your second rule would be not to touch your knives?"
Theo glared at Harry, "That is my third rule. I just really like to sleep whenever I can, it's one of the things I cherish." He argued and Harry held his hands up in defense. Theo stopped glaring and snorted quietly. "Don't worry, Potter. I won't hurt you. I'm much more likely to hurt Malfoy or Warrington. Don't cross my line, don't meet my knives."
They stared at each other for a while, but then Harry couldn't hold it anymore and he collapsed into a fit of laughter. He was holding on to his stomach with one hand, the other keeping himself up against one of the posters of his bed. "You- You- Did you pra-practice that line before y-you came here or some-something?" Harry asked Theo through laughs. Theo couldn't help but laugh with Harry, his laughter was almost addicting. It could enliven a room as soon as the sound was heard, Theo was sure of it. It certainly had that effect at the moment. That, plus the fact that Theo had managed to make Harry laugh after a day like this made it even better.
Once the laughter died down and they were both in their pyjamas, Harry couldn't help but ask, "Do you want to play Exploding Snap?"
Theo smirked at him. "You're on, Potter."
---
The next morning, when Snape came to check on the two boys, he couldn't help but snort at the sight in front of him. Harry was laying on the ground next to a small table littered with cards, his hands still covered in soot from one of the exploded cards. His hair was a mess, with card pieces tangled in the now visible curls. His mouth was open, but, thank Merlin, he wasn't snoring nor drooling. When he turned to look at Theo, he did not look any better. His shoulder-length hair was in an even worse state than Harry's. It honestly looked like an exploded matress, with a few pieces of candy and cards mixed in. Just like Harry, his hands were covered in soot, but they were also still holding on to some of the cards that hadn't exploded yet. His mouth was also open, but- Was he drooling?
They had obviously had a good night.
Snape took one last look at the duo before clearing his throat loudly. The boys both jumped so hard that both of them hit their head on the table. "Merlins Beard!" "What the-" Was heard from Harry and Theo, respectively. Harry rubbed painfully at his head, while Theo went and stood up to see who had woken them.
Theo immediately dragged Harry to a standing position, straightened his robes and clasped his hands behind his back when he saw who it was. "Professor, how can we help you on this fine morning?" He asked politely, but Snape smirked when he saw that the boy was still fighting to keep his eyes open. Harry was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and complaining about how it was too early, so Theo thought it was a good idea to jab his ribs. Harry immediately stood up straight and glared at Theo, which was much more terrifying than Snape thought was possible. 'That's definitely something he got from Lily.' He decided to himself.
He cleared his throat once more and the two boys immediately looked at him, their staring match interrupted. "Mr. Nott, Mr. Potter. I see you've had an eventful night." He stated, and both boys looked away with slightly pink cheeks.
Snape smirked, he always loved to cause such a reaction. The boys knew damn well that their professor had seen them sleeping in quite embarassing positions. "I thought it would be good to know that breakfast starts in thirty minutes. As you both look like you were blown up, I think it would be smart for you two to start getting ready. Getting candy out of your hair is harder than you might think." He remarked before leaving the room, his cloak billowing behind him.
As soon as the door closed, the two boys stared at each other in a panic.
"Alright, you go to the bathroom first, because getting that candy out will take very long. I'll stay back and clean the room." Harry told him hurriedly, to which Theo nodded. Theo ran to his trunk, grabbed his toiletries, and honest to god sprinted to the bathroom. Harry puffed out a laugh, before grabbing his wand. "Tergeo" He muttered, clearing the floor of all the soot. Then he waved his wand above all the scattered card pieces on the floor in the same manner that he had seen Madam Malkin do when he visited her shop this summer. Harry smiled in satisfaction when the pieces vanished and went to his bed to grab some stuff for the bathroom. Once he was done, he sat and waited for Theo to leave the bathroom.
Somehow, he ended up with a book on elemental magic on his lap.
Just as he had read the introduction on fire magic, he heard the bathroom door open and quickly put a tab on the page where he stopped reading. The book was more interesting than he had thought. He had never been much of a reader, but he had a feeling that reading this book might be helpful in the future. Where the book even came from, he had no idea. 'Maybe it was Theo's?' Harry thought.
Harry then put the book down and walked over to the bathroom, only to be stopped by Theo. Harry looked at him weirdly, but Theo then pushed something into Harry's hands. When he looked down, he could see a bottle and as soon as he took a closer look, he knew why Theo had given this to him. It was a hair potion designed to stop your hair from becoming frizzy and accentuates your curls at the same time. He muttered a quiet thanks and smiled at Theo and then continued walking to the bathroom.
About ten minutes later when Harry left the bathroom, he couldn't help but keep touching his hair. After using a drying charm when he was done showering, his hair was so soft and smelled like a field of flowers. Harry was quite sure his hair had never looked this good. Instead of a untamed birdnest, it was now a controlled mess of curls that tickled his eyes when he bent over.
When he spotted Theo sitting on his bed, reading the exact same book Harry had, he quickly walked over. "Thank you for letting me use this! I really appreciate it." Harry said earnestly and gave the bottle back to Theo.
Theo smiled at Harry, "It looked like you desperately needed something like that, so it's nothing big. At least now it's a controlled birdnest." He teased and Harry slapped Theo's shoulder jokingly. "That's rude, Theo. Your hair didn't look to good this morning either."
Theo gasped, grasping his heart dramatically. "You take that back!" He said while pointing a dramatic finger at Harry. "Nope" said Harry, popping the 'p' to annoy Theo. "See you in the Great Hall!" He shouted and quickly ran out of the door, leaving a fuming Theo behind.
It was quiet for a second, but then Theo stood up to run after Harry.
Downstairs, the other Slytherins were calmly starting their morning by talking with their friends, or simply just sitting on one of the couches. When they heard someone running down the stairs, their faces turned to look at who was causing such noise, only to see someone familiar running towards the entrance.
"Is that Potter?" Pansy Parkinson asked Draco in confusion, but he didn't answer. Draco just kept staring at the running form of Harry with a gaping mouth.
Harry managed to hear Pansy, even though she was pretty far away, and threw a wave her way. "Hi, Parkinson. Bye, Parkinson!" He yelled at her as he ran through the door and vanished.
"What the-" Pansy started, but was interrupted by a yell.
"Harry Potter! Come back here and take that back, you shitbird!" Theodore Nott shouted as he ran after Harry, wand in hand.
When both of them were gone, they left very shocked Slytherins behind.
"They became friends fast." Blaise commented.
"I've stopped trying to find out how he does it after he became friends with ten people at once." Daphne told them, which made everyone's head turn to her. "What? I was intrigued." She defended.
Back with Theo and Harry, Theo was starting to get out of breath with how hard they'd been running. They had almost reached the Great Hall, but Harry didn't even have a drop of sweat on his forehead. Once Harry reached the last flight of stairs, he waited for Theo to show up. About one minute later, he did.
"How can you even run that fast?" Theo asked him, leaning a bit against the wall to catch his breath.
"It's not hard to do if all you did during your childhood was run." Harry decided that this was the only thing that mattered right now. Theo didn't have to know what Harry's cousin was up to when they were younger.
"I think you left a great impression on the other Slytherins, running through the common room like that." Theo joked and Harry laughed, "I certainly did, didn't I?"
Once Theo had caught his breath, they started walking up the last stairs to the Great Hall. When they reached the last step, Harry suddenly stopped in his tracks. Theo turned to look at him. "What is it, Potter?" He asked.
Harry didn't answer, but when Theo followed Harry's line of sight he realized why Harry had stopped walking.
Ron was coming over to them and he did not look happy.
"Harry! Where were you tonight?" Ron asked him, stopping right in front of Harry's face. When Harry didn't answer, he looked over to Theo and grimaced before turning back to Harry. "What are you doing with Nott, anyway?" He continued, "I thought you knew better than to become friends with those slimy snakes. Another thing I was wrong about, I guess."
Theo thought it was best if he stayed quiet, but he did sneakily grab the back of Harry's arm to ground him.
Thankfully, neither Theo nor Harry had to say anything.
"What is going on here?" McGonagall asked as she walked up to them. Theo sighed in relief. Harry had told him last night that McGonagall was the right person to go to in these situations, so it was nice to see her.
Theo smiled politely at her. "Professor, Potter and I were just making our way to breakfast, but Weasley ambushed us. He was insulting Harry, miss." he told her, and she frowned in disapproval at Ron.
"That will be 10 points from Gryffindor for harassing a student. A friend, no less! Remember what I told you last night, Mr. Weasley." McGonagall said before shooing the redhead away.
Once Ron was out of sight she looked back at Harry, who was still staring at the spot Ron was standing just moments ago.
"Harry, dear, are you okay?" She asked him, shaking his shoulders slightly.
Harry jumped a bit and looked around wildly, but then his eyes landed on her and Theo and he calmed down. "Sorry, Minnie." He apologized, but McGonagall merely smiled at him. "It's fine, Harry. You should go inside soon. Neville is waiting on the other side of the doors for you." She then patted his cheek before setting her eyes on Theo, "Mr. Nott, thank you for letting Harry stay in your dorm. I do hope that it's not a problem?"
Theo smiled at her reassuringly, "It's definitely not a problem, Professor. Harry is a fine roommate." He told her.
McGonagall smiled warmly at him. "I'm glad. Sitting at the Gryffindor table might not be smart with how some people are acting, so would you mind if Harry sits with you during meals too?"
Harry wanted to interrupt, saying he didn't want to invade Theo's space any more than was needed, but Theo waved him off, "It's absolutely fine, Professor. If he want to invite Longbottom over it's also fine. The other Slytherins won't bother you if you're sitting with me." He reassured.
"Great! That's sorted then! Have a great meal, dears. Your hair looks wonderful by the way, Harry." McGonagall told them, before turning on her heel and disappearing through the giant doors that lead to the Great Hall. Theo gaped at her retreating form, causing Harry to laugh, "One day and she's already calling you dear? That's definitely an accomplishment as a non-Gryffindor." Harry joked before grabbing Theo's arm and dragging him away.
When they entered the Great Hall, the whole room fell silent. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Harry, making him more and more uncomfortable by the minute.
Thankfully, Neville walked over to the pair, which broke most people out of their stupor. "Hey, Harry!" Neville said happily, but also slightly nervous. All those worries fell away when Harry smiled back at him.
"I'm so happy to see you, Nev." Harry admitted, pulling Neville into a short hug. "McGonagall told me you believed me, which I really appreciate."
Neville patted Harry's back as he stepped back from the hug. "It's so weird that people actually believe you wanted to enter. You've been saying since the tournament was announced that you didn't want anything to do with it." said Neville, clearly upset.
"It's fine, Neville. I'll just ignore them as much as I can." Harry told him, "Besides, I've got an awesome roommate now who also believes me!" Harry grabbed Theo by the shoulder and grinned broadly.
Theo glared at him playfully, "Don't think I forgot what you said in the dorm. I'll get you back for that later." He told Harry, who let go of him and gasped dramatically, trying to look betrayed. Theo merely rolled his eyes.
Neville was staring at them in confusion, his eyes darting from the one to the other. "Okay..." He said uncertainly.
Harry then clapped his hands together silently and grinned at the other two, "Can we go and eat something? I'm starving." He then realized he forgot to ask Neville something. "Neville, I'm sitting at the Slytherin table with Theo. I don't know if you would also like to sit with us, or are you more comfortable at the Gryffindor table? I understand if-"
Neville quickly interrupted, "No, no, it's fine, Harry. I'll sit with you, as long as I sit far away from Malfoy, that's all."
Harry nodded in understanding and Theo laughed quietly. "That's a great condition, Longbottom. I only sit next to Malfoy when there's absolutely no other space available. His hair tends to blind me if I'm too close." Theo told Neville. The three then heard an offended sound coming from behind them, it was clear that Malfoy had heard them.
"He's kind of right, Draco. It's as if you're casting a Lumos directly in front of my eyes." Pansy muttered to Malfoy, who squawked, clearly insulted.
Harry laughed at the blonde's expense and dragged Neville over to the middle of the table, where Theo often sat. How Harry knew that, Theo did not have a clue.
Thankfully, they were able to eat breakfast without a hitch and Theo found he quite enjoyed the company of the two Gryffindors. Harry's open personality made up for Neville's quietness and Theo's smart quips kept the conversation going. It didn't matter to Theo that people were staring at the odd trio, because the only thing of importance to him was to keep Harry distracted from the fact that he'd have to face the inevitable soon.