Part 10
Progress?
“Ready?” Hadrian raised his wand, eyeing Harry.
“Ready.” Harry nodded. Hadrian nodded back, grinning.
“Expelliarmus!”
“Protego!” Harry's hand trembled from the intense concentration, but this time he didn't knock Hadrian on his arse. Hadrian's red spell shattered against Harry's shield, sending only a small shockwave that had Hadrian tripping backwards but able to catch himself.
“Very nice.” Snape commented as he strolled by them, pacing the classroom as the class worked.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked, lowering his wand.
“All good!” Hadrian said brightly, stabling himself with a tiny stumble. “That was much better. Your control is improving!” Harry offered a wobbly smile.
“Thanks.” Unfortunately, his control only seemed to apply to Defense. Harry had been making progress, sure, but much too slowly and sometimes not at all. Even after several more weeks, Defense was the only class Harry was able to even halfway control his magic.
“My turn.” Hadrian said then.
“Huh?” Harry blinked.
“It's my turn to try Protego.” Hadrian huffed, rolling his eyes. “You've done it like four times now, so why don't we switch?”
“Oh…” Harry chewed his lip, but nodded. “Sure.”
“I trust you not to blow me up.” Hadrian laughed, “Also, I'll be shielding. It can't go so badly if I am, right?”
“Right.” Harry said, but his hesitation was obvious.
The first two times Harry tried Protego in class he'd knocked Hadrian clean off his feet from the force he pushed outwards. The third time Harry's shield was less powerful, but Hadrian still ended up tripping instead of finding his balance. It wasn't until the fourth time that Hadrian had managed to keep his footing. Harry felt awful about that, but Hadrian insisted the purpose of class was to learn in safe environments where Snape had put Cushioning Charms on the floors.
But the thought of turning his fucked up magic against Hadrian, directly casting at him point blank with an offensive spell…
“Don't go easy on me.” Hadrian said, rolling his shoulders. “I'd never live it down.” He turned and winked at Li, who was watching occasionally nearby where she was paired with MacDougal.
Harry took a deep breath, but he nodded and raised his wand. Hadrian did too. Harry shut his eyes, took another breath, opened them, and cast.
“Expelliarmus.” The red spell flashed.
“Protego!” Hadrian's shield glowed for only a moment before Harry's red smashed through it, hitting Hadrian square in the chest. He didn't fall, but he stumbled back as his wand was tossed into the air. Reflexively, as the wand flew at Harry's face he caught it deftly.
“Sorry!” Harry exclaimed, rushing forward to study Hadrian where he stood, a bit dazed. “Sorry, I didn't mean to do it that hard.” He never did, and yet it always happened.
“Do you ever stop showing off?” They both turned at the voice, Parkinson standing nearby. She was raising an unimpressed eyebrow at Harry. “Honestly, it gets boring after a while to see you try so hard for the attention.” Harry barely held his tongue from snapping back at her.
“Pansy.” Malfoy chided, but Hadrian held up a hand and faced Parkinson steadily.
“That's funny.” Hadrian said, tone pleasant. “I could've sworn you had your own magic to be worrying about, especially considering you've never done something magically impressive in your entire life. Maybe if you focused on your own magic, instead of spending your worthless time making snide comments about my brother, then you'd manage to produce results halfway better than utterly terrible.”
Malfoy choked, coughing into his hand, and Parkinson turned a particularly interesting shade of red. Her expression twisted with furious intention but had no chance to snap back a reply.
“Miss Parkinson.” Snape drifted over, eyeing them. “Mister Potter, Malfoy. Do we have a problem over here?”
“No sir.” Hadrian said, smiling innocently. “Parkinson was merely complimenting Harry's magical capabilities.” Parkinson went even redder but said nothing to refute it.
“Indeed.” Snape eyed his nephew knowingly, “Get back to work. We have only a few minutes left.” He then continued pacing the room.
“Thanks for that.” Harry nudged Hadrian. “For, y'know. Defending me.”
“Haven't I told you not to thank me for having your back?” Hadrian grinned.
“Right.” Harry huffed. Then he paused. “Oh, here.” Harry awkwardly offered Hadrian his wand back. “Sorry again for… whatever I did to your shield.”
“It was an excellent cast.” Hadrian told him simply, “It seems I have to work on my Protego if I ever intend to best you in a duel.” Harry blinked, then sighed.
“Of course you'd see it that way.” He laughed a little. “I just hope Snape doesn't take points away from your Protego score just because I screwed up my cast.”
“Uncle Severus doesn't do that.” Hadrian waved him off grinning. “He watches form, power, intention, and results. My shield was solid, and if he saw then he'll grade me well whether or not your Expelliarmus was able to completely blast through it.” Harry winced.
“Class is over now.” Snape announced loudly, catching their attention. “Your essays detailing the seven wand motions for Protego will be due in class tomorrow, so come prepared. Additionally, you'll be receiving the grading sheet for the practical magic we've learned in the past week tomorrow. All your scores will be labelled and present, but come to me with any questions you may have. Understood?”
“Yes sir.” The class chorused. With a nod, Snape dismissed them.
“Hey, Hadrian!” Oliver called. He had Anthony, Li, and Lisa with him. “We're heading down to the Lake until dinner. You coming?”
“Yeah, be right there!” Hadrian replied, then turned back to Harry. “Well, I gotta go. But I'll say hi at dinner before we're dismissed for the night.”
“Alright.” Harry nodded. Hadrian offered him a warm smile before jogging over to his friends. The way they clapped him on the back and instantly struck up conversation had Harry's chest hurting, so he turned away and sighed.
Progress was being made, but not all at once. Slowly he'd started using magic in Defense, and even kept trying again when it didn't work. That in and of itself was a huge step. Unfortunately, he couldn't branch out that behaviour into his other subjects. Hadrian sometimes lightly scolded him for it, but Harry couldn't help it. When it came to Charms, Transfiguration, or even the spells Sprout sometimes taught them in Herbology, Harry just couldn't work up the nerve to pick up his wand. He didn't know why, he just couldn't.
Still, Harry tried to focus on the positives and work solely on Defense. One subject was better than none, right?
“Sorry about Pansy.” Malfoy said, joining him as they walked back to the Common Room. “She's–”
“An acquired taste, I know.” Harry sighed, “I've been told that before.”
“She just doesn't know how to talk to you.” Nott fell into step with them.
“Huh?” Harry frowned.
“Parkinson is used to getting her way, unequivocally.” Nott told him, “There's a hierarchy of respect in Slytherin, and she's pretty high up there. Then suddenly you show up, completely inexperienced and unknown to us, and she didn't know how to take that. So she brushed you off, tried to get under your skin. You didn't react the way she wanted you to.”
“How did she want me to react?”
“She expected you to care, get mad, maybe cry.” Nott said, “And you didn't. Instead you brushed it off like she meant absolutely nothing to you.”
“Uh–”
“It also doesn't help that whenever she tries to start something other people jump in for you.” Nott continued, “Whether it be Greengrass or Malfoy or Zabini, it doesn't particularly matter. What matters is that she can't get to you. I'm more surprised she had the guts to insult you with Hadrian around.”
“Speaking of, we'd better avoid her for a few days.” Malfoy said suddenly, “Otherwise we might get caught up in whatever revenge Potter is planning.”
“You, what?” Harry looked to Malfoy in confusion. “What revenge?”
“Hadrian is one of the few people I can say I honestly respect.” Nott smirked, “His dedication to his friends is one such reason. Hadrian never takes a slight to one of his people lightly.”
“One time a Hufflepuff was talking smack about his girl, Su Li?” Malfoy shuddered. “He spent six days in the Hospital Wing from aconite poisoning when Potter heard.”
“Aconite? Like the potion ingredient?” Harry blinked. “How'd he managed that? Everyone knows it's poisonous.”
“Hadrian ground it into fine powder and added it to the guy's morning coffee.” Nott said, “Every day for an entire week.”
“He doesn't just get even.” Malfoy said, “Potter's revenge is a warning, and we all know better than to get in his way.”
“Ravenclaws.” Nott nodded. “Be wary of the wise, Harry, they're the most creative backstabbers.”
“Right.” Harry said. Instead of feeling something reasonable, like freaked out or confused, Harry felt only fondness. The thought of someone who cared enough to enact revenge on his behalf meant a whole lot, even if he didn't exactly condone poisoning someone. However, if that someone happened to be Parkinson… nobody would hear Harry complaining.
“Hey, are you guys excited for Winter Break?” Tracey Davis, one of the girls in his year that Harry hadn't interacted with much, ran up to them the moment they entered the Commons. “You got any plans?”
“I'm returning home for the holidays.” Malfoy said, which wasn't a surprise. “As always.”
“Is your family hosting the Yule Ball this year?” Nott asked, tilting his head. “If I recall correctly, the Malfoys host the year after the Greengrasses.”
“We are.” Malfoy confirmed, “Mother is already kicking up a fuss. She mentions it in every letter.” Despite the eye roll, Malfoy's fondness and affection was clear as day. Surprisingly, Malfoy didn't even try to hide it.
“Will you be going?” Davis asked Nott.
“Naturally.” He confirmed, “Father and I always go.”
“Will you be attending, Harry?” Malfoy prompted, “The Potters are invited every year. Are you going with them?”
“I have no idea.” Harry admitted, “It hasn't been mentioned.”
“Well, make sure to ask. Break starts in two days, but the Ball isn't until the 28th.” Malfoy said, “Though, I can't imagine Potter would stand for his parents leaving you behind, since you're his ‘brother’ and everything now.”
“Well.” Harry shrugged. “We'll see.” Harry was sure Hadrian would undoubtedly want to include him, but when it came to Lily and James… Harry wasn't so sure about them. They were complicated.
“What's the theme this year?” Nott asked.
“Old Customs.” Malfoy said, grinning. “Mother is excited to see what people come up with.”
“Like old trends, fancy and old fashioned garments?” Nott raised an eyebrow.
“Essentially.” Malfoy nodded, “Father commissioned robes for us that resemble the kind my grandfather Abraxas wore to Ministry Galas.”
“Interesting.” Nott hummed, “I wonder if Father has something planned for me. This theme is at least creative, which is an improvement.”
“What kind of themes are more normal?” Davis asked, “What was it last year?” Harry was briefly confused by the question, but then it dawned on him that Davis was a Muggleborn - her family wouldn't have ever been invited to a fancy, predominantly pureblood event.
“The Greengrasses chose ‘Spring Wonder’ as their theme last year.” Nott rolled his eyes. “They wanted anything reminiscent of spring. Vivid colours, pastel patterns, flowers, that kind of thing.”
“I remember one Ministry hopeful showed up dressed like grass just to be a ‘different’.” Malfoy smirked, “He looked ridiculous.”
“That's weird.” Harry said, and Malfoy nodded.
“When it comes to the Ministry, a lot of them are weird.” Malfoy confirmed, “But don't tell anyone I said that.”
“I won't.” The glint in Nott's golden eyes said otherwise, which had Malfoy sighing in resignation.
“What about you?” Harry asked Davis.
“Oh! I'll just be spending time with my parents.” Davis smiled, “We always go ice skating on Christmas Day, so I'm really looking forward to that.”
“I've never tried ice skating.” Harry said, “But I've heard it's fun.” The Dursleys hadn't ever gone, not that they would've taken Harry even if they had, so he'd never had a chance to.
“It's so much fun!” Davis exclaimed, “I'm not very good, but my mother was a figure skater in her twenties! She loves it.”
“Wow.” Harry blinked, “Was she in competitions?”
“Yep! And she won a lot.” Davis said, proud and fond. “Mother never made it to the Olympics because she married my dad and had me, but she was good enough she definitely would have otherwise.”
“That's amazing.”
“What's ice skating?” They turned to Malfoy, who looked baffled.
“I've heard of it.” Nott said, “It's a Muggle sport, isn't it?”
“Yeah, part of the Winter Olympic Games.” David told him, “That's… well the Olympics are like the Quidditch World Cup, except with a bunch of different sports. Stuff like swimming and gymnastics and whatever.”
“Huh.” Malfoy tilted his head. “Muggles have a lot of sports, then?” And apparently that question set Davis off into a rant.
Harry stood and listened as Davis passionately explained basketball and football and gymnastics and everything in between, scarcely taking breaths as she poured all of her knowledge out. Nott seemed to genuinely be soaking in the information, but Malfoy just looked overwhelmed and confused after only a few minutes. Harry just smiled, reminded so vividly of Hermione.
The best part was how nobody was giving Davis dirty looks for talking about Muggle stuff in the Common Room. Sure, plenty of eavesdropping purebloods looked intensely confused, but none of them looked disgusted or as if they'd hurl slurs at her any moment. There was still a small divide between the Wizard-raised and the Muggle-raised, but that was less prejudice and more lack of commonality. It still stunned Harry how different this new reality was from his last. Sometimes, though it was rare, it surprised him in a good way.
Harry couldn't help but wonder how different his life would have been if the bias he'd experienced as a kid hadn't existed - sure, Voldemort still would've sucked to deal with, but wouldn't it have been easier if he wasn't constantly fighting against jabs from Malfoy and his gang or ignoring dirty looks from Slytherins everywhere? He couldn't help but wonder, and he couldn't help how much it hurt to think about what he could've had.
But he pushed it all away and focused on Davis’ smile and passionately waving hands and quick words as she over-explained the rules to Olympic skiing. Harry wanted to commit Malfoy's jaw on the floor to his memory forever.
——————————
Winter Break arrived too fast. Soon enough Harry was again looking at his trunk, packed neatly by Malfoy when he saw the mess Harry was dumpling into his trunk haphazardly. An organised trunk was still an odd sight to Harry.
Harry hadn't ever gone home for the holidays on purpose, nor had he ever wanted to either. There were times when he was forced, like when he spent Winter Break at Grimmauld Place after Mr. Weasley was attacked by Nagini, but otherwise Harry consistently remained at Hogwarts, his real home. Now he had people to go back to, people to visit, even if Harry wasn't entirely sure they could be called a family.
The students heading home for the holidays all grabbed their things and headed down to Hogsmeade Station to meet the Hogwarts Express at 11 o'clock for their ride back to Platform 9 ¾. Harry sat with his Slytherin classmates, though he didn't often participate in the conversations around him. Hadrian had offered to sit with him at the start of the ride, but Harry reminded him he did have other friends. So, albeit reluctantly, Hadrian sat with his friends for the ride and found Harry as soon as they reached the station.
“Did you say goodbye to your friends?” Harry asked, lugging his trunk as he and Hadrian stepped out of the way of the crowds.
“Yeah, but it doesn't really matter since we'll be owling each other over the Break.” Hadrian grinned, “If Mum allows it, maybe I'll even get to visit Oliver's place. He had a library twice the size of ours! He doesn't really use it much, so sometimes he lets me borrow some books as long as I return them within five days.”
“That sounds like him.” Harry smiled. They didn't know each other very well, but Harry knew Oliver was less a book person and more of a ‘find out the hard way because he hunted down his answers outside of texts’ kind of person. From what Harry heard, he was a quite frequent participant in detention.
“Mum and Dad should be waiting for us at the Apparition spot.” Hadrian told him, “Over there.” He pointed to a small out of the way area with red poles marking it off, already occupied by a few sparse groups.
In one of those groups Harry spotted Lily and James, and also Sirius. Hadrian, despite the heavy trunk, ran for them. Harry followed at a much slower pace.
Hadrian dropped his trunk to embrace Lily warmly, laughing when James reached out to tousle his hair. Sirius must've said something because everyone looked at him and laughed. As it so often did, seeing them so happy had Harry's chest sharp with pained envy.
“Hi, Harry.” James was the first to greet him as he approached. “Have you settled in at Hogwarts well?”
“Yeah, I have.” Harry nodded. Not totally the truth, but when it came to Lily and James he didn't mind leaving out his lack of proficiency in controlling his magic. He'd never forget the look in Lily's eyes when she saw the living room destroyed by his emotions.
“Well, let's get you guys back then, shall we?” Lily smiled brightly at her son, “I've a big dinner made to be served, just the five of us.”
“Awesome!” Hadrian enthused, “Let's go!” He quickly grabbed his mother's hand, so James offered his to Harry with a gentle smile.
“All set.” James said, squeezing his hand. Harry nodded. Then he was twisting away and spat out in the entry of Potter Manor - he would've faceplanted if not for James putting a steadying hand on his shoulder.
“I'll go set the table.” Lily said with a smile, “Sirius, would you be a dear and fetch Remus? He said he'd join us when we got back.”
“Right-o.” Sirius grinned. He then strode out of the room, probably to the Floo.
“I'll get your trunk.” Hadrian said, snagging the handle. “Go give Mum a hand in the kitchen?”
“Sure.” Harry nodded easily, making his way through the house after Lily.
Being back in Potter Manor had Harry just as lost as he had been when he first arrived. Not physically lost, mind, he was emotionally lost - Harry didn't know how to explain it. He felt like he was both meant to be there with Hadrian but at the same time felt like an intruder in the space. He hadn't been able to toss the feeling even through the whole summer he spent there. Harry wondered if he ever would.
“Hey.” Harry caught Lily's attention when he reached the kitchen. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Sure.” Lily gave him a warm smile, warmer than usual. “Grab some plates?” Harry nodded.
As Lily brought out food on platters and Harry set the table with plates and silverware, he felt… relaxed. For once he didn't feel uncomfortable being alone in the same room as her, which was a welcome change of pace. It had him smiling as he worked.
“Anything I can do to help?” Hadrian joined them.
“No, we're pretty much done.” Lily didn't even look up as she spoke, busying herself straightening the tablecloth.
“Alright.” Hadrian shrugged, “Anyway, it'll be a few more minutes. Dad got an owl about work, so he's in the study. He said to tell you he was sorry, and that it shouldn't take too long.” Lily froze, then turned with a puzzled expression.
She looked from Hadrian to Harry, scanning them both as if she hadn't noticed they were wearing matching outfits, her confusion slowly sliding into something else. Lily looked quite pale when she finally faced Hadrian with a strained smile.
“Thanks for letting me know, Hadrian.” She said, nodding slowly. “Why don't you and Harry go unpack while we wait?” She gestured to Harry stiffly.
“Not sure there's a point considering we'll only be here for two weeks, but sure.” Hadrian grinned. “C'mon Harry, I guess we're being kicked out of the kitchen.” He sent Lily an amused look as he beckoned him.
Harry glanced backwards at Lily as they left, confused by the way she'd turned to grip the edge of the table with white-knuckles. What had shaken her so badly in so short of a time? She'd seemed fine before Hadrian walked in…
Shaking his head, Harry followed Hadrian and tried to put it out of his mind.
Harry just hoped Break went by without any unpleasant incidents.