Chapter 19
"That was... an unexpected turn of events," Snape said slowly as he escorted Harrison down to the Slytherin common rooms.
"Not for me," Harrison shrugged. "The Sorting Hat originally wanted to put me in the snake House, but I begged them to put me in Gryffindor. I'd heard all sorts of crap from Hagrid and Ron about Slytherin and Draco, the first Slytherin I came across, acted like a spoiled brat. He reminded me far too much of my cousin, making me disinclined to share the same House as him."
"Potter," Snape said quietly. "Are you alright?"
Harrison sighed and rubbed his face. "I'm torn between wanting to blow up whoever the f*ck invented the Triwizard Tournament and locking myself in my room for a good cry."
"Understandable," Snape agreed. "Would you like a Dreamless Sleep?"
"There's a potion that gets rid of nightmares?!" Harrison exclaimed. "And nobody thought to give me any?!"
"Quiet, brat, people are sleeping."
"Yeah, right. After what just happened?"
Snape sighed irritably and pinched his nose.
"Ten Galleons the Prophet writes sh*t about me," Harrison said.
"Do not answer any reporters' questions, Harrison," Snape insisted. Harrison stared at him. "You are a minor and should not be interviewed unless your guardians are present."
Harrison blinked. "Uh... what if the reporters are also minors?"
"You're speaking of your newspaper," Snape drawled. Harrison's jaw dropped. "I am well aware that you and your friends created the Tribute. I am not a clueless Gryffindor."
"Hey, not all Gryffindors are clueless," Harrison sputtered.
"Hmm," Snape said noncommittally. Harrison stuck his tongue out at him. "Two points from Gryffindor."
"Not a-" Harrison stopped, then snickered. "Wow, you really hate Gryffindor."
"No, I just find them impulsive and frustrating," Snape answered. "I hated your father."
"Oh -- that reminds me." Harrison pulled Tom's diary out of his pack, and Snape froze.
"Where... did you get that," he whispered.
"Somebody sent me it for my birthday," Harrison answered, "along with a note." He handed Snape the diary and pulled out the letter that had come with it.
Snape scanned it and frowned. "This is Lucius' handwriting. Why would he send-" he scowled and glared at the diary. "Stupid, foolish boy."
"Hey -- oh, you mean Tom." At Snape's look, Harrison explained, "We've been having lovely chats. Mostly about the Tribute and... him and Remus."
Snape caught the message. He tried to give the diary back, but Harrison pushed it back. "He said he hasn't talked to anyone for fourteen years. He told me about your relationship to his original."
The potions professor frowned a little. "Did he... tell you who his original is?"
Harrison frowned. "No. I did look for a Tom Riddle, but all I found was his employment records at Borgin and Burkes."
Snape hesitated, then pulled out his wand and cast several privacy charms, an Anti-Eavesdropping Ward, and fog. Then he wrote Tom's full name in the air in silvery handwriting. Another flick of his wand had the letters rearranging.
I am Lord Voldemort.
"...huh," Harrison said inelegantly, watching the letters fade away. "You're Darky's mate?"
Snape closed his eyes. "We had not spoken for months before he attempted to kill you."
"Professor," Harrison said abruptly, "how many people really know what happened that night?"
The man frowned and gazed at him with confusion in his obsidian eyes. "What do you mean?"
"The only people that really witnessed the event were me and Vol -- er, You-Know-Who," Harrison pointed out. "I was a baby and I remember nothing. Who's to say Dumbledore didn't lie about what happened?"
"You have very little trust for Dumbledore these days," Snape noted slowly, a faint bit of hope in his eyes. "Why?"
"The man cast a Mail Ward on me on the day that my parents died," Harrison said icily. "He and Mrs. Weasley have been stealing from my vaults, and he was paying the Dursleys, even after I told them they don't like me.
"The rest is conjecture, but... I've been thinking about the past three years, and things don't add up. Why was it so easy to get through those obstacles 'protecting' the Sorcerer's Stone? Why didn't Dumbledore use his status as Chief Mugwump to get my godfather a trial, after he found out he was innocent? And someone blocked my parents' wills, stating I wasn't under any circumstances to be raised by Petunia Dursley, and that Sirius wasn't the Secret Keeper. Why would someone block the wills unless it was to keep me away from my godfather, and get me to be raised by Petunia?"
Snape looked furious.
"So, yeah, I'm taking anything Dumbledore says with a grain of salt," Harrison said. "Maybe I should do the same with what he's been saying about You-Know-Who."
"That is a good idea," Snape said quietly. "And I am going to continue looking for my mate... hopefully he will be sane again when I find him."
"He's your ma-" Harrison interrupted himself with a yawn. "Your mate, too?" he finished sleepily.
"You have had a very long day, Harrison," Snape said firmly, removing the charms, Ward, and fog. "You need to go to bed. We can speak more on the weekend. I will tell Dumbledore you have a detention."
"Poggers," Harrison said tiredly. Snape snorted.
As soon as the door to the Slytherin common room opened, Harrison was attacked by a blur.
"Mate mate mate mate-" Draco growled, sounding panicky. Harrison hugged him back.
"Sorry, Harrison," came Blaise's sheepish voice from behind them. "He's been like this since we dragged him from the Great Hall."
"I totally get it," Harrison yawned, leaning further into the Veela's embrace. "Draco, I'm fine. Need sleep now."
Draco relaxed a little. "Stay."
"Draco, take Harrison up to your room," Snape said in a slightly commanding tone. Draco made a little chirping noise in response, then swooped Harrison into his arms, wedding style.
"Can walk," Harrison protested.
"No," Draco huffed, nuzzling his hair.
"Mean," Harrison grumbled, resting his head on Draco's shoulder. He heard Blaise snickering as the two of them left, but he was too tired to care.
-------
The next morning, Harrison woke up in Draco's arms. He sniggered quietly; the boy was drooling.
"Huh? Wha-?" Draco mumbled, waking up at the noise.
"Good morning, Drool Malfoy," Harrison smirked. The boy's silver eyes flew open, and he stared at Harrison in horror.
"Droo -- No, I wasn't-" He felt his face with one hand and blushed.
"It's okay, your father won't hear about this," Harrison teased. Draco pouted at him. "What time is it?"
Draco cast a Tempus Charm and cursed, practically flying out of bed. "Ten minutes to breakfast! Pansy! Blaise! Bathroom now!"
The door opened and Harrison's friends entered the dorm room. They were carrying hair care products. "We've been waiting for this for four years!" Pansy squealed.
"No!" Harrison squawked, jumping out of bed. "Don't touch my-"
Twenty minutes later, Harrison sat down at the Slytherin table. "Anybody who mentions my hair will be cursed," he snarked, glowering at the twins, who were snickering.
"But it looks amazing," Hermione said in a puzzled tone.
Without a word, Harrison flicked his wand, and Hermione's hair turned into an afro five times the size of her head. She yelped and fell onto Ron, who was one of the only people at the table not laughing.
"Coffee," Harrison grunted into his cup, ignoring the chaos. The goblet filled with bubbling espresso. Harrison took a sip.
"Nooooo!" cried Pansy a millisecond later. "My beautiful artwork!"
"Our beautiful artwork," Blaise snorted, but he was grinning.
The twins cackled and high-fived. "It worked!"
"Yes!" Roger Davies crowed, as Adrian Pucey leaned over to high-five Gabriel Truman.
Draco handed Harrison a small hand mirror, his lips twitching. Harrison blinked at it.
His hair was still the same curl and length it had been when Pansy, Blaise, and Draco had finished with it, but it was no longer raven black. His hair was iridescent rainbow colors.
"I love it," Harrison grinned, handing the mirror back to Draco. He tapped his wand against the espresso, and the twins pouted. "Maybe I'll dye my hair after the prank wears off."
The Tribute arrived, this time containing an article about the four champions, an article about the Tournament's history (emphasizing when minors were killed or permanently scarred from it), an article about the Club's prank war, more comics, and a few letters to the editor, asking about the difference between Dark and Light magic. Harrison had answered the best he could, but he had admitted that he couldn't find any books in the school library about it and was by no means an expert himself.
The school still had mixed emotions about Harrison as a champion. Most people knew that, if he had been lying during his vow, he would no longer have his magic. These people treated him with pity. Some people, however, still believed he had put his name in the goblet and ignored him.
Harrison hated it.
It was the same thing every time: something happens to the Boy-Who-Lived, he was treated with hatred or pity. Maybe he would have an interview about his feelings on being the Boy-Who-Lived....
Herbology was the first class he went to on Monday. The Hufflepuffs had a majority of the people who still believed he had put his name in the goblet, so Ernie Macmillan and a few of the girls were cold with him. He ignored the idiots.
Harrison, Blaise, Draco, and Pansy joined Hermione, Ron, and Neville on the way to Care of Magical Creatures. To their dismay, Hagrid announced that the Skrewts had been killing each other off, and he thought that maybe the class should take them on a walk to let out energy.
"All right, that's enough," Harrison said exasperatedly. "Nobody move. Hagrid, I need a word."
He pulled the huge man away from the group. Hagrid was bewildered. "What's wrong, Harrison?" he asked in a puzzled tone.
"Hagrid, I know that you care about all of these creatures," Harrison said gently. "But these creatures are too dangerous to be around children. I know that they aren't dangerous on purpose," he added quickly when Hagrid looked angry. "It's just natural. Yes, we need to know about these creatures so we can defend ourselves, but this is not the way. Hagrid... what do you know about the Skrewts?"
Hagrid hesitated. "No' much. The man 'oo sold 'em to me said they were new."
"You bought illegally bred creatures?" Harrison whispered in alarm. "Hagrid!"
The man blushed.
"You need to get rid of them," Harrison said firmly. "I don't want you to be arrested when a kid gets hurt again."
"That was Mal-"
"Draco may not have been listening," Harrison snapped, "but Hippogriffs are not animals you put around thirteen-year-olds."
Hagrid sighed. "Alrigh', I get it. What do yeh think we should do instead?"
"Mia, Neville?" Harrison called. The two came over, looking curious. "Hagrid needs help with classes."
Hermione lit up and immediately pulled a scroll out of her bag.