Substitute
Harry noticed the next time he had Defense class - a class he unfortunately had with the Slytherin first years - that the class for once didn’t have the telltale garlic stench Harry had come to associate with the class. He turned to Terry, “D’you think he’s absent?”
“I hope so - the last time I practiced the Bogie hex I only made Michael’s nose bleed.”
“Yeah, thanks” Michael sarcastically replied. “Once I master the hex...”
“We all know,” Anthony commented, as Terry raised his hands up in surrender to Michael’s wrath.
“If he is absent, who do you think the substitute will be?” Terry asked his friends, changing topics.
”Professor Snape will be filling in.” A Slytherin sitting behind the Ravenclaws piped up. Harry looked, and the person who spoke was one of the boys who was friends with Draco on the train. Draco hadn’t tried talking to Harry since Harry refused his handshake, nor did he try spreading rumors or hexing him. Harry was still wary, especially as the boy-
(Anthony asked the Slytherin “What’s your name, by the way?”
”Greg. Gregory Goyle, technically, but I prefer Greg.”)
Gregory Goyle was large, like Dudley, and was now easily befriending people Harry knew first, like Piers would do to ruin Harry’s reputation. Harry shook his head - he was not going to be prejudiced against fat people, even if they were friends with Draco bloody Malfoy, who was sitting right next to Greg and was staring at the Ravenclaws like they were a particularly large and nasty spider he wished to kill. Was he staring at Harry? Harry was directly in front of Draco, he realized belatedly.
The door opened and crashed close as Professor Snape made his usual dramatic entrance. “Professor Quirrell is unwell, so I will be teaching Defense for the next few days. Books away, wands out.” Oh no. Oh no no no Harry was not prepared for this he hadn’t practiced he-
“Potter and Goyle, you’re partners. Try not to seriously injure your classmates, although I cannot say it would be much loss if you were to only blow yourselves up with your incompetence.” Behind him, Harry could hear Draco and the other large Slytherin- a group of Slytherins now, actually - all snickering at Professor Snape’s barbed taunt. Harry stood and readied his wand as the partnering continued. “Mr. Boot and Mr. Malfoy, you’re partners. Mr. Goldstein and Mr. Crabbe, same. Mr. Nott and Mr. Corner...” and on it went. Harry breathed a sigh of relief when Snape was no longer in close proximity to his person.
”You ready?” Goyle asked. Harry nodded, and tried to shield himself from the hex but forgot the incantation. Red light instead of the green came out of the Slytherin’s wand, and Harry’s instincts had him duck rather than guess at the spell. The spell hit the boy behind him - Malfoy.
Half of a bat wing appeared to be flopping out the Malfoy heir’s skull. “Oh - shite - I’m sorry Dra-“
Draco glared in contempt at Greg and Harry. ”Don’t talk to me. Professor! Professor, Potter tried to hex me and ahhhhh!” The pain kicked in, and blood had begun to stain his illustrious blonde hair.
”Potter, 50 points and detention! Goyle, take Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing.”
Harry’s classmates tried to plead the case for Potter being innocent. Snape would hear none of it, and Goyle left too quickly for any answers to appear. Harry was staring at the ground, trying to ignore his beating heart, his body’s reaction to Malfoy’s glare and Snape’s anger being make himself small don’t talk he hates it when you talk back he could kill me and I’d get yelled at I can’t afford anger I can’t I can’t I-
“Potter, I told you to leave my classroom at once! Detention!” Snape shouted at the unresponsive eleven year old.
Harry’s feet led him out of the classroom and straight to the library. In his usual place sat Hermione Granger reading a Muggle book on evolutionary biology. Harry sighed, but he was already triggered and he was not going to be comfortable regardless so he sat next to her. Ron wanted them to be friends after the three-headed-dog fiasco, after all.