Sitting in the Slytherin Common room, Harry looks up from his book in surprise as his 'friend' Nick steps into the room with a cocky smirk on his face, sneering at any of his Housemates that glanced his way.
Ever since Malfoy's group and Snape had 'heard the message', he'd been acting, in some people's words, 'like a right tosser'. Harry couldn't really disagree, even if it was partly his fault. The stone was enhancing the boy's baser, more dark emotions and impulses, which included his new prideful and more egotistical behaviour.
He was riding high off of the new fear the house held for Harry, and being 'his only friend' had given him a sense of superiority compared to his peers.
This was something that must be dealt with if he was going to continue developing the boy.
"What are you looking at, Blaise? See something funny?" Nick questions after spotting him glance between him and Harry.
"What, am I not allowed my eyes anymore?" Blaise snidely asks.
Nick scowls, "Not if you want to keep them."
*Snap!*
Everyone in the room, even those unrelated to the argument looks over at Harry who'd clapped his book closed. "Nick, come with me." he orders, standing and heading out of the room.
"O-okay? Harry?" he mutters in surprise and quickly follows.
Harry leads him through the school and into an empty, dilapidated classroom they usually use for their duelling practice. The scorch marks on the floor and walls, pockmark holes, and utterly decimated wooden furniture foretold just how intense Harry could get... Which is why Nick was nervously standing at the door, hesitant to enter.
Uncaring, Harry telekinetically pulls him inside and slams the door closed, releasing Nick and stepping to the opposite side of the room. "Draw your wand."
"W-why? We already practised for today..."
"Because I seem to have made a mistake with you, I forgot to give you a lesson my teacher hammered into me. That changes now." he states before gesturing at him, "Draw!"
Nick flicks his wand out from his pocket and jabs it at Harry, firing a quick beam after shouting "Flipendo!"
Harry's expression doesn't change as he slaps it out of the air with a small explosion of sparks and begins advancing toward the boy, "Did I, during our practice, give you the impression that you're infallible?" he glowers.
"N-no! Incendio!" he shouts in response, shooting a small spurt of fire across the room. It was a thin beam, controlled with limited strength due to the distance, still, any First Year student would be hard-pressed to deal with it. Yet...
Harry snaps his fingers and dispels the flames in an instant and before Nick can cast anything else he swipes the wand from his hand while slamming a palm strike into his chest, knocking him to the ground. "Because it seems like you are acting without restraint! Do you think no one is a threat to you!?"
Nick quivers on the ground, unwilling to get to his feet and risk initiating another duel, "No! Y-you're stronger! The teachers are stronger!"
"Are the people in our House weak!?"
"Y-yes! They're just bullies who gang up on weak people!"
Harry scowls, "That may be with the First Years, if you couldn't beat them after your tutoring I'd be ashamed. But what if you anger the older students with your flaunting!?"
"W-well... I thought-, that you would help...?" he sheepishly admits, only to yelp as he's telekinetically slammed against the far wall, hanging there uselessly.
"Why would I help you with trouble you brought on yourself!?" he growls, "If you annoyed the older students enough for them to beat you, I would let them. I would watch, so you understand that I'm not your parent or your guardian. I will teach you what you know to defend yourself, and help within limits, but I will not assist if you start acting moronic like Malfoy once had! Do you understand!?"
"Y-yes!" Nick quickly rasps, trying to contain the urge to start crying for fear of looking weak in front of Harry.
Harry releases his control on him and lets him flop to the floor, "I will not let 'friends' be my weakness. Sheep or Shepherd. You will act with temperance or not at all." he spits venomously before striding away, allowing the boy to sob in silence once he was finally alone.
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"Have you guys noticed it?" Ron asks his friends at the Gryffindor table, "The snakes, they're quiet."
"Course they are, old greasy's still recoverin' from whatever hit him... I'm still bettin' it was your brothers." Seamus remarks, throwing a glance further down the table at the Weasley twins.
Ron shakes his head, "No, I mean-, they don't even sneer at us when we walk past them. Look at them now, it's like they're scared... Maybe without Snape Dumbledore can finally do something?"
Hermione sends a tentative look over at the table in question and easily discards Ron's theory... After what she'd seen, what she knew, it was obvious who was responsible for the Slytherin's sudden hesitance to cause trouble.
Harry was sitting alone at the table with his bat on his shoulder, and she noted that even Nick was sitting a distance away... Even the Seventh Years were eyeing The Boy Who Lived suspiciously, like he'd jump to his feet and start cursing people at any moment.
It was sad to see the heroic boy further isolate himself... Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about it. She notices Neville sending her a knowing look, shaking his head to encourage her to keep her silence on the matter.
"Well, it's not a bad thing for them to start behavin'." Seamus adds.
"But they're planning something, has to be something dark!"
"This tripe again? Not everything you don't like is dark, Ron." Seamus sighs at the boy's antics, mimicked by Dean who'd also grown bored of it.