Harry strode through the door to the Gryffindor common room followed by the other seven wizards. Students already present inside stared at the fuming wizard with wide eyes before they saw his entourage. All eight wizards went over to the empty couch and took their seats.
The Marauders, Frank, and the Prewett twins stared at Harry apprehensively. The dark-haired boy still looked furious as he seemed to be gritting his teeth, his eyes steely and glaring at the fireplace.
Fabian quickly erected a privacy bubble around them and asked what was on everyone's minds.
"Mate, what was all that about?"
Harry glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.
"You really looked like you'd have killed him. Malfoy too," Remus remarked with a frown. Even though he had stood steadfast behind his friends, the incident had disturbed him. It felt as if there was much more to it than any one of them could fathom. Anyone apart from Harry, who seemed to be burning the fireplace with his glare.
Finally, Harry broke the silence after a couple of minutes and looked toward them at large.
"Let's just say that was a prelude to what I fear is coming and leave it at that for now. You'll know soon enough."
Sirius and James immediately looked at each other before they turned toward Harry as one, who pursed his lips and nodded. That was enough to convey the message, and nothing else needed to be said further.
"What do you mean?" Frank asked curiously. "If it's something serious, shouldn't we all know about it?"
"Oi, I'm right here. You know enough about me," Sirius replied, earning exasperated looks from the gathered wizards. "And who cares what that was all about? Fact remains that this lad here put the fear of Merlin himself in those dickheads. It was a long time coming anyway."
Frank and the Prewett twins looked at each other before they sighed.
"Lucky you, I guess. I've got to tolerate that fuck Lestrange for the entire month," Frank muttered. "I've been paired with him in Defense," he elaborated for the fifth-years who winced.
"Ah, can't envy you mate. Lucky that we managed to avoid his shitty brother."
"We've still got those assholes though," James reminded his best friend who winced.
"Point taken. But hey, at least Evans didn't get Snivellus. Could you imagine having his greasy hair loitering around your girl for the entire month?" Sirius chuckled.
"Thank Merlin for that. Still, I didn't expect Snivellus to join that lot so soon. Think we should take him down a peg?"
Harry tuned them out as he stared at the little group that came through the door. Lily, Marlene, and Alice looked over at them with visible frowns as they took their seats on the chairs near the fireplace. He sighed.
He had not expected to lose control like that. He had been thinking about trading a few insults like he used to do with Malfoy and his cronies. However, when Lucius called Lily the M-word, something in him snapped. Suddenly they were not the fifth and sixth-year Slytherin students, but Voldemort's Death Eaters who had killed his friends in the Ministry. The bandage he had wrapped around that wound came off a little at that instant, and he had lost control over his rage.
Harry knew he would have seriously maimed Rudolphus Lestrange and possibly a few other Slytherins as well had Frank not intervened and pulled him back. It had been a huge challenge to bring himself under control. However, seeing the shocked look in his teenage mother's eyes as well as those gray orbs he was slowly coming to admire had managed to tether his mind to the plane of realism.
However, he was fairly calm now. That veil of rage had been lifted from his mind now that he had been away from that situation for a short while. However, that did not mean he could easily forget what had happened.
That confrontation had been enough to tell him that his efforts were wasted on them. He had not wanted to bother with them in the first place, but now it was decided for good. Those thirteen wizards could go and join Voldemort. There was no saving them from his wand. He would take care of them as he deemed fit.
Yet he had to remind himself not to lose control like that. There would be many more confrontations in the future, and he could not let himself be led on by that group. One misstep on his part and he could be the target of the justice system, biased as it was, and he knew he would do well to steer clear of that.
He would act, but not in a way that would implicate himself.
"I'm going to bed," Harry announced suddenly and stood up, to the surprise of his friends who frowned before giving him understanding nods. Nodding back, he turned around and walked up the stairs. He was fully aware of the numerous pairs of eyes following him on his way to his dormitory, and Lily's emerald ones in particular. However, he steadfastly ignored them and climbed up the stairs.
Once Harry left, Fabian took down the privacy bubble. However, the moment he did so, three familiar witches came over and sat on the couch right opposite them.
"What was that?" Lily asked firmly. "And don't give me your usual Gryffindor versus Slytherin crap. That was more than that, and you all know it."
The entire house in attendance seemed to listen keenly.
"Yes, it was not simple house rivalry, Evans. Anyone could tell that," James retorted darkly, to Lily's surprise. That was not a tone she had expected Potter to use, at least with her. Usually, it was his flirtatious demeanor that she was accustomed to, so this came as a surprise to her. "However, it's not my story to tell. Perhaps Harry could tell you if he wants to. Now, if that is all, I'd like to head over to sleep. Goodnight."
With a curt nod, James got up and walked upstairs. Marlene frowned when Sirius only glanced at her and followed his friend.
"Well, looks like things are indeed going to be interesting," Gideon muttered with a chuckle. "And we have Slytherin partners as well. Let's see how it turns out."
Lily and her friends sat there as one by one, the boys stood up and went to their respective dormitories. She returned Remus' small smile before he was out of sight as well.
"Something's wrong with those two," Marlene muttered. "Normally, Black won't miss making a snarky or crass comment, but so far, he's not done that even once."
"Potter used to pester me like anything until last year. Now, even though he acts like a prat, he's barely bothered me since the Express."
"You think something's going on that we don't know about?" Alice chimed in, frowning. "Before you ask, Frank doesn't know either."
"How do you know that already?"
"He shook his head when I looked at him," Alice replied. Marlene sighed.
"I don't know, but I feel it's all connected to Peverell. They have been completely different ever since he came into picture."
Marlene nodded as she looked at Lily. "You're going to approach him? To ask what today was all about? That shit was bloody serious."
Lily sighed. "I've not decided yet. Maybe. I'll see. Come on, let's head to bed as well."
-Break-
"Bella what the fuck!?" Narcissa cried out in shock, bolting upright as she flicked her wand and ramped up the lamps once again. Her wide eyes stared at her twin, only to find her grinning.
"What?" Bellatrix asked with a curious tilt of her head as she sat on her bed and crossed her legs.
"Do you even think before saying these things!? I can't believe you'd really think of something like that!"
"What do you mean, Cissy? I thought you'd happily do something so little for your dear twin," Bellatrix pouted. "You want him all to yourself, don't you? Selfish Cissy!"
Narcissa stared at her sister with a deep frown.
"You know what? I can't bother with you right now, not when you're like this. Go to sleep, Bella."
Flicking her wand, Narcissa dimmed the lamps once again. Pulling the covers up to her neck, she kept staring at the dark ceiling of her dormitory.
Her sister had always had a fickle mind. That was the biggest reason why she had been unable to learn even the basic level of Occlumency. She had been the one most affected by Andi's departure, often having weird episodes. So many times had Narcissa heard Bella cry herself to sleep. However, she had never seen her act or do something like this. It seemed as if she was almost… fanatically obsessed with Harry.
'No, not Harry. His power, maybe. But not him,' Narcissa reminded herself of Bella's words. Never once had her sister referred to him as a person; always talking about his power and what how he wielded it. Bellatrix didn't want Harry, nor did she have feelings for him. Instead, she craved the power she had seen in Harry.
Being so obsessed with someone just because of their power… Narcissa failed to understand how that thought worked. But it concerned her very much. This obsession of Bella was very dangerous. Still, it was comparatively acceptable, Narcissa considered, for her sister to be attracted to Harry because of his power. He didn't strike her as someone who would use someone for his personal gain, or Merlin forbid, to satiate his urges. However, what if she came across someone more powerful than Harry? And what if it was someone dangerous? Narcissa didn't even want to think about it.
One thing was certain though. Her sister was not okay. Even after that abhorrent proposal of hers, Narcissa could not help but feel concerned for her. She had heard from some muggleborn students that the muggle world had healers who dealt with the issues of the human mind. However, the wizarding world had no concept of these mind healers.
Sighing, Narcissa closed her eyes and went to sleep. She would think about her idiot of a sister some other time.
-Break-
Harry lay in his four-poster bed surrounded by curtains on all four sides, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness of the sixth-year boys' dormitory. His mind kept replaying the encounter from a few hours ago.
Things were indeed bad, and he had to admit that it would not take much effort for Voldemort to conscript the Slytherins to do his bidding. All those people were members of pureblood families with hereditary seats on the Wizengamot, giving them power in the legislature as well.
Not for the first time, Harry wondered if it wouldn't be prudent on his part to take care of them one by one. However, he did not want to do it. Perhaps it was the humanity within him, or maybe the fact that they had not done anything yet. Abhorrent as they might be, it didn't give him the right to take permanent measures against them when they were innocent of any tyranny.
"But can I afford to take the risk?" He whispered to himself. They might not have done anything, but he did not doubt that it was only a matter of time before they started on their journey to being some of the most heinous individuals the Wizarding World had to offer.
"Can I let them go on, knowing that in some time, numerous innocents will suffer under their atrocities? Can I live on, knowing that their suffering could've ended if only I had done something?" He whispered. "It's not as if I don't know anything. I have the entire knowledge, or as much as possible. Yet, I am not doing anything with that knowledge…"
He had been at Hogwarts for only a short while, and already he had obtained a measure of several students who he knew would one day join Voldemort. They had their cruelty even now, and he did not doubt that there was no way he could dissuade them from joining that maniac.
"Wouldn't it be better if I nip the bud before it could become poison?" He whispered.
He had no morally correct answer to that question. For the first time since he had arrived in this timeline, Harry understood the burden he carried. His foreknowledge and his morality were at war, and he found he could not make a concrete decision. It was the biggest dilemma he had ever encountered in his short life.
He could indeed deal with all the hostiles who he knew would become Death Eaters in the near future, and he was also fairly confident in his ability to manage it without implicating himself. However, killing them before they had done anything didn't sit right with him.
The same applied to Pettigrew. Every time he looked at the boy, he had to vehemently control himself from lashing out and killing the traitor. However, the rat was the complete opposite of what he had expected, and if he was being honest, he found him entirely harmless. James and Sirius had talked to him about the other two Marauders. Although not very remarkable in any particular field, Pettigrew was a diligent student. The fact that he had successfully become an animagus before his fourth year at Hogwarts spoke of his magical abilities.
Yet, Harry found it hard to look past the events that had happened in the previous timeline. Arcturus had told him again and again to not judge people based on his opinion on their future selves, but that didn't mean it was easy. Time and again he had to hold himself back, arguing with himself that he could not simply decide to play judge, jury, and executioner, no matter how much the voice inside him wanted to.
That brought him to his decision of keeping vigil over Pettigrew to the extent manageable. The moment he aroused any red flags, he would not hesitate in dealing with the rat.
The less he said about Bellatrix, the better it was. The woman had killed Neville and Sirius in that battle. However, instead of being a maniac who took pleasure in making people suffer, he had so far found her to be a rather cheeky young woman who had barely done more than wink at him. If he looked past the notion he had of her grown-up self, he could easily admit that she was an attractive and charming woman without an ounce of malice in her bones, at least based on as much as he had understood her so far. What truly lay inside her mind was something only she knew, but given she had not batted an eye when he had come out as a half-blood, it had certainly earned her some points in his book.
Yet, he could not afford to relax around her. She was not Voldemort's most fanatical for nothing. He did not doubt that there was something wrong with her. Otherwise, she would not have become what she did become in the future.
He had a small plan, or at least the makings of one. Bellatrix was in his class along with Narcissa. He was already intending to get close to Narcissa for personal reasons. It would not be too much of a bother to establish himself with Bellatrix as well. Nothing too extreme – a simple gesture of friendship and support would be enough for now. That would enable him to gain more insight into the kind of person she truly was, and possibly influence her away from the clutches of Voldemort as well.
He could've killed her, but two things held him back. He had promised Arcturus that he would try to save as much of his family as he could, and Bellatrix was too powerful an asset to be wasted. If she was on his side, he knew that she would prove to be a significant advantage in the upcoming conflict.
As for the hostiles in Slytherin, he decided to do what he intended to do with Pettigrew. Even an inclination that they had done anything wrong and he would deal with them without any care or concern for the possible extinction of their bloodline.
His secondary promise to Arcturus could fuck off for all he cared.
-Break-
The next morning dawned and Harry twitched in his bed, breathing softly and blearily opening his eyes. The Tempus showed that it was time for him to wake up. He sighed.
His legs dragged him out of his four-poster bed and in no time, he had freshened up and was walking under his cloak toward the Room of Requirement. Now that he had a definitive motive and the means, he was going to leave no stone unturned. He was not delusional enough to think that he was able to face Voldemort in a battle right now. No matter how much he had trained under Arcturus, he was still not ready.
That didn't mean he could not get ready for the inevitable clash. The Room of Requirement would be an immense help in that regard.
An important part of his plans would commence today. It was the first time he would attend Slughorn's lessons, and he needed to entrench himself firmly with the man. Garnering his trust was essential since the man held the secret to the number of Horcruxes, and there was no way he would divulge it to any random person. That meant he would need to become his closest ally.
He could always use force to extract the information. However, he didn't want to abuse an innocent. He had to consider another factor that Slughorn might have protected that memory in such a manner that only he could divulge it voluntarily. There were secret mind arts that enabled a person to do so, and it would be counterproductive if something happened to the man because he couldn't exercise patience.
No, earning the man's trust was the best way to go.
He arrived back to a slowly arising dormitory and greeted his friends before he started to get ready for the day.
"You'd be okay with Lestrange, Frank?"
The Longbottom heir turned to look at him and snorted.
"Gotta sit with him. I've no other option anyway, and it's not as if the idiot can do anything in the classroom anyway. Hopkins might seem like an asshole but even he won't allow that."
Harry nodded. Frank looked at him and smirked.
"Not that you have any need to worry about anything, given who your partner is."
Harry's response was to throw a silent stinger at the young man, who jumped away with a grin.
"Not another word from you," he warned jokingly and grabbed his robe. "I'll see you three in the common room. Don't take too long."
He nodded toward Frank and the Prewett twins as he walked out of the dormitory.
"And I'm telling you to mind yourself around Snivellus. Is it that hard to understand!?"
Harry frowned as he descended the stairs and came over near the entrance to the common room. He looked over from behind the wall and saw an agitated Sirius. McKinnon was staring at the boy with a frown. Off to the side, he spotted Lily glaring at Sirius and the other Marauders standing with Alice, frowning. There were only a few students in the common room, and all seemed to be staring at the drama that was unfolding.
"I told you to not call him that, Black!" Lily retorted hotly as she joined McKinnon, glaring. Sirius ignored her and continued to stare McKinnon down.
"What's your deal?" The blonde asked with a sigh. "I'm sure Snape won't do anything in front of everyone anyway."
"You don't know what he's like," Sirius barreled on. "Just… mind yourself. I won't have said this if it was any of those snake chicks, but Snivellus and his group of thugs are scum you should be mindful of."
"That's enough from you now! I don't care what you call the others, but Severus is not like them, and I'll ask you again to not call him that," Lily glared.
"Not like them?" James asked with a mirthless chuckle as everyone turned to look at him. "Then I believe you need to consult Madam Pomfrey, Evans. Either your eyes don't work anymore or your brain can't comprehend the obvious. None of those are good for anyone, yourself included."
"Mind yourself, Potter," Lily retorted, glaring fiercely at the Potter heir.
"No, it's you who needs to mind yourself," James stepped forward and invaded Lily's personal space, glaring back. Everyone's eyes widened as Lily staggered in shock, and Harry had to force himself to remain hidden behind the wall and only watch. It wouldn't do to intervene, not when they were like this.
No one could believe that James was behaving like this with Lily of all people.
"Wh-what are y-you…"
"Do you have any idea what's going on outside? Any inkling of how bad things are going to get!?" James asked harshly, glaring at the redhead who stared at him with wide eyes. "You were there yesterday. Didn't you say yourself that it wasn't some Gryffindor versus Slytherin bullshit?"
"Y-yeah but —" Lily tried. James cut her off.
"That didn't look like normal schoolyard fight to you, right, Evans? Then tell me this: where was this precious friend of yours? Oh yes, with that group of pathetic assholes and pointing his wand at us with that nasty smirk on his wretched face. And yet here you are, defending his sorry ass. I guess that brain of yours is only capable of dealing with academics. A small advice, if you can be bothered to take it. Learn to understand how the world works."
Lily fumed, glaring.
"And you know all about how the world works, huh? That's why you go around, humiliating others and taking pleasure in their suffering?"
"If you think what we do is even remotely comparable to suffering, as you put it, then you have no bloody clue what suffering truly is. You have so much faith in this friend of yours, huh?" James scoffed. "This illusion of yours will be shattered soon enough. I just hope you'd be strong enough to take it. Come, Padfoot. There's no use in beating your head against a wall."
With a sneer, James walked away. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, and try as she might, Lily couldn't take her eyes off him. She was still glaring, but the frown on her face was blatant for everyone to see.
"I'm telling you for the last time, McKinnon," Sirius tried once again. "Mind yourself around Snivellus, and each one of those assholes you saw there yesterday in general."
"Why are you telling me all this?" McKinnon asked with a sigh. "Don't you have any new pranks to pull? New witches to woo? Isn't that how your day goes normally?"
Sirius grimaced but didn't say anything.
"You better go and mind your business, Black. I'll deal with my problems. You don't need to concern yourself."
"Noted," Sirius replied stonily and walked away.
"Padfoot!" Remus shouted, and with an apologetic look toward an uncaring Lily and a frowning McKinnon, he rushed after his friend. Pettigrew followed behind quickly.
"Just who does he think he is!?" Lily hissed, glaring at the floor. Harry chose that moment to emerge from behind the wall and their eyes immediately fell on him.
"Peverell!" Lily called out with a glare. Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
"Lily!" Alice hissed as she pulled her friend, who turned to look at her. A pointed look from her friend made her grimace and she turned to look at him with a much more controlled demeanor.
"Can I help you?" He decided to ask, already having an idea what this was going to be about.
"I… uh… I mean we'd like to talk to you about something."
Harry nodded, gesturing for her to continue. Lily grimaced as she looked around at all the students staring at them. Harry sighed and waved his wand around them, erecting a privacy ward.
"Private enough. Now what is it?"
"Did you hear what happened here just now?" She asked with a sigh.
Seeing no point in feigning ignorance, he nodded.
"Do you have any idea what all that was about? Potter…" she pursed her lips. "He's always been a bother, but he's never talked to me like that. Something's changed this year. You met them before school started, right? Did something happen?"
"Yes, I met James and Sirius before school started. As for what happened when I first met them? That's not something I should tell anyone. If you want to know, ask them. They would tell you if they want to."
Lily pursed her lips and nodded. "And what they were saying about Severus and the Slytherins? I know they are not the most… pleasant of people, but with what happened yesterday and the way they were saying things… it was almost as if those students would soon start casting the unforgivables to deal with anyone."
Harry could only shake his head at how close that speculation was to what would shortly become the reality.
"You had that altercation with them last evening," McKinnon interjected. Harry turned to look at her. "We're not idiots. We know that was no schoolyard quarrel. What's going on, Peverell?"
Harry sighed. "It's not something you need to concern yourselves with right now. You'll know everything soon enough. If it's any consolation, nothing has happened as of now. However, no one knows the future."
"What's with that cryptic reply?" Alice frowned. Harry smiled at her.
"That's the only reply I should give you right now. You don't need to worry, not yet."
"Something's going to happen in the future then?"
Harry shrugged. He had already told them as much as he ought to right now.
"See, you all saw everything that happened last evening between me and the Slytherins. Recall everything that happened and you should get an idea about the problems. That's all I can say."
He flicked his wand and took down the privacy ward as Frank and the twins came down the stairs. The Longbottom heir smiled at him and walked over to his girlfriend. The two kissed before Frank turned toward him.
"Let's go then?"
Harry nodded.
"What's Black's deal though? Does he hate Snape so much that he was warning me like that?" He heard McKinnon mutter. He could only give her a knowing look when she looked at him. The girl pursed her lips and looked away.
-Break-
"Yeah, that's all they can do really," Gideon remarked, sneering at the glaring Slytherins.
The fifth and sixth-year Gryffindor males were currently sitting together at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. Remus and Peter were giving concerned looks to James and Sirius all the while, who were hellbent on not wanting to further discuss the matter.
The girls had taken their seats further down the table, and they seemed to be pointedly ignoring them. Harry sighed. Lily was going to be difficult how. He had no idea she and Snape had been such good friends.
"Ignore them," James muttered darkly as he exchanged a look with Harry. "They can glare all they want, but they better not do anything else."
"Who's Lily paired with?" Harry couldn't help but ask.
"Olivia Rosier," James replied with a meaningful look. "She's fairly alright."
"More than alright," Fabian snorted, nudging his twin. "This prat here is smitten with that one. His dear Olive~"
"Is that so?" Harry asked amusedly at the boy's mocking tone as the mood improved slightly. Sirius and James looked at the boy with grins.
"Oh piss off!" Gideon retorted. "At least I don't moan her name in my sleep, like a certain someone."
Fabian discreetly glanced at the Hufflepuff table and quickly busied himself with his breakfast. Harry followed his gaze and his eyes widened slightly when he saw who it was.
'Interesting,' he thought to himself.
"Come on," Frank called out as he stood up. "You guys can talk about girls later. We've got Potions first thing."
The sixth-years got up and walked toward the exit of the Great Hall. Harry noted Lily and Marlene glance at him when he passed, and he nodded toward them. Ignoring the Slytherin contingent that also got up around the same time, they made their way down to the dungeons for the Potions class.
Harry had initially thought that Snape liked the dungeons and that was the reason why he had decided to hold the Potions class there. However, the class had been held in the dungeons for years.
He could not help but look forward to learning the subject, or at least whatever he had left to learn, from someone other than Snape. Although he had studied it under Arcturus and even though he was not a very big fan of the subject, it was a massive improvement over his former professor. As far as he had heard, Slughorn was a jovial man, albeit a reaching one. There was no way he could be as bad or even worse than Snape.
Harry had to sigh in relief when he saw that they would be sharing the class with all the houses. There was no way he was in any mood to entertain the company of only those belligerent assholes from Slytherin first thing in the morning, and that too in a class as volatile as Potions. At least with all students present, it would be more tolerable. He could not recognize any of the two 'Claws, but he easily recognized Amelia Bones who was standing with another boy from her house.
Slughorn was already waiting for them, and Harry got his first good look at the man. He was an aged wizard with a bald head which he covered with a hat, a white large mustache, and a rotund belly that seemed to be quivering in excitement. The man beamed at them.
"Come in, come in," he beckoned them forward. "Gather around here while we wait for the rest to arrive."
They walked over and took their place near the desk alongside the two 'Puffs, and he noted the Prewett twins exchange greetings with the pair. He couldn't help but smirk when he saw Fabian greet Amelia Bones.
They were standing silently while Slughorn kept smiling, looking around at them. Harry couldn't help but notice the man's sharp gaze, and he recalled what Arcturus had told him about the man.
"He's someone who loves his comfort. However, he also loves to be in the company of the famous, the influential, the successful, and the powerful. It's nothing too drastic. The man loves to feel that he has some sort of influence over these people. Think of him as a person behind the throne. He never wants it for himself, instead preferring to sit back and relax. After all, there is more room to spread out."
"Are your parents doing well, Frank, m'boy?" He heard the man ask, and he turned to look at Frank.
"Yes, Professor," Frank smiled. "That reminds me, Father told me to inform you that he'd be there."
"Oho! Did he?" Slughorn chortled. "I'm glad."
The man looked on as the rest of the sixth-year students arrived, and Harry spotted only four Slytherins – Narcissa and Bellatrix who came together, and Rockwood who was joined by Malfoy.
He expertly ignored the malicious look on Malfoy's face and smiled at Narcissa, frowning when she gave a strained smile in return. His frown deepened when he saw the look on Bellatrix's face. Yet again, it was the same look she had given him during Defense the previous day, and he failed to decipher what it meant even now.
He had already concluded that it was nothing malicious on her part. Still, it made him feel apprehensive, almost as if he should exercise caution. If there was anything he had come to trust so far in his life, it was his intuition, and right now, it was telling him to watch himself around this young woman. Even though there was no malice, there was no telling what she might be thinking.
Given what he knew of Bellatrix from his previous timeline, this warning seemed even more appropriate, and Harry resolved to not be hasty in formulating his opinion of her.
She had not shown any indication of being a supremacist so far, and nor had she given him any reason to believe that she would be joining the Death Eaters. However, with the sudden emergence of this feeling inside him, he had to be watchful. Bellatrix had the potential to be a huge asset, but she could also become as great a liability.
Only she could decide which one she would be, and he would remain alert for that. One thing was for sure though, and it applied to all of them. Even a hint and he would act, no questions asked.
TBC
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