March 6, 1943
Saturday Evening
Learning from Druella had been, for lack of a better word, eventful. She was competent, more so than most people he'd met from his time and even the others of the one he was currently in. Magical strength, her knowledge of spells, the quickness in which she moved with - he'd not be overly surprised if she were one of the better duellists in all of Hogwarts, not just Elaine's group. All that aside, her competency with spells and her inventive ways of using them weren't taught incredibly well.
She tried, Merlin she tried, but Druella wasn't meant to be a professor or instructor.
That wasn't to say it wasn't helpful, he'd learned from her and the few comments her friends had provided. She'd even told him he was better than Aster and likely most others in his year, his own speed in which he moved as well as his ability to soak in information was impressive to her. On the flip side, his small repertoire of spells even with the safer ones he'd learned from Yaxley's journal as well as the spellbooks of this time and Slytherin's journal didn't escape comment.
Druella knew dozens more than he did and she showed as much. Apparently, the other girls shared some of that knowledge too, as that was the biggest problem they picked with him. Well, there were others too, forefront among them being his clear lack of experience in prolonged bouts in general though especially within confined spaces such as the one they were currently fighting in.
He couldn't blame them for that observation either, most of the fights he'd had with Voldemort luck had played heavily in his favour. When he practised with the D.A. or his close friends, that was far more informative based than improving with quick-paced combat.
All in all, his time with Druella had been helpful if nothing more.
Cade would be who he spoke with next though, such was needed if he wanted to improve from somebody who'd not only offered but seemingly held high renown when it came to duelling or combat in general. That was another thing Harry would need to sort himself out with, fighting didn't necessarily mean duelling; if he didn't get that through his mind during the next bouts he'd have, he'd be in for a hard time.
"You hear the news Pev?" Aster asked as soon as the boy returned to the dorms.
Harry hadn't heard the news, he'd 'slept-in' as he'd told his friends, while in reality, he'd been fitting in a bit more studying in the cover of his bed. After those thirty minutes had passed by, he'd gotten up for a shower and as soon as he'd returned to the dorm for his stuff, Aster had sought him out with the giddiest, happy expression Harry had seen from the boy in a while - Reinhard seemed to match it at least to some degree too, the larger boy standing a few steps back from Aster with a satisfied look on his face.
"Nah mate, what's happened?" Harry asked, bouncing his attention between his two friends.
"Some Ministry bloke thinks he's spotted Yaxley, can't know for sure, but he matched the description! It was in Dover, don't have a clue what he'd be doing there though, only a few small towns nearby that aren't Muggle-run," - Aster grabbed something from his robes and pushed it into Harry's hands, then, he pointed towards a few paragraphs on the bottom right of the page - "Read that! Reinhard and I are going to write to his parents, see if they know why he'd be there of all places! Let me know if you think of anything too!"
Aster didn't give Harry any time to speak before the boy was already off, running towards the exit of the room.
Reinhard groaned and stretched his legs for a few seconds, adding to Harry, "We'll be back up in half an hour or something, Pev, in the meantime I hear Elaine's looking for some future husband of hers that goes by your name - good luck mate, make sure you use the proper spells!"
Harry shot off a few stinging hexes towards the fleeing elephant, landing - purposefully - only one of those he shot off. When the other two boys were once again gone from the room, leaving him alone and with his satchel worn, he shrugged his shoulders to himself. If Elaine wanted to see him, sure, he'd let her. She wouldn't need to wait either, he'd be winning her over whenever he had time with her, such was his plan now.
Smiling to himself and thinking about the rest of his week, namely his future duelling session with Cade or the next Slug Club meeting, he made his way through the door, down the stairs, into the common room until he stood a few feet from Elaine. As always, she looked him up and down with those dark-brown eyes that often looked black with the lack of light; it always unnerved him when she did that, it made him feel as if she were sizing him up every time they met up. He had to think that wasn't entirely incorrect either, Elaine's ability to read people had to come from more than her Legilimency skills.
"Hey Elaine, looking beautiful as ever," Harry greeted, that smile from earlier still on his face.
Elaine normally would've cocked her head or made some lusty comment back to him in usual circumstances, though that often was when they were alone - with others nearby, especially those from her group, the reddening of her cheeks and the shy look she shot him as she brushed hair behind her ear made sense.
"Thank you, Harry," She quietly responded, her bottom lip getting chewed on while her friends giggled around her. "You're looking handsome as you always do… would you mind if we went for a walk? I was hoping we could spend time together, though, I suppose we could practise our duelling if you'd prefer that."
Ahh, Harry thought to himself, That's what she wants me for.
It made sense that news of his time learning under Druella and the spectators that made up her friends would reach her. Harry hadn't thought she'd care all that much, truth be told, but then again, Elaine was… Elaine. Possessive, quick to anger, manipulative and a host of other traits that could make her altogether horrible when he spoke with girls.
She may have worded that offer as a question too, but the thumbing of her wand and the promise of duelling made it known that it was anything but. Elaine wouldn't hurt him, he knew that well enough by now, but that didn't mean she'd make any further tutoring easy. Merlin, learning from her was hard enough as it was without having a jealous, angry version of her doing it.
"Sure, let's go for a walk," Harry responded, holding out a hand for her and looping their arms once she took it.
"I'll be back later, wait for me here," Elaine said to her followers in that authoritative voice of hers; the deeper one he'd often hear during lessons or when she was in a huskier mood rather than when she'd use it as she just did.
Multiple nods and words of agreement were given before the pair of them set off.
Sometime later, when they were walking the vacant halls of Hogwarts hand in hand, Elaine finally spoke up - it wasn't all that surprising that her tone was that of the deeper one, as it was also reserved for instances when she wanted to be taken seriously.
"I hear you went with Druella, Greengrass and a few other girls to an empty classroom under the guise of spell-learning," She started, looking straight ahead as they continued their aimless walking. "Tell me, was it truly for those ends or was it something else? Don't mistake my annoyance for pure jealousy either, Ophelia Greengrass can be… difficult, at times. Should you continue speaking with her, you'll find she's a lesser Walburga in most areas, though she has her own uses that I find myself in need of."
Harry wondered what those uses were, and without putting too much time into thinking about them, he answered Elaine.
"It was actually what I said it was for, I was told Druella was pretty good and I was hoping for help right that instant. Before you tell me I should've come for you, I'd like to point out that you were meeting with Corene or Daphne, so I settled for Druella over Cade," He responded, not letting the tightening of her grip get to him.
"I see," Elaine responded, those being the only two words she said for the next five minutes until the pair of them were in one of the many courtyards of Hogwarts.
Only then, when they were idly standing with a soft breeze and a light drizzling of rain starting, did she speak again.
"Cade is very talented in combat… Druella is the same, though I'd imagine you can tell which I'd prefer you to learn from. Why you feel the need to learn from either of them is beyond me, however, as I'm clearly the most talented of them all - you could ask any of whom you speak with, or Professor Merrythought for verification. Yes, that means I'm offering to teach you rather than letting somebody else do so. Wouldn't it be pleasant?" Elaine's nails gently scratched the back of their conjoined hands as she cocked her head at him, waiting for his response.
Harry knew he was backed into a corner, at least somewhat. Decline her too hastily and offence could be taken, who knew what she'd do if such a scenario came about. But, if he accepted, she would further monopolize his time on the days where they don't study together. Not only that, but she'd also know most if not all of his spell repertoire, which if they ever engaged in anything close to a serious fight, was horrible for him.
He'd have to decline, he knew he did, lest she becomes any more unbeatable than she already was.
"I'll agree every now and then," Harry started, immediately taking notice of her expression going blank. "I'd like to get to know Cade and the others more than I currently do, this would be a good reason for that. You know as well as I do that I'm only close with a few members of our house, it'd be better if I didn't limit myself as much as I currently have. Better than getting to know Ophelia or Walburga more, isn't it?"
He couldn't resist playing on her dislike of the two aforementioned girls, he figured using their names as he had in addition to her inherent jealousy would be a perfect opinion swaying technique.
When he saw her expression harden, followed by a singular nod before she initiated a snogging session that would go on for quite some time, he knew he'd played it right.
Harry would get the occasional lesson from her while learning mainly from Cade, now all he had to do was hope the boy's offer was still extended and that he wasn't as crazy or violent as people seemed to think he was.
March 7, 1943
Sunday Evening
Cade had agreed, Harry still couldn't believe it a day later. He wasn't sure if the boy had done so due to Elaine, his last name, or if he'd truly been impressed by Harry's performance, but regardless of the reason, he'd take it. As much as he despised nepotism considering the multitude of times he'd seen it during his original time, he had to admit when it worked in your favour it was hard to dislike.
Who would complain about getting preferential treatment so long as it didn't screw others over? You'd have to be mad! Twice over if you were mad that Cade wasn't teaching you - Merlin did he keep a schedule and enforce it. Harry had spoken with numerous members of that duelling group to learn such a tidbit of information, though Cade had told him as much too.
Lateness was disrespectful and a waste of time for every party involved, doing it once under the right circumstances would still get you partially punished. Doing it multiple times and wanting to continue with the experience Cade's duelling group provided? That was unthinkable, as nobody had the guts to do that.
Now, for curiosity's sake, Harry had to ask Cade if he'd ever duelled or otherwise fought with Elaine to see who the better magical was. It came as no surprise that Elaine had won, though the fact that it'd taken her nearly ten minutes for that victory to come about was surprising; Cade insisted that she'd used the first and only opening either of them had made throughout the entire bout, such was the perfection the two held when it came to combat.
Harry wasn't sure he bought that, two people his age being that impeccable, that errorless… if it were true it didn't bode all that well for him, maybe that was why he didn't fully believe that.
Whatever else he wanted to learn and think on would be pushed off, however, as Aster had returned to the dorms to immediately seek him out.
"Hey mate!" Aster said all chipper-like. "Heard you spoke with my sister - I do feel the need to point out that I didn't actually mean that I wanted you to marry her when I said it over Yule, though I know you were listening to me when you sought her out."
Harry rolled his eyes and elbowed his friend lightly in the ribs.
"Yeah yeah, whatever you say. Why don't you tell me what has you in such a good mood?" Harry made a show of looking closely at his friend, trying to pick out what was different. "Finally get a witch to say yes, maybe?"
"Very funny, too bad you don't have a sister isn't it? Or maybe you do?" Aster shrugged and tossed his satchel on Harry's bed before he took a seat. "As for what's got me so happy, Reinhard and I were sent a preemptive letter by Yaxley's parents. They're hopeful, that's the essence of it… they know he's alive even if they don't know where, but that sighting seems all the more serious now, doesn't it?"
"It does," Harry agreed, equally as happy at the news. "Just don't know why he'd be down in Dover, not unless he's left Hogwarts or plans on heading to the continent. You'd know him better than I do, did he have family somewhere else that'd take him in?"
"Nah, least not that I know about," Aster looked perplexed, but that look was quickly washed away when that same happy expression came back. He didn't seem like he had a care in the world now that he knew his friend was alive, whatever circumstances didn't seem to matter considering Yaxley was spotted alone.
"Huh… where's Reinhard? Figured he'd be here too," Harry peeked around his curtains in case the larger boy was loitering elsewhere in the room, but when nothing greeted him upon doing that, he looked back to the boy beside him.
Aster's happy face didn't waver when he responded, though Harry remembered easily enough that it tied in with what he'd been told during that Yule time they'd spent together.
"Elaine had a need for him, reckon she's having him collect something from somebody that's being a bit tough. She's not one to have me do the same even if I offered help to him, not too surprising given my talents - the copious amounts of them - are in other areas."
Copious amounts of them… Merlin, Aster can be horrible, Harry laughed internally.
"Fair enough mate, but don't think I'll be playing chess anytime soon, I'm not that mad yet. If you have anything else you want to do though, anything other than chess, then we can do it," Harry wasn't in the mood for chess… and maybe, possibly, he didn't want his ego hurt as it'd be if he actually played against his friend.
Everyone knew playing against Aster Rosier in anything strategy-based would result in a loss. It made sense considering those were the only types of games and books the boy read for recreation, made sense in regards to his fondness for Muggle items too. Harry liked to imagine his friend played those Muggle war games in his free time too, though only when nobody would find him; you'd think with that gift he'd received for his birthday and the secrecy of it that anything Muggle would have him flayed!
To be fair, Harry was back in time roughly fifty years and in a seemingly older society, one that was far more anti-Muggle than anti-Muggleborn. If only that would've maintained its course into his time, maybe then Hermione and other people he'd been mates with would've faced less discrimination - it wasn't like any Muggles were at Hogwarts anyhow!
"Well, what do we have then," Aster brought a hand to his face in the universal pondering expression. "We could prank some people, still have loads of goods in my trunk and wardrobe, that's for sure. What else… what else… ah! If you don't want to prank or otherwise ruin somebody's day, we could probably sneak out and over to Hogsmeade, get some good food or go bird-watching."
"I don't thi-" Harry got interrupted very quickly.
Aster raised both palms and shook his head.
"Not to worry, Pev, I'll not be telling Elaine that we went out to browse the local beauties. I'll be the epitome of discretion, just you see… wait, you know as much already eh? Don't suppose anybody's come forward to talk to you about your home or our visit to it," Aster raised a good point and he knew as much too, that self-satisfied smirk, as well as the exaggerated wink to Harry, conveyed that.
"Let's save pranking people and ditching Hogwarts for another time, yeah? I'm thinking we should bust out some of that firewhiskey we both know you've got stored in your trunk and bail off to that not so secret study of mine. I could pull some snacks from mine too, what do you think?" Harry didn't particularly want to risk getting in trouble, not with his record as clean as it currently is.
Thankfully, Aster didn't seem to mind either, the promise of drunkenness and snack food seemed to buy him in pretty heavily. His face brightening and the rushing over to his trunk made that very easy to see, though what did throw Harry off a tad bit was the sheer volume of firewhiskey in his friend's trunk. He'd known of two bottles thanks to Reinhard's loud mouth, but looking over Aster's shoulder as the boy went about rummaging through it only to see nearly a dozen of the things.
That, that was something.
"Let's get going then!" Aster said, two bottles in hand as he pulled Harry from his seat.
It didn't occur to Harry until late that evening that the offer he'd made had been to a horrible monster of a man… at least when it came to vast amounts of alcohol and candies. Ah well, he knew for the next time that going with pranking or sneaking out of Hogwarts was the better idea.
March 13, 1943
Saturday Evening
"As always, you look so very handsome, Harry," Elaine commented as she deftly plucked at the collar of his robes, taking off a piece of lint. "If only we had a meeting such as this every evening, no? What I'd give to see you in dress robes and with your hair done as well as it currently is, such would make Hogwarts the best without a modicum of debate."
"I'm surprised you didn't mention contacts due to the parties too," Harry pointed out, earning himself a little smile from his date.
"Company as fine as what our Professor keeps is wonderfully helpful, that much is true, but I still prefer my primary reason for enjoying these days - can you even imagine what life will be like upon our graduation?" Elaine seemed to vibrate with excitement, even those soft hands of hers that were still worrying away over him. "We'll live together, explore magic and the multitude of books the pair of us own, enjoy the power our bloodline grants us. Truly, there are so many enjoyable future dealings for us to go through, together ."
Harry blinked a couple of times, her obsession coming through, though by now he'd come to expect it. It still didn't make him want to reach for his wand any less, being so close to her when she went on one of those tangents just set something inside of him on edge.
"Yeah, it'll be something - you look beautiful, by the way, it only just donned on me that I hadn't told you yet," Harry's words were meant to move the topic away from their future, problematic as that was, and back to the party the pair of them were arriving too nearly thirty minutes early.
Slughorn being Slughorn, the man had invited Elaine over for a conversation and tea before the dinner was served. Harry was told by that beautiful girlfriend of his that it wasn't all that uncommon of an occurrence. Considering how close the two of them seemed to be and the preferential treatment she was so often given, it made sense.
Besides, there weren't any guests this time around, the party had switched days only recently and even some of the guests from Hogwarts had said they wouldn't be attending. Harry had seen enough to know that the early meeting wouldn't be the only one they'd have, he could practically guarantee that Slughorn would be meeting privately with the both of them after it too.
That wasn't bad though, as he'd learned time and time again, nepotism was very beneficial.
"I always look beautiful, wouldn't you say?" Elaine twirled and giggled girlishly, then, she shifted to her huskier voice as she traced his arm with the tips of her nails. "Time to go, we're taking an extra couple of minutes so they can be wasted in a classroom."
"Why?" Harry questioned, looking over the dress she wore to see what she cou- ah, he figured he knew why.
Merlin, that girl enjoyed snogging way too much.
"Elaine, Harry, wonderful!" Slughorn, ever the charismatic man, greeted energetically before stepping aside and motioning for the pair of them to enter. "Come in! I've had some tea prepared as promised, wine too if either of you'd prefer - I know you love a good Greek vintage from time to time!" Slughorn's comment was directed at Elaine as the man nodded towards the aforementioned expensive-looking bottle beside three steaming cups of tea.
Harry figured he'd take that bit of information in too as he pulled out his date's seat for her, knowing any preferences of Elaine was beneficial; Merlin forbids the day ever comes that he sets her off and gets put 'on the couch' as Aster had called it.
Elaine for her part was eyeing that bottle up with interest, and only a few seconds of deliberation needed to pass before she discarded the tea in favour of that Greek wine. She could handle her drinking, Harry had witnessed it a fair few times before. He doubted even polishing off the wine would do all that much to her… maybe there was a spell or potion for that too, not that he'd know unless he asked her.
"Harry?" Elaine asked as he took his seat beside her. "Won't you partake? It's marvellous, believe me."
Slughorn took that moment to excuse himself, the man saying something about speaking with one of the servants in the backroom for a snack or something of the like - Harry hadn't been paying all that much attention to his professor, not when Elaine was sitting so close to him.
"I think I'll hold off, at least for now, remember what happened last time at one of these parties?" Harry paused and waited for any comment, but Elaine chose to sip at her glass instead. "What exactly are we speaking with Slughorn about, you never told me," If she wouldn't answer his question, he'd just ask a different one.
"Nothing important, Professor Slughorn saves anything noteworthy for after the evening's festivities. I'd imagine at the most we'll speak about recent matters that popped up from the Prophet, be it continental news or local," Elaine took another long draw from her glass, this time warranting a refill, one that she did herself with the wave of her hand. "Are you absolutely sure you don't want any? I'd hate to drink the entirety of the bottle," Her voice and the wanton expression on her face made him strongly doubt her final remark.
"It's all yours," Harry said with a shrug.
Elaine smiled at him, "All the same, I'd like for you to have a taste."
Harry rolled his eyes and began reaching a hand towards his glass, only he was stopped almost immediately by Elaine. Her cool hand tightened around his arm, though not painfully so, then she moved closer to him.
"That's what you meant, yeah?" He asked, looking at the glistening of her lips as she slowly closed the distance between them.
"You've fin-" Elaine was, for a change, the one that didn't get to finish her sentence before she was interrupted.
Normally, he knew to do so would result in some verbal dressing down, but he hadn't interrupted her with anything verbal. Why would he bother doing so when he could grant her wish on his terms rather than hers? So that was what he'd done - Harry had quickly removed the last few inches between them and initiated the snogging, all the while their professor was making loud remarks from the next room over.
His first thought upon his doing so was that Elaine was right, that Greek wine was truly a very fine tasting drink. What next came to him was how horrible an idea it'd been, as Elaine wound herself around him like a snake, her hands refusing to break contact from the kiss he'd initiated.
One of her hands kept itself around the back of his neck, keeping their lips locked firmly together as it playfully scratched at him. Her other hand wasn't stuck in one particular area as its compatriot was, rather, it roamed over his body while avoiding the one physical manifestation of their affection; Elaine, crazy as she was, still knew when propriety was needed.
Their kissing and embrace would fluctuate for the next minute or so as the pair of them waited on Slughorn. Harry would break contact, take a breath and then dive back in, every time earning himself pleased noises from the girl he was playing with. It'd get more and more aggressive, with him being the one that raised the stakes; caressing moved to light squeezes to heavy-handed gropes all the while their tongues continued battling.
Why Elaine was letting him maintain his show of power, he hadn't a clue, but he'd keep it as long as he could.
Only when the man's voice finally sounded as if it were getting closer and his orders had ceased being barked outdid the pair of them separate hastily back to their seats. His face was flushed and his hair a bit messier than it'd previously been, he knew as much without needing a mirror. Elaine, on the other hand, still looked as wonderfully groomed and beautiful as ever… he'd bet she used magic on her looks just as she did with everything else.
"So," Slughorn said to the pair of them as he fell into his seat and reclined in it, "Tell me, where do the two of you find yourselves this coming summer - are you still hoping to pursue a short-term internship at the Ministry, Elaine?" Slughorn looked from Elaine to Harry, "If you'd like something similar, I'm sure I could help you with that! No small number of people who'd love the chance to work with a Peverell!"
Elaine nodded her head with Slughorn's words.
"I've not said it all that often to you, Harry, though I don't think I need to. Using your last name could get you no small amount of favour from old blood," Elaine's words were truthful, he knew as much without even needing her to tell him or Slughorn to nod as she'd previously done.
"I've spoken with a few people and that does seem to be the gist of it," Harry agreed. "As for my hopes over the summer, I was thinking of using that time to secure myself a tutor in most fields of magic rather than using that time to go out into the wizarding world at large. I have a couple more years at Hogwarts, so I'm not feeling all that pressed."
Harry looked between the two of them right after he'd finished, and based on the looks he was being sent, his 'plans', if they could be called that, were received without any issue. If Elaine was busy for the majority of the summer as it sounded like and Slughorn was off meeting with all those alumni of his that still showed him favour, Harry didn't imagine either of them would be all that interested in his idea of sitting home to better himself.
"I'm sure I could recommend a few former Hogwarts staff or friends from the continent seeking refuge here to you," Slughorn said thoughtfully, the man grabbing at his hefty chin with one hand before making a light-hearted remark. "Elaine here could help you, I'm sure, though you'd know better than me with the closeness you two seem to share now! One thing's for certain, she's not too far off from mastery in a few fields!"
Elaine smiled and thanked the man, though she didn't push herself on Harry for tutoring him. She seemed to identify that he'd ask her for assistance if he wanted it… that, or she would pin him later on in the day or week when they wouldn't have company. Harry would have to go with the latter considering that seemed to be something she loved doing; analysing something in depth before making a move.
From that point of the conversation and on, the three of them moved to another few topics until the rest of the guests began arriving. Elaine had rightly predicted that recent events that didn't involve the pair of them would come up, such was how Harry found out about another massacre that recently happened at the hands of Grindelwald - this time against Ru-Soviet citizens rather than French or Belgian ones.
Slughorn kept his opinion firmly to himself, not sharing any of his thoughts other than remorse for the spilt blood in front of his students.
Elaine's face was blank too, though Harry had sworn he'd seen the slightest of smirks upon Professor Slughorn enlightening Harry… then again, that bit of news was followed up immediately by a new law that'd been passed by the Wizengamot. One that resulted in a removal of rights for Muggles who witnessed magic, he didn't know the entirety of the bill much less more than the few sentences he was told about it. All he knew for sure was that they'd have their mind wiped clear and snipped a great deal more than the Ministry used to be able to get away with.
That wasn't good news, then again, when the Ministry was involved good news was often hard to come by.
Nearly thirty minutes had passed since it'd only been himself, Elaine and Professor Slughorn. In that time, two dozen schoolmates had arrived, filling up the room and loitering about with one another in deep conversation until the meal was properly served.
It'd been explained to him that all in attendance would join for a meal and a dessert that evening when called for. One large conversation would be had during that time, with everyone offering a bit of information about themselves and allowing questions until Slughorn decided that person was done with. From what he'd learned, these days especially were considered neutral ground, so all questions would remain relatively unintrusive.
Harry wondered what he'd be asked when it got around to his turn considering his last name and the lack of information about him that was floating around. As it turned out, when it got to his turn, there wasn't all that much at all - if anything, Slughorn had worked in tandem with Elaine and a few others who answered to her in ensuring his questions remained equally polite as they were scarce.
He knew why Elaine would want to keep information about him relatively secret, but he didn't know why Professor Slughorn was right beside her in that unless he was hoping for Harry's favour. Perhaps that offer of inviting the man over had worked its magic, then again, it was equally as plausible that Elaine had requested on his behalf that it be done like that.
All he knew was he'd been asked nearly a dozen questions while most others were given half that number. Some were as simple as his birth date or favourite colour, though a few did stick out, such as; 'Were you hoping to be sorted into Slytherin', 'Will you be attending the Ministry sponsored Lughnasa event' and 'Do you believe any other Peverells will make a return to society anytime soon'.
Obviously, the last question was shut down quite skillfully by Slughorn, the man having the food brought in with a barely perceivable motion from his right hand. As for the former two, Harry had said that Slytherin worked fine for him, though he trusted the sorting hat to put him wherever he was meant to be - as for his attendance to the… Lughnasa event, one that somebody confirmed as the harvesting season, he said he'd tentatively be going.
Those answers seemed to be adequate enough for most, and just like that, words once again began flowing freely as the food was served. Harry had used that time to eat well, hold conversations with those close by and enjoy the company of Elaine when the girl made it known to him that she wanted attention by none too secretly grabbing his hand. He played the role of loving boyfriend well though, excusing himself from the person he'd been conversing with in favour of speaking to Elaine.
It was a good thing he'd done that too, he wouldn't have found out that others wanted to speak with him once the mealtimes were done until he was swarmed by them. As for who the people were who wanted to have a few minutes of his time, he'd learned the two most predominant ones were Emilene Nott, a girl he'd not spoken with for a good while, and Miles Spindle, a friend of Marcus'.
He'd spoken with both of them in the past, though they'd never conversed for more than a few sentences or about anything particularly intriguing. If he remembered correctly on both accounts, Emilene was towards the middle of the pack in regards to Elaine's followers while Miles was one of Marcus' closest friends.
To say that he had no clue what either of them wanted was an understatement, though he still vaguely remembered Emilene's presence on that first Hogsmeade trip he'd taken months ago. She was a nice girl, soft-spoken and calm, not too unlike Corene in a good many ways. Thinking about the comparison between the two, he was still unsure why Corene never attended the gatherings or why Daphne wasn't invited.
He'd have to speak with the two girls themselves about it, Elaine would likely only offer up a partial truth if he settled on asking her.
"Harry?" Emilene said in the hopes of getting his attention, "Could we speak now if you're not too busy? I've got a paper to write when I return to the dorms this evening, sorry if I sound like I'm being pushy."
"Yeah, we can talk - you're not being pushy either, I like being ahead, the same as you," Harry nodded in the direction of a small cluster of chairs, signalling to her that's where they'd speak.
Emilene understood what he meant easily enough, and like that, the pair of them grabbed that small slice of the room as they started their discussion. Unsurprisingly, pleasantries started said conversation off.
"Has everything been going as well for you as it seems?" She asked him, her eyes darting over to Elaine before he had the chance to ask how she'd heard all was well.
"Yeah, can't complain about anything," Harry answered. "What about you? I remember we'd spend some time together at the start of the year in those first couple months - you'd study with us and generally be around, but I've not seen you a whole lot since."
"Oh, sorry…" Emilene blushed prettily, the sudden onset of red making her pale skin look all the nicer. "I didn't think you'd notice it all that much considering the close-knit relationship you seem to have with a few of Elaine's closest friends. None of us wanted to overload you either, considering how new you still are! To think you've not even been around a whole year yet… it's ma- hard to believe," Emilene had started speaking quicker and in a more excited manner, but for whatever reason, the girl stopped herself abruptly as she returned to a more formal way of conversing.
"Yeah, I suppose it is when you say it like that," Harry agreed. "Wait, is that why I haven't seen your brother around all that often too? Or a few of the others who'd been in my initial meeting party so to speak, you're all trying not to overload me?"
He'd thought that was dealt with after that month earlier on, the one in which most of Slytherin seemed to have spoken with him no less than half a dozen times each once Elaine had given the okay. In hindsight, it should've been a tad bit more obvious than it was that those conversations and interactions as a whole had gotten rarer… it must've been all that time studying and worrying about Slytherin's belongings or Elaine that kept him from noticing such an obvious thing.
"Yeah… sorry, I hope it doesn't seem like I've horrible manners," Emilene's blush was more defined now, and on top of that, she'd begun to manifest her awkwardness or insecurity in more physical ways than just the one; such as her more slouched stance or the incessant rubbing of her forearm.
"It's fine," Harry said, waving away her apology and smiling confidently at her. "I do want to ask though, considering what you've just confirmed, what were you hoping to speak about tonight after such a long time has passed? Unless I'm forgetting something, which I could be," He finished with a small chuckle in hopes of levity, Merlin knew Emilene needed it.
"I, well, it is a bit rude of me to speak with you about something in-depth regardless of what it is considering the way in which I'd stopped speaking with you, but I just wanted to learn a bit more about your family and home life? If that's fine?" Emilene bent one knee slightly and hung slightly to that one side, bringing her arms behind her back whilst looking away from him.
Harry watched her as she did that too, opting not to respond right away considering how she was being. Clearly, his idea of levity or comedy in hopes of lightening the atmosphere was wasted, so what else could he do? Acting equally as shy was an option in case it made her feel more comfortable, but then again, it could have the exact opposite effect - he didn't feel like staying the course of trying to calm her was all that helpful either.
He could act like his normal self, but considering how awkward that'd make him considering she was a cute girl his own age with a relatively attractive personality… that wouldn't go all that well. Elaine being in the room would only exacerbate the issues that would bring on.
"It's not rude," He said, opting to stay the course of his confident, smiling and hopefully reassuring self. "Ask whatever you'd like, I can't promise I can provide all that much though, not while the small bit of my family that remains is still in hiding - if you've got other questions too, you're free to ask them."
Harry watched closely once he'd finished, and when he saw a small, hopeful look cross her face a few seconds before she steadied herself, he'd figured that'd been the right call. Her skittish nature seemed bypassed by her innate curiosity; such was similar to Elaine, though affection bypassed her anger or other negative traits when he needed to use it.
"Thank you, Harry," Emilene said with a smile and retaking of her seat, the pacing she'd been doing stopped. "I guess, if I could, I'd like to ask how many items or artefacts from centuries ago does your family possess? I don't mean to pry as to what they are or what they can do, I just… your family was dominant so many centuries ago that you must have so many relics of dead civilisations or kingdoms! Corene's father, if she hasn't told you, loves showing off his Roman pieces -- his castle was partially built around one too!"
Harry wasn't sure if he could trust her initially, not with that opening question, but her follow up remark eased his distrust ever so slightly. Corene's father had shown him some Roman item that was still in wonderful condition and he had spoken about his castle being built around a former Roman stronghold. As cool as that was to the both of them, Harry wondered why Emilene would be so interested in history, so far as he knew, that subject didn't seem too popular with most of his schoolmates.
Still, Harry would answer her question, though he'd keep out what the items were, for the most part, considering he himself hadn't known when he'd shown the room off during Yule. The same could be said for the properties of the items too, if they had any, considering most were locked behind some form of enchanted glass that seemed infused with ward schemes. Such was the reason the room didn't seem to have dozens of guardians or the like, he imagined.
"One hundred or so, I think. I've never counted and rarely spent time in the history hall of my home," Harry's words were nothing but the truth.
"That many?" Emilene asked, her eyes wide and her breathing a bit faster. "What… what eras are some of them from? I, sorry again, I'm truly not trying to pry, but that many… could you tell me what a few of them are or who they'd used to belong to?"
"Yeah,' Harry said with a shrug, trying to buy time so he himself could remember them. "We had a couple from the Romans like the Carrows seem to. Another was from Wales, I think it had something to do with Vikings - I know for sure we had a few Viking pieces too, as well as a fair few Celtic ones. There was something else too, it was labelled Byzantanum or something similar… don't suppose you know it?"
"Byzantium!" Emilene said loudly whilst looking even more energetic, those actions drawing the attention of the room briefly which made her go back to that awkward self-conscious look. "Morgana," she said quietly, "That's amazing… wonderful… could I ask you to speak with me about this in the future sometime? I hate to leave so soon, but talking about the items your family holds makes me want to return to my studying on Magical Byzantium - did you know they'd helped form magic into what it is today alongside their true Roman predecessor?"
"Not really," Harry said with a shrug and smile, "How'd they do that?"
"Their location and the constant fighting! Think about it, the Roman Empire expanded into so many different regions of the world and fought with just as much magic as it did muggle - it shouldn't be any surprise when they began mixing Egyptian magic with Germanic, or Spanish with Persian, right? Morgana, to think you have relics from those who lived during those eras of unfathomable progress…" Emilene looked at him in awe, respect and more that he couldn't decipher.
"You could come over sometime, if you'd like a closer look at them," Harry offered, taking the initiative and realising he just may be able to win another of Elaine's more important followers to his side. "Would th-"
Emilene's head snapped wildly around the room, then, happy with something, she dove towards him for a hug that lasted all of two seconds.
"Thank you, thank you! That'd be wonderful! I-I-I've got to go! Thank you, Harry!"
Those were her final words before she all but sprinted from the room, and before he could even begin contemplating the weirdness that was Emilene, he was greeted by the boy who'd wanted to speak with him; Miles Spindle.
Miles was an average height, slightly bulky boy with dark brown hair and facial hair that was surprisingly filled in for somebody their age; he had a full moustache that was nearly black in colour as well as chin hair that stretched a good couple inches into a v-shape.
"Evening, Peverell," Miles said in his slightly-accented voice, one that Harry couldn't begin to place. "Nott seemed pretty happy with you, eh?"
"Yeah," Harry said in return, not giving anything up about their conversation if that was Miles' intention. "Grab a seat, mate. It's good to see you again too, don't think we've spoken since our first meeting."
Miles dipped his head once, as was polite, and took the seat that Harry offered him.
"Yeah, I think you're right about that. Thanks for taking the time to meet with me too, I've only got a couple of questions, though one's a bit invasive - I'll let that one go second and have it linger so I don't pressure you too much on our first conversation of note, yeah?" Miles paused as if it were a question for Harry to answer, but the boy picked up speaking without letting Harry get the chance to say anything. "My family owns a shop in Hogsmeade, we've got another one in Diagon Alley too, should you be looking to invest I'd like to offer you the information in regards to them."
Harry had thought the boy wanted to ask two questions, but when he slipped over a folder with folded parchment within, he figured that was the first matter well and over, especially when Miles shot off something completely different from his business pitch. Something that, Harry assumed, was the invasive question he'd be left with.
"What do you think of the Squibs being brought over from the continent, or the reason they're being brought over in the first place?"
Miles watched Harry for a few seconds after he'd finished with his question, then, he got up from his seat and winked at him.
"Think about that one for a bit, yeah? It's something I ask a lot of people, I love politics and seeing where people stand in regards to them - good evening, Pev!"
Harry raised a hand to bid the boy farewell, watching as he moved back to Marcus who was deep in conversation, and all the while he was wondering; what sort of question was that?