The others snuck glances at the two as Harry helped Hannah.
"This is actually pretty easy," Hannah said, sounding surprised after finishing her essay nearly half an hour later.
"Writing an essay is actually a lot easier than people think," Harry told her as he checked her essay for grammar mistakes. "The problem most people get stuck on is usually the beginning. They waste too much time trying to figure out how they should start their essay, which means they have less time to write it."
"Uh huh," Hannah said, nodding at him like she understood everything he said when she really didn't. "So... what do you think?"
"It's good," Harry said after his eyes skimmed it over. He handed the essay back to her and gave a congratulatory smile. "I can't see Snape giving you anything less than an O on it, though knowing him, he might end up giving you an A."
"He is kind of unpleasant," Lisa spoke up, looking away from her work to eye the pair. "Terry and I shared that class with Hufflepuff and he was really rude. He kept insulting everyone for not being up to his standards, and he never answered any of the questions we had about the potion he wanted us to make. I'm surprised he's even allowed to teach here."
"If you think he was bad in your class, you should have seen him in our class," Neville quipped. He looked almost done with his Potions essay, Harry noted with a bit of a smile. He wondered if having been partnered with him helped the boy some, or if perhaps he just had a natural talent for potions. "He wasn't just mean, but seemed to have it out for Harry."
"Really?" Susan asked with a small frown as the others perked up. Terry only looked slightly interested, while Lisa and Hannah both leaned in, as if Neville's words were a piece juicy gossip about a famous actor or actress cheating on their spouse. It just proved to Harry that most women, regardless of age, were into gossip. Lisa Crawft was the same way.
"Yeah," Neville said in a hushed tone. He looked around for a second, almost like he was afraid Snape appeared out of thin air and give him detention, then leaned in. "When he got to Harry's name when taking roll, he was all like 'Ah, Mr. Potter. Our new celebrity.' and then he started asking these really hard questions that apparently weren't on the first year syllabus, and then he took points from Gryffindor, claiming that Harry was cheating because a first year shouldn't know the answer to those questions."
"You're joking," Terry exclaimed in shock. Hannah and Lisa gasped. Susan held her left hand to her mouth, her wide eyes speaking volumes about her thoughts on the matter.
"He's not," Harry answered for Neville.
"What kind of teacher would do such a thing?"
"The kind who holds a grudge against a dead man," Harry muttered darkly.
"What was that, Harry?"
"Nothing," Harry said, shaking his head. He wasn't willing to get others involved in his fight against Snape. "Anyway, Snape's just biased. From what I hear, he hates every house except his own, and has a particular hatred for students in Gryffindor. Some of the older students I spoke with said he's always taking points for doing things like breathing incorrectly, and giving points to Slytherin for doing something like 'setting out their supplies correctly.'"
Of course, considering it was Fred and George who told him this, he wasn't quite sure whether to believe it or not. Though his encounter with the potions professor did lend evidence to support them.
"It makes you wonder why Professor Dumbledore allows him to work here," Terry commented.
"I'm sure the headmaster has his reasons," Harry spoke with a shrug. Though just what those reasons were, he didn't know. Deciding to change the subject, he said, "would any of you also like help on your homework as well?"
"I would," Lisa, Neville, Terry and Susan all said at the same time. Lisa and Terry looked at each other, while Susan and Neville promptly flushed.
"Why don't I just walk around and see what you guys need help with, hmm?" Harry said with a smile. Things were looking up. He now had allies in three of the four houses, which meant he only had one house left to go.
Of course, Slytherin would be the hardest house to get an ally in because he was a Gryffindor. But then, that was just another reason he had decided to go into the House of Lions. It would create a much larger impact on his peers than if he had gone into Ravenclaw.
After all, if a Gryffindor could befriend a Slytherin, then so could anyone else.
XoX
The rest of Harry's time in the library was spent helping the others finish their homework. He helped Lisa with Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Terry with History of Magic. Susan also needed some help on her Charms homework, but only in getting the ending of her essay right. Neville had some trouble with Transfiguration, which seemed to be his weakest subject. Thankfully, he had been able to get the Potion assignment done easily enough. The amount of time they had spent in the library was close to two hours. Harry was a little disappointed that he had not been able to read his book, but figured he could read later that night.
By the time they had finished their homework it was nearly time for lunch, and the group that now consisted of six made their way to the Great Hall. Once again on Harry's suggestion, they all sat at the same table, the Ravenclaw table this time. This decision brought a large number of stares from everyone, but considering Harry was already known for doing things most would consider abnormal, the gawking they received didn't last long.
During their time eating lunch, Harry did his best to keep conversation flowing so he could learn as much about Terry and Lisa as possible, and also so the other three wouldn't be left out. He learned quite a bit about the pair of Ravenclaws, and felt he was well on his way to earning their friendship.
.
.
.
.
.
.
🎉The novel is available in PDF with more than 240 chapters, visit us in our Ko-Fi store🎉
🎉ko-fi.com/shihao123🎉