The next few days were uneventful for Harry, only changed up by the occasional prank of the Weasley twins and the training for his Quidditch team. That was good for him, so he could think about the things Professor Dumbledore told him that evening he visited him together with John. Of course, he had to keep it a secret even from his friends.
Flashback
"Ah, Harry you are very intelligent. Yes, you are right, what Hagrid got from Gringotts was indeed the philosopher's stone, a strong object for every alchemist. And to be honest, my first thought was to hide it inside the castle, but our friends had a better hideout and so I gave them this object for safekeeping. But to see who would try stealing it, and more importantly why, we kept it to ourselves. So, for everyone outside this room, the philosopher's stone is hidden beneath Hagrid's magnificent pet and other spells form every teacher in this school. I hope I could alleviate your concern for this issue and now I am asking you to keep it a secret." Dumbledore smiled at him, waving his hand as Harry and John walked out of the office.
Flashback ends
As Harry came back from his memory, he noticed that some older girls were giggling and looking at their male counterparts. He opened his calendar to look at the date, just in case it was some special day. It seems to be Valentine's day, something he did not know what it means. Even after asking Callie, he was still wondering what was so special on this day. So, he decided to observe the girls between classes, as he had the luck to share classes with all four houses today in the different subjects. Maybe he could get a glimpse on what was going on. So, he walked down to get some breakfast, as Hermione was already down in the Great Hall.
Having a book prompt up against her goblet, she did not notice Harry arriving and sitting down beside her until he asked her for some butter. She almost jumped from surprise, which in turn had Harry looking at her quizzingly.
"Why is everyone so jumpy today? I swear, every time I see a group of girls they about as jumpy as a rabbit as soon they hear something. Can you explain this to me Hermione?" Harry took the butter and buttered his toast, as Hermione sat back down as she breathed out.
"Sorry, Harry, it's just today's Valentine's day and I think the others just are nervous who would ask them out. I mean, every girl dreams about the perfect boyfriend, who would do anything as romantic as possible to woo the girl he fancies." She had a dreamy look on her face as she pictured Harry falling to his knee and asking her for a date. As soon this thought was in her head, she got beet red and hid once more behind her book.
Harry once more was confused, but let it drop as Ron came into the Great Hall with Neville and sat down with them to eat.
"Hey Harry, did you notice the mood? Somehow all the girls are giggling the whole way down. And I heard some even discussing to use love potion for just one day. So, I think we should watch out what we drink?" Ron looked at Harry, who just had his goblet on his lips and drinking his orange juice. Hermione meanwhile got even more red, as she heard what some girls would do to go on a date with their crush. Somewhere in her mind she asked herself if she knew the ingredients, not to make one of course, but to make an antidote just in case someone she knew would be affected.
On the other side of the great hall, Daphne was sitting with Tracey and discussed something that Tracey brought up before. "What do you mean, even some boys are making love potion? Are they so desperate?" Daphne was almost at a loss for words, as Tracey just shrugged. As they were only first years, they would not have to watch as much for these things like the older girls. Or at least they thought that, before soon they were proven otherwise as a third year allegedly put something into the drink of a first-year student but was caught in the act by John, who reported it to the head of house who was in that case Professor Snape. After a stern lecture, Daphne and Tracey decided that they would only drink something when they made sure that it was not tempered with.
Harry saw that and asked Callie if she could look for something wrong with the drinks, to which she told him that she needed better sensors for that, but she would ask Doctor Halsey if she could get that upgrade over the summer.
Hermione huffed, asking herself why some people would force someone to love him or her with a potion or a spell, as those methods would wear down and become less effective with time. So this way, the pain of rejection would only become greater with time when the time comes.
After they had eaten their breakfast, the first class today was charms. When they arrived, the other students were already there and looking up with some embarrassed looks. Above them were some mistletoes hanging around, as Professor Flitwick came in and saw them too. He sighed and took out his wand, mumbling something about typical Weasley and let them vanish.
"Well, that was not the lesson I wanted to show you today, but let's take the opportunity and learn about the cleaning charm, as this spell can help you remove almost everything that would be waste of different things." Flitwick climbed up the books he stacked on his desk so he could see all the students before he told them what they had to do. While the class learned the spell, Harry asked Parvati, as Hermione was next to Ron, what was the deal with those mistletoes.
"Wait, you never heard of the tradition when a girl and a boy stand together under a mistletoe? I thought you would know as you read so much. Well, you see, when what I said before happens, according to the old tradition they should kiss each other and if you are destined to be with each other, your love would last forever." Parvati got a dreamy look on her face, something that Professor Flitwick saw, told her off for and ordered her to come forward and show the others how to do the spell. To her credit, she just did it good enough to gain some respect from the teacher.
All the while Hermione was cleaning everything that came in her sight and reach of her spells, giving her more points for Gryffindor from Flitwick.
After the class, Harry told Callie to look out for any mistletoes, as he did not want to kiss someone against their will or be kissed without his consent. Not that he wanted to kiss a girl in the first place, he still thought that girls were strange. He knew as he will get older, his mind about them will change, but right now he was still a young kid.
Callie was doing her work, as it seemed that some first-year girls were after him and thanks to her he could evade them. Hermione, Parvati and Lavender were following him after he told them why he took a little detour from the main paths through the castle, as they knew that Callie had lined out the way in his glasses and their AI could not help them with that right now. They still needed to find a way the girls could talk with them like Harry does, as even an earpiece the girls needed to talk out loud for their AI to hear them, not like Harry where Callie could read his brainwaves thanks to his glasses.
They soon arrived in their next class, transfiguration. In this room too where hanging mistletoes, but McGonagall had banished them all to the sides of the classroom before the students came in. So, they could concentrate on changing a mouse into a teacup, to which only Hermione and Harry could do it successfully. Ron and Neville still had some problems, as their cups had still hair or a tail that was twitching around.
"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Longbottom, please practice the spell more in your free time, I know you can do it. After all your teacups would be useable for their intended purposes, it would only be a bit strange to use them." She than changed all the cups back and told Harry to collect all the mice and put them back into the cage. As she walked down the tables to clean some dirt of, she did not notice how Harry tried once more to open small portals like Yen could do to collect the mice, until he let out a happy yell as it worked. McGonagall turned around and saw that he had already done all the work, nodding with an adoring look in her eyes.
"Thank you, Harry. You are free to go now. I think your friends are still waiting outside the door, and I know that your next classes are with Professor Snape, so you should hurry up." Harry thanked her and grabbed his bag, as he left the door and collided with Hermione and Lavender who just stood outside, like McGonagall had told him. But she did not know how close to the door they stood, and so he was once more beneath a girl as his reaction caused him to turn them around in midfall so he would be a cushion beneath them. As he opened his eyes, he looked straight into the brown eyes of Hermione, also seeing the slight red blush around them. Now knowing that she was embarrassed, he apologized and let them stand back up before he climbed back up his feet.
When they walked down to the dungeons Hermione was still blushing, but she was determined to engrave the color of Harry's eyes to her memory for future references. Lavender was still giggling at the sight before her, a red face was a stark contrast to Hermione's brown hair and looked so adorable in her opinion. The only thing that could sour the mood was that they had the Potions class together with Slytherin and in that wake, also with the bullies called Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.
Their gang had seemed to have grown a bit, as they were accompanied by a girl, who was, if Harry could remember correctly, Pensy Parkinson. She was almost everywhere Malfoy was in the last few weeks, maybe something happened between the two. Lavender and Parvati had heard something about that she just wanted to be with him because of their parents knew each other, but Harry was not really interested in the relationships of others. As they waited for Snape to open the door, Malfoy tried once more to bait Harry into a reaction he could use to humiliate him.
"Hey, Potter. I see you are still going out to that brute training field. I must ask you why you think that this will make you a better wizard than me? I am not even sure if you know how to hold a wand right in your hand." At this remark his friends laughed, but to Harry's surprise not all Slytherin from their year joined in the laughter. Both Daphne and Tracey, to which he had a good friendship going he expected it, but there were even more who just stood there and watched the situation unfold. Harry decided to just ignore Malfoy like he always did, showing him no reaction to his taunting.
Malfoy was getting frustrated. Nothing he tried seems to get that stupid half-blood, causing him to snap and attack him. That would give him a reason to tell his father and pressure the school board to expel Potter, giving him the space to gain power as his family name would demand it. His father always told him that, because he was a Malfoy, he had to show the others who was the leader and that they just should follow him and his view. But until Potter was removed from this place, he noticed that even some in his own House were smitten with Potter and his calm demeanor, giving him a mysterious aura so no one could read him. But Malfoy saw through him, in his mind Potter just wants to undermine him and the other purebloods, that was the reason he told the rumor that Potter said bad things about the other purebloods. But what surprised him that only the older, pureblooded students believed him, in contrast some others from his year just ignored him. Of course, he knew what that meant. He could not make them follow him blindly as long Potter stood against him.
Before Malfoy could make any snide remarks, Professor Snape opened the door to his classroom and let them come inside. As Harry passed him, Snape hold him back.
"Mr. Potter, I would like to have a word with you about one of your essays. There are some points in it that you must explain to me how you got those conclusions. Please stay after class."
Malfoy heard that naturally, laughing to his friends because he thought that Snape was going to punish Potter for his insolence.
Harry just nodded, showing the Professor that he would do what he could.
After the students took their places, Snape pulled out his wand and with a flick, the words for the recipe needed for the potion appeared. "Now, today we will brew the first step of the strengthening potion. As this potion needs a week to stew after you gave the last ingredient into the mix, we will rate your attempts next week. As some of you will be faster than others, I give you permission to help those who have problems, but only as far as preparing the ingredients is concerned. As soon as your hand hover above another cauldron, I will take points from your Houses." He looked at Harry and Hermione as he said that, knowing full well that Hermione would do a passable job. Harry was quick on his feet and could correct a mistake with almost no flaw to turn the potion back around, owning to his vast knowledge for the effect of the different ingredients in the potion they brew. Snape had to admit that Potter was a good student, proving that the son was not the copy of his father, as he thought first.
After half the lesson was over, Harry was cutting down a root he needed when he saw that Snape was looking into his cauldron and nodding. Harry was glad that he did a good enough job, maybe he could use some of the potion to help Geralt and his friends. As far he knew, this potion was like the thunder potion the Witcher's used but was easier to produce in bulk and store. After he put in the cut roods, he reduced the flames below the cauldron and put a lid on it, showing the others that he was almost done. To make sure that no one would sabotage his cauldron, he put a small spell on the lid unnoticed, keeping it shut even when you lifted the whole cauldron and smashed it on the ground. He had read about this one in a book about advanced charms and tried it in a similar situation back in his dorm.
As he was finished so far, he decided to help Ron getting the rest for his potion ready, as Hermione did almost at the same time with Neville, who was still too nervous for his own good. Hermione did what she could to get him to calm down, but she would be risking losing points as Snape would catch her for sure if she would help Neville more. Then it hit her, the exact wording from Snape did not forbid her to help Neville verbally, as explaining when Neville had to mix the ingredients into the potion would count on preparing them when she would put them in order, he had to take them. So, she just did that, placing them after cutting in farther away places the later he had to use them. She also holds her fingers to show him the parts in the book where it stood on how much you needed to stir it. This way he would still learn to make it for himself, so Snape could not fault her this way as her hands were never over his cauldron.
Snape noticed that and just wanted to take some points from her, as he saw that she did not once place her hands above the Longbottom's cauldron and only pointed out where he had to look to make his potion at least decent. So, he watched them closely to see if they would follow the rules and walked over to the cauldron from Harry, as he wanted to look how far he has come. As he put his hands on the lid, he noticed that it stuck to the cauldron, a safety precaution he was not prepared for.
"Mr. Potter, would you please open up your cauldron. I want to see how far your potion is, as you may soon have to take it of the flames." Harry turned around, nodding and placing the ingredient he was cutting for Ron aside. As Harry placed his own hand on the lid, it lifted of just as normal you would expect, telling Snape that Harry had performed a complicated spell to secure his potion from sabotage or consumption.
"Mr. Potter, please explain to me why you saw it necessary to secure your lid to your cauldron?" Snape was satisfied with the color of the potion but wanted to ask that question regardless.
"Well Professor, if I had read it correctly this potion could be potentially dangerous if consumed too early in the brewing process. And as in another lesson in the beginning of the year was an attempt of sabotaging, I felt it necessary to stick the lid to the cauldron so that could not happen again. Please forgive me if I overstepped any boundaries." Harry closed the lid once more, using the same spell he used before to secure it to the cauldron. He also put out the flame's underneath it, finishing the brewing for the time being.
Malfoy was grinning, being sure that Potter would be scolded for doing something the teacher did not tell him to do. Snape just stood there, once more surprised how smart the son of James Potter was. But he just nodded and let Harry help Ron once more. Malfoy was disappointed that Snape did not make mincemeat with Potter, but he had still the talk with Snape afterwards, so he would use a listening charm on the door to see what it was about.
As the lesson concluded, the only exiting thing was the explosion from Crabbe's cauldron, they cleaned everything up and Harry told the others they could go on ahead, he had to speak with the Professor. Hermione wanted to stay too, as it could result in her learning some more about the subject. Harry aske the Professor if she could stay, to which he shook his head as this was something between the two. So, he told the others to leave after they had cleaned up.
After Snape closed the door, he also performed a privacy charm on the door, as he suspected the other students wanting to listen to something what was, in a sense, confidential.
"Now, Mr. Potter to the matter at hand. I wanted to speak with you about your essay that described the use of the sleeping potion once more. In there, you wrote about substitutes for different ingredients to strengthen or weaken it, depending on its used case. I tried those over the winter break and conclude that you are far more advanced in potion making than I thought. I must ask you to give me your sources, so the school can provide better learning material for the later years in your education. As for my evaluation about said essay, I decided to grade it higher after I saw first-hand that you were right. But I must warn you, I will grade you harder in the future, seeing that you could do so much more." Snape did dismiss him afterwards, going back to his office.
As Harry opened the door, he had to evade a stumbling Malfoy who was listening at the door, but because Snape had put up his charm Malfoy never heard anything. Harry just smiled and walked past him to where Hermione was waiting. She looked at him as to say, "you better tell me everything or else" which caused Harry to laugh out loud as he grabbed her by the arm and left the corridor where Malfoy was asked what he was doing on the ground by Snape.
Later that day, they had a feast with some hearts floating around in the Great Hall, as it was still Valentine's day. Harry could still not understand why everyone made such a fuss about it, while he observed some older students from Gryffindor sitting a bit closer than this morning. Parvati and Lavender had sat down opposite from him and Hermione, giggling about all the juicy gossip they had accumulated. Soon after, Ron sat down beside Harry and grabbed something to eat while he looked over to Hermione with a strange look.
"Excuse me Hermione, could you help me later with the homework for transfiguration? I still cannot make the spell work and I don't know what I'm doing wrong." Ron leaned over his plate to look at Hermione, as Harry did sit between them after all. Hermione, surprised by the sudden niceness from the redhead, just nodded dumbly and continued to eat. Harry also found this behavior strange, as Ron would normally ask him for help. Admittingly, she would explain the stuff better then Harry could, but his marks were not so far behind Hermione's. Harry looked up from his plate to see the serious face of Lavender staring at him.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" Harry grabbed a spoon and turned it around so he could look into it like a mirror. Lavender just shook her head and mumbled something about boys. As Ron was still sitting with them, she could ask Harry directly if he was not afraid that Ron could ask Hermione out, as she remembered that Hermione told them how Harry grew up.
He never experienced childhood crushes, as he grew up between adults and their problems. That of course led to him being more mature than some of the oldest students in this castle, something what was even more prominent when he talked with the Teachers. Especially with Chief Wulf with he had, as she now knew, a personal connection. But that also led to him being oblivious about things that kids his age should experience with the other children around. She just hoped that he would raise to the challenge when the girls begin to show him openly that they fancied him. Lavender pictured the scenes already in her head how Harry would have to hide in different parts of the castle to escape all the girls who wanted to date him. Maybe she should get him a stick to keep them at a distance?