A/N: A line in bold without quotation marks is something written. Many thanks to Shygui for his beta skills and for making this story better. Thanks for the follows, favorites and especially reviews.
We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are. – JK Rowling
The next morning, there was an all-hands meeting in the common room as McGonagall explained the new rules. There was a lot of groaning but she wouldn't give an inch. On top of that, after she left Percy made it clear he was going to enforce the new policy to the letter. He held his stone proudly and led the first and second years down for breakfast. Ron was in an especially bad mood even though Harry had told him what was coming last night. He noticed that Ginny seemed very worried, he'd have to talk to Ron about that so they could reassure her.
Harry had felt very lucky that the Scrivenshaft's catalogue not only had the self-inking quills and ink that he needed, they also had wrapping paper for the holiday season. When his package arrived that morning he knew he would be able to properly wrap his gifts. The catch now was how would he get his gift for Daphne to her? Going off alone to meet was now impossible and he felt foolish for not thinking of that last night when he could have brought it up with her.
During his history class, he had nothing better to do so he wrote to her.
How can we get together now? I have something to give you.
She must have been busy as he didn't get an answer until after lunch.
We can meet in the library. Try to get there by 7:30.
It wasn't very private but it would have to do. On the other hand it was also where they really met for the first time so he sort of liked that. He relayed his intentions to his friends and they all agreed they would go together. Although Harry was caught up on homework at the moment, there were some things due after break. The potions essay seemed the most intimidating so he'd work on that.
Daphne had known this would be a long day but it was beginning to look dreadful. She'd stayed up late writing to her father, suffered from some insomnia and then their head of house had to call an early all-hands meeting to tell her things she already knew. It took nearly all of her energy to appear attentive. She had decided to just survive the day and think about what to do tomorrow. She'd learned some things that Harry had to know but she just didn't feel up to it right then. She just nodded groggily when Tracey pointed out that Harry had received a package during breakfast.
It was just her luck that she noticed that the parchment linked to the one Harry had was glowing between classes. She quickly read it and pondered how to respond. She really wanted to put it off but there was an ache in her right hand whenever she decided that. It appeared her promise wasn't going to have any mercy on her so she pondered how they could meet. Their only option was the library as far as she knew. Then she remembered something her mother had told her. Maybe the library would be a better location than she had thought. She wrote back to Harry, she'd figure out the details later.
She got to the library after 7PM but before Harry as far as she could see. Tracey followed her as she approached Madam Pince at her desk. She could tell that the librarian was aware of her approach but deliberately made her wait as she pretended to read an old parchment. Daphne's patience was limited but she wouldn't get what she wanted by being surly with the old bint so she waited.
Pince finally looked at her with an indifferent gaze and said, "Yes?"
Daphne suppressed her annoyance and gave her best ice queen look in return. "Is the Slytherin study room available?"
She finally got a reaction from the librarian when her eyebrows rose in surprise. She gave Daphne a momentary annoyed look but then sighed and answered, "Yes. Do you want it for the night?"
"Yes, please."
She waited as Pince filled in a form when she suddenly asked, "Name?"
"Daphne Greengrass."
She saw a flicker of recognition in the librarian's eyes but her attitude did not improve. Later she asked, "How many tokens will you need?"
Daphne was at a loss for what she meant but didn't want to ask. Perhaps it had something to do with entering the room so she said, "Two."
The librarian slid two metal discs towards her and then proceeded to ignore Daphne's existence. Daphne took them curiously and saw the Slytherin snake symbol embossed on two metal coin-like discs. She took them and led Tracey back towards the wall and found a door appear to her that she'd never seen before. The presence of the token must be what made it visible. She smiled in satisfaction as she now knew that Harry and she would have their privacy after all.
She then led Tracey to the tables until they found two unoccupied. She made Tracey sit at the other table, much to her annoyance, and took out her linked parchment to send a message to Harry.
I'll be sitting at a table a few rows into the library. When you come, stay back and I will leave a token for you that will allow you into a room. Follow me after a minute.
She eventually saw a returned message that was only a scrawled 'OK'. She really needed to help him with his penmanship. She decided to read ahead in charms while she waited. It was a little after 7:30 when Harry finally appeared in her peripheral vision. She had planned to just leave the second token and depart without even looking at him but changed her mind. That's when she saw his three friends behind him looking at her too.
Gods, no. He couldn't mean to include them too, did he? She looked at him then tried to flick a meaningful glance back at his friends in question. However, Harry just continued to smile although he'd begun to look a little uncertain. He didn't appear to understand her query but it certainly seemed that he wanted a group meeting. She suppressed a sigh and looked at her friend who looked a little forlorn as she looked back at her. This day was already a disaster, let's just complete the job and include everybody then.
She got up and signalled Tracey to come with her. She didn't look back at the Gryffindors although Tracey did. As she approached the door that had just appeared, she saw nobody nearby so at least that was going well. She entered with Tracey right behind her.
Tracey could no longer suppress her enthusiasm. "This is going to be great! We can all get to know each other."
Daphne managed to suppress giving her friend a glare. She may have the beginnings of a headache but she decided it was worthwhile to remain civil for as long as she could manage it. She was surprised by the size of the room and the table. It could seat ten people, maybe more if they were friendly. She chose a chair and her friend sat beside her. Tracey must have become aware of Daphne's mood as she waited as quietly as Daphne did.
About a minute later, the Gryffindors began filing in. At first they all gravitated to the other side of the table but then Harry suddenly kept going around and sat next to Daphne. She managed to retain her cool demeanour in spite of a poke to her side by an amused Tracey. If Tracey kept this up, they were going to have a rather stern conversation in the near future. Since nobody was speaking yet, she decided she had to be the one to handle the official greetings.
Daphne stood and began. "Welcome to the Slytherin study room. Heirs Longbottom and Potter, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, this is my friend Tracey Davis." The others exchanged greetings and Daphne dutifully shook hands with the Gryffindors as Tracey did. However, her greetings with Neville were quite different and drew a surprised look from Weasley and an astonished one from Harry.
"It is good to see you again, Heir Longbottom."
"It is good to see you too, Heiress Greengrass." As he said that he bowed over her hand as if to kiss it and didn't shake it.
She smiled before enquiring, "How is your grandmother?"
"She is well, and your parents?"
"Both well, thank you."
She finished with a shy nod to Harry who did the same. Harry reached around her to shake hands with a delighted Tracey as Daphne sat back down.
Daphne was still wondering how to begin when Granger asked a question. "Do all of the houses have a study room?"
"Yes. They are mainly used by OWL or NEWT students to study for their tests. You have to reserve them but it's still early in the year so they are usually empty." Daphne hid her amusement as Granger looked like Christmas had come early. She turned to Harry then. "I'll need to return that token when we're done." Harry immediately gave it to her with a big smile and she somewhat grudgingly returned the smile. She wasn't really angry with him but she was still feeling a little tired and overwhelmed.
Abruptly, Daphne realized that she had made a blunder. She had invited someone not included in their agreement so she resolved to not ask Harry anything. She had no idea what to say to the others but she did have things to tell Harry. Besides, she felt that she'd already given the others all of the courtesy she owed them. "Potter, I found out a lot of interesting things from my father last night and wanted to share them with you. First, he will be contacting Professor Snape sometime tomorrow to supply them with mature mandrake for the potions."
"So the petrified students will be revived soon?"
Granger was getting annoying but Daphne managed to retain her usual demeanour. "Yes, but it will probably take several days, maybe even a week or two. Mandrake isn't easy to raise and isn't a common potion ingredient." She saw Longbottom nodding along while she said that. She recalled that he was supposed to be very good at herbology.
Since nobody else interrupted, she turned to Harry again. "We also had a discussion about Voldemort." She was amused to see reactions from Tracey and Longbottom while the rest remained unaffected.
"He pointed out something I hadn't thought about. You see, Voldemort espouses the hard line pureblood viewpoint but doesn't follow it. Every pureblood has a family, unless they are disowned for some reason. He should proudly bear his family name yet he hides behind this made-up name of Voldemort. By the way, in French that means 'flight from death'. My father also finds it curious that Voldemort calls his minions 'Death Eaters'. It's as if he expects them to take on death for him or protect him from it, something like that."
"And how does your father know this?"
Weasley's tone was accusatory and Daphne struggled to suppress her anger. She'd show Harry that she can handle his friends. "He has a lot of business and political contacts. Although he prefers to avoid them, some of them are former Death Eaters. Like Malfoy, for example. You can't be involved in politics and not have to deal with Malfoy. He may have lost his seat in the Wizengamot but he can still buy a lot of support."
That got a lot of reaction from all but Longbottom and Tracey but she didn't know why. Harry was the one who clarified that for her.
"Malfoy lost his seat? I didn't know that!"
"He may have avoided Azkaban by saying he was Imperioused but it did cost him his seat. All of the Death Eaters lost their seats, LeStrange, Travers, Avery…. However, that doesn't mean there aren't supporters of his agenda still there because there are some. They just weren't marked Death Eaters."
Harry followed up with another question. "Your father is in politics?"
She was proud of her father so she was glad to answer that query. "Yes. He's the leader of the Syncretic faction of the Wizengamot." She saw confused looks on all the Gryffindors except Longbottom so she elaborated. "Some people call them 'The Greys'." She saw recognition in Weasley's eyes but he still looked a little irritated. "Basically the party supports the old ways but they are open to change and integrating Muggleborns. The Conservative faction is the one you need to watch out for."
"Anyway, the interesting thing is that Voldemort is hiding his identity despite the customs he claims to support. My father has tried to identify those cast out of their houses but there are few and none of them could be him. That means the most likely answer is that Voldemort isn't a pureblood at all and that supports his treatment of them."
Harry looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"He kills purebloods as much as he does those that aren't. He tortures his own followers when they disappoint him. Basically, he's a psychopath who doesn't care about anyone but himself. He's a danger to everyone." All of the faces around the table were solemn.
"Here's another key thing. He has claimed to his followers that he is the heir of Slytherin."
Harry's eyes got big and said, "He's back again. I wonder who he's possessing this time."
Daphne couldn't stop her smile at her thought. "If it's Lockhart, he's doing a good job of playing the ponce." There were a few chuckles and smiles around the table but the solemn atmosphere prevailed. Daphne hid her amusement that Hermione's chuckle was forced and she was blushing. Did she still fancy the berk?
Hermione seemed to recover herself and spoke up again. "It could be a student."
Daphne couldn't deny the logic so she nodded her agreement.
Harry then asked, "Is there anyone suspicious in Slytherin?"
"No but I wouldn't expect there to be." That got a frown from Weasley but she continued to finish her point. "A true Slytherin would be careful enough to not be suspicious. I've been watching the upper years as they are the most likely and they all seem normal. I have no suspects."
Granger butted in again. "Why only upper years?"
"Lower years like us have limited magical cores. We don't yet have enough power for a lot of spells even though some of us know them."
Granger looked startled. "You know upper year spells?"
"Of course. I've been studying magic since I was seven. There was an emphasis on the execution of the spells so I'm still learning theory along with everyone else. I know a lot of spells even though I can't properly power some of them."
Granger looked like someone had stolen her most precious possession while Weasley looked mutinous. It was Harry who spoke next.
"So that's how you knew the locking and privacy spells."
"Yes. I know some even better spells for that but I can't power them yet. I use what I can for now."
Hermione lamented, "I'm so far behind."
Daphne felt conflicted about that. She considered Hermione a know-it-all although she had seemed to calm down a little since last year. On the other hand, she did have a point as the two girls were not on equal footing in their education.
Harry asked, "Can you teach me some of those spells?"
That pulled a genuine smile from Daphne. "Sure, I can do that." She ignored a subtle nudge that came from Tracey.
"Did he tell you anything else?"
"No, that covers it. He is going to keep looking for information, especially anything to do with the Malfoys."
"How did he take the news?"
Daphne grimaced before replying. "Not well at all. I was so afraid he was going to pull me out of school. I had to emphasize the precautions and that I'd be careful. Only the fact that there are no Muggleborn Slytherins saved the day for me. He knows we shouldn't be targets." She saw a frown form on Weasley's face again so she added, "I also can't understand why anyone would think you were the Heir of Slytherin considering you're best friends with a Muggleborn. I can't believe how foolish some people are." She saw Weasley's expression ease. She wondered if he'd ever get over his prejudices.
"I have something for you."
Slightly startled by the change in topic, she looked down at the small gift Harry was holding out towards her. She forgot to breathe. So that is what he'd meant by 'something to give you'. She hadn't considered a gift for him yet and felt embarrassed. She could fix that though, she had time.
"Thank you. I'll have yours delivered for Christmas day."
Harry looked puzzled. "I wondered about that. How do our gifts end up by our beds like that?"
"House elves, of course."
"Like Dobby?"
"Yes, my family has an elf too but she's not as mad as Dobby sounds. We treat her better than the Malfoys treat theirs, I'm sure. They can be sent by owl for the Hogwarts elves to deliver too."
"Hogwarts has elves?!"
Daphne had to close her eyes as her head throbbed. Granger was getting on her last nerve. "Yes, who do you think prepares the food and cleans everything, including your laundry?"
Her voice had been sharper than she had intended but she stilled and blushed when she felt Harry's hand cover hers and squeeze momentarily. Her hand felt cold when he removed his. She saw Tracey giving her a smirk from the corner of her eye. Her ever-teasing friend had noticed, of course. That was just how this day was going for Daphne.
Harry saved them from the uncomfortable silence. "Well, I have an essay to work on so I reckon we ought to do some studying while we're here."
Daphne made sure to give him a small smile of thanks before she dug out her charms book and started reading. She tried to concentrate but between the shuffling of everyone getting out books and papers and her thoughts about her interactions with Harry, she was very distracted.
Hermione had gone through quite a range of emotions. She had started out curious about Daphne and she wanted to be sure she wasn't taking advantage of Harry somehow. However, seeing them together eased her fears considerably. Although Daphne kept up her 'ice queen' mask most of the time, it seemed to fail her at times as she reacted to Harry. She saw genuine smiles and even some blushes.
She had wondered if Harry might be interested in Daphne as a girlfriend but other than a brief squeeze of Daphne's hand, she saw no sign of that. He acted like a friend and so did she for the most part. There were tiny hints that Daphne might have interest in Harry as more than a friend. However, she had little to go on so far and wasn't confident of her ability to read the small signs coming from Greengrass.
The other Slytherin was easier to read. She seemed very friendly and cheerful. She also seemed to love teasing her friend. Since Harry seemed to be open to expanding his circle of friends, Hermione considered the possibility of approaching Tracey and adding a new friend for herself. However, she couldn't do that openly as she knew there could be consequences. Although the consequences probably would be more for the friendly Slytherin than herself. However, she knew one anti-Slytherin Gryffindor and he was sitting right next to her. Even now, she could see that Ron wasn't very comfortable here with the Slytherins.
The only negative moment she'd felt from them was Daphne's reaction to her finding out about the Hogwarts house elves. However, she had been louder than she should have been and she had been able to see that Daphne seemed tired and a little out of sorts. She wouldn't judge her too harshly for one moment of pique.
Her mind then went to her own holiday plans. Since they were not going to try to investigate Malfoy anymore, her resolve to stay was weakening as her mother was still encouraging her to come home. She'd have to talk to the boys later. She could tell them how to finish the potion, the remaining parts were simple. Maybe she should go home for the winter break after all.
The four of them had settled into their usual corner of the Gryffindor common room for what Harry initially thought was peaceful studying but then he noticed that Hermione of all people seemed anxious about something. If anyone could focus on her homework it was Hermione but not now. He had initially decided to wait her out but he was rethinking that as he got more curious about what was up with her. He caught her eye and she had a faint blush when she saw him. She put down her book and cleared her throat, which caught the attention of the other two boys in their group.
"I was thinking…" she looked cautiously around the group, particularly Ron. "Um, since we are not going to try to investigate Malfoy any more that maybe… I would go home for winter break instead. My mother really wants me to come and since we're not… you know…"
Harry was surprised at how reticent she was, it seemed so unlike her. However, he would never forgive himself for even accidently depriving someone of spending time with the ones they loved. Nobody knew how precious that was more than Harry. He wanted to reassure her before anyone could say anything to mess things up. "That's fine, Hermione. You should spend all the time with your family that you can. We understand, don't we Ron?"
Ron gave him a deer-in-the-headlights sort of look before nodding. "Sure, he's right."
"I'm glad you understand. If we were going to try something, of course I'd stay. It's just…."
"We get it Hermione." Harry was pleased to see that Neville was nodding enthusiastically as well.
Hermione blushed spectacularly but looked very grateful and happy as well. Ron's enthusiasm wasn't great but he seemed careful to not spoil the moment. In fact, the next moment he dived right back into his homework. That seemed to encourage the rest of them to do the same.
They spent a relatively quiet time for two hours and Harry managed to get a lot done. There were a few short conversations about a particular essay or some questions but mainly it was companionable quiet time for the group. Eventually Ron appeared to finish and got restless.
"Fancy a chess game, Harry?"
Harry didn't really want to plus he wanted to talk to Hermione privately. When he saw Neville packing up as well, an idea occurred to him. "I'm not done yet, Ron. Maybe Neville will take you on." He looked hopefully at Neville who appeared slightly startled.
Harry turned back to Ron in time to see a hint of a frown as he looked at Harry but Ron's face cleared as he turned towards Neville. "Fancy a game, Neville?"
"Um, sure."
"I have my chess set up in the dorm. We can play up there, OK?"
"Sure." Neville grabbed his study materials and headed towards the stairs with Ron right behind him.
This couldn't have gone better if he'd planned the whole thing ahead of time. He turned to Hermione to see a suspicious look on her face. "You wanted to talk to me privately, Harry?"
Bugger. That was one of the problems with having such a smart friend; she could tell what he was up to. He decided it didn't matter, they could still have their conversation.
"Yeah. I was thinking about that conversation we had when I told you about Daphne figuring out about the basilisk." He saw her face flush a little and she started to look uneasy so he decided to get to the point before she worried too much. "You're a great friend to me, Hermione."
He immediately saw her brighten, he was happy to see that he was going about this the right way.
"I just don't want you to think I'm only friends with you for your help. You can be my friend without checking my essays and you certainly don't have to have all of the answers. Nobody can do that. Even Dumbledore wasn't sure what was happening."
He saw her begin to look uneasy again but her mood seemed to improve towards the end.
Her voice was quite meek when she asked, "So you don't want my help?"
"Blimey, no! I didn't mean that at all. What I'm trying to say is that isn't why we're friends. You don't have to do it but it's nice if you do. Well, maybe not all the time." He grinned at her to soften any blow that she might find in his words. It seemed to work as she sat up straighter and she looked at him as if she were slightly impressed.
"You're a good friend for me too Harry. I understand your point now and I appreciate you telling me. I had trouble making friends in school before Hogwarts. Friends are precious to me and well, I may have tried to ensure you'd stay friends by doing everything I can to help. Maybe too much sometimes."
She blushed slightly at saying that but then continued. "I admit that I was a little worried about you spending time with Daphne and it's possible I might have been afraid of losing you as a friend. Maybe I overreacted…" She paused with a blush. "OK, I definitely overreacted. I won't do that again."
Harry grinned at her again. "Nobody's prefect and I know that definitely includes me. I'm trying to not be such a moody git anymore." He saw her getting ready to object and held up his hand to stop her. "My point is that a mistake doesn't ruin everything. We're all just human. We say we're sorry and it's all good again."
She peered at him curiously and it was Harry's turn to get a little nervous. What was she thinking?
"I think that Daphne has been good for you, Harry. You're getting more serious about things, thinking things through more. I'm glad you're doing this information exchange. You've got a new friend."
Harry couldn't stop his blush but he gladly replied. "You're right, I do. I still have good friends in you, Ron and even Neville now too. This has been a good month for me."
Ron stared at the board. He was trying to figure out things beyond his comfort zone so he took his usual path of putting in terms of one of his favourite activities: chess. First, he'd take the easiest of the three, his current opponent. Neville hadn't even been on the board for him until very recently. It might be easy to brush him off as a pawn but he already could see that wasn't true. He wasn't sure yet but Neville seemed like a Rook to him. Solid and in the background but ready to enter the fray when necessary. Neville was alright and he was fine with including him.
He'd known Hermione much longer and he hadn't wanted her on the board at all until the whole troll thing. He still didn't like to think about that as it made him feel guilty. There were some good points about the whole thinking before speaking thing but it was just so bloody difficult. He had to work on that though as he now knew there could be severe consequences. Ron didn't like consequences at all.
What was she though? He tended to think of her as the queen but that made him very uncomfortable. He wasn't the king, he was more like a knight. She was so smart that she was intimidating. He didn't really like reacting to her in that way. She was a friend and you shouldn't be intimidated by a friend.
Then there was his best mate Harry. One might think of him as the king but that didn't really fit. In chess, the king usually hid behind protectors. He wasn't especially powerful, barely more than a pawn really. That didn't fit Harry at all. Harry could be intimidating in his own way, how he could stand up to anything and sometimes he showed how much power he had. That wasn't much like a king at all.
Then there was this new interloper, Greengrass. Why doesn't that bloody snake stay where she belongs? Why does she have to steal his friend? That thought suddenly jolted him. Was that it? Was he just jealous? She couldn't be Harry's new best mate could she? I mean, she was a girl. He'd been pretty sure of her until he'd seen her for himself. There'd been no spells, no potions. She just talked and she gave some pretty good information too. He'd watched her for treachery and really not found anything. What was he supposed to do?
Bloody hell. His chess metaphors were failing him. How was he going to figure this out? He might have gotten Hermione alone and asked her some questions but now she was going to leave. He'd have the whole winter break with no way to figure this out! His attention was drawn back to the game with Neville when he made his move. Hmmmm, his pawn was in danger but he'd already considered that threat. In fact, Neville had just created an opening for him. He gazed around the board to make sure he wasn't missing something before he made his move.
It was late and Roxanne really ought to be getting ready for bed but she had too many doubts swirling in her mind to even consider sleeping. She had tried to find out where Harry had disappeared to after the death of her good friend Lily. Not only had nobody known, most of them didn't even like being asked the question. At the time, she'd had no reason to suspect Dumbledore's involvement as he was not close to the Potters, he just led the group that they were involved in that Lily was reluctant to speak about. Even now, Dumbledore being involved was just a vague suspicion, she had no proof whatsoever. Her inquiries about the will got her only the fact that it was sealed but nobody knew who had done that.
Later when her husband had taken his father's seat in the Wizengamot, she had cajoled him into trying more official channels but he'd gotten nothing but hostility for raising questions like that. Then in Daphne's first year, she'd been satisfied to hear that Harry had indeed come to attend Hogwarts but unfortunately, she'd kept her observations about the boy to herself and it wasn't until the summer break that she'd heard about his clothing, his small size and how quiet he was.
The clothing alone was mildly disappointing but perhaps there was a financial issue but given the undoubtedly large value of the Potter estate, why that would be escaped her. Did his size and quietness indicate something more sinister? She had no way of knowing as she wasn't getting much new information despite Daphne's meetings with the boy. Whether his reticence to talk meant anything troubled her and she was very afraid that it did mean things were very wrong.
Learning from Daphne that he'd supposedly been raised by Muggles made her wonder if somehow Harry had ended up with Lily's bint of a sister. Her attempts to find Petunia Evans were fruitless, partly because she was not that familiar with how the Muggle world worked but also because she was probably married and she had no idea what Petunia's married name might be.
She should have done something earlier but to this day, she still didn't know what she could have done. No owl could find him and the goblins told her nothing as she had expected but then, perhaps they knew nothing to tell. Wherever Harry had disappeared, It was well protected which was reassuring even though it was also very vexing to her. Her discussion with Daphne that summer may have finally prompted Daphne to approach the boy, she wasn't sure.
"Are you coming to bed?" She did her best to suppress her startled reaction but he caught it as he muttered, "Sorry."
She kept facing away, through the window looking into the night. "It's OK, I was just deep in thought."
Her husband came up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's bothering you?"
"I'm wondering what I could have done earlier to find out more about Harry."
She heard him sigh before he answered, "Don't drive yourself mad by second guessing yourself. Everything we tried was a dead end. We should concentrate on now."
She turned to him as she said, "You're right." Then she gave him a hug and decided it was definitely time for bed.
The next day had been a long one and Harry had not exchanged a single word with Daphne. He missed her but they'd known each other for only a little over a month. It boggled his mind that he'd become so accustomed to her in so little time. On the other hand, he did have something he wanted to ask her anyway. He was alone in the dorm so he got out his parchment and wrote to her.
Do you have a minute?
He waited for about a minute and then realized he had no idea what she might be doing. It was silly to wait around for an answer. He was beginning to wonder about going back down to the common room to see if anything had changed when he caught the glow out of the corner of his eye. She had answered!
Of course. Did you want to talk about something?
What was that formal stuff you were doing with Neville?
It's pureblood etiquette. I can teach you about that when things are less hectic.
You never acted like that with anyone else I've seen.
I do it all the time with some people. It depends on who I'm talking to.
Are you friends with Neville?
Not really. We are acquaintances. We meet at some formal functions once in a while. We never get invited to his grandmother's New Year's Eve parties. She doesn't like my family much.
Do you know why?
Not really. His grandmother has strong opinions about a lot of people. It might have something to do with her son.
Is he in St. Mungo's with Neville's mum?
You know about that now?
Yes. We talked about that first picture you gave me, the one with his mum and our mums and the Marlene girl. His mum is my godmother.
My mother mentioned that. All I know is that after what happened to Neville's parents, my mother and Neville's grandmother had some sort of disagreement. She was good friends with Neville's mother too.
That's too bad. Why do you call him Neville now and Heir Longbottom to his face?
There was a pause before she answered and Harry began to wonder if he'd done something wrong.
With friends, we don't bother with that. You'll never see Tracey and I doing that. Since Neville and I are only acquaintances and both heirs of old families we tend to be formal with each other. It's the polite thing to do in our society.
You called me Heir Potter, am I like Neville then?
You don't know?
Harry sat back to ponder that. Did she really expect an answer? Suddenly, she started to write again so he leaned forward to watch what she wrote.
I'm sorry. I had no idea you were so ill-informed. Yes, you are the Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. I knew you don't know our ways so I did not follow our etiquette with you. I meant no offense.
Well that was silly. How could he expect something he knew nothing about?
None taken. I have a lot to learn and we're already friends so I have nothing to be angry about. I was just curious.
I'm glad you want to learn the ways of our families. I'll be happy to help in any way I can.
Just then, Neville entered the dorm room and they exchanged friendly nods. Harry turned back to his parchment and decided to end the conversation.
Someone just came into the dorm. Goodnight Heiress Greengrass.
Goodnight, Heir Potter.
Harry grinned when she drew a smiling face at the end. He put the quill and parchment into his book bag and looked over to see Neville settling down with a book.
"Daphne was telling me about that etiquette stuff you and she were doing in the library. Is there a book about that? Maybe something in the library?"
Neville got a faraway look in his eyes as he seemed to ponder that. "Not that I know of but that gives me an idea. You can expect to get a surprise from me."
"A surprise?"
"Yes, but don't expect any hints. That would ruin the surprise."
Harry snorted at his teasing. "Then I won't bother you about it, Heir Longbottom."
Neville chuckled and didn't seem inclined to say more so Harry asked his other question.
"Are they still playing?"
"Yes, Hermione is doing better against him than usual. Ron's getting pretty serious about the game."
"Ugh. I hope they don't end up arguing again."
"I don't think so. Ron seems to be more careful about what he says lately."
"Yeah, I've noticed that too. That's a good thing."
Neville nodded his agreement and then after neither had anything to say, Neville turned back to his book. Harry was still curious about why Neville's grandmother didn't like Daphne's mother but didn't feel comfortable bringing it up with Neville. It was too likely to be tied to bad memories and he really didn't want to do that to Neville. Harry decided that it was close enough to bedtime that he'd just get ready for bed.