Chapter 10: Talking about assumptions
Harry and Hermione had almost reached the ground floor as they nearly collided with Ron.
Who in turn blinked surprised as they saw them before focusing on Harry.
"There you are! I've searched half the house for you now! Could you come with me for a sec?"
Harry stared at him, slightly confused, before shrugging. "Sure." He turned to Hermione. "Just go on without me, I'll come down later."
With that they parted and Harry followed Ron back to their room.
At first, he wondered why his friend had searched him so intently, but then he noticed the owl on his bed. A certain dark brown eagle owl.
"Sorry mate, but this owl flew in here and refused to let me take it's letter." He showed Harry his right hand, which had a few peck marks on it. "Be glad that the incoming owls aren't controlled, too. That bird would've caused a commotion!" He wrinkled his nose before looking at Harry again, now definitely curious. "Who is it from, anyway? Haven't seen that owl before."
Harry shrugged, feigning ignorance. "Can't know it till I've read it, right?"
He walked over to the bird and carefully took off it's message. Surprisingly, it didn't fly off as fast as normally, so he even had time to pet it for a second. It's feathers were soft and clean, he really began to like that bird.
Only as it flew off through the opened window he looked at the letter.
Harry,
I have decided to divulge a few facts to you.
Facts, that will hopefully amuse or enlighten you, but will not give away my identity as it is not the right time for that yet.
My owl is a male called Quetzalcoatl. Please do not abbreviate his name.
Regards
Harry blinked, surprised, before smiling. Somehow, he thought that name fitting, even though it was quite long. And it couldn't hurt to get a few facts about this mysterious person. Maybe he could still find out their identity like that.
"So...?" Ron wondered aloud, looking questioningly at his friend. "Who's it from?"
Harry wondered for a split second if he should tell Ron what he knew, before deciding against it. That would just bring up more questions and he really didn't want to answer everything Hermione had asked again. Especially since their talk with Remus still lay before them.
Instead he chose another tactic, giving the letter to Ron. "No idea, ever seen that handwriting before?"
Ron took the parchment and read through it, before grinning slightly. "Nope, never, but it has something girlish, don't you think? Maybe it's a secret admirer? Can't have everyone hate you, right?"
"Uh... yeah." Somehow, Harry was pretty sure that this wasn't the case, considering his earlier letters, but that way, Ron would stay out of his business.
"But she's a bit weird, huh? Who the hell names his owl Quetza... something?"
"Quetzalcoatl. It's some kind of god in an old muggle religion," Harry explained, for once glad he had read so many names in search of one for Shiva. Though he was surprised that a wizard knew about it. That meant they probably had at least one close muggle relative or very special interests.
"Ah... well, whatever. It's not as if you're interested in her, right?"
Suddenly, the mood turned serious, leaving Harry even more confused.
"Eh... what?" he asked with raised eyebrows.
"You've got another love interest, haven't you?" Ron grumbled.
"What are you talking about...?"
"Well, Hermione of course! You've been spending so much time with her, it's obvious! Even mum hinted abut it..."
By now, Harry was staring incredulously at his friend.
"Seriously? I mean... look, I may love Hermione" Rons eyes went wide. "but only as a sister!"
Also, he was pretty sure she was crushing on someone else, judging from her letters she had written him during the summer, talking excitedly about a special pen friend of hers. He had an idea who that was, but telling Ron would've been the most stupid thing he could do right now.
"But... but even mum said so!"
"Well... I think she's just exaggerating. Honestly, I don't even like any girl right now..."
Rons eyes widened even further "You don't mean... You're not..."
For a second, Harry wondered what was wrong, before he recalled what exactly he said. And what Ron must've misunderstood. "Um... you're not thinking I'm gay, do you?"
His friend blushed slightly. Well, that was answer enough.
"Look, I didn't mean it that way. I'm just not romantically interested in anyone currently. No girl, no boy. Alright?" Not that he'd care which gender a 'potential love interest' of him should have. He knew the Dursleys disliked homosexuals because they 'were not normal', but really, they were all human beings. Personality was the most important thing, wasn't it?
But Ron was looking too relieved to tell him that, instead he changed the topic to a slightly safer one, telling him about the blood test results. He was bound to learn about that anyway sooner or later and since Hermione knew it was only fair anyway.
Though Harry still wasn't sure if Ron believed him in the romance issue. But he'd worry about that later.
The next day was a Sunday, which mainly stood for a quite full headquarters and less work. Meaning it was the perfect time for Harry and Hermione to talk to Remus without being missed.
They didn't need much time to convince him to listen to them - though finding him before had been proven quite difficult with someone always interrupting their search. Like the Weasley twins who had created some new powder out of something connected with Doxys. Harry really didn't want to know and Hermione had started a small lecture before being reminded that they had other things to do first.
So after a few interruptions like that the three of them finally sat together inside of one of the empty rooms, Remus looking confused at both students and Hermione staring intently at Harry, who gave a resigned sigh before explaining to them (since Hermione only knew about half of it) about the letters. Since he had kept them all, he could even show them, though only under the promise that he would get them back unharmed.
He had really started to grow fond of his anonymous writer, but Hermione always was way more analytical than him. The last time he had gotten anything from an anonymous person - namely his firebolt - had resulted in a long wait as three of his professors had insisted on completely taking it apart after Hermione had told them. He really didn't want to live through something like that again.
After he had finished, silence ensued. He could see both Remus and Hermione thinking over what he had just told them and wondered what they'd say.
It was Remus who opened his mouth first.
"I'm sure you know that you should be careful. Anonymous letters should always be taken seriously. Of course, in this case, the writer does not seem to want to cause trouble, but he or she has also not given you a name. There has to be a reason for that."
Harry nodded. He had had some of these thoughts too and he was glad that Remus didn't outright try to talk him out of it.
"You know, I think it's Snape," Hermione suddenly piped up, looking nervous as two bewildered stares met her.
"Snape...?" Harry asked incredulously. "Why would you think that?"
"Well... I was thinking about people who could write you without you knowing, maybe because they knew you would never listen to them if you knew their identity, since that prophecy thing was quite the big piece of information. And while I had a few ideas, I could not imagine people like the Malfoys or anything, since they honestly seem to hate you. And I don't think they'd have the resources for getting the full prophecy anyway. But Snape... remember how he saved you from falling to death on your bewitched broom in first year?"
"Well that was because of some stupid debt he had with my father," Harry answered, but Hermione wasn't finished.
"Oh come on, Snape hates your father, I don't think it has been just that. Also, he did try and protect us in third year that one night... remember?"
The last words were said a little bit quieter, with a worried look to Remus, who gave a forced smile, motioning for her to continue.
Of course, that night she was talking about had been the one where Remus had forgotten to drink his wolfsbane and had transformed in front of them. And it had been Snape who had woken up just I time to stand before them, shielding them with their arms.
Harry had almost forgotten that incident, since Snape had never commented on it again, hating him even more after Sirius had vanished and with him the chances of an Order of Merlin.
But he had to agree that Snape could've let them fend for themselves... still, it was highly unlikely...
And his face must've shown his thoughts, because Hermione rolled her eyes at him before continuing.
"I know you don't like him, but think about it logically for a moment: Could you name a person not only willing to help you but also close enough to Snape for him to give away that prophecy-memory of his? I might not know much about what Snape does in his freetime - and if I'm honest I don't want to know - but I don't think he has many friends. Especially not those who want to help you. It must be him..."
"But... it's Snape!" Harry was so sure of their mutual hatred, he just couldn't make it work in his head that it should have been him of all people sending these letters. "I mean... it's not his writing, I'm sure of it! Ron even thought it'd belong to a girl and we all know Snapes writing."
Hermione had an answer for that too. "He could have used a spell to change his handwriting. And the wording sounds like something he would write, too. He might not be a very nice person, but he talks eloquently."
She turned to Remus, looking questioningly at him. "What do you think? You probably know him better than us. Could it be him?"
The man looked thoughtful for a while, before slowly answering. "Well... it's not completely impossible. Severus is a very difficult person, it's hard to assess him. While he does seem to hate you, Hermione is right too as he also protects you if necessary. Maybe it has something to do with your mother? I'm not sure, but back when we all went to school, he and Lily were often seen together. At least I remember James complaining about them on several occasions... though all of that ended before our seventh year and Lily and James came together... I wonder what happened?"
Harry blinked. Snape might have been been friends with his mother? No way... he shook his head.
"Look at the second message! That doesn't sound like him at all!"
Hermione thought about it. "Well... he could have written it to throw you off his path..."
"But how did he know about the Dementors?"
This time, it was Remus who answered. "Sirius told me he had overheard Dumbledore ordering someone to check up on you that day. He said he had only heard Dumbledore speaking about Dementors and the tragic accident of Mrs. Figg, but not the answer. So it might have been Snape."
That... sounded logical. Sadly. Slowly, Harry had to admit, that the reasoning made sense somehow... even if he didn't want to- wait a second.
"How did he know about Mrs. Figg?" He frowned. He had no idea how Dumbledore could have known about the Dementors so fast anyway, but about a muggle woman?
"Well, Dumbledore probably didn't tell you, but she has been a member of the order," Remus explained, as if that cleared everything up.
But it only did the opposite. "An order member? Why should a muggle be a member of the Order of the Phoenix?"
Now it was Remus' time to look confused. "Muggle? But she was a squib, I thought you knew that? She was one of the guardians to look after you..."
"...Guardians? You mean, I was watched?"
"Well... not very closely as far as I know, but yes... I thought you knew, since we were always told they'd be there for you if you had a problem." Remus shook his head. "We should have enquired further, I'm sorry."
Harry just sat there. It was... quite a shock, that he had been watched but never been told anything. Not that it wasn't always like that. Why tell him anything? It wasn't as if everyone wanted him to save their behinds or anything...
So... honestly? If that writer really was Snape, then whatever. At least he told him things. Important things.
He'd probably never come to like his potions professor, but he could still pretend it being some weird nice second personality of him, writing these letters. That way he at least could continue to like reading these letters.
Telling the other two his decision they nodded and agreed that Snape was their main suspect but that they wouldn't mention anything to anyone else unless Harry knew for certain.
Until then, he'd continue being on his guard a little, telling Remus if he thought something was off, but otherwise letting his friends see his letters. Ron could continue believing it was a girl for now, his hatred against Snape was even bigger than Harrys, they'd only tell him if there was proof. It'd probably be easier for all of them.
So... for now, they could focus on enjoying the last few days of holidays before school would start again. And by then they'd probably have enough other problems to think about.
Their Hogwarts letters arrived at the last day of holidays. Harry had just been packing his trunk after asking Sirius if he was allowed to take a few books from the Black library with him - his godfather had agreed easily, since he didn't care about most books in there anyway - as Ron opened the door, handing him his letter with a remark of how it was bloody time for it.
Which was true, considering they had to get all their stuff today. Diagon Alley would be packed.
Harry took his letters out, just skimming over the first one, the standard 'We're happy to welcome you back'-text, before looking at the book list.
This year, it was pretty small, featuring only three new books, one of them being the expected The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5 for Charms, the other two being called Self-Defensive Spellwork and A Compendium of Common Curses and their Counter-Actions.
As if sensing the perfect moment, Fred and George apparated into the room, with identical grins on their faces.
"Hey guys, already looked at the book lists as of yet? I don't know about you, but judging from the titles we think we might even get a useful teacher this year!" George said, patting Harry - who was standing right next to them - on the shoulder.
"Yeah, seems way more useful then books like Holidays with Hags, doesn't it?" Harry answered, rolling his eyes at the memory of his most incompetent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher as of yet. "Makes me wonder why the book lists have arrived only now though. A bit late, isn't it?"
The twins nodded simultaneously.
"We've overheard mom and dad talking yesterday." "They said something about Dumbledore having trouble finding a new teacher-" "Not that we didn't know that already." "-so we guess he finally found one."
Harry blinked for a second, trying to comprehend what they said - the twins had began to use all of that switching while talking quite often lately, mainly because it drove their mother mad when they did.
But they always liked confusing people, so it wasn't all too weird.
"Hey, what's wrong with Ron anyway?" Fred asked suddenly, looking at Ron who seemed to stare at his letter with a slightly opened mouth. " I'm pretty sure he hasn't moved since we came in."
"Maybe his brain has finally stopped working?" George joked, walking over to his younger brother and looking over his shoulder to see what had shocked him.
Immediately, his mouth fell open too.
"Watch out, it's contagious!" Fred mumbled to Harry, who grinned slightly, though honestly curious what was going on now.
Thankfully, George solved that problem about one second later.
"Prefect? Prefect?" he stuttered, shell-shocked.
Immediately, Fred jumped over, taking the envelope Ron still held in his hands, turning it upside down. And really, there it was. A red and gold badge, lying on Freds palm.
"Prefect...? Ron?" Fred mumbled, before looking at Harry. "We were so sure it'd be you."
"Honestly, what was Dumbledore thinking?" "Maybe Harry has too much of a bad reputation?" "But then, why Ron? Look at him, it's as if Dumbledore had made one of us prefects!"
During the twins little argument, Harry had taken the badge from Fred to take a look at it. It had a large 'P' across the red and gold background, with a lion on it. Just like Percys had been.
Yep, definitely a prefect badge.
He gave the badge to Ron, who was now staring at him as if he wanted him to confirm it.
"Uh... congratulations, Ron," he murmured, unsure what to think of that whole thing. Sure, secretly he had hoped to become a prefect too, but lately he had wondered if that was such a great thing to be. Fred and George were the most obvious examples that even without a prefect badge you could do well in life. And without a badge he probably had way more freedom anyway, since he didn't need to do patrols and stuff.
Yes, maybe someone had needed to show him the downsides of being a prefect first - or at least remind him that it wasn't all sunshine and power - as they had talked before.
And surprisingly, this someone had not been Shiva this time. Though maybe it wasn't all that surprising, she was a snake after all and couldn't know about prefect duties at Hogwarts.
No, it had been Hermione. She had given him a huge lecture on all the things a prefect had to do after a casual remark that it would be cool to be able to give detentions to other students.
And, speaking of Hermione... That moment, the door banged open, revealing the bushy-haired girl looking excitedly at the boys before running to Harry, hugging him tightly.
"I did it!" she exclaimed happily before letting him go again.
He grinned. "Congratulations! I knew you'd make it."
"So... who's the other one?" she wondered aloud, looking hopefully at Harry, who shook his head apologetically.
Ron gave a sound that sounded more like 'thnkme' than the 'I think it's me' it should probably have been.
Hermiones eyes went wide as she saw that badge in his hands.
"You? Um... I mean... congratulations!" she said awkwardly, poorly hiding her surprise.
But really, who could blame her? Even Ron himself wouldn't have thought it possible, so how could anyone else? Actually, if Harry thought neutrally about it, Dean would've seemed the best option for prefect. He was the only Gryffindor boy in their year who didn't get into big troubles each year, blew stuff up even if it should have been incombustible or had so little self-confidence he probably couldn't give a detention to a second-year.
Why Dumbledore had chosen Ron was a mystery itself. The only thing Harry knew was that it would make this school year probably less entertaining, with both of his best friends being away for duties like patrolling the school after curfew... great.
This school year would certainly be... different.
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