More to Life

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Chapter Sixteen - Gryffindor Tower

"What?" Harry asked the Headmaster in a sharp tone. He knew he shouldn't have really spoken to the Headmaster in such a way, but the way his eyes were twinkling and what he had actually asked Harry to do were a little too much for Harry to take.

"I would like you to stay with the Weasley family during the summer," Dumbledore said in an overly happy tone.

"But Ron hates me," Harry argued back knowing it was a weak argument to begin with.

"I'm sure Mr Weasley doesn't-"

"He does. He glares at me all the time," Harry said.

"I'm sure one he gets to know you he'll be a good friend," Dumbledore pressed on.

"He wouldn't see past the fact I'm a Slytherin, Headmaster," Harry said quietly. "Not that I want him as a friend anyway. I would never know when he would turn around and stab me in the back."

"I'm-"

"I'm not going," the raven haired Slytherin said firmly. "You can't make me." Harry winced at how childish he sounded, but he would do anything to stay away from the Weasley household, even though the twins, that were a few years above him in Gryffindor, didn't seem too back. "I like staying with Severus."

"Professor Snape, Harry," Dumbledore corrected.

"He's Severus to me Headmaster, always will be. He's been more of a dad for the past two years than my Uncle had ever been." Harry couldn't remember a time at the Dursleys' where he had laughed in the presence of his Aunt or Uncle. He had done it once and had gotten glared at. It didn't really matter now since they were no longer alive to keep him unhappy.

"You would be much safer at the Weasleys'," the Headmaster said to break the uneasy silence that had fallen upon them.

"I've been safe at Snape Manor for the last two years. How come it's not safe anymore?" Harry asked.

"If Voldemort..." The headmaster paused to glance at Harry's reaction to the name. Harry didn't even flinch; he knew a name wasn't going to hurt him. "... finds out you are staying at Snape Manor, it would be incredibly easy for him to walk in and kidnap you."

"And staying at the Weasleys' would be different, why?" The Headmaster was really beginning to annoy Harry now. "Why are we talking about this now anyway? It's only February. They could all keel over before the summer."

"Protection wards would be placed on the Weasley house, Harry. I cannot give you that type of protection at Snape Manor."

"He protected me once from Death Eaters, he can do it again. Can I go? I'm expected in Potions right about now," Harry asked, drawing the conversation to a close.

"You will leave the Hogwarts Express with the Weasleys at the end of June Mr Potter," Dumbledore said rather coldly.

Harry inwardly smirked as he jumped off his chair and walked towards the door. "You're not my Magical Guardian, Headmaster. You can't do anything without Miss Black's consent." Harry nearly cheered out loud at the slightly drop in the Headmaster's face. "Didn't she tell you? She applied during last summer and got confirmation back just last week. She wrote to tell me this morning." Harry looked Dumbledore straight in the eye and said, "I don't want to go to the Weasleys'. You asked once, I said no. What makes you think I'd change my mind, especially now after seeing what lovely Ronald Weasley is like? He wouldn't spend the whole summer with a Slytherin, especially me. He thinks I'm a traitor to the Wizarding world."

With that Harry walked out the door, not wanting to know what Dumbledore would say in retaliation.

He slipped into the Potion's classroom after everyone else had entered. Severus was already stood at the front of the room and made it quiet obvious that he was ignoring the fact Harry had walked in late, which made the Gryffindors bristle.

"What did he want?" Draco whispered into his ear from beside him.

"Tried to make me stay at Weasel's house during the summer, yet again," Harry said referring to the time Dumbledore had tried during his first few months at Snape Manor.

"Does he ever give up?" Draco hissed quietly.

"He will now. I told him about the letter I received this morning." Harry saw Draco grin out of the corner of his eye. "He can't make me do anything." He returned Draco's grin, dumping the first of his ingredient into the cauldron in front of him.

"Erm, Harry? It was supposed to be bezoar first not armadillo bile," Draco said as soon as the armadillo bile fell into the cauldron.

"Now you tell me," Harry grumbled. "Do I need to move anytime soon?"

"You've got about five minutes tops I'd think. Enough time to call Sev over to stop it."

Harry slowly put his hand up, grumbling the entire time.

*~*~*

Just over a week after the small confrontation with the Headmaster, Harry found himself back in Dumbledore's office, trying his hardest not to break out into a full out grin. He absently rubbed the knuckles on his right hand while he was listening to Dumbledore.

"I'm sure you know why you're here, Mr Potter?" the aging man asked.

Harry coughed into his hand to smother a laugh. Removing his hand, he said, "I hit Ronald Weasley, Sir, but in my defence he was going to hit me first."

Harry could almost hear the Headmaster sigh. "That does not mean you should hit him back."

The raven haired boy raised an eyebrow. "So you want me to let him hit me?" he asked in an innocent voice.

"I'm merely thinking you should avoid confrontations with him so no fight can start," Dumbledore said.

"And this comes from the man who wanted me to spend summer with him," Harry mumbled under his breath. In a louder voice, he said, "He's not that easy to avoid. I have most of my lessons with him, unfortunately."

"Simply ignore him."

"He won't let me ignore him," Harry said in a weary tone. "Neither will Malkin. How come you're only talking to me about this?"

"I will be having exactly the same conversation with Mr Weasley once Madam Pomfrey has fixed his broken jaw."

Harry did laugh this time, trying once again to hide it with a cough, although this time it wasn't as successful. He saw Dumbledore looking at him with a frown and tried to stop. He cleared his throat one last time and covered his grin with the back of his hand. "I'm sorry Sir, but Weasley really deserved it. He was calling me a blood traitor and that my parents would hate me. I don't like people talking like that."

"Still, Mr Potter, fighting in Hogwarts is prohibited, just like in normal Muggle schools."

"Can I just hex him next time then?" Harry said trying to joke with the Headmaster. Dumbledore frowned. "I was kidding you know," the Slytherin said hastily. He really didn't want to be in detention for the rest of the year.

"Indeed," was all Dumbledore murmured.

"Sir, can you just give me detention so I can go?" Harry asked.

"Why are you under the impression that you have received detention?"

Harry looked at Dumbledore as if he was insane. "Huh? Didn't I just have a fight with someone? Last time I looked you get punished for fighting."

"I don't see this as punishment myself, but you may..." Dumbledore then proceeded to tell Harry just what was expected of him.

*~*~*

"He what?" Draco asked rather loudly, causing the rest of the common room to stare at him.

"He said," Harry began with a clenched jaw, "I have to spend my evenings in Gryffindor tower, from the end of dinner until curfew starting tonight for a week."

"Ouch," Blaise mumbled while continuing with his homework.

"Blaise took the words right out of my mouth," Millicent commented, looking up from her own homework.

"I didn't think people were allowed in other houses common rooms?" Draco asked.

"Apparently, Dumbledore is making this the exception," Harry grumbled. "Excuse the pun, but he's tossing me into the lion's den. I have a feeling a real lion's den would be less painful."

"Probably," Blaise said. "At least it would be a quick death with real lions."

Harry dropped into the chair next to Draco. "Draco, if I don't come out of this alive you can have everything in my trunk."

"Even your cloak," Draco said with an enthusiastic grin, the stopped at the glare that was being sent his way. "Aw c'mon Harry. What I really meant was... stuff it you ain't coming back alive."

Harry continued to glare. "You're supposed to make me feel better."

"You should learn to punch Weasley when a Professor isn't looking," Millicent told him.

"What's the fun in that?" Draco piped up.

Millicent blinked. "Are you trying to get your best friend expelled?"

"Well, I'd better go and get myself ready for a riveting night with the Gryffies. You'll all pray for me, won't you?" Harry said.

"I would, but I'm not religious," Blaise commented as he slammed his book shut.

"Someone out there hates me," Harry mumbled.

"Weasley hates you, so does Malkin and pretty much all of the Death Eaters, and the Dark Lord and..."

"I get it," Harry said shortly, cutting Blaise off. He gave the brown haired boy a glare before storming out of the common room.

It took him nearly half an hour to find the Gryffindor common room. He had remembered half way there that he had no idea where it was. After asking Nearly Headless Nick, who just happened to passing by at the right time, Harry finally made it to the portrait of the Fat Lady. He coughed loudly to gain the portrait's attention.

"Yes dear?" the woman in the picture asked.

"Erm... Dumbledore sent me. I'm supposed to stay in there-" he pointed towards the portrait doorway, "- until curfew, every night for the next week."

"So you're our guest Slytherin then?" the Fat Lady asked.

"Yes," Harry said glumly.

"Oh do cheer up dear, Ron and Stuart are not even inside anyway," she said with a smile.

Harry perked up a bit. "Really?"

"Really." With that, the portrait opened and Harry stepped inside.

The Gryffindor common room was pretty much empty, beside the small group of fourth years off in one corner and a first year Harry recognised as Hermione Granger, who was sat on her own next to the open fireplace. The entire room looked at him as the portrait closed. Harry looked down at his feet and made his way to sit near the fire, since the fourth years were all out glaring at him.

"What are you doing here?" the brown haired girl asked as Harry sat down.

"Punishment," Harry mumbled. "Thank god Weasel's not here." He sat back in the chair and closed his eyes.

"I heard about you hitting him," Hermione said with a small smile on her face.

Harry opened his eyes and caught the smile. "It was rather fun actually."

"I can imagine," she giggled then hastily stopped. "I shouldn't be talking about my housemates like that."

"Why not? I talk about Blaise like that all the time, to his face even," Harry said with a grin.

Hermione giggled again. "You're not too bad for a Slytherin, you know?"

Harry gave Hermione a smile and shrugged a little. "I only get on with about ten people in Slytherin. The rest either look like they want to kill me or don't look at me because it might get them killed. Not that I mind that much."

Hermione looked a little shocked. "You don't mind? How can you not mind?"

Harry shrugged again. "I never had friends until I met Draco when I was nine. My cousin wouldn't let me have friends. He always was a bullying git."

The brown haired girl gave him an understanding nod. "Some girls at the Muggle School I used to go to would pick on me because I read too much, but at least I still had a friend."

"Like I told you, it doesn't bother me. I'm just glad I don't have to live at Privet Drive anymore. It's not as if I was wanted there." Harry saw the uneasy look Hermione was giving him and changed the subject. "So, what's your favourite lesson then?"

Hermione smiled and proceeded to tell him she like Transfiguration best.

*~*~*

The next night came by rather quickly and Harry found himself once again sat in the Gryffindor common room. He found Hermione once again sat by the fireplace and they carried on their conversation from the night before.

"What did you think when you got your Hogwarts letter, being a Muggle-born and all?" Harry asked her.

Hermione went onto talk about how she felt.

The next night was pretty much the same, until an hour before he had to leave. Malkin and Weasley walked into the common room and glared as soon as they spotted the raven haired Slytherin.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here, snake?" Malkin hissed.

"Professor Dumbledore is making me stay in here every evening all week," Harry drawled. "You'd know that if you'd actually been in the common room."

Malkin took a step forward. "You shouldn't be where you're not wanted."

"I'm wanted, right Hermione?" Harry asked the girl beside him. He didn't really want to involve her but it was the only thing he could think of to get Malkin off his back. Except for that fact that he could punch him, but he really didn't want to get into trouble again.

"R-right," Hermione stuttered.

"No one asked you Granger," Malkin glared.

"I thought Gryffindor's were supposed to look after their own?" Harry asked while staring at the fireplace.

"Granger might as well be in Ravenclaw the amount of time she reads," Malkin said in a casual tone.

"The Sorting Hat doesn't make mistakes, Malkin. She's obviously in Gryffindor for a reason."

"And you're in Slytherin for a reason." The plump boy grinned. "Everyone's waiting for you to slip up and admit you're a Death Eater."

"What would Voldemort want with an eleven year old Death Eater?" Harry asked slightly amused. "I don't think he's quite that insane."

"Shut up!" Malkin shouted.

Harry turned to Hermione. "He's not a very good sport when he's losing, is he?"

Hermione stifled a giggling behind her hand.

"Look Malkin, if you stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours. Deal?" Harry said, looking at the male Gryffindor once more.

"I wouldn't agree with him," Weasley said in a low voice from behind the other boy, "He'll curse you in the back when you're not looking."

"Weasley," Harry said, starting to get very annoyed with the situation, "I only hit you because you were going to hit me first."

"You shouldn't have insulted me!" Weasley yelled.

"You shouldn't have insulted me first," the raven haired boy said, trying to not to lose his temper.

"C'mon, let's go," Malkin mumbled under his breath as he made his way to the boy's dormitory stairs. Weasley gave the other boy a disbelieving look. Giving Harry one last glare, he followed Malkin up the stairs.

Harry left the Gryffindor common room soon afterwards, bumping straight into Dumbledore as he walked near the Great Hall.

"Ah, Harry. There you are," the Headmaster said as he saw the Slytherin.

"Yes Sir?" Harry asked, wanting nothing more but to fall on his bed and sleep.

"I believe that you have served your punishment enough. You no longer have to visit the Gryffindor common room-" Harry muttered 'thank god' under his breath, but Dumbledore didn't seem to hear, -"I assume you did learn something?"

"Of course Sir." That Malkin and Weasley are still gits.

"Off to bed with you then." With that, Dumbledore walked away.

Harry shook his head. Dumbledore really did have a habit of appearing at the weirdest of times.

When he entered the Slytherin common room, Draco, Blaise and Millicent were still sat around a small table in the corner of the room, exactly where he had left them.

"What you all doing?" Harry asked.

"Homework," came three tired replies in unison.

"Have fun with the Gryffies?" Draco asked.

"Granger isn't that bad. Malkin and Weasley showed up tonight though. I think I might have gotten Malkin to stop picking fights. We'll see once we next see him," Harry replied.

"What did you say to him?" Blaise asked interestedly.

"I just told him we'd leave him alone if he left us alone. Is that chocolate?" Harry asked pointing to the biscuit on the table. Without waiting for a reply, he snatched it up and ate it in one bite.

"Doubt it will work," Millicent commented.

"We'll see," Harry responded.

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~Leatrix Malfoy - 14^th February 2004