Then there was Harry's third year at the castle. Harry shook his head. There was so much about that year and the events that led up to it all that did not make the slightest bit of sense that Hacarry decided to not think about it and move on.
On to fourth year. Quite what Dumbledore was thinking when he decided to bring that stupid Tri-Wizard Tournament back was quite beyond Harry. The whole barbaric practice should have been left to fester away in the dark depths of time, only to ae read out in some old history book or another, not resurrected in any way, shape or form, even if it was all under the pretence of increasing international magical co-operation
Harry shook his head ruefully. Yes, Dumbledore liked to play his own tricks and was so used to not being questioned about his actions that when it inevitably happened he barely knew how to cope, having instead to rely on intimidation rather than being able to debate.
Then again, he was surrounded by yes men all the time. Harry could think of no better example of this than after his name had been drawn from within the Goblet of Fire. While grateful that both Dumbledore and McGonagall had believed him when he said that he didn't put his name into the Goblet of Fire, when others refused to believe him, McGonagall's argument had been "Professor Dumbledore believes him, so that should be good enough for everybody."
Given that the "everybody" in question had been two other Hogwarts teachers, the true champion of Hogwarts, the headmasters of two other prominent schools and their champions and two leading Ministry officials who had largely orchestrated the revival of the tournament, Harry really had to wonder about McGonagall. The term "staunch ally" didn't really cover her loyalty to Dumbledore and her blindness to his faults.
Harry wondered if she too should be scanned for loyalty potions or spells.
He had found himself wondering this a lot about various people throughout the afternoon. Ever since Sarah had mentioned the possibility of Hermione being under the influence of potions the notion had gotten stuck in his head. He hadn't given it much thought before now, but the fact was that he had been influenced by potions and therefore the chance was always there that others would be as well.
Harry had no idea how he was meant to check other people for potion or spell influence. Some people knew what he was up to and were checking their own food, but how could he check others without causing a mass panic? Under what circumstances could he get Hermione to allow him to check her for potions? There was no way that she would go for the idea, and Sarah couldn't attempt it as she was not the school's healer and therefore had no reason to try. She may have been a healer but she couldn't just begin casting detection spells on students without giving reasons.
Harry sighed and pushed himself away from the window ledge. He fed Hedwig an owl treat and she barked contentedly before soaring up into the rafters. Harry watched her go and then made for the door.
In a way he kind of hoped that Hermione was under the influence of a potion. He really needed her back on his side right now. He missed her.
In a very short space of time he had lost the friendship of both her and Ron, the two people whom he had previously been closest to in the world and a small part of him yearned to have the both of them back.
Currently he didn't have anyone his age that he was particularly close to. He was getting on alright with Hannah, he supposed, but things with Susan were still a little strange and really he was only just getting to know Padma. The same pretty much went for everyone else, he was just getting to know them. Some like Katie and Neville he was closer to, but there was still that gap.
Sometimes it was hard to believe that he had been at Hogwarts for four years and had only really gotten close to two people. Two people that he was now alienated from.
Ron, he had decided, was a lost cause. He had not thought of it at the time, but looking back now many of Ron's actions had been questionable. The boy was the jealous type and almost as prejudiced as any Malfoy, though he hid it a bit better. Harry recalled Ron mentioning in their second year that his mother had a cousin who was a squib who had gone on to become an accountant. This bit of information had been quickly followed by the words "But we don't talk about him." Harry had turned a blind eye to it at the time, but now it made him uncomfortable.
The main reason for Harry's hatred of Slytherin House had been Ron. Alright, Draco was an arrogant prick and Snape was a douchebag of the highest order, but they were just two people in a group that contained a quarter of the school. No, it had been Ron's whole "there's not a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin" spiel that had turned Harry fully against that house. In fact, Harry's own fear of how Ron would react if he ever got wind of the fact that the sorting hat had wanted to place him in Slytherin had only cemented Harry's attitude towards the house, and what a fool he had been for it.
Once you got past the pricks there were some genuinely nice people in Slytherin. He didn't know too many of them yet, but so far Tracey, Daphne and Astoria seemed decent enough. In fact Tracey seemed like she could be a good laugh, the type of person whom it was just fun to be around.
No, Ron was a lost cause. Harry had cut him off and he would be all the better for it, but with Hermione he still held out hope. Yes, her worship of those in positions of authority was a bone of contention, but at least he understood why she was like that. Mercilessly bullied by other children, those in authority were all that she had. Unfortunately this had now driven a wedge between them by Harry was certain that she could learn better.
Her being under the influence of a potion or spell would certainly make that problem easier to resolve but, if she was not then she had a long and hard road ahead of her before she and Harry could even come close to being friends again.
He just hoped that that road wasn't too long.
.....
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