Harry sighed. Even that backfired slightly. Apparently wandless magic was ALSO idolized in this culture, so now they wanted to learn how to do that. And of course Hermione had to bring up the Occlumency thing.
Still, he couldn't keep a small smile off his face. It felt good to be able to talk about his abilities. Auntie loved practicing, but she couldn't quite grasp everything he tried to tell her, and he always felt guilty since he knew Vernon wasn't that comfy with mystical stuff.
But these girls knew all about him, and they... oh. He sat up, interrupting their discussion. "Wait, did I already introduce myself?"
They all looked at him like he had just slapped himself. "Uh... yes Harry, you walked in with me, remember?" Hermione tried not to giggle.
He rolled his eyes. "Ok, so you know my last name is Potter, right?"
Apparently not.
Hermione was confused. "I thought you were Harry Dursley?"
He nodded. "My adopted family was my Mom's Sisters, Petunia Dursley. So at home I am Harry Dursley." He looked at everyone. "I mean, I obviously couldn't be raised with other Potters, right?"
There were some awkward looks. Hermione rubbed her hands worriedly. "Uh.. yeah. Sorry Harry, it was just.. I mean, when I met you, you were just a small kid who made me feel better when those boys were jerks in the bookstore. All these changes kind of set me off balance I guess."
Harry moved over and gave her a quick hug. "Sorry Hermione, I am so used to the only people who know me being used to how strange I am." He looked at the other two confused girls. "When I met Hermione last month I was much shorter." He held his hand up. "She didn't know I had decided to be taller this school year, and her family was busy with house stuff, so we didn't get to meet up before today."
Hannah looked at the door before leaning in. "How did you change your height? Was it like a superpower or something?" She blushed seeing Susan's face. "Shut-up, I just read some of those Harry Potter books."
Harry laughed, shaking his head. "No, I have no idea what are in those books. No one interviewed me, I know that much." He pointed at his arm. "I can use my ropes and threads to heal, dissolve, age, and whatever. I don't age unless someone reminds me that I need to be taller or whatever. Until I saw Hermione I had stayed the same height since I was 8, and I picked that one so I could match my bro's height, Big D."
Susan tilted her head. "My aunt has been talking to a girl who is an Metamorphmagus, someone who can change her body to look like different people. It seems like an awesome ability."
Harry shrugged. "I guess. It hurts a bit, and I have to eat a lot of meat, drink milk, etc. So much of me is made of magic now I don't think I could age unless I choose to, since it just cleans up and repairs age like a disease."
Susan nodded, thinking. "Is there any other benefit to doing thread stuff like you?" He started counting fingers. "Well, I can heal others like myself, I think I made my mind-scape with it by accident, I can enter other people's mind-scapes, and sometimes I can just understand some spells and stuff by seeing how it looks." He absently had his wand pulled from his hand, not noticing the other's eyes widen. "I can also use any wand I want, since I can see it trying to connect to my core and let it in."
Hermione grabbed his left hand, not noticing him blush slightly. "Harry, how did you do that hand thing?"
He frowned. "Ah, that was an accident. I was trying to make bottomless pouches and I thought it would be cool to put one in my hand." he rubbed it with his other hand. "Hurt like nothing I had felt before, and that is saying something."
Susan had reached a limit. "OK, NO MORE HARRY QUESTIONS. Just... lets talk about the weather or something. If we keep this up I am worried he will tell us he found Atlantis or something." She paused. Harry shook his head. She sighed in relief. "SO let's just talk about teachers and stuff, normal witch stuff, ok?"
Harry shrugged. It was all fine by him. At some point the train had started, and Jim reported that several people (Including a boy with REALLY red hair) had tried to get in while Harry's threads held it closed. He relaxed now that the deep conversations were done and let go of the door.
Which promptly slammed open, letting a boy with slick back blond hair to simper in. Two bulky but slow looking boys were trying to be manly behind him.
Harry sighed. "Yes, can I help you?"
He could FEEL the sneer cast at them. "Quiet lowlife, I am looking for Harry Potter." Catching sight of Hermione who had gone white his sneer seemed to double. "Not that he would be here with such filth. Damn Mudblood."
Susan felt the room harden. The air seemed thick, the floor hard, and there was a... a PULSE. Harry's eyes had become slits as he stood, green beams of light shining like beacons over the three boys. He stood, but it felt like he was much taller, like a giant was on one knee and looking down on the three boys who now were much less confident.
The sounds vanished. Susan couldn't even hear her own heartbeat. Just as she began to panic she could hear Harry's voice, softly moving like wind over gravestones at night.
"Young man, I do not believe we have been introduced."
Without moving a muscle, the two bulky boys stood stiff and straight and were gently pushed out of the compartment as the door slid closed as if on greased rails.
The child could not talk. He felt he couldn't move, like he was tied with hair to the ground. The world was dark, just two green eyes looking down from a high place.
"It is not polite, young man, to insult others. It is not done. Are we in agreement?"
His knees were weak, his arms shaken. His wand was in his pocket, but that was miles away. He couldn't even blink.
"Nod for me, young man. Agree with me that it was inappropriate to say such things to the young lady."
The boy shook everything he could in agreement. A sigh escaped the creature in front of him, as he felt boned fingers slowly pull him out of the room. The last sound he heard as the door closed was almost disappointed in him, which somehow hurt even worse than the reprimand.
"The boy needs to learn manners."
As the door shut the room seemed to thaw like ice on a spring day. Harry fell heavily on his seat, not meeting the eyes of the others in the room. His voice, so powerful before, seemed almost broken now.
"S... Sorry. I got angry."
His hands were shaking. Hermione was torn between trying to help him calm or... run? No. It hadn't even been directed at her. It had just been so much.
Susan was the first to move. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for not doing anything to them. My Aunt says that sometimes it is the actions that we don't do that make us human." She thought back to her Aunt's stories, where hostages had been lost or won by last minute choices of desperate but good men.
.
.
.
👓☕️Consider supporting me and enhance your reading experience with the ready-to-read PDFs I have on my Ko-fi.☕️👓
🎯https://ko-fi.com/cmrowling🎯