Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 16: Putting Someone In His Place
The castle was even more impressive from the inside. Regardless of the memories he had from the previous body owner, seeing it for himself was a completely different experience, because he actually understood what he was seeing.
He knew the complexities involved in creating many of the magical devices and enchantments plaguing this castle.
During his previous life, he had only heard a few stories about the four individuals involved in the construction of Hogwarts.
As much as he disagreed with the philosophy of teaching magic to every single child who came here, he had no choice but to admire what they had accomplished.
This gave him an idea… what if he could take over this castle and make it his new fortress?
Of course, he still had the intention of recovering Azkaban, but one Lord could have two castles. And this one was definitely worthy of his attention.
'Something else to consider, but first…' He looked down at himself. The healer had provided him with a clean set of clothes, but his body still needed a good bath.
Regardless of what people may have thought of him in the past, he had always been someone fond of having good hygiene and taking care of his personal appearance.
It was still very early in the morning, so he did not encounter anyone in the halls as he made his way to the Gryffindor common room.
However, this quickly changed the moment he opened the door to his dormitory, which was shared with three other boys.
All of them were wide awake already and turned to look at him the moment he entered.
Different expressions plagued their faces.
Neville Longbottom seemed to be relieved as he saw Harry again.
Seamus Finnigan was mostly indifferent.
And Ron Weasley was not pleased at all. "You're back…" he said with disdain.
"Harry! Where have you been?" Neville asked.
He ignored the boys and went to his trunk so he could grab a few things for his bath.
"Hey, Neville asked you a question." Ron approached him. "You had everyone looking for you. What are you playing at?"
"Yes, and is Cedric also back?" Seamus asked.
Harry only gave them a passing glance and turned around to leave. He had answered all the questions he had been asked so far, but that was for the Headmaster and other professors. Not answering them would have created more trouble for him.
But to these boys, he had no reason to give any explanations, as he cared little what they thought of him.
"You bastard…" Ron's anger was reaching a boiling point. For some reason, Harry ignoring him felt worse than Draco Malfoy insulting him.
He took several long steps and caught up to Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder with the intent of pushing him back into the room as he was about to open the door and leave.
Harry had, of course, noticed this. His eyes became sharp when he felt the boy's hand on his shoulder.
"How dare you touch me…" His tone was cold and threatening.
If Ron had better senses, he could have realized the danger he was in. However, the boy was completely oblivious to everything.
"You owe us an explanation, you cheat—"
Before Ron could finish the first of many insults he had already mentally prepared, he felt something cold grasping at his neck and became unable to speak… or even breathe.
The redhead boy released Harry immediately and fell to his knees, grasping at his throat for air. "Urgg…"
"Harry?" Neville was staring at him with shock on his face.
"What are you doing to him?!" Seamus got alarmed when he saw Ron's face turning blue.
Harry turned around. His right hand was making a grasping gesture as he looked down at Ron with a pair of cold green eyes.
Ron looked back at Harry and felt his blood run cold. The person in front of him looked like his old friend, but the eyes said otherwise. The kindness that he had seen in Harry for these last years was nowhere to be found.
This Harry was just looking down at him like he was some sort of insect that had the audacity to get in his way.
"Harry, stop! You are hurting him!" Neville shouted. He saw as Ron's face was changing colors and his limbs trembled.
Harry did release Ron a moment later. Not because Neville had told him, but because he knew that if he kept going, the boy was going to pass out, and he would certainly be punished by the teachers.
"Touch me again, Weasley, and I will turn you into a vegetable." After saying that, he left the room.
Seamus and Neville went to help Ron, who was still coughing and trying to regain his bearings.
"What in Merlin's name was that about? What did Harry even do to Ron?" Seamus asked.
"It looked like wandless magic… I have never seen Harry like that before." Neville said. "He was… scary."
Ron said nothing. No words came out of his mouth, as his mind was still processing what had just transpired.
He had many scary moments over the past four years, especially during his adventures with Harry and Hermione...but he had never felt fear like this before.
"Should we call Professor McGonagall?" Seamus wondered. He had seen Harry and Ron arguing many times; however, it had never been like this.
"Ron?" Neville helped him to one of the beds so he could sit. "Do you want us to call someone? Or maybe take you to the infirmary?"
Ron was still touching his neck. He could almost feel that cold invisible hand choking him out.
He quickly shook his head. "N-No…"
Neville and Seamus glanced at each other. They could guess what Ron was thinking… he was too scared of what Harry would do if he were to go complain to a professor.
In a single moment, Harry had managed to completely alter the dynamic between him and Ron.
The only reason that Ron had been so willing to get aggressive with Harry, was because he believed that his former friend was too soft to ever fight back against him.
But something had changed and he didn't understand why.
"Okay," said Neville. "We can stay here a bit longer. There are still thirty minutes before breakfast is served."
Ron nodded and went to the bathroom by himself.
Seamus was looking at the door for a moment before turning to Neville and whispering, "What do you think happened to Harry? I mean, to make him react like that?" Ron had been messing with him the entire year, along with the rest of the school, but Harry never did more than shout a few insults or throw a nasty glare at him.
Things never got physical like today.
"I have no idea." Neville could empathize with Harry, as he was also someone who people made fun of since the first year. But he could never have imagined Harry snapping in such a way. It looked more like something Malfoy would do.
"Something terrible must have occurred to him..." Neville spoke in a whisper.
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