Echoes of Time (Harry Potter)

October 22nd, 1943

Friday Night

Harry lay in bed thinking about the last month he'd spent at Hogwarts; the changes that had come with it and the lack of progress made on tasks too important to stall so early on. Looking back at it, he could only say each week had been unique in its own way and with varying challenges.

His first week had been full of adjustment.

Immediately after his beating Abraxas and the subsequent drinking done to celebrate his victory, Harry relaxed in the presence of his housemates to any observant enough to notice; most of Slytherin House, he'd come to be told later on.

In the morning following his letting loose and defeat of Abraxas, when he'd left the boy's dorms and entered into the Slytherin common room while heading to breakfast, he was called out to. When he'd turned to see who it'd been in case he recognized them, he came face to face with a girl and two of her friends - only vaguely did he recognize their faces.

"Hello Heir Peverell," Said the girl standing closest to him.

Both behind her would dip their heads and echo her greeting almost in perfect sync, it was odd.

Harry returned the greeting to each of the girls, pausing each time to gather their names.

They were Florence Bertrand, Jeanne Ganders and Ophelia Greengrass, with the latter most being the one that stood closest to him. He'd seen them all with Riddle at one time or another, but he'd suspected they may not be fully within the group based on their missing of key activities.

"Would you be interested in joining us for breakfast?" Ophelia had asked, adding in a second later when she saw Aster, "Your friends would be free to sit with us too."

Harry looked over his shoulder at Aster, the latter boy stretching and letting out a groan before taking notice of the four pairs of eyes on him. When he'd finished and looked at Harry, his eyes darted to the blonde girl in front of his friend and immediately back to Harry.

Did Aster like Ophelia? Harry wondered that and figured that after the night he'd had, he owed his mate a potential set up. He called out to Aster who'd already begun slowly backpedalling in the direction of the boy's dorm's entrance, "Want to join Ophelia, Florence and Jeanne here for some breakfast? Reinhard's more than welcome to tag along too."

Aster froze and glared at Harry, but he still mumbled out a positive answer before retreating to get Reinhard.

"I had thought Rosier was anything but timid," Ophelia remarked, Harry noticing that while he'd had his back to her in speaking with Aster that the girl had quietly entrenched herself at his side.

"He normally isn't timid, probably caught him on a bad day." Harry defended his friend, hoping he'd not crush the other boy's chances with the girl he seemed to be fond of.

Minutes had begun to pass while the four of them waited for Aster and Reinhard. Harry, having spent plenty of time around Slytherins by now, knew what an opportunity it was to be around the daughter of House Greengrass. Only earlier this month was he told how influential her family could be and as he'd begun to make a habit of reading through the Daily Prophet, he'd seen recent flexes of that power.

Very wisely, he chose to use the time his friends wasted to make idle talk with Ophelia Greengrass.

He'd started with the basics of any conversation; asking questions such as her hobbies, preferred shops and so on. That had lasted for another couple of minutes until the girl either saw through his intentions or could wait no longer in asking her own - she questioned him on his opinion of Wizarding Britain, effectively changing the course of discussion from niceties to something more serious.

Harry had told Ophelia and the girls beside her that he enjoyed Hogwarts so far, the magical community as well. When they stayed in silence and eyed him critically, he wondered if he'd given the wrong answer before Florence, the seemingly shyest of the group, asked him something else. It was in reference to his 'family', with the girl asking if they would ever give an accounting of the time that'd passed while they were in hiding. A queer question to be certain, but Ophelia's rebuking of the girl's obsession with history and journalism was all he needed to get a basic understanding of Florence's personality.

Ophelia's speaking had also saved him from answering, as the time had come when his two friends finally decided to join the waiting group.

Aster and Reinhard both appeared slightly more put together than usual, with their hair being less sloppy and their uniforms finely tucked. Harry mentally high-fived himself for setting his mates up and assuming correctly that Aster was interested in the Greengrass girl.

Unfortunately, when the group had seated itself at the Slytherin table, that wasn't the case.

Aster was greeted by Ophelia as 'cousin', the girl then looked him over with the same critical look Harry received and smiled, remarking that Aster was finally presentable. Aster said nothing in response.

Harry would go on to spend that breakfast with the girl, answering unimportant questions she'd asked with her doing the same in turn. All in all, unimportant could be used to describe more than just the conversation they had while eating, but it had set a precedent.

On the following morning when Harry had come down from breakfast and waited in a seat for his two friends, another group had been waiting for him; this time instead of a trio of witches, it was the Slytherin Quidditch team.

Harry had very much enjoyed the lighter conversation and distraction the team provided. As for the most part while in his company, they talked about the various star players and winning teams currently playing; the Cannons were still rubbish however, it seemed that was one of the things that refused to change no matter what time he would go to. When they moved on from the discussion of professional teams and over to that of the schools, he noticed something different from that of his teammates. Each and every Slytherin player seemed to know the game inside and out. Their knowledge was so great that they could directly quote the rules book and even pieces of trivia - such as the name change from Quijudge to Referee! Harry had never known that and when the discussion shift of ethically grey rule breakings was passed, he almost felt like he was seated with the Gryffindor team he'd played for in the future.

The morning following the Quidditch Team, it was a group of Fourth Years with powerful family names backing them. Powerful enough to warrant Harry's attention if he knew what was good for him - and he did. As unexceptional as they all were in their attempts to act older and more sophisticated, Harry found he enjoyed the change of pace from the seriousness Riddle's older crowd provided.

By the end of his first week and with more pockets of Riddle's group speaking with him, he'd gotten used to interacting with nearly half of Slytherin House.

Such popularity had the positive side effect of bringing Harry so far from his comfort zone that three weeks later he regularly interacted without awkwardness or too much reservation with his housemates. It had also led to his plan of eventually speaking with Aster, Corene and Reinhard all separately in regards to Riddle's words; he had to make sure they weren't forced on him - but that wouldn't happen during the month, no, he was far too busy for that (much to his annoyance).

One downside that had made itself abundantly clear in that first week? A severe lack of privacy wherever he ended up within the Castle.

Weeks two and three would be easier for him in that regard as the thought had struck him while he avoided the main halls to simply enter into a classroom and set up the privacy spell taught to him by Aster. If it worked on the beds in the fifth year dorms, what's to say it couldn't work in a classroom?

He'd tried it two days into the second week and had been met with success, he almost believed it was due to the desperation in which he cast the spell but knew it to be folly. Magic wouldn't care how much he needed and wanted somewhere private that wasn't Slytherin's study.

From that day onwards, Harry had begun cleaning up that long unused classroom and making adjustments to it. He'd moved around desks, transferred furniture and freshened up the smell of the place, by the time he was finished it almost looked passable as a parlour room. In the evenings or whenever he was in need of time alone, he'd make an exit from the common room or wherever he'd be at the time and come to the refuge he'd set up.

Obviously, it didn't stay secret for long - how could it when Riddle was in Hogwarts with him?

Week two would go on to be very similar to week one in regards to others of Slytherin house seeking him out for discussion. In that time and as a direct result of all those he'd met, Harry would finally come to understand that his being on guard whenever in the presence of somebody wearing green was unnecessary. Many Slytherin students that he'd met by the second week would act the same as those in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. So much so that Harry doubted he'd be able to tell their house if he'd met them outside of the school.

That wasn't to say that they all were similar to their peers in other houses; some lived up to the prejudice against Slytherin.

Like Brandon Barracus for example, a young heir to a new and upcoming Pureblood house that Riddle had tentatively let in the circle; he had heard that from Aster surprisingly enough.

Harry briefly exited his thinking over the first two weeks that had passed as he laughed loudly in his bed, recalling how big a fool Brandon Barracus had made of himself within only hours of knowing the boy.

A conversation had been taking place between Aster and Reinhard, both of the boys having very limited interactions with Muggles which resulted in a differing of opinions.

Harry had heard Aster say that they should be coerced into a subservient role and treated similar to house-elves - it would save countless lives on both sides and prevent the muggles from destroying the planet. Reinhard disagreed; muggles threatened the very existence of magicals and something needed to be done - though when pressed for what the something was, he didn't seem to have an opinion.

Both boys would turn to Harry so they could hear from him, but he waved them off and explained he was still very recently introduced to magical society - how could he have any clue as to what to think for the muggle one?

Harry had his own opinion on the subject at hand, but he couldn't offer it up with the company he was currently keeping. Instead, he went with no answer as means of not showing how uncomfortable their stances were to him; muggles were people he'd spent a large portion of his life around after all. He knew they were barely any different than your average witch or wizard.

Barracus had been next and he said 'Muggles don't bother me'.

Aster and Reinhard had responded much the same way, with both saying that Barracus was ignorant of them if he thought that.

If Harry had been him, he'd have admitted to a mistake and not tried to join in on that specific topic; trying to impress anybody while being fully ignorant of a subject as Barracus was could prove to be a far too embarrassing first meeting. Unfortunately, Harry wasn't Barracus and as such, the boy didn't heed Harry's untold warning.

Barracus puffed out his chest at a lull in the conversation, saying loudly 'You show the same prowess as squibs if you're so concerned about them.'

If he were trying to impress Harry by his air of superiority, he'd earned a Troll.

Worse yet, he'd turned the ire from Harry's friends onto himself, as they both encircled him and began giving him a piece of their mind. It was a sight to behold when the boy finally routed, his hair turned to feathers and his robes multiple colours from the jinxes Aster had cast.

Week three had been the most eventful; week four funnily enough was the least.

Towards the beginning of that third week, Harry had entered into the quiet classroom he'd come to consider his retreat on an evening in which he had very little work to do. He had hoped to relax in the quiet room so he could think over what to do in regards to the book Walburga had given him as well as his sneaking into the Chamber of Secrets for Slytherin's journal. Both things would need doing, and soon, lest he falls further behind Riddle than he already was.

Harry admitted to himself that the strange yearning to return to Slytherin's study also played a part in his excelling of his plans to find out the contents of the book and journal.

Rather than let any plans come to fruition on that evening, fate had other ideas for him.

Harry had entered and closed the door stealthily; he then marched towards his favourite large leather chair he'd spent most of his time in the room sat in.

Once he took it and settled in, Riddle's voice sounded.

"Good evening, Harry."

He'd jolted upwards in his seat at the same time he turned towards the sound of the voice and saw the girl seated in the far corner with a fireplace burning a few feet from her. On either side in chairs much resembling his own, were Corene and Daphne, both looked equally as relaxed as Riddle appeared to be.

Harry thanked his foresight that he'd not brought anything important to the classroom, for if he had, Riddle assuredly would have gone through it.

"Good evening Riddle, Corene… Daphne." Harry wasn't at all eager to be in the presence of Daphne, the girl was arrogant and rude; the way in which he said her name told anybody in the room what he thought of her. Its effects may have been dampened, however, as Harry had shown a touch of shortness in his tone when greeting them.

"You cleaned this place up nicely," Riddle said, gesturing around the room, "Though I can't help but feel it's missing something quite vital."

Daphne snorted and shook her head.

Harry could guess what Riddle was getting at; she was wondering why he'd not warded the place or tried to keep it closer to his chest. As much as he'd like to say that he didn't care or it didn't bother him who used the room, he couldn't.

Riddle could read him better than most and she'd shown that ability before.

Instead of playing into her hand, Harry told her quite bluntly to get the point of her visit.

That didn't seem to bother Riddle; the girl lounged back into the seat and stretched with all the grace of a cat. Harry couldn't help it if his eyes roamed the girls figure as she did so and based on the glance she'd given him when her eyes were focused back on his, she'd noticed as much.

"What is it this time?" Harry asked her again, not wanting to play the typical game of back and forth the girl seemed to love so much.

Riddle didn't respond and kept staring at him in silence, her smile growing as she took in the shortness that was manifesting on his body.

Corene caught his attention as she adjusted herself to sit perfectly within his view, once he made eye contact with her, she spoke up, "Do you have anything you'd like to pass along to us, Harry?"

He'd not be given the chance to respond to her when Daphne harshly whispered something into the other girl's ear.

Harry didn't need to hear the words to something unbecoming had been said; Corene's turning away from him and the minor flinch she'd given was all he'd needed. Still, he understood the gesture as soon as it'd been given - Corene had spoken out of turn while in the presence of two the only two people she likely feared.

That wouldn't be forgotten when the time came to speak with her, nor would it be forgotten right this instant; any chance to knock Daphne off her high horse was one he'd take.

"Will you be sharing what you said to Corene?" Harry asked Daphne, the former standing up from his seat and making his way over to one far closer. He hoped to look mildly intimidating as he did so, but he would settle for anything that unsettled the older girl.

"No." Was Daphne's eloquently worded response, the older girl not even bothering to look towards him longer than the second necessary to respond.

Harry took offence to that; but what could he do? Duelling the girl to knock her down a peg was out of the question. Sure, he'd beaten Abraxas, but it was a close thing. Avery was considered towards the top and from what Harry had witnessed in the common room, he wouldn't last long against the boy - hearing Daphne was second best only added to his knowing that victory through force was impossible thus far.

That left him with the second option of somehow causing the girl social problems, be it with the group at large or Riddle alone. With that on his mind, he thought on his feet as he so usually did and fired off a remark at Riddle.

"I'd like to ease up on our tutoring schedule, at least for the time being - perhaps twice a week."

It was the best he could think of in the moment, not to mention it wasn't fully a lie when all was considered - he truly did need some additional time for himself.

Regardless, he would be fine if she agreed with him or took offence enough to chastise Daphne to some degree - the latter was preferable of course.

He didn't think Riddle would find both agreeable, not if the girl wasn't manipulative in her intentions, the cutting off from his company would be something she wouldn't want, twice so if one considered the rumours involving Walburga.

When Harry tentatively risked a glance towards Riddle, he could see the smile that'd been on her face still present as ever and figured that she may take him up on the ending of a few sessions. For some reason, he was hit with a feeling of loss at that, but that fleeting feeling didn't last very long when he looked at her more thoroughly; her eyes conveyed the annoyance she felt, as did the flaring of his nostrils and twitching of her hands. Not for the first time since he knew her, Riddle was playing with that ring on her left hand's middle finger - it always seemed to calm her down.

When she finally spoke, it was in the tone she only used when being explicitly serious.

"Why would that be, Harry?" Even the manner in which she'd usually say his name had changed - there was no warmth or sensual tones in it, only coolness and indifference.

Harry considered turning back on the path he'd taken, but he knew that if he buckled here he'd only continue to do so and all further attempts to stand up for himself would be undermined. That was something in which he doubled down on when taking in the smugness on Daphne's face and the caution on Corene's.

"My reasons are my own," Harry responded, standing, or rather sitting firmly.

Riddle locked her eyes on him and waited… and waited… neither Harry nor her spoke as they gazed at one another.

Finally, Riddle must have seen that he wouldn't say anything more and turned so fast towards Daphne that her hair whipped about in the still room. He next saw her lean in and say something to the smug Seventh Year, her voice raising for a few seconds as her neck visibly strained. When she pulled back, Harry took in how Daphne looked far from pleased and before he could guess why she, stood up.

"I apologize for my lack of decorum, Heir Peverell," Daphne said, looking back at Riddle who only snapped her fingers. With a sigh, Daphne walked over to stand in front of him, "Should you require anything in apology, ask it of me now."

While there were numerous things Harry could have been petty with, he decided against them. Anything that he would want would only further deteriorate the already rubbish relationship between them and likely would relay to others that he relied on Riddle - something that wasn't fully incorrect.

"Nothing but what I presume you already know." He hoped the girl wasn't daft enough to think he'd done it for himself - he couldn't care less if she were rude to him, it was his friends that nobody would be forgiven in messing with. Then again, this was all based on the preconception that Corene was his friend and that she'd not made advancements only to report back to Riddle.

He really needed to make time for speaking with her in private but said time was a luxury he found himself with less and less after Riddle had put the okay out to speak with him.

Daphne said nothing and made a bid to return to her seat.

"Tell the others we'll be a bit longer - you can share with them the information that Slughorn provided too," Riddle said that as Daphne came within feet of her seat.

Harry had almost forgotten about Professor Slughorn; the man had yet to set up another meeting for his 'Slug Club', something in which he was told was quite unusual. What only added on to speculations of potential retirement or medical complication was the extensive time their Head of House spent with Professor Dumbledore. Both men would often be seen together with varying degrees of annoyance or sorrow on their faces.

Daphne stood still for a moment, looking at Riddle as if she didn't understand what the girl had said to her. When Riddle arched an eyebrow and motioned to the door, Daphne shook off whatever had gotten into her and followed through with the command given.

Harry waited for Daphne to be out of the room when he asked her what she had meant about Slughorn and Riddle divulged that Professor Slughorn had finally put out notice that he was doing a meeting; Harry was invited, as were most of Riddle's inner circle.

After she'd said that, Harry had asked if that was all she'd come to speak with him about. Riddle looked at him for a second before looking over at Corene, the girl then reminded him of her earlier words, those being if he had anything he'd like to pass over to them.

He lied smoothly, telling them he could think of nothing, though based on the knowing looks from them both, they knew of the book one of Walburga's followers had 'dropped' at his feet.

For whatever reason, Riddle didn't press it and rather than go down any other serious matter, she asked him if there was anything she could do to improve his sanctuary; Harry took her up on that offer even if it meant having her spend time with him in it occasionally.

Having Riddle and a few others spending time in it was far better than having the entire school using it.

As for his fourth week, well, it was a complete waste of time.

He'd continued to spend time with other Slytherins, used his remaining free time in his classroom - where Riddle would sometimes be waiting for him to go over minute things - and in the late evenings with his roommates asleep, tried going over an absurd amount of books from the library which could potentially teach him a spell to detect any magic on an object.

While not unsuccessful in finding two spells that could detect magic as well as feed him the type that it was, the problem came in the form that nothing stood out when he used it. Harry didn't often doubt himself - before being sent back in time his confidence had gotten him through many trials, but he knew that something about the book had played with his mind when he'd picked it up. Whatever that subtle magic was, he wouldn't be able to comprehend much less despell so long as he kept failing in casting the spell.

After he'd failed to make any progress on the book, he'd switched his attention to the Chamber of Secrets; getting in should've been an incredibly easy task in comparison to most he'd been given when sent to this world.

Only it wasn't.

Midway through the fourth week, Harry stealthily made his way to the girl's bathroom in which the entrance was located. He'd taken extreme care to ensure nobody was following him by using a disillusionment charm and doubling back multiple times. If only he'd had his cloak - everything would have been far less complex.

Once he was certain the room was empty he took a tentative few steps in; water was present on the ground in this year just as it'd be fifty in the future.

His steps had made enough noise not only to cause him reminiscing but also to alert the ghost that called the bathroom home.

Moaning Myrtle had come flying out from her stall and shrieking all the while. While she wasn't able to do overly much to Harry, her shrieking that echoed in the stone walls proved to be more than enough.

Harry was forced to retreat at the loud wailing, fearing the questions that would be asked if his presence was found out. He cursed whoever had sent him back that they'd not done so a year earlier - he'd have been able to save a life and gain access to the information he so desperately needed.

Once Harry made his way back to the Slytherin common room, more specifically the boy's dorms, he began thinking what his next course of action would be.

He'd need to wait for attention on the bathroom to be directed elsewhere, but knowing Hogwarts that would only take a few days. Less even, should the staff prove to be as incompetent as they were in his time.

Harry recoiled when he'd thought that; it wasn't necessarily untrue, a majority of them were excellent professors but seemed to lack a connection with the students in their care. He'd always known that they weren't the best, but he'd never have thought so poorly of them before. It had to be Riddle's and the others' influence that had changed his opinion on the staff - yes, that was it.

Assured that his opinion had been momentarily debased due to those around him, Harry went to bed without recognizing the subtle changes that'd taken place due to the company he'd kept for the last couple of months. If he would have paid more attention to some wise words from Arthur, Harry would have recognized what was happening.

As the man had once quoted to him 'You are the sum of your five closest friends'.

Aster and Reinhard would have to be in that number, but who were the others?

On his final day of the month, the evening before this current one, Harry had tried a second time to enter into the Chamber of Secrets - unlike his first attempt, he'd waited until curfew had set in to decrease his chances of running into any potential problems.

Sneaking out of the common room had been incredibly easy, he noted while in the act - disillusioned as he was, nobody paid attention to him in the slightest. That grew his confidence, though not nearly as much as the victorious duel that had set into motion a fair few things.

Initially using the same approach of disillusionment and doubling back, Harry once again found himself outside the entrance to the bathroom. He wasn't an expert in searching for wards or any type of spell that had been set up to act as a warning, but he knew the basics if anybody had been lazy enough to do them.

A quick wave of his wand and the muttering of an incantation told him that no such luck would be found - if anybody had laid Runes or Spellwork at the entrance, he'd be unable to detect it.

Here he was granted the gift of choice; did he enter in and attempt to slide down into the chamber, ignoring any magic that had been put up, if any - or - Should he play it safe, choosing to come back another time, potentially letting his paranoia get the better of him?

Harry went with option A, he wouldn't be deterred from gaining access to the journal that could very well prove pivotal to an eventual end of the Dark Lady long before her rise to power.

With his disillusionment still active and extremely careful steps around the shallower parts of the water, or in some cases, where it was unfathomably dry, he began to make his way over to the sink.

At roughly the halfway mark, a feminine clearing of the throat alerted him that his second option had been the correct one.

Harry dropped the spell concealing him and turned around without pause - if he were caught, he wanted to act like he wasn't doing anything more suspicious than he already was. That of course being a fifth-year boy in an abandoned girls lavatory with water all across the floor. Expecting a Professor, Harry was sorely disappointed and more than a little concerned when the girl standing in the doorway was Riddle.

He hoped that his face failed in giving anything away as he met Riddle's eyes; it was a risky move to be sure, he'd heard of her prowess in the mind arts back in his own timeline as well as in this one too, but he hoped by acting like he had nothing to hide that she'd assume he didn't.

"Good evening, Harry."

Riddle's voice wasn't in the no-nonsense tone, that was a good start.

Harry smiled and made his way closer to her, "Go-

Myrtle interrupted him as she came bursting from her stall, the beginnings of another screech on the air.

Harry in turn made for the exit as quickly as he could, sloshing loudly in the water while motioning for Riddle to leave too. But the girl didn't do that, instead, her wand appeared in her hand as she waved it halfheartedly.

He'd initially thought Riddle had silenced Myrtle or perhaps froze her, turning around he could see it was neither of the two options, the ghost was simply gone.

"How'd you do that?" He all but demanded she tell him, the spell could come in handy for his next attempt.

Riddle cocked her head, smiled, and put a hand out, "Come with me and I'll teach you."

Harry knew better than to simply take her hand after her finding him in the bathroom, but at the same time, he knew that if he didn't, he'd look more suspicious than he already was. With that in mind, Harry crossed the remaining distance between them and stood beside her. He didn't take her hand however, as it was something he normally wouldn't do when with the girl.

She pouted at his lack of contact but laughed it off as she pressed against him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Your caution is always amusing - don't you think I'd have done something by now if I truly had any ill will towards you?"

Harry allowed the girl to lead him from the bathroom and in the direction of the… kitchens?

"Are we headed to the kitchens?" He couldn't think of anything else but empty classrooms along the path they were taking.

"Yes, I was on my way for a snack while at the end of my patrol when I glimpsed you going into the girl's lavatory; will you be shedding any light on that or will I be forced to make assumptions?" Riddle's smile looked mischievous and her personality had switched from her usual self to a more playful persona.

He wasn't sure why that'd happened, nor was he sure if it was real, but he wouldn't complain if it made Riddle in a more placid mood.

"I wanted to see Moaning Myrtle, people talk pretty often about her and so naturally, I was curious." His lie had rolled off his tongue in the moment.

Riddle glanced down at him, examining his face and not even a second later she pressed herself closer again. He wasn't aware if she knew that she'd sighed as she snuggled against him, but he wouldn't complain - the situation wasn't completely unpleasant.

"You were lucky I sent her away when I did, her screeching almost made Aster deaf one night when he'd decided to throw objects through her - I suggest you ask him for more information on something before heading off towards it," Riddle seemed to assume Aster had told him about Myrtle - he wouldn't correct her.

"Thanks for that," Harry replied before rubbing the back of his neck, "Would've been pretty awkward to explain if a Professor had come."

Riddle agreed based on the humming sound she made and the way in which her hand grasped his.

"By your saying that, you would agree that you're indebted to me then, correct?" Riddle had asked him - the question immediately set him on edge and he looked slightly upwards at her.

"Minorly at most - I probably wouldn't have gotten in too much trouble considering how new I am." Harry defended, hoping to deter whatever angle the girl attached to him was working towards.

"Minorly works well enough for me," Riddle came to a halt as the pair stood outside the entrance to the kitchens, "We've arrived at our destination."

Harry looked at the painting and back to Riddle, the girl had moved from beside him and over to beside the large painting of a fruit bowl.

When she noticed him switch his attention to her, she gave him a pointed glance in the direction of the pear - Harry quickly deduced the meaning and walked over to it. Once he was within arms reach of the fruit, he tickled it and was greeted with a doorknob that, when opened, revealed a bustling bunch of House Elves. All of them were going about various tasks but upon the opening of the door, he was greeted with dozens of pairs of large eyes looking widely at him.

Riddle slid past him into the doorway, her hand brushing his as she did so.

"We would like hot chocolate," Riddle declared to the elves and when she turned to Harry after having said that, she smiled and shrugged at his look, "This type of date is far superior so I'm told."

He sputtered and his eyes followed after the girl who'd moved to take a seat at a small table in the corner of the room.

Even now, laying in bed a night after that interaction happened, he couldn't believe how normal that 'date' had been. Especially when he'd been found in a space Riddle ought to be more protective over - perhaps Aster being Aster had come in to help yet again, though Harry would have to have words with the boy if he was throwing books through Myrtle too often.

All in all, during his mental recounting of the last four weeks, he came to the conclusion that the month had been incredibly useful in allowing him to finally ease up to some degree.

No longer did he feel the tension or stress that had been a constant presence from the very day he was sent back - looking back on them, he suspected those feelings had been the ones to make him more lethargic during his first few weeks in this timeline. Why they hadn't continued to do so was beyond him, but if he had to hedge a guess, perhaps they'd lessened ever so slowly as time had gone by.

Harry rolled over once in his bed, looking in the direction of the windows that allowed him to see under the lake - the sight always caught him off guard in the tranquillity it presented. Not even Gryffindor tower's view could compare to something as unique as that.

For a few moments, as he dozed off while enamoured with the view, he allowed every need or want to be washed away like the current was doing to the little specs of debris floating throughout the water. Those few moments were the most at ease and relaxed he'd felt since coming to understand what the magical world was like.

Sadly, like all good things, it came to an end when a passing thought of his friends hit him.

Due to the business of the month that'd passed, he'd not had the time to speak with them all individually - regardless of how much he'd wanted to. It was something that had been a priority since that night he'd spoken with Riddle, but through sheer lack of time, he'd been unable to do it.

That couldn't stand any longer - he knew he would have to speak with them sooner rather than later and he'd be damned if any more of Riddle's group got between him and that goal.

October 23rd, 1943

Saturday Morning

"Shhh," a voice woke Harry in a whisper, coming from his left side - the one without the window view; it took only a few seconds for the fog of sleep to raise before he realized that not only had somebody woken him up, they'd also put a hand over his mouth to prevent any noise.

Startled, Harry shook off the offender and turned to see who it was - Reinhard was quietly beside him with a look of urgency on his face.

Feeling a bit short due to the manner in which he was woken up, Harry asked in a clipped tone, "What?"

Reinhard raised both hands and gestured for him to keep it down. When the larger boy saw the look Harry was sending him, he eased up and spoke.

"Aster's birthday's tomorrow mate."

Harry hadn't known that, but he still didn't see how that led to the need of his being woken up earlier than he'd wanted to.

"Yeah?"

Reinhard nodded, "Yeah," the larger boy peaked from around the curtains of Harry's bed and in the direction of Aster's, likely checking to see if the final piece of their trio was awake, "Think you could do me a favour?"

At this moment, Harry realized any hopes of a short conversation were dashed and raised himself to a sitting position in the bed. He sleepily rubbed the sleep from his blurry morning vision and motioned for Reinhard to get out with it, which the boy did without the need for any further prompting.

"You see, I ordered Aster a gift that may not be considered Hogwarts appropriate. Naturally, my family had it delivered to a friend over in Hogsmeade rather than risk its confiscation - I had hoped its arrival would have been sooner, but it wasn't," Reinhard briefly paused as he shook his head and looked disappointed, "Going to get retrieve the item isn't necessarily difficult, not in the slightest - at least not for a two-man group."

Ah, there it was - Reinhard wanted Harry to accompany the boy to the village on a weekend in which they weren't supposed to go.

"Sure." Harry didn't need to think it over, Aster and Reinhard had grown on him to a point he'd take the risk as presented.

"Really?" Reinhard's eyes widened at the surety of Harry's response as if the boy never had anybody so willing to do a favour for him.

"Yes," Harry responded with a shrug, not understanding why it was such a big deal that he'd agreed to help a friend out.

"Thank you Pev!" Reinhard said loudly as he pulled Harry into a bearlike hug.

Harry managed to squeeze out a "Shhh!" before the remaining air was forced from his lungs.

Reinhard paid it no mind and when he pulled back from the hug, had a look of contemplation on his face. Harry of course picked up on it the moment he'd once again been able to see his friends face.

"What's wrong?"

Reinhard laughed loudly, causing Harry to again attempt at quieting him down - that was when the realisation struck him that he might know what had tickled Reinhard.

With a straight face, Harry asked his larger friend, "You never took down the privacy spell did you?"

Based on the laughing he got in response, that answer was a resounding no; Harry had been woken up in such a startling manner due to a simple oversight.

Brilliant.

After that morning wake up and conversation with Reinhard, Harry attempted to fall back asleep for the thirty or so minutes that he could.

Ten minutes of laying in bed and switching from staring out the window or to the ceiling later, he dressed after a quick shower and made his way to the common room. What greeted him upon his entrance were a handful of Slytherins, all of whom were upper years.

"You're awake early."

Harry turned to see who'd spoken to him and saw Emilene in the corner with Aster's sister, Druella. It had been the former who'd greeted him.

"I suppose I am," Harry replied as he walked over to the two girls and took a seat beside Druella, "Aster's birthday is coming up soon, yeah?"

Druella turned her attention from Emilene to him, "Yes, do you need some advice on what to get him?"

"Isn't his birthday tomorrow? Anything I'd get him would be late." Harry wanted to confirm it wasn't a prank from the other two boys, not that he thought it was.

"Yes it's tomorrow," Druella confirmed, her eyes then darted over to the entrance of the boy's dorms before returning to him, "I imagine you could find a solution to that particular problem if you looked for it."

Harry thanked her; it wasn't a prank and she seemed to think similar to Reinhard that Hogwarts wasn't too big an obstacle.

"My question stands, did you need advice on what he'd like?" Druella reminded him that he'd not answered her question.

"I have a few ideas but I wouldn't be opposed to hearing what you think he'd like." Harry figured that was a good response; he already knew what he'd likely grab his friend but if Druella had some groundbreaking item that Aster wanted, he would jump at the opportunity.

Druella smiled and nodded slightly, "Aster would appreciate anything you might grab him that involves pranks or that provide an edge in his learning, as you very well know by now based on the closeness in which you exhibit," Harry nodded along, he knew exactly what the girl meant, "What you likely don't know about him, is the fondness he has for other countries - he doesn't go about sharing it with many people due to the more isolationist ideals many here have."

Harry took that as odd and when she'd paused, he questioned her.

"Why share that with me?"

"Emilene is a close family friend, as such, she's already aware of it. As for you, I can't imagine you'd share any view that's remotely isolationist after having spent a majority of your life hidden away in a home joined only by family." Druella wasn't wrong, Harry held positive opinions on more than a few nations of the world and once he reached adulthood, wanted to visit them.

"You're right," Harry said, agreeing with the girl's guesswork before further asking her which countries Aster wanted to visit.

Druella's response had been that Aster held no preference, his goal simply being to visit every nation that existed during his lifetime - so far their family had already hit some of the more obvious ones, those being France, the United States, Canada, Spain and Italy. They'd only recently stopped leaving Britain within the last few years due to the war that had kicked off throughout the world.

As soon as Druella had finished saying that, she'd stood up from her seat in sync with Emilene, both girls eyes trained over his shoulder - Harry could guess at who.

"Thank you Rosier, Nott." He said to them both as he too stood up.

"Please, call me Druella - and it was my pleasure too," she paused, mulling something over in her head until she decided to say it, "I must admit I was rather curious about you - how could I not be after seeing how close you've gotten with my brother in such a short amount of time? I half thought only Reinhard and that Yaxley boy would ever be close with Aster."

He hadn't a chance to respond before Druella walked away with Emilene beside her, both girls making their way over to Riddle and subsequently out the exit of the Slytherin common room, leaving him with only a handful of Slytherin's who were sat in two groups - one of them being Walburga's with the girl herself present.

Had Riddle not noticed or did she simply not care?

Harry couldn't contemplate that for very long before the girl was on him; Walburga seemed to have tired of waiting for him to seek her out and seized the opportunity Riddle's absence along with those in her group provided.

"Hello, Heir Peverell." Walburga curtseyed and smiled at him - he couldn't help but compare the image to that of Riddle's.

Walburga's smile was false, failing to light up her face and eyes with the gesture; Riddle's had always appeared meaningful, even if they weren't - he wasn't able to tell the difference but he hoped that not every smile was a way for her to manipulate him.

Harry shuffled back half a foot, putting a bit more distance between him and Walburga as he responded.

"Hello, Scion Black."

He noticed the twitch on her face after he'd said that but couldn't read into it anymore when another voice greeted him from the direction of the girl's dorms.

"Good morning Harry, good morning Scion Black. "

Corene had appeared with perfect timing… a little too perfect when he thought of it, but that wasn't the problem at the forefront of his mind.

Walburga's dark look at Corene mixed with the subtle movement was.

Smartly - or stupidly, depending on the person - he stepped between the two girls and waited for them to speak.

Walburga did so first, "Heir Peverell, I was hoping you'd join myself and the others for a conversation this morning now that you seem to have adapted to the school."

Corene shifted slightly on her feet, "I too was hoping to borrow you for a time, Harry. Perhaps breakfast if you'd not be opposed."

Both of them were watching him expectantly, waiting to see the choice he'd make; Walburga doing so with a sneer directed at Corene and Corene appearing expressionless as she usually did.

His choice wasn't a hard one.

He went with Corene.