Echoes of Time (Harry Potter)

January 29, 1943

Saturday Morning

"Where are we headed?" Harry asked once the pair of them climbed up into the carriage.

"I can't very well tell you, now can I? As much as the both of us loathe surprises, this is one that I'll have to do - it'll be worth it," Elaine's confident smile and her words did little to alleviate Harry's worry. "While we're waiting for arrival, why don't we discuss something that I feel we've let linger for far too long?"

"And what's that?" Harry asked, fearing he already knew where the topic was being directed.

Elaine tutted at him and shook her head.

"Come now, did you truly think I'd drop our little conversation over Yule? I've suspected since that evening we first met that there's more to you than meets the eye. Why else would you be so reserved… so cautious, around me?" - Elaine pointed back and forth between the two of them - "Something exists between us, I've felt it all too often. Even if you've not felt it as I have, even if you doubt me, we both know there are far too many similarities between us."

"Enough," Harry said firmly, cutting Elaine off. "I don't know what you're talking about in regards to anything, and those similarities, well, I can't think of all that many."

Elaine watched him as the seconds began ticking by, her face unreadable, the only sign of her being alive was the steady rise and fall of her chest. Harry began suspecting she was plotting something as she sat across from him, and when she utilised the next bump the carriage had to fling herself across the space until she sat next to him, he'd confirmed it. His right hand had taken hold of his wand during that same bump, something he doubted she'd seen thanks to her own action.

If she were to try something in such an enclosed space as they were now, he could do his best, maybe beat her to the draw.

"We share our lineage, Harry," She said, resting her head against his shoulder and moving both hands to grab at his left one. "My family, my true family, were descendants of the Peverells. I'd heard there'd been past relationships between our two families before the final one too."

"Yeah? How does that lead to us being similar beyond having distant relatives?" Harry's voice grew confident; if that was all she had or close to it, she should've stayed quiet.

"Impatient, aren't you?" Elaine questioned, he could feel her smiling into his shoulder before a soft bite registered. "So many wouldn't dare speak to me as you have, the thrill is… unimaginable," Elaine wiggled in her seat as she let out a soft sigh. "I know you possess a great many secrets, Harry, I'd gleaned as much during our first meeting - your mind is vast and not at all as I'd suspected it to be. Before your emergence into society, you knew of me. How would that be possible lest you were mine before you'd realised it? Don't forget I know of our shared lineage, I know of the traits you could possess… despite what you'd told me last we spoke of it, I know it was you that'd gone into my residence."

"I did-" Harry began to speak up again, his voice firm.

"Enough!" Elaine snapped, cutting him off and digging her long, painted nails into the palm of his hand until the tiniest flash of red told the both of them that she'd scratched his surface-level skin. "Do forgive me, sometimes my anger can be unpleasant and altogether overwhelming. Being alone as I've been since my earliest memories are to blame, though I'd say I'm alone no longer regardless of what lies you try telling me. I can't help but feel you've dropped your end of our bargain, the one we'd made months ago about telling the truth and collapsing any plots."

Harry didn't have to see the girl's face to know that she wouldn't let this conversation end in the same way as the last had. One way or another, Elaine would get the information she'd come for and she wouldn't be le- Harry jumped when he felt her fingers glide across his recently cut skin, the small throbbing pain being wiped away with her touch.

"What did you do?" He demanded, turning to look at Elaine only to see her calm facade back in place after her mental outburst.

"I fixed the damage I'd done," Elaine said as her fingers went about playing with his again. "Hurting you in any way is unacceptable to me, I told you previously, we're fated to be together."

He didn't have anything to say in response to her words, though that wasn't to say he didn't have plenty of thoughts in regards to the woman before him. There were plenty, far too many really, and each was more absurd than the last.

Did you do something to Yaxley? Why did you open the Chamber of Secrets? What's the story about the ring you always wear? Why are you so convinced that we're meant to be? What did you see in my mind?

Harry shook his head and decided to switch his plan up on the fly. Subverting Elaine would still be his priority, as would keeping her ambitions in check, but now he had another duty to uphold that was equally as self-given as the prior two. If she were so convinced they were meant to be to the point of trying to desperately convince him while snapping to some degree, he would use that - it felt dirty, wrong and altogether what he needed to do if he wanted to keep success remotely close to his clutches.

" Are you behind Yaxley's disappearance, Elaine? " He asked, the first word alone making the girl's head spin to look up at him as he spoke in the language only the two of them knew… to the best of his knowledge.

Her face, as carefully guarded and easily disguised as he'd always seen it, broke into a myriad of emotions that he doubted she had any control over. This moment was one of the few that he could easily separate the girl before him, Elaine, from the monster he'd seen looming behind her that would later come to be her future, Voldemort.

Wonder, Joy, Happiness, Eagerness, Affection and others he couldn't register, save for the one he'd come to associate as lust based on her physical moments coming shortly after similar looks. He wondered if finally showing her that he could speak Parseltongue had been the right move, it wasn't as if he'd had a choice really, but he could've held it out longer - the one tear in the corner of her eye, one that was hastily blinked away, made him think the girl before him might not be completely evil or deranged.

That moment with the flashing of her emotions had lasted all of a few seconds before she went blank again, her eyes closed and her breathing getting put back under control.

"I knew you were mine."

Those were the first words she spoke nearly thirty seconds later when she'd firmly reestablished herself.

Harry wanted to retort those words, but he held the urging back; it wouldn't do, ruining the moment with her, nor would it be worth risking what he hoped to establish tonight. So, he contented himself with staying silent and watching the landscape pass them by through the carriage window. Elaine didn't seem in a hurry to speak either, not after he'd used Parseltongue for the first time in her presence.

Oddly enough, she kept herself at his side and if anything, pressed against him harder. His arm was squeezed between her chest with both of hers holding it in place as she rested her head in the crook of his neck - the few inches of height she had on him made that all the easier for her. It wouldn't last forever, he knew, she was likely savouring being right in her assumptions as much as she was enjoying having another who could understand her better than the others. Parseltongue was rare with much prejudice around it, he remembered from his time at Hogwarts. If it were even half as bad in the forties as it'd been in the nineties, she couldn't be blamed for latching onto him as she was.

As he knew would happen and as it had to happen, the carriage eventually reached its final destination of the courtyard where they'd entered it from earlier in the day. He was reluctant to disembark, Elaine's quiet, cuddly mood was far more pleasant than whatever machinations she'd have when the two of them went down into the Chamber, assuming that was what she wanted the pair of them to do. Moreover, he hoped his surprise had been enough to shock her away from him for the time being, it'd give the both of them some space to think what came next.

She had other plans though.

Elaine had refused to let go of his arm even when the pair of them had made their exit from the carriage. It'd be an understatement if he called their manoeuvring out awkward in every interpretation.

Once that'd happened and the carriage was once more filled with peers of theirs, she silently used the hand she still held captive to pull the both of them in the direction of one of the many staircases Hogwarts had. He didn't understand why she was choosing to go further from the girl's bathroom where Myrtle's ghost was, but he figured she wanted an increase in time together.

It wasn't until the two of them stopped in front of a larger painting that stretched from the ceiling to the floor and from one pillar to the next that he realised what she'd done.

" Do you only know of the one entrance, Harry? " Elaine asked in a teasing lilt, those being the first words they'd spoken since midway through their journey back.

"You're awfully confident nobody's around if you're willing to speak that out in the halls," Harry said, sliding the topic away from something that'd embarrass him and over to something that should do the same to her.

"Nobody's around, and I'll take that lack of an answer as an affirmative, Harry," - Elaine beckoned him closer to her, those dark eyes of her all the more alluring with the makeup she'd adorned for their date - "Come, allow me to show you another entrance to our heritage, one that we'll show to our children one day. When our positions are secure."

Our children? Harry questioned inwardly, wincing at the thought for a myriad of reasons.

"You didn't answer how you know nobody's around, or the question I'd asked you in the carriage, the one in relation to our friend," Harry said as he drew closer to the girl, his confidence in her unwillingness to harm him removing the earlier doubt he'd felt.

Elaine glanced at him.

"Call it… intuition. As for the latter question, I can say to you with absolute certainty that I, nor any of those within our group, had anything to do with it. I've checked with all of them and prior to this unfortunate incident, I made sure they all knew what happens when they scheme against one another," She paused, slid her tongue across her lips and looked at him with that familiar, crazy-eyed look she'd had on earlier. "Competition can reaffirm its position in our little order when I've ensured it won't be detrimental to its running. Now, further questions can be asked in the safety of our Chamber, wouldn't you agree?"

Harry watched her for a few seconds, looking for any signs of, well, anything that would make him second guess the action he was about to take. When none presented themselves, he took in a steadying breath and motioned towards the piece of art.

"Yes, open the passage."

Merlin, he hoped he wasn't making a mistake… but something told him that hope wasn't needed.

Elaine's satisfied look helped him ease up, even as she ran her hand in a way that resembled a snake over the picture of a Lion; one that was done up in a morning background that strongly resembled the colours of his house. When it gave way to an entrance, one that had Snakes carved into the tunnels easily viewable from where they stood looking in, he imagined Slytherin had used that painting for his own amusement. Harry may not know all that much about the founders of Hogwarts, but if their relationships were anywhere close to those of their house, Gryffindor would've been pretty annoyed by the perversion of his artwork.

Harry hurried along when Elaine glanced over her shoulder at him and mouthed the word 'Hurry'.

Standing in the hall for anyone to see despite the out of the way place they were in certainly hadn't been his brightest idea.

"You knew of the Chamber, likely from your family, but not of the six other ways you could enter it?" Elaine's voice held a hint of superiority as the pair of them walked along a stone path with water pooling on either side of them, not unlike the one he could recall. "I don't suppose all of them are necessary to know, that you were able to find one regardless of the help you were given is still impressive… and you wonder why I'm so incessant that you're meant for me - as if more reasons were needed."

"I speak Parseltongue, we have a similar lineage, we're both in Slytherin. What else is there that has you so convinced other than the connection you insist we share?" Harry sounded a bit short even to his ears, and briefly, he wondered if it'd been a mistake.

Only briefly.

Elaine paid no attention to it, whether she missed the conflicting emotions crossing his face or if she'd been too caught up in the evening's revelations, he didn't know. All he did know was that crazy, wide, toothy smile had seldom left her face since he'd spoken their language to her. Harry knew better than to think she'd be anything less than clingy in the coming days.

"There's far far more than only those in which you'd listed that bond us, as you very well know, Harry. If you've progressed half as far as I suspect you have in that journal you'll know as much too - ah, here we are, isn't the masonry wonderful?" - Elaine gestured towards the stone carving of Slytherin's face, the very one that hid the Basilisk he'd killed some time in the future - "Tell me, Harry, how many of the secrets herein do you know? Would you know a phrase meant for calling a lovely creature that answers to us? Would you know which stone to press in order to find another exit? Which word to say to ca- I seem to be getting ahead of myself, allow me to have us enter a place in which you've already been."

Harry had been listening to the girl speak in wonder as his eyes shifted from the familiar statue to the beautiful, deadly girl in front of him. When she'd mentioned the Basilisk, he'd nearly winced, he still might have, though he thought he'd hidden it well enough. As she continued teasing the secrets of the Chamber they were in, Harry grew more and more anxious about what they were and why she was bringing them up. Only when she cut herself off, said the word necessary to once more show him the entrance to Slytherin's private quarters and gestured for him to follow her did he allow himself to feel once more at ease.

Her teasing, or her showing off with the knowledge she possessed about their 'ancestry', had been just that. Leave it to Elaine to boast regardless of the circumstances.

"I'll admit, your entering down here came as a surprise," Elaine started as the pair of them descended the stairs. "It's one thing knowing of an entrance down into the chamber as you did, another to have the ability to speak the language of our forefathers, but to know the entrance to his chambers? I half thought the wards I'd placed within had gone haywire due to your entrance of the chamber above."

"What gave it away then?" Harry asked, curious as the pair of them reached the halfway marker that gave way to a small alcove with a singular bench.

Elaine reached over and pinched his cheek with her right hand, the left having been used to hold his right since their descension.

" You ."

Harry nearly asked what she meant, but then, he remembered the error he'd made. In his hasty venture down, he'd taken the journal in Slytherin's room on advice from that very man - the one who'd spoken with him from his portrait a half dozen times or more since his finding of the study.

"I never replaced the journal," He said, watching Elaine.

"Very good," Elaine answered, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Had you done so, it would've allotted you much more time before I could confirm or prove wrong my suspicions. I'd have eventually checked the book to see if it were truly his, potentially immediately upon my next visit following yours depending on the quality you matched it. Either of those courses of action would've left you with a greater chance of surprising me."

" I still did surprise you, I know as much based on your reaction in the carriage and since then, " Harry said, using his ability once more to see the reaction it had on Elaine without any distraction this time.

As he suspected, she physically responded in numerous ways; her body shook gently, those dark eyes of hers took on a languid quality as she traced his body, the hand around his tightened with her thumb stroking the back of his hand and ever her taller height seemed to vanish as she slouched beside him to place a kiss at his temple.

All in all, he'd uncovered something very special thanks to the gift he'd been born with - Elaine answered to it.

"Surprises are something we both aren't overly fond of, though for once, I can tell you that it was very… pleasurable. To know another exists such as myself with similar traits and other keystones to who we are as people is very satisfying," - Elaine pointed between the pair of them and then towards the door, then, she stepped forward to place her hand around the handle - "Blood magic, an old, simple form of it. Slytherin placed it here to ensure the entrance would remain closed to those who weren't bearing his gift, familial connection be damned."

"And what if someone finds an entrance through another tunnel, one that we don't know about?" Harry asked as he stepped in after the girl.

Elaine laughed and shook her head at him, her right hand coming around to flick his nose.

"Why worry about something that isn't going to happen?"

Harry felt there was more to it than that, and if anyone knew, it'd be Elaine.

Perhaps the whole place was rigged to collapse if somebody gained entrance who wasn't meant to, then again, those like Slytherin weren't exactly fond of letting their legacies be destroyed. He turned to look at the portrait above the door, the one that contained the same smug-looking painting of the man that'd eventually led to Harry being called out as he was, but something very worrying happened when he found the man.

Slytherin, the man in the portrait he'd spoken with for so long, looked… different? His beard, salt and pepper as it'd been through all the conversations they'd held, was now longer, pointier and purely grey. As for the hair on his cheeks, the stubble that it'd been, it was completely gone. Merlin, even the man's facial structure seemed off.

All of those features being different as they were made Harry wonder if Elaine had somehow caused it, be it by her presence or by something more forceful.

He wouldn't ask though, not until he'd gone back and checked the version of the man back in Slytherin's study. If that version too had changed, then Harry would speak with her. Until then, he'd keep the differences to himself in hopes of finding something out about them.

"My my, you look ever so deep in thought, Harry," Elaine's voice, teasing and belittling reached his ears. "Why don't you come, have a seat with me on the couch. I'm sure we could enjoy some time with one another now that we've cleared the air so to speak. Wouldn't you enjoy that?"

Harry looked at the girl for a few seconds, he saw the smile, wide as ever still present on her face and joined with it now was a victorious, relieved sort of look. He understood why it was present, and by Merlin, he'd do what he could to keep it there.

Maybe, just maybe, if she had this right about him and figured he'd cracked, he could use the other secrets still stuffed away in his mind to influence her actions. He already learned that Parseltongue affected her, affection did too, she seemed starved of the latter especially.

He could use that.

February 28, 1943

Sunday Morning

Following Harry's interesting Hogsmeade weekend with Elaine, the pair of them went about spending nearly every other day together. Activities during those days ranged from studying with one another as they often had before the revelation to spending secluded time in Slytherin's quarters in the bottom-most part of the Chamber. During those latter ventures, Elaine would often speak with Harry exclusively in Parseltongue while sticking as close as she physically could to him; sometimes, she'd sit on his lap or pull him to the small chair to make them touch.

Those days would often be the ones where she felt stressed out over one thing or another.

On the days they would spend separate (for the most part) Harry would hunker down in Slytherin's study, reading from the journal and Yaxley's book. No more hints to the boy's condition or whereabouts had been found, after nearly a month, the Ministry had all but given up on finding him. His book did nothing to help, though Harry did learn a fair few spells more, some of which were troublesome to cast the further in he got - that was due to Yaxley's writing making less and less sense, with his descriptions taking the brunt of that damage.

Still, Harry had made heaps of progress in the month of February, all thanks to Elaine and a few books filled with helpful spells that were little known or well out of prominence. Though, all that hadn't been without downsides or events during the course of the month, it'd only been one of the easiest he'd had since attending Hogwarts in the older era.

Valentine's day had been… eventful. Dumbledore's return had been equally as fun to deal with, as had Elaine's rapid mood swings during the month and the dreams he'd begun having more of - the ones that made him wake up angry, anxious and definitely confused.

Corene and Sarah had been fun too, as had Aster and Reinhard. Those four were the only constants he had, they never changed up much of what they did, Harry was thankful for that.

"Harry, coming down for tea in the common room? Corene's elf brought some of that bloody delicious sort that we love, reckon it'll be drunk quickly," Aster called to him from across the dorms.

"No, thanks. I think I'll spend a bit more time catching up on sleep, absolutely exhausted after that late-night game of wizarding chess - I'm never drinking that late with you two dolts again either," Harry didn't mind joining his mates for some tea, it wasn't like he'd be able to get back to bed.

But truthfully, the reason for his declining the invitation was more to do with thinking about the month that'd passed than anything else… starting with Valentine's day. Merlin, it'd been something, Elaine very uniquely expressed herself then.

It'd started inherently different from most other days he'd spent at Hogwarts, that being that he wasn't woken up by the alarm he'd set, his internal clock or one of his two friends in the dorm. Instead, Harry had woken up to Abraxas shaking his shoulder and holding a finger in front of his mouth in the universal shushing gesture. That alone was very unpleasant for him to deal with, but when Harry followed the boy down to the Slytherin Common Room to greet Elaine, it was only made all the more so.

Elaine had used her influence with Slughorn to get the pair of them permission to use his private room as a sort of mock-up restaurant throughout the day. Abraxas, ever the loyal servant, would be serving the pair of them alongside a few other peers that Harry wasn't all that familiar with. Something he did pick up on was the murmurs of those around him discussing Elaine doing something for a change on Valentine's day - he hadn't thought her more romantic than lustful, but he'd been proven wrong when she presented him with a small card and a kiss on the cheek in front of a couple dozen of their housemates.

What followed that moment of affection was the girl spending the entirety of the day with Harry to the exclusion of her Prefect duties, schoolwork or conversations with those that so often followed her around. Harry thought that was very… unusual, for her of all people, but ever since that revelation of their mutual abilities and heritage, she'd been excessively clingy. Valentine's day only seemed to emphasize that point so much so that he half wondered if she'd be using a sticking charm to ensure their closeness.

Knowing her, that wasn't too far-fetched a thought.

Up until the early evening, the day had gone like that, with Elaine choosing to stay beside him and speak with him for every passing second. They'd sit in the same seat, she'd pepper his face with kisses whenever she felt like it and most of all, she'd viciously stare down any woman that approached with any semblance of a romantic personality. Only Corene and Daphne were spared from that, Sarah too, though that'd been a run-in during one of his trips to the loo; Harry was surprised Elaine had even let him go to the restroom alone.

Corene had given him a chocolate frog and he'd returned a box of truffles - her favourites, as he recalled. Daphne had given him a french chocolate fudge, one that would start melting as soon as you picked it up in your hands, such was the creaminess and delicate nature of it. He'd returned her kindness with a similar box of chocolates that he'd gotten Corene, only with more of an assortment than pure truffles.

Obviously, Elaine had been spoiled with half a dozen different types of chocolates, sweets and flowers. Aster and Reinhard had told him flowers were a must, regardless of what else you got your witch.

When the evening had finally come and passed with the pair of them enjoying a candle-light dinner sans any problems - a rarity for the pair of them - they'd made their exit alone, walking through the corridors of Hogwarts dimly lit by torches with a slight chill to the air that came from the lake. Harry looked at Elaine then, the pair of them walking hand in hand back to their destination with her face flickering as from the torchlight, her black hair done up in a braid and her dress perfectly fitting her. She looked beautiful as ever, only the dangerous qualities he could so often make out, be it by force or by her body language, were gone.

Elaine truly looked like a breathtakingly beautiful witch, her small smile, raising of her nose and caressing of his hand making her out to be a very confident, beautiful witch.

All of that changed when the pair of them came across a plane-shaped piece of parchment leisurely that darted towards them, stopping only when it reached close to Harry's hand. Elaine, ever the possessive, controlling girl that he'd come to know her as took it without any hesitation. She'd muttered something under her breath right as she did so, then, when he saw her subtle nod to herself, she opened it.

Harry could only barely make out the writing over her shoulder due to the way she'd held it, but when her grip tightened on his and she pulled them into the nearest empty classroom for a very strenuous snogging session with light-groping mixed in, he could tell that Walburga wishing him a very flirty Valentine's wouldn't go over too well.

A few weeks later, this very evening as he was thinking about the events that passed, he'd be proven right; he just didn't know it yet.

Next, he thought of Dumbledore's return and how it couldn't have come soon enough. He'd missed a lot of classes, stress and some illness getting to him, but when he'd finally returned, Dumbledore looked infinitely better. Harry was immediately thankful for that, his former mentor's health had greatly worried him, as he'd been the man that would soon defeat Grindelwald. Merlin, if things went absolutely bonkers, Dumbledore would have to be the one to help him tackle Elaine or any of her monsters that would rise if Harry alone stopped the girl from doing anything too horrible… again.

Not for the first time he wondered why he hadn't been sent back earlier before Myrtle had been killed or Hagrid expelled. Surely that would have been a better time to prevent the evils that'd already gone down, though he couldn't be absolutely sure if she'd been the one behind the girl's death or if it had been accidental… No, no, she couldn't get Hagrid expelled accidentally.

Harry nearly slapped himself for playing devil's advocate for her and got back to thinking about Dumbledore as he'd been doing. Namely, the man's physical looks having improved while he still seemed stressed and withdrawn as ever. It'd trickled into every class, every interaction, and by the look of things, that was the last thing Dumbledore wanted. He'd always look remorseful whenever he spoke with a student regardless of the question asked or prior interactions.

Truthfully, Harry hoped whatever was plaguing the man would be dealt with sooner rather than later, it'd only spell trouble for Magical Britain as a whole if it couldn't be.

As if those hadn't been enough issues and happenings to deal with during February, he'd also begun having more frequent dreams that didn't truly feel like his own - feelings too, on rare instances. He would go to sleep in the late evenings on account of his friends keeping him up and would wake up later in the morning on account of that, though doing that hadn't been all that troublesome before. Hence his confusion when he'd begun noting down the familiar scenery during his dreams; similarly coloured drapes to 'his' bed, a familiar set of windows that looked into the vast lake, girls that he could only identify as upper-years.

Those dreams would always result in some sort of leakage back to him, but seldom did they stay with him throughout the day.

He didn't know why or how, but he blamed Elaine for whatever issue he was suffering from… her 'connection' to him as she'd called it was without a doubt behind it.

March 3, 1943

Wednesday Evening

"You know mate, with how much studying you've been doing recently, especially with those spellbooks for blasting idiots like Abraxas, I'm surprised you don't speak with Cade," Aster said, looking over Harry's shoulder at the boy's most recent acquisition from the library. "He did invite you to his duelling group, remember?"

"Yeah… you also said he's really tough, and while that may not have been the case for Abraxas, I'm not entirely confident in my ability to stand against him without this self-improvement," Harry's answer was more false than true, as his real reason was keeping what little free time he had exactly that.

How else would he be able to spend every other day or so slinking off to Slytherin's Study to read from the man's yet-returned journal and Yaxley's near-finished book? Studying under Elaine would only help him so much, and more often than not, it eventually devolved into her 'teaching' him the motions by pressing herself against him. Her most recent lesson using Transfiguration in battle had been one of the worst yet - how was it fair if she transfigured her clothes to be much more revealing when she knew it'd make him pause for a few seconds?

He'd almost had her too… even if he had been allowed all the spells in his repertoire while she limited herself to Transfiguration only.

Aster laughed and pointed at the book.

"With how much reading you do I'd figured a partner would be your biggest priority. I know I'm not going to duel you, that's not something I've ever been all that good at," - Aster pointed at Reinhard, the large boy sitting down to a plate of snack food he'd snuck from the Great Hall - "He, on the other hand, could probably duel you fairly well, though I'd question if the word duel would actually apply. More of a brawler with cheapshots, I'd say, but he wins."

"No rules in a fight," Reinhard responded, his words partially muffled due to the food he was chewing. "Pev prolly knows that, right mate?

"Right," Harry agreed, having seen more than enough fights in the past.

"Fine fine, go speak with my sister then, I'm sure she could offer a few tips. Just remember, I'll be watching you for anything suspicious after those last remarks about her, Peverell! Better yet, why don't you stay in the common room?" Aster's eyes had narrowed as soon as he'd made the suggestion and even when he suggested a public space where nothing was sure to go down, that suspicion stayed rooted on his face.

Harry didn't respond teasingly, tempted as he was, and simply shrugged.

"Sure, I can do that."

"Perfect!" Aster said with a nod. "Oh, right, tell her she still owes me a muffin too… can't believe the bint took it from me right before we left for the train."

"How are you surprised by that? She does that almost every year you leave for Hogwarts, you've told me as much!" Reinhard was just getting on Aster's back when Harry made his departure from the room in favour of looking for the boy's older sister.

Harry always found the interactions between his two friends comedic, and as enjoyable as watching the two of them duke it out over Aster's sister's actions was, he really did have a tight schedule as of late. One that would only be thrown more out of whack if Druella wasn't entirely helpful - this was time he could be studying, after all.

For what felt like the thousandth time, Harry descended the staircase from the boys' dorm and exited out into the room at large. As was often the case, Walburga and the few cronies loyal to her, often the three witches who were always in her presence, looked towards him with curious, hardened eyes. He didn't pay them any attention, not since their interaction had taken a turn until his two mates had joined them. Merlin, his mind was still conflicted on the book she'd given him… he knew he shouldn't trust any of what he read from it, especially with Walburga pushing it as she was, but he desperately wanted to get into it.

Someday soon, he'd dispel whatever magic she'd placed on it, regardless of how harmless she claimed it to be.

Until that day came, he'd continue passing her by and speaking with those he knew moderately well… like Druella and the group she spent time with; Florence Bertrand, Jeanne Ganders and Ophelia Greengrass.

"Hi Druella," Harry greeted as he made his approach, causing four pairs of eyes to switch to him.

"Looking for Elaine or one of the other two?" Druella questioned with a tilt of her head and a raise of her nose. "Carrow only just left, tho-"

"No no, I'm here to speak with you," Harry wouldn't bother letting the girl tell him where Corene went, or Daphne for that matter, it'd be a waste of words and time. It wasn't like he didn't know where Corene was either, they were good enough friends that he knew all of the locations the girl spent her time in.

Druella kept her head tilted upwards, and after settling both hands in her lap primly, arched a brow.

"Oh? And for what do you come to me? I don't recall the pair of us speaking more than half a dozen times throughout the entirety of the year."

"I still blank at the invitation of Aster to your estate rather than Druella, Harry. Wouldn't someone such as yourself be less inclined to nepotism?" Ophelia added, the girl's polite tone masking the scathing nature of her words to those around them.

"Aster's fine, good company really, same for Corene, Reinhard and Sarah Goldhorn - all of those were my first choice of guests to visit Peverell Manor. Maybe you'll make the cut in a few batches," Harry smiled and bowed his head to the Greengrass girl before once more turning his attention to Druella. "I would like to speak with you about a book in my possession, Aster told me you'd be one of the best to speak with about it and so here I am. If that doesn't work, I'm sure my girlfriend could help me… she's probably meeting with Daphne right now, so long as I'm not mistaken."

Funny and weird as it was, Harry couldn't help but play the girlfriend card. He supposed it worked a lot better than anything else he could say, especially when he added in Daphne's name for good measure. Nobody who spent as much time in Elaine's group as Druella did would enjoy him running off to their boss and Head Girl.

Druella seemed to understand that as much as he did, her friends too, and so with an appraising look, she motioned for the empty seat beside her.

"By all means, Harry, take a seat. I'm sure whatever questions you have are simply answered, though I'll warn you now that I'll not be leaving to practise with you this evening or any of the upcoming ones."

"That's fine," Harry said with a smile towards Druella as he took the offered seat, one he showed to each of the other three girls sitting around him. "If you don't mind my asking as I pull out the book and get to the section I was most recently at, is Defence one of your better subjects?"

Druella remained silent for a few seconds as Harry withdrew the book and began flipping through the pages as he said he would, it wasn't until he found his location that he saw the weird face she was pulling.

"What?" He asked, perplexed by her expression.

"Where did you get that? Last I remember it was thoroughly tucked away in the restricted section," Druella's voice was quieter than it'd been since they'd started speaking, the girls around her speaking up louder in the conversation they were having around the pair of them only made it all the harder to hear.

"I have a pass," Harry lied as he moved his seat closer to hers. "Slughorn gave it to me, figured I'd use it to learn some more… graphic curses."

Druella watched his face, but from what he could tell, she believed him.

"Keep it to yourself, many of the newer peers of ours would judge you for having it in your possession - not old blood like us Rosiers, though, or most others within our house," Druella smirked at him and brought one hand up to pinch at his cheeks as if he were a child. "Here I was thinking you were as good as my little brother made you out to be, and this book being held by you with so much progression already made only makes me question other stories I've heard of you."

Ophelia leaned a bit closer to him then, her expression turning some form of seductive while keeping the level of arrogance she'd always had around her.

"I'm sure there's much we could find out about Peverell," She said.

"You'd do well to remember he's with Elaine, Ophelia," Druella reminded the Greengrass girl. "Now, what in particular were you hoping to accomplish by waving that book about and speaking with me? I know a great deal of those spells aren't overly intricate in their casting."

"Tips for casting them, some have very prolonged motions or four syllables, either of those wouldn't be a great use in a fight. Would you know how I could cast them with less motion or less speaking? Do you even use any of the spells that're in this book?" Harry only had the two questions, one for improvement and one to see how viable the teachings from the book were.

"Oh they're very useful, I'll tell you that much, Harry. As for how to cast them quicker…" Druella sighed and stood up from her seat. "I suppose just this once I'll take you to an empty classroom and show you a few things that better stay with you, it's only natural you'd rather learn from someone older than you."

Harry fought and lost to keep the flushing of his cheeks from happening, the giggling around him as well as Druella's victorious look told him she'd got what she wanted as her payment for helping him.

Maybe Cade would've been the better option.