September 28, 1944
Thursday Evening
Much felt different in the nearly three weeks that'd passed. Hogwarts itself felt fuller, livelier, as if the new class was larger and more vocal than the Seventh Years who'd left. There were a lot of first years the previous year of Hogwarts, but this one was simply impossible to compare. Every hall was fuller, meals were louder and the Professors as well as their support staff as they'd been termed, were more plentiful than Harry had ever seen before.
It was as if the past that Harry currently found himself in was thrice the population of his time, and whilst he'd previously known it was larger, he hadn't thought it would be quite as large as it currently was; to see the world flourishing- the wizarding world, that was- felt insane to him.
"You heard about that Muggle fight, eh Pev?" Aster asked with his usual eagerness when he spoke of Muggles… so long as nobody save for Harry and Reinhard were near.
Well, Ash and Joe were fine too, somewhat. It'd only been a few weeks, and while that's usually might be too early to tell, Harry felt as if those two boys were quite alright.
"You're talking about those planes and the battle over the channel, yeah?" Harry asked back.
"Right in one, mate, right in one," Aster said with a nod and grin. "Can you believe the German Muggles and their friends thought they could send a few planes and that's all they'd need? Merlin, I bet they couldn't have fit more than a few thousand blokes aboard those things anyhow."
"Quieter," Reinhard said with a roll of his eyes.
Reinhard, whilst a brotherly figure to Aster, wasn't nearly as fond of muggles. Aster wasn't really fond of them either, as far as Harry could tell. He thought of them like a separate species, albeit one he was strangely fascinated in. While that was its own problem, Harry didn't mind so long as the Rosier boy didn't want to exterminate the poor people.
"Fine, fine, quieter," Aster elbowed Harry lightly and made a face in such a way that Reinhard couldn't see it. "Come on mate, what d'ya think?"
Harry shrugged. He hadn't spent all that much time in Muggle school before he'd attended Hogwarts, and once he'd started his magical education, his muggle one was left in the dust. If he would have known history could prove quite as important as it currently was, then there was a chance he would have elected to learn it on his own time.
"I don't know, you're the one that has all that muggle knowledge. Regardless, they failed, didn't they? All of them were shot down and there's no other chance for invasion," Harry finished with a second shrug whilst he waited for Aster's reply.
He didn't have to wait very long.
Aster pulled a face, furrowed his brows and then chuckled at Harry. It drew a few looks from some of the other boys in the dorms, Abraxas especially, but the trio didn't care all that much - Abraxas had been more pleasant recently too. The Malfoy boy, man nearly, wasn't quite as arrogant or otherwise rude-sounding when he spoke to Harry or the other sixth year lads.
Elaine had said something, probably. That or the boy had learned his usual personality wasn't nearly as flattering as he thought it to be.
"All the Muggles were shot down, yeah. Well, we think so, at least. If that's the case or not, don't you remember what else was said about this barmy invasion of theirs?" Aster asked, his voice slightly quieter but no less eager-sounding.
Harry recalled what he'd been told by Elaine and Corene; brooms, a lot of them. If they'd only sent planes, and not all that many of them, had they truly tried to take Dover? He wasn't a tactication anymore than he was a politician, but he liked to think more than one-hundred planes in total would've been used if they'd recalled nearly everything from across the continent.
"Brooms," Harry said first. "They moved all of their forces west too, everything, or nearly everything."
Reinhard groaned. "Come on you two, can't we spend less time discussing the muggles killing each other and more outside of this stupid room? Merlin knows we spend nearly all of our time here now, and I'll be damned if we waste another wonderful night for pranking in it."
"Grab the stuff, we can leave when you're ready," Aster said with a wink to Harry, the meaning clear.
Aster meant to have Reinhard do all the work whilst the two of them carried on their discussion. It wasn't exactly fair, but with Reinhard's dislike was plain to the pair of them whenever Muggles came up, especially with the little he knew of them, so there wasn't a doubt in Harry's mind that the Lestrange boy would be quick to grab everything the trio needed if it meant an end to the conversation.
"Wicked, now that he's doing that, let me tell you what I think they've done," Aster said, scooching closer to Harry and dropping his voice to a near whisper. "That was a fake out, a ploy, whatever you'd like to call it. Everybody knows that Grindelwald and his Muggle friends are short on supplies. If they made it look like they tried and failed after concentrating their forces, people wouldn't suspect another invasion attempt. If I were them, I'd launch a second after that first failed one and throw all my cards in. Muggles and Magicals, whatever I've got left if it's a super weapon like Glitter-wad seems to think, the bloody madman."
Harry snorted at the unflattering nickname for the Dark Lord, and then he nodded with Aster's words as Reinhard drew closer. Aster was known for strategy and the like, the boy loved those games just as much as he did muggle history. If there was anybody Harry would trust when it came down to learning what their invasion plans were, it'd be him.
Now, all Harry would do was hope the boy was wrong. He hoped there wouldn't be an invasion, that Elaine's plan of sacrificing the Aurors and the volunteers wouldn't come to fruition, that everything would begin to go back to the way it'd previously been in his time.
He truly hoped that all would be well and that no further invasion nor violence would happen, which is why he didn't think it'd end up going how he wanted it to, and thus, planned for the worst as he'd always done.
At least Tom from his time had taught him that.
October 6, 1944
Friday Evening
"Harry, my darling," Elaine said with her hand in his as she pulled him through the entrance to Slytherin's private quarters in the Chamber, a place he hadn't been for nearly half a year, if not more. "I've made a few changes for our comfort, and in the event that Hogwarts is put to siege, provisions have been stockpiled. If you'd like, you could check what I've hidden away for us and those we'd take here."
Harry was very interested in seeing what she'd put in that storage room she'd mentioned, but first and foremost, he was interested in the 'us' who'd be with them. There were many and more people he wanted to protect, and he very much doubted some would be welcomed by Elaine, despite their equality.
"Who'll be joining us down here in the event that Grindelwald still comes following that defeat?" He asked with a cocked head as he sat down, or rather, was pulled down onto the couch beside her.
She had made a fair few changes, the comfortable and newly-made couch was testament to that… he wasn't sure how she'd gotten it down here on her lonesome though.
"Corene, Daphne, Emilene, Aster, Abraxas… need I go on?" Elaine asked with a cocked head as she batted her eyelashes prettily at him.
"All those who're in our friend group then," He said, earning a nod from his girlfriend. "What of those who aren't friends of yours or aren't friends of mine? Marcus Potter or Sarah Goldhorn, for example. That Greengrass girl and her friends too, I know they're quite friendly with you but they're not all that benevolent to me."
Elaine's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second, and with one blink of his eyes, she was back to her happy, loving expression. "You'd like to protect your friends, I love that about you. You're protective, patient, helpful, strong… a wonderful father, you would make."
Harry swallowed at that, her message very clear.
"We could bring a few of them down here with us so long as they keep the location secret. I suppose we could blindfold them too, if need be. As for Ophelia Greengrass and the others in whom I keep company from time to time, only a select few would be brought down here to join us during the defence. I see no reason in overcrowding and potentially destroying our supplies before aid would come," Elaine smiled and shook her head then. "Please, let us speak no longer of Grindelwald and when or if he'll come, Harry. Instead, I would have you learn history, and if you do well, I'll reward you with a spell."
Reward me with a spell, He nearly scoffed. I'm not a kid, I don't need a reward for a history lesson.
It was one of the few times since he'd gone all in on Elaine that she'd truly bothered him, one of the few times that her true self or as close as he'd seen her true self to be had been careless with her words. He knew he was being nit-picky and that Elaine wasn't Tom, but her occasional lack of empathy or her apparent sense of superiority had bothered him just as much as how she tailored herself around the company she kept.
"What've you planned for us this time?" He asked as he stood up shortly after she did.
"A lesson about the item I'd given to you, and how it's useless for those such as myself," Elaine's eyes went downcast at that, and her typically charming smile turned more into a frown. "It's one of the greatest magical artefacts ever created to those who're able to love easily, and for those who aren't, a gift that they can possess but never truly use, for the spirits of the dead aren't so easily won over as those that inhabit the bodies of the living."
Harry felt his throat go dry. "The resurrection stone. You gave it to me last Christmas, but you never told me why that was beyond that you felt it was mine," He moved closer to Elaine then, his hand seeking out hers without him telling it to. "With what you said… you presented it to me as a gift because you couldn't truly use it."
Elaine nodded as her hand tightened around his, her downcast expression turning sour. "In the tale, it mentions he wished to use it for love - those he'd lost throughout his life could return to him in some form. Never was it mentioned that he could recall other spirits, and yet, I tried to do just that with it, for who better to teach you magic than the likes of Merlin or other Magicals from Legends as old as time?"
"They didn't come?" Harry asked as he drew closer to her still, his other arm wrapping around Elaine's taller form.
Elaine shook her head, and then her visage grew angrier. "Most didn't come, and so I thought it to be broken. My anger at an object, one that was surrounded by tales and myths uncountable, was immense. In that state of anger and annoyance, I called out to one spirit after the other, until finally, one did come," Elaine hugged Harry then, her face out of his view though undoubtedly still angry as he continued her story. "He was fowl, horrible, the creator of magic that most find too putrid to mention, yet he was a master of it. His spirit was as intelligent as it was horrible and wretched. I had to banish him away and never again did I use the stone for the means of education."
Harry continued rubbing her back well after she'd finished, all the while he was processing the information he'd just learned; you could recall any spirit, though they had to answer you, it would seem. He wondered, he hoped, that he could call upon the spirits from his time with the item she'd given him. It would mean he could speak with his parents, with Sirius… he wouldn't be nearly as alone as he often felt, even with Elaine clinging to him as she currently was.
There was a tiny piece of him that felt nervous around her. No, nervous wasn't correct, on edge, maybe that would work to describe how he felt in her presence. Regardless of what it was, the reasons behind it were clear - Elaine was far stronger, far smarter and far deadlier than he was. Sure, he'd done much to catch up to her, but she hadn't paused her studying despite how hard he'd gone on his.
"You think I could use it for family," Harry finally said when he felt Elaine pulling back, his time of thinking now over.
"For whoever you'd like," Elaine amended with a soft smile on her face.
She looks far prettier when she's happy and smiling than when she's angry.
Elaine kissed his nose once she'd fully withdrawn from him. "You're one of the friendliest people I know, and while you may not have it in you to be overly political, you have the ability to make friends who fill such an emptiness in your skillset. I say that as only an example too, for as easy a person to love as you are, I'm sure you've loved many of those close to you in return. Should that be the case, the stone would prove far more valuable in your possession than it ever would in mine."
"What if I died?" Harry blurted out, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"No," Elaine said simply, shaking her head with just as empty an expression as Corene usually wore. "Death won't be coming for you anytime soon, Harry Potter. Believe me when I tell you this, we have a great many works to do in our lives, and time or violence won't concern the pair of us whilst we're together. Our wands and our souls are intertwined."
He wasn't sure what that meant, and as the evening went on to be filled with casual talk and the occasional snog, he was left wondering the whole while.
"We've been down here for so long that it's Saturday now, Elaine," Harry said through a yawn, the two of them on a couch… reading together… he wasn't sure how they'd started doing something so domestic.
Elaine looked down at him, her place behind him granting her a height advantage, one she often abused so that she could place kisses all over his face whilst he tried to pay attention to the book they were reading. It wasn't fantasy or anything casual, it was a spell book that Elaine had put together with the help of a few friends, but it still felt relaxing nonetheless.
Hermione would likely be proud of him with all the studying he'd done in the past year. He guaranteed she'd be happier still if she found out that he was even going so far as to spend time studying with his girlfriend. She might dislike the fact that his girlfriend was this world's version of Voldemort or that Elaine was still vaguely unhinged with ambitions of grandeur, but still, he'd spent a lot of time studying.
That had to count for something.
"You're dozing off," Elaine's voice said, finally breaking through his thinking when his eyes reopened to see her face not even an inch away from his.
Her long, black hair had fallen over his face like a shroud and her breath was exhaling directly against his face in a splash, but he was too focused on those deep, dark brown eyes of hers. They were beautiful and terrifying in a way that reminded him of the Black Holes they'd learn about in Muggle school - Astronomy too, maybe, though he never spent enough time paying attention in that class.
"I am," He admitted, smiling softly.
Elaine swept her tongue across her lips as she stared down into his eyes. "I could fix that, if you'd like."
Her eyes that bore into his felt as if they'd gotten darker, though he figured that was just her lust manifest.
"Oh," Elaine said suddenly, and that was all the warning he had before she fell forward from her propped up spot behind him.
Her upper body and a portion of her lower body covered him like a blanket. Harry, in that moment, did the only thing he could when a potential Dark Lady, current girlfriend and still a touch unhinged future Minister fell on him.
He laughed.
He laughed loudly and outrageously.
That was until Elaine used dexterity he didn't know she possessed to flip herself around whilst still atop him. Her face was directly above his, her body was flush against his, and her smile was far more predatory than he felt his laughter deserved.
"Elaine?" He questioned breathlessly, his previous laughter so great that he was left gasping for air whilst she stared at him.
"You laughed at me falling on you," She accused with a raised brow.
Harry smiled and nodded, this being the perfect time to see how she'd react to somebody seemingly laughing at her. "It was funny, and you're cute."
Elaine's brow rose higher at his latter remark. "Cute?"
"Cute," Harry confirmed.
She was still for a few seconds, and as they went on, he half wondered if she was annoyed by that word.
A few seconds later when she closed the remaining distance between them, his wondering was put to rest. Elaine was happy, joyous even, and Harry was just as happy thanks to what he'd learned.
October 14, 1944
Saturday Evening
"We've been spending a lot of time down here," Harry said as he and Elaine once more began the journey down the thin corridor that led to Slytherin's private quarters.
"For many good reasons, lest you've forgotten them, my love," Elaine said with a smile on her face and a pat on his rear to prod him forwards.
Studying magic and improving upon himself in an area where there was no risk that what he was doing was nice, obviously. On the other hand, despite how much he enjoyed his time with an even friendlier, more affectionate Elaine than the version she'd been a year ago, there was such a thing called personal space and free time.
He needed to spend more time with Corene, with Ash and Joe, with Sarah, with all of them. There wasn't enough time in the day, week or month that he had away from Elaine's constant overbearing company. As much as it afforded him more ins with her, especially now that Daphne was no longer a large problem - insomuch that she couldn't bother them in the Slytherin common room all that often - he still found himself needing time to work on those close to her.
Corene, well, with her there was an edge she was constantly working towards and that continued after Harry had signed that pact of non-interference with her family. She needed him for something, hence her closeness and early friendship, but the details were still kept secret.
Aster and Reinhard both had already made plain their reasons for sticking with Elaine; Reinhard got paid to fight people, and he was bloody good at it. Aster, well, he just went where Reinhard went… he was a good friend in that way, though Harry wished the boy had a bit more of a spine. Druella was definitely different from her brother in that regard, and she was just as wonderful company this year as she'd been in the previous one.
"Ah, it almost feels like home, doesn't it?" Elaine asked once the pair of them came out to the large, wide-open centre room of Slytherins quarters.
Harry nodded, the sweet smell of the air and the familiar dank, musky scent that lingered no matter what one did certainly felt like some form of home.
Wait… sweet smell?
"Did you light a candle down here?" He asked with a curious expression, one that morphed into something more lustful when he took in Elaine.
She wasn't dressed any different, nor was she lacking any of the clothes she'd worn coming into the room, yet she looked… better . Harry wasn't sure what it was about her that was different, but there was something unplaceable; it made his mind feel more at ease and her seem far more angelic than he would normally ever describe her as.
"No, Harry," Elaine said with a smile as she moved closer to him, one hand held out. "Is everything alright? You seem flushed, why don't you take a seat and we can wait for whatever it is that's bothering you to blow over."
Cuddling with her on the couch seems ni-
He shook his head and turned towards the source of the smell. There was something that looked like it was boiling in the furthest corner of the room, he could barely make it out in the dim green torchlight.
"What's that?" Harry asked, his question coming out as more of a demand than anything else.
"It's a project of mine, as most things are that've been placed in our domicile," Elaine answered easily, both of her hands snaking their way across his body as she pulled him towards her. "There's no need to be so cautious and tense all the time, you should know by now that I seldom bite. Wouldn't you say I'm a good girl, Harry?"
"You've done something," He accused, his mind wanting to tell him that he did think she was a good girl.
"I have," Elaine agreed with a wide smile as she finally stood up from the seat she'd only just taken a few minutes ago. "You're far more resilient than I would've thought too. I shouldn't have expected anything less from my equal, my lover, my Harry, should I?" Elaine stepped closer to him. "No, no I shouldn't have. This was a test, one that was meant to see if you could stand up against mind-altering potions or spells. I should tell you, the fact that you've discarded it so easily… I would very much like to begin working on our family at this moment in time, despite the issues that would cause."
Harry tried to swallow, but so bold were her words that he choked.
Elaine laughed as he tried to regain his composure, and when he finally did just that, he looked her dead in the eyes.
"Put it out, Elaine," Harry demanded in four simple words. "If you put it out and cease these tests and this incessant training that takes up all of our time, then I'll give you something that you'd like. You'll be my good girl, won't you?" He hadn't thought to add that last bit in until he recalled her teasing lilt with which she'd said it only seconds earlier.
Once he'd been reminded of that whilst looking at the beautiful, more than slightly unhinged witch before him that he called his girlfriend, there wasn't a chance he'd avoid turning it on her.
"You're not helping my urges nor your chastity when you say that," Elaine said as she stepped closer still, her chest pressed against his. "But I'll acquiesce to your request, you've been too wonderful these past few weeks for me to give you anything less than you deserve… perhaps the offer of a reward intrigued me too."
A few minutes later and with whatever it was that she'd made now off, Harry found himself able to focus completely again. It didn't take very long for Elaine to come back over to him in search of her reward either, and so he readily gave it to her.
He leaned forward, placed a kiss on her cheek, and deposited an item in her right skirt pocket.
Elaine looked incredibly curious when she felt his gift against her upper thigh, and so the moment he pulled back from her, she reached a hand down to see what it was that she'd received. Harry held his breath at that moment, and when she pulled out the small object to examine it, he moved slightly closer to her. Her expression was most important to him, and there was something he'd have to do along with that gift if he gauged it to be positive.
"You've given me a ring," Elaine said aloud, more for her sake than his.
Harry got on his right knee in front of her, a myriad of emotions running through him. "Would you do me the honour of being my fiancée?"
"Turquoise and Diamonds. I'll admit, my darling, my birthstone mixed with the traditional sense from diamonds is most impressive," Elaine said idly, her eyes still on the stone, until… they weren't anymore.
His words must've registered late, that or she hadn't been paying him complete attention. There wasn't any other way she could miss what he'd just said.
Elaine's eyes went wider than he thought he'd ever seen them before. Next, he could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Finally, those wide eyes of hers sought out his as she pulled him back to his feet. "Do you truly mean that, or is it a horrid prank?"
Harry shook his head, and then he abruptly stopped when he saw the look that flashed across Elaine's face; she misinterpreted what he meant by the shaking of his head.
"It's not a prank," Harry said when he saw anger just starting to manifest on her face. "I mean it. We'll not get married while we're still in Hogwarts, but at the very least, we could become betrothed. That's alright with you… right?"
Merlin, hear I am sounding like a stupid, nervous bloke again, Harry thought when he flandered whilst looking at a stone-faced Elaine. Those feelings only lingered and got stronger as time went on too, with Elaine still looking incredibly Corene-like.
He didn't like her silence, and for some reason, he hated how her delayed response made him feel.
"You know what it means," Elaine stated, words that were meant to be a question sounding like an affirmation to herself more than anything else.
"I do," Harry said as his eyes flickered between her eyes and the ring she was still admiring.
Elaine smiled then. "Those words will have to be said at least once more, Harry," there was a teasing lilt in her voice as that expressionless visage paved the way for something remarkably happy and beautiful. "My answer has been the same since I decided you were mine, Harry - Yes."
She hugged him then, her arms rubbing his back soothingly whilst she made these little happy sounds. They were terrifyingly cute when coming from one such as her, Harry could scarcely believe each one that he heard.
October 15, 1944
Sunday Morning
"Harry, you've found yourself with some free time, I see," Corene greeted, her bored eyes lazily roaming around the room behind him until they settled on his face once more. "What is it that you'd like to speak with me about, and is it something that will require the pair of us to move?"
Truth be told, following his engagement to Elaine and the free time he'd earned thanks to that, he'd wanted to spend more time with his friends. Corene being his best witch friend and tied for his favourite people in this era was a logical choice of person for him to seek out.
"Nothing in particular, and no, we don't need to move unless you'd like us to," He answered as he settled into the chair beside hers.
"Then here we stay, as I'm quite comfortable and will be enjoying tea within the next few minutes whilst I read - talk now, I suppose," Corene's lips did the little raise they always did when she was happy.
Harry smiled widely at that. "Your house-elf, forgive me that I've forgotten his name, is truly impressive in regards to his tea-making ability."
"I should certainly hope so, else I doubt I'd feel half as much fulfillment as I currently do when I drink it," Corene said seriously, her eyebrows scrunched up. "My parents mean to write to you soon, I believe in hopes of furthering our friendships formally. They're already incredibly pleased with the signing of our non-interference pact."
"Are you sure that's something we should be talking about right here in the open?" Harry asked with a cursory glance about the room, noting the dozen or so housemates of theirs that were speaking idly with each other in various sized groups.
Corene cocked her head. "Why should that be private? Most families are already aware that we've aligned ourselves with one another due to the mentions in the Prophet and the other less savoury papers. There's likely to be a great deal of speculation regarding our friendship, the friendship between our families and what deals we've made beyond the baseline one that we've already signed into fruition."
"It's that simple, huh?" He asked with a chuckle as he shook his head.
Harry couldn't believe how trivial Corene made such matters sound, nor could he understand how Purebloods and other traditionalists thought.
"When the same documents have been signed, barring minor changes and agreement specific adjustments, for hundreds of years, I'd say so. I imagine your family history books should make mention of them, or at least variations of them that were period-specific," Corene then shook her head, as fond a look coming across her face as she'd ever outwardly show. "Nevermind. I forget that you, Aster and most others of our year don't pay too much attention to their history books. You're more focused on combat proficiencies and other fields that would facilitate quicker victories… I'm correct in that, aren't I?"
He knew that he'd studied with her a fair few times, and beyond that, he knew that she was aware of his training with their housemates. Still, to think she could so accurately peg him and where he currently was in regards to his training was weird.
"You are, though I'll admit it's a bit weird that you know so much about what I do," Harry said with a smile, the look hopefully cushioning his words in case she took offense to them. "Just how much do you know about me, Miss Carrow?"
Corene raised her brows from their scrunched up position at the overly formal and semi-comedic tone with which he'd said her name. It wasn't often that he'd called her that, Merlin, he didn't think he ever had before. It felt weird, wrong and beyond that, like he was making a business deal with her.
Harry supposed that most of those who went to her for information and thus were on the lower ground may very well call her that… it still didn't stop him from feeling weirded out by it despite his being the one to use her name.
"Would you like everything I know about you, or the important pieces?" Corene asked seriously as her elf popped beside her with two cups of tea despite her previously having been alone. "I figured you would join me shortly, Elaine, Aster and the rest are currently busy with tasks."
"I'm beginning to wonder if you know me better than I know me," Harry said with a genuine laugh at the absurdity of his statement.
Corene smiled a typical Corene smile, that being the corners of her lips going up as far as he thought they physically could without discomfort on her behalf. "I doubt that, else I'd know the right form of comedy to use on you. One day, I'll learn what gets you - my apologies for the crude, baser jokes I'd made earlier on in our friendship. I still cringe when I think back on them."
Harry laughed. "There's no need to apologise, they were pretty funny at that moment in time. I think it was hearing you say them that made me feel more lost than anything, thus my lack of reaction when it happened," He still couldn't believe she'd made a crude, sexual joke all those months ago. "Anyhow, I'll take the long way please. One order of everything you know about me with a side of leave nothing out."
Corene looked genuinely confused then, but she still went through with his request. "I'll start with the basics then. You're sixteen, your family lineage traces back to House Peverell predominantly with the majority of the others being extinct or swallowed up by other families - the Blacks, Potters, Bones' and other old British families by and large. Beyond your genealogy, your wand shares a core with Elaine, something I learned directly from her," Corene raised a hand then, that smile of hers still on her face, "Don't worry, my elf raised a version of a privacy charm on the surrounding area for us. Their magic is far easier to pass and detect than ours, I suggest you make use of that tip."
"Thank you, and thank you again," Harry said with a dip of his head before he went silent again, letting the Carrow girl continue.
"I've not gone too far into what shared wand cores mean, though I know enough to understand the power the two of you possess whilst working in tandem is unbeatable save for a duo working under the same circumstances. Your talents are mainly in Defence and Transfiguration, you have proficiency in Potions, Charms and Flying. Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy and all else that I didn't cover have you towards the average marker. Personality wise, you dislike those who come off too strong, arrogant or rode whilst on the other hand, you enjoy the quiet, the comically rowdy, most women and those who're in positions to help you on your ambition of ceasing overly hostile actions," Corene took a breath after such a long-winded sentence and then her eyes bore directly into his eyes. "Did I miss anything overly important?"
"Most women?" Harry questioned, that being the one his brain had hit a wall on, though her understanding of his ambitions despite his not saying them whilst around her was very disturbing.
Corene nodded and motioned to herself with a lazy flick of her empty wrist. "Unless I'm mistaken, I remain one of your closest friends and a trusted, cute confidant. Sarah Goldhorn and her younger sister Sammi are in a similar position. Druella, Emilene… Elaine," Corene sipped from her tea with a bored if somewhat self-satisfied look on her face whilst she watched him. "Need I go on?"
He shook his head with a pout on his face. "No," he said petulantly.
Corene reached over with her empty hand and patted his arm. "There there, Harry. You should find solace in having such beautiful company, and when you spend too much time with them, you have Aster and Reinhard to speak with too."
Harry couldn't help the snicker that came from him. "I think you've found my comedy, finally."
"Depreciating remarks with a grain of truth in them?" Corene questioned, though she answered it before he could. "Interesting, I'll have to mark that off in my journal this evening - before I do that, why don't we talk about something interesting, say, a furthering of our current familial agreements?"
"Yeah? What do you have in mind?" Harry asked as he sipped on the still hot, near scalding, cup of tea that her elf had given him.
"Why don't we discuss the sharing of assets, scheduled get-togethers and Wizengamot votes?" Corene asked.
Harry scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sharing of assets?"
"I don't mean living in one another's homes or taking valuable possessions," Corene said, quick to wash away his concerns with her words. "What families mean when we sign a form of commercial pact aside from the sharing of revenue, is the sharing of knowledge that we obtain over generations. I imagine there'd be a great deal of difference between the spells private to your arsenal and those found in ours, wouldn't you agree?"
"So you mean spells, books and stuff that we could make copies of?" Harry asked again, thinking he got the hang of it.
Corene's lips ticked up. "Correct."
"I think we could do that then. I wouldn't mind a required meal or festivity every so often either, your family seemed brilliant when I met them. Most of the others are too inquisitive or want something from me," Harry said, the latter half added to see Corene's reaction though he knew full well that the girl was a master of vocal and physical camouflage.
"Everybody would like something from their friends, it's the reason they're friends in the first place," Corene said, her words sounding like she was reciting a quote more so than anything else, though he'd bite nonetheless.
"What would you like from me then? I don't think you've ever asked me for anything beyond truffles or chocolates from that shop of yours," Harry smiled fondly at the memory of her beautiful smile when she'd been presented with those gifts, that memory one of only two where he saw her smile genuinely and largely at him.
She was beautiful when she didn't try to appear so bored and perfect all the time.
"You've already provided security and friendship to me, those being two of my three desires when I first met you," Corene said, no remorse or sign of insincerity detectable in her tone. "Aside from those, my last want from having you as close of a friend as you are is assistance in matters that're too far off to speak of."
"You've got me interested now, you know," Harry said with a friendly, charming smile; Elaine had taught him well.
Corene patted his arm again, the distinct difference of her warm, nearly hot hand in comparison to Elaine's cold ones distracting him for a scant few seconds.
"Your interest will need to maintain itself until I'm ready to satiate it," Corene said, her head then cocking as she looked at him curiously. "Aren't you going to question why security and friendship were two of my reasons for befriending you?"
Harry shook his head. "I think I already know the answer to both, if I'm honest with you. I'm more interested to think about what it is that you think I want from you."
"That's a very easy question to answer, Harry," Corene said as she leant back in her seat, her hand finally moving away from the arm of his chair. "In me, you sought an ally should Elaine dislike or distance you from a majority of the house. When that didn't come to pass, you sought in me a stalwart friend with connections, good looks, a strong house and companionship - the final reason is the very same reason I spent as much time around you as I did. You're a kind, generous soul, Harry. Most would abuse that, I would think I previously have, but you're truly one of the nicest people I've met."
For some reason…
No. Harry knew the reason, he knew why something inside of his chest was making him feel fuzzy and warm. Corene, the girl who he'd felt a closeness to since first they met and when she defended those poor, abused animals, had the same feelings towards him as he did her. They weren't romantic persay, there was just a level of mutual friendship and intimacy that he seldom felt with people.
Hermione came to his mind then, but he very quickly pushed any and all thoughts of her away. She wasn't dead, at least she hadn't been when he'd been taken, and so thinking about her or any of his other friends that were left behind wouldn't do anything for him.
"I could say the same for you," Harry eventually said with a soft, mushy smile on his face as he looked at Corene. "You've been genuinely helpful, polite, and despite your failed attempts at comedy, you've alleviated much of the stress I've felt since I made myself known to the world. Really, your family and you especially are brilliant. Thank you, Corene."
Corene looked around the room, then she looked at Harry; she would go on to repeat that action thrice more before she leaned forward in her chair to give him a partial side-hug. It was quick, just like a flash of lightning, but the fact that she'd done so at all was what got to him. She wasn't one for physical affection, and normally, all you'd get from her to signify friendship was that 'smile' if it could be called that.
For her to hug him… he was happy.
"Well now, before you make me cry here, why don't we talk about that Wizengamot stuff?" Harry joked, his head resting against the back of the chair after her hug.
"Another time. I'd like to enjoy your company with a sense of casualness this morning, so long as that's alright with you," Corene said softly, or softer than usual, rather.
"That's fine," He assured her. "That works for me too."
October 16, 1944
Monday Early Morning
Harry had been looking out of his window before he'd been lulled to sleep. It wasn't the same one he'd had previously thanks to their moving dorms just as they'd moved years, but the view out into the bottom most part of the lake had only improved thanks to him moving up a year. He could make out more of the thriving ecosystem, and better yet, there were more fish readily viewable.
Normally, he wouldn't describe himself as a lover of fish, but something about the mundane way they went about their business whilst he watched from behind the reinforced glass was peaceful. There wasn't any other word to describe it, nor was there any sort of feeling that came close to what he felt when he watched the little creatures go about their lives.
It was to that vision that he found himself woken up that morning, and when he turned over to the source of what had woken him up, he saw Aster and Reinhard. Joe and Ash were behind them too, with the rest of the boys also awake and moving about the room with weird looks on their faces.
"Wh- What is it? Why did you wake me up?" Harry asked, his first word cut off by a yawn and his next few harder to understand because of it.
"It happened," Aster said, the boy anxious-sounding and nervous-looking with those two simple words.
Harry yawned again, rubbed at his eyes and looked at Reinhard for clarification. "What happened?"
"Grindelwald, mate. Grindelwald," Reinhard said nervously, looking about the room after he did so as if the man would appear at the mere mention of his name. "Aster was right, that first attack wasn't it. Muggles, there were Muggles everywhere. It's only thanks to all the Yanks and rest of the Crowns forces that were stationed here that they've not already swept through England."
Harry couldn't believe them, and so he shook his head.
Grindelwald never invaded England. They said it was impossible, he didn't have the forces, the planes, the men… he didn't have anything. I don't understand.
"Very funny guys," Harry said with a roll of his eyes as he let his head hit the comfortable pillows they'd previously been on. "Good try, now please, let's all go back to bed. Yeah?"
Ash and Joe exchanged looks whilst Aster spoke again. Reinhard's reaction to his words was a simple shaking of his head.
"We're not messing with you, Pev," Aster said, his hands coming up to fist Harry's sheets. "Grindelwald's Muggles landed all around Dover, and they're flooding their forces - Italian wizards, Hungarian ones, Romanians, they were all heard to be present too."
Harry swallowed, his throat feeling tighter, his heart feeling faster and his anxiety making him feel as if he couldn't breath thanks to the revelation of something that wasn't supposed to happen, happening.
"What about Grindelwald and his forces then? Where are they if people have heard all those other wizards and witches? How did you guys even hear this?" Harry bombarded his friends with questions, and tried as they might to hear them, it seemed as if the group of them were just as surprised and shocked as he was with the… the… invasion.
Eventually, Reinhard found his voice after he nodded to the door. "Corene's elf told her the moment it happened. Her dad, he does more than sit on the Hogwarts board mate. He works at the Ministry and has friends all over the country. As soon as he heard about the invasion, he sent the elf here to warn her - it's under orders to take her home if Hogwarts gets attacked."
"Corene had her elf warn you lot?" Harry asked, pocketing that information for later notes.
He wouldn't forget that, not from her, especially not after the conversation they'd had only a good few hours earlier.
"She did, though I think Elaine could've had a hand in it," Joe said as he came up beside Reinhard whilst Ash followed after him, the two comedic boys anything but thanks to the situation that was unfolding as they spoke quietly in their Hogwarts dungeon.
"Do we… do we know if we're winning?" Harry got out, the fear of the question making him stutter.
"No," Reinhard said with a shake of his head. "Corene's elf said it was the largest bunch of planes the Muggles had ever seen, and that the Ministry was called upon by Her Majesty to rally to the defence since Magicals would be following after their Muggle forces. There were Muggles and those planes they have from every country working with Grindelwald."
Harry shook his head, his breathing rapid and his throat still feeling tight as it had when he first learned of the attack.
"What's Hogwarts going to do? Do you guys know anything about that?" He asked as he finally swung his legs out of bed so that he could get dressed.
He didn't think combat would reach them anytime soon, but he'd rather be ready should the staff call an emergency meeting… Dumbledore. His mind very quickly went to the man who previously stopped Grindelwald, and that was when Harry remembered Dumbledore wasn't at Hogwarts. He was on medical leave from his position, and should Grindelwald attack, it would be up to the staff to face him along with the defences of Hogwarts and whatever students fought alongside them.
In other words, the odds wouldn't be great for the Hogwarts Defenders.
Not unless he and Elaine worked together with that wand pairing she spoke so highly of. He hoped it worked half as well as she said it did if that mad man was coming for Hogwarts or him as she thought he may be.
Can't I get one time period without a Dark Lord coming after me?
"You good, mate?" Reinhard asked when Harry hadn't moved or spoken after he'd gotten out of bed.
"Yeah, yeah sorry. Just thinking, got a lot of stuff on my mind now, you know?" He said back to his friend.
Reinhard smiled comfortingly, or at least the large boy tried to.
Harry couldn't help but think about the irony. Here he was, about to defend Hogwarts, and he had Elaine with him whilst doing so… the alternate form of a Dark Lord who wanted to destroy Hogwarts.
He hoped that being that'd sent him back was having a laugh over it.