The next two weeks at Hogwarts went on without much of a fuss. Harry had been irritable for the first few days, but some quiet time with Daphne had managed to calm him down. He also began spending more time in the Room of Requirement, duelling against the practice dummies, his spells getting more violent by the day. He would not be weak. He knew that if Snape had chosen to attack him, Harry would have had arse handed to him. He was not stupid.
The Defence class was better than Harry expected. Professor Lupin began teaching them about curses and how to counter them. Since Harry studied ahead, he knew the theory, but the practical portion was good as well. His classmates were struggling with the spells because Lockhart had not taught them anything the previous year, but Sirius and Amelia had ensured that Harry was taught the subject well. He found himself helping those who were struggling in class and that was met with surprise from everyone. Professor Lupin did not acknowledge Harry as anything other than a student and Harry was perfectly fine with that.
With all that was going on, he hadn't had much time to interact with anyone except Daphne and a few minutes with Dylan every night. So when he entered the Great Hall for lunch during the end of the second week of school, he frowned when he saw no sign of Dylan. Harry had not come to the Great Hall much over the last two weeks, having a house-elf provide food for him in the Room of Requirement (being Lord Gryffindor had its perks, even if he could not use that title outside Hogwarts until he was seventeen) as he studied and practised magic. His notice-me-not charm was still active so he stood back and observed after casting a disillusionment charm on himself.
...
Dylan Lestrange was not having a good time at Hogwarts. This place turned out to be as bad as the orphanage. He thought Harry would be there for him, but the older boy was not always around, having a full schedule of classes, but he was touched that Harry had made it a point to talk to him every night despite being so busy. Astoria was the only one in his year who spoke to him. No one seemed to want anything to do with him. Daphne and her friends were alright and were quite nice to him, but they were older. Sure, Harry was older too, but it was Harry and there was a difference. Then there were the bullies.
It had started off small on the second day of school. A trip jinx, jelly legs, something like that. But slowly, especially over the past week, it had become worse. He didn't want to go to the hospital wing in fear of retaliation so he hid his injuries under his robes and acted as though everything was fine; the biggest problem was hiding it from Harry every night, but he had somehow managed. He had to remain strong if he was going to survive here. He didn't want to let Harry down or Uncle Sirius and Aunt Amelia for that matter.
But the worst part was that for the past three days, the older students weren't letting him eat food in the Great Hall. None of the teachers noticed because the students were quite subtle. They used a variety of spells to ensure they were not caught. Dylan would barely be able to grab a few slices of toast before he was forced out. He was quite hungry. He knew that he had to tell Harry about it, but he didn't know how much sway Harry had over them. From what the older boy had told him, Harry's popularity had taken a massive beating the previous year. What could a thirteen-year-old boy do against a dozen seventeen-year-olds from all four Houses? Dylan had been called a bastard so many times over the last two weeks, it had already become routine for him. He had just traded one word for another, but he wasn't sure if being called a bastard instead of freak was any improvement.
Just as Dylan entered the Great Hall, he quickly made his way to the Ravenclaw table and grabbed a few slices of toast.
"Hello, Lestrange," said a voice quietly.
Dylan stiffened and turned towards the staff table. The boys were disillusioned as always. "Tell the teachers anything, Lestrange, and we'll make you regret it," growled a voice. "Now get lost. We don't want murderers in our school! Go back to the orphanage where you came from. No one wants you here!"
Dylan clenched his fists. He had heard that phrase too many times growing up. The anger had long since faded away. Each time he had been angry, he had been punished badly. He didn't have the strength to feel anger anymore. Just as he was about to leave the Great Hall, someone put their hand on his shoulder. He stiffened.
"Look at me," said Harry quietly, lifting the boy's chin with his hand. Harry looked into the boy's eyes and what he saw made his blood boil, his green eyes darkening.
"Well, if they don't let you sit at the House tables, we'll have to make ourselves comfortable on the floor!" said Harry with a dark smirk.
"What?" asked Dylan, still in a daze at seeing Harry at the Great Hall.
In response, Harry flicked his wand. A thick picnic mat appeared in the middle of the Great Hall. With another flick, comfortable pillows appeared as well. Everyone had stopped talking now and was staring at them. Supremely unconcerned, Harry sat down gracefully on the mat.
"Well, what are you standing over there for?" asked Harry with a teasing smile on his face. "Aren't you hungry?"
"Harry -" said Dylan uncertainly, his face flushed.
"Sit," said Harry firmly. "Trixie!"
A Hogwarts house-elf appeared in front of him. The Great Hall was silent as a grave. It was a very good thing that Dumbledore was away at some I.C.W. conference.
"What can Trixie do for young Master?" asked the elf.
"Trixie, could you please provide us with some food? A chocolate cheesecake too, for dessert, if you can manage it. It's Dylan's favourite."
"At once, Master Harry!" said the elf, beaming at him before it disappeared. When he saw Harry staring, Dylan flushed with embarrassment as he sat down next to Harry on the floor.
"Mr Potter, may I ask what you are doing?" asked Professor McGonagall angrily.
"Well, there are several students here who are denying Dylan to eat at the House tables or even eat at the Great Hall at all for that matter," Harry replied with a fake smile. "So, I thought something should be done about that. If they don't want Dylan there, I'll simply create another place for Dylan, simple as that!"
Snape was very tempted to say something, but he held his tongue. The incident two weeks ago was still fresh in his mind.
"Not allowed to eat?" repeated Professor McGonagall, her eyes flashing, hands trembling in anger. "Explain!"
....
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