Harry Potter and The Shadowed Light

Snake in the nest

Previously

Sitting down to eat breakfast with the rest of Ravenclaw, Harry saw that the other house tables were still mostly empty. Looking up at the head table, Harry felt his scar flutter, startling him as it had never done that before. Harry felt only a slight pull towards Quirrell and he wondered if being only part of his soul meant that the bond was weaker. Lost in his thoughts, Harry barely contained his surprise when the doors to the great hall slammed open and a green skinned Ron stormed in followed by the rest of the Gryffindors.

Not even trying to hold in his laughter, Harry wondered who Ron had upset before he caught Neville's eye and saw the blond haired boy smiling secretly. Harry was shocked, but happily so as he realised that this time Neville would learn to roar early.

~

After receiving his timetable, Harry saw that, like Li had said, the majority of his lessons would be with Hufflepuff this time around, making Harry wonder if that would change anything. Harry also noticed that, instead of having Transfiguration first, he was instead graced with Potions. He wondered idly if Snape would treat him with the same scorn in this life that he had in the last; Harry had a suspicion that some of the hate last time had been because of his looks.

Pulling out his nutrition potion, which he had to take every morning after breakfast, Harry downed it with a small frown before swallowing the last of his pumpkin juice, hoping to wash out the taste. Harry didn't realise at that moment dark eyes had been watching him with interest, focusing in on the vial in his hand.

Standing, Harry slipped his timetable into his pocket and grabbed his bag from the floor. He was planning on visiting Madam Pomfrey before his first lesson and would have to hurry now if he wanted to avoid being late - the dungeons were a fair walk from the infirmary.

"Where are you going?" asked Terry as Harry passed him.

"I need to go to the infirmary," Harry said, making those who heard frown.

"Are you okay, Harry? Have you hurt yourself?" asked Lisa as she looked him up and down, looking for any injury, the others doing the same.

Harry was surprised by their worry as he had not really interacted with his new housemates. "I'm fine," he assured.

"Then why are you going to the infirmary?" Sue questioned.

"I've almost run out of the ointment my healer gave me and I haven't got any extra. I hadn't realised how low it had gotten, so I'm hoping she can help me," Harry explained.

"Oh, well then, that's fine. As long as you're okay," said Mandy.

"Do you want me to come with you?" offered Terry. "In case you get lost?"

Harry smiled again. "That's okay, you finish your breakfast, I'm sure I'll be fine. I looked at the map," Harry said. He would have to be careful for the first few days to hide how well he knew the castle. With that, he walked from the Great Hall and took the familiar route to the infirmary.

Entering, Harry looked around at the place he had spent so much time in during his last life and wondered if he would escape such a fate this time.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, what can I do for you this morning?" asked the aged healer when she spotted Harry. She couldn't see anything obviously wrong but knew that sometimes that didn't matter.

Harry smiled at Madam Pomfrey and walked closer. "A few days after I received my Hogwarts letter I visited a healer who placed me under a rather strict potions regime. I thought it would be wise to let you know in case I ever landed in here and you needed to know if I was on something," Harry said.