Guardian of Hogwarts

3.6 Approaching

Sorry dear readers but I had to change some parts to let the story make more sense later! I hope you don't mind!

Holidays were approaching, and a good 70% of the students were already getting busy backing their bags. For the teachers, that meant about the following:

More visits to the owl tower.
More sleepers during class.
A skittish atmosphere.
Their stress free time was coming!

Snape was honestly as glad as his students to 'get freed' as they do so  candidly put it. He was already planning to spend some time on his own potions; get some things in Stock, clean and resort and relabel his cabinet.. "Professor?". Oh, now he was the one daydreaming during class.

Harry for his part was going around the different common rooms, occasionally sitting with them late at night and listening to what some of the exited kids were going to do with their family; a few even had their friends come.
"You could come by too Councelor" was an offer many kids gave, and each time he'd give the same reply '..I'll think about it, thanks for saying so'.

"§I can sssmell your hessitence.. What are you fearing..?§

Tom raised an eyebrow at Nagini which was on him and on the chair he was sitting on while reading a book. At the moment it was him, her, Draco, Theodor, Pansy, Blaize and some others in the quiet room where the fireplace was comfortably crackling in the background while giving a soft glow to the dark dreary room. Some wrote letters, read books, or played games like poker or chess.

"Whose hessitence my dear?" he whispered while petting the head close to his own, though he had a guess seeing his dear girl look at the dark cat draped on the table before then which Pansy was petting and immersing herself in.

"Harrison?" he softly said to her, a few heard him and looked over. Theodor raised an eyebrow, "Is something wrong Thomas?".

Tom shook his head and grabbed a bookmark lying on the table next to him, he marked his page before closing. He put one leg over the other, a gesture generally meaning that one wishes to talk among the studious snake's. The ones in their little circle also paused their activities. Draco and Blaize put their cards down.

"Councelor, no. Harrison, is there a reason you...hm..can't accept the invites for holidays?", some glances went to the cat whose beady eyes were brightened by the fire. They blinked, '.. Could you rephrase that Thomas, I don't think I heard you correctly'.

A few thought that excuse weak, considering he was a cat right now. The other merely continued the discussion regardless, he was sure that Nagini had found a little..snippet about the cat that the Councilor didn't like to talk about himself.
"I had asked why you can't go visit someone during the holidays. Is it that you can't leave Hogwarts? But oh wait, that can't be it we all saw how you left for Gringotts once".

The cat's eyes furrowed, 'Sure enough there might be something to it'. A few were getting interested too, why won't he say he will?

'...I'm uncomfortable.'
"Uncomfortable? Why? They invited you, and I'm sure there's nothing as dangerous as a dementor..$or a basilisk$ at their house that would stop you." the little hiss that left his lips wasn't heard in the moment.

'It is..a personal problem' Harry sat up and lied back down into a spynx pose, 'I've never stayed over at someone else's house, I've never spent time with parents. My manners are..you could call it miserable but borderline tolerable. I-I don't know what to do'.

...
Draco scooted closer to the table he'd been playing at, he looked Harrison dead in the eye, confused. "Uhm, Councilor, how old are you?", Harry blinked at the question '.. Uhm, around 13 I think? Don't know my exact birthday, but it should be in July'.

""You're the same age as us??"", Draco and Pansy almost shouted in surprise, the other two not to far with how high their eyebrows went the more they thought of it.
"Hm.. Then you were born 1980?", Thomas concluded, it was hard to believe with how steadfast the.. he was. Tom thought the other was atleast half his age, but this was quite the coincidence.

Thinking about it some more, with how old he is, Tom drew a simple reason as to why Harrison was hesitant - fearful according to Nagini - to go to anothers home. He thought of how to solve this problem without making it obvious. He quickly got an idea.
"Hey Draco, how about you invite him to your birthday next week? It's in the holidays, and only lasts a day, I'm sure he would be willing to come".

'Huh?'
"Huh? Oh yeah!"

Harry tilted his head, 'So his birthday is before mine.. Weird. He's gonna be older than me for atleast three weeks'.

Draco putting his hand down very close to his chest - under which his claws were hidden - pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked at the blond curiously, whose head was on his other hand's knuckles. "You could surely come to the party, it would be fun to have you around!"

"The rest of us are also coming, so you don't have to worry about being alone", Theo said still with his book open but his attention at them. Harry's ear flicked to the side, 'A birthday party..'.

Tom amusedly watched - hiding his smile behind his own hand - how the councel(No wait since the others younger than him he'll just stick to calling him Harrison). Anyway, his tail was swishing from side to side. Pansy and Draco started to smile even more.

'... Sure, I'll come.' the two inwardly raised their hands in the air, 'Yes!!'. Pansy leaned onto the table, "It's the 5th of Juni, so be sure to come. I'll be staying over there, but Theo and his dad are gonna come around.." she looked at him.
"..We will come around 9am".

Tom grabbed for his book again, the kids could talk this out on their own. He'd just have to inform Lucious later if necessary. 'Narcissa might find it interesting, or cute. But she might find the other as a little puppy endearing'.