Heroes at Hogwarts

seven | dinner and dormitories

harry

Dinner had been a train wreck.

Percy had been snagged by the brunette Slytherin girl that Harry was sure couldn't be new, because no one came in brand new at their age (unless you were an exchange student, apparently). But he was sure he'd never seen her, her glowing headband, or the strange way she wore her uniform before. But the way Percy stared at her with wide eyes masked with recognition made it obvious that he did know her.

Then Hermione and Ginny had whisked away Hazel and Will- who was staring at the Slytherin girl open mouthed-  to the Hufflepuff table almost immediately after Percy was gone, because Ginny knew some Hufflepuffs and was determined to introduce them to the two.

This left Ron and Harry to bring Jason and Frank along to the Gryffindor table, which also led to quite a few stares from the students sitting around the Gryffindor table.

Mainly, though, they all stared at Percy. His robes swayed like he'd walked in them a million times, but judging by the trouble he'd had getting them on, he had never worn a cloak before. Harry doubted the robes were the reason girls, including Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, were watching him across the hall. He had to admit, the guy carried himself with confidence and bravery, but he was still a Slytherin. Harry had learned quick; never trust someone with a green tie.

Jason had settled between Neville and a boy that Harry had to look closely at to see who he was, but as soon as he looked into the boy's eyes he was hit with memories as if this boy had been in the same dormitory for six years. Harry narrowed his eyes for a moment, but he couldn't help accept that this boy was his friend and had been for a while. Neville, Seamus, Dean, and Ron didn't seem to think he was out of place. They were laughing and talking like they'd always been like this. Come to think of it, the Slytherin girl had always been around, too. Yeah, she'd been there since their first year as well.

Once he had finished his eternal battle with his memory, he turned to the two boys Jason had settled between. "Neville, Michael," Harry said, "this is Jason and Frank. They're exchange students from America, and they'll be with us until the end of the year."

Michael and Neville smiled and shook hands with Jason and Frank, they exchanged names and

"Jason Grace."

"Neville Longbottom."

"Frank Zhang."

"Michael Yew."

Frank and Jason looked confused at the name, like it should have meant something to them but they didn't know exactly what it was. Instead, Jason, Neville, and Michael hit it off, talking about anything and everything. Frank was busy eating, but occasionally would add in comments or speak with Hermione, who'd come back halfway through the meal with Ginny.

"Lovable pair, they are." Ginny nodded. "I can see why they got Hufflepuff." She sat next to Harry and nudged him with her shoulder with a smile on her face before Dean got her attention and wrapped his arm around her and tried to give her a peppermint pasty.

Harry smiled to himself, Ginny hated peppermint. Then he masked the smile with a cough. He shouldn't be happy that Dead barely knew Ginny. He shouldn't be happy that the two were growing distant. Dean was his buddy, and Ginny was his best mate's little sister. Plus, he shouldn't even know that the two were getting distant. 

They all sat like that, just being Gryffindors and messing with each other for almost an hour. Ron and Harry had hit it off with both of the new boys, and Frank seemed to have even grown on Hermione.

But then the feast had ended, Percy had gotten Jason's attention from across the hall with a wave, and left with a huddle of Slytherins Harry had seen around plenty of times, but never spoken to. They weren't Malfoy, so Harry figured they could have been alright.