Chapter Text
Even though Tom had gotten them kicked out of the library, and no matter how much Harry complained about Tom, they had started to get along after that. It was as if a wall that Harry had put up between them had broken down.
Not that they were super friendly with each other; there was still an underlying tension when the banter got too heated. Still, it was nicer than before.
During all this, Harry had also been hanging out with Septimus and his gang of Gryffindors. There was also, of course, Quidditch practice with the Slytherins. It felt as if he had a stable schedule, again, a somewhat normal life. But then again, when has Harry’s life ever been normal?
A part of Harry felt guilty, though, thinking about what he left when he fell through the veil with Sirius. They were in the middle of a battle too, who knows if Hermione or Ron were even safe or alive .
There's also the fact that Harry was taking hormone potions from the 1940's. They seemed to be just as efficient as the ones he usually took, but wasn’t quite sure though, as they tasted different. Although that was a minor issue compared to everything else.
These lingering thoughts have been messing with Harry’s head for the past few days. It was keeping him up at night.
“You alright, mate?” Septimus knocked his shoulder into Harry’s, waking him up from his thoughts.
“Er… Yeah.” Harry answered, gripping his broom nervously.
They had just finished up a friendly game of Quidditch, with Harry not being the only Slytherin among the crowd of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Cedrella Black, a sixth year Slytherin, was there alongside him; she had only recently started playing with them on their weekly games.
“Did the windy weather today knock your brains out or something?” The taller boy laughed, his eyes crinkling as he did. “It can be quite hard to tell if you even have one, with all that hair you have.”
“Sod off.” Harry laughed back, shoving Septimus with his shoulder lightly. He did need a haircut, the black locks always hanging in front of his eyes these days.
“But seriously mate, if anything’s wrong you can tell me.” Septimus looked at him expectantly, his face worried.
Harry stood there for a while, feeling the weight of Septimus’ stare before shrugging. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t talk to Septimus about the stuff he worried about. He couldn’t talk to anyone.
“Tom has just been bothering me more than usual I suppose.” He finally answered, deciding to push the issue onto Tom.
“Tom? You mean Riddle?” Septimus’ eyebrows quirked up. “I thought you hated the bloke.”
Harry’s eyes widened in shock at what he had just said. He hadn’t even realised that he had called… Riddle that. And if he didn’t realise by now, perhaps he had called him that plenty of times before; and Septimus was just the first one to point it out.
“I— Er.” Harry said gracefully. “I meant Riddle.”
Septimus gave him an unconvinced look.
“Are you boys talking about Tom Riddle?”
Cedrella Black was suddenly standing next to them, leaning on her broomstick. She had her hair in a tight ponytail, not a single strand out of place. It made her face look long and severe.
Harry hadn’t talked to her much, but from what he’d noticed, she looked to be a sarcastic and smart type of girl. It was a stark contrast from how quiet she usually was when she was with the Slytherins. So much so, that Harry hadn’t realised that she was even a student at Hogwarts until he saw her at these meetings.
There was also the fact that Septimus would talk about her occasionally, in a way that seemed less than platonic. Harry was an oblivious sort of bloke, and it took him ages to realize that Hermione and Ron liked each other but even he could tell that Septimus liked her.
‘Harry— Harry, do you see her? I swear she did something with her hair today. It's just... It looks so
shiny.’
‘Do you think Cedrella would ever give me a chance— be honest! But not too honest— I personally think we would be brilliant! Not that I’m interested…’
‘Merlin! Harry, do you know how Cedrella manages to be so perfect in every way possible? She’s extraordinary, I swear.’
…And so on.
“Boys?” Cedrella raised an eyebrow at both of them.
“Uh— Hi Cedrella.” Septimus’ face went completely red.
“Hello, Weasley.” She looked him up and down, making him go even redder somehow. “So what about Tom Riddle are you blokes talking about?”
“Something about Harry being bothered by him.” Septimus responded quickly, slurring his words in a desperate attempt to stay calm.
“Hm, I’m not surprised, from what I’ve heard under his exterior he can be quite an unpleasant person.” Cedrella leaned on Septimus.
“He’s definitely an arse, that’s what he is.” Harry grumbled, crossing his arms.
“So much of an arse that you’re on a first name basis with him?” Septimus teased, nudging Harry with his arm.
“Er—“
“He does hang around you a lot and practically everyone knows that you two go flying together.” Cedrella tilted her head and squinted her eyes, studying Harry. “The question is why would Tom Riddle, of all people, want to hang out with an unextraordinary muggleborn?”
“Hold on, Cedrella, have you seen Harry in Defence? He’s definitely more than unextraordinary.” Septimus spoke up. “Perhaps Riddle just likes to spend time with him!”
“Yes, but someone like Riddle wouldn’t just do that . I know the kind of person he is. He’s an opportunist, someone who only speaks to people if he thinks it’ll benefit him in the long run.” Cedrella’s face was serious now, her icy eyes weighing down on Harry.
It was silent for a bit. Septimus shifted from foot to foot nervously, unsure of what to say, the mood turned serious. Harry looked away from Cedrella’s cold eyes and shrugged.
“Probably.” He gave a short response, feeling odd.
Everything Cedrella had said was right, and Harry knew it. Harry felt a lump in his throat. He shouldn’t be upset about this; he knew what kind of person Tom— Riddle was. Somehow, Harry had let it slip in his head, and he had let himself believe that maybe, just maybe, Riddle and him were actually becoming friends. He looked back at Cedrella with weary eyes.
“Hm.” Cedrella looked away from Harry, snapping out of the serious mood. “I’ll see you two then. Bye.”
She walked away without a second glance. They stood there in silence for a few more seconds watching Cedrella’s small frame disappear into the castle.
“So… uh—“ Septimus tried to start up awkwardly, his face twisting into a nervous smile. “Do you wanna head to—“
“Septimus, I’m going to go back to my dorm, see you later.” Harry cut him off, feeling awful about it, but he really needed space to think right now.
“Oh okay— See you later then mate?” Septimus shouted skittishly after Harry as the boy walked away.