Pawn

  Albus Dumbledore paced nervously in his office. He had felt the wards of the castle warn him of not one, but two malicious or dark cores entering Hogwarts. His plan only accounted for Voldemort. He could admit that luring the dark lord to the school with the stone was not the smartest choice, but he was desperate.

  He needed to prove to himself that the prophecy was still in full effect, that Harry Potter was still protected and that he could delay his return. Had he gotten more than he bargained for? He needed to be careful and plan again. He was in the Great Hall earlier than usual, to see if he could detect something or someone as the students and professors arrived. He was highly suspicious of Quirrell of course, having traveled to Albania where rumor of a Dark presence had spread.

  But so far, Quirinus had not been in contact with anyone as far as he could gather. The portraits acting as his spies mentioned he had not communicated with anyone yet and no owls had been dispatched either.

  As the first students began to fill the Great Hall his magic sensed a dark nature. He looked around and saw Harry Potter enter. He was following a blond student that had unnatural arms. He feared that the scar on the boy had done something to him. When he left him to his family, he could feel that it was something foul but that was not harming the boy. If he was being possessed or going dark his plans would fail.

  He carefully sent his magic to him, he felt nothing out of the ordinary and when he looked at him he could sense his feelings, nervous, anxious, like any first year first days, but content. He curiously gazed upon other students that had entered as well, no one felt any different.

  The entire breakfast continued, because Quirrell was now there, he couldn't really know if there was another dark agent by feeling alone. He still scanned the place trying to see who Quirrell was looking at. But nothing came out of that either. When Harry and his friend departed after their schedules were handed in he took a moment to calm his mind and walk away to his office again. Feeling anxious.

  Monday

  08:30 - 09:30 | D.A.D.A

  09:45 - 10:45 | Herbology

  11:00 - 12:00 | Charms

  12:00 - 13:00 | Lunch

  13:00 - 14:00 | Transfig.

  14:15 - 15:15 | History

  15:30 - 16:30 | Astronomy

  Tuesday

  08:30 - 09:30 | Herbology

  09:45 - 10:45 | Charms

  11:00 - 12:00 | D.A.D.A

  12:00 - 13:00 | Lunch

  13:00 - 14:00 | History

  14:15 - 15:15 | Potions

  15:30 - 16:30 | Astronomy

  Wednesday

  08:30 - 09:30 | Charms

  09:45 - 10:45 | Transfig.

  11:00 - 12:00 | Potions

  12:00 - 13:00 | Lunch

  13:00 - 14:00 | D.A.D.A

  14:15 - 15:15 | Herbology

  15:30 - 16:30 | FREE

  Midnight | Astronomy

  Thursday

  08:30 - 09:30 | Charms

  09:45 - 10:45 | D.A.D.A

  11:00 - 12:00 | History

  12:00 - 13:00 | Lunch

  13:00 - 14:00 | Transfig.

  14:15 - 15:15 | Transfig.

  15:30 - 16:30 | FREE

  Friday

  08:30 - 09:30 | History

  09:45 - 10:45 | Astronomy

  11:00 - 12:00 | Potions

  12:00 - 13:00 | Lunch

  13:00 - 14:00 | Potions

  14:15 - 15:15 | FREE / Flying lessons

  15:30 - 16:30 | FREE

  Harry took a look at the schedule. It was Monday September 2nd so they would have to find the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom. Luckily, it seemed Lynne knew where to go and just started heading in that direction. He was still quite worried about her. She didn't reach for any food and just read quietly while he ate.

  He thought that maybe the girl, much like himself, suffered long periods of not eating and she wasn't used to that much food. She did look thin beneath her robes, although he wasn't sure. They were kind of saggy after all. He would have to talk to her after class, maybe at lunch. He followed her to the classroom, they were one of the first to enter so they got to pick their seats.

  The classroom reeked of garlic and it wasn't the most pleasant smell. It wasn't that uncomfortable but still not pleasant. Slowly the room filled out with students from his year and as well as Slytherins students. He gave a polite bow to Malfoy from where he was sitting and got one in return. They shared the first and second period with Slytherin.

  "M-my name i-is Pr-pr-professor Quirinus Qu-quirrell. I will t-t-teach you a-bou-t the dark creatures yo-u wi-ll n-eed to def-f-fend against and how."

  He went on to explain curses and counter-curses, but the explanations were so slow and the horrible stutter made the class impossible to follow correctly. Lynne looked straight up murderous and Quirrell did not go near them at all for the entire lesson. Not even calling them or looking at their direction. And whenever he gave his back to Harry he felt a strong headache coming in from his scar. Something he was not sure why kept happening.

  He was glad when the class ended to bolt out of there, luckily it seemed that Lynne was not happy either to stay any second longer.

  "How is he allowed to teach at all? He is useless and a coward. I can't believe he is stupid enough to believe that the amount of garlic present would stop a vampire at all. " he heard Malfoy complain to his cohort of Slytherins that were following out of the class. "I will have my father hear about this."

  He snorted but quietly left them behind following an impatient Lynne to the greenhouses. Again, he was surprised at how knowledgeable she was with the Castle. So he had to ask.

  "How do you already know where to go?"

  "I created a spell to point me in the direction I really want to be. It doesn't work long distances but it's enough for me to reach classrooms." she answered without stopping.

  "But I didn't see you cast anything…"

  "Another thing to teach you then? There are many spells which affect only your vision, like the Revelio charm."

  He was happy he had Lynne to teach him things like that, but he still had a lot of questions as to how she knew all of this. And create a spell? Wasn't that supposed to be quite advanced? It didn't make a lot of sense to him now that he could compare her with other students. They knew almost as much as him after all. Putting the thought aside, he followed her into Herbology Class and he only learned one thing that day, plants were scary.

  Charms was the first class shared with Gryffindors at the start of the week, and the first time he could answer questions that he had learned on the train! It was nice to be able to go over magic theory like a ping pong between the small professor and other students. He gained points to Ravenclaw and it felt good to know.

  Having Lynne as a partner in charms though was a bit off-putting. She seemed to never pay attention and never raised her hand to answer anything but as soon as Professor Flitwick called for her she would answer correctly every time. Each time, people flinched at her voice. It seemed like the professor did not mind or didn't show it at least.

  He didn't know if it was a sensible topic for the girl to answer, so he was thinking of ways to come up with the topic sometime soon. At the end of the class he saw the bushy girl staring at them. It seemed like a glare but he was not sure or why someone would target them specifically.

  "Do you remember the name of the girl that is staring at us?" He asked in a whisper, avoiding her gaze.

  "Hermione Granger, I have no clue why she is staring. It looks like a mix of curiosity and competitiveness. It doesn't look important enough." she whispered back.

  He blinked surprised at her answer. "How can you see so well so far away…?"

  "Harry, are you sure those are the right glasses for you?" As he wondered the same question, Lynne was packing his books into her satchel.

  As they made their way out of the classroom, she gave him a run down on how her spell worked to get a helping guide to a room he was thinking of as a destination. She explained that it was a deviation from a spell called Four-point, Point me, that would point always to the north. Instead of pointing to the north, this spell would point to a specific destination.

  "You can try it, it works best with rooms you already know, but if you don't, the spell will try to gather information from different magic sources to find the room. That's why it doesn't work long distances..." she stopped suddenly in the middle of the corridor.

  "Try it, visualize the great hall, we have to be there for lunch. You will guide us there."

  "I still think the wand movement is quite complicated. Well… here goes. Indica Locus."

  Waving the wand in the pattern of the spell. He was still amazed at the complexity of the spell. At the third try a small blue path appeared in front of him guiding the way.

  Happy with having success with the spell, he ushered Lynne to follow him and together they headed to the Great Hall. Harry was liking his first day so far.

  "Why are you not eating again, Lynne?" he looked at her concerned.

  "Just a condition, Harry. I don't ever get hungry, if I need it I will eat something from my trunk. Don't worry about it."

  "Does it have anything to do with your voice?"

  "No. My voice sounds like this because I screamed until my cords snapped, magic couldn't heal it in time."

  His eyes opened in shock. "W-what do you mean…?"

  "I meant that I screamed so much that I damaged my vocal cords beyond repair."

  "Who… what made you scream?"

  "It was my torture resistance training."

  He didn't know what to answer at all. He imagined terrible things, he wasn't sure what this training was about but if it had you screaming until she was hurt, it couldn't be a good thing. His own experience with screaming had been met with more punishment at the Dursley and he couldn't possibly understand how that could be a training.

  "Was this your father's friend who trained you?" He made the mistake of speaking about this, now he was being anxious, thinking of the Dursleys.

  "My mentor and guardian, yes." a small smile on her lips. And just that tiny gesture gave Harry the feeling of relief that he needed to relax a bit.

  "Well, we should head to transfiguration." He thought it was best not to continue with the topic. If one of the few smiles she had were thinking about his mentor then he shouldn't be that bad.

  Walking to the class and sitting down with Lynne beside him, he saw a cat on the professor's desk. It was strange arriving earlier than a professor. Lynne nodded to the cat and opened her book. She had warned him that the stern professor would usually leave the theory of transfiguration for self-study, having more practical classes instead. He had read a bit on lunch time ahead, he was hoping that was enough.

  After a few minutes the cat jumped from the desk turning into the professor. He blinked surprised and in awe with a simple thought: Magic was amazing.

  "Welcome to my class, first years. Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

  With that, she started making instructions on security and asked a few questions which Harry knew about luckily. He could answer a few and gain more points for his house. This was looking like a great class and although McGonagall seemed stern, she explained well and it was easy to understand.

  "For this 20 minutes of class, we will try to change these toothpicks into a needle. The spell is in your book and look closely at me for the wand movements." She proceeded to show them the movements of the wand and turned one of the toothpicks into a needle. He quickly practiced the movements at first only, and he thought it wasn't really hard.

  "It's all in your mind, Harry. As long as you can visualize the needle in great detail, the spell should work correctly. Picture the needle first in your head, then try."

  He had forgotten about Lynne beside him, he watched as her toothpick was already a needle and he noted that he had never heard her say the spell. He focused on his toothpick, on picturing the needle on his head, a needle that was now easy to picture having seen Lynne's. He performed the spell and much to his surprise, it worked at first try.

  "I did it!" He cheered happily hugging Lynne from the side. The surprised girl chuckled at him but did not complain.

  "Well done, Mr. Potter. 10 points to Ravenclaw. To you as well, Miss Volant."

  They were sharing class with the Hufflepuffs but only one of them actually made a needle by the end of the class. Of his housemates, almost everyone except Sue Li managed to complete the needle. He gathered his things and exited the classroom.

  History of magic was boring and he had trouble not falling asleep. The ghost professor was so monotonous it was really difficult to keep up. Lynne was reading something else, he kept trying to understand what she was reading, but it was in Latin and he didn't know the language. She was almost falling asleep when she pulled out another book and handed it to him.

  It was a book on stars and constellations, what they meant and their application in divination and the study of how magic is influenced by the cosmic movements. It kept him entertained and it was interesting at least, more than the class. Professor Binns just didn't even look at them while he continued rumbling about 15th century events.

  After history they had Astronomy and he now understood why she had given him the book, he could answer most things asked and again more points and participation in class. His housemates saw him as a nice addition to their Ravenclaw. He was exhausted by the end of the day though, but happy.

  He followed Lynne to the library to ask her a few questions he had about their first day and together they revised a few concepts and spells. Overall it was a nice first day. Dinner was uneventful and immediately after he collapsed in his comfortable bed.

  The following morning, Lynne was waiting for him in the common room, again. He was an early riser and somehow she was there. He liked having someone wait for him though.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  "Morning, Harry. I have a gift for you."

  Harry, who was skipping down to the common room, almost fell down the stairs.

  "A gift…?"

  "It's a pocket watch. It used to be a regular gift from your family when you became an adult."

  It was a small round silver watch just like hers. "Err… why?"

  "This one will help you as it also has a particular enchantment with its brother timepiece of mine."

  He took it from her cold hard hands making a ting sound. He opened the lid and saw a beautifully carved eagle on the background of the small hands of the watch.

  "It's pretty… thank you." he looked at her fondly.

  "It has a mental message enchantment. If you press on the small button on the side it can send messages to me, as long as you have it in you, I can send messages to you."

  She took hers out and immediately showed it to him how it was done.

  Do not think in a pink Elephant.

  Harry chuckled and pressed on his.

  PinkElephantLynneisamazing.

  Lynne smiled a little. "You need to filter your thoughts for the messages, Harry. But thank you."

  The boy nodded embarrassed. "Let's go and have breakfast."

  They headed to the great hall to eat. Sitting at the Ravenclaw table some of their classmates joined them chatting about their classes for the day. They were chatting more with him than with Lynne, but she didn't seem to mind.

  The whole group headed to classes and again, both him and Lynne earned more points. In Charms and Defense they performed a perfect Lumos and he gave a few tips to his classmates. He still left defense with a small headache for some reason.

  After lunch they traveled through the castle to the dungeons. Their first potions class. He sat beside Lynne and two Hufflepuff girls who he didn't remember.

  "Miss Bones, Miss Abbott." Of course, Lynne knows. She always knows.

  "Err, hello."

  "Hi."

  Harry gave a small wave at them and sat down. A loud door noise made everyone jump and Professor Snape came barling down into the classroom.

  "There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making."

  He said in a low voice, but everyone was paying attention to him anyway. Harry thought he was intimidating so he started writing down what he was saying as small notes.

  "However, for those select few who possess the predisposition... I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses."

  "I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death. Then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not pay attention!"

  He is talking to you.

  Startled but managing to recover quickly, Harry looked up to Snape. "Oh, sorry professor, I was taking notes of what you were saying."

  "Is that so, Mr. Potter? Yes, you are our new celebrity after all, you should keep up." He was looking at him with disdain. He didn't like being singled out.

  "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

  Sleeping potion. The draught of living death. Came Lynne's message in his head. Of course! My heroine to the rescue.

  "A sleeping potion. The Draught of Living death."

  Snaped raised one eyebrow. "Yes. Where do you find me a Bezoar?"

  A stone in the Stomach of a goat.

  "In the stomach of a goat professor. It's a stone"

  Snape looked surprised but nodded.

  "And what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

  "They are the same plant!" He remembered that from the small reading he did on potions that day.

  Good job.

  He looked to his classmates and Lynne had a blank expression but to his side both Bones and Abbott couldn't hide their surprise.

  "Yes it also goes by the name of aconite. You also failed to mention that the Bezoar acts as an antidote to most poisons" He looked at the whole class. "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down? 5 points to Ravenclaw, Mr. Potter." he said calmly, although his face was foul as if he just swallowed a lemon.

  The class continued without any issues after that, they were tasked to do a small cure for Boils potion, there was a cauldron that almost burned down by one of the Hufflepuff boys but Snape managed to spare him of any injuries. He left the classroom feeling content, he managed to finish correctly and without any issues while not feeling like Lynne was doing all the work.

  After astronomy they kept studying and reading with Lynne in the library. He finished tired again but pleased with his progress.

  As the day went by, classes were easier and came to him almost naturally, he was pushing to get the best marks and Lynne's continued help gave him the boost that he needed. He also kept learning new spells and wizarding culture taught by her, each time more amazed at her brilliant mind.

  On Friday he received a letter carried by Hedwig with an invitation for tea to Hagrid's hut just outside the castle and although he had been making more friends and being cordial with most of his classmates he only invited Lynne with him. They exited the castle after classes and headed to his house if you can call it that. The cozy hut had a weird exterior but it looked warm and inviting.

  He knocked on the door gently, and heard a muffled voice from inside. Hagrid opened the door but before he could even greet the half-giant a cold tongue was hitting his face. Startled he did not react but Lynne did, placing herself in front of him pushing the dog gently back.

  "Fang! Oi back of' you old fool. Sorry 'bout that Harry. He means good."

  He gave gentle pats to fang once Lynne moved aside.

  "Hey Hagrid, we came for tea. This is my friend Lynne."

  The giant assessed the girl for the first time and opened his eyes a bit, no wonder surprised by her body. She gave him a small bow and he didn't say anything for a bit and Harry was growing anxious when he just smiled and waved them in.

  "I'll set up the kettle. Make yourself at home. Biscuits?"

  "Thanks."

  It was amazing to see the half-giant navigating through his hut to make tea, you would think with his size it would be difficult but he moved with ease in his place. Harry sat and made space for Lynne to join him. When she sat he heard a faint metal sound hit the seat and for the first time he looked at her legs. They had always been covered so he never thought that she may have lost her legs as well.

  "It's nice to see you are making friends, Harry. How was your first week? Are you enjoying Hogwarts?"

  "It has been great, Hagrid, there is so much to learn and so much to see. Lynne has been helping a lot with everything. We are going to explore the castle this weekend, it should be fun."

  "Well I'm glad that you are having fun. Your parents would be proud of you, Harry."

  "Thank you, Hagrid."

  They talked about his parents for a bit, how they had made Gryffindor proud, Hagrid spoke as if he knew them dearly but at the same time, didn't reveal many details about them. He was wondering why Lynne was not speaking and one looked at Hagrid and he saw that he was eying her from time to time, maybe for the same reason.

  "What is Headmaster Dumbledore hiding in the castle, Hagrid? Is it whatever was in the newspaper today about Gringotts Vault 713?"

  Hagrid looked at her wide-eyed. "H-how do you know about that? The headmaster tasked me with that mission secretly."

  "You just gave it away and also did said mission in front of Harry."

  "You should not meddle in affairs you have no place in."

  "One of your pets is guarding it, yes?" Lynne continued asking unbothered.

  "How do you know about Fluffy?!" Hagrid was now very anxious and almost screamed at her.

  "Fluffy?" Harry whispered.

  "I shouldn't have said that, I should not have said that. Right, out! Go back to the castle both of ya'."

  Hurrying back to the castle, Harry couldn't stop the many thoughts crashing in his mind. Following Lynne to the library he felt that he needed a few answers. They found an empty secluded table to sit, something that they were doing regularly this first week after classes.

  "If I ask you will explain what that was about?"

  "Whatever you want to ask, I will always answer you."

  "Why?"

  "I've been cursed to always tell the truth if asked, unless someone specifically tells me I cannot tell anyone. I can keep secrets from others but not mine."

  Harry looked horrified at that information. "There is a curse for that…?"

  "Yes."

  "Uhm… alright. Who cursed you?"

  "My guardian."

  "Is he the one who broke your voice?"

  "Yes."

  He gulped imagining a worse magical version of Vernon Dursley. He didn't see Lynne show any emotional distress but he didn't want to continue talking about that.

  "I'm sorry."

  "Don't be."

  Harry remained quiet for a bit gathering his thoughts.

  "So you think they are keeping something in the castle."

  She nodded slowly.

  "Something that someone tried to steal from the Gringotts vault that Hagrid and I visited."

  Again a slow nod.

  "It's on the third-floor corridor in Hogwarts."

  "And a creature from Hagrid's is protecting it?"

  "I assumed so, yes. He looks after the animals and herds around the forbidden forest. It was a hunch of mine, and he just gave it away."

  "So the headmaster was not kidding when he said that it was very dangerous to go near the third-floor corridor."

  "Quite so."

  "Why would they bring it here though?" he didn't want to think badly of the school, but to have something as dangerous that

  "As a lure obviously."

  "To lure what?"

  "Not what. Who."

  For Harry, it all sounded very confusing, nevertheless he was excited to know of the plot happening at the castle. It sounded like an adventure. Although he wasn't sure if he wanted to risk it, with how dangerous the creature guarding it sounded. He didn't ask Lynne any more questions and together they kept studying quietly and then returned to their common room.

  The second week went by quickly as he fell into a rhythm, and even though he couldn't confirm it due to ending up tired and sleepy each day, he suspected Lynne didn't sleep or eat at all. He never saw her eating at the great hall or ever woken up earlier than her, even though he tried several times. She was always ready for him.

  With Friday and the end of the week came their first flying lesson, and Harry was excited to fly for the first time, along with his classmates. That afternoon, they walked outside the castle. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first years were lined up in two rows with brooms by their sides laid down by Madame Hooch. Harry observed her short hair and hawk yellow eyes the likes he had never seen. Behind her the small Charms professor followed.

  "Good afternoon, class, good afternoon. Welcome to your first flying lesson. You are joined by Professor Flitwick today because of the incident yesterday with the Gryffindor boy. Nasty fall that one."

  If she thought that was reassuring it had the opposite reaction clearly. Everyone was scared… except maybe Lynne who had her usual blank face.

  "Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone, stand on the left side of their broomstick. Come on now, hurry up. Stick your right hand over the broom and say, 'Up'."

  A chorus of 'Ups' quickly followed. To Harry's amazement his broom shot up at his first try straight into his hand. He glanced around and saw that a few were struggling, Lynne already had hers in her hand and he was sure he never heard her even say the words.

  The ones who didn't manage it had to pick it up manually from the ground as Madame Hooch continued with the lesson.

  "Now, once you've got hold of your broom, I want you to mount it. And grip it tight, you don't want to be sliding off the end. When I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your broom steady, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly and touch back down."

  In his excitement he almost kicked-off right there but he felt the cold hand from Lynne touch his shoulder and made him pause.

  "On my whistle. 3, 2, 1."

  At the sound of the whistle he kicked as hard as he could and shot up to the sky. He hovered, controlling his broom and steadying himself from time to time. He was finding it quite easy to handle and he really wanted to test the limits of the broom already. Feeling confident he gained speed dodging classmates and objects in his path, so focused on his task he didn't hear Hooch telling him to drop down. He had done about 12 laps when he saw his instructor waving at him and making him stop in his tracks, almost falling off the broom, only to be caught by Lynne that was all of a sudden beside him in the air.

  "Mister Potter, Miss. Volant, get down this instant! Have you both gone mad?!"

  Hooch was furious at them when they landed and started a long rant about safety and endangering the class by flying fast all the while Flitwick was clearly amused.

  "It was a nice display of flying you two, I hope to see you try-out for Ravenclaw's Quidditch team next year."

  "I'm sorry Professors, I got too excited." pleaded Harry. Lynne just gave them a small apologetic bow.

  "No one was hurt, Mister Potter, it's alright." Flitwick said while looking at Madame Hooch.

  "Well… yes, no one was hurt but still I expect my instruction to be followed next time. Can't have students doing whatever they want in my class."

  They returned to their dorms to rest and catch up on a few things Lynne wanted to teach him. The common room was filled with gossip and they didn't manage to even sit when a few of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team students bombarded them with questions about what they had done.

  Apparently Flitwick boasted that they had talent waiting for them. They offered them to participate in their weekly trainings and to tutor them for next year. Harry found himself a bit overwhelmed by the attention but nevertheless a feeling of belonging made him quite happy.

  Lynne was aloof at best but she said she would follow Harry along. The next few weeks he spent a few days with the Quidditch team, as well as with his classmates who were now being more friendly and open to him. The only constant being Lynne which the Ravenclaws had begun to call her his shadow.

  If only they knew that Harry was the one chasing behind her and trying to learn everything he could out of her, they were talking with the pocketwatch a lot so people also thought that she was quiet because of her condition.

  Of course, having a small secret between them meant that he thought they shared a deeper connection and she had a lot more to talk about when no one was listening. Something that was only known to him, something that no matter their knowledge they wouldn't find out.

  In the days that followed there was a lot of gossip going around, apparently an infamous pair of twins encountered a Cerberus on the third floor corridor, which Harry now knew was the creature guarding the place. Although it could be an exaggeration with those two, the name 'Fluffy' made sense for a dog. A big mean three-headed dog, but a dog all the same.

  Safe to say, he didn't want to approach it anymore and wondered how anyone could be so careless and task it to guard something inside the castle full of students. There was also gossip involving Malfoy and a few Gryffindors after their flying lesson and talk of a duel between the smallest Weasley and him, but there were no details really so he assumed that didn't happen in the end.

  One day at the great hall he overheard Seamus, Granger, Longbottom and Weasley talking about the third-floor corridor, apparently they also went looking for some reason, Granger was furious with them and stormed out leaving them behind.

  Lynne and Harry found her in the library afterwards doing homework. They sat at another table to do theirs as well. Harry was curious about the third corridor and wanted to ask but he didn't know how to approach her.

  What are you thinking of?

  Lynne pulled him out of his thoughts and was looking at him intensely.

  Just curious about the cerberus, maybe we could ask Granger. You heard her earlier.

  He was learning to answer quickly with the pocket watch.

  Well, we could, but I worry with her kind of temper she may not welcome it.

  And that was true, she had displayed quite a temper at the great hall and now she looked focused on her homework. Bothering her would probably make her ignore them.

  Sighing he continued with his homework, he was almost done with all of his essays. He had used History of magic to advance a bit on every subject and it was working for him so far.

  "Ahem… do you have a moment?" He looked in the direction of the voice startled and there she was, the bushy haired girl approaching them at their table.

  "Hello, Miss Granger."

  "Hi… I've noticed you guys are studying hard, do you guys need help? I already finished all my assignments."

  Lynne looked at him with a small half-smile.

  Want and you shall receive.

  Harry giggled a bit which caused the girl to frown and her smile disappearing.

  Ups.

  "Sorry, we are not laughing at you, it's just that I just said that I wanted to approach you and ask you something."

  "We already finished our assignments as well, Harry was just finishing with the transfiguration essay, so maybe you would like to talk with us?"

  "Uh, sure, what about?"

  "First introductions, I'm Lynne Volant, you can call me Lynne."

  "Oh right, I'm Hermione."

  "Nice to meet you, Hermione, you can call me Harry."

  She fiddled a bit with her fingers and looked nervous.

  "So, what did you want to talk about?"

  "Is it true that you went into the third-floor corridor? You saw the cerbe-?"

  Her eyes went wide and she put a finger on his mouth.

  "Shhh, I don't want to talk about that, it's forbidden I could get expelled." she whispered frantically.

  "It's true then…"

  "Yes… why do you ask?" She looked on edge now and Harry thought that she was going to bolt away at any minute.

  "Just that the creature is Hagrid's and I was curious about it, sorry. It's guarding something in there and we just don't know what." he said.

  "Well I for one do NOT want anything to do with that, as I said to my annoying classmates, I don't want to end up dead or worse, expelled."

  That got a laugh out of Lynne which was quite rare and sounded like a scratching of metal.

  "Well, you have nice priorities at least. Do you want to meet regularly with us here? It seems you don't get along well with your 'annoying' classmates."

  "Yes, I would love to." She blurted out quickly.

  "Awesome, we would love to have more people in our study group, the other Ravens usually ask for help here and there but they don't join us in the library yet."

  Harry liked having more friends to talk to and she seemed alright, although a bit nervous around them.

  "Just don't boss us around much if you know something well enough, Harry is learning from scratch and although he picks up things quickly, he doesn't need nagging."

  Hermione looked surprised at her for a minute.

  "How do you know I'm bossy? We don't have classes together."

  "Oh, the castle is a gossip mill, Hermione and we basically know everything there is to know about first years, apparently our classmates enjoy that."

  She frowned again and looked at her feet.

  "I will try."

  "Awesome! We usually meet in free periods or after class, around 5pm here, sometimes we won't be here but I can let you know somehow."

  "Uh… alright."

  They talked about a few subjects that they liked so far and what Harry learned with Lynne in their free time. She was surprised that he was learning wizarding customs and culture, clearly not aware that Harry grew up with muggles. Once she got over her initial shyness she was talking for the both of them.

  She seems fine, although she rants a lot.

  Harry chuckled. Having made a new friend, Lynne and Harry made their exit out of the library, with a small wave to Hermione. Homework done, it was time to keep exploring the castle and going back to their classmates in the common room. They sometimes would invite Harry to play Exploding snap and Gobstones which was entertaining.

  Games that were popular for first years that grew up with magical parents but at least they included everyone.

  Overall, for Harry, Hogwarts was looking more like a home than Surrey had ever been. It filled him with happy feelings and he was in a very good mood each day. Having full meals was also changing his body a bit, he wasn't looking as scrawny.

  All positives so far.