( Several hours later )
He watched as Terry led a group of second years in his direction. 'What now?' he mentally asked himself whilst the group of second years closed the distance between them. His brilliant mind jumped into high gear, cooking up several different possible scenarios.
Whatever it was, they were acting as a group, like a herd of cattle, so it was something which likely affected all of them in some way. But they didn't feel comfortable approaching him as individuals? And Terry, as his closest 'friend' in the group, had been elected or pressed into service as the group's spokesperson? However, the true question was what did they want from him?
His mind jumped back to his first year, how he had called them out on their laziness and childish attitude regarding their studies, how he only helped people worthy of him and who could offer him something. Was this the true reason? His gut told him that he was right, and he had learned to trust his instincts rather than second guessing everything.
Smiling as the puzzle pieces started falling into place, there was one thing all Ravenclaws loved and that was their knowledge.
Looking over the approaching group, there was no apparent lack of knowledge or skill in the group; all of them had their own strengths and a top ranking in their year, even if none of them were ranked first like him. So what academic strengths did he have that they wanted? Several answers jumped immediately to mind, but he dismissed them quickly.
After all, they wouldn't be approaching him for lessons on the mind arts since that subject was kept secret, and very few knew he was a practitioner, so that left DADA.
Feeling that the mental puzzle was complete, he silently waited for one of them to speak up and confirm his conclusion. Terry spoke first, after Lisa gave him an unladylike shove.
"Hi Harry," Terry voiced, his nervousness easily readable.
"Terry," he offered back, using the boy's name in greeting, before getting straight down to business instead of beating around the bush waiting for them to get to the point. "Was there something you guys wanted?" throwing them off balance with his bluntness.
"We were wondering if you wanted to study with us. You know, make a study group to revise for the upcoming end-of-year exams? We help you, you help us kind of thing?" Terry suggested with a smile, looking back over his shoulder to see that the group hadn't abandoned him.
He saw where this was going. They wanted him to teach them DADA in exchange for their own skills; however, they had forgotten one thing. He was ranked number one and already had a solid group of friends who compensated for any of his weaknesses, but he didn't say this out loud. He replied with a politic, "No thanks," before getting on with his stupid essay, effectively dismissing them. His quill was already back in hand, carrying on the half-written sentence like he had never stopped. The mind arts were truly amazing.
"Come on Harry, it will be fun," Terry whined, as several of the second years voiced similar remarks.
"No," his tone firm, level and assertive, but not sounding outright rude.
"Why?" Su suddenly asked, the normally shy girl speaking up for the silent group.
Considering his choice of words, he looked back at the petite Asian girl, her features showing the familiar signs of Chinese heritage, just like Cho Chang did with her dark hair. "Because I've already got my own well-established study group of friends and because I already know all of the second-year material... so why would I waste time studying and rereading material that I already know?" he asked them, seeing them wrestling with the idea just as he noticed Luna approach, her books visibly in hand as he remembered their agreed-upon lesson scheduled for this free period.
'Good timing,' he observed, once again being saved by the first year's sudden appearance and providing him with a means to withdraw without being seen as rude so that a repeat of his argument in first year didn't occur again. Quickly putting his stuff away in his backpack, his student silently moved through the group unnoticed. He privately wondered if she knew how to cast a notice-me-not charm since she was totally ignored by the group like normal. "Give me a second Luna; did you do the reading like I instructed?" he asked his charge.
"Yes Harry," Luna replied, her head cocked much like an owl would as everyone looked at her and mentally asked themselves the same question. 'Where in the hell did she come from?' as they looked at each other for the answer, but no answer was forthcoming.
'When didn't she?' he asked himself as he looked back at the first year, rewarding her with a smile and with a simple "Good," as he closed his backpack and swung it over his shoulder. That was one of the things he liked most about Luna and why he took a much more active role in mentoring her than the professor would have otherwise expected.
She was willing to learn and didn't need to be spoon-fed the material like some idiots he knew. If he asked her to do something, she would do it, and frankly he was certain that she would be a model student if it wasn't for her shyness, unusual behaviour and odd remarks, but everyone had their quirks. Plus, he got that personal sense of accomplishment whenever she successfully learned a spell under his guidance. He was willing to bet quite a bit that she would get ranked first in her year due to his assistance with her studies. "Let's go," he said, before promptly making his escape.
Unfortunately, instead of holding his tongue and acting civil, Anthony Goldstein blurted out, "Why are you helping Looney Luna and not us?"
Not liking the remark—first, it was demeaning and insulting and it reminded him strongly of his relatives calling him a freak while growing up.
Second, Luna was now under his protection; these impertinent words were a challenge that the more primal part of his mind recognised immediately. He would have to stand up and assert his position; otherwise such remarks would continue and his own status would be weakened, as he would be effectively saying, 'I'm all bark and no bite.'
"What are you, an idiot?" sending the insult flying at the Ravenclaw who seemed to physically recoil at the question. "Professor Flitwick charged me with overseeing Luna's academic development, and, unlike you, she is my friend," he stated publicly to the room, his audience, whilst stepping in front of the first year protectively to further stress the point. "Come along Luna."
...
"So, what did you do to upset Penny?" Tonks enquired as the pair of them headed down the corridor towards the second-floor bathroom to search for the hidden entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
Thinking over Tonks' statement, he had actually noticed that Penny had been colder than usual to him. "I did nothing to my knowledge," he voiced, as a pair of students walked past them. Looking over towards Tonks, "Got any ideas as to what I could have done?"
"Nothing that relates to you specifically, maybe it's just her time of the month," Tonks offered with an amused smile, trying to reassure him. At this he merely nodded in understanding, not needing or wanting any further information on that particular subject. After all, he was already well aware what 'that time of the month' was code for thanks to his godfather's hard-earned wisdom on all things female and his own understanding of biology, so this could just be a normal mood swing. Their walk finally reached the bathroom door.
"You first," gesturing with a flick of his head for Tonks to take the lead and scout out the girls' bathroom.
"It's clear, Myrtle's not even here," the puff answered back as he entered the bathroom and quickly cast a locking charm on the door.
"Good, that makes it much easier," he voiced before heading over to the bathroom stalls to begin his investigation. "Which stall was Myrtle's body found in?"
"This one, if the Auror report is accurate," Tonks voiced, pointing to the stall with her wand carefully before pushing the wooden door gently open with the tip of her wand.
Entering the stall, he noticed that it was essentially the same as the boys' ones in their own washrooms. "I'm a distressed, highly emotional girl," he voiced while closing the door, whilst his cousin laughed at his impromptu role-playing.
"So, I hear a voice, a male voice, in the girls' bathroom, I plan on confronting him, maybe even embarrassing him," he said, trying to envision Myrtle's last moments of life.
Slowly opening the door, looking between the gap between the door and the wooden frame, noting the range of visibility it provided, noticing how the sinks were situated in the centre in a circle. "Tonks, check the sinks," he instructed, his gut telling him that he was close; his cousin waved her wand in response, casting a high-level detection charm on them.
"Nothing Harry," the witch replied, with a minor frown.
...
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