Chapter 073

"How could I possibly pick a favorite?" asked Harry, this time with a genuine smile. "Aside from the fact that we've only had two classes, there's no way I could choose one branch of magic over another. From what I've seen so far, they're all just too diverse to really compare them anyway." He looked at Neville with an inquisitive stare. "What about you, do you have a favorite?"

"Well, we haven't really had the class yet, but..." Neville blushed a bit and ducked his head. "I've always had an interest in studying Herbology."

"Nothing wrong with that," Harry said, much to Neville's shock. "Herbology is a useful skill, especially for potion brewers, and I hear that owning your own business in growing and selling plants as potion ingredients can be very lucrative."

It was actually one of the suggestions Ragnok had made to him, though Harry had no idea how he would go about starting that. Perhaps with Neville's help he could get started. Maybe he could even gain himself a business partner if he pushed Neville in the right direction.

"So then, you want to learn about magical plants then?" he asked.

"Yes." Neville nodded. Now that he realized Harry wasn't going to make fun of him for his love of Herbology, he seemed to have gained confidence. "I actually own a greenhouse at home where I grow my own plants. I don't have a lot right now. Gran said she wouldn't allow me to have any of the more dangerous ones until my third year at Hogwarts, but I do have a few that are pretty rare."

"The sounds sensational. Herbology is a commendable field of study," Harry praised, causing Neville to blush in a bit of embarrassment. The boy probably hadn't been given much praise as a child. He wouldn't be so under confident otherwise.

It looked like it was up to Harry to up the boy's confidence to where it should be. That was fine with him. If Harry was going to have Neville as an ally, he wanted someone who could make informed decisions without needing a prompt in the right direction, and he needed people who would challenge and push his beliefs by playing devil's advocate.

One could not become great unless they were challenged by those around them, including their allies.

"Hiya, Harry, Neville!"

A distinctly feminine voice reached their ears, and both turned around to see Hannah and Susan walking up to them. The blond, pig-tailed girl was waving to them, a large smile plastered on her face. Meanwhile, Susan walked slightly behind her with a shy, embarrassed smile directed at them.

"Good morning, Hannah," Harry greeted with a congenial smile. Hannah's bright smile greeted him as the two girls stopped in front of them. He then turned his attention to the other girl. "And good morning to you as well, Susan?"

"Good morning. Harry." Susan seemed to be doing much better in his presence than she had yesterday. No longer was she looking down at her shoes when she spoke to him. Instead, she was actually making a decent effort at maintaining eye contact.

Her face was still nearly as red as her hair, though.

With the addition of the two Hufflepuffs, Harry and Neville made their way into the Great Hall. It wasn't that crowded yet, though it looked like a little more than half the school was already eating, there were still quite a few seats available for them. Most of the people who had yet to come in were those who enjoyed sleeping in, like Seamus and Dean.

"Why don't we sit at the Hufflepuff table today," suggested Harry. The other three looked at him in identical masks of confusion, then at each other. After a shared shrug, they followed Harry's suggestion and made for the Hufflepuff table. Even though they had only been around him for one day, they were beginning to get used to the boy-who-lived's eccentricities.

By this point in time, a lot of people in the school knew about Harry's friendship with Susan and Hannah, so while their walk down the Great Hall garnered some attention, most seemed to run more along the lines of idle curiosity than outright gawking.

Which was good, because it meant people had already gotten used to them. That was one of the first steps towards acceptance.

As Harry sat down at the table with Susan on his left, Hannah on his right, and Neville on her right, several heads turned to look at them.

"Harry!" Sally-Ann Perks gasped in surprise while Ernie Macmillon and Megan Jones gaped. "What are you doing here?"

Harry offered the girl a polite, indulgent smile. "I decided that, since Hannah and Susan were kind enough to indulge me by sitting at the Gryffindor table yesterday, it was only right that Neville and I returned the favor."

"Oh." Sally-Ann Perks mouth formed a slight 'o' shape as she spoke. "Well, I guess that makes sense."

"So Harry," Hannah said, diverting his attention away from the other girl and onto her. Sally-Ann Perks puffed up her cheeks slightly, but didn't get to say anything when her friend, Leanne, began teasing her about wanting to spend time talking to Harry Potter.

Harry only spared the girls a curious glance, wondering if this was something girls did to bond with each other. The thought was shrugged off a moment later and he refocused all of his attention on Hannah.

While Sally-Ann Perks began blushing and sputtering, Hannah had continued talking.

"We have Charms class today, think you can give us some advice?"

"I wouldn't worry about the class to much yet," Harry told her. "Right now you'll just be getting an introduction into what you're going to be learning this year. The only spell you'll be taught is a simple color changing charm, which is very simple to accomplish. You should be able to get it right on the first try, that's how easy it is."

Even though Hannah was the one who asked the question, all of the first year Hufflepuffs near him leaned in to hear what he had to say. They remembered how Harry had done in Transfiguration. If he was even half as good in Charms as he was in that class, then it would be wise to listen to him.

"Speaking of classes," Hannah started. "What class do you guys have?"

"Double Potions with the Slytherins."

Hannah grimaced. "Ouch, good luck with that. I've heard that class is horrible."

"Oh?" Harry blinked. "What's so bad about it?"

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