9 9. Let's Fly 

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A/N: There was a mistake in the last chapter, bros. Happy is the son of Rodolphus Lestrange Senior. That makes the two Lestrange blokes in Azkaban Happy's brothers. I mistakenly wrote them as uncles.

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"Not you, Mister Lestrange."

Happy stopped and looked back in wonder. As far as he knew, the man shouldn't be interested in anyone other than Harry.

"Yes, Professor?" Happy followed the imposing figure clad in black robes back towards the office room. Once inside, he settled into a chair and waited with a puzzled expression.

Snape stared at Happy intently, yet the young wizard refused to meet the gaze of the Potions master. Instead, he fidgeted with something on the table. Of course, he knew the man had an unhealthy habit of using the Legilimency spell. He wasn't going to make it easy for him.

"Mister Lestrange, do you have any idea how important your name is?"

Happy nodded, "Yes, Professor. Unfortunately, I come from a family of mass murderers and bullies."

"..."

Snape was left speechless for a while before he continued to say, "Who said they were bullies?"

Happy lied through his teeth, "The many portraits at home told me everything that my family did. They aren't good people. They harm the weak, and they bully the innocent. I'm sure you can understand me, Professor. I just hate bullies."

Happy was a smart young boy. He was someone who knew everything about Snape, from his birth to his death. So, it was easy for him to make Snape feel guilty and hit his soft spots. He just had to be careful not to step on any of his triggers.

Snape had been bullied from the time he started school at Hogwarts. The Marauders were his main tormentors, but that was just the beginning of the cycle of mistreatment he would experience. He foolishly believed the purebloods would be his allies and protect him, but he soon realized that it was a false hope. All his life, he had longed for friendship and acceptance, only to be belittled and taken advantage of in exchange.

Snape was silent for a moment before speaking, "You, Mister Lestrange, possess the lineage of one of the mightiest and most venerated wizarding families in the world. With such a noble heritage comes a responsibility to uphold the legacy of your distinguished house. The manner in which you fulfill that duty is, of course, a matter of personal discretion."

Snape's cold eyes continued to stare at Happy, looking as though he was scrutinizing the expression Happy would make because of every word he said.

"Now, my real reason for stopping you was to ask about your experience in the Gryffindor's common room. The Gryffindors would certainly be hostile to you. If so, you must inform me, or your house head immediately. No bullying towards you will be tolerated by the school."

'I-Is he worried about me?' Happy wondered silently.

There was no need for the man to do so, so that begged the question. 'Why? Did some Death Eater order him? Perhaps the Dark Lord, since Quirrell is here?'

"Thank you, Professor. I will keep that in mind. Thankfully, Harry is always with me and never lets anyone say anything bad to me." Happy added something to sweeten the deal and hit Snape where it hurt the most.

"Potter?" Snape's face was worth seeing as he realized that the son of the love of his life was not a bully. But his heart was still aching.

"You may return."

Snape dismissed him with a flat tone, and Happy quickly grabbed his books and left the classroom.

...

After his conversation with Professor Snape, Happy strode jauntily to the Great Hall, his mouth watering in anticipation of the succulent lunch awaiting him. Today, the Hall had served up an especially delightful feast of roast duck and an assortment of other exquisite dishes. Still, after only a single day, even those delights had already begun to feel a bit repetitive as he just eats so much.

'I should try to find a solution to this. Maybe go and meet with the elves?'

"Hey, Happy!" Ron, Harry, and Hermione approached Happy, not at all surprised to see a sizeable juicy duck that could serve four people in front of Happy alone.

Happy was the focal point of their reunion in the Great Hall, bringing them together. As the group gathered, Hermione accepted a Daily Prophet delivery from an owl and placed one Knut in the owl's pouch.

"You subscribed to the Daily Prophet?" Ron asked as he munched on his lunch.

"Of course, it's good for some light reading," Hermione said as she filled her own plate and placed the paper aside.

Harry was a little intrigued and borrowed the newspaper. The Prophet mentioned a break-in at Gringotts, the infamous wizarding bank.

"...Believed to be the work of Dark wizards and witches unknown, Gringotts goblins, while acknowledging the breach, insist that nothing was stolen. The vault in question, number 713, had, in fact, been emptied earlier that same day."

Harry read and creased his brows. "That's strange. That's the same vault that Hagrid and I went to."

Happy shrugged and focused on the succulent, tender duck meat on his plate, "Yada yada yada, the wizarding world isn't all sunflowers and rainbows, and it's better if you get used to it. There are people who can be just as wicked as my family, if not more so."

"You don't seem bothered about it," Hermione asked with narrowed eyes.

Happy scoffed and picked more food for himself, "We're eleven years old, Hermione. We should be worrying about eating, studying, and not wetting the bed by accident. That's all there is to it."

Hermione sneered, "That's something you would do. I would never wet my bed."

"Oh, I was talking about Ron." Happy shrugged.

"..."

"Oi! Don't pull me into this!"

"Pfft… I was just messing with you, Ron. I know it was your rat that wet the bed sheets." Happy playfully teased. But deep down, Happy knew that the rat had to go. Letting a grown man sleep in a room full of children was creepy.

Happy shivered at the thought but kept it to himself for now.

Eventually, they all forgot about Gringotts and ate their lunch.

…

After a hearty lunch, Broom Flight Class started. The first-year students gathered in the center field for their first flying lesson.

"Good afternoon, class." Madam Hooch walked between the two rows of students from Gryffindor and Slytherin, who each had a broom at their feet.

"Good afternoon Madam Hooch." They answered in unison.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone step up to the left side of their brooms. Stick your right hand over the broom and say 'up.'"

Everyone did as they were instructed.

"Up!"

Slap!

Happy's broom seemed too excited as it lifted up with great speed. As Happy caught it with his hand, it made a loud, solid sound of a clap. It appeared to have a strong connection to him as it trembled in his hand with what seemed to be enthusiasm.

'My sweet and juicy luck!'

Happy looked around. Harry's broom had risen up too, like many more children's brooms. Hermione was struggling, while Ron was able to do it after a few tries, albeit getting hit in the face first.

"Now, once you've got a hold of your boom, I want you to mount it. Now, grip it tightly . You don't want to slide off the end." Madam Hooch instructed them, and they followed.

"When I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick off the ground, hard. Keep your broom steady, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly and touch back down. On my whistle..."

"Three, two..."

Fweeeet!

All the children got ready, and gripped their broom, But...

"Ugh!"

As Happy expected, Neville's broom got out of control and flew him right into the air. The boy was a mental mess. His self-esteem shattered after the accident he had caused and the subsequent punishment he received. He was more ostracized in Gryffindor than even Happy, as the older students knew what spell he was trying to cast in the Great Hall.

Only after Nevill saw his grandmother begging Dumbledore did the school reduce his punishment from a week-long suspension to two weeks of detention. Due to that, he was able to attend the classes at least.

Neville and his broom slammed into the tower in the distance a few times. After that, the broom changed direction and flew toward the crowd of students at high speed.

But by the time Madam Hooch took out her wand, the boom had gotten too fast. Everyone lunged out of the way, letting him zoom through the crowd.

All except for Happy, who had a keen understanding of what was going to happen.

'Neville Longbottom, let this be the end of your misguided animosity. I'm not here to deal with all that.'

Whoosh!

"Mister Lestrange! Move!" Madam Hooch shouted as she struggled to get back up.

But Happy only dug his feet stronger on the ground and prepared himself by rolling his sleeves.

Everything was happening so fast, and he had no time to plan anything grand. He had to make the most of his one chance.

Bam!

As Neville was about to soar past, Happy lunged onto him, clasping him with a powerful grip. As a result, Neville lost his balance, and the two of them fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Neville looked at Happy's face in shock as he lay beneath him. His teary eyes held a hint of confusion and regret. "Hap—"

Sadly, the boy didn't last long and fell unconscious.

Happy smirked and got up like a hero in slow motion. He patted his clothes clean and stood proudly while awaiting the reactions.

'Kids, you can scream now.'

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