The Marked Trio

As the day went by, the story of the marks quickly spread amongst the students. The scene in the Great Hall, added to what the students from the library were willing to share, made it a certainty that every Hogwarts student knew exactly what Mr. Potter had done now and how it involved his supposedly two best friends and chosen girlfriend. Harry Potter and the Gryffindor Trio had always been newsworthy in Hogwarts Halls and this story involved all four of them.

So of course it was the only thing being talked about between classes. It was the scandal of the year and school had only been in session for two weeks! Those Ravenclaws and Slytherins who had actually witnessed the confrontation became the most popular kids in the school that day. Everyone who hadn't been present wanted to talk to them. To hear for themselves what had taken place and how the trio came to be marked.

The trio found the isolationism they had been so delighted to subject Harry to in previous years wasn't so much fun when it was directed at themselves. Not that they were as isolated as they'd forced him to be since they did have each other for companionship while he had been forced to grovel to them for conversation and companionship.

Also they still lived in the Gryffindor Tower so they still had their dorm and tower mates to interact with even if said people weren't talking to them or actively trying to interact with them. Nor were they anywhere near as used to dealing with the isolation as Harry was. It was easier for Ron and Hermione because they were in the same level and shared many of their classes as well as their free periods.

But Ginerva, who had found her nickname of Ginny was no longer being used by anyone except for Ron and Hermione, had things much harder since she was a grade lower than the other two. She didn't have any classes with them and so she was getting a much truer taste of the medicine she'd gleefully helped the others force feed Harry for the last three years. All because he wouldn't just accept her presence at his side so she could flaunt herself to her peers as his future wife.

But then she was also the only one of the trio a boy had died trying to help as her fellow students were happy to tell her. Repeatedly. And she was the only one with a clear life debt owing to the boy she had willingly wronged so very many times. Well, Harry had said Hermione owed him a double debt but Hermione disagreed with that saying he hadn't saved her from the troll. Ron had.

And with the basilisk, he wasn't even there when she'd been petrified so how could she owe him a debt for that? She didn't, and wouldn't, understand that by killing the basilisk when he had, he'd kept the school from being closed and all the students returned to their homes. If that had happened, chances were good Hermione would never have received the mandrake potion to depetrify herself and that was why she owed him a debt.

Even if the Ministry had gotten a dose of it to her, the muggles wouldn't have known how to use it correctly. So she would've either remained a statue forever or she would've died from the misuse of the potion. By defeating it when he did, Harry had kept the school open and her in the school infirmary where she could be treated as soon as Madam Pomfrey had the potion to do so.

To the student body, while the claim of a life debt against Granger to Harry Potter wasn't so clear, the one standing between Ginerva Weasely and Harry, was easily understood. So to show Harry their support, the students gleefully chose to ostracize her and have nothing to do with her. Unlike Harry though, she wasn't used to being thought poorly of and being isolated in a crowd.

She was the spoilt only daughter of a large family. Harry had a lifetime of training and conditioning by which to weather the shunning. She hadn't even suffered a day of such treatment before. The only thing she had to compare it to was being sent to a corner for an hour when her Mum caught her breaking a rule and none of her brothers could be blamed or used as a distraction. But this treatment wouldn't end in an hour as that did.

Nor could they get anyone to speak to them or do things with or for them any longer. All three were referred to by their last names by the teachers, which was normal except for the cold tone of voice in which the name was said and by their full given name by their peers when a peer deigned to speak with them at all. Even their favorite dupe of a teacher was cold towards them now. All three believed that was only because it had been pointed out by her fellows that they'd lied to her. So they believed she would eventually get over it without them having to do anything more than give her a few saddened expressions or weepy eyes while making certain to show her every wrong thing Harry said or did. Especially if said wrong involved them. The only problem with that was Harry wasn't cooperating by doing anything at all to them. In a clear manner or otherwise.

They all noticed a clear relish for their predicament in Professor Snape's voice when he chose to address a comment or question towards them. He almost purred when he'd call on them to answer a question he knew they wouldn't be able to answer which for Ron was almost any question not involving when a mealtime was. It was well known Ron hated potions every bit as much as he hated the teacher. And that he never, but never studied for the class as studying only reminded him he had to take the class whether he wanted to or not.

But Professor Snape, who never used to call on Ron at all, even less often than he ever called on Hermione, was doing calling on him a lot these days. He seemed to have taken Potter's side against them. Which to their minds only confirmed what Potter had done had been dark magic since everyone knew Professor Snape was nothing but a Death Eater traitor.

Hermione had told her friends Fawkes hadn't actually been there at all. It was just a ruse Harry had employed to fool everyone into thinking he wasn't using dark magic on them when he was. Ginny really wanted to learn how Harry had conjured such a realistic image of Fawkes so she could do it too. She thought her reputation as a light witch would soar if she could be seen with Fawkes perched on her shoulder. Surely then Potter would be forced to choose her as his future wife? None of her peers could contest her place at his side then.

But as for Potions class, even Ron quickly figured out he had better at least try to answer those questions as fully as possible. Hermione quickly came to realize she needed to answer his questions without sounding like she was reading the answer from her textbooks but as Ron hardly ever bothered to read his books that wasn't such a problem for him as it was her. His problem was that he honestly didn't know the answers at all.

And the questions were hard. He even asked a few Hermione, for all her bragging and studying, was unable to answer. What surprised everyone was when he then turned to Harry with the same question and got an answer.

A correct and concise answer. But Snape had seen the magnitude of Potion related books in Harry's rooms over the last few days when he'd gone to check up on the boy and to inform him of what was happening in the school that he might not be aware of. He knew the boy had put a lot of time, effort and study into the field. Not to mention Harry had all but admitted it after the scene in the library. He said he hadn't had time to brew any Throat Soother as of yet for himself, which told Severus, Potter brewed a lot of potions for his own use outside of the classroom.

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