Chapter 084

The rest of the class was spent casting the Lumos spell, which was actually the simplest of all the spells they would learn this year. Everyone in the class managed to get it on their first try.

After class was over, Harry told Neville to head back to the Gryffindor Common Room without him. The round-faced boy only looked at him for a second before agreeing and heading off with the rest of the Gryffindors.

Harry then followed the Slytherins or, to be more specific, he followed the three snakes he had met before the sorting. Gryffindor only shared Potions and DADA with the Slytherin's, and with how much Snape seemed to hat him, this was his only chance to speak with the trio.

Blaise, Daphne and Tracey were in the back of the group. The dark-skinned boy walked a little ahead of the other two, and all three were far enough away from the other Slytherins that he doubted the others would pay them any mind. It let him know a lot about their position within their house.

"Blaise, Daphne, Tracey," Harry called out as he caught up with the trio. The three stopped and turned around. While Blaise only expressed mild surprise at seeing Harry coming up to them, Daphne gave him a look that could probably freeze hell. It made him wonder if he had done something to offend her. At least Tracey didn't react with such hostility.

"Harry!" Tracey said in surprise. "Why are you here?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I thought that would be obvious. I wanted to speak with you."

"Oh." Tracey had the decency to look embarrassed. She perked up a moment later and sent him a mild pout. "I figured that. What I meant was, why are you talking to us?"

"What do you mean why?" Harry asked, adopting a confused expression. "Why wouldn't I want to talk to you?"

Tracey flushed a bit. "Well, you know, we're Slytherin and you're, well, you're a Gryffindor. It's common knowledge that Gryffindors and Slytherins don't get a long."

"And who told you that?"

"What do you mean who told me that?" Tracey frowned. "Everyone says that. It's common knowledge! Snakes and Lions don't get along. They just don't."

"That's just stupid, Tracey," Harry said chidingly. While Tracey's right eye actually twitched in annoyance, Blaise hid a snicker behind a cough, and Daphne's glare seemed to gain another level of iciness, for reasons he couldn't fathom. "There is nothing that says Gryffindors and Slytherins can't get along. People who say that are foolish and ignorant, believing that because Salazar and Godric had some kind of argument so long ago it's probably been taken completely out of context by now, that all Slytherins and Gryffindors are bound to be mortal enemies. Why should we care what happened long before our many times great-grandparents were even a twinkle in their many times great-grandparent's eyes?"

Tracey stood there, blinking at Harry as if he had grown a second head. Meanwhile, Daphne had furrowed her brows and Blaise looked thoughtful.

"You do make a good point," the dark-skinned boy said, rubbing his chin. Out of the corner of her eye, Daphne glanced at the Italian boy with a small frown. "I mean, it has been a long time since the Founders were alive..."

"Exactly," said Harry, "their rivalry was a long time ago, and just because they had some kind of argument that ended their friendship doesn't mean we can't be friends, right?"

"Well..." Tracey shifted a bit, worrying her lower lip as she pondered Harry's words. He could tell she actually did want to be friends, unlike Daphne, who looked like she wanted nothing to do with him. "I guess that's true..."

"Of course it is," Harry said with his most charming smile. It seemed to have the desired effect because after a few moments, Tracey was smiling as well. And while Blaise was not necessarily giving a bright smile like the brunette, he at least had a smirk. Daphne was not smiling, unfortunately. "Which means we're still friends, right?"

"Right!" Tracey said with a nod. Harry grinned, then looked over at Blaise with a raised eyebrow.

"Sure," Blaise said, shrugging nonchalantly. "It 'll be interesting to be friends with a Gryffindor."

"Don't think for one second that we're going to be friends, Potter," Daphne informed him in a cold voice the moment Harry looked at her.

"Daphne!" Tracey admonished her friend, though she looked somewhat resigned. Daphne just gave the other girl a surprisingly cold look before turning on her heel and walking away.

"So... what's the deal with her?" asked Harry. He was seriously beginning to wonder if he had committed some great sin against the blond pureblood. For all he knew her issues regarding him could have been caused by something his great-grandfather had done against her family. Grudges amongst purebloods were notorious for lasting decades, sometimes even centuries, or so Andromeda had informed him when mentioning how the Potters and Blacks had been bitter enemies before Sirius and his father became friends at Hogwarts. And even then, Sirius had betrayed his father in the end so that wasn't much to go on.

"Don't mind her," Tracey reassured him. "It's not you she hates. Daphne acts like that around everyone she's not friends with. It's just... how she is."

"I understand," Harry said, resisting the urge to sigh. It looked like befriending the Slytherins, or at least one particular Slytherin, would take a lot more effort than he had assumed.

Well, if he were honest with himself, he had thought it would take a bit more effort to befriend all three of them. At least with Tracey and Blaise on board, he would have the chance to speak with Daphne some more. Maybe he would be able to thaw the girl out in time?

Then again, maybe not. It was hard to say for sure. Wouldn't stop him from trying though.

"Well," Harry started in an attempt to relieve the somewhat awkward tension Daphne's cold attitude had brought. He shifted his stance, putting most of his weight on his left foot. "I wanted to inform you guys that I'm creating a study group. We meet every Saturday for breakfast before heading to the library to do our homework. You two and Daphne are welcome to join us. I really hope to see you guys there."

Tracey and Blaise looked at each. The male of the duo shrugged his shoulders and Tracey turned to Harry with a bright smile. "We'll be there, and I'll make sure Daphne comes too."

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