Theo hadn't argued at all. He was very adamant that he didn't want Harry looking at his memories, and Harry completely empathized with him on that point.
Suffice it to say, Tom was not pleased with him. The Dark Lord had insisted on reading over the chapter he got his oath from about 10 times, memorizing each clause and loophole. Harry would later come to understand why Tom was concerned, and why it was, in fact, very foolish to take such an oath without fully understanding the magic behind it.
Anyway, after finding the magical oaths book, Harry had started looking more into the concept of a magical promises and contracts. It wasn't that he didn't trust Hermione and Theo, but the more he thought about it, the more he understood Tom's concerns about their little study club. It really would be for the best if he could find a way to make sure they wouldn't go talking to the wrong people about the wrong things. Tom claimed that the magical basis for his Dark Mark had the potential to do something similar to what Harry was looking for, but Harry wasn't about to start insisting that his friends get skulls tattooed on their arms. Indeed, Harry thought it was rather demeaning to brand people as proof of their loyalty...but knowing Tom, that was his intention when he created the Morsmordre spell.
Besides that, Harry found the concept of magical oaths incredibly fascinating, and was eager to learn as much as he could on the subject. Every question he had about intention and meaning in magic was answered by that obscure branch of spell crafting - because that's exactly what swearing an oath was. It was the art of following a template to craft a unique spell that would tie the magic of the secret-sharer and the secret-keeper together. It was an extraordinarily rich subject, and Harry was surprised at how broad it really was. He'd begun spending every free moment he had researching the topic. He might have been a touch obsessed. Just a bit. Not much. Just a bit.
Other than Harry, Theo, and Hermione's thus far unnamed study club and Harry's own research, the term had passed quickly and easily and without event. Thankfully, he hadn't gotten nearly killed in any Quidditch games following the one in November, much to his and Tom's relief. He figured that now that the other professors were aware that someone was trying to hurt him, Quirrell would find it too risky to try anything else. Professor Snape had even insisted on refereeing the Quidditch game following his near-death experience, which Harry found incredibly touching. He'd thanked Professor Snape for his concern, after the game, but the potions professor had just glared at him and swept away briskly, black robes billowing behind him.
Figures.
After that, he'd been left to win Quidditch games in peace. And win he did. Indeed, Harry was now quite well liked in his house. Between the his skill at catching the snitch and the points he won in class, he had become a great asset to Slytherin House, as far as winning points went. People would actually go out of their way to greet him now, and before games everyone he crossed paths with wished him luck.
It so turned out that when all was said and done, Harry's rather agreeable nature had a way of making people forget that he was, in fact, the Boy Who Lived, and that he actually had, beneath his politeness and friendliness, a violent temper.
It was on account of this violent temper that the only person who hadn't warmed up to him at all was Draco Malfoy.
On the bright side, Malfoy wasn't trying to hex him anymore. On the not so bright side, Malfoy had gone from being insulted by him, to being terrified by him, to being angry and resentful toward him, and finally to completely and utterly ignoring him, over the course of the short time they'd known each other. By the time May rolled around, the blonde boy refused to look at him, let alone speak to him.
Harry managed to catch his eye in late April, but that was it.
Other than that special event, nothing had really happened at all until Hermione and Ron pulled him aside on one fine May afternoon.
"A vampire?" Harry asked incredulously.
Hermione nodded rapidly. "We saw it, in the Forbidden Forest - "
"Wait, why were you in the Forbidden Forest?"
"Detention -"
"Wait, you were in detention?" Harry asked, utter disbelief making itself known in his voice. "How did that happen?"
Hermione scowled.
"Hagrid had a baby dragon we needed to smuggle out of the castle," Ron replied happily.
Harry nodded slowly. "Ok, yes, that makes perfect sense. Why didn't I think of that? Please go on."
Hermione huffed. "Well it was all cloaked in black so we couldn't see much - but it was feeding on blood!"
Harry grew alarmed at that. "Whose blood?"
"It was a unicorn!"
Harry frowned. "A...unicorn...?"
Hermione's eyes were wide as she nodded. "I had been under the impression that vampires only feed off of humans, but Ron said that they can feed off animals too! Can you believe it? The one killing Hagrid's unicorns is a vampire!"
Suffice it to say, Harry had been left very puzzled.
Luckily, Tom was able to shed some light on the whole thing later on.
"Unicorn blood is a unique elixir that can bring one back from the brink of death."
"That's handy. What's the catch?"
Tom chuckled. "It is said that those who drink the blood of a unicorn are cursed to live a half-life."
Harry frowned. "Like a particle's half life?"
"No."
"Then, what is it?"
"I don't know."
"Well, it sounds bad."
"It does. The wraith your friends caught sight of in the Forbidden Forest must have been very desperate."
"Do you think that maybe it was...Voldemort 1.0?"
Tom quirked an eyebrow. "I suppose it sounds like something I would do. I've had a history of ignoring warning labels, so to speak. In retrospect, that probably wasn't wise."
Harry refrained from commenting.
"I wouldn't have thought that my master soul would be so close to the castle, though. It is...concerning."
"Do you think Professor Quirrell will make his move soon?"
"That is likely."
"What do we do in the meantime?"
"What we have been doing – waiting for him to make his move."
"And then we make ours."
"Exactly."
June brought with it exams. As it turned out, Hermione loved exams, but he and Theo didn't at all share her enthusiasm.
The main issue for Harry was the studying. He didn't really see the point in reviewing the material he had already learned, and would much rather focus on getting ahead in his studies. Nevertheless, Hermione insisted that he study with her, as did Theo, in fact. The were both rather worried in the weeks leading up to their exams.
Despite Hermione's constant fretting and ranting, he'd managed to stay fairly relaxed through it all. He knew he passed all his exams – in fact, he'd probably gotten top marks; he imagined that if he didn't, Tom would make his opinion about the matter known. But again, he was so used to the pain Tom frequently unleashed on him that he wasn't particularly upset at the prospect of a few hours of headaches. Tom tended to get bored quickly, after all.
It was the night after their last exam that Harry woke in the middle of the night, feeling a strange pulling sensation in his chest.
He immediately sat up in his bed, very confused. It wasn't a painful sensation, but it was unpleasant, and very annoying.
The wards...
Harry snapped to attention. This was it. It was time.
Finally, off to make yet another new friend.
...
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