Chapter Text
Meanwhile in the Great Hall, Albus Dumbledore was scanning the house tables trying to find Harry. He still didn’t show up and it was making the headmaster wonder what it was Harry was up to. He also saw that Neville and Luna were absent, but they weren’t a concern to the Greater Good plan. Madame Maxime, the Beauxbatons headmistress, scanned the tables where her students sat because she noticed that the Fournier twins were absent. At one of the Beauxbatons’ tables, Claire and Chloe’s brother Louis (who had black hair combed to his right, blue eyes, and stood at a height of six-foot-three) would occasionally check for his twin sisters and started getting worried (like any older sibling would) that something might’ve happened to them. Louis even saw that Avril didn’t make it to the Great Hall for lunch and figured that she was with her besties.
‘I’ll have to ask Avril and my sisters why they didn’t show up for lunch.’ thought Louis, just as he went back to eating.
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny also noticed that Harry was absent, with the former two getting angry that Harry wasn’t begging them for forgiveness while Ginny went on and on about how ‘her Harry’ was in danger and needed to be rescued. Ron and Hermione tried their best to comfort the Weasley girl while ignoring her mock-crying, much to the amusement of those sitting close by since Ginny was making a scene. Either Fred or George (who were sitting with the Gryffindor chaser trio) whipped his wand out and cast a charm on his sister to prevent her outbursts from being heard. All Ginny could do was mime-scream, and she raised a fist in her twin brothers’ direction while mime-ranting when she realized one of them cast a muffling charm on her. The other students who witnessed Ginny’s plight were trying their hardest not to laugh.
While lunch continued on, Harry, Neville, Luna, Avril, and the Fournier girls finished eating. They bade the house-elves goodbye before leaving to go find an empty classroom that Harry could turn into some makeshift quarters. Harry told the five teens accompanying him that maybe a corridor on the seventh floor would do, since not many students would think to head that way. Upon finding one, Harry opened the door and waited for Luna, Avril, and the twins to go inside first (with Neville following Harry’s suit) due to being strictly adamant on the ladies first policy. Upon walking in, Harry and company saw that the classroom was stacked with countless desks, chairs, tables, armchairs, and all kinds of other furniture. Neville let out one of those ‘wow!’ whistles upon seeing how much of the empty classroom was stacked with different furniture.
“Well, Harry,” Neville began informing him. “If you’d rather do this the way muggles do it, there is a featherweight charm you can cast and we can all pitch in to help move the furniture. You’ll have to call for Dobby and Winky to take any leftover furniture to any other abandoned classroom. Plus, with different kinds of magic, expansion charms can be added and different spells can also added different rooms and what-not.”
Harry nodded his in acknowledgement and approval, with Neville then showing Harry how to cast the featherweight charm. Harry cast the charm on the first desk and, despite the lightweight feeling to it, had teamwork with Neville, Luna, Avril, and the Fournier twins helping out. Plus, the teamwork allowed the six to bond more and more. After getting the living room finished, the six teens sat down for a break (with Dobby and Winky bringing them water and snacks before taking the unused furniture and putting them in a different empty classroom). After their five-minute break, the six teens resumed their task. Dobby and Winky even turned what was the classroom closet into a bathroom complete with two sinks built into a marble countertop, a loo, a walk-in shower, a bathtub the size of a swimming pool, and a cupboard full of toiletries. Once the last of the furniture was moved to the side, the living room was finally finished. Dobby and Winky even added a fireplace that had a couch and two armchairs surrounding a coffee table in front of it. There were also three desks closeby (one for Harry, one for Neville, and the other for Luna).
“Who’s bedroom shall we get set up first?” asked Luna.
“Yours!” Harry and Neville immediately replied. “You know, ladies first policy.”
Luna found no complaints about that, even if it did make her feel somewhat uncomfortable. Plus, she knew that Harry and Neville were just being polite. Dobby and Winky began helping out in getting a door set up next to the left of the mantelpiece, which would lead them to the three bedrooms. Luna chose the bedroom closest to the door leading back into the living quarters, with Neville choosing the next bedroom and Harry getting the bedroom furthest from the living room. Then Harry instructed Dobby to get his and Neville’s stuff from his house dormitory before instructing Winky to get Luna’s stuff from her dormitory (with both house elves immediately taking off). Dobby came back with Harry’s stuff before going back to get Neville’s and bringing that to him. Winky made it back with Luna’s stuff just at just the same time Dobby returned with Neville’s stuff, then the three Hogwarts teens went to get their respective bedrooms set up (with Harry inviting the Fournier girls into his room, not wanting them to wait outside by the door). Harry and the twins even saw that Neville invited Avril into his room, since it looked like they were enjoying each others’ company.
“If you’d like,” Harry offered the twins. “I can escort you back to your school’s carriage when we’re done here.”
“Thank you, Harry!” the twins chorused. Then they asked, “Will you ask Dobby to escort us somewhere outside?”
“Yeah, that would be a good idea,” stated Harry. “I don’t want anyone to know about our friendship yet, that way word about it won’t reach the wrong people.”
“We understand, Harry,” assured the twins. “It just seems like you never get a break. But we’ll do everything we can to make sure you get a good year for once.”
“Thank you, ladies!” said Harry gratefully.
Claire and Chloe gave Harry a hug to prove that they were going to make sure he got a normal year, with Harry hugging them back in a little group hug. While it was strange for him, getting hugs still felt good to Harry. It was like he was bonding with the twins even more. After getting the last bit of Harry’s room set up, Harry and the twins walked back out into the corridor and back into the living quarters to find Neville and Avril occupying the couch while Luna was occupying one of the armchairs. There were even long tables near the entrance door and three desks across the living quarters from the door. Seeing Harry and the twins reentering, Neville moved towards one end of the couch so they could give Harry and the twins some room to sit together, while Avril got up and sat down in the other armchair. Avril grinned as she saw Harry sitting in between her besties and how red Harry appeared to be turning in the face.
“What do you think, Harry?” asked Avril with a smirk on her face.
Harry shrugged his shoulders in response because he was at a loss for words, in which the twins started giggling. Neville and Luna formed smirks on their faces when they saw how red Harry’s face was because of sitting in between twin girls, and Harry even felt his face radiating heat. The twins hugged Harry’s torso, resulting in his heart rate increasing.
“Seems like my question has been answered!” said Avril in an amused voice.
The six students stayed in the living quarters for a little while longer and continued bonding. When it was getting close to the time for Avril and the twins to return to their school carriage, Harry called for Dobby and Winky to escort the six to a spot that wasn’t too close to the castle entrance. Harry and Neville went last because of their usual strict adherence to the ladies first policy. Once they were within the trees close to the castle entrance, the six began walking in the direction of the Beauxbatons carriage so the three Hogwarts students could escort the three Beauxbatons students back. They spotted some of the Beauxbatons students following Madame Maxime into the carriage. The six opted to stay outside a bit and watch the abraxans grazing, with some of the older Beauxbatons students filling up their water troughs and feed containers. Louis Fournier, the twins’ brother, was walking back and spotted his sisters and Avril chatting with three Hogwarts students from the looks of it. It didn’t take long for Louis to realize that the boy with the untidy black hair was Harry Potter, since he heard the Hogwarts’ rumour mill discussing him.
‘Looks like Monsieur Potter has been getting to know my sisters and their best friend,’ thought Louis with a smile on his face. ‘And It looks like Monsieur Potter has two friends also bonding well with Claire, Chloe, and Avril.’
Then he began walking up to the six, with the twins turning their attention in the source’s direction to see their brother. Avril also spotted Louis approaching them, as did Harry, Neville, and Luna. Harry had a feeling that he was going to have to deal with the twins’ brother, since he was their brother after all and it was his duty to make sure his sisters were safe. Harry could see that Louis was tall at six-foot-three at the least. Once he was close enough, Louis made his introductions with Harry, Neville, and Luna (and vice versa). At the moment, Madame Maxime walked back outside and saw Harry, Neville, and Luna interacting with four of her students and found herself smiling warmly since she saw the Hogwarts students before her treating the four of her students with kindness. Then she stepped down from the steps and over to the abraxan stables to check on the students in charge of that duty. Fleur Delacour (who had chest-length platinum-blonde hair in a low ponytail, bright-blue eyes, and was tall at five-foot-eight) returned and saw Harry, Neville, and Luna interacting with Avril and the Fournier siblings.
‘Was I wrong about Monsieur Potter?’ thought Fleur as she continued watching the three Hogwarts students interacting with four of her fellow students and treating them wonderfully. ‘It appears to be the case. I can’t believe I referred to him as a ‘leetle boy.’ He just showed that he’s nothing of the sort, since he and his friends are treating four of my fellow students like friends. Now’s the chance to make things right.’
So the Beauxbatons champion walked up to the group and waited until the chatting died down since she knew it was rude to cut in on someone’s conversation that was in progress. It was a couple minutes later when the talking stopped and then they turned their attention to Fleur in confusion, wondering why she was there.
“May we help you, Miss Delacour?” asked Harry.
“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry if my ‘leetle boy’ comment offended you, Monsieur Potter!” Fleur replied, giving him direct eye contact. “I realized I was wrong about you when I saw you having been treating four of my fellow students like friends. At the same time, I was also confused because your headmaster never said that he believed you to be innocent even when he asked you if you were.”
Now everyone was taken aback by that, especially Harry since he remembered what Fleur said. He never held it against her since she was correct, plus her voice never sounded malicious. At the same time, Harry couldn’t bring himself to hate Fleur for it since Beauxbatons and Durmstrang naturally had no idea of what kind of misadventures he had to deal with ever since he walked in through the school’s doors for the first time. Harry also knew Fleur was being honest since she kept her gaze on him.
“You didn’t offend me at all, Miss Delacour, but I accept your apology!” assured Harry. Then he went on, “I can see how Dumbledore’s lack of comment can lead to confusion, and he has a tendency to do stuff like that when he wants things to go his way. Otherwise, he would’ve found a way to pull me out as a competitor.”
“Which proved my suspicions after all,” said Fleur. “I’ve seen quite a bit of bullying, bigotry, and even some kind of danger. Madame Maxime would’ve been furious beyond belief if she saw this in the carriage or even the actual palace.”
“Beauxbatons is a palace, Harry,” the twins told him. “You, Neville, and Luna ought to see it sometime if our headmistress gives you all permission.”
“That would be neat!” Luna commented. “A nice change of scenery for me will be beneficial.”
“Same with being in an environment that isn’t a breeding ground for bullying and bigotry!” stated Neville in an intrigued voice.
“What’s also more appalling is those buttons that support Cedric and degrade Harry are getting distributed freely,” stated Fleur. “I’ve seen that pale-blonde boy with cold-gray eyes and his goons handing them out and not one teacher has put a stop to it.”
“That continues to prove how much this school is a breeding ground for bullying and bigotry,” said Harry. “The only ones I’ve seen patrolling the castle are Professors Snape and McGonagall. I don’t know what Sprout’s and Flitwick’s reactions are, though.”
“From what I’ve heard from Susan and Hannah,” Neville stated. “Professor Sprout was furious with the badgers who took a badge and assigned them detention, with Zacharias Smith being the worst of the bunch.”
“I also heard Professor Flitwick doing the same in Ravenclaw Tower,” said Luna. “My main tormentors got into the most trouble for throwing tantrums. Their names are Felicity Eastchurch, Kim Sherringham, and Latisha Randle. Throwing tantrums in front of our head of house and getting into trouble for it was like gold for me, as I had been waiting for a moment where they couldn’t escape the consequences of their actions. I never reported them for tormenting me for fear of being labelled as a tattle-tale.”
“You can always talk to your dad about the possibility of transferring, Luna,” said Neville. “And maybe he’ll let you attend Beauxbatons if your tormentors don’t stop altogether.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” said Luna. “It’s still a hard decision because of my daddy’s office being in Diagon Alley. It’s something I can ask him when I go home for the Christmas holidays.”
Fleur excused herself and headed back inside the carriage, that way she could give Harry and company their space since she just wanted to apologize to Harry and felt that staying any longer would’ve been rude. It was also time for Avril and the Fournier siblings to head back inside so they could have some time to themselves. So they waved goodbye to Harry, Neville, and Luna before heading inside; then the three Hogwarts students walked away and into the woods, since Harry whispered to Neville and Luna that he was hoping he could find something that could put in a secret entrance to their quarters that could lead them to the small corridor that had the doors to their respective bedrooms.
“Wow, trying to make it harder for Dumbledore and his spies to come across you, huh Harry?” Neville wondered out loud.
“Yep,” Harry replied. “Since they wanted to keep making my life hard enough as it is, I’m giving them a taste of their own medicine to see how they like it.”
“Maybe that’ll give the nargles enough time to pester them,” said Luna. “They need it for the way we especially get treated by our respective tormentors.”
The trio continued strolling through the woods hoping to find something that would make an excellent secret entrance to the bedroom corridor of their quarters. It was the beauty of magic after all, and Harry was going to do whatever it took to live life on his terms instead of having others run it on theirs. They made sure to be aware of their surroundings, just in case Hermione and the two youngest Weasleys were out and about trying to find Harry. After five-to-ten minutes, they came across a gentle-flowing stream with a waterfall and a tree nearby. Harry remembered that this was where he met the twins earlier, and then it gave him an idea.
“You know,” Harry suggested. “I think we can have a secret entrance to our quarters put behind that waterfall, if there’s some kind of cave behind it. I met the twins here earlier before lunch.”
“Well,” said Luna. “It wouldn’t hurt to check it out.”
“Where would it be connected?” asked Neville.
“To the wall in the corridor with the doors to our bedrooms,” Harry replied. “It would be across from the door leading back to the living room. That way any of us could stand outside and look at the sunset before going to sleep, especially during the warm weather. We could even lean back against the tree and listen to nature if the mood ever arises.”
So the trio approached the waterfall and saw an outline of a cave entrance behind it. Then Luna walked into the waterfall to check it out, not bothered by getting wet from the waterfall pouring water all over her. She poked her head out of the waterfall and nodded to let Harry and Neville know it was a cave. Then Harry and Neville walked into the waterfall and into the cave, where they were just as unbothered by getting wet as Luna. Then they each cast the drying charms on one another, leaving them dry as though they were never soaking wet.
Once that was done, Harry called for Dobby and Winky to ask them if a door could be placed in the cave (which had a radius of twenty feet) and to have said door connected to the dorm in the private quarters leading to the bedrooms. After assuring that it could be done, the house elves disappeared and went to get a spare door, then they came back with one and put it in place. The door had some red-and-blue colours added to represent the primary colours of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw respectively, with the door handle being bronze.
“When we get back into the living room,” Luna began suggesting. “Maybe we can think of passwords to prevent the wrong people from gaining access to our living quarters.”
“Sounds good!” Harry replied. “We can even put security measures and give any potential visitors three tries to get the password correct, and if the third try is incorrect then another security measure can drive the people away.”
“Maybe a foul-smelling liquid would help,” Neville threw in a suggestion. “Since hardly anyone will wanna smell bad. It can spray the unwanted visitor especially, since it’s most likely going to result in them not knowing the password.”
“We’d better think of some good passwords,” stated Harry. “To reduce the odds of someone knowing it, or at least them getting it right by luck.”
They all nodded their heads in agreement with that, especially with Hermione being exceedingly book smart and that made her the biggest threat (even more so with the fact that she would tell Ginny about it and allow her to wait for Harry to return if the quarters was empty). Once they were back in the vicinity of their living quarters, the trio headed for the living room to discuss any other security measures. But they knew that no matter how good any kind of security was, there was always going to be someone who would try to find a way around it. As long as the odds were extremely low, it was good enough for the trio.