He had no choice after all. The following morning dawned bright and early as Harry exited the castle to complete his morning run around the lake, somewhere he hadn't visited as yet since his arrival at Hogwarts.
More than anything, he wanted some fresh air and to clear his head before he approached the day, knowing that he needed to be thinking as clearly as possible, particularly when it came to meeting Bellatrix later to complete the assigned work for Defense Against the Dark Arts.
He arrived back in the dormitory a while later, pleased that he had decided to take his run outside and complete his spell work later in the day; he did only have potions to go to after all.
He had decided that, despite how difficult it may be, he would give the girl the benefit of the doubt, the same courtesy that he had granted to Peter, even though he knew it would be very difficult. He had prepared himself for months to be able to face the rat and had barely a days notice to come to terms with the Bellatrix situation, something he knew he should have prepared for, just in case.
He exited the shower to be greeted by the rest of his dorm mates who were as excited as he was about their partnerships, except of course for James and Remus who had been paired together.
"Seriously, I bet McKinnon somehow fixed it so I would be stuck with her" Sirius grumbled.
"For Merlin sake Padfoot, will you just shut up about it" James sighed. "It's all you've talked about since yesterday, we all know you're really happy about it so why don't you get your victory jig out of the way and move on" he suggested exasperatedly.
Sirius scowled at the boy and launched his pillow at him.
"If anyone has reason to complain it's Harry" Remus broke in sympathetically. "True" Sirius conceded with a firm nod.
"And Peter" James pointed out.
Peter shook his head.
"Augustus and I grew up together, he won't be much of a problem" the smaller boy shrugged. "You never mentioned that" Sirius replied with a frown.
"We haven't been friends since we were little" Peter explained. "But we will at least be able to tolerate each other, it's Harry that needs to watch out" he advised.
"Yeah just don't turn your back on her and get out of there as quickly as possible" Sirius suggested. "Believe me, she will curse you for no reason" he warned.
Harry shook his head.
"I'll handle it" he sighed. "And it's only until Christmas" he reminded them. "Thank Merlin" Sirius muttered.
The boy's headed down for breakfast where they were joined by Lily, Alice and Marlene, much to the annoyance of Sirius.
"Isn't it bad enough that I already have to spend more time with you?" he asked as the girl's sat down.
"Oh stop pretending you're upset Sirius" Marlene chided. "Lily wanted to speak with Harry about something" she added.
"What can I do for you?" Harry inquired curiously.
"Well, Professor Flitwick asked me to give this to you" she began, handing him a small leather book. "He said it will help control your power a little more" she explained.
Harry gratefully took the book; he had been trying to find the text for some time now but it was rather rare. "Thank you, I think I need this" he chuckled.
Lily just nodded and gave him a warm smile.
"I also wanted to ask what you know about the Fidelius Charm" she stated questioningly. "I'm trying to research it but there's almost nothing in the library besides what it does" she sighed.
"Do you want the spell itself and its origins?" Harry asked.
"Can you get them?" she questioned excitedly.
"I can write them down for you" he shrugged in reply.
He had the spell itself in one of the books he had liberated from the room of requirement, but it was largely a book on very offensive protection charms and not exactly written with friendly intent in mind. Certainly not a book he should have or loan out to a fellow student.
"You know it?" she requested, her eyebrows raised. "I will write it down for you later, but don't try to cast it, I know that you are a gifted witch but you need to be more than exceptionally powerful to do it, people have died trying to perform it" he warned.
The girl squealed in delight and threw her arms around him, almost squeezing the air out of him in the process.
Harry swallowed deeply at receiving the first ever hug from his mother that he remembered and reveled in the feeling, simply trying to absorb both the memory and feeling of it so that he could revisit it at will.
"I promise I won't try to cast it, Professor Flitwick gave me the same warning" she explained.
Harry just nodded and went back to eating his eggs.
"Harry?" Peter called. "What are you planning on doing after Hogwarts?" he asked. Everyone looked at him, clearly eager to hear his answer.
"I'm not planning anything until the war is over" he answered simply.
"You should join the Auror's with Sirius and myself" James recommended.
Harry shook his head.
"I thought about it before but I'm not interested now" he returned. "What are you planning to do Peter?" he questioned.
"I want to be a potioneer" the boy answered with a broad smile.
"So potions is your favourite?" Harry asked further, a little surprised by his ambition.
The boy just nodded and kept smiling. "Remus?" Harry inquired.
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